JAL 787 Dreamliner Flight JL001 SFO-HND, and a Run across the Golden Gate Bridge

[yflyer]

My run on Sunday afternoon began on the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge on the San Francisco side.

That end of the bridge gives you a good look into Fort Point far down below, a 19th century masonry fortification at the entrance to San Francisco bay.



Apart from the road for cars and other vehicles, the Golden Gate Bridge has a pedestrian / bicycle path running across both sides of the bridge, which makes it perfect for a walk, run or cycle.

The bridge is about 2.7km long, which makes it a fairly easy walk or run. Near the ends, you have quite a number of people walking along the bridge to take in the view, and many people do walk or cycle across the entire span, but the crowd does thin considerably by the time you reach the middle.



Views from the bridge are quite stunning.



The weather was perfect on the days I was there. Bright and sunny with a brisk breeze along the bridge.



The next picture is the view from the other end of the bridge, at Marin Headlands, looking back towards San Francisco.



The visitor center and lookout point on this side of the bridge is usually quite busy, with many cars trying to enter and leave the carpark and viewing area, but this vehicle flow doesn't interfere with the pedestrian flow at this end.

I actually did this run twice -- once on Saturday and again on Sunday. On Saturday I did the run starting at the Marin Headlands, heading towards San Francisco. It was such a great route, that I decided that I just had to do it again on Sunday, but on Sunday, the second time round, I would start at the San Francisco end, jog across the bridge to the Marin Headlands, then turn back again to San Francisco, to make it a complete round trip across the bridge both ways before continuing on along the waterfront.

Along the bridge, you came across signs like these...



I saw this helicopter fly under the bridge (I swear it went under!) before coming around and going over the bridge back the way it came...



Back at the San Francisco end, I continued my run along the San Francisco Bay Trail in the Presidio (A National Park).



This would take me past Crissy Field, the yacht harbor and Marina Boulevard up till Fisherman's Wharf, and my route would continue right through to the Embarcardo, and on to the San Francisco Ferry Building and Oakland Bay Bridge.

Along the route, I would also pass by Sports Basement, the business that rents bicycles etc to visitors who want to explore the area by bike.

[yflyer]

Here are a few other pictures along the route...







By the yacht harbor, some bystanders had spotted a seal (or is it a sealion?) in one of the canals/waterways, and I also stopped to take a look.





Along the route I passed Fort Mason. There is a park on the hill behind the Fort with good views of Alcatraz.



I eventually reached Fisherman's Wharf, where a lot of weaving round pedestrians and tourists was necessary.





Apparently trishaws are making a comeback as a mode of transportation along the pier, I saw many ferrying tourists along that stretch of road...



I eventually reached the Bay Bridge...by then I was soaked in perspiration, however the San Francisco weather was so cool and mild that I felt much less tired than if I had run a similar distance in Singapore.



Total distance was about 12 km if you started from the Marin Headlands end of the Golden Gate Bridge, crossed the bridge, then followed the coastline all the way to the Oakland Bay Bridge, finishing at Pier 28 just beyond the Bay Bridge.

Walking that route would take around 3 to 4 hours, and running at a moderate pace, it is possible to do that route in 1 hour 30 minutes, or much less time if you are a serious runner. A very pleasant route, with a lot to see, whether you run, walk or cycle for that matter.



After passing Pier 28, I turned back and ended my run at the San Francisco Ferry Building, a historic building that now contains a farmer's market and various F&B outlets.

[yflyer]

There is a lot of food coming up in the next few posts. If you want to go straight to posts on my flight JL 001 from SFO-HND you can click here. If you are into food, read on...if you are reading this on an empty stomach, you have been warned :-)

The inside of the San Francisco Ferry Building is a very busy place, popular with tourists and visitors.



Citrus fruit...



Cheese...



A butcher with a very impressive selection of meat on display...







And several cuts of meat which are less commonly seen in Singapore...

[yflyer]

There was also a wine shop with attached wine bar...





And a shop specialising in seafood, with fresh shucked oysters on sale.



These were especially delicious, especially when liberally dosed with the hot sauce and horseradish...





This shop also sold Sriracha hot chili sauce, in its trademark plastic bottle with green cap and bright red contents. Sriracha is everywhere...by far the most popular Asian chili sauce here, as far as I could tell.



Mushrooms sold by the varietal...



Or as a mixed basket...



I stopped by Boccalone...





and had a Mortadella hot dog for lunch...

[yflyer]

On another occasion, I headed back to the Ferry Building to eat oysters at the Hog Island Oyster Bar.





In the background you can see the Bay Bridge, brightly lit each evening with ever changing lighting effects.

[yflyer]

On yet another occasion when I was dining alone, Mrs yflyer suggested I go to a restaurant named SPQR to eat. SPQR describes itself as serving Italian-inspired modern Californian cuisine. This was a short taxi ride away from the Le Meridien.

This is a small restaurant in a lively neighbourhood.







They have a very interesting menu which can be seen at their website, however on that evening I went for their pasta tasting menu, with accompanying wines.

While tasting menus are fairly common these days, this one was unusual in that the menu consisted solely of five pasta dishes, showcasing different varieties of pasta, all made in-house, and paired with fairly interesting wines as well.

Most of the pasta names and menu items were in Italian, and for the most part I had no idea what I was going to get. I was in for quite a ride...



First course: Squid ink chittara, bluefin tuna puttanesca and chervil, paired with Bucci, Verdicchio del Castello di Jesi Classico, Le Marche 2012.



Second course: Beet francobolli, goat cheese, poppy seed and green onion, paired with Sokta, Teran, Kras, Slovenia 2013, a very refreshing rose wine.



Third course: Gulf shrimp risotto, garden carrot and fava bean, paired with Giardino, 'T'arar Ra, Greco, Campania 2009.





Fourth course: Duck pansotti, apricot, Sicilian almond and saba brown butter, paired with Nino Negri, 'Inferno', Valtellina Superiore, Lombardia 2009 (Chiavennascra)



Fifth course: "Ravioli di vitello", Umbrian lentil, garden pea and chickweed, paired with Terre di Balbia, 'Balbium', Magliocco, Altemonte, Calabria 2011.



And finally dessert...



What an amazing dinner and wine pairing...I resolved to return at some point in future to try some of the other items on the menu, or perhaps revisit this pasta tasting menu again...

[yflyer]

While I was having dinner at SPQR, there was a film crew filming in the alley next door.





No idea whether this was for television or for a movie...

[yflyer]

On to burgers. I've mentioned my fondness for burgers many times on this forum.

There were many occasions on this trip where I only had time for a quick dinner, and when this happened, I invariably headed to the nearest In-N-Out.



This is a wonderful burger chain which focuses on natural, fresh ingredients and a back to basics menu, made more interesting through a "secret menu" that isn't really a secret...

Just to illustrate how their approach differs from other fast food restaurants, in the open kitchen, you can actually see whole potatoes being passed through a slicer which cuts them into french fries on the spot, before they are cooked.



The burgers themselves are wonderfully flavourful, and can be ordered in a variety of styles and sizes.





The burger in the next shot was ordered "animal style", where they add mustard, sauteed onions and pickles...



On one occasion, the guy in line in front of me ordered his burger "3 by 3" which means you get 3 patties and 3 slides of cheese. Supposedly they will do any size of burger n by n...

We need this chain in Singapore!

In-N-Out opened a pop-up restaurant here in 2012, and apparently the burgers were sold out in minutes.

Please come back, and stay this time!

[yflyer]

The best burger meal I had on the trip was not available in any restaurant, at any price, however...

This was at my friend's place in San Jose. I paid him a visit, and he and his lovely wife treated me to burgers barbequed in his back yard.



It was a perfect day for a BBQ when I showed up at his place. He gave me a tour of his fruit trees, which included pomegranate, lemons and quite a few other things.

My friend didn't waste time, and began cooking the burgers which his wife had prepared earlier in the day with 80% lean and 20% fat minced beef.



Words cannot describe the aromas that wafted from the grill...





Here is the burger before final assembly, along with some of the sweetest corn on the cob I had ever eaten.



The end result...



It will be hard to go back to any kind of fast food burger after that!

[yflyer]

JL 001

JL 001 departs at 7.10pm daily from SFO to HND.

On my day of departure, I unwisely chose to drive my rented car to the airport starting from Embarcadero in San Francisco at 4.15pm, right smack in the middle of what appeared to be the evening rush hour.

Traffic crawled through the narrow streets of San Francisco, and traffic only improved when I reached the US-101 freeway.

Despite the traffic snarl-up in the city, I arrived in good time, and even managed to spend a few minutes in the JAL Sakura Lounge in SFO before departure.



Like many other lounges operated by foreign carriers in SFO, the JAL Sakura lounge was not very large.

When I arrived it was fairly busy.



Food and drink were fairly basic, compared to what you got in Japan.









There were good runway and tarmac views from this lounge.

[yflyer]

My flight today would be operated by 787 registration JA824J, delivered in Sep 2012.

Some nice views of this aircraft from the departure gate area.







The 787 wing has a very distinctive curve to its tip.

[yflyer]

Boarding began on time.

[yflyer]

Business Class was laid out 2-2-2. The J seats were the same as the previous 787 I flew into SFO.





These were the older slanted lie-flat designs. Perfectly comfortable, but not a stunning design, for example like what you find on BA's Dreamliner J cabin.

[yflyer]

As I mentioned on my earlier outbound flight JL2, the Y seats on the JAL 787 were very comfortable.



The seat was wide, with very soft and comfortable cushioning.



Legroom was good as well.





Each seat came with a blanket and a soft pillow in a real fabric pillow case.



Boarding procedures were completed in double quick time and we pushed back for take-off.

[yflyer]

Obviously I was on the plane as it took off, but after deplaning from JL002 a week previously, I went to the park by the water at Millbrae Avenue not far from the airport, and close to the Aloft SF Airport Hotel, where I snapped these pictures of Dreamliner JA831J as it departed on-time for Tokyo as JL001 that same day, after a quick turnaround at SFO.



Beginning its take-off roll...



Airborne...