San Francisco: A Couple of Days with the Tanners

I have to start by saying L Yes. How bout them Cards taking the Big East regular season title? Boom.

I am currently writing from the Alpha Inn and Suites in San Francisco. Matt, Beau, Andrew, myself, and our most recent addition, Blaine the Mane, just returned from a big day in the city. We started it off with a bang by walking across the Golden Gate Bridge... it was incredible to say the least. We were blessed with clear skies, a light breeze, a stunning view of Alcatraz, and of course, good company. We took advantage of the Rice-a-Roni version of TARC and high-tailed it to Chinatown - the real Chinatown. We were all expecting to see paper dragons, chickens running around, jellyfish and octupi hanging from booths, and people wearing Yao Ming Rockets jerseys. Instead we were bombarded by Chinese restaurant owners running out of their rightful places of business begging us to partake in a MSG-filled dinner. After some browsing, we decided to dine at the "Chinatown Restaurant." Creative name, huh? Nonetheless, it was pretty scrumptious, besides the sporadic swallows of little plants dispersed in the hot tea.

From there we took it to the streets and thought we would dabble in a local saloon for a cocktail. With that in mind, we walked into an establishment so aptly-named "The Saloon." This shouldn't be so bad, right? We were greeted with locals' looks that said, "I hope these kids get piss-drunk so we can introduce them to our fists of fury." No big deal. Being the proud Kentuckians that we are, we decide to order some bourbon drinks. Our facial expressions after our first sips were priceless. This bourbon tasted like Helen Keller distilled the bourbon herself from the "Make Bourbon From Home Kit" from the SkyMall magazine. Seriously, there was no way our drinks were bourbon. Oh well, do as the Romans do. That doesn't really apply, but atleast the Cards are Big East champs. Drink it in. Tomorrow, with much thanks to the Gandolfos, we embark for Alcatraz to get engulfed by some real bad-ass history. We are absolutely going to attempt to get locked up in the Capone cell, as well as say, "Welcome to the Rock" in our best Sean Connery accent. After San Fran, we will set sail for Lake Tahoe and Reno on Thursday.

On the other hand, I have to say the drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco along the Pacific Coast Highway was the most beautiful drive we have done thus far. We drove through Malibu, which is home to Pepperdine University, a higher learning institution located on top of a hill overlooking the mighty Pacific. Must suck being an undergrad there. Moving along through gorgeous mountains, switchback roads, fluctuating elevations, and awesome vistas of the blue Gatorade-colored surf, we stopped for lunch in Morro Bay, CA. This quaint coastal town was very welcoming. We had some quality seafood at the Outrigger Grill sitting on the water looking out at the sailboats. We were greeted by a seal swimming through the harbor while enjoying our meal. How did that guy land Heidi Klum? We wrapped up our departure and continued on our way along Highway 1 towards our campsite for the night at Big Sur. One of the coolest parts of the day was when we stopped on the side of the road along the coastline and walked up within five feet of a bunch of snoozing elephant seals. These guys were pleasantly chubby and flubby.... now I know why Great Whites love to chow down on them. This experience really "sealed the deal" that this journey is something we will never forget.

After some more beautifully challenging driving, we made it to our campsite at Big Sur. We set up camp in a huge field only 1/4 mile from the shoreline where we were instanlty met by the park's greeting committee of deer and prarie dogs. Before we built a fire and got our Bear Grylls on, the crew headed down to the shoreline for sunset. The scenery was breathtaking- a running rapid emptying into the Pacific, a jagged/ragged rocky beach, and lush green mountains at our backs. Blaine said it best- it really looked like we were sitting inside the Sierra Nevada beer label. There was also a hilarious series of events involving Andrew attempting to cross the river... only he can tell such a tale. Let's just put it this way- Mother Nature ensured that we are mere bread crumbs in the buffet of life. Moving on, we set up shop atop a twenty foot boulder on the shore for a magical sunset. Honestly, there are not many more spectacular sights as watching the sun drop behind the horizon while the moon is inversely rising behind the mountains behind you. This is what songs are written about. This is why movies are made. This is what makes people leave their jobs in order to embark on such a journey. This is where babies come from. Bottom line- The English language does not contain enough beautiful adjectives to describe Planet Earth.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-- Adam Shircliff --

"Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same. With all of our runnin' and all of our gunnin', if we weren't all crazy, we would go insane."