What’s Going On?

On Sunday, Radio Alice 97.3FM put on a concert open to the public for free. This is the very first time that Alice hosted a free Now and Zen Concert. The Alice Summerthing Concert earlier in the summer is normally free, but having another free concert brought to you by Alice is just simply amazing. Featured music artists were Train, Colbie Caillat, Howie Day, and Dashboard Confessional.

People in record numbers crowded Sharon Meadows with thousands of people on the field as well as hundreds of people sitting on the grassy knoll in the back. Sharon Meadows is located toward the eastern end of Golden Gate Park and just right before the Panhandle Park. Various food and merchandise booths lined the entrance way before people proceeded to the main concourse.

This year I was able to attend just the performance by Train and a performance it was. Lead singer Patrick Monahan riled up the crowd with his charm and some pretty amazing songs. He energized the crowd by singing his number one hits as well as grabbing cameras from the audience to take pictures of himself and the audience. He even came down to audience level to just sing to the crowd and to be embraced by his fans.

His song set consisted of 16 songs. They were “You Already Know”, “Meet Virginia”, “Get To Me”, “She’s On Fire”, “Ordinary”, “Ramble On”, “San Fran”, “I Got You”, “Calling All Angels”, “Cab”, “Save The Day”, “Hey, Soul Sister”, “Free”, “Drops of Jupiter”, and “Dream On”.

Alice has yet again impressed me with an amazing line up and I hope that it doesn’t stop there. I can’t wait for another year of great music, fun in the sun, and the possibility in meeting new people.

Pictures of the Now and Zen Concert can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. Feel free to leave comments below for the pictures and the posting.

Every year teams from all over come to San Francisco Bay to compete in the Dragon Boat races located at Treasure Island. This year good weather brings about good competition and lots of festival goers. At first glance, the festival seems to be a little more organized this year with organized parking lots, more seating for the entertainment stage, a larger kid’s zone, and a section for the finish line officials that is not obstructed by people because it was elevated.

Treasure Island has been the location for these races for quite some time now and it’s been great to be able to travel not so far from San Francisco to part take in some beautiful weather and with great views of San Francisco’s skyline. The festival took place on September 26th and 27th from 8-5pm. I enjoyed the festival on Sunday with beautiful sunny skies. Most of the day were races for the high school divisions, but I believe later in the day the finals for other groups took place along with an awards ceremony to follow.

This year I spent most of my time enjoying the live entertainment taking place on the large stage built near the entrance to the festival. There I was able to enjoy different various martial arts, some singing, and my favorite lion dancing.

Festival goers could take part in many activities this year on location which included Dragon Land (arts and crafts for the youth), a variety of international food vendors, shopping (gifts and other various memorabilia), a health and fitness tent, a couple informational booths, live entertainment, and of course the dragon boat races.

Sunday at the festival was Family Day and families with children were encouraged to come while mascots and other festival characters were there to greet. I personally got to see some stilt walkers around the grounds, Nickelodeon’s Kai-lan, a red and green dragon, a balloon artist, and some volunteers who helped put on temporary tattoos.

Each year the entertainment and the booths become more interesting and as the years press on I’m looking forward to a much larger audience with an ever increasing number of exciting and new vendors. If you haven’t seen dragon boat races before well mark your calenders next year as the competition is fierce for the 300m and 500m races. Parking is free and there are shuttles on and off the island. Passage to and from the island from San Francisco is free, but visitors coming from the East Bay will still have to pay a bridge toll to access the island.

Pictures of the SF International Dragon Boat Festival can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. Feel free to leave comments below for the pictures and the posting.

“So, why has Michael not updated lately?”, you might ask yourself. Well the reason why I haven’t been able to update lately was because I was on a two week adventure exploring the Midwest of America racking up a staggering 2300+ miles driving. On my trip I encountered so many cool things that they all can’t be explained in words. Some things were so awesome that you just had to be there to fully take it in. I travelled across half the country in pursuit of visiting all of our nations baseball parks plus one more that is located in Toronto. However, on this trip I was able to tackle just four teams/stadiums. In the process of visiting cities within the United States I met some pretty amazing people; had I been accompanied with someone on my trip I don’t think I would be approached as much as I was when travelling alone.

Meeting and talking to new people is probably one of the most enjoyable things about travelling that one can experience. Getting to talk about your hometown and your likes and dislikes is something that keeps conversations going. It’s something about the unknown that makes people keeping wanting to know more and more about. For example, I had no idea what life and the cost of living was like in the Midwest and for people I met they had no idea how life was like here in San Francisco. As people I’ve talked with they are often interested in what San Francisco has to offer, they often are interested in knowing why I would come
all this way just to visit their hometown. Once I get started talking I’m very passionate about the things that I say and I often pride myself on having come from one of the best communities that this country has to offer. I must say yes the cities I’ve been to visit have been absolutely great, but there’s just something about good ol’ San Francisco that I still am in love with and that I would never find myself living away from. San Francisco has so much to offer and so much diversity that it’s surprising to know how much can fit into a 7 mile by 7 mile city.

Likes and dislikes of my trip often revolved around with what I have here, back home, versus the other cities not having what I’m use to or vise versa. What I like about the cities I’ve travelled to is the fact that some of the food is so amazing that I wish I had them here locally. Yes you can ship it to your home, but it’s just not the same when all the goodness is made there. I loved the weather over there. It was mostly sunny in the 70s and it was not humid at all except for a few days before it was going to rain, but an overall great sunny trip. Gasoline is probably the cheapest I’ve seen in a long time. In San Francisco the average gasoline price is about $3.15 and the average price in the Midwest is $2.15 with exception to Chicago which average prices were about $2.85. I like the fact that people are genuinely nice and polite if you are willing to give them a chance to introduce themselves and talk with them. I like the museums and attractions that are pertinent to their area. I like visiting different baseball stadiums and seeing what each has to offer. Finally, I like being able to explore on my own and not having to keep a friend waiting to go to another destination (allows me more freedom to strike up conversation with others).

Dislikes from the trip are few, but still important to record down. I dislike travelling alone at times because travelling gets to be very expensive when there is no one to help share the cost with. I dislike having to go to some of the very best places to eat, but not being able to try everything on the menu because there is only so much you can eat and diversity in dishes is next to none because you lack a travelling buddy to try their food. I dislike the fact that there’s not a big Asian community to feel a little comfortable in. I sometimes felt that I was being looked at a lot because I was different or maybe perhaps I had my zipper down. At times I really did miss seeing another Chinese person or not having been able to eat some Chinese food which would have been comforting to me. There are a few more, but I feel like you get my point.

So now you’re probably wondering where have I been to and why am I just rambling well right about now is when I disclose all. My itinerary was to visit St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. Along the way I visited a few other cities that were pretty awesome too. I visited St. Paul and St. Joseph as two additional places. All I can say now is that two weeks weren’t enough to see all those places for the first time.

I flew out of San Francisco to St. Louis on Southwest Airlines. I had one of the most entertaining flights I’ve ever had on a Denver to St. Louis connection flight. The male flight attendant was one of the most hilarious persons that I’ve encountered. He made flying so much fun and eased the tension for those that hate flying or even flying alone. He basically turned the plane into a party plane, it was so fun. One thing I was questioning myself was to get off that plane to take an offer of a hotel stay and a $200 voucher for a future flight in return to give up my seat for someone else because Southwest overbooked the flight. If I got off in Denver I would have experienced heavy rain, my luggage would have been sent away from me for a day rotating around the baggage claim carousel, and I wouldn’t have been on the party plane.

In St. Louis, there is so much to see and explore that a few days is not enough. In St. Louis I got to see the Gateway Arch, Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Jefferson Barracks Historic Park, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri Botanical Gardens, Science Center, the Old Courthouse, Museum of Westward Expansion, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Zoo, Forest Park, Busch Stadium and other various places in and around those areas.

Chicago is a great city, but what absolutely sucks about the city is that no matter where you go you have to pay for parking with a few exceptions though. Even city parks you have to pay for parking which I found to be a little ironic, those places should be free to park. I’ve been to Chicago before and did all the touristy things that there is to do, but on this trip I brought along my DSLR so I revisited some of the spots that I’ve seen. While in Chicago I visited the Eli Cheesecake World Factory, outside the Museum of Science and Industry (which is an amazing museum), Lake Michigan, U.S. Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, United Center, Shed Aquarium, Alder Planetarium, Buckingham Fountain, Public Library, Millennium Park, Magnificent Mile, Lincoln Park, and other areas of the city.

In Milwaukee I got to walk outside the Harley Davidson Museum, Miller Brewing Company, Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes), Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee City Hall, Pettit National Ice Center, Shops of Grand Ave., Riverwalk, Lake Michigan, Water Tower, North Point Lighthouse, and Miller Park.

In St. Paul I saw the Cathedral of St. Paul, Cherokee Park, City Hall, Como Park (zoo and conservatory), Landmark Center, Minnesota State Capitol, and Mickey’s Dining Car.

In Minneapolis I visited the Minneapolis Museum of Art, Mill City Museum, Guthrie Theater, Minnehaha Park, Steven’s House at Minnehaha Park, Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, the Metrodome, Stone Arch Bridge, Downtown, and a few miles south the Mall of America.

In St. Joseph I visited the Pony Express Museum, Pony Express HQ located at Patte House Museum, Jesse James’ Home and the original site where the house was built before moving to the Patte House, Robidoux Row Museum, the outside of the National Military Heritage Museum (which was closed), the Missouri River, Downtown, and Lovers Lane.

In Kansas City, MO I got to see Downtown at night, the Harley Davidson Kansas City Manufacturing Operations Plant, Union Station, National World War I Museum, Crown Center, outside of Hallmark Visitors Center, a glimpse of the Toy and Miniature Museum, Jazz District, The Plaza, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, and Kauffman Stadium.

In each and every city there were absolutely some great food and there are so many places I would love to share with you, but you’ll just have to wait and see when I have time to get reviews of those places up. I must say though it was sure some great eats.

Overall, the trip that I took to all of these places were absolutely amazing. While travelling alone I couldn’t help not forget all the generous people who have made my trip much more enjoyable. Being offered free tickets to sampling food made this trip one to remember. I’m so thankful for those of you who made this such an awesome trip. Travelling alone is not foreign to me because now I can say that I’ve been there and done that. I will embark on a new adventure next year and I hope that the trip then will have much of an impact on me as it has now.

Pictures of the trip will eventually be put up in my travel section of my website, but for now keep the anticipation up and encourage me to get it done. Hope to share with you some of my travels. If I met you on my trip please leave a comment I would sure like to keep in touch with you. Thanks.

The 39th Annual Millbrae Art & Wine Festival is a street fair that is held on the Labor Day weekend. The festival spans about 8-10 blocks or roughly about 3/4 of a mile. Throughout the festival there are countless numbers of arts and crafts booths, as well as food booths. On northern end of the festival there was a small kid’s carnival that had several rides.

A few things about this street fair that I found to be of interest and one of my favorites is the fact that it felt homey and that it had a small town feel. Although it was crowded and large, it did not feel that way.

Present at the festival were the Millbrae police and fire department with the police department raising funds from a water dunk tank. This street fair also had the small town feel by showcasing a couple vintage cars that dated back to the mid-1900s and a few makes of Ford Mustangs.

The festival had two stages; one for live music and the other for talent searching. At a couple of corners of the festival were beer and wine booths. Where purchasing of alcohol was done by using tokens/tickets and by using special beer and wine glasses produced for this festival to be used again and again. Food vendors also were on a few corners and all the food booths smelled and looked delicious.

Two things that I found to be unique at this festival was being able to see planes and vehicles made from beer and soda cans and a street artist by the name of Michel Saga who sings to French music using a barrel organ. The barrel organ is played by turning a crank and feeding an accordion-like ream of cardboard that has slotted holes in it for the music box to play chords accordingly. Such a fascinating contraption made me wonder and wonder how such a machine like that worked. I wanted to see the inside of the box, but was out of luck. Maybe one day I’ll get a chance to see what lies in one of those barrel organs.

Next year, plan on coming to this wonderful street festival. It is a great and relaxing place to enjoy the weekend in the warm summer sun. The festival is also good to support local businesses/artists as well as getting to try different types of beer and wine. Parking may be a little difficult, but get here early next year and make sure you keep your eyes peeled. The festival is a two day event and if time allows you check it out on both days, you won’t regret it.

Pictures of the Millbrae Art & Wine Festival can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. Feel free to leave comments below for the pictures and the posting.

It was a party cloudy night sky downtown on the waterfront when I was at a friend’s birthday party. While enjoying the party all of a sudden the night sky overlooking the Ferry Building errupted in dazzling light and loud bangs. I hurried over to the balcony and I noticed a barge sitting out over the calm waters behind the Ferry Building.

The fireworks that night was one that caught me by surprise, but I’m glad I was there at that particular time and place. It was a spectacular sight to see, but it all was a little surreal. For one thing, this was an almost eerie situation. As I glanced over the skyline, I noticed that the Bay Bridge lights were turned off and there was no noise from cars driving on it (due to the Labor Day weekend closures to construct a “S-curved” roadway on the eastern section of the Bay Bridge) and also I found it a little weird that there was no one on the streets or on the waterfront crowding to watch a show.

I tried researching online to see what occassion it was and I even contacted the police department in hopes of finding out what the deal was about. To no avail, I had not gotten any information on the incident, but I just am thankful that I got to see a spectacular show on a spectacular night with the conditions being just right and the moon in the background to see an awesome show.

If anyone has any ideas of what the fireworks were for on September 5th, 2009 please comment on this posting.

The California State Fair is held annually in Sacramento (the state capital of California). Each year the Cal Expo hosts an over two week long celebration of what California has to offer and ends Labor Day. This year’s theme for the fair was “Weird Wild & Wacky” and at the fair there is a vast array of things to do. No one that comes to the fair will be disappointed because there is always something for everyone.

One good reason to come to the fair is to see Terry Stokes, the hypnotist, live on the PG&E Center Stage. Every year Stokes brings onto the stage volunteers from the audience in hopes to put them under his trance. While the group is hypnotized, Stokes is able to get the majority of them to do what he asks them to do as long as it is within the audience member’s morals. Oftentimes, he gets the audience laughing and entertains them so much that they stay and watch his entire show uninterrupted not wanting to miss a single moment.

Another thing to check out at the fair is the livestock that is displayed in the Livestock Pavilion and Cavalcade of Horses Arena. There you can find pigs, horses, lambs, goats, sheep, and other various farm animals. Cattle contests and horse wagon shows are just some of the events that take place almost every day at the fair and there are a few days where even a rodeo comes to town. In the California Ranchland section of the expo there is a petting zoo for all ages, where a couple of dollars can get you entry and the ability to feed all sorts of animals.

Exhibits in the Expo Center Buildings are always quite interesting. There are 8 buildings that make up the Expo Center. Each building displays something different to showcase off what Californians have done for the fair. The exhibit halls this year are Youth Art & Design, California Foodstyle, Wild, Wacky & Wonderful California (new to this years exhibit hall), It’s a Candy Nation (also new), Industrial & Technology, Fur & Feathers, California Fine Arts, and California Creative Arts.

Next to the Expo is a 9/11 Memorial that plays tribute to those that lost their lives on that day. There represented is a cross-beam that was part of the actual building, a twin towers replica, and a rotating 5,000 lb. granite ball with the names of those fallen which sits afloat on top of a small water fountain.

If the exhibits and the animals are not enough entertainment and fun for the family there’s a midway and carnival rides for the kids and the adults. The larger carnival is on the west end of the expo, whereas, the kid’s carnival is on the eastern end. Food vendors line all paths of the fairgrounds and if you don’t see one you haven’t been looking hard enough. Staples at the fair are funnel cakes, turkey legs, fried veggies, kettle corn, and corn dogs.

If entertainment is not your thing, there is a lot of shopping that you can do at the fair. Inside of a couple buildings there is a shoppers expo. Here you can find local businesses, even businesses from out of state here. Vendors present all sorts of things to buy from food snacks to “As Seen On TV” items. Make sure to bring disposible income because there are tons of things that are useful.

Adjacent to the shopping expo, there also is a couple of buildings that are dedicated to displays of the various counties that are in California. Each county has the opportunity to display what their county has to offer and usually they do so with big displays and lots of brochures. Some displays are pretty interesting and you can tell that a lot of thought has gone into developing them. Not all counties actually show up to display, but a majority of them come out to represent themselves.

If entertainment and shopping is just not what you are looking for you can just sit back and relax or take a walk in the Floriculture section of the expo, The Farm, the California Forest Center or even Raging Waters (at an additional cost).

Every year the fair has a pretty entertaining line up for the fair’s concert series. This year the fair was able to book the following groups to perform on the Golden 1 Circle Stage. They were David Cook, Jay & The Americans, Cannibal & The Headhunters, Merrilee Rush, Badfinger, SOnny Geraci and Otis Day, Tonic, Salvador, The Fab Four, Martha Munizzi, Tarde De Ritmo Y Recuerdos, Lou Gramm, M.C. Hammer, Three Dog Night, Blake Shelton, and Tops in Blue.

On September 3rd, M.C. Hammer performed live on the Golden 1 Circle Stage. He put on a good show for everyone and brought some of his old classics back. A few familiar songs that he played were “U Can’t Touch This”, “Too Legit to Quit”, “Addams Grove” (edited version of “The Addam Family”), and “Turn This Mutha Out”. M.C. Hammer said to his audience that he’s not there to perform and that he in not presenting a show, he was there to party and a party it was. He got everyone standing on their feet in the groove of things and later towards the end of his appearance he brought 30-40 people up on stage just to dance during two songs. Fans went crazy when on stage and it ended up being a club scene on stage. People on stage sure had a good time dancing, singing, shaking hands  and taking pictures with M.C. Hammer. Although, M.C. Hammer is getting older he still knows how to put on a great show and get the audience involved, a true sign of a good entertainer.

In our recession the fair still ends each evening off with a display of fireworks for about 10 minutes at 10 PM. The fireworks are shot off from the horse track and viewable from the grand stand as well as the eastern end of the fairgrounds. The carnival on the western side of the fairgrounds is open one hour after the rest of the grounds closes.

Pictures of the California State Fair can be seen by clicking on the picture link above.