Just recently, a few friends and myself ran into a ridiculous deal that we couldn't pass up.
Allegiant Airlines and Telluride / Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce was running a deal where you buy a ticket through the Chamber and they will buy your second ticket. It was pretty hard to pass up especially when the ticket is only $100 to begin with. The deal was only valid from Montrose, Colorado (mid point from Crested Butte to Telluride) to Phoenix, AZ or Oakland, CA. Both Crested Butte Mountain Resort and Telluride Mountain Resort are trying to find different ways of increasing guests to there "destination resorts." Allegiant decided they would attempt to help these two struggling resort locations. We however took this deal to visit San Francisco, get away from the mountains, take a few days off of skiing, and be tourists!
I had never been to San Francisco but it's been on the bucket list, and with the skiing getting rough here in Colorado there is not much of a better time to go. Sure, we knew the weather was not going to be super warm but we lucked out with upper 50's and mostly clears sky's the whole trip.
We started off the trip just right, delayed almost by two hours. all we could do is sit and wait at Montrose Regional Airport.
After Landing in Oakland, taking the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transportatain) across the bay, we finally made it to San Francisco... Vacation here we go. Here are the friends I would be enjoying the next four days with Erin, Mike, and Lindsay.
Here is the Hostel we stayed in over the four day trip.
Hostel International is off of Mason and O'Farrelle Streets. It was a perfect location, although it would have been nice to be closer to the Wharf as that was my favorite area.
That night we met some friends of Mike's that were from Santa Cruse. We met them at
Sutters Pub to grab a beer and a bite to eat. Later we went back to Mike's friends hotel room and then went to The
White Horse pub, where we played some shuffle board.
The next morning we work up and started the tour. This city is so vibrant with color and unique structures.
On our way to the Wharf we stopped into the cable car museum. With the Cable Car being such a staple of the City Of San Francisco, it was good to learn a bit of the history.
No kidding around, lots of hills in San Francisco.
The infamous Lombard Street was busy with folks taking pictures and cars driving the winedy road.
Made it to the Wharf, such a cool spot. I bought a crab to eat, it was almost 2 pounds and it was not cheap!
I enjoy looking at boats. Here is one of the docks at the Wharf. We hung out here for a bit then went west to the Marina District, where we would watch the Superbowl at a bar off of Chestnut Street. It was fun to be in the city and watch with all the 49er fans. However, it was not a very fun ending but at least the town didn't go crazy. The only weird thing I saw was when we were walking back to our hostel some dude threw a towel at a driving car and looked very upset.
Walking home from the Marina District was fun, lots of unique homes that must be worth a lot of money.
The following day, Monday, Mike and I slept in while the girls went shopping. We ended up meeting them down by Market Street to get on the Powell-Mason cable car route.
our plan for today was to rent some bikes and bike down to the Golden Gate Bridge, ride across it to Sausalito and take the ferry back to San Francisco.
One of the few hills we had to climb had a great view of boats, ports, and the bridge.
The Path was so close to the water making every view spectacular.
Lindsay admiring the palm trees.
It was hard not to stare at the enormous structure that is the Golden Gate Bridge.
Biking over the bridge was loud, but truly amazing. Lots and lots of pictures were taken.
A cool panorama, complements of the Iphone.
Once we arrived in Sausalito we looked for some food, we found a great Mexican joint, with delicious fish tacos called Sausalito Taco Shack.
We walked around a bit then caught this hog back to San Francisco. The views of the San Francisco Skyline, Alcatraz, Golden Gate, and surrounding areas at sunset were well worth the ferry ticket.
Mr. Seal Hanging out.
Alcatraz was the one sight we did not check out, apparently you need to sign up long in advance.
The team figuring out how to get back to Blazing Saddles. we dropped off our bikes and met up with Erin's friend at the Wharf Inn where she was staying.
We drank some wine and decided to walk towards North Beach, and eventually to
Cafe De Lucci for some good Italian food.
The Next morning we made our way to Haight street for breakfast at the Pork Store Cafe and to check out the famous street.
Had to make it to the Grateful Dead house. The gentleman that lives there came out and stared us down.
We walked around Golden Gate park for a little trying to avoid all the bums. We decided to leave and head to the coast.
The open sea, it was a welcoming sight.
The ocean never ceases to amaze me, the shear size alone is incredible. That night we went back to our hostel, drank some beers and headed to the
Chiefton Irish pub for our last meal in San Francisco. It was a packed week of food, fun, and entertainment. Its hard to leave the small ski town of Crested Butte, but if you can its truly a treat. I loved the experiences I had with my friends and can't wait for the next adventure. San Fransisco... I'll be back.
Resurrection trees were pretty good on Thursday after 10 new inches fell. You can see the snow cracking at the bottom of the photo. My skis are under there somewhere.
