THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BAY AREA.
San Francisco was a pretty nice place to spend probably our only vacation this year, even if it was partially a working vacation. The weather was terrific, especially coming from our 100+ degree heat indices in Madison, and we spent a fair amount of our time there in jackets and long pants. I'm not sure I'd want to live there (and given the near-term effects of global warming, that may not be an option for much longer) but I hope we get a chance to visit again soon.
Some good things:
Good public transportation coverage. The subways/streetcars don't cover that much ground outside of downtown, but it seems like there are bus routes covering pretty much every city street. Also, it seems to be about the same price as the buses in Madison.
Good eats: Crepes a Go-Go in Berkeley will be the first place I go next time I'm in the bay area. Also recommended are Celia's, Golden Rice Bowl and Organic Coffee. If you're downtown, Annabelle's is a good place to drink.
You find yourself walking a lot, particularly since parking is such a nightmare, which is good.
There aren't nearly as many open wireless networks as you would expect, but Google operates one in Union Square, which is a nice place to hang out anyway.
Not strictly SF-related, but I bought a set of Philips noise cancelling earbuds (model no. SHN2500) at the Virgin Megastore for $30 and they are amazing. They completely blocked out ambient sound, including the engines, on the flights home, which was much better than I expected.
And a couple annoying things:
All the street address numbers start from where the street starts, not from a common reference point. Thus, while Polk and Powell Sts. are parallel, 900 Polk St. is not on the same cross-street as 900 Powell St. Plus, in the sections of town with numbered streets, the street addresses of cross-streets don't correspond with what they're between. For instance, my sister lives between 15th and 16th Aves., but her number is not in the 1500s. It's hard to explain how annoying this is after a few times walking around several extra blocks because the numbers weren't right.
It's harder than you'd expect to find a good Mexican restaurant. It's much easier than you'd expect to find a Walgreen's, however.
Two separate bars gave me vodka gimlets with way too much lime juice. They weren't bad, per se, but they also weren't vodka gimlets. Perhaps this is just how they're made on the west coast.
Posted by Aaron S. Veenstra ::: 2006:08:11:16:48
The people on the West Coast are hoping you get to come out again soon, too. I'd like to have lots more time!
If that trips works out for you and school works out for me, you'll get to see me graduate from SFSU on that weekend. Awesome x 10 to have you two out here again.