segway, what?

Typically on New Year's Eve, we get all fancy and go out for crab legs (it is crab season, after all).  This year however, was no ordinary year.  This year was pushed our limits to do what Steve Wozniak likes to do...Segway all about town. Woo-Hoo! As scared as I was, (and Mike was too, it wasn't just me who was a pansy) this tour turned out to be our absolute favorite tour that we've done in San Francisco (and believe me, we've pretty much done them all).

We did the 5:00pm tour, which meant that it was dark when we were on the streets.  With all the New Years Eve crazies milling about, Mike and I were a bit concerned that there might be some issues on the streets - on a segway, however the tour sticks to quieter streets near North Beach / Fisherman's wharf, and when we were on Embarcadero, we rode in the bike lane, so it turned out that all of our worries were unnecessary.

Fun facts were learned from our boy Mark (the tour guide):

1. Don't come to San Francisco craving clam chowder...It's not local (remember what I told you at the beginning, it's crabs, we are crab people, not clam people. Go to the other coast for the clams.)  So when you stop by the guy that sells clam chowder in Boudin bread bowls, apparently that guy gets his clam chowder from Campbell's soup. Yep, sad but true. Now go eat some crab legs. Those babies are delicious!

2. We have local parrots that live on the Telegraph hill.  Apparently these parrots were either released or escaped into the wild when they were on their way to a pet store years ago and have called Telegraph Hill home ever since. 

This fun fact is news to me.  It might be my most favorite fact I've learned on any tour. I cannot wait to go in search of these birds next time I'm in the city. From what I understand, it's not too hard, but I'm going to make a day of it, because there was some good shopping I saw in North Beach on the segway tour...but that's for another day o' blogging - you know, parrots and shopping go hand-in-hand.

3. I have no other fun facts. I stopped listening when I heard that there are wild parrots living in the city.

This tour is one that I would totally recommend doing.  The first time that I tried to step off my segway, I managed to send it flying and the employee caught it before the un-manned segway named U Smile went for a ride straight into the line of people waiting for the cable car.    So, if I can do it, I am sure that you can too. We had so much fun. 

[this is my husband's "Holy - $#*% - this - thing - scares - the - hell - out - of - me - face"]

[each of the Segways had a name...Mike's "Happy Hour" had a way cooler name than my "U Smile", I didn't take a picture of U Smile. It took me a while to smile, I was a bit FREAKED out, but then I mastered the learning curve and I "U Smiled" my way all around the wharf.] 

 [who doesn't love a reflective vest?!]