Dan's great adventure

Love is everything.

But love gone wrong is, well, worse than anything.

I bet all of us can relate to this. You're going along and it seems like everything is OK. You've got a plan. You're in a relationship and, yeah, there are problems. But you figure it'll be alright. Right? Except as time goes by, it isn't alright. And it gets worse. And then it's not OK. Not OK at all.

Yeah that's what happened to my nephew Dan. And it all culminated on New Year's Eve. It's a long story. But he realized his fiance, the woman he was planning his life with...wasn't the one. Not by a long shot.

So the day after the split up, he showed up at my house with a broken heart.

Bob was in San Francisco. (Oh, by the way - that's where Bob has been since about New Years Day. He's coming home Friday for the first time in weeks. Yay!) But when Bob heard about what Dan was going through, he immediately knew what Dan needed. A road trip.

This goes back to when Bob got his first job in Boston. He thought it was going to be a great job. He almost had himself talked into it. But it wasn't good for him. And apparently he wasn't good for them either. Because one day he got fired. So after they escorted him out of the building he called me and said he just got fired from his first "real" job...but the good news? He was hopping on a flight to Washington DC to visit me.

So Bob said...it's just like that...Dan should get on a plane and come to San Francisco and stay with him.

Crazy right? I mean, Dan had to start a new job in a week. He had to move. His fiance and he had just ended their relationship. He was a wreck. But the more I thought about what Bob said, the more I agreed with him.

A road trip to a place he'd never been - to a place so different from anything he'd ever seen - it's could help him do a full reboot. A reset. Life is good. The world is big. It will be OK. There is fun to be had. Places to see. People to meet.

So after a night crying in our beer over the breakup and realizing that probably it was all for the best...we managed to find a way. Dan called his new job (oh and about the new job...he's really excited about it - his career is shifting into high gear - it's all good) and they said that he could start a week later - no problem. We made a few other arrangements. And by 7:30 that night he was on a flight to San Francisco.

Now, you have to realize...Dan had never been to California. He'd never seen San Francisco. On the way to the airport I mentioned that he might have the best food of his life. That he wouldn't believe how unlikely and fantastical the city was - and how unforgettable. I was so excited for him. Every time you see San Francisco - it's great. But the first time is the best.

Here are some highlights from his grand adventure with Uncle Bob...who did his best to expose Dan to all kinds of new experiences...such as...

Cable cars (yes, Dan the engineer investigated exactly how they work)...


Post card row - Victorian houses that used to house Mrs. Doubtfire and Full House...



Fisherman's Wharf...
Posing with the weiner-mobile...


Staying at the Gaylord Suites with Bob...no one questions two men staying together in San Francisco...


And now for the food. Bob exposed Dan to foods he never thought he'd try. Like Chinese food in Chinatown...


Sushi...apparently he even learned how to use chopsticks!


And wine! Yes, this is Dan is drinking wine. He discovered after many tastings that he liked Riesling, Pinot Gris, and anything from Alsace (that would be the eastern border of France, on the west bank of the Upper Rhine, adjacent to Germany and Switzerland.)

More Chinese...

And of course, many beers...


He took the fairy...er, ferry...to Alcatraz and toured the whole thing.


And he threw his engagement portrait off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now he's back home. And it's going to be OK.

More than OK. His whole life is ahead and it's going to be great.