Looks at all these wonderful perks - but is it worth the snookering?

San Francisco

We arrived in San Francisco on Friday night and headed to the Palace Hotel where we were staying. The Palace Hotel is a grand and expensive hotel. Fortunately, its a Marriott property and, thanks to our friend Mike, we got an exceptional rate.

The Palace Hotel has an interesting background. \240The original hotel was ravished by a fire that resulted from the 1906 earthquake. The massive structure had to be totally demolished and rebuilt. The new hotel opened in 1909, only 3 years later. \240As you can see from some of the pictures below, it is a beautiful place.

We checked in and headed to the famous Pied Piper Bar to have a drink and wait for Mike and Joan who were arriving later. The Pied Piper is probably one of the most famous in San Francisco and takes its name from the large mural behind the wall of the Pied Piper.

I came across an interesting story about the Pied Piper. In 2013, the hotel's owners controversially removed the famed Pied Piper mural and planned to auction it at Christie's. It was anticipated that the painting might sell for up to $5 million. In the light of strong public opposition to the painting's removal, however, the hotel's owners relented and instead had the painting cleaned, restored, and returned to the bar where it was rehung with considerable fanfare on August 22, 2013.

A soft pretzel, melted cheese with candied bacon dip and pickled veggies made a tasty snack

As I said earlier, we were lucky to get a great rate at the hotel. \240However, our room, while very nice, was just an ordinary room. \240Mike and Joan got very lucky because the hotel made a mistake and actually had inadvertently cancelled their reservation. \240So, to compensate, they gave them a suite. \240The pictures below are of their suite. Awesome.

A suite at the Palace

I will end this blog with one last funny story that happened the first night at the hotel. \240As I said earlier, there was a mix up when Mike went to check into the hotel. \240So Mike’s last name is Zaccaro. \240When he went to check in, the clerk indicated that he had already checked in. \240Mike was perplexed and at first thought it may have been some confusion because he had made my reservation and I had checked in. \240No, that was not it. \240The clerk insisted that Mr. Zaccaro had checked in. \240Mike then asked “Is the person that checked in Michael Zaccaro?” The clerk checked and sighed - no the person who had checked in was a Mr. Thomas Zaccaro. Mike smiles and asked whether that was Mr. Thomas Zaccaro from Beverly Hills California. Yes, the clerk answered. \240Mike smiled, it was his brother Tom who, unbeknownst to Mike, was staying at the hotel. \240Mike texted Tom and sure enough he was there. \240He came down and joined us for a drink.

Enjoying a drink with the Zaccaro boys

The first stop on the agenda was the Alumni Game for the Cal Women’s lacrosse team. Whoever scheduled an alumni game for 8:00 AM was clearly not thinking. \240OK - set the scene - a bunch of alumni arrive Friday night, hook up with old friends, and then go out all night drinking. Did anyone really expect them to make it to an 8:00 AM game? The game started as a inter squad scrimmage but, amazingly, by 8:45 enough alumni had arrived to actually have a game. It was fun watching. One observation - woman athletes hug much more than men athletes - it seemed that every time any player did anything good, the whistle would blow and everyone would hug each other. \240It is a pleasure to watch Nikki pla, she is a gifted player and scored several pretty goals.

The game ended at 9:30 and we had two hours to kill before attending the Cal vs. Oregon State football game. \240Mike and I suggested coffee - Patti and Joan suggested a refreshment at the “tailgate party”. \240So, we dropped the girls off at “Henry’s”, a bar that holds a big tailgate party in their parking lot before every Cal game (whether its a home game or not) and Mike and I headed to get coffee. After, we hooked back up with the girls to head for the game. Funny thing - as we headed off for the game, there were more people heading into the tailgate party than heading out to the game.

As we left the tailgate, Patti started to complain - she was “starving”. Joan, ever quick to the rescue, suggested a slight detour to Top Dog, a famous hot dog place in Berkeley. \240OK, it was 10:45 in the morning and I had already had breakfast, coffee, a danish, a beer and now a hot dog. \240Wow.

Now to the game right? Nope. Nikki texted Joan and said that other parents were hanging out at the woman’s lacrosse house and could we come over. Of course, why not. \240We made a beeline to Nikki’s and enjoyed another beer. \240As an aside, I was very impressed with the girls on the team. \240Each one would come up and shake hands and introduce themselves. \240Smart and personable athletes - they will go far. Finally, we made it to the game just as the first quarter ended.

The Cal stadium is a great place to see a game, although I don’t think anyone is actually watching the game. That may be because Cal has not been a football powerhouse although they have a number of players in the NFL. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t great. \240We left at half time with the home team trailing 14-3. Cal actually was having a pretty good season until they lost both their first and second string QB to injury. While we did not see the second half, Cal took the lead only to lose on a last minute field goal.

We headed back to San Francisco. This time it took us over an hour. \240We had made a number of dinner reservations at various “hot” restaurants in the city for that evening. \240Where to go to dinner was the main conversation on the ride. \240Round and round we went - sushi, steak, farm to table - finally a decision was made: cancel all reservations, take a nap and go to a local pizza place. Great choice!

Local pizza joint

Good looking pie

Red clam pizza

The pizza was delicious but I have to tell you about our waitress. She was a very severe looking 20 something. She had very shortly cropped hair, multiple piercings, black lipstick and tattoos. \240She had on a short leather skirt, ripped stockings a “hang off the shoulder - I don’t give a damn” kind of tee shirt on. \240While that look is not all that uncommon in San Francisco, it was her attitude that was remarkable. \240If you were an onlooker, you would think she was the perfect waitress - she took our order, got us utensils, delivered our pizza and even asked if everything was ok. However, she managed to do it all in a way that made it clear that she despised us (and maybe the rest of the world as well). She spoke through a clenched jaw in a sour toned voice that was almost frightening. \240We all felt the vibe. \240So, while the words were “How are you tonight?” - the attitude was “I hate you and would like to take your fancy clothes and shoes and stuff them down your throats until you suffocate.” Her fired smile and the words “Would you like more wine?” \240translated to “Of course you want more wine you pigs who repress the struggling migrant workers who are exploited in the agriculture business”. And, I am certain that when she hissed “Enjoy your evening”, she really meant “Hope you all get run over by a San Francisco trolly and die a slow and painful death.” Quite a contrast to the Cal lacrosse girls. It did make for some interesting dinner talk and, despite our tortured friend, the pizza was delicious.

Sunday, October 21

We got up Sunday morning, packed and headed back to Cal to attend the annual woman’s lacrosse banquet. We were there as “friends of Nikki”. It was fun. I even choked up during the highlight video and I didn’t even know who was playing. Nikki received the award for highest GPA of her class, a very impressive 3.92.

Attending the banquet with Nikki

After the banquet, we headed of to Napa Valley. Napa is about an hour north of Berkeley and it was beautiful day for the drive.

As we entered Napa, we stopped at one of our favorite places, Oxbow Market. It is a public market in the town of Napa which specializes in great food, produce, wine and cheese. \240

Oxbow Market

Napa is an amazing place and Oxbow is a reflection of Napa. When people hear Napa, they think wine. \240However, Napa Valley is more than that. \240It seems as if the people living in Napa are really trying to make the world healthier and happier. All the \240

Flying into Maui

Fairmont Kea Lani

Beautiful lobby

Suite 354

Living room - note Patti was upset we had a desk - too much temptation to work

King size bed

Best of all separate sinks

The happy couple on arrival

The view from our balcony at night

One of 5 restaurants at the hotel

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Beautiful day

View from our balcony of the adult pool. Our cabana is the one in the middle right

One of the other pools on property

Pools everywhere

Koi Pond

Upper pool with picturesque bottom

Upper pool with swim up bar

Patti with her morning iced tea

Strolling the grounds

Beautiful features everywhere you look

On the cliff path

Tropical flora

Hotel villas - maybe on our next stay

Start of the 1.5 mile cliff walk

Looking back at hotel beach

On our walk

Tropical paradise

Blue water

Our cabana at the adult pool

Cabana comes loaded with drinks and food

Enjoying a Bloody Mary

Pat on her first Lava Flow

After a day of sunbathing, we retired to the lobby bar

A glass of wine and a Maui Brewing Co. Big Swell IPA

Friday, October 25, 2019

Another beautiful morning for a walk

Early morning

Don’t know what island that is

These people were exercising in the water

So tranquil

This is actually part of the hotel lobby

All dressed up for the Luau

Te Au Moana Luau

“The Ocean Tide” is a magnificent Maui luau. Ancient islanders reached new lands by sailing large, double-hulled canoes.  These sturdy craft were built completely out of plant material.  The ancient voyagers arrived in these islands by following ocean tides and currents.  They also followed migrating birds, the colors in clouds, and the steady motion of the stars. This incredible voyaging ability and spirit is what links all Polynesians.

Buffet Menu: Kalua Pig baked in the imu, teriyaki beef, shoyu chicken, and pasta with seafood. Also fried rice, sweet potatoes, vegetable stir fry, and original mac salad. Try pineapple coleslaw, salmon salad, poi, sweet rolls, and noodle salad.  Includes a fantastic dessert bar with chocolate chip cookies and coconut haupia.

The pig is roasted in a covered pit and then dug up

It is then carried to the luau

A beautiful sunset

Vibrant colors

Love the color dancing on the water

The luau begins

Prettiest girl at the luau

Chow time

The show about to begin

Now this is what I call a sunset

The view from our table

What a background

Dancing girls

Love their outfits

Each dance told a story

The fire dancers were the best

This takes practice - also raises question of what does a luau dancer wear under his loin cloth?

The end of a great night

Saturday, October 26, 2019

We found the swim up bar

Just chillin

Me heading down the water slide - I enjoyed it as much as the kids

Some pretty flowers

Heading for dinner at Ko on Saturday night