110%er [9889]
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Different Perspective RE: Santa Clara
Jan 10, 2019, 6:06 AM
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I saw prior to and after the game some "negative" reviews of Santa Clara and the game being so far away and in a city that does not care for college football. We live in a jaded world, so I felt compelled to at least post my 2 cents....fwiw....
What We Did:
Arrived in SF on Friday PM and did not do much other than dinner.
Saturday: Drove to Santa Cruz and spent most of the day on Pacific Coast. Dinner in San Jose
Sunday: Downtown San Francisco (stopped in Oakland at stadium and got some photos of that old place!) and Golden Gate Bridge
Monday: Beat the Hell out of Alabama
Sunday: Napa Valley and red-eye flight home
Fist, none of my crew had been to San Fran before...so part of our allure in spending so much $$$ to go there was the experience of seeing a new city.
Weather was not good Saturday or Sunday...but we still did all of the things we wanted to do (visit the Pacific coast and then all of the "tourist" things in SF). Only God controls the weather! But, with a rain jacket and some determinination, we hit everything we wanted to in San Fran (Pier 39, Ghiardalli Square, Lombard Street (drove it twice!), Chinatown, trolley, etc.)
While there were some homeless people in San Fran and especially Oakland, never once were we bothered or even engaged by those folks. Never felt unsafe or in any uncomfortable situation. And never saw feces anywhere in public streets, etc. Never saw needles. Caught a hint of marijuana in the air from time to time, but it was not like people everywhere were smoking or doing drugs. Police and security were abundant everywhere...in both San Fran and in the Santa Clara area. Even saw the CHiPS on motorcycle!
The stadium in Santa Clara was a letdown, but part of that was because we were in Jerry's World the week before! They could upgrade concessions, etc. in Levi Stadium IMO.
The people of SF were very engaging. We had flags on our cars and wore Clemson gear everywhere. We were often asked questions about the game by locals and they all seemed interested in our $2 bill tradition. While they were not totally engaged in the football itself, they did seem to be very curious and intrigued by our strong following. Even when they did not stop to talk to us, they would point and smile, etc. seeing our gear and flags.
After the game, on Tuesday in Napa and airport, multiple locals came up and said great game, It was obvious that Clemson made an impression on them...both off the field and on the field.
As a side note, Bama fans were very good before the game with good natured pregame talk and very complimentary after the game.
We live in a negative, jaded world sometimes. I don't care to have the playoffs in Santa Clara again and I need to eat PB&J for the next 6 months to come out of debt, ha, ha.
But I got to watch my Clemson Tigers win another National Championship in a part of our great country that I have never been to. There were great things about San Fran that I hope to go back and do more of. And, of course, there were letdowns just like any visit you make.
But, overall, other than the flight prices, the trip was great. The Bay Area is great.
And sometimes you just have to have an open mind when travelling that everything ain't exactly like it is where you live. If you take that attitude, great adventures are out there.
And I feel like I just took a great adventure. And saw our Tigers all in the same trip!
sr
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