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Published: September 8th 2007
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En route to San Francisco, we tried to sort out some accommodation at a place suggested by some other backpackers we'd chatted to; however, we were operating on an ad hoc timeline which meant that by the time we were ready for checking into San Fran, the hostel was full up already.
On the Inter State across, we discovered the biggest fast food burgers to conclude what has been a commited and exhaustive survey across America and the prize goes to Carl's Jr. Oh lordy, it's a good thing for us we're leaving the states in a week. From the car park there, we rang up and found a couple of beds in a dorm in some crazy area of San Fran called "Mission". This place is a ghetto and when we rolled in at 01:00am, we get the full monty experience of the area with shady characters kicking around left, right and centre. To tell you the truth, I was getting nervous every time we hit a red light as it meant stopping the car for longer than five seconds.
During a chat between us regarding whether or not we were going to stay in this hostel, we acknowledged the fact, that, as backpackers arriving in big cities at 01:00am, we might as well get used to sleeping in crazy places but to be frank, there was no way I was staying there, plus leave our beloved motor outside, if we could help it. As long as I have some Benjamin Franklins in my wallet, I can help it!
Trung had stayed in the Fisherman's Wharf area on a former visit so we made a beeline there and after an hours searching, we checked into some shady, overpriced motel, conceeding that at 2 in the morning, we'd have to eventually take what San Francisco was offering us.
The next 3 days in the city were a lot of fun. We had a pretty fun night out drinking in some Irish bar with the locals. Before the trip, I made a personal oath to myself to stay out of touristy Irish bars, but when your looking for a decent brew in America, well, needs must...
It was interesting in that bar, as we met another American pretending to be from Britain or Ireland. We've had this scernario quite a bit. "Your from Scatchland, that's just terrific.
I'm Irish." To which I reply: "Where in Ireland are you from?" To which the standard reply seems to be: "Well... my great, great, grandfathers cousin, he was from..." At this point, I nod a less than convincing acknowledgement, while mentally thinking "I know a few Irish who would need a bit more proof than that." Nevermind though, I think i'm missing the more important point that 99% of Americans seem to think its between "OK" and "cool" to be from the UK, which has been welcoming for us.
On finding a decent internet cafe (which are a dying breed in the states due to the wifi invasion), Trung went on an online mission to get us out of our hovel of a motel and managed to find us a hotel with a pool for less the price - go Trung! During the days, we visited San Fran's large and lively Chinatown district which was really impressive and big. We passed up on the money-spinning tourist nicity that is Alcatraz and settled for a wonder around the numerous piers that have been converted to shopping boutiques and patches for street artists, performers and entertainers. It was on that overcast
afternoon, 5 whole weeks into the trip, that I let my guard down and subsequently let my neck get sun burnt bad - ouch!
Aside from that glitch and the unignorable poverty and homeless evident (lying rows thick on the pavements at night) in San Fran, we really took to the city. It was a real laugh doing our own homage to Steve McQueen in Bullett by bombing around the steep streets in The Beast and winding our way down Lomard Street, instantly recognisable from many a car chase scene or TV commercial. On our way out of the city, we did a quick "over and back" of the Golden Gate bridge, which, although has a picturesque back drop, was no real great shakes to me.
From San Francisco, we joined the reknowned (and for us, long-awaited) Route 1, a 400 mile coastal road linking San Francisco with Los Angeles. This was a really cool drive and whet our appetites for the next two months in and around the Pacific Ocean. On reaching the sea, we also felt a real sense of accomplishment as our coast-to-coast plan was realised - we did it! After 28 days in the
car and a smidge under 7,000 miles, we passed down the length of Route 1 with stop offs at the quaint Carmel-On-Sea and the opulent Santa Barbara, Ventura and Malibu to finally complete a monster of a road trip at LAX International Airport.
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Eleanor
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V DUBYA
Aw thanks for the VW van picture, ha ha!!! Eat, Drink, Surf... Excellent!