More Bay Area

Another hectic day here in the Bay Area.

I don't have too many pictures to show for the troubles today. I spent all morning in San Francisco's Mission District to attend the annual Carnaval SF parade, where cultures of various Latin American (and even a bit of Asian) countries were showcased. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who represents Berkeley and is very pro-peace, was the Grand Marshal today.

I later visited the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, then my former lair in Concord, before stopping by in Berkeley, hoping to attend a transgender support group. When I learned that tonight's group was going to be more "genderqueer" than Sarah or myself, and when I decided that the long weekend would result in low turnouts, I came straight back to the hotel.

I was wearing a semi-sheer white minidress, with white T-shirt and black footless tights underneath for coverage. (The footless look is very trendy right now too, on the streets of San Francisco.) The strong winds in the hotel area caused my dress to fly up - and me to flash the entire parking lot! Good thing I didn't go commando today - no need to advertise my pre-operative status to the world. Aside from that mishap, I really enjoyed this outfit - more than I ever thought I could. I think this will be one of the "casual yet hyper-feminine" outfits Kirsten will wear on her weekends (I still want her to be an oddball when it comes to fashion), and will again wear it tomorrow as I make the final visits to the novel sites. (There will be a lot more pictures tomorrow too.)

And speaking of Kirsten, I got to see plenty of modern apartments on College Avenue and MLK Blvd. in Berkeley, that would make great homes for her. Like me, Kirsten hates beat-up old apartments, and she hates having roommates. I'll have to come up with a plausible address for her.


Here is one of the floats from the Carnaval today. Nicaragua was one of the many nationalities represented (alongside the likes of Colombia, Guatemala, and Bolivia). But Sarah will be fully aware of the severe transphobia in Nicaragua, and a sight like this will give her the chills.

This being a San Francisco parade, there *was* indeed an LGBT contingent marching. Interestingly, they were sandwiched between Korean drummers and Jamaican dancers - and Jamaicans are notorious homophobes, and Koreans are not exactly gay friendly either.


I took this picture of the bay and the Golden Gate, from one of the numerous hillside mini-parks above Berkeley. Sarah and Kirsten, out on a date, would have enjoyed views like this.

Again, I hope for lots of pictures tomorrow - from Sarah's high school, college, and the courthouse.