I had wanted to Champions on Ice, but I didn't pull any decent seats for the local shows when I went on Ticketmaster last spring. So I tried San Francisco on a whim, just to see what would come up.

Front row center? I'll buy that!

The trip would have been fine enough just with that, but then I got in touch with an old college friend, Piers, and we made plans to hang out and go to the ice show. It would be a very fun weekend, indeed!

I flew into Oakland and stayed at the Hotel Vintage Court, which I highly recommend. Piers and I met for dinner and then went to Bamboo Hut, which is a tiki bar I'd long been wanting to visit. I wasn't disappointed. Bamboo Hut has fantastic tiki decor, on par with Hala Kahiki in Chicago, and with delightful foofy drinks, a huge tiki and fountain on one wall, and a pumpin' DJ, the place was packed with a lively crowd in no time. The music was mostly decent -- they threw some Clash into the mix, which rocked.

The next day, I wandered around Union Square and did some shopping, then I was off to the Cow Palace to meet up with Piers and see the show. The Cow Palace was a very cool venue for Champions on Ice. Visually, the arena wasn't terribly stunning, but there are no boards separating the ice from the crowd - just footlights - so from our front row vantage, we had an amazing view.

Before I left town, I went to Chinatown to get hairsticks at my favourite hairstick store. And then I went to the airport, flew home, and slept a lot. hehehe...