Well, it’s hard to believe that this is my last day here. I’ve gotten so used to this place, I’m kind of sad to say goodbye. But I didn’t have to do that yet.

So I got all packed up and checked out of my hotel and headed off to the last day of Linuxworld. But first, I had to do my usual sentimental thing that I do on every trip I take and say goodbye to the hotel.

that second floor is the hotel bar that I frequented during my trip, where I chatted with the bartender that I never got to say goodbye to

this was the walkway to the pool at hotel

and this is the view from that walk

and this is the pool, obviously


this was a deck just off from the pool. It felt very much like a place that Rocky would work out overlooking the city

here’s the view of the city from that deck

So goodbye Hotel Nikko. Thanks for housing me for the last 4 days. And, naturally, I stopped by the Sunflower Cafe again.

So off to Linuxworld. I first hit up the last keynote speech, which was interesting, but was all about virtualization, which was once again over my head. The first session I went to was all about how to investigate problems on your servers, presented by one of the people from Splunk (who I got a free t-shirt from). The first thing that struck me about this session was that the voice of the woman who presented constantly resonated at a G pitch. It was kind of distracting for me.

The second session I went to was about ajax, but it was presented by a guy who clearly didn’t really have much prepared, but had written a little speech that he literally read. So that was a little disappointing.

So I headed off to lunch and found a great little hole in the wall Japanese place that was fantastic (I wanted to make sure to get sushi one more time before I left town).

Oh, and I forgot, I finally did take a picture of the other place that I had the magnificent sushi at too, so here that is.

So I wandered around for a little bit near that Japanese place, and noticed a bunch of statues just out on the sidewalk, so I snapped off a few pictures.

And since I was nearby, I figured I’d head over to Yerba Buena Gardens again, where a traditional Jewish band was playing.

So I sat and read for a little bit while listening. It was gorgeous.

I headed back to my final session of the 2006 Linuxworld conference, which was all about preventing attacks on your network. And that was it. No big send off, not even really anyone to say “thanks for coming.” So that’s how the Linuxworld conference ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

So I had some time to kill before my flight, and the final couple things I wanted to do was ride the trolleys and go to Ghirardelli square. So I figured I’d do just that.

trolleys are fun (everyone gets on board and becomes a Rhesus monkey)

these pictures were not easy to get as I was hanging off the side of the trolley when I took this

I did get a chance to see Lombard street (the most crooked street in the world) from the trolley

So I rode the trolley all the way to Ghirardelli Square/Fisherman’s Wharf, which was so fun! I had to wait in a huge line to do it, but it was a blast hanging off the side.

The coolest thing to me about the Ghirardelli Square area is that it feels like it’s a little sea shanti town. It doesn’t really feel like your in a huge city anymore. Plus the fact that it is gorgeous there (and I happened to pick the absolute perfect day to go).

notice the Golden Gate in the fog

So I wandered through Ghirardelli Square,

bought some chocolate

the original chocolate ovens that are still used

and some ice cream

which was amazing, and just basked in the beauty of the day. If everything I had done before had not made me think I could fall in love with this place, this whole last day most certainly solidified that. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so at peace and comfortable in a place I’d never been in before.

I didn’t really have time to go to Fisherman’s Wharf, unfortunately, as I had to get back in the giant line to take the trolley back to the hotel.

I met a very nice British family while in line, and joined them on the trolley back. It made me wish I had an accent. Or at least one better than a mottled midwest one.

this is the closest I ever came to that big triangle building that I can’t remember the name of

So I got back to the hotel, immediately hopped on a van that took me to the airport for my red eye flight, and said goodbye to San Francisco. If I had stayed much longer, I would have easily fallen in love with this place, even more so than I did. When I get back to GR, I’m leaving very soon after for Cedar Point with Ryan, Jacqui, and Dave (which I’ll probably have some pictures from, but you can probably assume we had a great time), so no rest for the weary.

So goodbye San Fran. I hope to see you again in the not so distant future. I didn’t leave my heart there, but I may have left part of my kidney.

On to the rest of my life, but Cedar Point first!