Go West! Day 13 Angel's Camp to San Francisco, via Oakland

CrispyA · 12 Sep 14, 07:17 PM

Woke up early and filled our boots at breakfast again! We wanted to get on the road as soon as we could, as we had tickets to see the Oakland A's and the game started at 1.00 pm.

Ever since the holiday had been booked we had wanted to try to catch a baseball game. We looked at the schedules for everywhere we were staying and none of their teams were playing at home when we were there. We had given up when I did a search for West Coast teams and realised that I'd missed the A's completely and they were, in fact, at home when we were in the area. Hurrah!

We had been watching lots of baseball since being in the US, so we were super excited to get to go to a game. We watched Moneyball in preparation before we left the UK and the A's were in great form.

We said goodbye to the Travelodge (can thoroughly recommend) and headed off, listening to the Country Music Top 40 on the radio.

It was a nice drive through farmland on our way to Oakland, with a brief pitstop at Target and a branch of Dicks Sporting Goods where we perused the A's gear and decided to wait until we got to the Coliseum. We arrive in plenty of time, gritted our teeth at the parking fee and pulled into the parking lot. When we got out of the car, we realised we were surrounded by tailgate parties and were fascinated by how many people had big barbecues, tables and chairs, games etc and how they were really making an occasion of going to the ballgame.

We had never seen anything like this at English sporting events - it's a sausage roll on the way into football ground if you're lucky - and we hadn't realised what an institution it is. We tried our best to join in, munching on leftover pizza, chips and salsa, but it did feel slightly inadequate compared to nearby feasts! I think you also really need a truck to do this properly - Paul reckons a Chevy Silverado would be his ride of choice!

After eating, we went to the Coliseum, giddy as anything about it. We hadn't thought it would be that warm after the Bay area forecast, but it was actually really hot, especially in the stadium.

We all wanted to buy hats and luckily for us, there were some bargain caps in the store. We did think the merchandise was pricey and maybe we should have got it at Dicks, but we were all pretty pleased with our $15 hats.

It was so exciting to be in the ballpark and we enjoyed all the pre-game warm up stuff. It was emergency services day, so there were cops on motorbikes all around the pitch and it was quite moving watching them saluting at the National anthem.

We really enjoyed the game, even though we had clearly cursed the A's who lost! They had been playing really well until we arrived to watch them and I apologise to all A's fans for us making them lose their mojo. We were fascinated by the continual rounds of the snack sellers but the fresh iced lemonade was very much appreciated. We still do impressions of the guy yelling "Peeeeetttt-zaaahhhhhhh" as it took us forever to work out what he was actually saying!

After the game, we had a very frustrating journey over the Bay Bridge as the traffic was backed up everywhere. Once in San Francisco, the satnav led us straight to the Cow Hollow Motor Inn on Lombard Street. We had stayed on Lombard Street on our honeymoon and found it a great location, in walking distance of the Marina and Fisherman's Wharf area. SF had proved very expensive when we were looking for hotels and this was the most pricey of all our stay, but at least it included parking which many don't.

I had found a Chinese restaurant called Capital on Tripadviser before we left, one of the few places we identified before the trip, and armed with a splendid map from the front desk, we set off on foot to find Chinatown, via the bendy bit of Lombard Street.

It was a decent walk but we had been sitting down most of the day, so nobody minded too much. SF is hilly, but so is Sheffield, so we are well trained in trekking up hills!

We got to the top of Lombard Street and walked down the zigzag bit, before heading to Chinatown.

Capital was really good - plenty of veggie choice, good sized portions and we had a plate of their famous salt and pepper chicken wings that we ended up taking back with us as we couldn't eat them all. Will Smith has eaten there, according to the picture on the wall.

Chinatown looks better in the daytime with all the shops open, so we headed to Fisherman's Wharf after. We were quite taken aback to see a group on a Segway tour gliding along the road which we did find pretty funny. Paul had never heard of such a thing and we teased him that we were booked on one the next day . . . I think he would have enjoyed it if we had booked one - he would just never have admitted that to anyone!

We walked back to the hotel via the park at the Marina, remembering how we had done that on honeymoon all those years ago. It was warm enough for shorts and just a light cardigan which was better than we had expected for SF.

We were tired when we got back to the hotel, and very full from the Chinese food, so we all slept very well that night.

Highs: Going to the ballgame, lovely food, remembering how nice San Francisco is.

Lows: Slight grump from the driver that we needed to stop for a comfort break on the way to the game - but then he needed it too!

parisdisneyfan · 13 Sep 14, 03:39 PM

Great day, the Bay Bridge was horrendous for us too, maybe all Saturdays are like that. It started just after we had debated whether or not to go round the top to our hotel in Sausalito and we made the wrong choice!

abiknox · 13 Sep 14, 11:32 PM

Aww im so jealous you got to see a ball game, we have had no luck fitting one in either

Must admit, im not looking forward to the hills in San Fran, we normally walk everywhere when we are in a new city but im thinking the Muni pass might be a good idea this time!

CrispyA · 14 Sep 14, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by parisdisneyfan

Great day, the Bay Bridge was horrendous for us too, maybe all Saturdays are like that. It started just after we had debated whether or not to go round the top to our hotel in Sausalito and we made the wrong choice!

I wondered if it was always like that - would drive me insane if that was my commute! Maybe it is just weekends?

CrispyA · 14 Sep 14, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by abiknox

Aww im so jealous you got to see a ball game, we have had no luck fitting one in either

Must admit, im not looking forward to the hills in San Fran, we normally walk everywhere when we are in a new city but im thinking the Muni pass might be a good idea this time!

The hills weren't too bad - we have handrails on some in Sheffield! The Muni pass would be good though - we thought the public transport system was really good.

12 Sep 14, 07:17 PM	#1
	12 Sep 14, 07:17 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	Go West! Day 13 Angel's Camp to San Francisco, via Oakland Woke up early and filled our boots at breakfast again! We wanted to get on the road as soon as we could, as we had tickets to see the Oakland A's and the game started at 1.00 pm. Ever since the holiday had been booked we had wanted to try to catch a baseball game. We looked at the schedules for everywhere we were staying and none of their teams were playing at home when we were there. We had given up when I did a search for West Coast teams and realised that I'd missed the A's completely and they were, in fact, at home when we were in the area. Hurrah! We had been watching lots of baseball since being in the US, so we were super excited to get to go to a game. We watched Moneyball in preparation before we left the UK and the A's were in great form. We said goodbye to the Travelodge (can thoroughly recommend) and headed off, listening to the Country Music Top 40 on the radio. It was a nice drive through farmland on our way to Oakland, with a brief pitstop at Target and a branch of Dicks Sporting Goods where we perused the A's gear and decided to wait until we got to the Coliseum. We arrive in plenty of time, gritted our teeth at the parking fee and pulled into the parking lot. When we got out of the car, we realised we were surrounded by tailgate parties and were fascinated by how many people had big barbecues, tables and chairs, games etc and how they were really making an occasion of going to the ballgame. We had never seen anything like this at English sporting events - it's a sausage roll on the way into football ground if you're lucky - and we hadn't realised what an institution it is. We tried our best to join in, munching on leftover pizza, chips and salsa, but it did feel slightly inadequate compared to nearby feasts! I think you also really need a truck to do this properly - Paul reckons a Chevy Silverado would be his ride of choice! After eating, we went to the Coliseum, giddy as anything about it. We hadn't thought it would be that warm after the Bay area forecast, but it was actually really hot, especially in the stadium. We all wanted to buy hats and luckily for us, there were some bargain caps in the store. We did think the merchandise was pricey and maybe we should have got it at Dicks, but we were all pretty pleased with our $15 hats. It was so exciting to be in the ballpark and we enjoyed all the pre-game warm up stuff. It was emergency services day, so there were cops on motorbikes all around the pitch and it was quite moving watching them saluting at the National anthem. We really enjoyed the game, even though we had clearly cursed the A's who lost! They had been playing really well until we arrived to watch them and I apologise to all A's fans for us making them lose their mojo. We were fascinated by the continual rounds of the snack sellers but the fresh iced lemonade was very much appreciated. We still do impressions of the guy yelling "Peeeeetttt-zaaahhhhhhh" as it took us forever to work out what he was actually saying! After the game, we had a very frustrating journey over the Bay Bridge as the traffic was backed up everywhere. Once in San Francisco, the satnav led us straight to the Cow Hollow Motor Inn on Lombard Street. We had stayed on Lombard Street on our honeymoon and found it a great location, in walking distance of the Marina and Fisherman's Wharf area. SF had proved very expensive when we were looking for hotels and this was the most pricey of all our stay, but at least it included parking which many don't. I had found a Chinese restaurant called Capital on Tripadviser before we left, one of the few places we identified before the trip, and armed with a splendid map from the front desk, we set off on foot to find Chinatown, via the bendy bit of Lombard Street. It was a decent walk but we had been sitting down most of the day, so nobody minded too much. SF is hilly, but so is Sheffield, so we are well trained in trekking up hills! We got to the top of Lombard Street and walked down the zigzag bit, before heading to Chinatown. Capital was really good - plenty of veggie choice, good sized portions and we had a plate of their famous salt and pepper chicken wings that we ended up taking back with us as we couldn't eat them all. Will Smith has eaten there, according to the picture on the wall. Chinatown looks better in the daytime with all the shops open, so we headed to Fisherman's Wharf after. We were quite taken aback to see a group on a Segway tour gliding along the road which we did find pretty funny. Paul had never heard of such a thing and we teased him that we were booked on one the next day . . . I think he would have enjoyed it if we had booked one - he would just never have admitted that to anyone! We walked back to the hotel via the park at the Marina, remembering how we had done that on honeymoon all those years ago. It was warm enough for shorts and just a light cardigan which was better than we had expected for SF. We were tired when we got back to the hotel, and very full from the Chinese food, so we all slept very well that night. Highs: Going to the ballgame, lovely food, remembering how nice San Francisco is. Lows: Slight grump from the driver that we needed to stop for a comfort break on the way to the game - but then he needed it too! __________________ West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022

13 Sep 14, 03:39 PM	#2
	13 Sep 14, 03:39 PM parisdisneyfan Imagineer
parisdisneyfan Imagineer Join Date: Feb 08	Great day, the Bay Bridge was horrendous for us too, maybe all Saturdays are like that. It started just after we had debated whether or not to go round the top to our hotel in Sausalito and we made the wrong choice! __________________