The other day while riding the train to the city I passed Bay Meadows Race Track and it occurred to me that this might be a fun day just waiting to happen. So Thew and I looked up the race times (no simulcast, please) and away we went one merry afternoon.Neither Thew or I are very adept bettors, despite having been raised in a horse track town. We managed to find a nice guy who supplied us with "Betting for Beginners" booklets that solved all that. On a side note, the "Betting for Beginners" booklets are a brilliant idea by the gambling industry; they allow a complete novice to tentatively understand complex betting schemes relatively quickly. Vegas has the same setup. It lets you part with your money more quickly.
Anywho, we started betting (and losing) on the ponies, and it was real fun. I took some photos. Bay Meadows is a nice enough place, not very spit polished. Lots of old men wandering about muttering in Spanish and Cantonese. All in all I think I made enough to pay for one of the beers I bought.
After Bay Meadows Thew and I went to this little waterning hole right outside the gates, where Thew had a card entitling him to "Free Beer". The story goes (from Thew) that one night he was out in Palo Alto wearing his Yankess cap (BOOOOO!!!!) and he was the only guy in this sports bar wearing anything Yankees. The proprietor of the Prince of Wales in San Mateo saw Thew's brave display of Yankee pride and gave him a business card, signed, with the note for "Free Beer". So back to the present, we see this place, Thew recalls the story, digs up the card and we decide to venture in. Needless to say, the guy wasn't there, so we had to pay for our Pabst like everyone else. But this was a fun place and I will probably return to give the ol' Habanero Burger a go.After The Prince of Wales Pub we ventured down the Camino Real to this little dive we had seen from the train but never been to, The Carlos Club. It was cool in there. Pretty divery, as we expected. Amy, the bartneder, was very nice. She was amazed at my knowledge of music that had been produced prior to my birth. Don't stop believin' Amy -- hold on to that feeling. It was also here at the Carlos Club where I watched Detroit lose to St. Louis in Game 1 of the Series. Damn. I had my rally cap on and some douche bag with his wife told me to stop drumming on the bar for the last at bat. Shut up, Old Man River. Let me lose with some pride, please.
So after the Tigers got their ass handed to them we proceeded toward a house party in the Excelsior district. This was only accomplished by the miracle of my new phone which has *the* coolest navigation program on it. Totally worth the money all the way.
The house was located on a hill, which provided me a great vantage to snap a pic from.
Inside, it was pretty fun. There were a lot of people, none of whom I knew, but I started introducing myself around and pretty soon discovered that there were a lot of New Mexicans in the house (literally). Being from a state with a relatively small population leads to new friends when you're far from home, I've found. 
This was my first house party in the 'Sco and it was a real good time. Everyone was just hanging out, eating some food and drinkin' brews. I was real glad to be wearing a Giants cap, cuz there was a guy wearing some Dodgers gear and he catching some flack for it. But he should've known, yeah? I mean, come on, the Dodgers? In SF?We rolled out after a time for good old PA; all in all a good night after a fun day at the races.
