I already have an affinity for San Diego - great weather, great food, great vibe. Everything feels much more relaxed here as opposed to San Francisco (much of this may be due to the decrease in severe parking restrictions). When we got in on Halloween evening, we stopped by the Blind Lady Ale House, a cozy pizza and beer spot. I was really impressed by the amount of people I saw dressed up in costumes - lots of dedication to the holiday in this part of town! Sadly, I kind of missed out on the grand Halloween celebrations this year... Good news though! It seems that we came into town right in time for San Diego Beer Week 2012! I'm pretty excited to get my hands on some craft brews and enjoy a beverage with some new friends =)
Before I get too pumped up for San Diego, I wanted to mention a few last memorable events from my last weekend in San Francisco. First off, I got to visit Lucasfilm (only days before the public announcement of Disney's acquisition!) - fantastic experience! Our big boss man at CMF hooked us up with a personal tour on family and friends day. This meant that my three team members and I got a private look around the offices led by a Lucasfilm employee (thanks, Ryan!). We also got to see a special film that showcases all the operations that go on within the company (quite an amazing and educational look at Lucas's special effects). The offices are basically a museum, full of movie artifacts and movie posters, and complete with a gift shop at the end of the tour. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to get to check out such an influential corporation in the film industry. Just wow. The Yoda fountain was a favorite sight of mine =)
Over Halloween weekend, Nate and I checked out San Francisco's Chinatown. It really is funny how one minute you're walking through all the big, expensive shops downtown, and the next minute you find yourself stumbling into a totally different neighborhood full of Asian architecture and cheap buys. We popped into a few of the souvenir shops (panda overload!); I didn't actually end up buying anything though. After about 50 minutes wandering the streets, we decided we'd gotten our fill. We got some dumplings and headed back to our hood. Fun times!
Even though I didn't really get to celebrate Halloween as festively as I'd hoped, I did manage to carve a pretty snazzy pumpkin. Nate and I stayed up until 3 am perfecting our CMF-themed jack-o-lantern (no joke). I cut the top, drew the stencil, and carved the design, while Nate scooped the guts, spray-painted the whole thing silver, and toasted the pumpkin seeds - quite the team effort! We thought it ended up looking pretty good... Thoughts?
Another awesome end to my stay in SF was watching the San Francisco Giants win the World Series. I was hanging out at home with the game on the TV when the Giants swept the Tigers. The effect on the city was immediate. Cars were honking, people were hooting - the energy was all around. Nate and I ventured out into the streets to check out the hullabaloo only to be met with a massive block party happening right in the middle of the street. Public transit was still supposed to be running, but that was a definite no-go. One house was blasting music through speakers from their windows, completely running the party on the street. Everyone was drinking, dancing, and congratulating each other. Police were stationed nearby making sure everyone was staying safe. Fortunately nothing dangerous happened in our neighborhood, but seeing the aftermath of the rioting that went on elsewhere in the city was really disheartening; I really don't understand why people take something that is meant to be celebratory and turn it into an excuse for destruction. Dumb. All that aside, it was really cool to experience the spirit of the city firsthand. A lot of people brought brooms with them, sweeping the sky while swirling in the streets.
San Francisco was a blast - let's see if San Diego can show me the same good times!
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