1st Day in San Fransisco

After leaving Manchester, New Hampshire we flew to Cleaveland, Ohio for a really brief layover. Not so brief that we could not enjoy a beer from the Great Lakes Brewing Co. , Bock for me Pils for T. Now on to San Fransisco , after landing and grabbing our bags ( by the way ,what is up with peoples carry-ons these days ) we take the shuttle to the hotel. So you think the people you meet in a Dive-Bar are weird (more about that in a later post) try taking a communal hotel shuttle. Yeah not so fun screaming through the hills of San Fransisco in a van with bad breaks, no shocks and one hell of a crazy oldlady but we made it to the hotel.
Now I do not know how we got the price we did for the hotel but the Park 55 Windham was way above our normal digs for vacation (props to T for her vacation planning skills) and we even got a free upgrade to a better floor and room. Next thing we had to do was throw the bags in the room and find a beer. The closest beer place to the hotel was Thirsty Bear Brewpub. Thirsty Bear was a really nice place with huge doors, a long bar, plenty of seating, Spanish influenced menu and a good range of beers. We ordered some Tapas and a tasting rack each. Our bartenders name was Noe who was incredibly freindly and definetly has put plenty of time in behind the bar ,serving us with flare, prescision and care (pouring two sample racks faster than anyone I have seen). Noe chatted us up giving us some pertinent info on the city (travel tip- Always get the 411 from locals). After sampling Thirsty Bears Beers , say that five times fast, we headed back to the hotel bar for a nightcap. The hotel bar had a small but very solid beer list (1st hotelbar with a real bottle list) and it is here we met someone who will be a reoccuring character in our San Fran leg of vacation, Rick. Rick is a manager at the hotel and we hit it off with him right away. He provided us with some more great information on where to go, what to see, how to get there and what not to miss. I have to say our vacation would not be the same if not for Rick and I have a feeling we will cross paths with him again. If he ever reads this T and I wish him the best of luck with his Breakfast Joint and whatever other ventures he gets into be they the beerbar we talked about or otherwise, he deserves the best out of life.
Next up our trip to Wine Country for ...

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California Dreaming

We recently got back from California, where we spent a week. We try to travel somewhere each year and catch a few Red Sox games and this year we decided to see games in two cities, Oakland and Anaheim, for four games. Already a great trip but what do you do in the free time? Do you do the tourist thing and check out the sites? Are you a "foodie"? Are you like us, do you do the beer geek thing? How big and far do you push on vacation? If you have the chance at something rare do you go for it? How much would you spend on that rare thing? Have you ever been appauled, scared or intimidated walking into a highly recommended place? Have you ever been blown away by somewhere/someone? What do you remember most about your trips? People? Places? Beers? For our answers to these questions and more stay tuned to the blog over the next several weeks as we talk about our California Baseball Beercation.

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