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June 22, 2008
Escaping From Alcatraz, Days 4 & 5 - Sightseeing
A few more trip notes:
- Monday morning was, in every sense, The Morning After. I didn't bother to set the alarm the night before (I'd felt, for some strange reason, that I'd earned my right to sleep in), and consequently I didn't open my eyes until 9 or so. And then I didn't bother to get out of bed for a good half hour or so after that.
- Everything aches. Everything. My neck is sore, my back is sore, my legs are sore, my hip flexers are sore. I have slightly-sunburned parts of my skin competing with my fatigued muscles to see which can get more of my attention. (This is not a competition I'm pleased to have going on in my body.)
- Eventually, clothes are procured (the shower is skipped) and the four of us head downstairs to the hotel diner for some truly good, greasy-spoon omelette and french toast. The coffee's OK, but the potatoes rock. Jeff and I keep shooting sheepish, happy, can't-believe-its-over grins at one another across the table. If the ladies weren't with us, the other patrons would think we were a couple.
- By strange coincidence, today is the first day of Apple's weeklong World Wide Developer's Conference, also taking place here in San Francisco, and a number of my MacBU colleagues are in town for the event. Steve Jobs is giving the keynote at 10 AM, and thus, as of about 10:05 AM, I become one of those truly annoying table guests who obsessivly checks their phone every few seconds for news and information.
- (My verdict? The new iPhone is excellent, but the big news is the $199 price, not the 3G technology. Apple is going to take the market with these things. Near as I can tell, there are just three types of mobile phones now - free phones, BlackBerries, and iPhones. Everyone else is going to have to scramble to prove themselves.)
- The girls want to shop, so we head back up to the room, get showered and changed, and are off to H&M.
- As the day progresses, the four of us decide to split up. Elaine and I head out to meet Kim for lunch and some sightseeing.
- If you have the opportunity, be sure to get the Kickin' Chicken sandwich at Blue Barn Gourmet. It's about 18 types of deliciousness between two pieces of bread. Unbelievable.
- I generally dig shamelessly touristy activities - if you come to Seattle, I'm all about going to the Space Needle or Riding the Ducks. In keeping with this spirit, we decide to walk the Golden Gate Bridge from the south end to the midspan and back. (Given that Kim is planning to deliver her first child next week, this makes me seriously doubt which of us is in better physical condition. I'm giving the nod to her.)
- The Golden Gate, on foot, is exactly what you'd expect: majestic and awesome (and that's 'awesome' in the "Old Testament" sense, and not in the "Bill S. Preson, Esquire and Ted 'Theodore' Logan" sense).
- The weather is windy, gusty and blustery and threatening to throw us around if it gets much worse. We've all got lightweight jackets, and we're using 'em.
- Alcatraz looks very, very, very far away from shore. My ego inflates a bit.
- I might be the only person on Earth to be surprised by this, but the Golden Gate Gift Shop has pretty crappy service. If you find a decent t-shirt, you'll have to fight to be able to buy it. Be warned.
- San Francisco has some pretty incredible transit. Kim, Elaine and I manage to ride the cable cars, BART, and street-level light rail. The systems all interoperate smoothly, and I'm struck by how much SF has in common with Seattle - confusing geography, lots of different transit users, and distinct types of transit modes (bus, monorail, light rail, streetcar). Spending the day in San Francisco's transit system gives a glimpse of what Seattle will be like around 2020 or so.
- Cable cars, in particular, are astoundingly fun to ride in sunny weather. And if you have a chance, check out the free cable car museum; the exhibits are seriously interesting for any transit geek (and you get to see the actual machinery that drives the cable system in the city!).
- The commuter rail train station at 4th & King is also way cool - light, airy, and smoothly interconnecting heavy rail, light rail and buses. Plenty of bike lockers. We saw a gadzillion geek commuters disgorge from a Caltrain from San Jose and then stream in to the city. The closest thing we have in Seattle is King Street Station, but that's a few years/decades from seeing this kind of use.
- Tuesday morning, we had breakfast at Louis', overlooking the Sutro Bathhouse ruins. Better coffee, fantastic potatoes, cash only.
- Jeff and Barb had planned to take an extra day or two to drive through Napa and on to Washington, so the four of us parted ways (with much hugging). After loading my bike in the back of the Highlander, Lane and I headed for the airport.
- The new international concourse at SFO is gorgeous. Modern, clean, full of light, and, at least when we got there, totally deserted. I started wondering if we'd missed some kind of Homeland Security update.
- Our flight back to Seattle was on Virgin America; this was our first time flying the carrier. My colleague Stuart had raved about VA's service from Los Angeles, so we had high expectations. We were not disappointed: the plane was clean (and even had that 'new plane smell'), and each seat is equipped with a touchscreen entertainment system and a small game controller/keyboard in the arm. Elaine and I immediately discovered the plane-wide instant message system, and started flirting with one another over IM.
- Best. Airplane. Orientation. Video. Ever.
- You order drinks through the touchscreeen, and pay with your credit card (the plane does not accept cash). After placing your order, the attendant materializes over your shoulder with your beverage ready to go. It's about as slick as can be.
- After arriving at SeaTac, we noticed that there's a kick-ass Link Light Rail photo gallery on display in Concourse A. We were both pretty tired after the long weekend, but Elaine was kind enough to let me stand and study this sucker for a good 5 minutes. If you're in the airport and have a few minutes to kill, look for it.
Damn, it's good to be home.
Posted by Gavin Shearer at June 22, 2008 10:43 AM. Posted to Fitness | Travel.
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Posted by: Chris Condit at June 23, 2008 10:50 AM
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