The World Needs More Ninjas

I attended a conference for work in San Francisco on June 14-18. It was the first time I’d ever been there, so I was looking forward to seeing the highlights. My boss (Jackie) and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and had a few hours to sightsee before our opening conference dinner.

We took a cable car down to the Wharf where the main tourist spots are. It was fun to ride the cable car up and down the steep hills, and we wondered what would happen if the breaks gave out and sent you speeding down the street. It was cool because you could stand on the side of the car and hang out to take pictures.

At the end of the line, they literally turn the cars around and push them back to head the opposite direction. Here’s a video of a cable car being turned around. (Link coming soon as soon as Google video emails it to me!)

We had lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf – I had clam chowder and a turkey sandwich on fresh sourdough bread – yummy! Then we walked around Pier 39 to see Alcatraz, The Golden Gate Bridge, and the sea lions.

Alcatraz didn’t seem as far away as I expected, but I wouldn’t want to try swimming in the water with all those sea lions around!

From there we walked over to Ghirardelli Square to catch the cable car. Along the way I spotted the famous “Bush Man.” Well, not exactly the man himself, but his bush and collection bucket. I was hoping to see the Bush Man since I’d heard about him before, but unfortunately someone said he’d gone to take a bathroom break. So I just proceeded to take a picture of his bush.

We ended up having to wait in line for an hour to get the cable car (it’s quite the tourist attraction), and we rode from there to China Town. One of my priorities was to purchase a knock-off purse which I successfully did in China Town. We also got to visit a fortune cookie factory.

It’s amazing how fast they make the cookies! I bought a bag of freshly made cookies to share with Matt….they even had chocolate fortune cookies!

All day Thursday and Friday were spent at the conference, which, by the way, was very fun and informative. Thursday evening the conference had a social event at Union Square with lots of tasty food. Friday evening the social activity was held at the San Francisco City Hall complete with entertainment by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Matt and I also celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary on Thursday evening with a phone call to each other.

Saturday morning was filled with the closing of the conference. Saturday afternoon Jackie and I decided to get out in the fresh air and get some exercise by walking several miles all around the city and up and down the hills, and we ended by treating ourselves to some In & Out burgers. We were hoping to take a boat tour to Alcatraz, but unfortunately it was booked for the day. Here are some pictures I took during our walk around the city including a view of a the city from the top of a hill, the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower (which we walked from), and the “Crookedest Street”:

Sunday was pretty much spent traveling back home. Spending your entire birthday in airplanes and airports isn’t exactly the ideal thing, but I was glad to make it back home safely (even though American Airlines delayed my flight in Chicago – I must have the Matt syndrome).

More pictures from San Francisco

More cool videos:
Barking sea lions
Cable Car Turn Around (Link coming soon as soon as Google video emails it to me!)
Crookedest Street