2017 Jul 23 | Salinas rodeo, Pokemon Go Fest in SJ and SF



Some kittens eating.



Ogii's yummy Mongolian cooking.



This soccer ball was in our yard. I didn't know if it belonged to the neighbors or someone from the school, so I set it on the fence at the corner; that way whichever it was could take it.



A lot of people lined up here.



Looks like a food bank.



These weeds are getting pretty high; I guess I have to chop them down with the trimmer.



A Tyranitar raid nearby in Pokemon.



Some more players started to slowly show up.



This guy showed up just in time to get into the fight, but he parked in the middle of the road. Nobody was driving through, though, so no big deal.



Nine should be enough to take him down.



Yep, easy win.



But then he ran away.



Lots of dishes after cooking.



Getting a cheap massage.



They don't want you getting the wrong idea.



Half off wood at Walmart.



It was cooler than I expected and I needed a long shirt. These were the only ones Walmart had; not great choices.



I was buying tickets to the rodeo and saw a Pokemon raid nearby. I walked over and there was nobody else around until these cowboys showed up; they also played.



Now we have four players.



And we got him.



Time for the rodeo.



Pony rides.



Bull rides, even for little kids.



It's not healthy, but it's good.



A statue.



The layout for the rodeo is really annoying. To get to the southern grandstands, you have to cross the area where they bring out some horses and equipment, so they only open it to pedestrians every 20 minutes or so.



Good view.



So much food.



Bull riding is first.



Going after the clown.



Falling off.



Mutton racing, where kids ride sheep.



This kid got pretty far.



Roping.



Throwing it down.



Bronc riding.



Hanging on tight.



Guys reading to help the rider as soon as he falls off.



Leaning way back.



Tackling the calf.



I think team roping is my favorite event.



Because more than half the time they don't even get the calf on both sides. In a world where everybody wins in some way nowadays, I like events where most of the participants fail.



Trying to dress the cows in clothes.



It's pretty tough.



A little girl standing on horses.



And a man doing it as well.



Mascot sponsor race.



The ones in the really big costumes just kind of walked around and didn't try very hard in the race.



A cowboy monkey.



And finally barrel racing.



Nice cloud color.



Sunset over the grandstand.



Now another long wait for them to allow us to cross.



Everyone jammed up.



Some people jumped the fence and ran across.



A few fireworks at the end.



Neat color under this pickup.



A lot of posters for events in Japantown in San Jose.



Including some videogame tournaments.



A Buddhist temple.



Straight-on view.



Nice garden.



Very pretty inside.



This house is pretty run down.



The benches has history on Japanese in the area.



And also cutouts for games, including Go...



... backgammon...



... and chess.



The Buddhist church helped a lot of people after the internment camps.



Various Japanese restaurants.



Pants with lots of paint specks.



Where are all the employees?



This bowl matches our dishes at home.



And only $3, nice.



Then we went to a BBQ place for lunch. They had cute armadillo cookies.



Ogii is surprised her root beer keeps flowing over.



She drinks a bit...



... and then it all flows over.



Great meal.



I remember Goode Co from Houston, although my favorite was the one just southwest of UH.



A statue of kids playing in the park.



Joining them.



Lots of geese in the park.



A nice pond.



A goose coming over the hill.



Almost there.



More behind him.



This weekend was Pokemon Go Fest, celebrating the one-year anniversary of the game. The main event was held in Chicago, but their servers were all overloaded there, so people couldn't play and were really complaining. Which, if you flew in from another state, seems like it would be very dissapointing.



There were also many more Pokemon players out everywhere else, too, because of bonuses in the game. We went to Grand Park in San Jose and there were a lot of players there.



Joining a raid.



This guy was pretty weak.



The park was a nest of these green bug guys.



A playing area made of concrete and wood.



Someone setting up for a birthday party.



This guy was live-streaming his Pokemon playing.



Ogii looking at some geese.



This little girl playing the game and playing with geese.



More players over here.



A wider view of the pond.



Some people were in Pokemon shirts.



All of the Pokestops were lured by the players and there were a lot of them around a loop.



At one end of the park.



More players here.



The main group hung out under this tree grove.



Then onto the Omnimax at the science center downtown to watch Dunkirk. Not too big of a line.



The giant projector.



It's a huge screen.



And even wraps around you; good location for a movie like this.



The Gilroy Premium Outlets has two Van Heusen stores.



Gotta hang on when Ogii drives.



Sunday was the San Francisco marathon. Google Maps shows you its route.



I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond because I wanted a lower back support for driving. I walked around the entire store and didn't see them.



But they were right up front.



Lots of tourists at the bottom of Lombard Street in San Francisco. Normally I wouldn't go this way but the usual route was closed due to the marathon.



Thankfully I could drive through.



I'd been saving up Pidgeys to evolve until an event that gives you double experience for it.



However, I didn't have nearly enough Pidgeys to use up all the Pidgey candy I had. I still got through a lot, though.



Some players near Fisherman's Wharf.



A full raid at 20 players.



Because they released two legendary pokemon this weekend: Articuno and Lugio.



There were so many players it got buggy at times and you had to restart.



Two five-star legendary raids nearby.



They also decreased the distance you had to walk to hatch eggs by a third, although it looks like some pretty sloppy image programming; they just slapped "x0.33" over the number of uses.



San Francisco is amazing for this game: a Gyarados and a Dratini.



Lots of players over here, too.



Because there was another raid.



Articuno again.



I didn't catch him last time but this time I did.



San Francisco is the only place where I run out of pokeballs and have to by more with the in-game coins.



Now three legendary raids nearby.



The biggest concetration was around the Presidio.



A bunch of players at this one.



Again a full group of 20 players.



This time it was Lugia.



It was a gorgeous day.



Five legendary raids nearby now; that's crazy.



Another group of players.



I was in the mood for some big-slice, New York style pizza and this place was nearby. It also had a lot of Pokemon players in front of it.



Great food.



And another raid at the same time. Play with the left hand, eat with the right.



You'd see some of the same people at the raids, including this couple playing together.



Back near the wharf.



Another full raid.



I like the Lugia raids because the view is more zoomed-out, letting you see more players.



And I caught Lugia now, too.



Another raid.



Even more players around the corner.



Full again.



Mostly Tyranitars as attackers.



Yellow doesn't control most gyms but this time it had the most attackers.



I was so busy raiding I barely had time to incubate new eggs.



The boats were busy taking people out for rides.



Tons of people watching this performer, too.



It was packed.



Tons of Pokestops and gyms as well.



Another Gyarados there.



Many people watching the sea lions at the wharf.



Another performer high up.



This guy gave this woman some fish after they came back in on the fishing boat.



Back near the Presidio. Those apartments or condos have an amazing view.



A couple more legendary raids.



Still getting a full group of 20 players.



So we take them down easily.



You got a ton of experience for each legendary raid, too.



Another one.



Not quite a full 20 players but close enough.



And I caught another Articuno.



So many Magikarp.



And even two dratini.



One last legendary raid; I stopped at this park on the drive from the wharf.



We still got 20 players.



Everyone standing around.



It's a Lugia.



And I caught him, too.



Not a legendary, but still a good one.



I got a lot of TMs to change moves.



They're mostly useful for Tyranitar because he's the best raid attacker.



Also used some rare candy to power up the new Lugias as they're decent psychic attackers.



I've walked a lot for the game.



This license plate for a car dealership is well-done: very bright and very simple.



I don't think an iPhone actually shot that; it's more like a drone shot because it's straight down. Even an airplane or a parachute is going to be at more of an angle.



Ah, San Francisco. A shirtless guy riding a scooter and a homeless guy humping a light pole.



California Medi-Cal use to allow exams and glasses for everyone; then they changed it to only cover glasses for children. It seems they're changing it back now, although it won't take place for a few years. Even worse, the reimbursement will still probably be horrible unless they increase that.



That's a great-looking steak.



PLO, which is similar to No-Limit Texas Hold-Em except you start with four cards, not two. Because of that, people have much better hands by the end, so if you don't have the absolute very best possible hand, you're probably losing. This guy has a straight flush, and plenty of other players could have four of a kind or a variety of full houses.



Most printers won't get much bigger than six feet wide, but you can print them onto multiple panels to make them bigger and also easier to transport.