- San Francisco
** Saturday 6/14 **
The drive up began at like 8am. I kept falling asleep in the car, but i do remember some highlights. For example, the traffic through Norwalk and Commerce (two LA suburbs) was horrible. I-5 shortens into just 3 lanes, and the traffic is murder for anyone who wants to try to drive through. My sister and i kept pointing out ugly things we saw, such as Commerce Motel, which looked like a front for a drug cartel. A few hours later i popped in The Recruit into the DVD player and sat back. Very good movie, no wonder everyone likes Colin Farrell or however you spell his name.
Along the drive up we stopped by Casa de Fruta in Hollister, CA. If you never been to it, imagine Casa de Fruta as one of the best quality fruit stands in california. Taken from the fresh fruit farms in Hollister, you have an exquisite collection of everything fruit. Fresh white peaches. Sundried pineapple slices. The best spaghetti sauces and wines of central california. Jams, jellies, anything fruit related can be found at this fruit store. I think it's a tourist attraction also.
Anyway we finally got to San Jose and rolled up into my uncle and auntie's house in the 408. Yes, the same place we went to for the wedding over spring break. After eating fish and some great loompya, i slept for 15 hours and woke up the next morning. However during that time, my cousin Laurie came over and wanted to take my sister and i out to some comedy clubs in San Francisco, but my mom was like "oh they're sleeping". OMG HOW MEAN IS THAT!!!! i soooooooo wanted to go!!! You don't just "assume" people are going to sleep, you wake them UP and ASK them. i was so mad when I found out they came by.
** Sunday **
After greeting everyone a happy Father's day, we got into our uncle's BMW (the six of us apparently fit, 3 in front 3 in back), and the aggressive driving uncle of mine sped down to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. It's a 2 hour drive south, an hour drive west, and and an hour drive north. THat's just how the roads go up there in central CA. so yes, it was the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVE EVER because i was in the center and i was in the sardine can for 4 hours. I sooo wanted to just cry out in pain of boredom and uncomfortableness, but then i'd just look like a whiner. anyway i was just angry the entire time that i just bit my tongue at how sucky the drive was and i was relieved when we finally got there i lept out the car and sat down in the registration area already.
You can't just park up at the castle, you have to take a bus up to the former residence of magazine guru William Randolph Hearst. Anyway getting up there, oh yeah it was worth it i guess because that is one of the nicest houses i have ever seen. It's huge and it's like an episode of MTV cribs. i'm a modern guy who likes stuff cool and neat like Ikea, so that's not my style to see the old European antique furniture. However it was still a beautiful house. What scared me the most is that they say they "attach" the ceilings after buying them at auctions and shipping them from Spain. But what if like the pieces of wood you "glued" onto the ceiling fall off? and then they crush you and you die? I kept thinking about it and was like OMG i'd be afraid to sleep.
They call it a castle for a reason. They got an outdoor tennis court, and an indoor swimming pool, and THE nicest outdoor swimming pool I have ever seen in my life. I wanted to jump in and try it out, but it was all deep so I was scared :-(
So after that we went on back up north to San Pablo, CA to visit my dad's cousins (i think they're my aunties then, i'm not sure). After being fed very well, and watching a video from the Philippines of my other auntie's new house blessing, we drove back home to San Jose and went over our Hearst Castle souvenirs. I got a cool keychain, and we got some cool video.
** Monday **
First we had to stop at Eastridge Mall because the tires on the car needed to be rotated, and then we passed the waiting time inside the mall. So of course, I visit the kiosk where I got my clear sunglasses, looking for more but instead I find the colors light brown and orange, so I pick them up. I then go get some pants at Anchor Blue, then it was off to the 650....
We drove to my uncle edwin's place in south SAN FRAN CIS COOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!!!! You gotta have some love for the 650 area code. Anyway after eating some really good chicken katsu and good hawaiian macaroni salad, we got our BART tickets (bay area rapid transit for all my fellow Socalers) and emerged in the heart of San Francisco, just outside Union Square. From the second we emerged out of the "subway", i saw the skyscrapers, and the street performers, and the cable car rolling by. I swear, I was in heaven. THIS is what i came to see, i came to see what everyone loves about San Francisco. The livelihood, the action, the hustle and bustle, how there are hundreds of people everywhere talking, chilling, just hanging out. I mean come on, San Diego's Gaslmap Quarter is nothing compared to the shops restaurants and hotels. There was a huge Gap, a huge Eddie Bauer, a huge JC Penny, the beautiful Union Square that i mentioned where I imagined myself sitting and studying on the grass while people were walking around and shopping and such.
We walked through all these other stores and then took the BART back to Pac Bell Park. My friend Raul was right, it ended up being the nicest ballpark I have ever seen. After taking pictures outside, my Dad and i went to the back and I looked upon McCovey Cove, the infamous splash zone where all of Barry Bond's homers land. We then walked up the stairs on the side gate and looked at the inside of the park and took hella pictures.
It was time to go to Fisherman's Wharf especially the very cool Pier 39 because it reminds me of those Boardwalks you always hear about on the East coast. There's tons of stores on Pier 39, and of course our family went nuts shopping over there. The magician guy there is pretty good, and then of course the sugar donuts are great. My sister and my dad had a great time in the Alcatraz gift shop, and now all of us have some sort of Alcatraz clothing. I have this Alcatraz Psychiactric Ward Outpatient tshirt, it's probably going to be one of my favorite shirts haha. Outside of the Pier you can see the seals that go "ooorf ooorf ooorf ooorf" constantly as they sunbathe. Then we walked down more stores on the wharf, buying yet more tshirts. The street performers were pretty good too. There was a guy painted in silver who was doing like a mime interpreation of hip hop songs. It's hard to explain u just gotta see it.
We then took the Muni (the bus system) back over to central san francisco and got back on the Bart back home. We watched that show For Love or Money, haha.
** Tuesday **
The Golden Gate Bridge was a great site to behold. The thing is, you're really up close to it right, what's the deal with those telescope things that you put a quarter in? I looked in one and was like "uh ok i see the bridge up close, i can see the rust now ahha". While everyone went shopping in the gift store for more souvenirs, my dad and i ran down to the bridge and I walked all the way to the first suspension before I looked down and got reeeeally scared. The railing is like so low that if someone knocks you over you go falling all the way to the ocean! I then looked up to the top of the bridge suspension and it was soooo high i got even more scared. So then i just kept looking straight ahead and briskly walked back to the start of the bridge, haha.
Next was the Palace of Fine Arts, which was this park area with lots of ducks and turtles in the pond. I played with the ducks in the pond while my dad went looking around the Palace area. My uncle pointed out that the huge house that sits by the pond belongs to actress Sharon Stone, so we were all like "whoaaaaa oooooooh!". My sister and I kept looking through the windows to see if anyone was inside, and we kept taking pictures in front of the house.
Off we went to Lombard St, and looked at the block known as the crooked street. My uncle didn't want to drive down it because i think he or someone he knew got stuck in the middle of the street and it was all embarassing or something. So we parked at the top then walked down and took hella pictures, then came back up. Oh man, that's a HIKE to go back up the stairs haha.
CHINATOWN! San Francisco reportedly has one of the best Chinatowns in the United States. And yes, it does rock. We didn't go to the original chinatown though, we went to the new expansion of Chinatown. See, there's the original one, and then it expanded, so we were looking at the newer parts (if you're familiar with the area, we were at 3rd & Clement Ave). I love the stores, it's like a very nice swap meet. Everything is all cheap, I found a place selling sunglasses for $4 each. I went to the Hello Kitty store to get something for alice too. My uncle got us dim sum (but i call them shomai and dumplings) and pork buns (which we call siopao). My dad kept looking through all the gold antique stores.
However there was a time when like everyone went into different stores, so then I go to one store, and come back out, and all of a sudden everyone is like lost. My uncle is nowhere to be seen and my dad can't find my mom and sister, so i figure out where everyone is and everyone is fine. I'm like sheesh, I turn my back for one second, and everyone is running around lost and afraid.
We then got back into the car and drove through the old Chinatown where there is like no parking. We looked at all the shops on the side as we drove by, and they seemed even nicer than the ones in the new areas of Chinatown. There are open spots on the curb but then like there's this homeless guy standing in it, and he'll give the spot up to you for $5. My uncle was like yeah that's a quick way to earn money, but we just kept on looking at the sites then headed over to..
Japantown! oh my my, this is a really nicely developed area of San Francisco. The mall is small but really nice inside. The giant Peace Plaza monument marks this area of fine sushi dining and lots of japanese stores, such as kimonos, antiques, anime, and even car parts (i liked the store Auto Freaks). My dad and my sister went shopping in one of the stores there.
Before heading back home, we went to Sierramonte shopping mall. I went to the video game stores and Anchor Blue, but there wasn't anything else that I had already cleaned out, haha.
** Wednesday **
It was off to home. MAD TRAFFIC in Santa Monica, and when we came back to San Diego after 9 hours, we went to Carlsbad Shopping Centers to buy some more stuff. I bought a blue long sleeve shirt from Adidas, adding to my long sleeze shirt collection. Currently I have black white yellow dark blue, and now i have regular blue. I'm looking for red and green and orange to finish it all off.
And yes, that was the amazing bay area trip. Originally i wanted to go there with my friends on a really fun road trip, but instead it was a family vacation. I guess it worked out well because it was a great Father's day gift because we saw all of my dad's relatives.
Oh you know i'm going back next summer... and this time i'm road trippping it muahahaha.
** Saturday 6/14 **
The drive up began at like 8am. I kept falling asleep in the car, but i do remember some highlights. For example, the traffic through Norwalk and Commerce (two LA suburbs) was horrible. I-5 shortens into just 3 lanes, and the traffic is murder for anyone who wants to try to drive through. My sister and i kept pointing out ugly things we saw, such as Commerce Motel, which looked like a front for a drug cartel. A few hours later i popped in The Recruit into the DVD player and sat back. Very good movie, no wonder everyone likes Colin Farrell or however you spell his name.
Along the drive up we stopped by Casa de Fruta in Hollister, CA. If you never been to it, imagine Casa de Fruta as one of the best quality fruit stands in california. Taken from the fresh fruit farms in Hollister, you have an exquisite collection of everything fruit. Fresh white peaches. Sundried pineapple slices. The best spaghetti sauces and wines of central california. Jams, jellies, anything fruit related can be found at this fruit store. I think it's a tourist attraction also.
Anyway we finally got to San Jose and rolled up into my uncle and auntie's house in the 408. Yes, the same place we went to for the wedding over spring break. After eating fish and some great loompya, i slept for 15 hours and woke up the next morning. However during that time, my cousin Laurie came over and wanted to take my sister and i out to some comedy clubs in San Francisco, but my mom was like "oh they're sleeping". OMG HOW MEAN IS THAT!!!! i soooooooo wanted to go!!! You don't just "assume" people are going to sleep, you wake them UP and ASK them. i was so mad when I found out they came by.
** Sunday **
After greeting everyone a happy Father's day, we got into our uncle's BMW (the six of us apparently fit, 3 in front 3 in back), and the aggressive driving uncle of mine sped down to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. It's a 2 hour drive south, an hour drive west, and and an hour drive north. THat's just how the roads go up there in central CA. so yes, it was the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVE EVER because i was in the center and i was in the sardine can for 4 hours. I sooo wanted to just cry out in pain of boredom and uncomfortableness, but then i'd just look like a whiner. anyway i was just angry the entire time that i just bit my tongue at how sucky the drive was and i was relieved when we finally got there i lept out the car and sat down in the registration area already.
You can't just park up at the castle, you have to take a bus up to the former residence of magazine guru William Randolph Hearst. Anyway getting up there, oh yeah it was worth it i guess because that is one of the nicest houses i have ever seen. It's huge and it's like an episode of MTV cribs. i'm a modern guy who likes stuff cool and neat like Ikea, so that's not my style to see the old European antique furniture. However it was still a beautiful house. What scared me the most is that they say they "attach" the ceilings after buying them at auctions and shipping them from Spain. But what if like the pieces of wood you "glued" onto the ceiling fall off? and then they crush you and you die? I kept thinking about it and was like OMG i'd be afraid to sleep.
They call it a castle for a reason. They got an outdoor tennis court, and an indoor swimming pool, and THE nicest outdoor swimming pool I have ever seen in my life. I wanted to jump in and try it out, but it was all deep so I was scared :-(
So after that we went on back up north to San Pablo, CA to visit my dad's cousins (i think they're my aunties then, i'm not sure). After being fed very well, and watching a video from the Philippines of my other auntie's new house blessing, we drove back home to San Jose and went over our Hearst Castle souvenirs. I got a cool keychain, and we got some cool video.
** Monday **
First we had to stop at Eastridge Mall because the tires on the car needed to be rotated, and then we passed the waiting time inside the mall. So of course, I visit the kiosk where I got my clear sunglasses, looking for more but instead I find the colors light brown and orange, so I pick them up. I then go get some pants at Anchor Blue, then it was off to the 650....
We drove to my uncle edwin's place in south SAN FRAN CIS COOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!!!! You gotta have some love for the 650 area code. Anyway after eating some really good chicken katsu and good hawaiian macaroni salad, we got our BART tickets (bay area rapid transit for all my fellow Socalers) and emerged in the heart of San Francisco, just outside Union Square. From the second we emerged out of the "subway", i saw the skyscrapers, and the street performers, and the cable car rolling by. I swear, I was in heaven. THIS is what i came to see, i came to see what everyone loves about San Francisco. The livelihood, the action, the hustle and bustle, how there are hundreds of people everywhere talking, chilling, just hanging out. I mean come on, San Diego's Gaslmap Quarter is nothing compared to the shops restaurants and hotels. There was a huge Gap, a huge Eddie Bauer, a huge JC Penny, the beautiful Union Square that i mentioned where I imagined myself sitting and studying on the grass while people were walking around and shopping and such.
We walked through all these other stores and then took the BART back to Pac Bell Park. My friend Raul was right, it ended up being the nicest ballpark I have ever seen. After taking pictures outside, my Dad and i went to the back and I looked upon McCovey Cove, the infamous splash zone where all of Barry Bond's homers land. We then walked up the stairs on the side gate and looked at the inside of the park and took hella pictures.
It was time to go to Fisherman's Wharf especially the very cool Pier 39 because it reminds me of those Boardwalks you always hear about on the East coast. There's tons of stores on Pier 39, and of course our family went nuts shopping over there. The magician guy there is pretty good, and then of course the sugar donuts are great. My sister and my dad had a great time in the Alcatraz gift shop, and now all of us have some sort of Alcatraz clothing. I have this Alcatraz Psychiactric Ward Outpatient tshirt, it's probably going to be one of my favorite shirts haha. Outside of the Pier you can see the seals that go "ooorf ooorf ooorf ooorf" constantly as they sunbathe. Then we walked down more stores on the wharf, buying yet more tshirts. The street performers were pretty good too. There was a guy painted in silver who was doing like a mime interpreation of hip hop songs. It's hard to explain u just gotta see it.
We then took the Muni (the bus system) back over to central san francisco and got back on the Bart back home. We watched that show For Love or Money, haha.
** Tuesday **
The Golden Gate Bridge was a great site to behold. The thing is, you're really up close to it right, what's the deal with those telescope things that you put a quarter in? I looked in one and was like "uh ok i see the bridge up close, i can see the rust now ahha". While everyone went shopping in the gift store for more souvenirs, my dad and i ran down to the bridge and I walked all the way to the first suspension before I looked down and got reeeeally scared. The railing is like so low that if someone knocks you over you go falling all the way to the ocean! I then looked up to the top of the bridge suspension and it was soooo high i got even more scared. So then i just kept looking straight ahead and briskly walked back to the start of the bridge, haha.
Next was the Palace of Fine Arts, which was this park area with lots of ducks and turtles in the pond. I played with the ducks in the pond while my dad went looking around the Palace area. My uncle pointed out that the huge house that sits by the pond belongs to actress Sharon Stone, so we were all like "whoaaaaa oooooooh!". My sister and I kept looking through the windows to see if anyone was inside, and we kept taking pictures in front of the house.
Off we went to Lombard St, and looked at the block known as the crooked street. My uncle didn't want to drive down it because i think he or someone he knew got stuck in the middle of the street and it was all embarassing or something. So we parked at the top then walked down and took hella pictures, then came back up. Oh man, that's a HIKE to go back up the stairs haha.
CHINATOWN! San Francisco reportedly has one of the best Chinatowns in the United States. And yes, it does rock. We didn't go to the original chinatown though, we went to the new expansion of Chinatown. See, there's the original one, and then it expanded, so we were looking at the newer parts (if you're familiar with the area, we were at 3rd & Clement Ave). I love the stores, it's like a very nice swap meet. Everything is all cheap, I found a place selling sunglasses for $4 each. I went to the Hello Kitty store to get something for alice too. My uncle got us dim sum (but i call them shomai and dumplings) and pork buns (which we call siopao). My dad kept looking through all the gold antique stores.
However there was a time when like everyone went into different stores, so then I go to one store, and come back out, and all of a sudden everyone is like lost. My uncle is nowhere to be seen and my dad can't find my mom and sister, so i figure out where everyone is and everyone is fine. I'm like sheesh, I turn my back for one second, and everyone is running around lost and afraid.
We then got back into the car and drove through the old Chinatown where there is like no parking. We looked at all the shops on the side as we drove by, and they seemed even nicer than the ones in the new areas of Chinatown. There are open spots on the curb but then like there's this homeless guy standing in it, and he'll give the spot up to you for $5. My uncle was like yeah that's a quick way to earn money, but we just kept on looking at the sites then headed over to..
Japantown! oh my my, this is a really nicely developed area of San Francisco. The mall is small but really nice inside. The giant Peace Plaza monument marks this area of fine sushi dining and lots of japanese stores, such as kimonos, antiques, anime, and even car parts (i liked the store Auto Freaks). My dad and my sister went shopping in one of the stores there.
Before heading back home, we went to Sierramonte shopping mall. I went to the video game stores and Anchor Blue, but there wasn't anything else that I had already cleaned out, haha.
** Wednesday **
It was off to home. MAD TRAFFIC in Santa Monica, and when we came back to San Diego after 9 hours, we went to Carlsbad Shopping Centers to buy some more stuff. I bought a blue long sleeve shirt from Adidas, adding to my long sleeze shirt collection. Currently I have black white yellow dark blue, and now i have regular blue. I'm looking for red and green and orange to finish it all off.
And yes, that was the amazing bay area trip. Originally i wanted to go there with my friends on a really fun road trip, but instead it was a family vacation. I guess it worked out well because it was a great Father's day gift because we saw all of my dad's relatives.
Oh you know i'm going back next summer... and this time i'm road trippping it muahahaha.
<< Home