This last weekend, Nick and I went with some friends down to San Francisco to see our #1 Ducks play the California Bears! We thought it would be a major blow out, but boy were we wrong. It was quite the stressful game, and we actually thought we might see them lose for the first time this year. Thank goodness they held out and won, or else I am pretty sure the rest of out trip would have been ruined (because Nick and Matt would have pouted the rest of the trip). The game was only one small part of the trip though, we spent the rest of the time sight seeing and having fun.
We decided to stay SF instead of Oakland because there is so much more to do there, and plus it is just such a beautiful city. We really got a chance to explore the city, and by this I mean we walked about a hundred miles. Seriously, my husband loves to walk everywhere, and normally that is fine, but SF is very hilly and by the end of the weekend I was so exhausted from walking I almost rented one of those silly segways just to keep up with him. On the last day our friends actually stopped in the middle of the sidewalk in protest and made him take a cab...it was pretty funny! I must admit I wish we could have stayed longer, there was so much we did not get to see, and Berkley is such a cute area I would have really liked to of spent a day there too. Well, we crammed as much in as possible and had a wonderful time, not to mention the weather was gorgeous!!!
As soon as we got to our hotel we were starving, and all of us wanted to get some delicious seafood considering we were down in the Wharf area. Nick was very excited to get some Cioppino.
Matt and Jocelyn very excited for an amazing weekend!
The Buena Vista...the best place in the city for an Irish Coffee...YUMMY!
I show you this picture because it is right across the street from The Buena Vista and our hotel. You see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background...looks close (NOT)!! This was the start of our walking tour...Nick decided we should walk to the bridge instead of taking a cab...ummm since when did Nick ever care about saving $20.
Getting a little closer!
We walked along the marina and there were some amazing homes! We really wanted to take a tour of one, and even found a house that was under renovation, but we could not convince the construction workers to let us snoop around!
We had a great view of Alcatraz! I was really bummed that we could not go out there and take a tour. Apparently you have to make a reservation way in advance, so we missed out...next time though!
Oh I forgot to mention...still walking! On our way we discovered this little gem... The Palace of Fine Arts. First a little back story on the Palace....apparently there was a huge earthquake in 1908 (I think), and it did quite a bit damage. I guess all the fires that started did more damage though, and a lot of buildings burnt to the ground. In order to clean everything up they pretty much took all the derby and filled in the harbour. That is why when you look at a map it is perfectly shaped...not from nature apparently, who knew. Anyway during The World Fair they built this structure out of paper mache...crazy! It was such a hit that they decided to construct it for real. The problem is that it is essentially built on landfill from the earthquake and it was never meant to support such a structure, so it's bit controversial. Well that's what we were told anyway.
A beautiful pond that surrounds it.
Truly amazing!!
Walking again....
Made it! This is Crissy Park.
Me being super silly....holding the bridge up!
Nick always showing his Duck pride!
Later that night we went to dinner at our friend Mike Bruno's restaurant, Albona. If you are ever in SF you have to go, they have amazing food!!
Cheers!
Day #2
I really wanted to ride the trolley, and considering it was right by our hotel I thought it would be a shame to miss out on it. Too bad our trolley driver was a Cal fan, made for an interesting trip for sure!
TransAmercia Building. We learned that it was build on rollers, so that if they have an earthquake it will move with the earth...pretty interesting!
Union Square...these hearts are similar to the cows in Portland.
After Union Square we walked through the Stockton Tunnel to meet our friend Mike in Chinatown for what was to be the best Dim Sum ever!!
Mike and Nick finishing up our yummy Dim Sum.
Very cool buildings in Chinatown.
After lunch it was time to get on the BART and head to the game! There were tons of Ducks fans doing the same as us, and we ran into some pretty rowdy fans at the BART station! It was fun to see so many fans there though, and cheering with them all the way to the game....about 20 min!
Trying to get a pic of the Oregon fan in the car behind us who passed out two minutes after getting on the BART....maybe too much fun?
The Berkley campus is absolutely beautiful! I wish we had more time to explore, but little did we realize it is about a two mile walk, straight uphill, to the stadium.
Memorial Stadium. I do have to say that although it is a cool building, it is the worst football stadium I have ever been too! It's totally outdated, and a complete fire hazard! If there had been a fire or earthquake, I have no doubt everyone would have died. Well we found out that this is the last year they will play games here, because it is being completely renovated...thank goodness!!!
About 1/3 of the stadium was Duck fans!
Some very serious faces in the 4th quarter...let's just say I am very happy they won!!
We ended the night with an awesome Japanese dinner in Berkley that just capped off an amazing day! It was such a quick trip, but I feel like we fit so much in. I really want to take Jaxson back there some day soon, I think that he would have so much fun and there are so many places that we would love to see!
My next game will probably not be til January when I get to go to Glendale to watch the Ducks play in the BCS Championship game (here's hoping)!! Nick has already reserved a room and bought airfare just in case!! Come on Ducks...sun in January, I am all over that for sure!!!
