Day 5: The Reason We Are Here!

Today was the big day- the Nebraska vs. UCLA game at the Foster Farms Bowl.  This is what prompted our trip.  Kirk wanted to go to the bowl game and got a ticket, so off we went!  Cathy is not interested in football enough at all so she opted out and spent the day doing other things.

We started the day together and ate lunch at a chain called the San Francisco Soup Company.  It was okay.

Kirk looking forward to the game.

Kirk took a bus, then a train, then a tram over 2.5 hours to get to the game in Santa Clara. It was a nice relaxing way to get there. Kirk then hooked up with members of a Husker message board where Chipotle was provided gratis.

Yummy Chipotle bowl. Thanks HuskerMax!

Then it was on to the game. The stands weren't full, but there was probably equal numbers of UCLA fans and Husker fans, so that was a good showing for Big Red compared to the locals (LA being 5 hours away). The game was a good one as the Huskers were behind, then got a good lead, then had to fend off a UCLA come back to hold on for a 37-29 win. Kirk had a great time.

Kirk poses in front of Levi Stadium.

UCLA marching band

Nebraska marching band (the N stands for knowledge).

Victory is ours!

Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, Cathy was attempting to go to the GLBT History Museum. According to the website, it was open, so she hopped on a bus to the Castro District.

The F line to Castro was a pretty quick trip, and the museum is only a short walk from the stop.  The website did not mention that they were closed for the holiday on the 26th, so she did not get to go in.  It looked like an interesting museum, so she is adding it to her "next time" list.

All Cathy got to see. 

Since she did not get to go in the museum, she spent her time walking around the Castro District. There were lots of really cute shops and resale stores.  Many were closed for the holiday, but there was enough to keep Cathy busy for the afternoon.

She also dropped by Harvey Milk's camera shop and home, which is now a Human Rights Campaign Action Center and  store.

We're so close, yet so far.

Rainbow Crosswalks

In the evening, Cathy took a Holiday Lights bus tour that she bought on Groupon.  (Pro Tip: Check out Groupon in cities you plan to visit.  We've gotten half price museum tickets and such using this tactic. Also, our trip to Peru was a Groupon deal!) 

The Holiday Lights was a bit of a misnomer, as there were not really many holiday lights.  However, it was a decent tour of San Francisco, and they took us across to Treasure Island to view the night view of downtown.  It was really beautiful!  Cathy did not take any pictures, as her cell phone camera is not great at night photography, but she did enjoy it. 

Pre-tour optimism.  The bus was decorated for Christmas! 

It was a double decker bus tour, with the top exposed.  Wear lots of layers if you do the top, as it gets COLD!  She was very grateful for her down jacket and hat, and wished she'd thought to bring gloves.  The woman beside her just had a sweater and froze the whole time.  

Artist's depiction of the cold, mid-tour.

The tour lasted two hours.  We stopped halfway through for a break.

Gas station hot chocolate has never tasted so good.

Another excellent day!

Day 4: A Low Key Christmas

We had such a quiet, restful Christmas.  We were not sure what was going to be open, so we had not made any real plans, which turned out to be really nice.

The Starbucks by our hotel was open, so we had our breakfast there.  Pro Tip: Mobile ordering is where it's at, if your bux has it! :)

We ate there next to a man who appeared to be editing a screenplay. He asked if we minded watching his stuff for a few minutes so he could step away.  He said we should finish it if he did not come back. When he returned, Kirk told him that the writing was good, but that he should lose the first chapter.  The guy laughed and said that losing the first chapter is always a good note!

The man's things.

The trolley cars were running today, so we hopped on one to Chinatown.  There are actually several Chinatowns in San Francisco, so we went to the oldest one.

The trolley we rode as it pulled up.

After poking through the shops and checking out the scene, we had a Japanese lunch. Yeah. That's how we roll.


We decided to stop by the room to take a quick rest before we did our next thing, and Cathy ended up sleeping for two hours.  Apparently a relaxing vacation is exhausting.

By the time we got up and about, it was pretty much time for dinner.  We checked Open Table to see what might be open on Christmas, and we choose seafood at the Blue Mermaid.

We were *really* glad we made reservations.  Fisherman's Wharf was a *madhouse* tonight.  

Everybody and their dog (literally- the people beside us had a dog in a soft sided carrier) was there. They had run out of many things, and Kirk got the last trout. Cathy had the cioppino, which she recommends, even though it did involve the indignity of a bib.  Delish!

We rode the cable car back, the stopped in at the hotel where the Huskers are staying.  As it would happen, they are staying only a few blocks away from where we are staying. We stopped at the bar to see if we could catch a glimpse of any of the players, which we (think) we did.  We did see a lot of other Nebraska fans, so Kirk will have plenty of company at the game.

We never actually got a waiter to pay attention to us long enough to get a drink, so we left and stopped by our hotel's bar.  Cathy got a glass of Brut and Kirk got an espresso.  A man stopped to say that he wish he had a camera, as the contrast of champagne and espresso would be a great shot for an art gallery.

Apparently art. 

We headed back to the room for some bad TV and an early bedtime.  Merry Christmas everyone!