San Francisco #3 Christmas 2014

December 2014

San Franciscco #3

Another adventure to our favorite city but this time we had show tickets and were signed up for the Jingle Bell Run 5k. This was our first 5k together. Teresa had done one before but this run included a cocktail at Pier 23 to finish.

We were looking forward to our familiar trip into Oakland with a new excitement to ride the Bart extension from the airport terminal to the coliseum stop. Before 2014 it required a $3pp (exact change only) bus ride to the terminal, and now the rail was complete. 



Spoke too soon, the torrential rain somehow disabled the nearly half billion dollar 3.2 mile state of the art system. C'mon man! So we were boarded back on to the gratis bus for the sardine ride. We took the extension on the return. Automated, cool, expensive.

The typical SF start at the Ferry building included Hog Island heaven.

Sweetwaters and halibut carpaccio

Last year NY this year SF Santa. Trend?

We did some shopping, got our pic with Santa at Macy's and later took advantage of the concierge lounge (included with our Marriott gold) spread that is very generous at the Marquis. Some salmon and cheese and meat and crackers tied us over with suitcased vodka and lounge cranberry juice. Its worth noting the Marquis is a great hotel with wonderful service and an ideal location to explore the city. All thumbs up!

Gingerbread contest at the Marriott Marquis

Friday night we took the K line (never took this metro rail system before-its in the bart station) to ATT Park to see the latest installment of Cirque Du Soleil under the tent this time and not the cheeseafied Vegas version. We first saw them under the tent in LA in 1984-part of the Olympic Games celebration so its been awhile not including Love. Great show. Classic Cirque acrobatics and staging. 

View from the Marina Green. 

Costume contest winners. Hands down.

"In" the finish line waiting for our 5k cocktail.

Saturday morning we headed to Marina Green for the Jingle Beer Run 5k. Soon we were surrounded with serious runners, people in costumes, families and dogs ready to run. Official time in this race doesn't count until you finish your included cocktail at the finish line. Pier 23 cafe supplied either a mimosa, a beer or a delicious bloody mary. We walk/ran the 5k and as we crossed the finish line we were awarded metals. Beer bottle caps on a string painted on the back to look like a snowman. Awesome! A major award!

We headed for the F car to take us back near Union Square to join the Santa Con. Protests were happening in the city, anger over a recent spat of unarmed black men being killed by police..they didn't run the F car up Market so off the bus and on to the Bart for 2 stops. The Christmas tree on the square was surrounded by police holding riot gear and they were surrounded by hundreds of Santas ready to pub crawl. San Francisco dichotomy at its finest. 

Lined up at Lefty O'Douls

I asked for a pic and they posed. 

Christmas post smartphone era

After a morning of Santas in many forms we enyoed a late dim sum lunch at Yank Sings. We had seen a story about the owner on CBS Sunday Morning-last of the great magazine style shows-famous and pricey but excellent lunch in a packed but friendly place.

Beautiful dining room at the Palace. Someday...

Saturday evening was Mass at St. Patrick's which is right out the back door of the Marriott. We heard the chimes in our room-a favorite of ours in any city. After Mass we watched the Filipino celebration outside then back to Union Square to watch the ice skating and winter revelry. 


Having snacked again we skipped dinner and headed for Kuletos for dessert at the bar. We enjoyed egg nog panna cotta and a glass of champagne and a mint chocolate adult beverage amazing thing. Perfect dessert pairing. T came home and made the panna cotta for Christmas, way to go Martha!

Sunday morning we had Blue Bottle coffee at the Ferry Building. We spotted the Hyatt and ducked in to check out the Christmas decor. Fun display of holiday scenes. 


Teresa had looked up Mamas in SF for breakfast-supposed to be the best. If a line outside is any measure then this place must rock. Got in line, estimated the wait and decided we didn't have time to get Bart back to OAK.







 Smart phones have revolutionized travel and with a little help from Yelp we headed across the street to the fantastic Park Tavern. What a find! Elevated breakfast and perfectly mixed cocktails. Sat at the bar with friendly attentive 

Corn beef hash and toast with mmm on it.

bar tenders. We even got to have a 
free drink when he made a mistake on another order. Hey! Why throw it out? We're sitting right here. Another great SF find and we will be back-often. I want to try the dinner menu if breakfast is that kicked up. 

Back to the hotel-out the door-Powell station to Coliseum-pay the new $10.05 fare and back to Burbank already pining over another great visit and speculating a return date.  


We are already booked for Chicago in January 2015. If our daughter can survive a harsh winter there we can certainly enjoy a hotel lobby bar in that very same weather. Briefly.

Oahu Hawaii November 2014

November 2014
Hawaii

It's been on the list for a while. We honeymooned in Maui and Kauai in 1986, took the kids to Kona in 2004. Watching them snorkel with turtles is forever etched as a great family memory.  The draw this time was Pearl Harbor. Teresa had long wanted to visit and that is where our 6 days on Oahu began. 525 miles later we covered every side of the island.

Pearl Harbor
As advertised. Moving and historic and epic. Rent the headphones to have an incredible tour.

Diamond Head
Climbed to the in what is described as a vigorous hike. It was.

Rainbow Drive In
Obama's favorite place in Oahu. So why not? Don't miss the poke.

Sunset Catamaran
There are fireworks over the Hilton Waikiki on Friday nights. We watched from the water with mai tais served on tap.

Ko Olina

Hotels backyard

Fantastic Marriott property. 30 minutes north of Honolulu for quiet and beauty. Next door to Disney's Aulani. Lagoons in front of each hotel for protected but limited snorkeling. Extraordinary unique sunset views every night from the front row of the beach.

Pool cave at the Ko Olina resort

North Shore

Fumis shrimp trucks and rugged surf coastline. Shallow snorkeling at Sharks cove. Waimea Falls is an incredible botanical buffet and worth the walk to the less than amazing waterfall. 

Seinfeld reference for Tim

Kayaking at Kailua Beach Park
Rugged waters made it more than challenging. We didn't quite make it to the island and chalked it up to experience. 

Puu Ualakaa State Park 
The most amazing view of all of Honolulu as far north as Ko Olina and south to Diamond Head. Supposed to be great at night too.

Tamashiro market
Bought a Kali Kali and grilled it with macademia nuts, lemons, limes and prosecco. Add 1 bottle of Kirkland Pinot and it was fantastic.


Snorkel Bobs
Easier to rent for the week and leave the snorkel gear in the trunk of the rental car.

Ono Seafood

Yummy local fare. The hostess made sure we knew how to eat the plate and in what order to dip. It was the first time we liked poi.

Leonards Bakery
Malasadas are Hawaiian/Potugese donuts like a beignet. So good when warm but they heat up great in the microwave. Ate them for breakfast every day.

Seattle September 2014

September 2014

Seattle

If you are a football fan you are familiar with the Seahawks 12th man. Out hotel was about 1/2 mile away and as they made a winning goal line stand in the Super Bowl rematch of 2013 against Denver, the 12th man was clear. The sound that rushed into our room from a partially open window was astounding. Those fans know how to cheer and Paul Allen knows how to built an acoustic tribute stadium to them.


The video begins with music by Earl Klugh, a long time favorite thanks to our friends Russ and Mo. The tickets  to see Earl in Seattle were a surprise for T. The best sound system for bass response I have ever heard in a club. A great show and he stayed to sign CD's after the show. 

Good walking and great food, Seattle is a fun place for a long weekend excursion. And don't use an umbrella or they will know you're a tourist. 

Pikes Place Market
Find a walking tour of the market and let a guide show you the ropes. Otherwise you may actually think that is the original Starbucks. Our tour including a fun guide and tastings lasting about 3 hours. A great value and it always helps to have locals give you the low-down. We started at the gum wall and worked our way around the food and fish tossing. Stop and stare at the weird looking fish  hanging out of the ice and watch the staff startle tourists. Buy some cheap flowers and eat at Piroshkys and your day will be complete.

Yelp is a great help in this city of internet and foodie aficionados so you can get some critical mass of reviews to help make a good choice. Use TripAdvisor to compare and contrast.

Canlis
Do your research on this one and if the budget allows go there for a wonderful experience. It's not just dinner it's the whole package from the moment you walk in the door to the Roederer on the wine list. This is our favorite sparking and we order a case every year at Christmas. I've never seen it on a wine list-though I don't peruse bottle lists very often. From start to finish a wonderful evening and the food is absolutely top notch.

Walrus and Carpenter
We sat at the awesome Oyster bar and struck up a conversation with the shucker. It made for a fun conversation filled evening and he took out a map to guide us on our drive to Taylor Shellfish the next day. 






Chippys Fish and Drinks
Before dinner at Walrus we walked into the wrong restaurant next door. They share an entry hallway. Had we not done that we would have never experienced a Monkey Knife Fight. Not real monkeys, its a cocktail. We closed it out and headed to our original destination for a perfect pairing of clever cocktails and delicious dinner.


Staple and Fancy
This place was an amazing find and I wish there was one closer to home. The chef offers a pre-fixe for $50 that served up some great choices in small perfect for us portions. Delicious and comfortable.  Right next door to the listings above. Brought a bottle of Hendry and the waiter enjoyed a taste with us at the end of our meal. He knew right away it was a club selection which made us smile. 


Chihuly Gardens and Glass
Cool. Go during the day and I've read night time is wonderful too. We would go back at night. It is stunning and very unique.

Space needle

Retro futuristic view.

Sunset on the harbor
We saw it in the distance and hustled down Union Street to take in the incredible view.

The Samsung S3 has a great panoramic feature.

St. James Cathedral, Seattle

San Diego 28th Anniversary August 2014

August 2014

San Diego

Not only America's favorite city but one of ours too and with God's blessings our retirement happy place. We spent a couple days there for our 28th wedding anniversary, we were married there in 1986. 

We found a great rate at the Courtyard in San Diego, the central location was great to get to downtown or the beach or anywhere in town we wanted to go. Cheaper to stay away from main tourist areas. You're going to move around town anyway so no need to be right in Gaslamp or close to the beach.

Stumbled upon the dog beach and ventured out in search of a Corgi. We found one. This place is heaven for dogs, running free and slamming into the surf like teenagers with boogie boards. We met a Corgi named Cheese and his buddy was names Mac.

Corgi Sighting

We booked a Kayak tour of La Jolla Cove, a beautiful day exploring this most beautiful of places. Breakfast is downstairs from the rental place so its an easy fun beautiful morning.

Enjoyed the beach at La Jolla Shores with the crowds since we already had parking near the kayak store. 

Fortunately Teresa roused us at about 2 saying we had better move or we would be there until sunset. We were hungry and a bit sun roasted to it was off to find lunch.

La Jolla Cove and Caves

La Jolla Sea Cave Kayaks
Super cool tour guides made this a blast. Very helpful for beginners.

Hodads
Comfort burger extraordinaire after a day at the beach standing in line with everyone else from a day at the beach. This is San Diego.

Caves at La Jolla Shores

All Hallows Church
Married 1986

Gaslamp
A fun-ish walk around this area can be a nice evening if you can find a good place to eat or if you're in the mood for bar food. Caution: Tourist traps afoot.

Harry's Coffee Shop
Teresa's family went here for years and now we visit whenever we are there. Solid breakfast and good coffee in a classic dinner atmosphere with friendly busy servers. 

OB Noodle House
Fun spot. Yummy Chicken Satay.