Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
San Francisco expense report
Old 07-17-2004, 11:44 AM   #1
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 526
San Francisco expense report

In addition to being an extraordinary food writer, TH sends a terrific, customized tourist recommendation for San Francisco/Bay Area travelers. His price is quite reasonable.

The views from the Marin Headlands are spectacular; I also recommend traveling to the top of Twin Peaks and to the (Livermore?) Science Building at UC Berkeley for other incredible views. The sea lions at Pier 39 are free! Everything I saw to eat in Marin County was absurdly overpriced, but I wasn't able to spend enough time to leave the heavily tourist-traveled area.

I would not miss Muir Woods for anything. The stillness and beauty of those majestic woods filled with those awe-inspiring trees. We also especially liked the instructions for coping with mountain lions, which if encountered should be looked in the eye, backed away from, and aggressively fought if they attack, in case you were wondering!

I spent much of my time with my step-daughter and grandson, a delight that others on this board will probably forego!

TH, I took you at your word and am sending this expense report:

Hotwire "package" airfare + 7 nights hotel = $1500 for 2

(booked before the latest price war) I chose the cheapest hotel, which I usually do and am sometimes very unhappy about, but this time it was a winner!

The hotel was the newly-furbished Argonaut on Fisherman's Wharf, adjacent to the Cannery. It is a fabulous hotel; I think the only reason it was the cheapest is that it's so new. I'll bet it's pricey.

Breakfast planning: bought a cooler, cereal, milk, soy milk, and juice at Walgreen's on Fisherman's Wharf, fruit at a Farmer's Market, ate breakfast in room every morning. Total about $25 for the week. Brought my own idiosyncratic oat bran/rice bran hot cereal (Allergic to wheat) and made it in coffee cups with my $4.99 water heater.

Good reasonable dinners: Ate at LuLu's, terrific food, daughter and I shared an appetizer, a side vegetable, and an entree. We were stuffed. At Blue Mermaid (in our hotel), chowder for each and shared an appetizer and a salad. We were stuffed. The food is extraordinary at LuLu's, ok at the Blue Mermaid.

Bought a package deal - boat & tour of Alcatraz, bus trip to Muir Woods and Sausalito. Saved $20 or so compared to separate purchases. Learned enough about the BART and busses to prevent renting a car. Saved what, maybe $200 on not renting a car? Daughter is under 17, so her bus fare is 35 cents. Cheap.

Ate dinner in Chinatown. Cheap - the bill for 6 was under $45 with the tip.

Now, the only problems remaining are: (1) jet lag (still arising slightly before noon, I'll have to cut that out by Monday) and "a few" extra pounds. Back to working out and eating lots more salad, lots less Cioppino!

Anyone else had a great vacation or inexpensive travel?

Anne
trumpeting_angel is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-17-2004, 05:47 PM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: San Francisco expense report

Glad the suggestions worked out! Muir woods is definitely a sight, especially if you take the long hike up and around to get the view of the golden gate from the hip of mt tamalpais. Its a long hike with some steep parts though.

I got different advice on mountain lions...I was told to take off my coat or shirt, hold my arms over my head and stretch the shirt between your arms. The idea is to look realllly big and undaunted.

I thought "Swell, they'll find my shredded body and i'll be half naked to boot."

How'd you like alcatraz? I havent been there in almost 10 years.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-17-2004, 06:01 PM   #3
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 526
Re: San Francisco expense report

Alcatraz is spooky, daunting, deterring (if one needs it), and very sad, all at once. Today's equivalent (the "prison within the prison system" of the Federal system) is at Marion, IL, and it's just a high-tech version of the same thing.

I've worked in jails and prisons, so the dramatizations echo real-life stories of people I've known. So many of the problems noted in the Alcatraz tour are problems in today's prisons - inmates who have nothing to lose and don't mind killing, people incarcerated for so long that, once released, they are completely lost and inept at managing the basics of daily existence, and so on.

I'm not that good at being at tourist at Alcatraz. There's not much "ooh, wow, ooh" for me, since things haven't changed that much and I'm accustomed to the brutality, starkness, conflicts between guards and inmates, and the general inhumanity that prisons breed, both in inmates AND in CO's. It's not a good environment for anyone, really. Don't get me started.

The gulls were nesting, and the place reeked of guano. That's different from the prisons in Mass and CT. . .

I am better talking restaurants! And the weather. Thanks for the warning; I really was astonished at how cool it was. I brought several pairs of shorts that didn't get worn, and not enough long pants. All of my capri pants saw the light of day, though! The perfect compromise.

Anne
trumpeting_angel is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-18-2004, 03:28 AM   #4
 
Posts: n/a
Re: San Francisco expense report

I've never been to San Francisco, although I sent my ex. once, also to France, Germany, Spain, but I will save
all that stuff.

My comment is on the prison system (yep this is a repeat
- sorry). I spent a night in jail last year (charges dropped). Pretty interesting. The staff was
completely non-helpful and generally discourteous.
My fellow detainees were uniformly helpful, empathetic,
courteous and kind. Truly, it looked to me like we'd
have been better off with law enforement inside
and the inmates running the show, but then I have
no confidenc in authority (never have) so this probably
colored my views. A real eye opener though.

Joh Galt
  Reply With Quote
Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-18-2004, 09:35 AM   #5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: San Francisco expense report

My perception of alcatraz...nice boat ride, beautiful views of all sides of the bay and the cities, cool view of the golden gate, nature taking the island back over, pretty wildflowers.

Oh yeah, theres an old prison here too.

I guess I shoulda suggeted angel island instead, which is the same, only larger, and no prison!
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-19-2004, 02:56 PM   #6
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 526
Re: San Francisco expense report

No problem with your suggestion, TH! My daughter wanted to go, and I probably would have gone anyway without your suggestion. It was interesting, and I found that fact that "not much has changed" interesting, as well as dispiriting. Makes me think that we would be better off (as a nation) using cheaper methods of punishment and behavioral change. Since this method doesn't work very well, is awfully expensive, and brutalizes those who work in it, as well as those who have to live there.

Of course, there are always those people who just cannot live among us without creating havoc, death, and destruction all around them. I don't have any ideas about an alternative for them.

John, you and I have had this conversation before. I have experienced some of the same, working as a psychologist in a correctional facility. But you probably didn't encounter many lifers in your local holding facility, so I expect you got a somewhat slanted view.

Ahh, well. Home at last, reading up on an arsonist. . .

Anne
who can't completely stay out of those places
trumpeting_angel is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-19-2004, 03:08 PM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: San Francisco expense report

The only idea I came up with was that every time you're convicted of a crime you get a little mark on your forehead. A little one for a little crime and a big one for a big crime. Three little ones equal one big one.

When you're out and about, anyone around gets to thwak you with a stick if you have a big mark, once for each mark. That'd be the only punishment, no jail or anything else.

It'd have the advantage of everyone knowing who troublesome characters are, would provide immediate and continuous 'punishment', and also would be quite a source of entertainment for many, many people.

I suspect people with lots of big marks would just stay home after a while and therefore wouldnt be around to cause much trouble.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-19-2004, 03:23 PM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
charlie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Dallas
Posts: 1,211
Re: San Francisco expense report

You would "cain" them so to speak.

Charlie
charlie is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: San Francisco expense report
Old 07-19-2004, 05:08 PM   #9
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: San Francisco expense report

As long as I'm abel.

Chuck, where do I send you your five bucks for the easy setup?
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Visiting San Francisco lar717 Other topics 13 10-12-2006 06:44 AM
Booked flight to San Jose, but returning to wrong airport! vvsonikvv Other topics 3 06-26-2006 08:02 PM
Streets (Bums) of San Francisco OldAgePensioner Other topics 11 05-19-2006 08:15 AM
Expense Ratio Reporting TromboneAl FIRE and Money 8 12-01-2005 10:04 AM
San Francisco Area Real Estate Cooling Off? cube_rat Young Dreamers 12 08-09-2005 02:55 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:14 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.