FINALLY I have time to tell everyone what a FANtastic time we had in San Francisco! The weather could not have been more perfect and every event/experience was absolutely stellar!
Thursday afternoon: I would be remiss to not mention my flight. When I landed in Phoenix, I stood in line at a Burger King for lunch. As I approached the front of the line, I could see my server was a very large woman who had neither teeth nor a bra. And all I could think was "This is definitely NOT having it my way!!"
Our flights were delayed due to weather in San Francisco. I arrived a little earlier than Lori so I took a shuttle to our hotel "King George." It should be called "King Tut" because it was very . . . compact and cozy. Too small, if anyone asked me. So, it will not make the rotation again (until Lori and I both forget and decide to try it again!) We tucked our belongings away in our hotel room, folded ourselves back into the elevator and ventured out to dinner at Max's. It's one of our favorite spots. We ordered some great food but one of us ended up full from the bread/butter brought to our table and had it packaged up to go. We finally found a homeless person with enough teeth to chow down a chicken sandwich and did our good deed for the day. How do you know if a homeless person has teeth, you ask? Well, if you stretch out your hand with a dollar like you're gonna give it to them, they usually smile. When you see they have no teeth and take the dollar back, they usually chase you down with a hatchet. So anyway, after a few teethless ones, we found our guy, handed off the sandwich and made our way back to our tiny bungalow at the Larry King Hotel (just a little annoying.)
On Friday morning we started our day at Lori's Diner (of course!) Lori had the usual breakfast staples and I dined on a tray of biscuits and gravy. YUMMO! Lori never disappoints and it was great!
We stopped by our little ol' Asian lady souvenir shop and she seemed to have transformed herself. She was really nice and chatted. She had backup for the first time ever, which consisted of a young man and a young girl who looked like they were trying to learn the family business. We followed that with a trip to Nordstrom Mall where we shopped til we dropped and then sat down long enough for a Smashbox makeover by our new gal, Vanessa. We relaxed some back at our efficiency hut at King Tiny-Tim and then began our transformation to theater mongers. We had dinner again at Max's. I ordered the exact same meal as the previous night but this time ate it (along with a Lemon Drop.)
So we started walking down the sidewalk to the Curran Theater to see Jersey Boys. It's an awesome show about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. As we passed the Geary Theater next door, I saw a familiar looking face standing out front directing foot traffic to the correct theaters. He was a dapper looking guy with a beautiful long black dress coat and a santa hat. I couldn't help myself (and oh, I wish I had) and said "Hey, I know you!!" He was probably a little confused as he'd never set his eyes on me before. Lori was racking her brain thinking maybe he got us a cab one year or something. "Aren't you Ebenezer Scrooge??" (Several years ago, a lovely actor played this role and since then has played the Ghost of Christmas Past) He said "You have me confused with Stephen Anthony Jones." (I have since looked up the real actor's picture and now realize they look absolutely nothing alike.) I tucked my tail between my legs and walked into the theater next door for Jersey Boys, but thanks to the Lemon Drop, could not stop laughing. I laughed, giggled, hee-hee-ed, and tittered til my sides ached and I was sure I had cracked ribs. Lori said in nearly 30 years of friendship, she has never heard me laugh like that. She has definitely seen me make a fool of myself SO many countless times, so it wasn't that. Anyway, I decided I've become a lightweight when I drink so I should drink lots more so I can handle my liquor better. (Wha-a-a-a?? It all made so much sense til I wrote it down.)
Saturday morning we got up and going much earlier. Lori's Diner consisted of a much longer wait to be seated, but what they lack for efficiency, they make up for in taste! We shopped lots. We got ready for The Christmas Carol, and Lori's aunt came to town to meet us and go to the play with us. I tried to find a good disguise so Mr-DOESN'T-look-like-Stephen-Anthony-Jones wouldn't recognize the idiot blonde. I failed, so I just ducked down in the crowd entering and exiting the theater. I'm sure he didn't see me. That guy DID look kind of like Bernie Mac, OK, so maybe I just had my celebrity faces mixed up.
The three of us dined at Morton's Steakhouse, which was divine! The Christmas Carol was terrific! The music is wonderful and the stage is so energetic. We had great seats and no one did anything embarrassing. The night doesn't get any better than that! Eventually we ended our evening at The Cheesecake Factory. It was scrump-diddly-umptious as always. Then back to the King Ralph Hotel (just a little amusing.)
Sunday morning we checked out of our suite at the Stephen King Hotel (just a tiny bit scary!) and then we were supposed to find Lori's kinda-ex-brother-in-law in Sausalito. Lori's cousin's family picked us up and we drove around all over and never did find him. Anyway, we had an absolutely WONDERFUL visit with the Pod-boy and Pod-girl. Their family has become my own and I adore them! We visited the Stanford University campus, Palo Alto area, Menlo Park - it was really interesting! I saw the headquarters for FaceBook, which was kind of exciting when the only headquarters I have at home is Focus On The Family. Hmm.
I'm a very lucky gal. I have great people in my life and fun I don't even deserve to be having! The worst part of our trip every year is saying goodbye and this year was no exception. I will get to see my bestest friend ever in a few weeks again, which is like winning the friend lottery.
San Fransisco (and 82) rules!!
The best part of Christmas this year was watching little ones rip their gifts open (ok, maybe some o' us big ones did too).) We all ransacked my mom's house and she seems to have loved it anyway.
