San Francisco

What didn't help was thinking about the possible deductible we’d have to pay, but we tried not to let that bother us too much.

Truly, what goes up, must come down.

We needed to wake up early, at 6:30 AM, to make it to Ethan’s place before he left to head back to Vancouver. We had a 5-hour drive ahead of us and had to make it into the city before 1:00 PM.

We had nothing concretely planned for our afternoon in the Bay, other than to meet up with Daniel in the early afternoon and a handful of other players at night. Exact locations and times were uncertain, but we’d figure it out like we had in the days before. We just had to trust the process.

The air here was among the freshest we've ever breathed, filled with the earthy scent of ferns and ancient wood.

After the momentary escape, we made the obligatory (but somewhat ironic) stop at In-N-Out to fuel up (our stomachs) and canceling out any natural cleanse we got from the forest.

We decided to meet Daniel in Oakland at the Sibley Staging Area, chosen for its rolling hills that are vaguely reminiscent of Bliss: the Iconic Windows XP default. Wandering mindlessly through the green fields, covered with clusters of oak trees and scattered bursts of orange poppies, we stumbled upon a grassy knoll. It offered a panoramic view that seemed tailor-made for our meeting. Not windy at all.

I’ve said it before, but I will say it again: “Coordinating yo-yoers is like herding cats,” and coordinating a meet-up in the Bay was no exception. With everyone sprawled out throughout the counties - some players in San Jose, others in San Francisco, others in Oakland, it's hard to get everyone to meet up, let alone during rush hour. After spending a few hours going back and forth, we somehow landed on going to a random park in the middle of nowhere in Oakland: Canyon Meadow Staging Area. Luckily for Daniel, Coleman, and I, it was only 20 minutes away from the Sibley staging area. What we didn’t realize, however, was how there was no cell service in the area, so we just had to trust that everything would be alright and everyone would find their way over.

After arriving, we were greeted by Max and David, and shortly after, Daniel showed up. And surely, one by one, we were all there. But, not before we nearly lost Andy and Brett. It was truly a miracle. I’m still shocked at how we were able to make it happen. But we did.

After hanging out in Canyon Meadow park in Oakland, we all headed to Fieldwork brewery. The key distinction here was that instead of being filled with granola-loving Magic the Gathering players, it was tech bros.

Miggy, who also happened to be in the city for a different event - a Polaroid convention, also showed up last minute. It felt like a Bay Area Classic weekend.

Just like that, we reached the last night of our road trip. Coleman and I, completely destroyed by the last few days, headed back to Ethan's place.