Good Times in San Francisco !

[San] Francisco! That's fun to say.
- Buddy the Elf, Elf
(I thought the movie was funny)

This past weekend Joanne and I flew out to San Francisco for Scott and Jaime's wedding. We took Jet Blue up to Oakland and I was amazed at how much room they had in the seats. I spend all my time getting in some quality Tom & Jerry cartoons (provided by DirecTV) while Joanne put away a few of her Sudoku puzzles.


We stayed at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel on Nob Hill and boy did we feel swanky! The only downside is that we felt a little out of our league at this joint. Our excuse is that we got special discount rates for Scott and Jaime's wedding. We asked how we could get down to Fisherman's Wharf and they offered us the 'house car' (a new Mustang convertible). Since we didn't feel up to paying for parking we passed on the opportunity. Note to self: Intercontinental Hotels are very fancy. (Joanne and I once stayed at the Willard Intercontinental in D.C. - again for real cheap - and it was known for having regular hotel stays by Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln)

Joanne wanted to get some crab for dinner so we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf where we went to Nick's Lighthouse. We've eaten at this restaurant the last few times we've been in San Francisco and it's definitely our favorite place for crab. We recommend it!

Mmmmm....boy!

That next morning Joanne began working on her sourdough bread from Boudin's (we picked up some after dinner). It's her favorite and the only reason I mention it is that I find her method for eating it a little amusing. The inside is her favorite part since it's the softest; so she digs out a cave in the bread and eats the inside first. After a while you are left with a crust-only loaf of sourdough bread. I don't even think I'm supposed to be talking about any of this.

Moving on, the city offered some great sights (that pointy one is the Transamerica building).

We met up with Chang for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in Union Square. The Cheesecake Factory is located on the 8th floor of Macy's so we were able to wait outside on the balcony by the 'm' in Macy's (above the robot picture on the right).

Here is the view from the 'm' at the top of Macy's. It was an awesome day in San Francisco. Perfect weather, clear skies.

Chang experimented with the telephoto lens and took this picture of the statue at the top of the column in the center of Union Square.

For lunch, Joanne had the Chicken Marsala while Chang and I both had the Double BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. I would classify it as my favorite hamburger. I warned him that it was huge.

That evening, Joanne and I went to the Merchant's Exchange Building, where Scott and Jaime had both their wedding ceremony and reception. It was a beautiful wedding. Everyone in attendance was in tears after they exchanged the vows they had written to each other.

What also made their wedding unique was the head table arrangement. The bride, groom, groomsmen (with girlfriends) and bridesmaids (with boyfriends) were all at the head table. That was pretty cool. They also had a great motown band that played some great stuff. They were very talented and everyone had a great time on the dance floor.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Scott and Jaime Dever!

Late that night, Joanne and I went to have a couple drinks at the Top of The Mark, the restaurant/bar at the top of our hotel. They had a selection of 100 martinis. The Surfer martini was awesome (vodka, malibu rum, banana liqueur, and pineapple juice).

The next morning we had a fancy brunch buffet there. The food selection was awesome. Prime rib, honeybaked ham, caviar(?), omelettes, and a great set of desserts.

Soon it was time to go. Sad, but Sunday's weather didn't look as nice anyway. Here's a view of the houses on Nob Hill.

We flew Jet Blue on the way back and I am very impressed with their dual entry system. It made getting in and out of the plane a breeze.

Joanne and I had a great trip. Good times.