Bay to Breakers, Bean Bag Restaurant

Party on the rooftop, top of the world

Yesterday held the much anticipated Bay To Breakers race. Basically, the 12k stretches from Bay Street to Breaker Street holds thousands of people dressed up in costumes and bright colors. First start the runners, who actually participate with bib numbers and all, then come everyone else, who drink their way down the streets of San Francisco. The Panhandle and Golden Gate Park are where the real party begins, turning into a large gathering of drinkers instead of a forward motion.

A and I reunited after 9 months!

Definitely a sight to see! I missed the event last year, as I was out of town. Unfortunately, I worked a split shift yesterday, so I only participated for a couple hours in the middle. The three hours of celebration proved to be enough to get the idea. After meeting up with my ex-roommate, A, and catching up on months and months of not seeing each other, we walked down the Panhandle in our little group to get some food.

Best Costume Award: Game of Thrones!

Bean Bag Restaurant provided. Beers here are cheap compared to average prices in the city (even though I try to stay gluten free, I did have a beer - first one in over 6 months or so!). The fries were yummy and whatever they ordered seemed to satisfy my hungry companions after drinking all day. Fun ended abruptly as it was time for me to head back to work :(

Alamo Square/Painted Ladies

I didn't get the greatest pictures, as I tried to catch up with A and not take a ton with my phone. Sorry!

Fleet Feet, San Jose Sharks

I've needed to buy new running shoes for quite some time, and today was the day! I drove to Fleet Feet and asked for assistance and a fitting. The guy helping me knew what he was talking about and runs himself. He measured my foot and arch, both while i was sitting and standing, before watching me walk to determine which type of support I need. He then brought out three brands and watched me run in each pair. I narrowed my choice down to two: Addidas or New Balance. He relaced one of each brand and told me to take a jog down the block to see how they feel. The whole time he asked questions about how they felt and if there was anything that stood out to me with each shoe.

Finally, New Balance won the show down. My old shoes are New Balance, so the materials felt familiar and comfortable. I liked the colors and style the best too, which is obviously the most important detail of all. My helper gave me a couple training tips before sending me out the door with my new kicks. Great experience - I'll definitely go back there for future fittings or basically any running gear.

Side note of the day: I stopped at Whole Foods to grab lunch (I love love love their mango quinoa salad and salad bar in general). Checking out with my salad and Kombucha, a worker walked me out and invited me to eat my salad with him on his break. Very flattering, but no thank you, although you kind of made my day!

Next stop of the day: Union Square. And later, SJ Sharks. I allowed the sun to soak in for an hour in Union Square before bar hoping towards the Caltrain station with a friend. We bought a few beverages and snacks to pregame on the train. That was another new experience - Caltrain. In my mind I'd imagined it to be more like the trains in Spain where you'd sit two by two, facing another couple with a table in between. This felt more like a commuter train, where some even had to stand for several stops before there were enough seats (although we went right at the end of the work day). We finally arrived in San Jose; the HP Pavillion is only a parking lot away from the Caltrain station, perfect transportation to a game. We bought some beverages to see the Sharks kick some Stars butt, 3-2, with two goals in the third period, pretty exciting! Such a fun time. No matter where you sit, you can see the action.

Best part of the night, balloon guys that made me a Bucky Badger on the train ride home! Badger for life. Real talk.