Conference in the City on the Bay (San Francisco, November 2011) About This Page:

[MelissaSue]

Originally Posted by chezp

Wow, you certainly got a lot done in your lunch time!

Yea! Two hours for lunch seemed like an awful long time, but we were glad!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Sounds like another great day!

I had a great time!

Originally Posted by karadisney

I loved the Transamerica builidng! It was so neat!!

Did you get to go inside?! I wish I’d made time for that … mostly, I just saw exteriors!

[Dlandmom2]

Great pics! Sounds like you scored some great food as well!

[xrosario]

Those shops sound really nice!

[chezp]

You do seem to be packing a lot into your down time and making the best of your time in San Francisco.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update!

[karadisney]

Did you get to go inside?! I wish I’d made time for that … mostly, I just saw exteriors! [/QUOTE]

No, I wish I did!!!

[MelissaSue]

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

Great pics! Sounds like you scored some great food as well!

Thank you! The food, especially at the Ferry Building, was delicious!

Originally Posted by xrosario

Those shops sound really nice!

It’s a very awesome place! If you’re ever in San Fran, please check it out!

Originally Posted by chezp

You do seem to be packing a lot into your down time and making the best of your time in San Francisco.

I am so glad you said that … I have been feeling a little guilty because I didn’t see the painted ladies or go to the Disney Family Museum … I feel like I didn’t pack enough in.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Another great update!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by karadisney

No, I wish I did!!!

Maybe next time we’ll both get to go inside …

Thanks for reading, everyone!! I have three or four more updates to go … I am going to try to get them done this weekend because I am going back to Disney World next week (and I think my brains won’t let me have two trip reports in progress at once)!

[elbodans]

let's move somewhere with awesome food markets. wadda ya say?

[MelissaSue]

I should be working right now (in preparation for next week’s Disney trip), but I am committed to finished this darn trip report!! So here goes …

We took the historic street car down to Pier 39, which was all decked out for the holidays.

Christmas tree at Pier 39

If you’ve never been here, I’d say it’s worth at least a couple of hours. Being from New York State, I’ve never seen anything like this, but maybe you have. It was basically a bona fide, two-level outdoor mall! I loved it and was horrified by it at the same time. On the one hand, there was lots of unique shopping, but on the other, I could hardly believe this was such a huge tourist draw.

I hung out with J&J for about 20 minutes before we decided to split up. They wanted to do a wine tasting, and I really just wanted to explore. The weather was disgusting—cold, drizzly and damp. But I soldiered on!

I think I ventured into nearly every single store, just perusing. I went into the “Not Just a Christmas Store,” and spent about 20 minutes wandering around, totally hypnotized by what was very much, in fact, a Christmas store. There was a very cool hand-made puppet shop, as well as a hysterical pet store that sold things like wine for dogs (really just liquid dog food). And a store where literally every single item was made from alpaca fur (hair?).

I didn’t buy much, to be honest. I did buy a hat, however, in one of the many souvenir shops because I realized I was going to need it very badly when we got on the boat to Alcatraz. And I bought a lot of tea from the Spice and Tea Exchange. As well as a lovely, unique pair of earrings for my friend Sarah from Harry Mason’s shop.

If you ever find yourself in San Francisco, I’d encourage you to seek out Harry’s shop. He makes the coolest earrings, and his staff is absolutely wonderful. I had so much fun getting to know them, and they were incredibly helpful.

The best thing about Pier 39, of course, is the photo ops!! From the docks, you can get amazing views of all the nearby islands and bridges, as well as many of the iconic San Francisco buildings. I think this is my favorite photo of Alcatraz that I took from the Pier:

And near that very excellent view of Alcatraz are the sea lions! Holy cow! There were not many of them there on this day, but boy were they cute! And so very close. I felt like I could reach out and touch them, although, of course, that is not allowed.

I’ll leave you with this big-mouthed beauty, but if you'd like to see more photos as well as videos of the sea lions, you're welcome to check out my San Francisco Flickr set:

Eventually, J&J wanted to hit the road, so we met back up in a smoothie shop, where they were relaxing with some caramel corn.

We headed back toward the bus stop and had the most ridiculous experience with the bus. Basically, J&J didn’t trust my navigation skills, so when we got on the bus, Jack asked the driver if this bus would take us to the Alcatraz Boat Tour Dock. The bus driver said no. But I stuck to my guns, and we got on.

The bus went two stops, then the driver kicked us all off the bus. We were nowhere near the dock. J&J were despondent. I was like, “look, this bus goes where we want it to go. We just have to stand here at the bus stop and wait for the next bus to pick us up.” I don’t think they believed me, as they started talking about walking. Which was an insane proposition.

But I prevailed. It must have been a shift change. The driver went into a bus depot. About 4 minutes later, another driver came out, got into the same bus, and picked us all at the bus stop. And then deposited us exactly where we wanted to go. Because I can read a bus map, darn it!


So there we were … at Pier 42. Waiting for the Alcatraz boat. And I’ll tell you all about THAT in the next post.

[MelissaSue]

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

Great pics! Sounds like you scored some great food as well!

Girl, let’s do it!

[Dlandmom2]

Pier 39 is super cool touristy fun! I'm glad you saw the sea lions...there was a while when the sea lions had all gone, and no one knew what had happened. I'm really glad they're back.

Looking forward to hearing about Alcatraz! I love that place! It's so mysterious and yet very interesting! The last time I was there a few years back now, one of the prisoners was there selling and signing his book. It was very interesting reading.

[MelissaSue]

As we waited in line for the Alcatraz tour, they took our photo! It was kind of cute, but well overpriced, so we didn’t buy it. It was funny, though, because the photographer thought I was J&J’s daughter. (I’m a little too old to be their daughter, but only by a few years.)

When we were finally loaded onto the boat (I felt like I was part of a herd of cattle, to be frank), we split up because I wanted to go to the top deck (even though it was rainy and freezing) to take photos, and J&J, like reasonable people, wanted to stay warm below deck.

I ended up sitting right at the front of the boat in a row of three seats with a mother and his teenaged son. They were really nice, and we had a great conversation. We all three were impressed that the Alcatraz boat fleet is made up of hybrid boats!! Check it out, they run partially on wind power:

I did get some amazing photos, but I was seriously annoyed by these two tall jerks who basically shoved me out of their way and proceeded to take photos with their Blackberrys. I mean, come on, guys!! There’s no way their photos came out well, and they ruined quite a few of my shots … I came home with SO MANY photos of their arms or fingers. Jerks.

Anyway, here are some of the boat-ride photos I got:

The Rock, from the ferry

The Rock, from the ferry

City at night, from the ferry

As we docked, I met up with J&J on the second level of the boat, and we disembarked together. Once we were herded off the boat, they broke us up into huge tour groups. As the tour group moved through the island, I told J&J I’d see them later, and hung back from the group to get some photos of the island. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about what the tour guide said. But the light was too beautiful to miss!

30-foot guard tower right on the shore

The dim light created beautiful shadows


All of the concrete fencing had this shape worked in

Guard apartment building

Main Cellhouse door

Prison Issues

Once we got into the main cellhouse, they made us line up along the intake room. We passed by the communal shower area as well as the area where the inmates received their prison garb. At the front of the line, they gave us each a headset with an audio tour and set us loose.

Double locked doors

A propped-cell

Self-portrait inside one of the open cells

The audio tour was fascinating, but it was extremely crowded, and I kept getting caught up in huge snags of people all trying to look at the same thing (as instructed by the audio tour). I wonder if it would be better to have two or three different audio tours that start at different places so that there’s not such a gridlock in the prison.

But, even with that, it was extremely enjoyable. Some of the cells were propped, so they looked like they would when the prison was in use, which was extremely interesting. Other cells were really, seriously in disrepair. Some of them were open, so you could go inside and get a feel for how truly awful it must have been to spend so much time in such a small space.

People keep asking me if it was spooky. It was not. When everyone was around, it was too crowded to be spooky. When I was alone (both in the prison and outside of the prison), it didn't feel scary at all. It felt like a very serene, quiet place. I felt safe and comfortable there. And, sorry, but I didn't see or feel any ghosts. I will say, though, that the jail was FREEZING the entire time I was there.

Once the audio tour was done, there were several optional programs, like mini-lectures from tour guides and a short film, available OR you could wander the grounds on your own. I did a little of each. First I went back to take a look at some of the things I’d missed because of the crowds. Then, I headed into the solitary confinement area. Several of those cells were unlocked, and you could go inside them. That was an interesting experience! By then, D Block (where the isolation cells are) was completely deserted except for me, so it was extremely quiet. I just stood there in the center of the cell, taking it in.

After that, I headed down to the souvenir shop. I didn’t buy anything, but they sell some really cool things, like the original blend of soap used by inmates! Eventually, I headed back up to the cell blocks so I could watch the Sounds of the Slammer presentation. Basically, a tour guide went through the opening and closing of the cell doors several times. It was super awesome! There’s a video on my flickr page, but it really doesn’t do the sound justice. It set my nerves on edge and made my stomach go cold.

And then it was time to head back to the boat. I met J&J outside the theatre, where they’d spent their free time watching the film. Then we headed back to the boat … more coming in a moment.

[MelissaSue]

We all sat together on the ferry back to the main land, but it was a pretty quiet ride because we were all fully exhausted. I, personally, was starving. I had eaten the second half of my sandwich at Pier 39, but I hadn’t had anything at all since. (There's no food allowed on the island, although they do sell snacks on the ferry.)

We retraced our steps, taking the bus back to the Ferry Building, then the cable car up California Street to our hotel. As we walked in the door, Jill said, “I am just going to get another sweater, and we can head back out.” And I was like, “... … … No. I am not going back out.”

I think they were taken aback, but we parted ways, me heading for the hotel restaurant, and the two of them heading back out to get dinner somewhere else. God knows. But I was too cold, tired and hungry to do any more walking.

So I went to the concierge desk. First, I had him send a fridge up to my room (so my cheese would stay overnight), then I had him book me a shuttle to the airport the next morning, and finally I had him get me a seat at the bar of Aurea. I bellied up and perused the menu.

I ended up ordering the house-made gnudi, which I’d mentioned in my pre-trip report. It turned out to be, basically, a cheese gnocchi. It was kind of bland, but it was served in a sage butter sauce, which is my favorite sauce of all. It also came with butternut squash, which was undercooked and still a bit hard. But I was hungry, the portion was large and soon there was nothing left.

I also ordered the bread pudding for dessert. It was a giant portion. Good for three or four people. I managed to eat about half of it before I had to give up and call it a night. It wasn’t a great meal, but it was warm and filling, and I didn’t have to walk anywhere to get it.

The bar tender was a wonderful man, and he chatted with me for a while. He helped me decide which specialty drink to order (eventually went with some kind of Cuban Mojito, which was good) , too, which was nice. I was also able to overhear the most awkward first date EVER. Overall, it was very entertaining, and I didn’t at all feel weird or bad eating by myself at the bar.

Back up in my room, I pretty much passed out. I was set to meet my airport shuttle at the ungodly hour of 8:15am, so it was for the best.

[MelissaSue]

I’d bought so much crap that packing the next morning was a serious pain in the neck. It took way longer than it should have, and I Skyped with Rob while I packed. Before I knew it, it was time to go.

One funny story from the morning: as I was packing, I discovered the coffee machine, which they’d hidden basically under the bed, of all places. So I pulled it out and made myself a cup. Of course, as I always do with hotel coffee makers, I made a giant mess. And then, after all of that, I forgot the cup of coffee in my room when I left! What a dumbass!!

On my way out the door, I tried to pre-print my boarding pass on the hotel’s concierge computer, but I couldn’t get it to work, and the I could see the shuttle waiting for me, so I gave up. Thumbs down for that, though.

The shuttle ride was no big deal. The driver drove extremely fast, and we arrived with plenty of time to spare. I flew through security, even though the people in front of me were acting like they’d never been through airport security before in their lives.

On my way to my terminal, I ordered breakfast at Willow Creek Grill, and I have to say, it was delicious! Way better than a tiny café in an airport has any right to be! I got a huge, delicious omlette stuffed with veggies and cheese along with some curried breakfast potatoes (which were delicious, even though I don’t usually like curry) and a slice of sour dough toast. Two thumbs up.

Then began the long wait to board and the even longer plane rides. The flights were blissfully uneventful. I read most of the ride, so it was fine. I didn’t order any food on the plane. My breakfast was so huge, it held me over quiet well, though I did have a frozen yogurt during my layover.

My one big problem came when my iPod went dead on the last hour of the flight. By then I was seriously cranky, and I was seated next to a seriously chatty cathy. It was not okay. I kept my headphones in so she wouldn’t talk to ME, but I couldn’t stop her from prattling away at the woman on the other side of her. I just wanted some peace, and I am sure I looked terribly grumpy. But I did finally make it home and into my loving husband’s arms. And he immediately took me out for pancakes, which was awesome.

Wrap Up
I don’t think I’d want to live in San Francisco, but it is a lovely place to visit. If I go back, I absolutely plan to see more of the city. I feel like I missed an awful lot because of time constraints as well as the interests of my traveling companions.

I also think the bus system pretty much sucks. There are a TON of bus lines, but they all seem to serve only a small portion of the city. To go very far, you’d have to transfer buses three or more times! If I go again, I think I’ll get a car.

I’d really highly recommend the Alcatraz Tour. The night offerings were super cool, and twilight was an amazing time to take photos on the island. If I go back, I’d like to do it during the day, I think, but night time is definitely a great time to experience it!

Overall, it was a really great trip.

[MelissaSue]

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

Looking forward to hearing about Alcatraz! I love that place! It's so mysterious and yet very interesting! The last time I was there a few years back now, one of the prisoners was there selling and signing his book. It was very interesting reading.

That is so cool! I’d love to have been able to meet an actual prisoner. I’ve been reading accounts of life in the prison since I returned home, and it sounds like it actually wasn’t the worst place to be. I love the little radios in every cell!

The rest of this TR is up now, if you want to take a look.