I went to Oakland for a business trip. It was my first time in the Bay Area, so I managed to squeeze in a half day in San Fransisco on the way in. I also had a chance to see a few friends on my last night there. It was a nice trip, but there is a lot more to see there. I hope Greg and I get a chance to go back there together sometime.
This is my hotel room for the first few nights. Not too bad!
The view from my balcony. You can see the dock that the ferry stops to take folks over to San Fran. And the gorgeous Oakland ship yard!
Here's the hotel pool with a view of the marina. It was quite lovely, but the weather was in the 40's so noone dared to actually get in the water.
The USS Potomac was docked right near my hotel. This is the presidential yact of FDR.
A plaque to explain the statue coming up in the next photo.
I thought the statue was beautiful.
I went for a more artistic shot of the statue. I thought the blue sky background highlighted it well. Upon seeing the picture, however, I know think I know why people were staring at me taking it. It looks like I was trying to get a shot up her skirt.
The sunrise in Jackson Park.
More of the sunrise. Everything looks gorgeous in the soft morning light. Even the shipyard.
One of my friends, Elaine. She doesn't take shots with her eyes open, so after a few attempts I gave up.
Peggy and I.
Our Indian feast!! We shared a couple of chicken curries, tandoori salmon, paratha stuffed with chickpeas, some dal, and salad.
The seals sunning in San Fran. We had just gotten off the ferry at Fisherman's Warf. The area was sort of Boardwalk-esque. Lots of touristy stuff.
Me with Alcatrez in the background. Can you believe its only a mile off shore? It looks so much closer.
Some famous hill I've forgotten the name of. I claim fatigue from the trip.
Love the sour dough alligator!! I wonder what my dogs would do if I brought that home...
More sour dough figurines.
Of course I had to take a cable car ride.
The driver basically has a "gas" pedal, and a reallllly big hand brake. It was scarey going down some of those hills and seeing how far back he had to pull on that thing.
Proof I was on a cable car!
The top of Lombard street. This street was so steep it reminded me of Chichen Itza's pyramid: take one step back and you can't see the bottom anymore.
Greg at the dinner table.
Greg at the dinner table.
Heather at the dinner table. 
The trees outside the restaurant are all covered in white lights year round. It's a gorgeous site.
Greg and I pose while the waiter took our picture. He was a very good sport.
Me outside the restaurant by this lovely fountain. Usually in January it's so cold they shut the water off, but our winter has been warm enough that it was still running.
