San Francisco and the AANS.

Our vacations always entail Bob’s meeting…that is his idea of a vacation.  But with the meeting in San Francisco I cannot complain, so we packed our bags for the AANS meeting (American Association of Neurological Surgeons) .

However, for Bob the first order of business when visiting the San Francisco area is a visit to the Stanford University Campus and bookstore.  It is almost like homing pigeon heading home to roost.

Stanford University Bookstore

Stanford University Bookstore

And then it was off to the meeting at the Mascone Center in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

American Association of Neurological Surgeons

Sign at AANS

The Harvey Cushing Orator this year was Clayton Christensen.

Clayton Christensen at the AANS

We knew the Christensens when we moved to Boston for Bob’s internship and residency.  The first year we lived in the Boston area we lived in Belmont and the Christensen family was in our ward.  (We lived in Belmont for only one year and then moved to Medfield.)  After his speech we had the opportunity to visit with Clayton and his wife Christine and enjoyably got caught up with each others family etc.  In the world he is known as a best-selling author of nine books and over one hundred articles, Christensen has been the recipient of several awards. The Innovator’s Dilemma (1997), Christensen’s first book, received the Global Business Book Award of the year and in 2011, it was named by The Economist as one of the six most significant books about business ever written.  

Innovator’s Dilemma

In the church he is best known as the author of The Power of Everyday Missionaries.  Clayton’s expertise as an innovator kicked in, and he set out with friends and family members to find a more effective approach to member missionary work. Their refreshing perspectives are presented in this book, which includes inspiring, unusual stories that demonstrate the effectiveness of the ideas. It even has its own website.

Read about Clayton Christensen on the AANS website.

Close to our Hotel was John’s Grill.  A good restaurant and the home of the famous Maltese Falcon.  It is a historic restaurant and one of the city’s oldest and most famous establishments.  It was a setting in author Dashiell Hammett’s the Maltese Falcon.

John’s Grill San Francisco

Maltese Falcon at John’s Grill in San Francisco

Another favorite restaurant of ours in San Francisco is Scoma’s on Fisherman’s Wharfs.  Scomas has been in existence since 1965.

Catch of the day at Scoma’s

Scomas Menu

Bob enjoying his cioppino.

We enjoyed Fisherman’s Wharf stopping to enjoy the seals on Pier 39.  

Seals on Pier 39 San Francisco

We discovered some street art that was really quite amazing to watch.  Using spray cans of paint these artists created a picture in minutes using only the spray paint, plates and paint scrapers.

And for just $10.00 both Miriam and I had to purchase our “outsider” art.

Street art Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco

Street art Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco

Enjoyed the view of the USS Pampanito framed through the arches.

USS Pampanito Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco

And the view of Alcatraz.

Alcatraz Island San Francisco

Our next stop was Salt Lake City to visit Jen, Adam, Becca, Henry and Caroline. Head to the mountains!