Pier 39

I had dinner booked for 7pm at the Chart House, which is right at the end of Pier 39.  After the long delay getting back to the hotel after the game, I didn't have long to get ready to go out again, but fortunately, a streetcar was due just when I needed it and although it takes half an hour to get there, it does drop you off at Pier 39.

After worrying that I might not make it in time, I was 30 minutes early, so I was able to wander around the pier and take some photos of the seals settling in for the night, as the sun went down.

I do not understand how restaurants can accept reservations and then, when I turn up on time, tell me I'm going to have to wait 15 minutes for my table to be ready.  It didn't really seem all that busy, either.

However, I had a fabulous table, right in the corner of the restaurant, so I could see out all across the bay from the Golden Gate Bridge in the West, to Alcatraz Island, which sits in the middle of the bay, and also further east across to Tiburon.

Dinner seemed to take a very long time, as I didn't leave to well after 9pm in the end, for a 2-course meal!  As the sun went down, I had plenty of time to take some pictures - the lights from inside the restaurant reflecting in the window here, as the sky turns dark blue.

On the up side, Chart House is also owned by Landry's - so my loyalty card could accrue more points, and even better, I got another $9 off a dessert, just like at McCormick & Kuleto's earlier in the week.

After dinner, I didn't hurry back.  I decided to catch the bus along to the cable car terminal.   Whilst I was waiting a man ran past and shortly afterwards a police officer ran past asking where the first man went - he found him in the bushes by the car park and then 4 police cars turned up - it was just like the Sweeney, really - they zoomed along the road, sirens wailing and screeched to a halt, in the middle of the road, blocking the road, and the drivers jumped out to go and help the officer who had detained the man.

In the end, they unblocked the road and the bus was able to get through and I went along to Hyde St to wait for the cable car to come past, for one final ride of my holiday.  It duly arrived, with Ignacio driving it, and a lot of Italian tourists were on-board.  The drivers don't ring the bell so much in the late evenings, but the noise generated by the people and the driver were just as loud.  They were all very friendly - the driver asked my name and where I came from.  I've never known a driver to be so animated.  It was a really fun trip back.


So now I'm trying to work out how to pack everything into my bags, given that I have so much more than I came with, primarily thanks to the Star Wars giveaway today!

Colorado Rockies @ San Francisco Giants (game 3)

The final day of my holiday, and the final game was the final game of this 3 game series between the Rockies and Giants.

Today was Star Wars Day, and I've picked up by special gift item, which is a Madison Bumgarner (dressed as Han Solo) and Greedo model, from their confrontation in the bar in Star Wars.  I've also got a new cap, with a rotating Millennium Falcon on the front.  I had to go right to the top of the stadium and right to the left-field corner to pick it up, so I took a photo whilst I was there.

For this game, I was in the front row of section 210, which is in the nicely shade during day games and, thankfully, with an unobstructed view.

Having shut the Rockies out for the first two games, San Francisco were looking for a rare sweep of a series.  The Rockies managed to score some runs today - 3 of them in the 2nd inning, and sadly, that was enough, as the Giants managed a single run in a couple of innings, and although the winning runs made it onto base in the 9th inning, Hundley was ruled to have swung at a pitch and struck out to end the game.

So, in the end, I saw the Giants play 8 times in total during this trip, and they won only 2 of them, but both of them were exciting shut-outs.

I said goodbye to my favourite usher, Angelique, whom I met first last year - and wished her a happy Christmas and to see her next year.

There was huge congestion on the metro on the way back, and it took 30-40 minutes to get back when it should take only 10, but I made it back in plenty of time to drop off all my new goodies and get ready to go out to dinner for the final time.

Colorado Rockies @ San Francisco Giants (game 2)

A 6.05pm start time for a Saturday game meant that we played more of the game in daylight than under floodlights.

My seat was quite a way around the 3rd base side, in the second row, which is annoying because the railings around the TV camera area blocked my view - this picture is taken with the camera held up high.

It was very windy - the clouds were racing past, and so I was glad that I'd got a polo shirt on underneath my Giants top.

I also bought a #40 hat, with the white text reading "MAD BUM", referring to our starting pitcher today, Madison Bumgarner.  He's been one of the premier pitchers in the league in the past few years, but isn't having such a good time this year.

Last time I saw him pitch, in Milwaukee, he hit Ryan Braun which led to the Brewers' bench clearing, multiple ejections, and finally, unfortunately, a grand slam that cost us the game.


Not so this time.  He pitched 6 strong innings, giving up no runs at all, whilst he hit a double in his first at-bat and scored the first run - which ended up being the winning run, as in combination with an inning each from Tony Watson, Mark Melancon and Will Smith (not the actor ...), the Giants managed to shut out the Rockies for the second game in a row.

Whenever we win, a black flag is raised on the right-field foul pole, with a big red heart on it and SF written in the middle.

Pacific Ocean

This is my last free daytime, as tomorrow's game is at 1.05pm and will thus consume the whole day.  Therefore, I took the L-Taraval metro out to the beach.  It was one of the new Muni Metro trains, with all the seating along the sides of the carriages.  They still have a transformation once you pass West Portal station - they convert into buses, with the steps reconfigured automatically so that you can board from ground level instead of needing a platform. 

When I walked over to the beach, I found a rare piece of road furniture: a roundabout!  With a sign explaining how it works, no less.

The sand is very soft when you get on the beach - you tend to just sink into it quite deeply, which makes it quite hard to walk anywhere quickly.  This is the state of the beach up near the Great Highway (the road along the coast).

The beach gets a bit firmer closer to the water, where the high tide reaches, with all the associated seaweed and junk that's floated ashore from the sea.

As I neared the water's edge, I saw the little birds running around, with their legs all ablur.

There were quite a few shells and there seemed to be a lot of jellyfish too - some of them even looked to be still alive, going by the way they were flinching.

I brought my new backpack with me, a "cheap" one that I picked up at a discount, as I don't think I'll be able to fit everything into my usual two bags for the flight home.

I was able to put my shoes in there whilst I took out and put on my hat & coat, as it was quite chilly in the strong breeze.

I had a very quick paddle in the Pacific Ocean for a few seconds when a larger wave came in, and then went back onto the sand, again avoiding all the jellyfish!

I walked up 4 blocks worth of the beach, from Taraval to Pacheco (in this district, they seem to be named alphabetically) before returning to the path by the Great Highway, where I found some benches where I could dry off, using the towel I'd also brought with me, and put everything back on again ready for the journey back to the hotel to get ready for tonight's game.

Colorado Rockies @ San Francisco Giants (game 1)

I'd visited the Dugout Store at AT&T Park to buy my tickets for the three game series against the Rockies, as it's much cheaper to buy them in person at the park - no "convenience fees" or "order fees" adding tens of dollars to the prices - I saved around $100 in total!

Today, the Giants had Chris Stratton starting, who I saw pitch against Milwaukee without much luck last week.  The Rockies had swept the Giants in their series at Coors Field a week or so ago, so it appeared the chance of us breaking our historic losing streak appeared bleak.

After the off day on Thursday, it was time to go down for a 7.05pm start, and the game proceeded at great speed.

The game got off to a good start, with several hits in the 2nd inning, Austin Slater driving in 2 runs with a single - 2 runs that were to prove to be the only runs of the entire game.

Bruce Bochy had had his closer warming up during the 8th inning, but Stratton received a huge cheer when he came out to pitch the 9th inning.

He received even more cheers when he recorded the final out, without having suffered any mishap or base runners.

The game had lasted just over 2 and a quarter hours in total, admittedly helped by there not being a bottom of the 9th.

So this finishes the losing streak at 11 in an extraordinary way: a 2-hit complete game shutout.

Fisherman's Wharf and Jack London Square

With no game today, I visited Fisherman's Wharf early in the day including for lunch.

I went on one of the historic streetcars to get there, which takes around 20-30 minutes depending on the traffic.  It can be quite packed, particularly during the daytime, but it's probably the second nicest way to get from Market Street to Fisherman's Wharf (the best way is on the cable car, but the queues for the cable car are also very long during the day, and you might have to wait half an hour or more; the least preferred way is on the 30 or 45 bus, although it's probably the quickest)

There are lots of windsurfers out on the bay and sailing boats too.  There's not been much fog whilst I've been here, so it's been possible to see across the bag to Sausilto and Tiburon to the North and to Oakland in the East.

The weather has been remarkably kind for me, not just now but over my entire holiday.  Even since I left Washington DC a week ago, it's barely stopped raining there and in Philalpdehia with lots of disruption to the games there.

After wandering about for the afternoon, I took BART over to Oakland to where I would normally travel if I was staying at the Marriott in Oakland.  I was able to get the free Broadway Shuttle down to Jack London Square, where I had dinner at Kincaid's.

I was able to wander around the harbour area for half an hour as I'd left plenty of time to get there.

There are lots of boats in the marina here.


Kincaid's is actually partially over the water which helps it have great views over the bay and the rivers leading inland from Oakland, and you often get spectacular sunsets over the marina here.  You see the boats coming back from a day out.

After the sun had gone down, the crescent moon came up, together with Venus and Jupiter.

By the time I'd finished, it was dark and I got back to my hotel around 10pm.

Atlanta Braves @ San Francisco Giants (game 2)

The final game of this series was a day game that started at 12.45pm.  There weren't all that many people there when the game began, perhaps because it was such an early start to allow Atlanta to get home, but given the way that the Giants' season is going, the place never filled up.

I moved seat so that I wasn't squashed up with other people on my row - the new seat I moved to was in a row of 16 seats, and only two people from that row turned up for the game, despite the whole section being otherwise "sold out".

San Francisco managed to load the bases multiple times during this game with fewer than 2 outs, but never managed to get a run home.

The Giants did get a run early on to lead 1-0, but Atlanta tied it up and then in the 9th inning, they got a stroke of luck as Flowers was called safe at 1st base and the call was so close, replay wouldn't overrule it. 

That loss makes 11 in a row, which is the longest losing streak in over 60 years - since the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958.

After the game, I had dinner at McCormick & Kulteo's up at Ghirardelli Square.  I receive an annual birthday gift of $25 credit towards dinner at the Landry's chain, of which M&K's is a member, so I always make sure I stop off at one during my holiday.  I did not realise that I also had a free dessert as part of another promotion, so my whole dinner for the night only came to $40 including the tip!