SF-LA-SF-NYC-SF

As always, it's great to be home, for the second day in two weeks. Travel sometimes leads to new adventures and sometimes to exotic locales, but these two weeks had something better -- friends and family. From Dan's graduation, The Great 5.3Head's Announcement and Mother's Day in Stiletto City to spending five days with The Great BZWZ and old friends in The Big Shmapple, there were plenty of highs and no lows, except for one night in Colorado when the Rockies got 4 runs in the 9th off Danys Baez.

It has been mentioned that The Great Plotnik doesn't always remember things with perfect clarity. BZWZ reminds Plottie that the Shmapple has never been cheap, so stop whining. She's right.

A Pastrami sandwich at Katz's is now $13.45, but it's still the best on Earth. You have to make the decision. No Broadway show, not even Spamalot, is worth $120 at ticket. But, if you want, you can stand in line to buy a standing room ticket for $21.50. So it's up to you.


You have to take a city on its own terms -- in the Shmapple's case crowded but exciting, concrete but electric, expensive but delicious -- or you shouldn't take it at all. Looking for a raw, green vegetable or a great cup of coffee is a waste of time. Latch on to your bagel-with-shmear and pretend it's good for you.

It is good for you. It tastes great.



The $2 are cookies are really quite good.



In the end, Plotnik and Ducknik leave BZ's apartment at 10AM, take the 2-express to 42nd St., transfer to the E-train to Jamaica Station, hop on the Air Train to the terminal, and get to JFK by 11:45. Delta 675 leaves at 12:45, gets into SFO at 4, our time. Another Sky Train to BART and a walk up the hill and it's home in time for dinner.

SFO looks small. The Sky Train is puny compared to JFK's. There's nobody on the Dublin-Pleasanton train, even though it's rush hour. The streets are quiet. The surface noise is just a few dogs occasionally barking. As a 20-year-old, SF would probably have driven Plotnik crazy. Now, it feels just about right.