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Published: March 15th 2007
San Francisco, my final stop (this time round). I settled in here and liked it from the minute I arrived, which is strange considering I had no intention of going to the USA. John found it harder to settle in after NZ. (He felt as I did when I first arrived in Auckland after leaving Australia) But we had a brills time.....
As I said in previous blog, the flight was 12 hours to LA and they are 16 hours behind NZ, so Monday was a very long day. I spent the whole 2 1/2 hours at LA in queues for one reason or another, by the time I had queued at customs to enter, finger printed and photographed, along with the other thousands of travellers, my bags had been removed from the carousel, to make space for the next airline to arrive. It was crazy, then I dropped my bags off in the departure area for flight to San Francisco and queued again to be security checked, by that time my boarding was being called.
On the plane to San Francisco I made a new friend, Robyn, from New South Wales, Australia, we got chatting instantly and it was
fabulous because her and her friend 'Fiona', sitting further up the plane, were both staying at the same hotel as me (how incredible is that, of all the hotels in San Francisco).
As tired as I was, once checked in, showered and changed, I was ready to go out with them in the evening and check out the sights. They were so much fun to be with, we got the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf just as the sun was setting over the golden gate bridge. It was buzzing along the piers, they shopped a little, we ate and generally just had a laugh. When we got the cable car back, it seemed like it should be midnight, but only 9.30pm, so we also had a drink in the Hotel Bar.
The York Hotel where we are staying was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo'. Built in 1922, and refurbished in 1995. One of its attractions is the Plush Room, a cabaret-style room with a colourful history. It still appears to be a popular nightime attraction, with a show on every evening. The bar has been quite popular with us as there is happy hour 5-7 and they do
the most amazing 'plush punch'.
In the daylight of the first day propper, I walked around a little, to get my bearings. It is the most amazing city, as in the movies, the hills are extremely steep and soo so long, its incredible. The buildings are magnificent, standing tall, with their outside fire escapes and ornate artwork around the facia. Some with fabulous bay windows, everywhere you look, there is something different to take your eye. They run in blocks of 100's and there appears to be a laundromart on every other corner. Of course I had to try one of these, near the hotel, called 'rainbow bubbles'. So easy and cheap.
Once John had arrived, we were off exploring again via cable car to the Wharf. As Sue mentioned, there are California Sea Lions Basking on Pontoons alongside Pier 39. Apparently they have been there since the 1989 earth quake, intially in small numbers of 10 - 50, now it is believed there are some 900, during the summer months the majority migrate to the Channel Islands, leaving behind a few who choose to stay at pier 39 throughout the year.
We were a little amazed
at first at the numberous beggars (homeless) on the streets and their ingenious ways of getting your money, there's the man who hides behind the 'trash bins' with a bush and jumps out at you, as you walk by, and a crowd of spectators watching the show of fright, well worth a dollar eh? We were stopped by an official looking character and told we had just done something illegal, thinking we had jay walked or something, we found it amusing to discover we were getting a ticket for not holding hands and smiling. It was funny the first time, and the 'fine paid' was going to the soup kitchens for the homeless, it got a bit tedious, continually being stopped afterwards. There are also the rainbow flags hanging out of windows (Gay Pride). We had a very steep walk back, as there was a problem, and cable cars were 'down', Man, I thought Plymouth was hilly!!
On Wednesday, when we were both feeling a bit more with it, we took a city tour, which was alot of fun and a trip over the Golden gate bridge to Marin County, Muir Woods, just a few miles northwest of San
Francisco. The park is named after naturalist John Muir who was instrumental in establishing the National park System. (I even remembered going to school with a Jonathan Muir). We walked to Cathedral and Bohemian Groves which contain some very large Redwoods, up to 252 feet tall and 14 feet across, I had my hug a tree moment. There was also a stop at Sausalito, the picturesque Mediterranian-style town, not far from the Golden Gate Bridge which has glorious views of the Bay and San Francisco. We marvelled at the fabulous house boats and there was a beautiful Heron waiting for us to take his/her piccy. (Such a beautiful place that we had another trip here later in the week by ferry and ate a fabulous meal in the Spinnaker.) Later the same evening we met up with Fiona and Robyn for a lovely seafood meal, overlooking the bay and just as we were making our way back to the cable care, a Limo stopped and the driver asked if we wanted a lift back to the hotel for $8 each, how could we refuse. It was so funny!!
We had a shopping day around Union Square, - got to
check out the designer shops Daahling! - Finished up with a drink in the view lounge at the Marriot Hotel, floor 39, WOW, what a view too and plush leather chairs to slump into!!
A day of wine tasting in Nappa Valley and Sonoma, Splendid. The scenery was fabulous too. Our hosts at the wineries were quite diverse and amusing, from the smaller family owned business to the major business type winery. We were taught the five steps of tasting wine, and are now experts :-).
A Bay cruise up to, and under the Golden Gate Bridge which spans the entrance to the bay, connecting San Francisco to Marin County. Designed by Joseph Strauss against all predictions that it couldn't be done. The 1.2 mile suspension bridge was built to withstand winds of more than 100 miles per hour and a sway as great as 27.7 feet at mid-span. It was completed in 1937 and in Destinctive orange with art deco style looks absolutely magnificent, even as the day gets warmer and a mist hangs around the bay entrance, the bridge stands out in parts through the mist.
Back on the piers for a look around the ships 'Balclutha',
built in 1886 in Glasgow, Scotland, apparently used in the Mutany of the Bounty, (the Origional, with Marlon Brando). Hercules, a steam powered tug boat, built in 1907, and Eureka a side-wheel ferry boat, originally built in 1890, refitted in 1922 and part of the Northwest Pacific highway (101), taking cars and pedestrians onto Marin. There were still some classic cars and trucks remaining on the lower deck.
A visit to Alcatraz was a memorable day, with audio tour around the cells, and the most glorious warm, spring day made you realise how cut off you would be from the mainland. Alcatraz served the Army as a Fortress and Military prison and the Department of Justice as a maximum-security federal penitentiary. Most famous names of Al Capone and Robert 'The Birdman' Stroud. There was also a time of having an Indian occupation.
While here, we had to check out the waves at Ocean Beach, and just for fun, took the long route via the BART (Bay area Rapid Transport), underground train system, then on a MUNI bus as far as Lincoln Park, near to Golden Gate Park, we walked to Ocean Beach. This beach stretches 5 miles
We escaped Alcatraz
Drinks in the Hard Rock Cafe....and is not safe for swimming, however it is a popular surf spot and even though it was a bit messey (pretty) there were some surfing dude's out there, it looked big and heavy, closing out. We sat in the Cliff House, a popular spot which overlooks the sea and Seal rocks. From there we walked all along the coast to the Golden Gate Bridge entrance, taking us through Sea Cliff, 25th Ave, home to Robbie Williams, and former home to Sharon Stone. As you can imagine, tiny houses. If we had known which one was Robbie's, we were gonna knock him up for a cuppa, as we were thirsty by this time, and no corner shop to be seen. The area is known as Presidio and no tour bus's can enter. Very nice sweety! Some five miles later, we were at the entrance to the bridge, it looked decidedly tatty from here, much nicer from a distance. A muni bus took us back into the city, where we were in much need of some refreshments.
On our final full day, we had a trip along the North California coast, taking in views of the beaches along the way,
John was especially stoked that we passed 'Mavericks' (a world famous surf spot). We had a stop in Monteray, for lunch then a 17 mile drive through national park area, where there wer the indiginous Monteray cypres trees, including one lone tree on the cliff top. There was also a stop at Carmel by the sea, lots of boutiques and art shops, apparently the neighbourhood of Clint Eastwood. It was quite a long day, all the more so for us, after too many cocktails the previous night, (particularly one too many in the Red Room).
We were so lucky with the weather, as apparently it can be very cool here when the mist sets in, which we only got a taste of, in fact most days were really warm and sunny, and with the beautiful spring flowers was looking good!!.
And so the end of my amazing trip of a lifetime. I have had the most amazing time and it seems to have gone in a flash. My next adventure, returning home and making new plans of where to live / work etc.
Thank you everyone for coming along with me and sharing in my trip, I
have loved hearing from you, it has been very encouraging.
See you soon. x x
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Hugh
non-member comment
Well done
Very well done. I do not go to Plymouth anymore. I wish you great success in you rnew life.