Sparkle SF Bubble Games

Exploring San Francisco in a Scavenger Hunt

Sep 16, 2007

(This a very lazy presentation - no editing or careful selection of photos. I'm too tired.)

I'm staying with my old friends Gianluca and Brian in San Francisco. Yesterday we participated in the Sparkle SF Bubble Games, a fundraising activity for Under One Roof, a local charity whose mission is "to generate unrestricted funds for agencies that provide HIV/AIDS education and support services."

The activity was a scavenger hunt in downtown San Francisco organized by Go Games. It was a fun way to explore the city, in good company and for a good cause.

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Sign in a taxi - well, I'll photograph you right back, so there!	Many of San Francisco's trams are restored antiques from other cities - with a large representation of cars from Milan.
	Gianluca	Go Games guy explains how it works.
		Each team received a lunchbox with a web-enabled cellphone and a digital camera.
Missions were sent via the phone, starting with questions that had to be answered for points. Above, Jim (in blue jacket) and Gianluca inspect the phone.		Brian
	Jeff & Gianluca	Steve inspects our paper clues.
The cable car was not a mission - we just figured we couldn't pass up the classic tourist show.
I don't understand why Apple still bothers to advertise the iPod.		A prominent feature of San Francisco's streets: homeless people.
We named our team of six "Geeks & Queens". All of us fit into at least one of those categories, most into both!
	Ross would have been in there like a shot.	This fountain was the site of one of our clues.
One of our missions was to locate a guy (an actor) with a hangover, and make him laugh - only then would he give us the password we needed to go on. Jeff told him a joke. It was sufficient.
We had been instructed to keep an eye out for Catwoman. When we found her, our mission was to get her to pose for "a scene that would make an embarassing headline." Our headline: "Catwoman goes to the dogs".
Seeing a Milan tram (these models still run in Milan as well) in front of Old Navy just weirds me out.
To the uninstructed observer, it may not be clear what exactly Abercrombie & Fitch is selling.		The California state capitol, which somehow I had never seen before.
Cyril Connolly?!?	Final destination: the Phoenix Hotel
Awards ceremony.	Our sponsor - let's drink to that!

Afterwards, our team went to a new Brazilian restaurant called Bossa Nova Social Club, which proved to be excellent. We tried several appetizers: a brazil-nut crusted goat cheese, spicy ceviche, and tuna tartare. Our entree choices included a seafood curry-like dish in coconut milk, with sweet coconut rice; grilled skewers of assorted meats with three dipping sauces; and a spiced pork chop. The favorite side dish was grilled corn on the cob with a butter and blue cheese sauce, though we all regretted that the house special plaintain chips were not available that evening. Of the five desserts we shared, everyone's favorite was the passionfruit mousse, with the creme brulee running a close second. Highly recommended by Geeks & Queens!

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