Rice-a Roni.........

Well, the trip was awesome. Just what the doctor ordered for Fish Stick and I. It is always very nice to get out of town, but the crisp air, fog and beautiful architecture of San Francisco was killer!

The drive down:
We took off Friday afternoon. Fish Stick took me on a route I haven't ever been on. Madera to Firebaugh to I-5 up to San Francisco. It was beautiful driving through the valley. Drives like that make me realize how I couldn't live anywhere else. I love the rows of grapes, the farmhouses, the smells (yes cows are counted in that LOL), tractors kicking up dust, people planting crops. It is beautiful, serene. The drive was nice, super windy, but nice, until we hit the Bay Bridge. In all of my trips down south I haven't ever seen cars smooshed together like that before. It took us a good long while, some fun tunes on the radio and a few cigarettes later we were through the toll. (BTW- $4 to cross the bridge). Once we were over the bridge our hotel was off of the 2nd or 3rd exit on the freeway.

Getting to the hotel:
So the Tenderloin of San Francisco is worse than driving in downtown Fresno. One way streets, no turning- you will only be able to travel up and back. LOL no turning, no parking, nothing- it was cracking me up! We sorta missed the street we needed to turn on, and ended up driving so far in one direction, just to be able to turn around. Needless to say- I was very happy I wasn't driving! It blows me away how people just walk out in front of cars, cars drive like nut cases, and buses and delivery trucks do whatever in the hell they please! We got to the hotel, asked them to park the car- and didn't have to see it again until we left Sunday morning! :)

Friday evening in the city:
The hotel we stayed at was great. The staff was so helpful and friendly, and our room- though not big was very clean and more than adequate for our stay. The elevator, however scared the crap outta me- it "ker-chunked" every time it was at the requested floor. Yikes! :) We check in, and are called a married couple- which made me laugh. Get up to our room, and I decide to take a shower before we scout out a place to eat. Note to self: old hotel are awesome, old hotels need to work on the water temperature control. It was either as cold as the bay- or so hot I coulda fried my eyebrows off. I didn't quite figure it out....... the entire weekend. So we start walking looking for a place to eat. We passed by many restaurants, nothing seemed to strike our fancy. We are approaching a street corner, look up and see "Vietnamese"- okay lets go! We found an amazing place! We were the only non-Asian people in the restaurant. Everything we ate was out of this world. And with our leftovers- Fish Stick pillaged a fork in the name of Jaded. We did however eat the entire meal with chopsticks- and managed quite well! A stop off at a market and back to the hotel for a couple of drinks and some much needed sleep.

Saturday:
Woke up early to no sunshine. Keep in mind we had tickets to a Giants game. It was super drizzly- to the point of me not being able to wear my glasses (needed windshield wipers for them!) We walked down to a coffee shop in Union Square and had coffee and a bagel. I was awestruck on our walk with the buildings, the people, the hustle and bustle- it's all so amazing! The neatest thing was seeing the Cable Cars turning around on their wooden circle deal. I had no idea they were turned around by hand- super cool. We had our coffee, people watched and walked to catch a bus to North Shore. Taking a bus through China town on a Saturday morning is funny- bus packed- as soon as we entered China town- bus almost totally empty! Lots of street vendors, farmers market type places and people! The buildings were beautiful down there! Get to North Shore walk around, make a pit stop at a store and off we go again.
We picked up an F-Line electric bus which was AWESOME! Rode that back down to Market and 2nd and started our stroll to the ball park.

At&T park:
Though very beautiful, very small. But, the view of the bay is awesome! The rivalry between Giants and Dodger fans is nuts. People, it's a game. nuff said. The hot dog was great, the weather was cold and had beer not cost as much as babies on the black market, I might have had one of those too. We walked around, Fish stick took a bunch of pictures, it was a nice time. Yes the Giants lost, but all in all- awesome time! :) We found Generik at the game, and met up with him afterwards out in front of the park.

Post Game:
Generik took Fish Stick and I to his local dive to have a few cocktails. The place was awesome- packed as it wasn't too far from the park, but we had a great time. I do believe pictures will be posted of that at some point in time! LOL We all chatted for quite sometime, and realized that Mrs. Generik would be waiting for her Mister, so we grabbed a cab and said we would call them in about 30 minutes to meet up for dinner. We ended up at this great Hoffbrau called Tommy's Playce. (I think) Food was amazing, drinks put me on my ass! The conversation was wonderful- Generik you and your wife are AMAZING people! I had so much fun. Then we all walked back down the street to our hotel, said our goodbye's and good night's and promised that we will all meet up sometime very soon together.

Sunday:
Woke up, took a shower and start packing everything up. I put something in my purse and realize that my wallet is G-O-N-E gone. Fantastic! I freak out, because well, my wallet is gone. Fish Stick tells me it's gotta be at the restaurant we were at the night before. So I give them a call, they said they would be open at 10 and to come by and look for it. So we walk down to have some food- all I wanted was coffee and to throw up. As we are walking, two lesbian hookers are screaming at one another- one was upset that the other seemed to be enjoying servicing a man.........
I believe this was referred to as "street theater". Excellent. We have breakfast at this cute little hole in the wall place, and walk over to the Hoffbrau. I called, the guy came down to let me in. I walked over to the table we were at, felt around for a few and there it was. THANK GOD!!!! Everything was that much better! :)
We headed back to the hotel, loaded up the car and headed out.

The trip was awesome, and the fact that I had my own fish stick tour guide made it that much better- thanks sweets it was so fun.
Mr. and Mrs. Generik- you two rock, I can't wait to spend more time with you! :)

Things I learned about the city:

The bum's are rather nice.
The best places to go are local
Check your damn purse every time you pick it up
Wash feet before bed when wearing sandals
Always carry sweatshirt with you
XXX rated movies sales and "Chinese Massage" Places make me laugh

Fish Stick should have pictures up soon! :)