greetings from san francisco
This blog post is ancient. If it is technical, the information is likely inaccurate, or at least out of date. If it is non-technical, it’s entirely possible that the relevant facts and my own opinions have changed significantly since it was written.
It is only preserved as part of this site’s permanent historical archive.
This is the view from my quaint little hotel room at the Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco, California. I arrived here after a long morning of travel. First ~4 hours of flight from Memphis, TN to San Francisco International, followed by traversing the airport maze to find the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train station. Once I found the right station, it was another 15 minutes of waiting on a train followed by a 40 minute train ride. Almost home? Not quite. As I ride the escalator out of the subway, I realize just what a country boy I am. There are literally hundreds of people crawling around on the streets, and here I am, toting a large rolling suitcase, a laptop, and a backpack, and looking totally clueless! Where is my hotel? I was definitely a prime target for predators just looking to make a quick buck. Within seconds I heard, “Where you looking to go? I’ve got a map.” I quickly responds with “I’ve got it, thanks.” Of course, I didn’t have it. But I didn’t have 20 bucks for the guy either! Not a few more steps up the sidewalk I’m confronted by Indian monks wanting to share their religion with me. I did have a nice conversation with this guy and got him to take one of my pocket Gospels of John (thank you Pocket Testament League!). Finally a nice family pointed me in the right direction. I figured out that if you look like you’re on a mission and you know what you’re doing, people don’t come up to you, so I put on my best serious face and headed for the Hotel Nikko. Now here I am, and from my window I’ve got a nice view of the pool area which is surrounded by an interesting looking rock garden:
I also can see what looks like a potentially good Thai restaurant on the corner:
The reviews on Google Maps look promising!
On a final note for this entry, I desperately miss my family. Our goodbye at Memphis International was tear-filled, especially by Wendy. I haven’t been this far away from them in a LOOOOONG time. In fact, Abby was only about 10 months old the last time I went on a business trip without them. Isabella and Ali Kate weren’t even conceived yet! I managed to get a web camera for the trip, so I’m going to send them a video message every day. Check your email sweetheart! I love you all SO MUCH!