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Published: July 29th 2006
Last time we spoke we had organised the motorhome...
On Thursday the 20th of July we continued to search the local area and organised accommodation for Los Angeles and transport to get there. We organised to catch the Greyhound bus down to LA on Wednesday the 26th of July leaving San Francisco at 7.45am. The bus trip is 8 hours long.
The plan originally was to leave San Fran on Saturday, however due to the change of plans for the motorhome we decided to take a tour to Yosemite National Park. We booked the tour to leave on Sunday morning and it goes for 3 days. The tour is run by Incredible Adventures and involves a small mini bus and camping, yes camping (hahaha). Shane is definately quite impressed that Chris is willing to sleep in a tent however he keeps reminding her that he is sure that China will be much worse.
We also booked Universal Studios for next Friday to use our VIP tickets we bought before we left home.
On Friday the 21st of July we got up early and walked to Japantown. We had a look around the local shopping centre and were
both amazed by the plastic looking food in the restaurant windows. We also saw a sushi train or should we say boats in one of the shops.
We then caught the bus to 'Postcard Row' an area famous for the local Victorian homes. We took some photos (as can be seen, try and find Chris in one of them!) and then explored the Alamo park adjacent to the homes where Chris found a garden where all the plants were growing out of shoes... very weird.
We then hopped on a bus and headed to Union St (which is one of the more expensive areas of San Fran). We stopped at a nice little bakers for some lunch and finished off lunch with a piece to fudge we had bought earlier at Gold Leaf Chocolatier which has been voted the best chocolate shop in San Francisco. Afterwards we headed towards Chinatown and Shane visited what he will know as his favourite shop thus far (or on par with the chocolate shop)... The Wok Shop. Although Shane didn't buy anything, given the opportunity, and spare room in the luggage, there would have been a few purchases.
We had previously
booked into Alcatraz for 4.15pm so we then headed down to wharf 41 and waited in line. Upon boarding the boat, the tour company took a photo of all groups of passengers which they tried to sell to us later on for a ripoff price of $20 (clearly we didn't get sucked in!).
It was only a short ferry trip to Alcatraz and we were standing on the docks. We headed up the walkway to the office to collect our Audio Tour. The tour lasted for approximately 37mins but we did stop and look at a few things in more detail on the way so it did take longer. Alcatraz was amazing. Its a very eerie feeling knowing that it was once used as a prison.
We saw where Al Capone's room was and also where the famous spoon escape occurred(quite similar to Prison Break if anyone watched that).
Upon finishing the tour we went out and had a look at the recreational yard. The wind was blowing hard and as we took in the scenery once of the officers told us to hurry cause the last boat was on the way... woops! We made it back with
plenty of time and caught the ferry back (with Chris panicking at the thought of getting stuck on the island for the night).
On Saturday the 22nd of July we jumped on the Muni (local electric train) and went to Haight Street. Haight St is considered to be a hippy area however we were both dissapointed as we didn't see many hippies around. However we did manage to find a shop that quite openly sold bongs, as could be seen from their front window!
We then took the long walk to Golden Gate Recreational Park and walked about halfway through it (approx 5kms). The grass was very lush and Chris managed to find a rose garden were she proceeded to fill up the camera with photos of roses and Theodore (or so we nicknamed him) the squirrel. After stopping off at a small waterfall, and Chris dropping Shane's spare camera battery in the water (fortunately it still works) whilst trying to photograph a turtle we caught a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge (also now known to us as Tourist Galore).
We took many happy snaps of the bridge however opted not to walk across it (it
just seemed too far... haha). We jumped back on a bus and headed back to the hotel to pack our things for the following days adventures to Yosemite National Park.
On Sunday the 23rd of July we woke up at 6am (yawn) and stored the majority of our luggage at our Hotel (The Grant Hotel) for the time that we were at Yosemite. We walked a few blocks to The Hilton and met everyone that we were going camping with. The next awkward 10mins were spent patiently waiting for the bus and making obligatory small talk with the other 9 people. The group consisted of us and another Aussie couple (Bree and Clay, who have been living in Canada for 3 years), 4 English guys, 1 German woman and an Irish couple. The tour guide (Wayne) arrived and ordered Shane to assist to load the luggage on top of the bus. He then invited Shane to sit up front next to him in the comfortable passenger seat. Chris thinks he had a crush on Shane but Shane assurred her that neither he nor Wayne was that way inclined.
Our first stop was to purchase food for the trip
Fresh produce at Chinatown
Chris was tempted but didn't try itwhere Chris volunteered her services. We all melted as we got out of the bus as the US is in the middle of a heatwave and we had 40 degree plus temperatures every day.
A few hours later (and a few cat naps for Shane), a cranky Chris disembarked from the bus at a picnic spot inside Yosemite National Park. We made sandwiches for lunch from the food purchased earlier (thanks Chris) and then proceeded to our first tourist stop, The Sequoia Trees. The trees are the tallest trees in the world but Chris's patience lasted less then 10 minutes due to the heat, a splinter and only having one bum cheek on the seat the whole trip (due to the Irish couple lying, massaging and sleeping on the seat beside her the entire way). Chris's view of the trees although quite large and amazing was 'how can this guy (Wayne) expect us to look at them for 2 1/2 hours. Once you have seen one you have seen them all.' Chris was more interested in reading the warning about mountain lion sightings in the area and heading towards the local shop to purchase an ice-cream (only because they
didn't have shave ice).
We got back on the bus and proceeded to our campsite, however on the way we stopped off at several viewpoints over looking the park. As can be seen from the photos the views were amazing and the park is beautiful. Our guide mentioned that Star Wars IV was filmed there and the Osbournes recently visited and did rock climbing nearby.
We set up our tent, after strict instruction from Wayne (which we got used to enduring over the course of the trip) and made dinner and walked down to the river for a swim. The water was very very icy but very refreshing. We headed back for burritos and the majority of the travellers consumed a few beers (Chris and Shane both avoiding the alcohol).
Our bed... well what can we say. Although we both had two foam yoga mats as our mattress and a few rolled up pieces of clothing for pillows for some reason the bed was worse than sleeping on bare concrete itself. The heat combined with the rocks beneath us ensured that we both slept terribly and woke the next morning sore, tired and irritable.
We drove
to Mount Hotham were we all managed to bathe ourselves in Aeroguard in preparation for the 11km (if you completed it) hike to come. The hike was extremely difficult but despite that Chris managed to make it approx 3/5 of the way before joining Bree for a rest and a slow walk back to the lake. On the way, despite the 40+ degree temperatures we saw snow and the lake that the melted snow flows into (which Shane later found out was very very cold, but worth the 20 sec dive and swim after the walk). The hike which involved climbing over numberous boulders, through swamps and up steep hills was rewarding at the top with views from the exact centre of the park.
Along the way we saw Mammots, furry creatures about the size of a cat with large teeth.
After the hike and the quick dip in the lake we headed back to our campsite for a swim in the pool which due to the heat felt more like a spa.
That night we had fatty steak, mash and beans for dinner before lighting a campfire and toasting marshmallows. The first one Chris made for
Shane (he had never tried them before), she put too close to the fire starter and it tasted like chemicals. Despite this she assured him they were not supposed to taste this way and tempted him to try another, which he liked. We sat around the fire and talked to our fellow campers. Wayne told some creepy stories and managed to right himself off in less than an hour. After rudely ordering us to pack the food away (because of bears) he stumbled down the hill to the pub next door with 4 of the English guys in tow.
We were awoken at 5am the following morning by the drunken antics of the boys. When we arose at 8am they were all passed out. We cleaned up the mess, awoke Wayne (who was still half intoxicated) and had the remains of the filthy food left over. Chris opted for the safe chocolate chip cookies as the package was unopened whilst Shane braved the cereal.
We were then ordered to quickly pack up the site, it is hard to put in words but basically Shane and the majority of the others were fuming at being ordered around by Wayne
whilst he sat back and did nothing in the air-conditioned van.
We had a choice of whether to go hiking to a waterfall or whether to go rafting on the Merced River. Chris convinced Shane rafting was the way to go and we spent the next three hours cruising down the little rapids. Shane's steering was a little off and he managed to crash the raft several times into trees and rocks on the banks of the river. Chris however has superior rafting skills and single-handedly navigated her way safely down the remainder of the river. We took some great photos of Yosemite Falls, and Bree and Clay took some action shots for us. We both had a dip in the again freezing water.
We then went to Currie Village and had some pizza and ice-cream for lunch before boarding the bus back home. We arrived safely back in San Fran after a brief dinner stop. Some people tipped Wayne, Shane insisted despite being given the best seat in the bus for the whole trip, that Wayne and his ability to be a professional tour guide earnt him nothing from us.
We went back to the Grant
Hotel for the night.
On Wednesday the 26th of July we woke early and headed to the Greyhound bus station for our 8 hour trip to LA. Whilst waiting an hour and a bit for the bus we observed the interesting characters at the bus station, one of whom attempted to convince Shane to purchase her a ticket on his American Express (which apparently has already been maxed out, or so was his excuse). This woman then attempted to sneak past security onto the bus but was apprehended.
The bus trip was not as bad as Chris anticipated and we both managed to get some sleep along the way. We stopped quite a few times along the way and Shane had to help half a dozen women with their luggage, he then grumbled he should be getting paid. We also saw what looked like a brand new RV and car being totally demolished by fire despite the efforts of the fire brigade.
We arrived in LA and caught a cab to our room at Days Inn. The room smells sickly and we immediately turned the air-conditioning on high. We cautiously walked down to Koreatown where we tried
Korean cuisine for the first (and last) time. We were served 4 little strange looking dishes as an entree... Chris accidently ate fish and felt sick for the rest of the meal as a result.
Along the walk there and back Shane continually scanned our surronds as there seemed to be suspicious looking characters everywhere. One thing we have now learnt upon arriving in large, unknown cities is that Shane automatically becomes paranoid and suspicious of everyone we encounter.
This morning the 27th of July we woke up and had the complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Shane chatted away pleasantly to a couple from Utah here to watch the tennis. After speaking with the man at the reception and organising a tour for Saturday we caught the bus to Downtown LA for a little retail therapy.
The first area that we visited was The Jewellery District. Chris was totally in awe by the size of the diamonds for sale and proceeded to advise Shane that the purchase of an engagement ring anything less than 2 carots would be considered insulting. Shane being speechless (actually more astounded by the comments) then attempted to explain to Chris the price
of such rings. Chris as per usual refused to accept Shane's word and decided that she liked the look of the 5 carot diamond... (haha reality sure strucka little later). Shane thought it would be amusing to get a price of such diamonds and even he was horrified as the price came to US$13000 for the 1.5 carot and US$19000 for the 2 carot which were way too small for Chris's liking anyway.
For the record these rings were looked at purely for entertainment value by both parties. There was no price gathering for the intention of purchase except to provide feedback to Shane's mate Carlos for his research.
We walked down towards The Fashion District where Chris made her first purchase of the trip, a dress to potentially survive the heatwave. We walked around the markets and then Shane made friends with a homeless person waiting for the bus. Despite his attempts to get Chris to save him the guy rambled on until the bus arrived (which we both needed to catch also) and then departed without us on it to avoid him. We caught the next bus and made it back to the stench of the
hotel to find the pool dirty and unswimable (even after Chris attempting to clean it) and the spa too hot to even put your foot into.
For dinner we headed to a small Italian cafe which we both enjoyed.
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Genna
non-member comment
wow nice travel blog
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