Here is an article I wrote back in 2014 about our trip to the 2012 World Series of Baseball.
Both of our hands were viciously hovering over our respective keyboards. It was like we were racing against one another to see who could snag the best deal before the clock ran out. We frantically searched for a flight out the following day, tickets for two games and a decent hotel room that we could afford! I found a flight on Alaskan airlines. We would fly from Edmonton to San Francisco via Seattle, arriving at 10:56 pm. William secured two tickets for game one and I gasped at the price of almost 700.00 US each! But hey, you only live once and this was the World Series of baseball! I strategically searched the hotels on Trip Advisor for a room, and it seemed as the moments went by, the hotel room prices went higher. I finally settled on a Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf. It had fair reviews and the room per night charge was doable. We would figure out transfer and those logistics later. Game two seats were just as expensive as game one! I was warming to the fact that my husband was coming out of his comfort zone and I was in the middle of a dream come true.
Planning a spur of the moment adventure trip was always an idea of mine. The last person who I would have ever thought to encourage and partake with me was my husband, William. He is not an adventurer. He prefers to think about where and when he wants to go on a holiday. I have settled in this and now part of the fun has become the actual planning of our vacations. I will spend months finding the perfect accommodation and researching just what will be the most fun to see and do based on recommendations from travel sites, magazines, and vacation planners. This was exciting, but also very scary! Now I was out of my comfort zone. I knew absolutely nothing about San Francisco except that they were prone to earth quakes, had a big red bridge and a lot of gay people called it home. It was 1:00 am when the fury of booking was complete and we headed to bed, neither of us would sleep much though.
The October sun peered into our bedroom far to early the following morning and it took me a few moments until I was wide eyed. I had so much to do before we left for the airport at 2:00pm. William was already up and at work, making sure that his schedule was cleared and all the day-to-day business activities would be taken care of while he was away. I showered and while I packed I looked up the weather report, which indicated beautiful warm temperatures of up to 19 degrees Celsius for the 6 days we would be in the Bay area. I packed shorts, t-shirts, a light jacket a pair of denim jeans and a couple sweaters, walking boots, sneakers and my workout clothes.
Our flight was on time and check-in went smoothly. The Edmonton International airport is very user friendly. Parking can be found not far from the actual terminal in Jet Set Parking. The rate varies from 11.00 per day or 55.00 a week if you self-park or if you prefer to use the valet service parking the rate is, 13.50 per day or 67.50 per week. Each rate includes transportation to and from the terminal of your respective airline. The perks of valet include; self-serve check in, bottled water and coffee, bag drop for West Jet airlines and comfortable heated waiting lounge. When you arrive home, your car is waiting for you near lounge entrance. This feature is particularly nice when it is -35 degrees Celsius! We plan to arrive at check-in no less than two hours ahead for an International flight and 1.5 hours ahead of a domestic flight. Security lines can be long and being stuck in this lineup is a great possibility. The airport has recently gone through a large improvement project, which makes the services beyond security valuable. There are over 60 shops and eateries where you can browse and enjoy. The brilliant art installations and live music are also a real treat for weary travellers. There is an abundance of comfortable seating and charging of electronic devices is made simple by the ample charging stations that are located in many well thought out locations. Water bottle fill stations that travellers can fill their personal water bottles with, are easily accessible. I especially appreciate the large airy bathroom facilities that are kept impeccably clean. All of the bathroom entrances are without doors and hand sanitation solution is found at every exit and entrance.
We boarded our Alaskan Airlines Bombardier Q400 aircraft via the gangway and found our seats. The air stewards were polite and helpful and quickly had us settled in and we were up in the air in no time. The flight was smooth and we were in Seattle in a little over an hour. Our connecting flight did not leave for 45 minutes, so we found the gate and waited in a nearby lounge. Alaskan airlines charges for checked baggage and I find this frustrating when people try to carry on all of their baggage. Once the 737 was loaded with passengers, the flight crew then has to plead with people who clearly don’t understand that their large piece of luggage cannot possibly fit into the tiny space left in the overhead compartment. Once the pleading is successful, the cabin crew will call to the ground crew who then has to come up the ramp and place all the ‘extra’ luggage in the belly of the plane. At no charge! This has the potential to frustrate those of us who have graciously paid the fee up front and are now waiting on the ones who refused.
During this leg of our journey, we were treated to complimentary wine and micro brewed beer from Washington State. We met a nice fellow on the flight who was a wealth of knowledge and willingly shared all the special places we should see while in San Francisco. It was during his exciting chatter that I realized the magnitude of what we were doing. Such a spur of the moment decision and oh, my, goodness, we were on our way to San Francisco! To the World Series, no less! Did I mention I am not a fan of baseball?
On approach to San Francisco, we were greeted by her majesty of lights. It was a very beautiful sight and not one I will likely ever forget. My excitement began to swell and when we were given the all clear, we quickly departed the plane and headed to the luggage carousal, picked up our luggage and headed for a cab. We stepped onto the street and immediately a driver offered us his cab. It was a newer SUV style vehicle and still had that new vehicle smell. He loaded our bags into the back and jumped in the driver seat. We gave him the Hyatt hotel address and he exclaimed, “Fisherman’s Wharf!” And off we zoomed!
The cab ride was indeed one of what would be many highlights of the trip. This is the cabbie you would want if you were in the last leg of ‘The Amazing Race’. He was a stellar driver and although he zoomed through every single red light like it was a yield sign, we felt safer that he was driving and not us. Deciding not to rent a car was something we debated. We usually rent a vehicle so that we have the ability to go where we want with little hassle, but after we arrived at the hotel, we both agreed that driving in San Francisco was probably over rated and we were much better off using the public transportation. Which by the way is fabulous, fun and very economical!
The Hyatt turned out to be a 3 out of 5 for me. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. We had room 479, it was a king grand bed with sitting area. The room was about 400 square feet and the floor to ceiling windows faced a parking garage entrance. The bathroom was an extra large three piece with an undesirable showerhead. The vanity was spacious and the towels thick and fresh. The bed was comfy and we slept well as long as the neighbors in the adjoining room were out. The door between the two rooms was not sound proof and we could hear each other perfectly. But, heck, we were in San Francisco! The lobby was my favorite space of the hotels common areas. It had restful seating and a beautiful infused water station. We enjoyed cucumber-lemon-basil infused water the most, but there were new flavors each day and we looked forward to this treat. There was a small breakfast nook that we enjoyed a light continental breakfast each morning. It was staffed by the kindest lady who would insist on helping you with every detail of our breakfast. She made our stay! The restaurant, Knuckles, is a sports bar type eatery and the food served was delicious. The wait staff was not overly friendly, but did their job of serving well. We dined here on two occasions, once for a late night snack and then during game three of the World Series, which was played in Detroit.
We were greeted to beautiful sunshine on our first morning so I dressed in my shorts and t-shirt. We ventured for our first walk over to Fisherman’s Wharf. Once outside, I realized that the sun was just as deceiving here as it was at home and we quickly returned so I could put my blue jeans on. Once in the proper attire were on our way.
Navigating the public transportation can be tricky, but we learned that if we bought a Muni ticket, we could travel almost everywhere with our ticket except on the Lombard Street car. So with our Muni tickets in hand, the city was our oyster and we navigated from the cable car to downtown, transferred to the Bart station downtown and the to the light rail which dropped us off immediately in front of AT&T Park. The entire trip took less then 45 minutes and it was great fun riding all the different types of transportation.
The stadium was grand, simply grand. We shopped in the Giants store for hats, jersey, t-shirts and a warm fleece jacket for me. Although the daytime high temperature was close to 18 degrees Celsius, it cooled off in the mid afternoon and I found it rather chilly. Ernest Hemmingway teased that the coldest winter he had ever experienced was the summer he spent in San Francisco. You would be wise to wear layers or bring an extra coat for the afternoon. The fall is the best time to visit as far as sunshine goes. In the summer, the morning air tends to heat up the bay and the humidity created from this heat develops into fog and the bay becomes completely engulfed. This then causes the temperature to drop and sometimes it can drop more than 15 degrees in a very short time. However, in the fall the air temp is cooler, so the fog isn’t as likely and the sunshine is gorgeous! If you are a fair weather traveller, fall is a great time of the year to see San Francisco.
Once we found our seats in the upper view box in section 325, we realized that no seat is a bad seat in this park. The bay in the background and home plate to our right made the view spectacular. The stadium is very clean and still has that new stadium feel. The fans we sat next to were season ticket holders and also very friendly. The stadium may be grand, but the food; it’s out of this world amazing! We had a famous Ghirardelli sundae, garlic fries, an Irish coffee, famous sausage from Hey Sausage; cinnamon roasted nuts and of course lots of peanuts in the shell over the course of the two games. You are able to bring outside food into the stadium, but I would not understand if you did, because this place is a foodies delight!
For game 2, our seats were just along the end of the 1st base line; we were able to watch the opposing team pitchers warm up and even had the opportunity to heckle them a bit. Prior to the second game we did a stadium tour on our own. We walked the entire inside and outside of the stadium, which took about 2.5 hours. The east perimeter of the stadium is where you will find McCovey cove. During every home game boats anchor; kayak and canoes drift hoping for an out of the ballpark hit into the water. We toured the Coke Fan Lot where there is opportunity to have your photo taken beside the very large Coke bottle and baseball glove. This photo can be taken by your personal camera or by a park photographer who will offer you a card with a number code. The park has a fan picture website and you can search it with the code for your photo. Very Disney. I felt myself becoming a fan of the game and it had much to do with this beautiful park.
During the games just prior to the 8th inning you can sign along to, ‘When The Lights Go Out In The City’ with Steve Perry from the band Journey. Mr. Perry is a huge Giants fan and this one time spontaneous sing-a-long has now become a tradition. Being at the game during this super karaoke is a unique, one of a kind experience. For fans that have seats near Mr. Perry’s box, well, they have a very special treat because the artist will run down into the fan seats and sing directly to them.
Adoration for this team, this game and this place grew in me. I felt like a child with my first Christmas memory; everywhere I looked, brought a new and special experience. As we filed out of the stadium after in a very orderly fashion and spilled onto the street, the hometown fan adventure began. We had just experienced two winning games and several records set over the past two days. We were 2 people in a sea of orange navigating back to our hotel which was a fair walk to Fisherman’s Wharf. We opted to walk with the fans because it felt like the game winning feeling extended into the street. None of us were willing to let it go, just yet. We encountered t-shirt sellers, buskers, musicians and the odd homeless person on our hike and it was all part of the mystic of the city and felt very appropriate.
The following morning the after glow could still be felt as we joined fellow travellers in the breakfast area. A husband and wife across from us were planning their daily excursions while a lone fellow appeared as though he should return to bed. We enjoyed our breakfast and headed out for a day of adventure in the city. Our day was full of sight seeing and enjoying more good food.
We began our day riding the cable car to the Ferry Building at Pier 1. This is where you board the ferry that will take you to Oakland, Alameda, Vallejo, and South San Francisco. The building also houses a wonderful Farmers Market where local farmers sell their produce and artisans sell their wares. We were able to find some sweet relishes to bring home. We had a light lunch on the boardwalk from the counter service at Boulette’s Larder. Once again, we marveled at the fresh take on a simple ham and cheese sandwich. The bread was baked fresh with a soft inside and crisp crust the prosciutto ham perfectly paired with a fresh Swiss cheese – delectable! There are various other shops and we enjoyed the sunny open architecture of the building with the iconic clock tower. After a few hours at the ferry building we made our way north on Embarcadero in a cable car.
San Francisco is famous for its cable car fleet; each cable car is a lovingly restored car from elsewhere in the world. We learned from a local that each car has a plaque explaining where it was originally from, when it was purchased by the city and when its service date began. Finding each of the individual cables stories became a kid game scavenger hunt.
Pier 39 was our next stop. The Fisherman’s Wharf area is a very much the typical tourist area. You will find the famous sour dough bakery, street vendors, which sell cooked crab, tea and spice shops, souvenir bargains, restaurants and tour operators. We also found the sea lions here. The sea lions jockey for positions on the sunny docks and it is quit a noisy and smelly spectacle. We video taped what appeared to be an older male push his way through the herd making sure that any of the younger males knew he was still the boss. Apparently this goes on all day long. We booked a city cable car tour for later in the day and decided to check out the Rocket Boat tour while we waited for our main tour to start.
Rocket Boat is a very large high-powered jet boat that takes seat belted riders for a zoom around the San Francisco bay. I love thrill rides, so this was super fun for me. It wasn’t the scariest ride I had ever been on and I would compare it to a ‘Magic Mountain’ style ride. The captain is a jolly pirate and he makes sure everyone is comfortable. The more the riders cheer, the faster and quicker the turns. We didn’t get soaked, but we did get wet. The loud rock and roll music gives it just the right amount of party type fun!
After our party boat ride we were ready to board our wheeled cable car. The car was converted to a wheeled vehicle that gave it the ability to go where other tour buses weren’t able to navigate. We took this tour so that we could cross the Golden Gate Bridge; which is actually orange. The group was small and the super friendly driver/guide told us we were in for a real treat tonight because we were to be the last tour of the day and this meant an extended time and the possibility of enjoying a few stops that were not typically on the route during the day.
Our first stop was in front of Cioppinos. Restaurant. The driver interrupted two people dining on the patio and asked them if they were enjoying their dinner. The cable car was completely open sided, so this made their conversation easy. The couple looked shocked at first but then smiled and nodded that the food was really good. In fact, it looked rather typically amazing to what we had seen and eaten on our trip. The classic cable car proceeded to the Bridge. Traffic zoomed along the lanes on either side of us and as soon as we reached the mid-bridge, the wind roared through the car. Of course I was wearing shorts. I froze! One again, I recommend layers. The sun was still shining, but the wind was so cold. William gave me his coat to place over my legs and that helped. The far side of the bridge had a rest-stop type area and we were able to step off and get some photos. We were never rushed and felt like we had just the right amount of time to enjoy the view of the city and get some pictures together.
The ride back over the bridge wasn’t as cold for me because I was prepared this time and I bundled up under William’s coat. One of the extra stops was an under the bridge stop. Being able to travel under the bridge and take photos of the water cresting the rocky shore was thrilling. The bridge is so massive and you understand that more when you are standing directly beneath it. Once again, the tour operator allowed us ample time and offered to take our picture again.
The remaining portion of the tour took us through the ‘movie district’, painted ladies, shopping district, Chinatown, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, Union Square, and as the sun was setting, Vista Point! That was incredible seeing every glass window reflecting the sunset back at us as we crested the high street. Exquisite! On the tour we learned about how the cable cars work and drove past the building where all the main cables cross. We saw the enormous wheels as they worked to pull the cars from under the streets. Such an incredible concept put into reality!
After the Classic Cable Car tour, we headed over to Cioppinos for dinner. It’s very open and airy with a classic Italian atmosphere. The music and laughter from across the room make you feel like you have just stepped off of a side street in Italy. I had the seafood stew and it was delicious. The perfect balance of broth to mussels, clams, crab, shrimp and scallops. The bread is made in the restaurant and the crusty wedge that is served with the stew is just the proper amount to enjoy. They have a wonderful wine list so make sure to try a nice glass of a California Sauvignon Blanc with your seafood dish. We departed the restaurant fully satisfied and headed toward Hyde Street.
While on our way to Hyde, we stopped in at the Argonaut Hotel. We have full intention of returning to San Francisco, and so we wanted to check out other hotel properties and we liked it’s location and wanted to see a sample guest room. The bellhop was very informative and gave us a lovely tour of the hotel, it’s amenities and encouraged us to join the hotels reward program. We were escorted to a king room with a courtyard view. We would absolutely stay here on a future stay and would recommend it over our current lodging. The rooms are large, the TV system includes a DVD player, workout video and yoga mat. The marble bathroom is very spa like with soft blue tones and the towels look luxuriously fluffy. For your comfort they provide cozy, but funky bathrobes that apparently come in lots of different animal patterns in each room.
Evening was well upon us by the time we arrived at Ghirardelli Square. I was able to take in a portion of the final tour of the day. Ghirardelli is a world famous chocolate and one of the perks are the free chocolate squares they freely give during the tour. The Square is home to a ritzy apartment/hotel operated by Fairmont Hotels, as well as many shops, pubs, wine bars and public courtyard spaces. William especially enjoyed a moment of relaxation in the courtyard by the fountain.
Our purpose for heading in the Hyde street direction was to catch the cable car to Lombard Street, but we had one more stop. The Famous Buena Vista Café cocktail bar that is famous for bringing the authentic Irish coffee to San Francisco. It is right near the ticket booth for the streetcar and so we scooted in for a quick warm up drink before the ride. We sat at the bar and watched as the bartender made cup after cup along the bar of the special coffee. In a master assembly line he created masterpieces for the majority of the patrons to enjoy. A must do! Once we were warmed from the inside out, we headed to the ticket booth.
The word on the street was, it was nearly impossible to board the cable car without to first endure a long line of others waiting to do the same. We also heard that if you waited until the late evening, the line and wait were significantly shorter. The later is very true. We waited for a short 15 minutes and the car pulled into the lane. The ding ding sound of the bell as the car left the stop had now become so familiar that when a lady commented on it, I had to remind myself how unique it really was. We rode as far as Lombard Street and departed with one other couple.
Lombard is the world’s ‘Crookedest Street’, walking it during the night was not our intention when we began our evening, but what an awesome view of the city lights from this location! The beautiful homes along the roadway with meticulously manicured gardens and delightful doors; was beyond what I could have expected. Several cars screeched down the road and I wondered if living on this street would be like living in a fish bowl.
We did not realize the increase in elevation until we started our foot journey back to our hotel. We used muscles in our feet that we didn’t even know we had. Stopping for rests along the residential streets and avenues. Once on a flat plain again we spotted a fire/ghost tour truck and William flagged them down. He is good at moments like these. He chatted with the driver about the tour and when he discovered the night tour was over, he said well, how about you give us a ride back to our hotel? And, he did, with the siren blaring as he roared through the streets. It was the perfect end to a perfect day!
We woke early the following day and departed for the airport in a relaxing town car service. After arriving safely and checking our bags we found a tiny bar to sit and enjoy a coffee and savor our last hours in the Bay Area.
I learned a lot about San Francisco. A little about baseball and a great deal about how fun spur of the moment travel can be. Not planning a trip can be even more rewarding then planning an entire year for a trip of a lifetime! Both are equally enjoyable, but I love an adventure and this was definitely one that I will not soon forget!
PS. The Giants won the World Series that year and thus became the 2012 Champions of Major League of Baseball! As for me, I am a huge fan!
Coleen Cleans With Norwex 