This year's main summer vacation was a trip over to America to visit two cities on our bucket list - five days in Seattle, preceded by a four day stint in San Francisco.
The City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial and cultural centre in Northern California. The main city is the 17th most populous in the United States, and the fourth largest in California. (population: over 815,000)
San Francisco was founded on the 29th June 1776, when colonists from Spain established the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate and Mission San Francisco de Asís, both named after Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, transforming an unimportant hamlet into a busy port making it the largest city on the West Coast, with approximately a quarter of Californians residing there in the late 19th century.
After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, it was quickly rebuilt and established itself, becoming the birthplace of the United Nations in 1945. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, significant immigration, liberal attitudes, the rise of the "beatnik" and "hippie" cultures, the sexual revolution, the peace movement growing from opposition to the Vietnam War, plus other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, which cemented San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the USA.
1600 Holloway Ave,
San Francisco,
CA 94132, United States
The stadium is named after Dave Cox, who was the first coach of San Francisco State Teachers College gridiron side in 1931. Cox coached the team, then known as the "Golden Gaters"- for four seasons before announcing his resignation due to ill health in August 1935.
SFSU men and women soccer sides plus track and field teams use the Stadium, all known as the Gators. Cox Stadium also hosts the University’s annual commencement celebration and is open to the pupils and surrounding community for recreational purposes.
The 5,000 capacity stadium has an open bench seat stand on each side and is surrounded by a running track. The teams use Gazebos as dugouts on the far side. There’s an electronic scoreboard behind the goal, which not only registers the score but also the corner and shots on target count.
SF State University Gators 0
Red card:Manuell Kariuki (65’)
Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks 0
Red card: Narkus Abdel-Malik (65’)
California Collegiate Athletics Association League
8th v 10th
12.30pm ko
Admission $15 cash ($10 on-line)
Att.112
The Gators and the Lumberjacks played out “A scoreless tie” on a roasting California afternoon. College soccer has a slightly different set of rules, with the game lasting exactly 90 minutes, with no added on time and even a 10 second countdown over the P.A. at the end of each half. There are also rolling substitutions throughout, which is understandable considering the hot temperature. Both teams huffed and puffed but lacked that bit of quality in and around the penalty area. The best chance came at the end of the match in the final countdown, when a hit and hope from the halfway line just went the wrong side of the post which would have given Cal Poly a sensational win.
#Heedhopper
Approximately 5,135 miles-door-to-door
Flights (KLM) - Tuesday 20th September
0655 Newcastle-Amsterdam (1hr 20m)
1040 Amsterdam - San Francisco (just under 10 hours)
Arrived in SF 12.30pm
A fabulous time spent in this lively city, where we did all the predictable touristy stuff - walked the Golden Gate Bridge, night trip to Alcatraz, Lombard Street, wrote the cable car from Fisherman's Wharf, and our remaining time spent in many of the city’s fabulous bars. We departed California early on Saturday morning, taking a flight up the Pacific west coast for our next adventure in Seattle, Washington.
