dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Posted (5 months 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 12265 times:
California Dreamin': Virgin to SFO
I'd never flown in the month of October. Ever. That seemed pretty odd to me, and was a pretty good reason to fly out somewhere during that time. The question was, “where to?”.
Well, it's about the destination but also about the aircraft type. After all, I'm pretty crazy! So, after a bit of searching, I reached my conclusion. I'd go to San Francisco. This offered me the perfect chance to fly Virgin America, supposedly the best airline in the US, service-wise and image-wise. Also, I got another perfect chance: to fly the 762 before they're retired. American to JFK was the second segment I chose. That was easy. What to fly from New York back to Chicago? A tough choice... There was Southwest's new 738... Delta, since they're my frequent-flyer airline as a FB member... JetBlue since they're a good airline in my view. The 738 with Sky Interior offered by WN won out; the competitive fare also helped. Then again, NYC-CHI have prices that are massively reduced, given the massive competition on the route.
Seems pretty good to me. The catch was that the flight departing Chicago would leave at 07:00... I live quite far away from O'Hare, the journey taking about 1h40' or so. This meant I should leave at 04:20 by public transport. That's also when the first bus was to Chicago downtown. Well, I decided against that in the end, and M and I took a cab to O'Hare. At this early hour it took about 30 minutes or so, but cost $60. Oh well, the flights cost 500$ or so per person. No big deal, just 6% extra or so.
At about 5:30, therefore, we were in the airport. No reason to dilly-dally about, off to security. The queue was nor short nor long. In about 15' or so, we were through. Luckily, we avoided the big, ugly, Nude-o-Scope as the agent directed us towards the walk-through metal detector. We collected our bags and headed towards the L concourse, home of jetBlue, Alaska, Spirit, Air Choice One and Virgin America. Basically, most of the non-aligned airlines at ORD operate from here. Some charter operators fly out of T5.
Our A320, California Dreaming:
An Alaska B739, N302AS:
Spirit A319:
The food choices here aren't great. There's a McDonalds, a Windy City Carvers and a couple of other amenities whose names escape me. I believe in the end we shared a sandwich, looking forward to the food on-board VX.
Well, at 6:30, the boarding call occurred. Nevertheless, we waited for a few more minutes and we boarded among the last on this flight to SFO.
Flight: VX201
Standard Times: 0700-0955
Takeoff/Landing:0657-0944
Registration: N622VA, California Dreaming
Seats: 11E and 11F
Route map, thanks to FlightAware, a great tool:
The purplish light effused through the front door of our flying machine. I remember thinking, “of all the colors, they chose pink?” But, no, it wasn't pink; it was more intense: purple. Thinking back, that's really an excellent idea. It provides an eerie yet calm light. Obviously a red light would be misconstrued (and not at all in keeping with the Virgin name... quite the opposite, and Whore America doesn't have a nice ring to it), yellow too natural, green and blue too intense, while orange would be too ugly. I guess it's the right choice.
Seat back, with mood lighting on:
Alaska 737-900 again:
Inside a Virgin:
We sat down in the comfortable black leather seats (classy), and looked around to see what Virgin offered us in terms of entertainment. Well, a flight map was there—sold! Although it's not the best map I've ever seen, it would do. I haven't really done much with the system, really. Not in the mood for a movie or a TV show. However, it was a touch-screen, which makes Virgin seem like a very tech-friendly airline. I guess it can bother you if the guy behind you taps the screen too hard or if the touchscreen is poorly synchronized with your finger (I forget the term for this), but I haven't suffered any of these indignities myself. A plus, you order food and drink through this system and the F/A delivers them to your seat—now that's simply a great feature.
Touch anywhere to begin:
Flight Map:
Another thing I really liked is the safety-video. I guess it's now popular to have wacky safety videos, like those NZ and DL brag about, but VX's was the first I've seen live. Hey, it even included a guy in black metal corpse paint! (For those wanting specifics, it was Abbath's make-up job IIRC).
Anyway, soon after the safety video, we departed, 3 minutes ahead of schedule, at 06:57. Good first impression, Virgin America! Soon after take-off I predictably crashed. Whoops, maybe that's the wrong word for a trip report. “I fell asleep” is what I meant.
Post takeoff shot, dawn over IL:
When I woke up, we were about halfway through the flight; I suppose, somewhere over Colorado. M had already sampled a couple of things from VX's menu. It was up to me to order myself a drink and some food, as the half a wrap from earlier was just about gone. I found a Roast Beef on a Pretzel Roll (on the menu, not on the floor). Sure, why not... let's try it. I also ordered myself an apple juice. Pretty good food for an airplane in Y. I really can't complain about the quality... and you know I'd like to complain about something
Here it is, the food:
Sorry for the crappy quality of the above picture.
Some of the food came with these “Cacao Nibs”.
We overflew Nevada. I was really looking forward to overflying Groom Lake and other “natural” features nearby (like the salt flats and what appear to be runways, but are just a strange phenomenon according to the government), but it wasn't to be so this morning! Awww, what a surprise that didn't overfly something that doesn't officially exist yet still has restricted airspace
Even so, here are some views from when we overflew the Sinful State of Nevada. What a strange state to overfly on Virgin!
Over Nevada:
Wing View:
Details:
Red engine:
Here's the legroom shot—again, sorry it's not good:
Safety card, not in the best shape:
Hmm; what else to do other than enjoy the flight? Well, M had bought access to the in-flight Wi-Fi so we could decide what to do in SFO before we checked-in to the hotel. So that's what we did, with me taking the occasional picture every once in a while. After we set our itinerary (which, incidentally, changed while in San Francisco), and the 3 hours of internet expired, I continued more of my picture-taking way... well, below you'll find a selection while we descended towards SFO, starting over central California. We flew over the bay, and landed on one of the 28s, though I'm not sure which one.
Low-lying clouds as we approach San Francisco:
Central California:
In the SF metro area; suburbs:
Strain your eyes and you might see some skyscrapers:
Brakes:
A 721! Sure, it doesn't fly anymore, but still!
After landing, we taxied to our gate at the Virgin terminal at SFO, Terminal 2. We used gate 51B that day in October. The temperature was a rather pleasant one, somewhere in the vicinity of 18 degrees Celsius. It was also quite sunny. Yup, that's California. After disembarkation we proceeded to the AirTrain (no bags to pick up... yes!) to the BART station at SFO. I was a bit surprised when I found out about the roughly $8 fare to downtown SFO. I'd imagined BART was more of a subway than a train, but I was wrong. I guess the long distances travelled means this makes sense.
Reaching our parking position soon:
Interior pic of SFO:
Well, we got on the BART and soon enough we were on our way to San Francisco. The train seemed pretty ancient, actually. It smelled of old. No, not old people; just old. No hobos, not yet... That would have to wait until we got to the city itself
As we disembarked at the Powell stop, we finally saw the oft-mentioned San Francisco hobos. They didn't seem all that threatening, though. At the Powell station, there was a San Francisco tourist info store, where we bought CityPass, offering free public transport as well as access to a few sights around the City. Then, we waited for one of the antique trams, to go to Fisherman's Wharf, the most touristy place in a touristy city. We decided the first step in San Francisco would be a cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. The tram, a tourist attraction in itself, was rather crowded. Not a big surprise overall. Then, we saw the whole place was pretty crowded—it was Fleet Week; there was even an airshow going on, as we found out towards the end of the cruise!
At Powell:
An antique street car:
No, we didn't take the street car, unfortunately... The wait was way too long to be worth it! You can see part of the queue in the picture... and I hate queues. We gave up when we saw how little it had moved in 5 minutes.
Market Street:
As we arrived at Fisherman's Wharf, we exchanged the CityPass voucher for a cruise voucher and we got on the boat—a few minutes later, we departed. Unfortunately there was no live narration as on my trip to Seattle a few weeks earlier. This seemed much more impersonal. Anyway, there were some nice views, being a nice day and all. However, we were accompanied by a couple of coast guard (?) naval vehicles for a while. Something to do with the airshow or with the regatta? The latter makes more sense. Soon, we got to the Golden Gate Bridge, spun around under it while the loudspeaker spewed recorded information regarding the bridge. Afterwards we headed back, towards Alcatraz (being constantly reminded every 5 seconds that the name comes from the Spanish word “alcatraces”, the Spanish name for a species of marine birds that I probably can't distinguish from other species of marine birds. Anyway, roughly 10 minutes later, we saw planes training for the airshow the next day... We saw a bunch of planes, including an F-18, and later an UA 777 doing low passes. Meanwhile, we explored the small aquarium which was included in the CityPass, also at Fisherman's Wharf.
Alcatraz:
Nice-looking skyline:
Another view of the San Francisco skyline:
There it is, one of the most famous bridges in America:
Under the bridge:
As are we:
People stood up in awe:
Bye:
Alcatraz:
Main prison building:
My, my, that's a lot of inmates waiting to be processed:
Back on land... “Blue Angels” meet and greet:
Two birds exercising. One's marginally faster than the other:
Three birds:
My favorite picture, 777 doing a low-pass at Fisherman's Wharf:
Apparently United's also toilet company... “1-800-TOILETS”. Well, according to some (won't name who), “both Uniteds are toilet companies”... and I tend to agree But, of course, the low passes were due to the pilot's skills, where I have no preference for any airline. They're all trained very well.
After seeing the 777 we searched for a place to eat. M wanted seafood, while I don't eat such things (with, maybe, the exception of calamari—we gotta kill those intelligent buggers before they take over the world). Soon we found a place where we both have to something to eat. I got a chicken parmiggiana, I believe. I think M got some “cockroaches of the sea”, shrimps. Fish I sorta understand, even if I don't like... But shrimp? Ew.
Following, we climbed the steep hill to Lombard Street, one of San Francisco's most unique sights. The Crookedest Street in the World.
North Point:
San Francisco's Bay:
Alcatraz:
Ah, and after a steep climb that made me winded and not feeling too good, here we were. And, no, still, I'd rather walk uphill than wait for hours for the tram!
Lombard St... one of the most famous streets in the world?
Bay Bridge:
Wait, people actually drive on Lombard St (yeah, I knew that):
Nice place. Would hate to live here, though:
Masses gawking at Lombard St:
Afterwards, we walked downhill till Columbus Avenue, and turned right. We took a bus from Washington Square to Union Square (no. 30). Then we proceeded to our hotel, the Park Hotel. The customer service wasn't great--well, not bad either, just not American-standard; the Lithuanian or Latvian young woman at the front desk had to deal with an elevator complaint before dealing with us—not the best welcome, but then she showed us to our room and explained to us the quirks of the hotel, so can't fault her. Nor was the room great (but certainly bigger than any room in Rome or Paris ). At least we had a private bathroom. Due to Fleet Week, the prices were artificially inflated... I had no idea why hotels were so expensive... I had just attributed that to the expensive nature of hotels in the USA in general.
After I got a bit of well-deserved rest, we went and walked around Union Square, then Chinatown and Little Italy (or whatever they're called in SF). Nice atmosphere; really nice for American standards. Little Italy felt a bit like the old-continent, with people outside, eating (probably) good food. Not a bad atmosphere at all. We were, however, tired by a 4 am wake-up (and it was 10pm in Chicago by this time), so after an hour or so we headed back towards the hotel, stopping by a convenience store beforehand. M crashed while I watched an episode of Fringe... probably the best show on the big 4 American TV stations. Of course, it's ending this season, but I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.
Union Square:
Union Square 2:
Entrance to Chinatown:
On the next day, we decided to go to Golden Gate Park and see a few attractions over there. We would take a trolleybus to Golden Gate Park and go to the Academy of Science... which sounds more interesting than it is. Although, they had a nice Albino Alligator, alongside baby ostriches that didn't want to exercise...
Next day... Market Street again:
Waiting for the trolleybus:
DeYoung Art Museum at Golden Gate Park:
Ad-hoc Arts Exhibition in the Park:
Academy of Sciences (free with the CityPass):
Albino Alligator:
Cute little buggers, baby ostriches (maybe emus or nandus, who knows!) that weren't excited by being outside and having to exercise:
This fish really, really liked us:
Afterwards we headed west towards the Japanese Garden. We spent a while there, before proceeding to the 28 bus stop, heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge.
Japanese Garden at GGP:
Inside:
Young and old on weird traditional bridge:
Rock garden:
Replica:
Looks really nice:
Koi (let's just say that [koi] means something else in Romanian):
At the bus stop, well... we waited and waited (but in the nice California Sun). By the time the first bus came, there were tens of people there, most of whom got on this first bus... So we waited for the second one, which was also full, but not overcrowded full. The traffic was pretty bad and it took us a while to reach the bridge. We didn't get off however, fearing we'd be left stranded. We proceeded towards downtown SF. We stopped at the bus terminus and got some drinks from a nearby store. Then, we proceeded along the bayside, via Fort Mason Green (lots of people there, many probably smoking weed, unphased by the mounted police... it is California, after all). Some regatta was going on and some people were really excited about it.
Regatta:
Lots of people doing nothing in particular:
We walked along the bay, via overcrowded Fisherman's Wharf, continuing down all the way to
the Ferry Building via the Embarcadero. Then we headed down Market Street until either the Powell Street or Montgomery Street stations. I honestly forget which. We then took the BART to the airport. That's coming up in the second part.
Special antique tram:
Bay view and Bay bridge:
“Port of San Francisco”:
To be featured in the 2nd part: an interesting experience on AA before even boarding the flight, uncomfortable seats, NY being NY, a LGA spotter, LGA being a horrible overcrowded place and a quiet flight back to Chicago. Also, conclusions about the trip.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Comments and questions appreciated. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6190 posts, RR: 79 Reply 3, posted (5 months 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 11410 times:
Hi dc9northwest,
great report with good pictures from San Francisco, one of my favorite cities. You visited many nice places. That brings back memories of my last year's visit.
And yes, Virgin America is a great carrier. Hopefully it will survive. I liked my VX experience some years ago, I was just a bit disappointed by the FA serving us.
The planes names are so cool - VX even beats B6 in this regard.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): Thinking back, that's really an excellent idea. It provides an eerie yet calm light. Obviously a red light would be misconstrued (and not at all in keeping with the Virgin name... quite the opposite, and Whore America doesn't have a nice ring to it), yellow too natural, green and blue too intense, while orange would be too ugly. I guess it's the right choice.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter):
Cute little buggers, baby ostriches (maybe emus or nandus, who knows!) that weren't excited by being outside and having to exercise:
roberts87 From Netherlands, joined Dec 2011, 660 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (5 months 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 11213 times:
Nice report and a great story, thanks for posting. I have flown VX once, decent airline I'd say. Thanks also for sharing the pictures of San Francisco, brings back some very fond memories of the few months I lived there. Looking forward to the report about the trip back!
great report with good pictures from San Francisco, one of my favorite cities. You visited many nice places. That brings back memories of my last year's visit.
Hi PlaneHunter!
First off, thanks for reading and leaving some comments!
Good to know. I like SF a fair amount too.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3): And yes, Virgin America is a great carrier. Hopefully it will survive. I liked my VX experience some years ago, I was just a bit disappointed by the FA serving us.
I think... no, I'm sure... it's the best carrier in the US for domestic flights. The F/As on this flight were ok... nothing too special (they seemed confused about a couple of our orders...), but not bad either.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3): I also like B6, but I would have made the same decision.
Good to know. WN is fine with their "early bird check-in", sure. I'll always get it from now on--makes a big difference...
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3): The planes names are so cool - VX even beats B6 in this regard.
I agree with this--glad someone carries on this tradition... B6 is a bit restricted as to what they name their planes it seems.
Thanks very much! And thanks for the links; I'll give them a read
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 4): Nice report and a great story, thanks for posting. I have flown VX once, decent airline I'd say. Thanks also for sharing the pictures of San Francisco, brings back some very fond memories of the few months I lived there. Looking forward to the report about the trip back!
Thanks Robert!
I'd say they're more than decent (and you know I don't have a high opinion of US aviation in general). Ah, good to know about your SF experience.
Hopefully the next report will be up by the week-end!
Sultanils From Belgium, joined Mar 2010, 1178 posts, RR: 29 Reply 6, posted (5 months 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 10960 times:
Hello Alex,
Nice one my friend. Virgin America looks like eh... something special! But that purple interior: no thanks! Nice destination pics of San Fran as well, lot's to see and do apparently.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): I'd never flown in the month of October. Ever. That seemed pretty odd to me, and was a pretty good reason to fly out somewhere during that time.
Ha ha, that's certainly a good excuse to book a flight!
Sure it must look better in real than on the pic. Otherwise: horrific...
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): A plus, you order food and drink through this system and the F/A delivers them to your seat—now that's simply a great feature.
You ordered something through this system? Did it work well?
Widebodyroga From United States of America, joined Sep 2008, 472 posts, RR: 4 Reply 7, posted (5 months 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 10941 times:
Hey Alex. Finally you now have some free time in your hands to catch up with your TR-writing. Nice to see a SFO report again. Lots of familiar images from my July visit there. Glad you got to fly with Virgin America, an airline I wanted to also try but couldn't make it work.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): I'd never flown in the month of October. Ever. That seemed pretty odd to me,
Yeah, I guess there are no major holidays in October so it is hard to find time to fly. October is my 3rd least flown month. April and May (for some reason) are the only ones with fewer flights.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): Seems pretty good to me. The catch was that the flight departing Chicago would leave at 07:00... I live quite far away from O'Hare, the journey taking about 1h40' or so.
Yeah, I used to live where you live now and I had the same problem whenever I had to fly early out of ORD.
Man, their old livery was pretty decent. Their new one screams of "look at me, I'm a cheap LCC".
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): Hey, it even included a guy in black metal corpse paint! (For those wanting specifics, it was Abbath's make-up job IIRC).
For real?
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): I was a bit surprised when I found out about the roughly $8 fare to downtown SFO. I'd imagined BART was more of a subway than a train, but I was wrong. I guess the long distances travelled means this makes sense.
Yeah, a rather nice welcome to the Bay Area. I was equally surprised when I found out about the price.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): Afterwards we headed back, towards Alcatraz (being constantly reminded every 5 seconds that the name comes from the Spanish word “alcatraces”, the Spanish name for a species of marine birds that I probably can't distinguish from other species of marine birds.
From what I read it's Spanish for gannet. I used to think it meant "pelican" but I was obviously wrong..
As you know I did some time in The Rock . The reason they are all gathered up there is because all visitors are subject to a compulsory introductory talk by one of the park rangers. When I visited Alcatraz in July I managed to sneak out and skip this talk .
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): Well, according to some (won't name who), “both Uniteds are toilet companies”... and I tend to agree
Whoever said this was a wise guy indeed!
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): After seeing the 777 we searched for a place to eat. M wanted seafood, while I don't eat such things (with, maybe, the exception of calamari—we gotta kill those intelligent buggers before they take over the world). Soon we found a place where we both have to something to eat. I got a chicken parmiggiana, I believe. I think M got some “cockroaches of the sea”, shrimps. Fish I sorta understand, even if I don't like... But shrimp? Ew.
You're one of them seafoodphobics too? Come on man, I thought you were cooler than that .
Looking forward to the next few segment. In the meanwhile, have fun back home!
Widebodyroga
Visit my aviation page: http://widebodyroga.weebly.com/
767747 From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1750 posts, RR: 26 Reply 10, posted (5 months 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 9959 times:
Really nice photos and a good report on your trip to San Francisco! I will possibly be going back there in March 2013 for a few days, and I haven't been there since March of 1998!
Virgin America looks also to be a good airline. I've seen them at a few airports; LAX, SEA, ORD, but I've never tried them yet.
Thanks for sharing! Good to see another report from you.
Nice one my friend. Virgin America looks like eh... something special! But that purple interior: no thanks! Nice destination pics of San Fran as well, lot's to see and do apparently.
Hey Nils, and thanks for your comments!
Quoting Sultanils (Reply 6): Ha ha, that's certainly a good excuse to book a flight!
Yep! Then again, any excuse will do
Quoting Sultanils (Reply 6): What a nice and modern livery, love it!
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): Man, their old livery was pretty decent. Their new one screams of "look at me, I'm a cheap LCC".
Care to fight it out, guys?
Quoting Sultanils (Reply 6): You ordered something through this system? Did it work well?
Yes, M ordered about 3 times and I once or twice (1 drink and 1 meal). It seemed to work fine... provided the F/As were paying attention where they were taking the meals to.
Quoting Sultanils (Reply 6): Reminds me of the excellent RHCP song...
Well, at least we weren't over the bridge. That would remind people of the Notorious BIG song about kidnapping, raping and killing kids... Yeah... rap music.
Quoting Sultanils (Reply 6): Sure it must look better in real than on the pic. Otherwise: horrific...
It did. Purple never works well in pictures...
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): Hey Alex. Finally you now have some free time in your hands to catch up with your TR-writing. Nice to see a SFO report again. Lots of familiar images from my July visit there. Glad you got to fly with Virgin America, an airline I wanted to also try but couldn't make it work.
Hey, Stojan! Yeah, finally some time to write up stuff... And I have a fair amount to write, in fact. It's a shame you had to take UA/US there and back, rather than VX. Such a stark difference!
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): Yeah, I guess there are no major holidays in October so it is hard to find time to fly. October is my 3rd least flown month. April and May (for some reason) are the only ones with fewer flights.
Well, I suppose that's it. And it always comes after summer, when I fly most...
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): Yeah, I used to live where you live now and I had the same problem whenever I had to fly early out of ORD.
Yes, but it was a cartoon. Mentioned that in my first reply since I didn't realize I didn't write about that at first. I don't proof-read well. Anyway, I really liked that.
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): Yeah, a rather nice welcome to the Bay Area. I was equally surprised when I found out about the price.
Everything's more expensive in California...
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): From what I read it's Spanish for gannet. I used to think it meant "pelican" but I was obviously wrong..
What's a gannet? First time I hear about that! That's how well I know my birds
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): As you know I did some time in The Rock . The reason they are all gathered up there is because all visitors are subject to a compulsory introductory talk by one of the park rangers. When I visited Alcatraz in July I managed to sneak out and skip this talk .
Haha, I thought they went back to the communist time and they were selling meat, looking at that huge queue. Good to know you got out of it back in July. Nice little counter-culture action in counter-culture San Francisco
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7): You're one of them seafoodphobics too? Come on man, I thought you were cooler than that .
Looking forward to the next few segment. In the meanwhile, have fun back home!
Me cool? Come on, Stojan, I go to UChicago and I don't party. I'm one of the least cool people in the country! LOL.
Thanks Stojan... It's great to be back. It's currently -7C, with 40km/h+ wind gusts and snowing. Russia is sending us their best, it seems Wind chill of -40 a few km to the east...
Great report on SFO! I enjoyed the pics.
VS looks to be above any other US carrier's standard.
Hi Marc,
Thanks very much for your comments--yes, that's my conclusion exactly
Quoting 767747 (Reply 10): Really nice photos and a good report on your trip to San Francisco! I will possibly be going back there in March 2013 for a few days, and I haven't been there since March of 1998!
Hi Matthew,
Thanks very much!
Good to know you're going back to SF; any way to take VX there?
Quoting 767747 (Reply 10): Thanks for sharing! Good to see another report from you.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Matthew! Yeah, they'll be coming up more frequently from now on, hopefully
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38502 posts, RR: 80 Reply 12, posted (5 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 8771 times:
Virgin America is the proper way to fly to SFO.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): I was a bit surprised when I found out about the roughly $8 fare to downtown SFO.
BART is very expensive and probably the most over-priced metro rail line in the US.
Even driving a gas-guzzling sports car or SUV is cheaper than taking BART.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): The train seemed pretty ancient, actually. It smelled of old. No, not old people; just old. No hobos, not yet...
I have a friend that used to work at that coffee stand.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): No, we didn't take the street car, unfortunately... The wait was way too long to be worth it!
The wait times are shorter on the California street line.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): Chinatown and Little Italy (or whatever they're called in SF). Nice atmosphere; really nice for American standards. Little Italy felt a bit like the old-continent, with people outside, eating (probably) good food. Not a bad atmosphere at all.
That was my old stopping grounds in San Francisco. Yes the food is very good at most of the restaurants in North Beach.
That is a very new building. I went to the grand opening in 2005. Sadly it replaced a much more interesting and historical building. There was a big uproar in the community about the construction of the 'new' museum.
Quoting dc9northwest (Thread starter): (lots of people there, many probably smoking weed, unphased by the mounted police... it is California, after all).
Those old PCC trams are the sacred cows of the MUNI fleet. The F-Market street line almost never breaks down unlike the rest of the horribly unreliable and slow MUNI system.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 15, posted (5 months 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 8385 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 12):
Virgin America is the proper way to fly to SFO.
Hey 'Fly!
Yup, I gotta agree. On any route where VX operates, they're the proper way to fly!
Quoting Superfly (Reply 12): BART is very expensive and probably the most over-priced metro rail line in the US.
Even driving a gas-guzzling sports car or SUV is cheaper than taking BART.
Hmm... Well, it's definitely the most expensive metro line I've seen! But I don't know about the latter
Quoting Superfly (Reply 12): The wait times are shorter on the California street line.
I think they're usually a bit shorter than when I was there... Would've been a fun thing to do...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 12): That was my old stopping grounds in San Francisco. Yes the food is very good at most of the restaurants in North Beach.
North Beach, yeah, that's it... Hah, I'd forgotten the name... Too bad I was there on a Friday night and everything was quite full! The restaurants there generally looked really good.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 12): That is a very new building. I went to the grand opening in 2005. Sadly it replaced a much more interesting and historical building. There was a big uproar in the community about the construction of the 'new' museum.
It's not the most inspiring looking building in the city...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 12): One of the great things about San Francisco.
So do you think Seattle and Denver will take over now? Haha.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 12): Those old PCC trams are the sacred cows of the MUNI fleet. The F-Market street line almost never breaks down unlike the rest of the horribly unreliable and slow MUNI system.
Speaking of that... I did wait 45 minutes for the 28... So, is that "normal", or did Fleet Week have anything to do with it? Shame if it's so unreliable.
Anyway, thanks for your perspective as an (ex-)resident of San Francisco
Quoting groobster (Reply 13): Great TR and loved the extra pics of San Fransisco. It's a place I've always wanted to visit and your report has made me want that even more.
Thanks Groobster--and go for it when you have the chance... it's one of the nicer places in the US. I try to include destination pics when doing TRs.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 14): It looks like you had a nice flight on VX and a great time in San Francisco. You did a lot there in the time you were there.
Everything went pretty well, yeah.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 14): You really lucked out that you were there during Fleet Week. Must be really nice to see the 777 doing a fly by!
Let's just say that I literally ran towards it when I saw it, to get a better look. M had no idea what was going on.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 14): San Francisco's price level is very high on a lot of things so probably that's why your hotel wasn't cheap.
Definitely true; however, this was more than I expected. It made Norway look cheap!
Quoting The777Man (Reply 14): You were very lucky with the weather; it's often overcast and foggy. I was there in August a few years ago and it was not more than about 55F....
I hear it is--still doesn't mix with my preconceived notion of Cali weather, though
Quoting The777Man (Reply 14): Very appropriate name for the aircraft for this flight.
Indeed--can't think of a better one! Hence the title...
It's certainly true for those that work at SFO. The BART system charges an airport tax to enter & exit at the SFO stop, thus encouraging people to drive to work instead of use the BART. The BART system is only cost effective if you have a short distance to travel and you don't use the SFO stop. BART is reliable but it is way over-priced.
My car get's about 10-12 MPG and when I made trips to visit friends in Walnut Creek and Hayward, it was still cheaper and more convenient to drive.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 15): I think they're usually a bit shorter than when I was there... Would've been a fun thing to do...
The California street line just goes up & down California street and doesn't go through the more interesting neighborhoods. It also just drops you off at California & Van Ness. Nothing really to see there but get back on the cable car.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 15): North Beach, yeah, that's it... Hah, I'd forgotten the name... Too bad I was there on a Friday night and everything was quite full!
North Beach is always congested. It's quite fun when it's full. That is part of the excitement.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 15): It's not the most inspiring looking building in the city...
I absolutely hate it!
For a city that prides it's self for it's older styled architecture, I was surprised to see the old Roman Empire styled museum torn down in favor of that ugly building that looks like a piece of cheap Ikea furniture.
I was at the town hall meetings in the late 1990s and early 2000s bitching and gripping along with all the other long-time residences about the proposed new museum.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 15): So do you think Seattle and Denver will take over now? Haha.
For pot smoking? Seattle possibly but not Denver.
Denver's overall feel is still rather conservative and artificial but Seattle has the old grungy element to it.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 15): I did wait 45 minutes for the 28... So, is that "normal",
Yep, that is about normal and I bet once the bus came, there was another one right behind it.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 14): San Francisco's price level is very high on a lot of things so probably that's why your hotel wasn't cheap.
Believe it or not, wine & cheese is rather cheap in San Francisco.
Same for Asian restaurants. Chinese food, sushi, Thai food and Korean food in San Francisco is among the cheapest I've ever seen.
Just don't even think about buying a house in that city unless you are part of the wealthiest 1%.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 17, posted (5 months 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 7946 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 16): It's certainly true for those that work at SFO. The BART system charges an airport tax to enter & exit at the SFO stop, thus encouraging people to drive to work instead of use the BART.
You know, my main gripe about the USA is nothing else than the state of public transit. Everyone else is trying to build/improve public transit options, while the US seems to be cutting back. Driving, for me, is the most stressful thing. I'd rather take exams... I won't be doing either of that during the holidays, that's for sure.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 16): The California street line just goes up & down California street and doesn't go through the more interesting neighborhoods. It also just drops you off at California & Van Ness. Nothing really to see there but get back on the cable car.
Makes sense why it's less crowded!
Quoting Superfly (Reply 16): I absolutely hate it!
For a city that prides it's self for it's older styled architecture, I was surprised to see the old Roman Empire styled museum torn down in favor of that ugly building that looks like a piece of cheap Ikea furniture.
I was at the town hall meetings in the late 1990s and early 2000s bitching and gripping along with all the other long-time residences about the proposed new museum.
Does anyone ever listen to what the community has to say?.. It's always about the money...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 16): Yep, that is about normal and I bet once the bus came, there was another one right behind it.
Well, about 5 minutes or so after... not immediately. I don't know when you left Chicago, but once i saw 4 (yes, four!) buses one after the other on CTA's no. 6 route. I saw the same thing in Boston, but just with 2 buses... You know, this goes back to my first point. US public transit, in general, sucks.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 16): Just don't even think about buying a house in that city unless you are part of the wealthiest 1%.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38502 posts, RR: 80 Reply 18, posted (5 months 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 7904 times:
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 17): You know, my main gripe about the USA is nothing else than the state of public transit. Everyone else is trying to build/improve public transit options, while the US seems to be cutting back.
Well that happened in the 1950s but a lot of cities are trying to go back to public transit. It's a little too late for most cities.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 17): Driving, for me, is the most stressful thing. I'd rather take exams... I won't be doing either of that during the holidays, that's for sure.
I love driving myself and hate relying on others to get from A to B. Only when there is intense traffic and it's raining do I prefer to use a taxi or subway.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 17): Does anyone ever listen to what the community has to say?.. It's always about the money...
Some in the community supported it simply because Da Mayor at that time (Willie Brown) wanted it. I forgot the full story but there was a lot of money behind it to grease the pockets of our local elected officials to push that through.
San Francisco and Chicago machine politics are very similar.
This is what was there before. Granted this photo dates back to 1920s.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 17): I don't know when you left Chicago, but once i saw 4 (yes, four!) buses one after the other on CTA's no. 6 route.
I moved from Chicago in 1984 but I go back every year because I have a lot of family there. The only bus I ever use there is the 14 Jefferey Express which goes up Lake Shore Drive and then of course the Blue Line.
Most of the time I just borrow my Grandmother's Buick and drive. She is in a rough area and I don't like standing on bus corners waiting for a bus in rough neighborhoods.
Same thing but at least you get a small front yard.
Unless you never leave Berkeley and only rely on the 1 BART line, you will certainly need a car there too. AC Transit buses are joke and they no longer have night service. Their tickets are more expensive than MUNI.
Berkeley is a city in denial. They want to maintain a small town atmosphere and won't accept that they're in one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. I think it's funny how Berkeley's restrictive laws have ended up creating Emeryville right next to it which is the complete opposite - huge big-box chain stores, large parking lots and everything Berkeley hates.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 20, posted (5 months 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 7420 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 18): Well that happened in the 1950s but a lot of cities are trying to go back to public transit. It's a little too late for most cities.
Yeah, suburbia... What boredom. I never understood--what happens if you have a (say) migraine but no medicine? Do you have to endanger everyone and drive to the store? It's just not what I want.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 18): I love driving myself and hate relying on others to get from A to B. Only when there is intense traffic and it's raining do I prefer to use a taxi or subway.
Well if you love driving and cars, that's one thing. In most of the US, it doesn't matter. You have to drive. Not very fair for the rest of us. Not to mention people generally can't drive well...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 18): This is what was there before. Granted this photo dates back to 1920s.
Looks much more suitable for an arts museum...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 18): The only bus I ever use there is the 14 Jefferey Express which goes up Lake Shore Drive and then of course the Blue Line.
Ah, the Jeffery Jump as they call it nowadays. It just got rebranded I think!
Quoting Superfly (Reply 18): Most of the time I just borrow my Grandmother's Buick and drive. She is in a rough area and I don't like standing on bus corners waiting for a bus in rough neighborhoods.
Gotcha. I don't like taking the Red Line and then waiting for the 55 coming back to Hyde Park...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 18): Unless you never leave Berkeley and only rely on the 1 BART line, you will certainly need a car there too. AC Transit buses are joke and they no longer have night service. Their tickets are more expensive than MUNI.
Hmmm... well, I'm not exactly a night owl. Anyway, good to know--thanks for the info!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 19): Nice report and pictures, thanks for sharing.
Thanks very much for reading and commenting, Mark!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 19): VX look good as always, need to find an excuse to pop across the pond and try them out.
Yes--great little airline. Hope they make it...
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 19): Loved the pix of 'frisco' flown in and out of SFO but never visited the city, high on the list of things to do.
Thanks--yeah, it's one of the most interesting cities in the US!
I'm not much of a fan of suburbia either but I understand why people move there. It's more affordable for those that have families and can't afford a nice home in the city that is safe and has good public schools. Some people may like the space such as large front yards and backyards. Although it's not my thing, I wont knock people who do chose to live there.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 20): what happens if you have a (say) migraine but no medicine? Do you have to endanger everyone and drive to the store?
The drowsiness is caused by the medication after they already purchased the medicine. Not sure how a headache makes it dangerous to drive to the store.
Agreed. The new museum is an abomination. It's San Francisco's version of what happened to Soldier Field.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 20): Ah, the Jeffery Jump as they call it nowadays. It just got rebranded I think!
Back in my day it was the 6.
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 20): Gotcha. I don't like taking the Red Line and then waiting for the 55 coming back to Hyde Park..
Go further south, beyond 75th street and tell us all about it.
As far as Virgin America goes, I've never had problems with them. They are terrific and I love their service. I remember buying one of their First Class tickets for a short hop from San Francisco to Los Angeles for an A.net meet back in 2007.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 22, posted (5 months 15 hours ago) and read 6801 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 21): I'm not much of a fan of suburbia either but I understand why people move there. It's more affordable for those that have families and can't afford a nice home in the city that is safe and has good public schools. Some people may like the space such as large front yards and backyards. Although it's not my thing, I wont knock people who do chose to live there.
Well, I won't knock them either. But from my perspective, it is quite boring!
Quoting Superfly (Reply 21): The drowsiness is caused by the medication after they already purchased the medicine. Not sure how a headache makes it dangerous to drive to the store.
Well, when I used to have migraines, I couldn't see properly--not the best condition to drive in.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 21): Nah, those people move to New York and Chicago if they want to ride a subway that bad.
Well, there's a reason I live in Chicago... In many other places, I wouldn't be travelling around the globe right now, having to pay for my car!
Quoting Superfly (Reply 21): Agreed. The new museum is an abomination. It's San Francisco's version of what happened to Soldier Field.
Hah, good point. The styles just don't match there...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 21): Go further south, beyond 75th street and tell us all about it.
I'm aware it gets worse than 55th... But, there still was a shooting a few blocks away, the last time I was waiting for the 55 there. And I was wondering why 5 CPD cars went "racing" right by me...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 21): As far as Virgin America goes, I've never had problems with them. They are terrific and I love their service. I remember buying one of their First Class tickets for a short hop from San Francisco to Los Angeles for an A.net meet back in 2007.
Yeah, I have to agree. Haven't done First Class with them, but it looked quite nice.
Superfly From Thailand, joined May 2000, 38502 posts, RR: 80 Reply 23, posted (5 months 3 hours ago) and read 6494 times:
Quoting dc9northwest (Reply 22): Yeah, I have to agree. Haven't done First Class with them, but it looked quite nice.
I have photos of that trip. It was the very last trip I've done using exclusively my Canon 35mm film camera. The photos are on my old computer and I didn't bother typing up a trip report. There were like 20 other trip reports of the same trip. Virgin America was giving away first class tickets for $79 on the SFO-LAX route and $309 for the SFO-JFK route.
Before we even pushed back from the gate, I had already finished off a bottle of wine.
The coolest thing they've done was a promotion in honor of me - Superfly back in 2008.
I think Virgin America was the first to have cool looking hipster cartoons in their safety cards.
Check out the chick with the dreadlocks and the dude with the baseball cap.
Before, airline safety cards had androgynous non-descript drawings of humans.
dc9northwest From Romania, joined Feb 2007, 1735 posts, RR: 4 Reply 25, posted (4 months 4 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 5826 times:
Quoting Superfly (Reply 23): I have photos of that trip. It was the very last trip I've done using exclusively my Canon 35mm film camera. The photos are on my old computer and I didn't bother typing up a trip report. There were like 20 other trip reports of the same trip.
Ah, was it one of that A.net "let's all take that flight" occasions?
Quoting Superfly (Reply 23): The coolest thing they've done was a promotion in honor of me - Superfly back in 2008.
Haha, nice thing to do--guess SRB really appreciates you
Quoting Superfly (Reply 23): You wouldn't have money to do anything if you had a car in Hyde Park. Parking fines are steep and an apartment with a garage is expensive as well.
Yes--that's true everywhere; nevertheless, I don't feel like I need a car in HP. I can get anywhere easily enough (if not quickly).
Quoting Superfly (Reply 23): That is a sign of improvement. 20 years ago, the police would have just took their time and showed up hours later.
Hmmm... That sounds familiar, actually. I guess they had more "important" things to do earlier on...
Quoting Superfly (Reply 24): Berkeley is a suburb too. They just wont admit it.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 24): I think Virgin America was the first to have cool looking hipster cartoons in their safety cards.
Check out the chick with the dreadlocks and the dude with the baseball cap.
Before, airline safety cards had androgynous non-descript drawings of humans.
Well, everyone travels nowadays, it's only fair to include them all! I agree--and their safety video is pretty awesome, too. Had I known, I'd've taken a video and posted it here.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 24): Sir Richard Branson's airline is too cool for school.
I wish more US airlines were ran like Virgin America.
Indeed, Larry. I think that's exactly what SRB was going for. Certainly it'd be much more fun place if other airlines were like it. Wonder how they'd take it in the Midwest or Deep South, though.
Quoting Superfly (Reply 24): Bad call my friend. I can live on shrimp the rest of my life.
You should be happy I don't eat shrimp... More for you
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 720 posts, RR: 0 Reply 30, posted (4 months 1 week 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 3694 times:
Hi there,
Great report, every time I see Virgin America featured they look pretty impressive. Be interesting to see if Virgin's UK domestic can compare to it - although from what I've heard I doubt it!
Great pics of San Francisco too. Yet another city that I must get back to and explore on my terms rather than being dragged round by my parents as a child!
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 776 posts, RR: 2 Reply 31, posted (4 months 1 week 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 3540 times:
Hi Alex,
Finally got to reading your report here.
Great report with many nice pictures!
As you know I will be flying Virgin America in 2 weeks time and after reading this report I am looking forward to it even more!
Love your pictures of San Francisco, should really get there some time!
Finally got to reading your report here.
Great report with many nice pictures!
Hey Brendan,
Thanks very much for reading and commenting!
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 31): As you know I will be flying Virgin America in 2 weeks time and after reading this report I am looking forward to it even more!
Yup, I'm sure they'll treat you well. Great little airline. No wonder the best airline in the US is "foreign"
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 31): Love your pictures of San Francisco, should really get there some time!
Thanks again, Mr. A'dam Spotter, and yes, I suggest it--you're in the US all the time it seems, so I'm sure you could squeeze it in!
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