We had a lie-in this morning - until 9am - and our only fixed plan for the day was a ball game in the afternoon. We'd seen a cable car museum on the map and as the cable cars weren't running this weekend - they were closed for maintenance - we thought this would enable Paul to at least see the cable cars. Big mistake.
It's a little "hilly" in San Francisco. You may have seen the steep streets in Bullitt or the Streets of San Francisco TV show. Well, we climbed (ascended?) to the top of the hill outside our hotel to get to Grace Cathedral. Then, to get to the museum we had to go back DOWN a block and, after a bit of a struggle, we found it. Guess what? This too was closed for the weekend - cos they were doing Cable Car maintenance. Terrific. They couldn't have mentioned it on their website?
The work being done on the cable car system obviously had an impact on the museum too, although we did spot one cable car being used for driver training. So, we turned around and headed back up the hill. Being a smart bear, I kept quiet while Di dragged herself up the steep incline. On the way back up the hill, we took a moment to admire the view of the Bay. (Not to mention giving Di CPR.) At the top, I spotted this fire alarm - it didn't say but maybe after the fires that followed the 1906 earthquake, they put them in. You look it up if you want to know - I can't do everything! I thought about pulling the switch but thought better of it. It's hard to give you an idea of how steep these streets are - but I think this photo gives you an idea - the building and I are vertical (a few minutes later the cars rolled down the hill).
Okay, so the cars didn't roll down the hill. So, what goes up must come down. We passed Grace Cathedral again and spotted some nice fire escapes on several of the buildings. We had to go down these steps (we'd gone up them on the way there, imagine that!) so now do you see what we had to go through for you? And do you appreciate it? Didn't think so. Moving on...
Just before we arrived back at the hotel, it started to rain. Uh-oh. We had a big baseball game to go to. We didn't want rain, but we headed down there anyway - we were wearing layers as Jose said it could be cold. Fortunately, the rain soon stopped and despite some grey clouds it didn't rain all afternoon. We found AT&T Park pretty easily (what with having a map and signposts and everything - no flies on us!) We checked out the Dugout Store outside the stadium (I'd read prices were cheaper than inside) and then we headed inside through the Willie Mays gate. Success! Those Stub Hub tickets I bought were genuine.
I'd had another, more important tip off. I'd heard there was a Build-A-Bear store right there inside the stadium. A guy in the Dugout Store reckoned it was by the Coke Slide whatever that was, we just had to find it. We ditched Dave, as he seemed to want to see the start of the game, and went in search of shopping. No thanks to the stadium staff (no clue) and some vague signage for the Coke Family Area we finally found it. I spent a few dollars and then we made a quick dash up the ramp to our seats. Just about made it in time for the kick off, or whatever they call it. Throw off? Toss up? First pitch, maybe? So, what do you think? Am I looking sharp or what? Yes, I remembered the glove and ball I picked up in Hollywood.
I'd googled it beforehand so knew some of the rules, but our seats were great so I could see everything. The scoreboards helped with strikes and balls and things, and I was soon in the swing of it (excuse the pun).
The views from our seats were pretty good. We also took the time to partake of a little baseball food. Hot dogs and the signature food of the Giants Stadium, garlic fries. They're very good. Oh, and that over there is the Coke slide I was telling you about. By the Build-A-Bear store.
It was a low-scoring game, just 2-1 to the Giants. Fortunately, the game only lasted 2 hours so not too long to get bored - I've heard they can go on for hours. The guy pitching on the left is Brian 'The Beard' Wilson, in case you were wondering. I know this...cos of the beard. He closed the game, apparently. Anyway, I didn't make it onto the big screen, but I did enjoy the game anyway. They must have missed that I was there.
Getting out of the park was pretty busy - the exit ramps were packed with folks, but there was no rush. We grabbed a couple more photos, then headed back to the hotel. We made it in time for a whole hour of their Social Hour. I reckon our group dented their drinks profits that weekend!
At 6.15pm we got on the bus for our evening meal and tour. This was pretty disappointing. For $60 we got a three-course meal at the Franciscan, a crab house down on the waterfront (no, Marlon Brando was not there) at Fishermans Wharf. The starter was a pretty basic salad, then ribs, crab, salmon or, in Di's case, pasta with vegetables (not the advertised veggie lasagne). Apparently it didn't taste that great [veggies never do - Di]. This was followed by frozen custard ice cream. Dinner was supposed to include a glass of wine, but they were a bit stingy with it - putting just one bottle of red and one white on each table of ten, which didn't distribute well (too many red drinkers on one table, too many white drinkers on another). We were left to ourselves to sort it out. This was followed with coffee. Even with the rest of the tour taken into account (and a $10 Ghiradelli voucher) this rated pretty low - they must deal with groups all the time, but they had no clue.
We then headed on to Ghirardelli Square, named after the chocolate makers. We were each given a $10 gift card (I say we, apparently bears are excluded from this, just cos I didn't pay for dinner and the tour), but with the $20 Di and Paul had, she managed to spent $19.95. I thought that was pretty good shopping. That said, she wouldn't let me eat the bag of chocs she bought so I lost interest. Hmph! Then it was back on the bus to the bi-level Bay Bridge (the one that collapsed in the relatively recent earthquake) so we could get a shot of the bridge and the skyline (didn't come out so well, I'm afraid).
Overall, this evening tour was pretty poor value for $60 (or $50 if you include the not-so 'freebie' gift card.) It's not an option I'd bother to do again. Then we headed back to the hotel for the night. Free wi-fi in this hotel, well, provided you sign up to their email list, which, obviously, we did.
