Winter arrives

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Left Hawaii in 28C and arrived at our hotel in LA just before midnight. Temperature was single figures and got colder as we headed for San Francisco. No coment about LA as it was just an overnight stop and from what we have seen and heard of it we missed nothing.

11 hours on the train to cover 500 miles to SF. The trains do not travel fast and there are numerous station stops. They even stop for smoke breaks but the route north up the coast of California is very scenic and a slow train is a good way to take it in.

Spent the first day in SF sightseeing from an open top bus and even though it was sunny, the wind chill of the sea made it feel like just above freezing. What an amazing city and small enough to get round on a half day tour. Each sector of the city is defined by it's ethnic origins and even after earthquakes they keep building taller and taller.

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Photos

White elephant
No this one's not for Josie. We passed this air base on route from LA to San Francisco. The runway is the longest in the world as it was built for the space shuttle landing. It was never used.

Guess who
No it's not Santa. Just Sue wrapped up on an open top bus.

Sea lions of San Francisco Bay
1500 sea lions turned up in the bay following the 1989 earthquake. They stayed and quickly became pests so the city council spent lots of money trying to scare them back to sea. Water cannons were used and surprise surprise they failed. Playing loud heavy metal music had some success in driving off most of them (I guess the ones remaining are deaf).

City Hall
This was rebuilt following the 1989 quake and the four corners are on rubber cushions beneath the foundations.

Golden Gate Bridge
Apparently the most photographed icon in the world so I joined the list.

San Francisco
A view of the city from Golden Gate bridge with the Bay Bridge in the background. Bay is 3 times longer and the toll revenue from both bridges brings in $1m per day.