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Published: April 13th 2008
Well, we are on hour eleven of fourteen on the tiniest 747 I have ever been on, but I am sure this is the worst flight that we are to have, and the destination is worth the short term discomfort. Having said that, I have never had less leg room or lap room on any other plane, but at least it isn’t United and we weren’t grounded. I have been waiting for something to happen that wasn’t spectacular because up until now, things have been going absolutely amazing and if a cramped plane ride is all that it is, I am pretty happy about that.
Mom and I arrived in San Francisco on Thursday night. We just got to our hotel and went for a walk and had dinner. Dinner wasn’t amazing, but it filled the void. The next day we woke up and heard from every San Franciscian that it was one of the nicest days they’ve had all year. The sun was shining bright and the high of the day was 76 degrees. We decided to head to the Grand Hyatt hotel where we were booked with the scavenger hunt. We knew we were checking in early, but we
thought we could at least drop off our luggage. It was ten o’clock when we arrived and they put us straight in a room. After dropping off our things, we headed out to explore the city. In a square very close to the hotel was an art show featuring a number of impressive artists. Mother, in true form, found a vendor that she liked, and surprisingly enough, he painted horses. After talking, I think she tried to sell him a horse…I wonder how many times that is going to happen?
After wandering around the art show, we took a trolley car to Fisherman’s Wharf where we shared a half fresh Dungeness crab….mmmmmm. At Fisherman’s Wharf there are a number of opportunities to take a boat ride under the Golden Gate bridge and around Alcatraz. Near the beginning of the walk are smaller boats for less money, or ferry type boats further down the boardwalk. There was one old fishing boat that we liked who took us our for $11 each . The ferry type boats ranged from $20 - $25, and mom and I figured, we live on an island and deal with enough ferries...no thanks. So the fisherman it
was. The ride took about an hour in total. The water was shockingly calm and warm. It was really a nice relaxing moment.
After out boat ride we decided we had better head back to the hotel to meet our fellow teammates. There are 13 teams in total, 7 from the US and 6 from Canada. Interestingly enough, of the 6 Canadian teams, 3 are from Vancouver Island - Sooke and Sidney, and us! The other Canadian teams are both from Calgary. In the US we have people from Texas, California, New York. Florida, Massachusetts, Hawaii and a couple others I am likely forgetting. We had a good mingle and get to know one another for a couple of hours and then were given a list of tasks for perform as a pre-test for the rest of the trip.
On the way home from Fisherman’s Wharf, mom and I got a ride from a man who runs a private car service. We thought we would get him to take us to a couple of places for the scavenges - sounds like a good idea, right? Let’s just say, we have learned our lesson that perhaps that isn’t the best idea.
We couldn’t get away from him. He was taking us all over the place and we really didn’t have an opportunity to enjoy ourselves. While we were able to accomplish a number of tasks on our list, the experience wasn’t as pleasurable as it could be, but he was a character nonetheless.
The group reconvened at a great Indian food restaurant where we had delicious food and had another opportunity to get to know some of our fellow travelers. At the end of the dinner we were informed by Bill that he had some good news and great news. The good news was that the Grand Hyatt hotel that we were staying in was the worst hotel we would be staying in for the entire duration of our trip (and it wasn’t too shabby ) and the great news was that we were not staying there for the night. We had four hours before our flight to China was leaving!
So here we are: on a very long day. We left San Francisco at 1:30 am on Friday night, and after time change and what not we should be checking into the Reagent Hotel in Beijing by noon, Sunday. We
have been told that we get a chance to sleep for the rest of the day and then I believe the scavenging will truly begin. We have also been told that 1/3 of our travel time will be done after this journey to Beijing. That is nice to think that we have gotten the worst part of the travel out of the way.
We are going to stay in Beijing for three nights. I am really looking forward to checking out the Great Wall, The Forgotten City, and Tiananmen Square. I am sure there a number of other great opportunities that I am unaware of and welcome them too. After that, we will not know where we are going until we get on the plane! It is like Christmas every couple of days.
We hope everyone is doing very well and wish them all the best.
Just quick hi to everybody as Leslie has covered the highlights so far. I’m writing this on the plane to Beijing and am really, really looking forward to not being on a plane for a couple of days. It was 14 hrs. to Hong Kong, a 20 min. walk to the connecting gate,
and back on a different plane to Beijing. Only about an hour left though!
Everybody take care and look after the animals. Sandy
PS - We just got to our room at the Regent, and wow, it is nice!
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Christina
non-member comment
Wow, so cool babes
Hi Leslie, I just read your blog and I am very impressed! Keep up the cool info and I'll keep reading! What did you hunt for in San Fran and what are you hunting for now? Chow, Christina