Moving to San Fran...

[Epitome]

I just got orders to Travis AFB. Any insight on the area would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[RyCo1983]

I just got orders to Travis AFB. Any insight on the area would be appreciated.

Thanks

Don't drop the soap...
I jest, I jest...

My cousin Dan lives out there with his resort entertainment manager boyfriend...they love it. I only see Dan at funerals.

I'm not familiar with the area but I had to make my one joke...sorry

Good luck with the move man! What do you do for the USAF?


I''m sure someone here has some insight into the area.

 

[IrishLax]

My two of my best friends from high school just moved out that way. I've been out to visit once... really fun town actually. Just way too damn expensive. Fisherman's wharf with all of the sea lions is just hilarious. They are such goofy creatures.

I'll ask them what's fun to do, but considering one is an accountant (and went to USC) and the other is an investment banker I don't know what kinda of social life they've got.

 

[johnnykillz]

San Fran is a remarkable area. It's hardly the cliche' you would expect. Nice people, fun venues, and pretty decent weather for the most part. Beautiful women are there too.

Coit Tower is a neat sight seeing ordeal, coupled with a stroll down Lombard Street to the Embarcadero (to the Fisherman's Wharf) and a tour out to Alcatraz would make a day out of one sight seeing tour.

Then you'll need to do the Golden Gate. The city is rich in history; I hear they got a good baseball team, too.

Farewell brother, I hope the West Coast blesses you.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

San Fran is a remarkable area. It's hardly the cliche' you would expect. Nice people, fun venues, and pretty decent weather for the most part. Beautiful women are there too.

Coit Tower is a neat sight seeing ordeal, coupled with a stroll down Lombard Street to the Embarcadero (to the Fisherman's Wharf) and a tour out to Alcatraz would make a day out of one sight seeing tour.

Then you'll need to do the Golden Gate. The city is rich in history; I hear they got a good baseball team, too.

Farewell brother, I hope the West Coast blesses you.

Totally agree with Johnny - also Alcatraz is an impressive tour. Golden Gate park is a great time. Chinatown is an experience - like no other Chinatown I have ever been to in any other city.

Restaurants are amazing. Traffic sucks. Good public transportation.

Don't give one damn cent to any homeless people there. If you do, you will be bombarded from every direction. The are like pigeons on some bread crumbs and they can be very abrasive about it too. I am all for giving some spare change to people down on their luck, but the only place I don't do it is in San Francisco.

Also, don't call it "San Fran" or "Frisco". They hate that for some reason. Never figured it out, but they will get up in your ***t if you do!

Fun fact: More alcohol is consumed in San Francisco per capita than anywhere in the US. And, trust me, its true. They know how to party there!

There are some great areas outside the city. You can over to the East Bay and there are some gorgeous suburbs, but you are still close enough to take public transportation (BART) in to the city. Walnut Creek is great. San Ramon and Benicia have some nice areas too.

Sorry for the long post. To sum it up: Don't give to the homeless, don't call it "Frisco", and be prepared to drink.

I'm out!

 

[johnnykillz]

Ahhh yes. Chinatown. There's a famous chinese restaurant with a picture of George W. Bush (Or was it senior?) eating there. That's the place to eat. I can't recall the name of the place. Best cat in town served there...

Update: This may help: San Francisco Restaurant Guide: Chinatown

 

[IrishLax]

Also, best advice I can give is watch out for the bush man. He got my friend pretty good.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

Take warm clothing. Even in the summer. The San Fran/Bay area is in my opinion the best area in Cali to visit. You also have Oakland (be careful there) and San Jose in the area. Non stop awful traffic. Expensive.

Last time I was there, the seals were gone. Don't know where they went...

 

[Lou Holtz]

Not from San Fran but thanks for your service

 

[bert2834]

Yeah, they have no idea why the seals left. Not sure if they are there now.

They actually just started going there after the 1989 quake, they have no idea why they picked that area but they had to close that dock down for them.

Fisherman's Wharf is nice to go to but it get's old quick.

And the Bush Man got me real good as well. The wife and I were walking around early in the morning on a Sunday and he scares the crap outta me.

Alcatraz is cool to see(go late at night, lasts longer and is a little creepier) and going across the Golden Gate bridge into ( I can't remember the name but you can't miss it.) , it's a real nice little town with some good wine places(if you like wine).

Hope this helps.

 

[Veer option]

Not from San Fran but thanks for your service

Very much.


I have visited San Fran many times its a cool town. Unfortunately, I have never lived there so I cannot give you the local perspective. Remember to be sure to wear flowers in your hair because you will meet some gentle people there.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

A Mysterious San Francisco Seal Exodus: Where Did They Go? | StokeReport

549
Rant - A Mysterious San Francisco Seal Exodus: Where Did They Go?

What's happened to the sea lions at Pier 39? The tourist-attracting seals, an institution on the docks for more than 20 years, have virtually vanished. As darkness fell Monday night, members of Sausalito's Marine Mammal Center counted only four seals.

"The day after Thanksgiving they began to leave," said Jeff Boehm, executive director of the center.

The stubborn "seal-lebrities" have resisted efforts to move them since they began arriving just after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. This fall, record numbers were stacked two and three deep on the docks.




Here's another article, but no answers:

Famous San Francisco Sea Lions Abandon Their Pier 39 Post | Wired Science | Wired.com

 

[Veer option]

Seals got turned into Cioppino for tourists.

 

[IrishLax]

The seals were there this past May when I was in San Fran

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

Great city...bring some cash- lots of it.

 

[Epitome]

Wow thanks for all the replies! Its really remarkable how much this site has grown over the last few years. Someone asked what I do. I'm a metrologist. In other words, I calibrate test equipment often using complex mathematical equations. Its not the sexiest job in the Air Force however, I get to work in a laboratory where it maintains a constant 73 degrees. Plus, I get to work with the most advanced stuff in the world.

 

[BGIF]

"If you're going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair ..."


Great city to experience an earthquake.

 

[military_irish]

Wow thanks for all the replies! Its really remarkable how much this site has grown over the last few years. Someone asked what I do. I'm a metrologist. In other words, I calibrate test equipment often using complex mathematical equations. Its not the sexiest job in the Air Force however, I get to work in a laboratory where it maintains a constant 73 degrees. Plus, I get to work with the most advanced stuff in the world.

So that is where we sent all of our equipment when they needed to be calibrated. Thanks it got us out of work, especially on Fridays, in particular.


P.S. I had a friend out in Travis, and they said it was very nice. They tried to get me to get out there, but no luck.

 

[chyrspchuck]

Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

I know Neutered said to bring warm clothes, I lived out there for 3 years and it gets downright cold in the evening with the ocean breeze. I will PM you with a little more info.

 

[BGIF]

Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."
...

Summers are chilly but it wasn't a Twain quote.

snopes.com: Mark Twain on Coldest Winter

On a business trip to S.F. I stayed the weekend and toured the area north of the Golden Gate. The redwoods at Muir Woods are awesome. Went from there to Stinson Beach. There were loads of people in bathing attire lounging in the sun but no one in the water. I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up the pantlegs and stock a foot in the water. I quickly withdrew fearing frostbite. The sun bathers were all giggling. Another tourist sucked in by California Dreamin'.

 

[chyrspchuck]

i'll be damned. i can't believe that. i'll never quote that again, thanks bgif

 

[BGIF]

i'll be damned. i can't believe that. i'll never quote that again, thanks bgif

I started to use that quote the other night but though it was W.C. Fields (who loved Philadelphia so dearly) but wasn't sure. After seeing your post I looked it up. Oh fer two.

Regardless of the source, San Francisco is a place that could use global warming.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I've visited San Francisco a half dozen times and loved it every one. Expensive though. I'll second BGIF on Muir Woods---even if you're not into nature [I am, though] the redwoods will wow you silent. Not a bad place at all to commune with the Creator, so if you visit give yourself a little "slow time" there. If you can afford the "town", you'll love it.

 

[dshans]

Way back in late May of 1980 I made my first trip to SF from Minneapolis. I drove there with a friend in my '76 Honda Civic. Directions were simple: drive south to Des Moines, turn right and then drive until you see the Pacific.

Our last stop before California was a three day gambling debacle in Reno. We hit the road when it was 82º and were in shorts, tee-shirts and sandals. We got to SF at sunset, stepped out of the car and damn near froze our nuts off walking across the street to get a bite to eat!

Like BGIF I had the foolish notion that I would take a dip in the Pacific. (Hell, I live in Minnesota and am used to cold water.) I also backed off quickly after stepping into the water.

Marin County and Muir Woods are fantastic, as both BGIF and OMM mentioned. There are great museums, wonderful restaurants and a pretty good annual blues festival at the Presidio with a stunning view of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop.

But wait, there's more! You'll be within spitting distance of Palo Alto and the ND-Stanford game every other year ...

 

[johnnykillz]

Haight and Ashbury dshans? I guess that was about ten years prior to your trip upon briefly researching the subject... No free lovin' for you buddy. You had to take her to dinnner instead.

 

[dshans]

Haight and Ashbury dshans? ... No free lovin' for you buddy. You had to take her to dinnner instead.

I'm not sure that I made it to Haight – Ashbury. I may have, but don't have enough functioning brain cells to recall. I do remember a wonderful museum, Muir Woods, a lovely deaf couple I met at a nearby dive who were as hooked on pinball as I, catching Stan Getz performing in a small club ( YouTube - Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz: THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA - 1964 ) and "hooking up with" a woman I'd worked with and "known" in Orlando who had moved there a year earlier. She took ME to dinner and the "free lovin'" was a sweet, sweet dessert.

My driving cohort was a guy I worked with. In the course of the trip he got three speeding tickets to my one.

Take THAT, you skeptical, cynical cad, you!

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

Id like to negative rep everyone who forgot to post this video too this point, but I am too nice to so..

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/g_HhwinPw-M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[BGIF]

... Like BGIF I had the foolish notion that I would take a dip in the Pacific. (Hell, I live in Minnesota and am used to cold water.) I also backed off quickly after stepping into the water. ...

Some years later on subsequent business trips I was prudent enough to dip a finger into Lake Michigan (Boyne/Harbor City) and Lake Superior (Duluth).


Back to the Bay Area, after Stinson Beach I stopped for dinner at the Pelican Bay Inn. (And johnny, yes, she bought dinner and the room at the PBI, sans baggage, after dinner rather than returning to the city. I left more than my heart in S.F.)

 

[BGIF]

Id like to negative rep everyone who forgot to post this video too this point, but I am too nice to so..

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/g_HhwinPw-M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Then hit me with some positive reps as I posted the key words way back in post #17

http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/461963-post17.html

 

[WabashFalcon]

Hippies. Damn hippies.