San Francisco, May 21-23, 2007

Junior's 40th birthday celebration

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Day 1, Monday morning, May 21: "What are you doing here?" "We're going to Denver..." ... and San Francisco! Two-hour layover in Denver, just enough time to grab lunch Junior's never without a local paper, and I fussing with some gadget View from a window at Denver International, Frontier Airlines' hub
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Our plane You can also see the walrus on the wing fin Arrival in San Francisco, where we were jumped by a limo driver Two other ladies who were hoodwinked into riding in the limo We made sure to get plenty of pictures in case the authorities found our bodies in the bay later
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I think Tony Montana must have owned this limo... All it was missing was a disco ball View of AT&T Park from the limo... ... and downtown San Fran "Well look who's here?" "Fool me once..."
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"What are we going to do tonight?" Calling the folks to tell them about the big surprise... Of course, they already knew Complimentary wine from 5-6 p.m. in the hotel bar! White or red? Cozy bar with a very nice bartender
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I'm in serious need of another camera Kanpai! View down the street from the front of our hotel The Andrews Hotel, highly recommended You'd never know they were related by looking at them
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View up the street from the front of our hotel Walking to a restaurant in Chinatown recommended by our bartender A famous landmark on top of a hill Another famous landmark, the Transamerica building "First time here? I take care of you!"
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Off for a sightseeing walk, to The Embarcadero Coit Tower from Embarcadero Diddy's camera gets it all Alcatraz from Pier 39, a touristy albeit famous pier Golden Gate Bridge from Pier 39
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Diddy and hubby, M Pier 39 is famous for its sea lion colony Tired but wired Baby sea lions piled on top of others The night was gorgeous
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A wonderful view of the skyline Day 2: Tuesday morning, May 22: We'll bike the Golden Gate Bridge! A quick jaunt to check out rental-car rates at the Avis across the street We walk past the famous entrance to Chinatown OK, how do we get to the bus station?
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We're off on the 8-mile bike ride across the bridge to Sausalito On a bike path toward the Golden Gate, we pass Fort Mason Fort Point, a great place to stop for the view Scores of surfers made their way down the rocks to ride the waves Fort Point gang
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OK, so how DO we get up there? We had to backtrack a short ways, but then we found it We're on it! Smile if you're on the Golden Gate Bridge No rest for the weary
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Alcatraz, from the bridge Trip "coordinator" has no idea how burned her arms are going to get On the other side of the bridge, a winding, steep road to Sausalito How much longer? We hopped a ferry back to the San Fran piers
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Goodbye, Sausalito! Thanks for the memories! Alcatraz (left), SF (right) Great view of Alcatraz from the Sausalito-San Fran ferry We rode our bikes this far? The Bike Gang: We did it!
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Day 2, early evening of May 22: Waiting for the 30 Stockton bus The 30 Stockton, the bus that goes everywhere AT&T Park! The weather couldn't have been nicer Willie Mays statue in front of AT&T Park
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Diddy and I walked around the outside of the park McCovey Cove Right field has a spot where fans can come up at field level and watch the action Astros warm up about an hour before the game They were about 15-20 feet away...
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... and work hard for the money Diddy approves Documenting the moment "Can I take your picture?" Behind the scenes at the major-league scoreboard
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We still haven't even entered the park I'm goin' in No, these aren't our seats, but we can wish Bleacher-seat concourse at the park... ... where they sold huge selection of ethnic and gourmet food and beer
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Hey! Over here! M's dropped his hot dog! Ticket: $10... View: Priceless McCovey Cove from our seats Barry Bonds in left field Who's making the next beer run?
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Bonds on the jumbotron Bonds strikes out; Roy Oswalt pitching At another at-bat, Bonds is walked How about another Harp? Swinging for the fence
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It's freezing cold up here at this point And now... Time out for an important message (for a co-worker who used to live in the area) $10 a person never better spent Day 3: Morning of Wednesday, May 23: Discussing our plans for driving to Half Moon Bay M catching his breath before another adventure
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We head south on Highway 1... ... over a mountain, then by the beach... ... and into Half Moon Bay, about 45 minutes later... ... where we stop for breakfast at a greasy spoon At a quaint shop down the main street in Half Moon Bay
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On the way back to SF, we pull over on the side of Highway 1, at a public beach... ... which turned out to be beautiful How long can we stay? The view was gorgeous, and the weather perfect We literally parked on the side of the road
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Diddy takes in the Pacific Ocean There was a horse rental a little ways down the road The girls take in the beach air Peace Flowers in her hair (er, her cap)
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Junior gets his feet wet Is this a postcard? Junior does his best "Chariots of Fire" Beach boys On the way back to San Fran, we stop for lunch in Tiburon
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Tiburon appears to be very tony Turning in the car, luckily without a scratch Day 3, evening of May 23: Can't miss wine hour before dinner M's friend N (second from left), who lives in the area, meets us for dinner Waiting for sushi at Ryoko's
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After dinner, back at our favorite watering hole The Lobby-Bar Buzz The firewater is kicking in Not satisfied with sushi, N and M talk us into drinks and a buffet Kanpai, part 2
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The margarita buzz is still going strong Joe DiMaggio memorabilia lined the walls at Lefty's The San Fran Apple Store near Union Square Happy 40th birthday, Junior!