May 1985. This was our first trip to The City, a whirlwind adventure of only one weekend. We had so many places we wanted to visit, and a very limited time to do so (especially since we were without a car). We weren’t sure we’d have time to visit the Castro, but managed to fit it in that Sunday afternoon before heading to the airport.
But it was enough. We’d been bitten. We returned in November, at Christmas, and again in April and June of 1986 for longer stays. By the time August ’86 rolled around we’d all (myself, Bernie, and our friends Lee and Alan) relocated there. In the interim Bernie and I had split up but remained friends, and rented a flat together for the next year while we got our bearings.