As part of Jen's 40th Birthday Celebration, we planned a little getaway in San Francisco last weekend. It was a lot of fun - lots to do and see in this crazy city.
First item on the agenda was to see "Wicked." We couldn't get tickets in SLC, but they were not that hard to come by in SF. Everyone talks about how awesome this musical is so I was sure it would not be as good as I was imagining. But it lived up to the hype - it was amazing!! For those who may not know, it is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. Yes, the main character of the story is green. In the end it is revealed why she is green and who her father is. I was betting on either Kermit the Frog or Yoda, but neither of those is correct. I won't spoil it - you'll have to see for yourself!!
We took a tour of the city in a big green bus that stopped and let us take pictures in several spots around the city. The above shot was taken from "Twin Peaks" - one of the highest hills in the very hilly city.
Another stop was the Golden Gate Bridge which was covered in fog except for the bottom near the water. The last time I was in San Francisco I was a young kid and really excited to see the famous bridge. We crossed it in the car but it was also covered in fog back then and I didn't really get to see it.
Later in the day when we were up on Twin Peaks, the top of the bridge was poking up through the fog. So I guess I got to see it all, just not all at once.
We also visited Alcatraz Island and took a tour of the prison. All the rows in the prison have names like street names. We were surprised not to find "Iron Gate Road" in there with all the well, you know, iron gates around. But, we did find Michigan Ave.
The local mall "Westfield Center" is home to the world's only spiral escalators (at least that's the line the tour bus driver fed us). It was an extra special treat going up and down these believing that they were the only ones in the world. I later found out they are not the only ones in the world. But they were the first ones in the Western Hemisphere.
Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 had a lot of fun shops and restraunts. We rode the Trolley (cable car) from our hotel to Fisherman's Wharf. That was a lot of fun. We walked or used public transportation the whole time - renting a car is useless there. There is nowhere to park. We also visited Chinatown - which is HUGE. All kinds of trinket shops, restraunts, and camera shops for just blocks and blocks and blocks.
We even went to a SF Giants vs. NY Mets baseball game - my first ever Major League game. The game was sold out and we didn't have tickets (a friend at work who is big into baseball told me we could easily pick up cheap tickets to the game at the gate because "the Giants suck") so we had to turn to the scalpers. Luckily, we got there a little late and the scalpers were getting desperate so we were able to get seats right behind 3rd base for below face value. The Giants lost 8-6 after leading 4-1 so maybe my friend was right about them. But the baseball park is beautiful and a very fun environment right on the edge of the bay. In fact a home run hit hard over the right field fence splashes into the San Franciso Bay.
First day of 9th Grade
Facebookin'
Oakcrest Camp Summer of 2008
Teaching Becca and Nicky the fine art of coloring Easter Eggs
With cousin Sarah on Grandma and Grandpa's front lawn
In the Play "Cinderella" at her school
Evading would-be tacklers for a touchdown in the Turkey Bowl
Chillin' with some tunes
Watching the Utes whoop Alabama in the Sugar Bowl
At grandma's trying on her dress for the play
Enjoying a rasperry shake at Bear Lake
Going down the bouncy slide with Nicky
Enduring those annoying zoobies
