Day 26

Today there is nothing special to report except the fact that there is already a christmas tree on Union Square. It's a strange sight to me: the palms in the sun and in the middle a christmas tree.The day was very sunny, though there was a cold breeze from the Pacific ocean.

Day 25

I was wrong in my post yesterday. The demorates have seized control of the house. That will change the american politics. And Hillary made it to a second term, too.For lunch we went to Chinatown today.
But the meal was not as good as it looked.
In the afternoon we went to Fishermans Wharf for some sightseeing. We passed an IHOP (pancake restaurant) where we discovered the great name of the new pancake meal. For the rest of the day every other sentence started with ...super rooty tooty fresh'n fruity....
Alcatraz in the evening sun...
And on Pier 39 live the sealions. They came to this place after the earthquake of 1989 and stayed despite some attemps to move them to somewhere else. Only in summer they move to the north because the shortage of herring. In the winter time up to 600 animals stay near Pier 39.
Sunset over Fishermans Wharf...
This is one of the many small shops in the neighborhood.

Day 24

Today is Election Day. The people vote today for Governors, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House and on a couple of proposals. So far I didn't hear if Arnold Schwarzenegger is still governor of California. The polling places closed some minutes ago. But it seems if the democrates fail to take over the majority in congress...During our lunch break we went to Macys (a big department store) where the San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis signed photos and footballs. But then we decided not to queue up and instead to enjoy the sun outside. Mister Davis didn't seem to enjoy this assignment...
On Union Square they constructed a 'Star Wars - Jedi Recruitment Center' for today, so there were many imperial stormtroopers around. I don't have a clue what this meant...

Day 23

Today was again a beautiful summer day. They even planted new flowers on Union Square. This would be completely unthinkable in Berlin in November.Since I got company from Germany yesterday it was time for some sightseeing again. We went to the Ferry Building where we had a beautiful view on the Bay Bridge and the lights of Oakland.

This is how downtown looks in the early evening.

Day 22

This morning, just after sunrise, was the start of the halfmarathon. The weather was great. 3000 participants started for the 21 km/13,2 miles distance. During the first miles I found out that I don't like the steep parts of the course.But everything was great again when we reached THE bridge.
And it got even better when I crossed the finish line and got the finisher medal.
Afterwards the other runners and I relaxed on the lawn, enjoyed nice music and drinks.
After the race there was the chance to be casted for the next episodes of The Bachelor, but I decided against it :-)