San Francisco Trip 2018

I said my goal was to recap my 2018 trips and my 2019 trip by the New Year. I have until midnight today to get both done. Lol.

My last trip of 2018 was to San Francisco with a group of friends to see a few baseball games. It was a blast! We all became friends because of our love of baseball (mainly Texas Rangers baseball). This was the second baseball trip for our group- most of us went to Washington D.C. in 2017 (see recap here).

We took early flights so we could catch an afternoon game in Oakland to see the Rangers and A's. Not all of us were on the same flight so we met up in California. My flight was on Alaska Air and thanks to a SUPER nice gate agent, I got bumped up to first class for free (pinkies out). 

All the leg room!

When we got to the Coliseum in Oakland, it was overcast and threatening to rain, but after the game started, the sun came out and it ended up being a beautiful day. I'm not gonna lie, the Coliseum is NOT the prettiest ballpark in the world, but it wasn't a bad experience. I know a lot of people complain about it, but we had fun. We were at an afternoon game in the middle of the week and there were a good number of dedicated and passionate A's fans there. 

Happy Rangers fans after a win in Oakland

On this trip, I was able to meet my Twitter friend Cori- she and I had been Twitter friends for like nine years. She's a Rangers fan living in California, and I'm so glad she could join us!

This game was broadcast on Facebook Live, and it turns out I made it on "TV" a few times. I really need to learn to just smile and not make weird faces when I'm at a game. The cameras always find me at the worst time. Lol.

By that evening we were exhausted after traveling and being out in the sun all afternoon, but we did make time to have dinner at Mel's Diner before heading off to our hotels/AirBnbs (we didn't all stay at the same place). I possibly talked the waitress into letting me keep the menu. My college roommate is named Mel and her kitchen has a Mel's Diner theme. :)

The next morning we were up early for a tour of AT&T Park (now called Oracle Park), home of the San Francisco Giants. I haven't toured all the ballparks I've visited, but I've toured a good portion of them. The tour in SF was awesome, I highly recommend it. The Giants have a lot of history and I loved learning about it.

We were told not to touch the grass. Of course I had to take a photo of me touching the grass. Lol.

After a trip to the gift shop, the group split- some of us went for lunch while others went shopping. I was part of the group that wanted to eat (act surprised). We went to this hole in the wall pizza place called Za Pizza in SF Russian Hill and it was AMAZING. Hands down the best pizza I've ever tasted. The slice of pizza might look ordinary in that photo, but it was fantastic. If you are ever in San Francisco, I highly recommend that you find a way to get to Za Pizza.  

The guy in the photo is Brooks Berstein, he's the owner.

After lunch, most everyone else wanted to go shopping, but I wanted to go sight-seeing, so my friend Moose and I took off walking to see the sights of San Francisco. We did A LOT of walking that day. We got a week's worth of steps in just in that afternoon. Poo Moose had to keep up with my fast walking (I have long legs, I can't help it). 

When we left Za Pizza, we discovered we were about a 7 minute walk from the famous Lombard Street, so we made our way over to it. Lombard Street is that curvy street they always show in movies  and TV shows about San Francisco. I honestly thought it would be a longer street, but it was maybe a block long. They have a sidewalk for pedestrians to walk down so you aren't in the middle of the road. It was pretty crowded, so obviously everyone else wanted to see it while they were in town as well. 

From Lombard Street, we made our way to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 to meet up with some of our group. If you are going to walk around San Francisco, just know there are a lot of hills. Your legs will get quite the workout! I loved Pier 39- there were musicians and lots of shops and places to eat (again with food, I know). :)

I swear I thought that bird was going to attack me.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...

While on Pier 39, we had to check out the sea lions. They actually have an interesting story about how they ended up there (click here for it because I'm too lazy to retype it). 

Richard Olsen was one of the musicians playing on Pie 39. He was an amazing clarinet player (much better than I ever was back in the day). :) I bought two of his CDs.

That evening we had tickets for a night tour of Alcatraz. I must say, I put Alcatraz as a "must see" while in San Francisco. And I HIGHLY recommend the night tour if it fits into your schedule. The tours book up fast, so it's best to buy you tickets in advance (that's what we did). We were there in August but it was quite chilly in the evening (hence the beanies and jackets). My Texas blood doesn't do well in the cold. Lol. The boat ride to Alcatraz was extra chilly (the wind coming off the water was so cold). As the saying goes, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." 

My friend Monica accidentally took this photo, and it's one of my favorites. It looks like the cover of a rap album. Lol.

Once you get to the island, there is a pretty good size hill you have to walk up to get to the actual prison. Tip: Wear good walking shoes when you go to San Francisco. They do have a tram that will take the elderly and people with walking challenges up to the prison though. During the walk to the top, a tour guide gives a brief history and points out places of interest along the way. Once you get inside, you are given a headset with a recording, and you can go through the building at your own pace. Some people in my group were done in just over an hour. I took my time and took almost two hours. 

The recording was made by people who were actually in prison there at one time or who worked there. The recordings are from the 1980s (I believe), so some of the people you are hearing have passed on. I will say, Alcatraz is super creepy at night, but it was fun. I learned a lot, and as a history nerd, I was all about it. I must admit, it was eerie standing in one of the isolation cells. The inmate talking on the recording said it would be so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. In order to pass the time, he would take a button off of his shirt, throw it in the air, and then spend time trying to find it. 

They heard how many Whataburger number tents I have at home. Lol.

My souvenirs 

We got back well after 10pm, which made for a long day, and day three was going to be super long as well. After grabbing food, my group got back to our AirBnB after midnight- and we had to be up early the next day for another day of fun. We obviously don't go on vacation to sleep. :)

On Day 3, a group of us drove around the city sight-seeing (giving my legs a much needed break). We took photos of the Golden Gate Bridge from every angle possible. One can never have too many photos by the Golden Gate Bridge. :) We walked about halfway across it and then drove over it. We later drove down Lombard Street (so I got to experience it walking and in a car). 

Day 3 posse

One of the things I wanted to do was to put my feet in the Pacific Ocean (not the San Francisco Bay, the actual ocean), so we drove over to Pacifica, CA, and found a lovely beach to spend some time at.

For those who don't know, the Pacific Ocean is VERY cold. I had a rude awakening when the first wave hit my legs. Lol.

After lunch at a cute little cafe in Pacifica, we headed back to San Fran for the Rangers/Giants game that night. Oh yeah, we were in California to see baseball, we almost forgot. Lol.

We had amazing seats for the game and again, the weather was not what we were used to in August, so we were bundled up. We noticed about the 8th inning a huge flock of seagulls starting circling the ballpark. I guess they were hoping to get some scraps of food. It was interesting and terrifying all at the same time. I've seen the Hitchcock movie The Birds, it doesn't end well. Lol.

I finally got to meet my Twitter friend Matthew. We both live in Dallas and go to Rangers games all the time, we just had never met up. We were able to meet up at this game though!

The gentleman in the center photo caught balls along the first baseline all night. He was adorable. 

Top left you can see the flock of seagulls. 

The next day was our last full day in SF. We went to the Giants day game (so we could experience a night game and a day game). Also it was a bobblehead giveaway and we are all bobblehead junkies. It was funny (not really) that that game the Giants were celebrating their win of the 2010 World Series...where they beat the Rangers. So yeah, that was fun reliving that. Lol. It was a bobblehead set, but you only got one. I ended up with the Buster Posey one, so I needed the Brian Wilson one to complete the set. The family in front of me had three Brian Wilson bobbleheads so I offered to buy one for $20. They were nice and agreed, so I had the complete set by the time I left.

The guy in the top right is Andres Torres. He played for the Giants when they won the World Series, but he also briefly played for the Rangers. Of course I got a photo. Lol.

Our seats for game two were higher up, and in the sun. I never travel without sunblock so I was sharing it with everyone around me. I was very popular. :) 

My first trip to California was so much fun. I can't wait to go back. I still have three ballparks there to see and two presidential libraries!

So, as 2019 comes to a close, I'm FINALLY done recapping my 2018 trips. WHEW!!!

As always, thanks for reading. I hope to get back to blogging in 2020. I kinda miss it. 

XOXO! 

New York City 2018

Now that 2019 is coming to an end, what a great time to finish my trip recaps from 2018. #facepalm

I really hope 2020 is the year I get back in my blogging groove. But for now, I will keep recapping my 2018 trips AND the big trip I took earlier this year. Luckily I didn't travel as much in 2019, so I won't have as much to update once I get to it.

I know in the past I've divided long trips into multiple post, but I'm going to keep my five days in New York City all in one post. So bear with me- you might want to grab a snack and beverage, because this is going to be a long post.

ANYWAY....after my amazing trip to Cooperstown in July 2018 (see recap here), I parted ways with my awesome travel buddies and headed out to have many adventures in NYC.

I stayed with my amazing friends John and Ryan. John and I go way back to our college days so we have been friends FOREVER. John was delayed on a business trip the first day I was there, so Ryan played tour guide my first evening in town. I visited NYC back in 2007, but of course, there was so much I didn't see my first trip, so I was excited to do some more sightseeing. 

I'm a history nerd (anyone who has read my blog or follows me on Twitter knows this), so Ryan took me to do some sightseeing around their neighborhood. Our first stop was in Harlem at the former home of Harry Houdini. It's not a well-known tourist spot- I think mainly locals know about it. But it was still cool to see. It's now a private residence, so we couldn't go in or up to the door. But of course, I posed by the gate (because I'm a nerd). 

We decided to walk the 37 miles to General Grant's National Memorial-aka Grant's Tomb. Okay it was really like 2 miles, but to my feet, it felt like 37 miles. Lol. The festival, A Great Day in Harlem, was going on that day, so we got to hear some good music while we were there. We stopped for a bit on the stairs to rest, so we got to enjoy it for a while. It was awesome.

Resting our feet after walking

A Great Day in Harlem. There was a fashion parade going on at this time

Paying my respects

We were starving after all our walking (and I hadn't eaten since earlier that morning), so we stopped at a place called Hop House Harlem. The pizza was amazing. This was NOT the last time I had pizza while I was in New York. Lol.

I knew I had a busy schedule the next day (Monday), so I went to bed early(ish), but not before making friends with Clyde. Bonnie was too shy to come out and meet me (although she made a quick appearance on my last night).

Just call me the cat whisperer

That Monday I took my first ever solo subway ride. I know this isn't a big deal to most people but it was to me. Thank goodness for the map on my phone so I didn't look like a tourist trying to figure out my stop. (NARRATOR: She still looked like a tourist). My good friend Eric (more about him in a moment), managed to get me a VIP ticket to Live with Kelly and Ryan. Kelly Ripa was on vacation that week, but it was still cool to be in the audience. Evidently I was on TV more than once (friends back home texted that they saw me). It was neat to see how a talk show was filmed and what went on during commercial breaks. Ryan Seacrest and his guest co-host Jenna Dewan mingled with audience members during the breaks. 

After the taping, I met up with Eric, who was going to be my tour guide for the day. Eric and I had been social media friends since 2014. We became friends when I mentioned his book, Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages on my blog. Shameless plug for Eric, check out my review of his book here. His book is available on Amazon (click here), in case you are looking for a Christmas gift for a baseball fan in your life. Anyway, he found my post and reached out that he hoped I liked his book. We became fast friends. When his son was born, I mailed a little gift to him and his wife. Eric is a Yankees fan so of course I had to send the baby Rangers stuff. :) I'm now his son's honorary aunt- it's amazing how social media can bring such important people into your life. For all the bad things on it, I focus on the good that it brings.

My amazing friend and tour guide, Eric!

SIDETRACKED. Sorry, back to NYC 2018. So, Eric had planned an entire Rachel Tour for the day. It started with behind-the-scenes at Eyewitness News 7 and Kelly and Ryan Live. I told him he needed to start his own tour guide business- it was fantastic. We did A LOT of walking, but it was all worth it. We went through Central Park (something that I had wanted to do my previous trip but didn't have time). There was an Alice in Wonderland statue, but it constantly had kids on it (of course), so I couldn't get a great photo with it. It was still fun though.

Friends in high places allows you to get this photo op

Maybe next time I'll get a photo with Alice

So we walked onto a set where they were filming an episode of God Friended Me. Because of that, I decided to try out the show (I like it!)

Eric knows that I love the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's (okay, everyone knows that), so we stopped at some locations used in the film, including Holly Golightly's apartment (well the outside scenes were filmed there). I did research online to make sure I was standing on the correct apartment steps. As we were leaving, a group showed up and it was obvious they wanted the same photo op. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's filming locations

A photo of me in 2007 having "breakfast" at Tiffany's during my first NYC trip

We met Eric's lovely wife Chrissie for lunch and we ended up going to Wahlburgers (the burger chain owned by Donnie and Mark Wahlberg). It was a fantastic burger! **Spoiler alert: I ate at another Wahlburgers location on my road trip this year. You'll eventually read about it. Lol.** 

The tour wasn't even close to be over. After lunch, Chrissie had to return back to work but Eric and I continued on. What's cool about having a local be your tour guide, is that you find interesting things most tourists wouldn't recognize. We went by the apartment used in the opening of The Jeffersons and we also went by a place where the Marx brothers once lived. There was no sign, so unless you knew to look for it, you would have just walked on by.

Moving on up...to the east side.

The Marx brothers once lived here

Our afternoon tour made stops at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center (I got to see where the ice skating rink is during the winter-during the summer it is a patio seating area), Radio City Music Hall, New York Public Library, and Grand Central Terminal. After a very long, but fun day, I had dinner at Eric's apartment with his family (where his toddler son and I became fast friends) and then took an Uber back to Harlem where I showered and immediately crashed. I had almost 30,000 steps and walked 13 miles that first day. We won't talk about the condition of my feet after that first day- it wasn't pretty.

St. Patrick's

Rockefeller Center

Yes, all of that was just the FIRST full day. I know, I squeeze a lot into my trips. I don't go on vacation to rest, I go on vacation to explore. Lol. So John wasn't able to meet me until lunchtime the next day, but that meant I was able to sleep in on Tuesday morning (I got some much needed rest). I read that the location of the first baseball game was in New Jersey, so I figured since I was RIGHT BY New Jersey, I should just "pop" over for a quick photo op, and I could cross New Jersey off my states to see list. Poor John. It took a lot of walking, several misguided subway rides, a water taxi ride, and an Uber to get to it. And he doesn't even like baseball. Lol. Yes, we went all the way to New Jersey just so I could get a photo. Don't judge. We did eat a late lunch/early dinner at a fantastic little diner while we were there though. And I got to keep the cool place mat (after a little begging to our server).

After that "much longer than expected" adventure, John was ready to call it a day, so Ryan was sweet enough to go to the Yankees game with me that night-that way I wasn't taking the subway alone. I was okay during the day, but alone in NYC at night is way out of my comfort zone (to be fair, being out alone at night ANYWHERE is out of my comfort zone these days). Ryan also isn't the biggest baseball fan (meaning not at all), but he was a trooper and sat through the whole game. And I think he even enjoyed it, but he probably wouldn't admit it. :)

I attended a game at OLD Yankee Stadium back in 2007. I thought the new stadium was cool, and the concourses were nice and wide- it just doesn't have the history that the old one had. BUT it was still a fun stadium to visit. The fans we sat by were all nice, we had no issues. I'm not a foodie, so when I go to baseball games, I stick to the baseball favorites- like hot dogs or nachos. Yes, I'm boring like that, sorry. Lol. I did like that on each level they had a map of what food was available on that level and where it was located. They also had where amenities like ATMs or restrooms were located as well.  That way you didn't have to walk around aimlessly. That's smart- I think all ballparks/stadiums need to have that available.

Outside old Yankee Stadium in 2007

On Wednesday, John took the day off work to hang out with me (I promised him no more trips to New Jersey). We decided last minute that I needed to see a Broadway show while I was in town. I saw one in 2007 when I visited and didn't think I could squeeze one in (I also didn't think I could afford a ticket). We went down to Broadway early to get rush tickets (which are last minute seats to performances, they cost $45 and are normally VERY good seats). John had seen The Play That Goes Wrong and said I would love it (we were both in theater in high school), so we went and got in line for rush tickets for it. There was only one person in front of us when we got there so we knew our chances of obtaining good seats were very good. We ended up with tickets on the second row- those normally cost $125 a piece.

Times Square 2007 vs 2018

NYC street art

Our next stop was at One World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial. I had decided to skip the 9/11 Museum this trip (I will definitely check it out next time I go). The line just to get tickets for the museum was a four hour wait (word of advice- get your tickets in advance online if you want to go). We didn't go up One World Trade Center, but I did pay my respects at the memorial. During my last visit to NY, that area was fenced off and still being called Ground Zero. 

Across the street is St. Paul's Chapel- which is the oldest public building in continuous use. In 1789 George Washington prayed at the chapel after his inauguration as the first president of the United States. The days and weeks following 9/11, the chapel was used by Ground Zero rescue workers and volunteers as a place to rest.

My history tour continued as we went to visit the birthplace of Teddy Roosevelt. For newcomers, I try and see anything related to a president (childhood home, presidential library, etc). It's so interesting to see this old house in between all these skyscrapers, but after all, it was there first. I highly recommend this tour if you are in New York and have time to go by. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and I learned a lot.

After a pizza lunch (told you I ate my share of New York pizza), we went back to the apartment to rest and get ready for the Broadway show. Now, I didn't pack like I was going to see a Broadway show, so I didn't have much to work with outfit wise. I did the best I could. Lol.

The Play That Goes Wrong was FANTASTIC. I highly recommend seeing it if you ever get a chance. This past summer I saw a traveling production of it here in Dallas and it was just as amazing. Hands down one of the best plays I've ever seen.

In true Rachel fashion, I waited at the stage door for autographs and photos

Thursday was my last FULL day in NYC (stay with me, you are almost to the end of this recap). One of my dear high school friends lives in New York and works at the Tenement Museum in lower east side Manhattan. Before I knew he worked there, it was actually on my list of places to visit, so it was perfect. I hadn't seen him in several years. I highly recommend visiting the Tenement Museum if you are ever in NYC. They have several different tours to choose from, sadly I only had time for one (and of course I picked the one my friend Kirk was giving). :) You can't take photos inside so I only have outside shots.

My cousin Richard also lives in New York (yes, it's good to visit cities where you know people), so I went from lower east Manhattan to Brooklyn to have lunch with him. It was a cute little place called Delaware and Hudson. The food was very good. I hadn't seen my cousin in a while, so it was good to catch up. I'm sad we didn't have more time together but I'm glad we were able to work in lunch while I was there.

After lunch I had just enough time to head back to the apartment to start packing. My flight was going to leave VERY early the next morning and I knew I was going to be out late with Eric at the Mets game and would be too tired to pack afterward. Once I was all packed, I hopped on the subway (I was becoming a pro at riding the subway at this point) and met Eric at his office and then we were off to Queens to Citi Field to see a Mets game. I was glad it worked out that both the Yankees and Mets were home while I was in town. I never made it to Shea Stadium, so this was my first time seeing the Mets. And they were playing the Braves (my favorite National League team). I was worried that a potential storm was going to delay or postpone the game. There were storms in the forecast every day of my trip and the most I saw were scattered showers, and none that lasted very long or were that strong. The clouds looked threatening at the beginning of the game, but the most we saw were very few sprinkles.

This was my 7th ballpark to see in 2018. I loved the dog, he was so sweet. And yes I tipped him. I'm not sure where his owner was at, I assume somewhere close, keeping an eye on him. The home run apple at the top is the one that was in Shea Stadium

Citi Field was great. I loved the layout, the concourse area, and the fans were super nice. So when you hear that New York has horrible fans, please know that some of their fans are very nice!

We had AMAZING seats (shout out to Eric for finding them). We were in the section where a server waits on you, so you don't have to get up during the game. **PINKIES OUT** Although I did go get my own ice cream because I wanted the Home Run Apple souvenir cup (and that was in a different area). I was afraid I was going to overpay for ice cream, but they were not shy in the amount of ice cream they gave you. Holy cow. It was worth every penny.

Our love of baseball is how we became friends, so it was so great to actually see a game with Eric!

After the game, we took the subway back to Eric's, and I got an Uber to go back to Harlem. My New York trip was coming to an end. My sweet friends knew I would be exhausted when I got back to their apartment, so they had my bed on the couch all ready for me. And they even had Netflix playing The Dick Van Dyke Show when I got in. Top notch service. They were amazing hosts, so thankful they let me take over their living room for five days. :) I got just over three hours of sleep before my alarm went off. I had scheduled a car to pick me up to take me to the airport (so I didn't have to risk finding an Uber at like 4am). It was an exhausting week, but was so much fun!!

So, okay, that was my week in New York (yes, last year). Again, sorry for the delay. If you stuck out until the end of this post, God bless you. That was a lot of information and photos. But I had so much fun so I didn't want to leave anything out. Traveling is one of my favorite things to do. I wish I could get paid to travel for a living. Lol.

One of these days I'll wrap up the last trip I took in 2018. And then my 2019 trip. And then you will be caught up. I hope everyone is doing well!!

XOXO!