San Francisco (USA) Energy Drinks Trip 2019

Enjoying American-style Hunting!

After dropping off my luggage at the hotel, I started sightseeing and stopped by some stores along the way.

First, I went to the 7-Eleven behind the hotel.

There was a regular spot for homeless people here, and as soon as I arrived, I really felt like I was in America. (lol)

The space for energy drinks wasn't huge, but it seemed like they had most of the recent ones in stock.

In another store, I found a new collaboration can from Red Bull! Currently, there are various collaboration cans of Red Bull available in America.

Since I was sightseeing, I decided to buy energy drinks after the sun set...

After a day of sightseeing, I reached the Golden Gate Bridge in the evening, and the fog started rolling in. It was time to go hunting!

As the sun set and the fog grew thicker, it felt like something out of a horror movie. (^_^;) I was now about 15 minutes outside of San Francisco, in an area where not many people walk, and this was one of my favorite spots. There are three stores within a 1km radius, so I decided to walk.

We arrived at the first store. Besides the drink fridge, there was also a pick-up display right as you enter and a small fridge near the register with a variety of options.

Here is the pick-up display. Bang has almost completely switched to silver tops. Personally, I preferred the black ones... so it's a bit disappointing.

In this fridge, there is only one bottle of Pure Zero Grape left in the back. It was also still available in LA last year. It might be coming to an end soon.

Actually, my Wi-Fi router battery died here. I borrowed a cord and plug to charge it at this store (^_^;) While charging, the staff members brightened up when they learned I was from Japan, and our conversation became much more lively. It really made me realize how good the impression of Japan and Japanese people is. I thanked them and headed to the next store.

I moved to a supermarket. It looked like they had a good selection.
There aren't many stores with extravagant displays, so this is the best photo I could take. (；´∀｀)

Currently, there are two regional limited Rockstar Skulls. One of the joys of being an energy drink traveler is finding these special editions when moving between regions. (*´ｪ`*)

Finally, I moved to a 7-Eleven.

There were the new Rockstar XDURANCE series flavors, Marshmallow and Blue Raz, so I bought them. Above them is Quake, a private label energy drink from 7-Eleven that became a bit popular this year. It's nice that they have four flavors available.

Off to Hunt at Local Shops

After finishing sightseeing and dinner, I went for a walk in the late evening and early night, hunting mainly at local shops.

This familiar sight. I'm always happy to see these stores still here. I took a commemorative photo since I had also taken one here in 2015. I took a photo here in 2015 as well, so I took another one this time.

The sticker for the powerful energy drink VENOM, priced at 99 cents, had been updated. It looks great!!

However, the fridge had them for $1.50. I knew that, but it's still funny in an American way. (lol)

Although the Rockstar juice cans were in bad shape, I was able to secure a can with the ingredient label that I'd been missing. This will probably be the last time I can buy it.

I've been hunting in various places, but I think it's one of the things that makes San Francisco unique—being able to enjoy the mix of old and new in multiple stores.

I also found Monster Energy's Gronk. This was a design I didn't have, so I secured two cans. The surface was sticky and had noticeable scratches, but it was starting to feel more like a real hunt. (lol)

After buying them, I noticed that the red vertical lines on the side of the cans were different in thickness between the front and back.

Here they are side by side.

Wonderful! I didn't notice the difference when I bought them. (；´∀｀)

I Made Sure to Get the #TMGS Cans I Wanted

One of the goals of this San Francisco trip was to get the special cans with the campaign code for #TMGS, released last year.

By August, I thought #TMGS might have been discontinued and replaced with new stock... but there were still a few left! I got lucky again! ((o(´∀｀)o))

In addition, I also got the 2019 new #TMGS TWIST. I feel like I've managed to get almost everything I wanted this time.

San Francisco may not be the best city for hunting, but at least in 2019, there seemed to be a good chance of finding what I missed, with stores scattered within walking distance. I don't like stores that keep too much stock, so being able to pick up what I feel like when I feel like it is very reassuring, and as an energy drink enthusiast, it makes the experience much more enjoyable and fulfilling. (●´ω｀●)