Our urgent plans for today were to do laundry and clean the van. This morning we went down to the beachfront and looked at all the stalls at the craft fair. There was a whole stall of photos and it felt quite satisfying to say "been there" and "we've got a photo just like that". We then "did" lunch with Marcia and came home and set about the urgent business. Holly's students came over in the evening and then more people stayed the night. I'm now finishing Kev's birthday card, writing my diary and writing to Aaron, Mum and the Pompey lot.
Monday 12th January
We eventually departed Santa Barbara at about 11am. We pottered up the scenic coast which unfortunately wasn't very scenic as the weather was horrific. Torrential downpours, fog and land slides. We stopped in a carpark in Monterey for the night and are currently waiting until 10pm so we can park here free of charge. We've made a list for San Francisco and are now both writing letters!
Tuesday 13th January
I slept though the alarm yet again, after a crappy nights sleep. Got up to dawn over Monterey Bay full of sea otters and sea lions. Claire drove the two hours to San Francisco stopping and admiring the crashing surf on the way. We found a carpark pretty much straight away and could park there all day for $4, so we did and we set off downtown. We wandered around the main street and through Chinatown and up to the docks where we stumbled upon a film being made. We stood and watched for quite a while, while Diane Keaton sat and slept and then the stars arrived; Juliet Lewis and the guy from My Two Dads and The Wonder Years (Giovanni Ribisi). So we got in a movie! It was called "The Other Sister" and God knows when it'll be out. We then walked up a hill to Coit Tower or Penis on a Hill as it's affectionately deemed. This gave a pretty impressive view of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge. We then went down to the piers and bought our tickets to Alcatraz and watched a "heap" of sea lions trying to nap. We then wandered around a few shops and walked down to the Embarcadero and through the Financial District up to Union Square. We are both completely knackered and I'm feeling a bit snappy. We posted all our mail and now are back in the van in an exceedingly dodgy area for the night. I just want to sleep!
(I think it might be us at 6.28 on this video) https://youtu.be/m_tGTd_PBUU
Wednesday 14th January
Another day in San Francisco. We got up quite early and paid the little man his money and then took the cable-car, not trolley, up to the decks. It was very full of Australian girls but after half the journey I was able to "hang out". It was pouring with rain while we were waiting for the boat to Alcatraz, while we were on the boat to Alcatraz and the whole time we were at Alcatraz. The place was very interesting and we spent longer there than we planned mainly due to the weather being so foul. We did the audio tour and then went to two of the special talks. One of the escape of '62 and the other on the life of the island for the convicts, guards and their families. It was a very sombre place and the fact that we were cold and damp probably added to the whole experience. When we got off the boat we went souvenir shopping around Fisherman's Wharf and then walked to the cable-car museum. By this time we were soaked. The waterproofing on my jacket had appeared to have washed off (!) and my hands and wrists were getting wet. We walked around the cable-car museum like a couple of drowned rats and then walked some more to the tea-room within the department store that Holly had recommended. Neiman & Marcus. Unfortunately you had to order something to eat to sit in the window and we only wanted a cup of tea and a piece of cake. So we strolled down to a small pavement cafe and stayed there for an hour or so. We then decided to stay in SF for the night and drive out in the early morning. Therefore we had to kill some time - movies. We walked down to the movies but it was quite expensive and weren't showing anything we particularly wanted to see. So we went home to Calvin, ate some burritos and went to bed.
<these are extracts from my diaries written whilst travelling and working in Canada and the US in '97-'98>
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