Last hours in San Francisco

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I've booked up a car with two new friends to travel south. Matt, Steve and I will be driving to Yosemite today to camp in the wilderness. I spent lots of time yesterday reading about bears.

To trek in the national parks you need a bear proof container - and in it goes everything that vaguely resembles food, any toiletries and even deoderant. The containers are made of thick plastic and open with the aid of a quarter. The bears don't even bother trying to open these containers, presumably because they don't have any change.

We have the car for a week and hope also to see the grand canyon and death valley - so I get to achieve my ambition of visiting desert.

I'll be sorry to leave the hostel which I have met so many people in, and had a few (cheap) really great evenings drinking 40oz bottles of King Cobra - $2 a bottle, and nasty evil hangovers. I would recommend the hostel Pacific Trade Winds not because of its facilities - which are OK (needs more toilets and a few more cooking/eating things) - but because of the size - 30 people or so and one big kitchen sitting area that means that you end up having spoken to virtually everyone there in a few days - everyone becomes friendly and welcoming so that when new folks arrive they feel right at home.

They have free internet use right next to the toilet, so your never more than a few feet from someone when your using the loo - roll up, roll up - free internet use and toilet noise entertainment - roll up.

Anyways - I'm off to get up properly, pick up the car and get on with this road trip.

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Photos

San Francisco Trams
I rode on this very one.

A VW beetle
A really nice one - less rust out here.

Comments

[Dr.P.Lahiri]

Rates
Why didn't you mention the rates/charges of the hostel . It will help the other future visitors.In which year did you visit? I will go on reading your articles. Nice reading them.

[Ali]

Thanks for the comments :)
I wrote this in June 2002 - I left out the charges because they are so prone to change... and at the time I didn't realise how big travelblog would become... I tend to put guidelines in more often now. Thanks again.

[GinandBrad]

Thanks
Thanks Ali. What a great blog. My husband and I are going to the US and Canada in September and I was reading your blog on San Fran with great interest. That's where we're spending our first few days before driving up the coast to Seattle.