San Francisco :: The Trip

It’s Midnight on Sunday, and I’m finally sitting down to write this all out. No pictures on here – check my Facebook for an album with 50+ pictures of the trip. This may get lengthy, wordy, etc. and I don’t really care much. Enjoy!

Sunday – The Flight

We left Dulles on Sunday, the 8th, at 9ish in the morning. Arrived at SFO around 3 local time, I think. Mom had been in touch with some of her friends from way back when – they all lived in the same apartment complex – and we stayed with Marilyn and Al, who are married.

Marilyn picked us up from the airport and we went to their place, about a ten minute drive. She and Al had contacted even more of Mom’s old friends and brought them together for a mini-reunion of sorts. It was pretty neat.

Later on Sunday, their son Keith took Dad and I downtown on a whirlwind driving tour of the city, with a stop at Ghiradelli for some ice cream. We drove through the red light district and I was waved at by a lovely redheaded “lady of the night” as I rode by in the backseat of Keith’s sexy white Chevy Lumina.

Monday – All over California

At least, it seemed like we covered the entire state. First up: put Grandma to rest with her late husband Paul, at the Presidio. Very nice little service of sorts, and it was nice to have the closure. From there, we drove around Presidio – Mom used to work there – and stopped to take some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We stopped at the “typical” GGB rest stop for some pictures as well. Drove across the bridge and into Sausolito for lunch and some shopping. Great food – which ended up being a theme on this trip! Post-Sausolito, we took a series of overly-curvy roads (would have been perfect for the Miata, not so much in the Explorer that we were in) to Muir Woods to see the tall redwood trees. Apparently there are some that are still taller. Interesting.

Stopped at a beach and then kept on truckin’ to Mom’s (and Marilyn/Al’s) old apartment building. The manager was pretty cool and let us in to see what’s changed and what’s remained the same. We attempted to figure out where all three of them lived back in oh, 1975.

Back into the city now, we drove to Lombard Street and drove down. That’s the way curvy street that’s famous. Duh. Went to dinner at Little Joe’s – which was some awesome Italian food – and ate way too much.

End of Day 1.

Tuesday – Behind Bars

We got up on Tuesday and drove to the city. Parked across from Pier 39, and took the boat to Alcatraz. We did the guided audio tour (where you put on an MP3 player and walk around). The tour was pretty interesting. Not something I would have done on my own, but it was cool to go. After returning from the island, we had a late lunch and shopped around for a while before walking down to Fisherman’s Wharf.

The popular spot at Fisherman’s Wharf that we visited was the Buena Vista café – for some very good Irish coffees, both legit and virgin. They were pretty good, though the legit ones were heavy on the whiskey IMO. Dinner on Tuesday was at Benihana’s, the chain Japanese steakhouse. I hadn’t been to one since Hawaii, senior year of high school, so it was nice to go, even though the food doesn’t always sit well with me.

Wednesday – The Mothership

Thanks to John Woody and Mrs. Manning, I was fortunate to meet with three different Apple employees on Wednesday. I met Christopher first, at a coffee shop near headquarters. He’s a recent Virginia Tech grad and was great to chat with. He gave me some pointers for getting an internship/job, which will definitely not go unheeded.

I left Christopher to meet Andrew and Ann at their office. Ann was unable to join us for lunch, but Andrew took us to the main campus (the well-known 1 Infinite Loop) to eat at Caffé Macs. We chatted (more) about my best chances for moving from Apple Retail to Apple Corporate. I think it’s a good thing that I’m already “in” with the company in some way – if nothing else, it can make things easier. I still have a while before a job is a concern, but it’s nice to be ahead of the curve a bit.

Christopher took us to the Company Store, which is the only legitimate Apple store that sells Apple-branded “gear” like clothing, water bottles, bags, etc. I walked out with a track jacket, a second jacket for Andy (at work), two t-shirts, two more shirts for Ben and Steve, another for Hannah, and stuff for Mom + Dad. Hey, it’s a rare chance to get out there!

After the store, we went back inside so I could get my “official” badge printed. Took my picture, waited a few minutes, and I now have a badge that will let me in to various doors in Cupertino. Plus, it just looks cool. I can wear it at work and look official now, hah.

The Apple part of this trip was certainly beneficial, and I owe Woody and Mrs. Manning both HUGE thank-yous for getting me in touch with these great people. Hopefully I’ll be reunited with them in the next year or two. Keeping my fingers crossed now…

Thursday – AKA the rest of my break.

We flew back to Dulles on Thursday. That consumed most of my day. I went over to Alexa’s around 8, hung out for a while, and was home by 11. I went to work on Friday for eight hours – and it was GREAT to see everybody and be back in the swing of things. It felt so natural to be back there. Also worked Saturday for nine hours, whee! I got home around 10 on Saturday night, watched some TV, and packed. Drove home Sunday around noon, and now… here I am!

It was certainly a whirlwind break, but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. I did, saw, and learned SO much, and I can only hope to be moving out there within the next two to three years. It’s only more incentive to work harder here at school.