Where to begin ...

I'm struggling to start my blog. I've been trying to decide how to record our adventures to date without boring you with details you may already know. There is also the fact that I frequently forget to take my camera out and about, and when I do have it I am usually too busy enjoying the sights to remember to take photos - I promise to do better in future!

So I think I'll just pepper my future posts with flashbacks as and when they occur to me. But there are a couple of things that come to mind that deserve their own post - and I even have some photos!! :-) First and foremost, there was the Bay to Breakers race, which we will call:

Fun Times in San Francisco - Part 1

I had no idea what I was letting myself in for when I agreed to take part in the race, but this proved to be one of the most awesome days of my life to date!

First, some background: Bay to Breakers is a 12k footrace across San Francisco and has been around for 100 years, making it one of the oldest in the world. It is also one of the largest, holding the 1986 world record with 110 000 participants, a figure which rose to 160 000 last year. Some of the world's finest athletes take part in the race - followed by tens of thousands of crazy fools in fancy dress, hell bent on turning San Francisco in to one long street party! (BTW, I was one of the fools - NOT one of the racers!!)


Our day started on the 5.20am train to San Francisco, which was a rowdy affair! The train was packed full of people who had already started drinking - or possibly hadn't stopped from the night before - and were definitely in the party mood. Although we were still quite sleepy, and probably had at least 10 years on most of the other passengers, we decided to join them and started sipping on one of our vodka concoctions - or was it the tequila? Its all a little hazy now .....






We arrived at the group assembly point (aka Robin's apartment) to get changed in to our costumes and, stomachs lined with McDonald's McGriddle breakfasts *shudder*, start the serious drinking! Our theme was aliens and investigators of Area 69, and everyone put a lot of effort in to their costumes. Particularly the Hubby, who spent ages the night before mixing tequila and vodka with the most lurid coloured sodas we could find and loading them into our giant water cannons, and spent the day shooting shots into test tubes and sharing them with anyone who looked in danger of sobering up!












By 8.30 ish we were all were all decidedly merry
and good to go, and in a sea of neon we took to
the streets of San Francisco




















The forecast had been for a cold rainy day, but the sun was just coming out and it turned out to be a perfect day for a drunken stumble around town!




As we joined the back of the 'race' I tried to take in everything that was going on around me. I have never seen so many people in fancy dress in my life! Costumes ranged from the hastily put together to some wonderfully elaborate ones - and they covered every theme imaginable. There were even a few people who came along in the buff - although they were mostly men (to the boys' disappointment) and fairly wrinkly and unattractive (to the girls' disappointment).






Just about every house and apartment along the route was having a party and people were waving and cheering us on. There were bands and djs at various intervals, and the atmosphere along Fell Street was phenomenal!




















I could have happily stayed there and partied for the rest of the day, but our group had gotten separated a little earlier and Hubby and I were determined to catch up with our friends. This was tricky as mobile communication was virtually impossible, but one of the benefits of having a neon green costume theme is that you are easier to spot in a crowd and we were re-united at Golden Gate Park.


We had a quick re-fuel at the hot dog stand and bravely ventured on through the park, but some of us were starting to tire, and some of us had perhaps had a little too much to drink (you know who you are!!) so we decided to call it a day and head to the pub. By the time we got there (possibly around 2pm?) we were all starting to crash so we were a subdued crowd as we ate our burgers and summoned up the energy to make our way home. After a quick stop at Area 69 HQ to pick up our belongings and de-alienify we found ourselves on the 4.15 train home, tired but happy :-)









To all our fellow aliens and investigators - I can't thank you enough for making it such a memorable day!! I can't wait for next year's race - but there are two conditions:
1) I can't believe how close we were to the finish line when we gave up - next year we have to
see it through!!
2) Then I want to go back to Fell Street and party til I collapse :-)


Agreed? Good! Now, all we need is a costume theme .... hmmmmm ......... :-)



PS - another huge thank you to Vera and Rob for letting me steal their photos!! Here are a few more for your amusement x