San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Historically one of my favorite cities in the world, San Francisco never fails to impress. The more time I spend here, the more I enjoy it, and my latest trip is no exception.

I came up here Thursday morning for work, and got to accomplish a few goals in doing so. Living in Burbank, I have always wanted to fly in/out of Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport. There are, however, a number of things that make that challenging for me. First off, there are no direct flights to Chicago, so it is usually worth driving over to LAX to get a nonstop flight. Second, it is usually cheaper flying out of LAX too, which makes it doubly worth it. Well, for a short flight up to Oakland, the price isn't that different, and they are obviously nonstop out of BUR. As such, I finally had an opportunity to do this. As it turned out, I picked up my boss and we left his driveway all of 40 minutes before our flight - not kidding. Luckily, living in Burbank, it takes all of seven minutes to get to the airport, and once you do get there, they have a valet parking service from the curb. We dropped off the car, checked in on a kiosk, had no line at security, and walked onto the tarmac and onto our plane. Total time? 20 minutes... we had another 20 minutes before the flight even left. Under an hour later we were in Oakland, and in under two hours we were in downtown San Francisco having lunch and starting our meetings. Quite a fabulous experience, and having done so, I would absolutely consider a more expensive flight out of BUR and even a layover somewhere for a longer flight.

San Francisco itself has been great, as always. We had five meetings on Thursday, all in the city, and all productive and interesting. Overnight I was at the JW Marriott, where I was upgraded to a top floor room overlooking the city (see below). Also notice the amazing weather - no fog, no clouds, and if you look closely you can see the Golden Gate Bridge towards the right of the photo, completely clear. Temperature was in the upper-50's... perfect.

Amazing weather and view from the 20th floor of the JW Marriott San Francisco. GG Bridge on the right.

Friday was Bay Area/Valley day. We had another five meetings in San Bruno and San Mateo, all of which went well. Overall from a business perspective, it was an extremely productive trip, and for me personally it was great to meet many of the people I have been working with for almost a full year now. At the end of the day I dropped my boss off back in Oakland, but I couldn't bring myself to leave this amazing place so quickly!

Instead, I hopped on BART back to San Francisco and got off in the Mission District, kind of a slightly rundown/slightly revitalized punk/music scenic neighborhood. It is just southwest of downtown, but south of Market and before you reach the Twin Peaks foothills. What's to be found here? Some interesting history (this is actually the oldest part of San Francisco, originally inhabited by native Yelamu Indians some 2,000 years ago), music venues, and in my personal case, some good friends and good food! We went for some tapas and sangria at Cha Cha Cha, something I would highly recommend! Later on, we ventured over to the Marina, where I convinced some hesitant and slightly critical San Francisco dwellers to cross over to an LA-based food chain, the one and only Umami Burger. Despite their initial pessimism, the table concurred as to the glorious nature of the Truffle, Hatch, and Port & Stilton Burgers, whereas I went for the special Truffled Poutine Burger, which was incredible (not surprised). In addition, this completes (for now) my mission to get to all seven Umami Burger locations (in order of my visits: Santa Monica, Hollywood, Studio City, Los Feliz, La Brea, Hermosa Beach, and San Francisco). Already looking forward to them opening up #8!

We returned to my friend's place in Haight-Ashbury, a relatively famous district of the city I have visited on numerous occasions, and notable both for its history as well as proximity to Golden Gate Park. I slept in after a late night discussing business, politics, global climate change science, the US Open, school, flag football, hashing, and the cross between respect and hatred that serves as the basis for the Chicago Blackhawks-Vancouver Canucks rivalry. Eventually I went for a three-mile walk across town, eventually winding up at San Francisco City Hall, a gorgeous building that looks more appropriate for a capitol complex than a city hall.

San Francisco City Hall, or a gold-domed secret society capitol complex?

From the complex I hopped on BART across the bay back to Oakland, grabbed a flight back into Burbank, and enjoyed the hilarity that was my five minute drive home down Buena Vista from the airport curb. Once again, a fabulous trip to San Francisco, and many thanks to my partial host Steph and her friends for having me crash!

In other news, I have now hashed six times in and around Long Beach, and am looking forward to being named with them soon! Also, my Blackhawks decided to reattach their heads and have won three straight after a season record nine game puke-fest... we have hope! Finally, for another travel blog, check out "Mini Bear Blogs," by a friend who went on my Antarctica trip in December, and visited in January (Vegas) and a few weeks ago, en route to Colombia, where she currently is indefinitely. Have a fabulous week everyone, and Happy Presidents Day in the US!