US Holiday - Day 22 - San Francisco to Seattle

Day 22 - Friday 30th September

Didn't get up early. Only had to be ready and checked out of the hotel by 10am for the airport shuttle. Did that with little difficulty. Had to wait about 15 minutes for the shuttle bus to arrive. I was the last on the run and had to stand all the way to the airport. It was a short journey of approximately 10 minutes. My stop was the last in the run at the airport itself.

The check in for the flight was pretty quick. Security checks was a lot easier then that experienced on Dulles Airport at DC. Flight was delayed leaving by about 30 minutes. The flight itself was short compared to the others, only about 90 minutes. Picked up my bag and then headed for where the airport shuttle in Seattle. That too was all pretty simple and within 10 minutes I was in a shuttle bus heading towards the hotel.

Of the three groups of passengers, my hotel was the first stop. Checked in and headed up to the room. Thought at this stage I would take advantage of the daylight that was still available so headed out to take a few pics. Seattle, in a way, is a bit like San Francisco. The city certainly isn't flat and has some step streets. The area of Seattle that I am in has a lot of modern buildings. Found my way down to the Pike Place Market. This is where they throw the salmon and do a lot of shouting in front of the customers. The original Starbucks is located close by. Lots of people walking through the markets, not a lot buying however.

Walked through some of the surrounding streets and then headed back to the hotel for a bite to eat and sort out some washing for the final week.

Have checked the weather for the next couple of days and not looking too good.

US Holiday - Day 21 - Yosemite National Park - Day 3

Day 21 - Thursday 29th September

Argh this is a holiday but I still seem to be getting up at ridiculous hours and today was no exception. I wanted to catch the same bus to Yosemite as I did yesterday. So the bag was pretty much packed from the night before. It was just a matter of having a shower, getting dressed, checking out. Caught the bus with no troubles and enjoyed the journey into the national park. Now the weather wasn't as good as it was on the previous two days. There appeared to be some high level cloud and the sun couldn't quite break through. But that is OK, the previous two days have been fantastic weather wise and I shouldn't really complain.

After grabbing some food I then headed out away from Yosemite Lodge towards the Visitors Centre. Along the way I took some photos of deers grazing and of the Yosemite Falls. Amazingly the amount of water flowing over the falls had appeared to have dropped even in the couple of days that I was there. Got down to the area around the Visitor Centre and dropped into one of the stores that are based in the valley. Bought some postcards to send back to people back at work. Spent the time to fill them out and went back to the post office to send them on their way.

Then started the 3km walk towards Mirror Lake which has some great views of Half Dome. I was a little bit concerned that at the start of the walk there was a warning about mountain lions. They suggested that you shouldn't walk on the paths alone or in the morning. I was doing both. Now if we revisit the Principles of Darwinianism I didn't have a buffer person to take the fall. It was :

• Mountain Lion - Me

But that is OK, I was feeling bold and they have some suggestions on how to defeat a mountain lion attack. But along the way the odds improved :

• Mountain Lion - School Kids - Me

Got down to Mirror Lake and started taking pictures then started walking back to Curry Village where I grabbed a bit to eat. I decided to then take one of the shuttle buses further up the valley and then started walking back. I passed numerous bear traps parked on the side of the road, ready to be moved into position to relocate problem bears. The interesting thing about Yosemite NP is that there are around 2000 employees either working as rangers or employees servicing the hotels, camp grounds, cafes, post office, medical centre, fire station etc. It is one big business.

For the rest of the day I walked trails and took photos and video where ever I could. Certainly enjoyed my time here and rejoined the bus back to SF at 3.45pm. We were then on our way by 4pm and got back to SF by about 9pm. I then caught a cab out to my hotel which was based right near the airport. I thought it was going to be easier for the next part of the journey, in this case Seattle. No early flight, so will have a bit of a sleep in.

US Holiday - Day 19 - San Francisco to Yosemite National Park

Day 19 - Tuesday 27th September

This was certainly an early start this morning. I wanted to be ready for the pickup to take me out to Yosemite. I was up around 6am and as I had packed and showered the night before it was just a matter of getting dressed and walking out of the room and checking out of the hotel. A small bus picked me up just before 6.30am and we then proceeded to pick up a few other passengers before heading to the Fisherman's Wharf.

At this point got off the smaller bus and picked up my tickets from a ticket window and waited for a bigger bus and more passengers to arrive. The bus then arrived and plonked myself on a seat. A few more passengers then got on the bus and then we were off. We headed west across the Oakland Bay Bridge. If a bad earthquake was to happen being on the lower deck of the bridge would not be the place to be but after a couple of minutes we were on the other side and the risk of death was reduced.

We travelled through Oakland and then onto the valley that runs a significant proportion of the California state. Couldn’t believe it was so dry, just amazes me time and time again. At around 10.30am we had our first stop and grabbed some breakfast. We then re-boarded the bus for the final leg through to Yosemite. Slowly but surely we started gaining some elevation. Almost straight away the scenery and terrain began to change. More trees started to appear and before long it started to dominate the view. By around mid day we had snaked our way close to the start of the Yosemite National Park and at this point we pulled into the hotel where I would be staying for the next two nights. Dropped off the bags before continuing into the national park itself.

The first stop in the park was a vantage point called Tunnel View. This has an elevated view back on the Yosemite Valley. All I can say is wow. I could spend time explaining what I saw here but simply Google image “Yosemite Valley” to get some idea. We then re-boarded the bus for the trip down into the valley again and onto the Yosemite Lodge where the bus dropped off all the passengers and I bid farewell to the rest of the bus.

Now by this time it was approaching 1.30pm and most people, including myself, into the café to grab some food. We had to line for a while and this was precious time that the passengers doing the single day trip were wasting as they had to be back on the bus just before 4pm. So I am very glad at this point to that I am spending the extra time.

After grabbing a burger I booked for tomorrow a “Grand Tour” of the park. This will take in Glacier Point and the Mariposa Grove. This then left me with plenty of time to explore the rest of the valley. The first stop was Yosemite Falls which is still flowing, albeit slowly, this late in the season. From there I snake my way through the valley stopping off to take photos as they appeared. I had a deer walk only a couple of metres in front of me. Some stupid idiot chased him with small camera which was a little annoying other wise I would have got a few more shots. Then you have the little squirrels and what looks like chipmunks scurrying about. Damian, I’ve figured that 5 chipmunks would be required to make a nice “Chipmunk Kebab”.

It was now getting later into the afternoon and the sun was positioning itself nicely to light up Half Dome and I got some good pics. Then it was getting to the point where I wanted to catch a bus back to the hotel and on my way to the appropriate bus stop I noticed a whole heap of people on a bridge looking at something. I then realised it was a bear in the river so quickly took some video and a few photos. A crowd then followed the bear as it made it’s way out of the water and along into a meadow. I always made sure that I positioned myself in relation to the bear and other people according to the Principle of Darwinianism. Let me give you some examples.

• Bear – Large person – Me
• Bear – Old Person – Me
• Bear – Child – Me

Caught the bus back to the hotel, only about a 30 minute drive and checked in. The room is quite large. There are 2 singles in one room and then a double in another. Lots of space for one person. Didn’t last long and was asleep by about 9pm as it will be an early day tomorrow.

US Holiday - Day 18 - San Francisco - Day 4

Day 18 - Monday 26th September

Woke up with the plan to make the most of the day in SF. I arose around 7am and looking out the window and up to the sky and couldn’t see any shades of blue. But after having a shower the sky was certainly more blue then grey. So by the time I had walked out of the hotel at 8am it was certainly going to be an absolutely stunning day. So the first place I wanted to visit was the Civic Plaza. Some great shots there and I continued onto some of the streets leading up to Alamo Square. This has some houses called the “Painted Ladies” and has great views back towards the city.

I then headed in the direction of the Golden Gate Bridge walking up and down the hills that seem to pop out of no where. I then arrived in the suburb of Pacific Heights. Okay there is definitely some money in this suburb.  Some beautiful houses that overlook the San Francisco bay towards the east. From there I entered the Presidio and past the Walt Disney Museum. It was at this point there appeared to be some roadworks taking place which would prevent me from getting through to the Golden Gate Bridge. But I continued on thinking I would be able to get through the Presidio Cemetry. But no joy there and as I was preparing to turn around a car stopped and offered me a 7 day pass for the trolley cars. I readily accepted it.

Had to back track before I could then get on a road that took me down by the water. It was at this point I started having the unrestricted views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately there was a fog bank still sitting underneath the bridge. But never the less the view was awesome and hearing the fog horn going off put it into perspective. Grabbed a coffee and sat outside. It was at this point I noticed a cruise ship coming through the fog underneath the bridge. That explained all the fog horns going off. It was certainly a big cruise ship and looked to just miss the bottom of the bridge before making it’s way past Alcatraz Island before picking up a few tugs to put it into port.

I then waited for one of those hop on / hop off buses to arrive and got on for the ride through the rest of SF city. I stayed on the bus for one complete loop before getting off at the Golden Gate Bridge again. By this time the fog underneath the bridge had burned off completely so it was time to get some ideal pictures of the bridge. Absolutely no clouds and just beautiful blue sky. Lots of photos and video and walked across part of the bridge before reboarding the bus and getting off at Haight Ashbury. This is the old hippy part of town and the smell of pot was very pervasive as I walked down the main street. Lots of tattoo and piercing stores and alternative living.

After making my way through the main street I then headed back to Alamo Square for some shots with the sun in a better position. Lots of photos before walking back down to Civic Plaza and getting back on the “Hop On Hop Off” bus. Took the bus round to Fishermans Wharf where I got off and walked up to one of the starting points for the trolley cars. Only had to wait about 15 minutes to get on the trolley car. I was positioned on the outside of the car and used the ticket that the kind people gave me earlier on in the day. What a great score.

The trolley car travelled up the steep hills of SF and I got some great footage hanging loose out the side. Eventually got off the car near Union Square and whilst it was not high on the list of things to do in SF, I am certainly glad that I ticked that box.

After getting back to the hotel it was time to pack and see if I can catch up with one last person in SF, an ex-work colleague from my first job at DST. But unfortunately Sharon had a work function to attended and given it was her first day in SF, a bit too much to do in the one day.

Tomorrow will be an early  start as I head off to Yosemite National Park.

US Holiday - Day 17 - San Francisco - Day 3

Day 17 - Sunday 25th September

I have designated today as a catch up on washing and catch up with friends. The weather outside looked very grey and this was confirmed by the forecast. But the funny thing about San Francisco is the mirco-climates that exists. At times some suburbs will be in sunshine whilst ones next door will be fog bound.

So spent some time in the morning doing some washing and organised with a uni mate, Cam, to meet up in the afternoon. He had suggested we go up to an area of SF city called the Mission.  So headed out to meet Cam and his wife, Nicole, down on Market Street near where they turn the trolley cars around.

From there we caught the BART, the subway system in SF, a couple of stops to 16^th Street.  From there it was only a short walk passed graffiti mural side streets to a restaurant where we grabbed a sandwich for a late afternoon feed. The streets are certainly hip and happening with the classic SF architecture.  The restaurants have queues going out the doors and you are served by chicks with tats and piercing, so they could easy work in JB Hifi or live or work around Newtown I guess.

Whilst Nic grabbed a nitrogen created ice cream, Cam and I wandered up the street and grabbed a coffee in  a large hip coffee store. Everyone had their Apple laptops out surfing the net. American’s are certainly very loyal to their own brands and so they should be.

After finishing our coffees we walked up to the 24^th Street BART station and caught the subway back to where we started. It was great to catch up with some people whilst I’m travelling through the US. Cam and Nic also gave me lots of ideas for my last full day in SF. The weather forecast is not looking that good. They are saying cloudy until the PM. We will have to wait and see.

US Holiday - Day 16 - San Francisco - Day 2

Day 16 - Saturday 24th September

Okay, just in case you didn't know San Francisco has some hills. But I'll come back to that later.

The morning started under grey skies. It felt as if it wanted to rain but it couldn't bring itself to do so. I walked back along Market Street and took a left to walk down towards the Giants baseball stadium. Now I should have made the left a couple of streets before the one that I eventually took. Why? Well I was getting into some dodgy looking areas. Every second person appeared to have a cup out wanting change. The poverty over here in the US is pretty stark and there are reminders on every street corner.

Got down to the stadium and took some pictures and then walked along the edge of SF bay. I decided to follow this along and underneath the Oakland Bay Bridge before heading back to the SF Ferry Building. There was a lot of activity here with a growers market taking place. Lots of good and fresh produce being sold and eaten. After a wander through I kept on walking around towards the Fisherman's Wharf. A decent number of people were completing this walk along with people on push bikes.

Fisherman's Wharf is a bit of a tourist trap with lots of shops, piers for going on cruises and tours and heaps of restaurants. I then noticed a trolley car starting point so decided to walk up the hill that it came down. These streets are steep and can understand why the trolley cars are still being used. The walk up the hill was slow as I took time to enjoy views back over the bay taking in Alcatraz and the bottom half of the Golden Gate Bridge. There was still significant cloud cover so the sun had not broken through on the SF side but I could see across the water and see that the other side was in sun light.

I continued walking up the hill and just when you thought you got to the top, no, it's just a plateau before the next hill. I then got up to an area called Nob Hill and from there I made my way down and through China Town. Grabbed a late lunch before walking back to the hotel for a rest.

Headed out again early evening to grab some dinner. Had some Thai and that was quite nice. Huge servings as well. I feel bad leaving food on the plate. Did a bit of a walk around before returning once again to the hotel. Headed out one final time at around 8.30pm for some picture and video taking in the evening. Still a fair amount of people out and about at this stage. Grabbed some munchies on the way back to the hotel and retired for the evening.

US Holiday - Day 15 - Washington DC to San Francisco

Day 15 - Friday 23rd September

Awoke to grey skies and rain. This didn't bother me considering I am flying out today. Had a shower and then finished packing my bag. Flight wasn't until 12.25pm and from what I had read it was only about a 40 minute drive up to Dulles Airport. Grabbed a cab from the hotel just after 10am and made slow going through the streets of DC. Once we got out onto the express way we made good time.

Strangely the express split into two with dedicated lanes for people going to the airport. Got out of the cab and then lined up to check in and drop off the suitcase. That was easy enough but then had to line up to get through the ticket & id check and security screening. Took a while to get through the screening but eventually got through.

From there it was time to catch a small train to drop you off into the appropriate part of the airport. All these small activities seemed to be adding up and only got to the gate about 15 minutes before they started boarding. And when we did start to board it ended up being a game of find a spot to put your carry on luggage. I can't believe the amount of luggage that people try to get onto the flight. I was in row 25 and by the time by row grouping was called to get onto the plane the overhead luggage was pretty much full. I managed to find a small spot to put the backpack in.

Flight was OK, managed to get some sleep along the way. We landed about 30 minutes early due to good tail winds. Only waited for about 10 minutes at the baggage claim to grab my big suitcase and then off to grab a cab. It was pretty much express way into San Francisco and before I knew it the cab stopped and the driver said the hotel is just around the corner. Sure enough it was and within no time I had checked in and was in the room.

Dropped off the bags and then started walking around. The hotel appears to be in a good location near to shops and transport. Found a Westfields and had dinner in the food court before walking all the way down to the Ferry Building at the end of Market Street. Wasn't much happening there but you could see that there were lots of shops based there.

Headed back to the room and chilled out for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow the weather is looking cloudy so not sure how much I will be able to get done.