Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

It's been a great few days taking in the sights of San Francisco.  We hired some bikes today and went for a cycle around Golden Gate Park, including lunch at the Beach Chalet (which Fi will report on later).  I'll leave the food to Fi, but I can certainly report favourably on the Riptide Red amber ale; a great cleanser for the Monterey Mussels with chorizo.

We also had a look at 'The Painted Ladies' near Alamo Square on the corner of Steiner and Grove. The houses were built between 1892 and 1896 by developer Matthew Kavanaugh, who lived next door in the 1892 mansion at 722 Steiner Street.

The Painted Ladies...and Fergus.







The Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park.

 

Ferg giving some random gangster sign at Ghiradelli Square - home of the 'Yap' shop for dogs.

 

 

Fi and Doogs outside
the Flower Conservatory in
Golden gate Park.

The bike shop dude gave me the most lame bike I have ever seen.  I had to ride just over 18km on this heap - the chain fell off over the first bump!  Kermit the Frog green, skinny tyres, hard seat, busted gears...at least it meant Fi and the boys had nothing to complain about.  It probably would have been easier for me to walk!  All I managed to get was $10 off the total price once we handed the bikes back! 

 

Stowe Lake was a bit of a centrepiece of the Park.  This lovely old stone bridge joined the shore with Strawberry Hill.  Doogs tried to find a sniper hide on the left...

 

This old Dutch windmill near the Beach Chalet had just been completely restored - taken apart piece by piece and shipped to the Netherlands before returning to the Park.

We also spent the best part of a day at the new San Francisco Exploratorium at Pier 15 on the Harbour - for those with Canberra experience, this is like a massive Questacon - but probably a bit bigger with more staff / visitor interaction to explain some of the exhibits. Like Questacon, there were plenty of hands on activities for kids (and adults) to learn about some of the principles of physics, chemistry and human interaction.

 

Ferg getting into the experiments
 at the Exploratorium.

Doogs taking part in a

'perception' activity..

 



The weather was quite spectacular in the afternoon so we walked from the Pier up to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill...all 471 steps as Dougal counted!  This was a great spot from which to get our bearings for the city and with clearer skies, we were able to take in most of the major landmarks on the San Francisco skyline.



 

As the boys behaviour was continuing to degenerate (it had been a bit of an adrenaline hit at Exploratorium and walking up almost 500 steps to Telegraph Hill just didn't seem to hold their interest as much as some of the hands on experiments they had been involved with) we kept walking...and walking...and walking....

down Lombard Street from Telegraph Hill, past North Beach and Little Italy up to....

...the most crooked street in the world (the top of Lombard Street). 

 

Caught a glimpse of Alcatraz (our destination for tomorrow)
before catching a trolley back to the Hotel.

Dougal demonstrates a completely illegal method of riding the trolleys



The Rock!

On this day, we thought we'd swap the free love of San Francisco for...

 

Union Square - 2 blocks from the Marines Club

...a visit to Alcatraz (with the threat the boys would be left behind in one of the cells if the behaviour did not improve!).

Walking down 'Broadway' towards 'Times Square'.  The prisoners had names for most parts of Alcatraz.

 

 The solitary confinement cells.  One of the prisoners recounted how, for 3 days in these cells with no daylight, he passed the time by taking one of the buttons off his coat, tossing it in the air, and the crawling round the cell to see if he could find it.  He's then repeat the process - again, and again...

Weird Conversations #3

On a bus ride back from a day's ride around Golden Gate Park, an older man (M) (over 60) with a pony tail got on at Haight Street and took a seat beside Fiona (F).  The boys looked on wide eyed as this conversation unfolded:
M: You're not from around here are ya.  New Zealand or Australia.
F: Australia.  We've only had a couple of days in San Francisco.
M: The thing about leaving San Francisco, is that you miss your daily dose of weirdness.  Here, it's all so close - you can get it every day.  It's a shame you ain't here in the first week of June for the Haight Street Fair - that's FULL of weirdness!!
F: How long have you lived in San Francisco?
M: 46 years.  I came here as a draft dodger during the Vietnam War.  The place was full of anti-war protesters then and I just never got around to leaving.  I got by from making smoking pipes out of chickens feet - a bit of a cottage industry.  I called one of the pipes 'The Three Fingered Salute' and another one 'World by the Balls'. 

The bloke then went on to tell us how he'd been knifed as a cabbie (showed us the scar) and wished us all a good stay as he left the bus.  An enlightening encounter with one of San Francisco's finest.

If you're going to San Francisco...

The boys initial impressions of San Francisco have been coloured by:
1.  An abundance of woosy small dogs, most wearing coats or clothing of some description and having some sort of style on their fur coats.  We even went into a pet shop today (called 'Yap') where you could by strollers, hats and tuxedos for your dog! These muts and their owners have some serious issues!
2. Hanging onto the trolley running boards for dear life as you roll up and down the hills of the city.  The brakemen are often characters - some playing gangster music on their warning bells.
3. Lots of hobos asking for spare change and eating out of bins.  Not very nice.
4. Our first glimpse of Alcatraz - although it was too foggy and misty to see the Golden Gate bridge.
5. Pink moustaches on some cars, which we first thought were some sort of gay pride symbol but which Mum later clarified as being a form of informal taxi service.  If the car is sporting a pink mo, you can flag it and go!

We're off to the Golden Gate Park tomorrow on some push bikes.  We followed a friends recommendation and are staying at The Marines Memorial Club and Hotel.  It's really well appointed and close to Union Square and downtown.  more to follow from this great city - stay tuned.

PS. Thanks for the tip Hosko - we had an afternoon drink at The Grove, Fillmore Street this afternoon.  Funky little place.

More food!

Circus Circus Steakhouse, Las Vegas.
The only good thing about Las Vegas was the most amazing steak ever!!!!  After arriving late into Vegas following a long drive from the Grand Canyon, we decided to spoil ourselves and have a dinner out.  Next to our RV park was the Circus Circus Hotel (they also have a free circus everyday at 11am - Vegas is soooo over the top with everything).  Anyhow - as it was only a short walk, we decided on the Circus Circus Steakhouse.  The boys eyes were agog - you walk through a couple of casinos within the hotel to get to the steakhouse!  The whole casino thing is revolting but the steak was worth it.  I enjoyed an "aged" petite Filet Mignon and Ben enjoyed a "aged" Rib eye fillet on the bone, Ferg loved his "aged"petite cut sirloin  fillet and Dougal devoured his rack of lamb.  The meat  melted in your mouth as it was so tender.   My mouth is still watering - it was seriously good!! The service was first rate, we sampled Californian wines before deciding which drop to have with our steaks. A patron nearby ordered  the "aged" rib eye fillet on the bone which almost completely filled his plate - he also asked for it to be cooked rare - he returned it as it was not cooked to his liking!!  Seriously it looked like a massive piece of uncooked red meat sitting on his plate still mooing - YUK!  It kept us amused!

Silver Lake's World Famous Omlettes, High Sierra (about 1hr from Yosemite)
We stayed at a very scenic RV park called the Silver Lake Resort.  A favourite of ours.  Picture snow capped mountains surrounding us, a stream running through the RV park (wild deer grazing) and a lake across the way.  The lake must be well stocked with trout as we saw a couple of proud fisherman with their catches.  I might add - the showers were the best (clean, hot and with high pressure).  Anyhow - it was made clear to us that they serve the world's best omelettes.  Ben enjoyed a Mexican Special (sausage, bacon, bell pepper, red onion, mushroom, Ortega, a few Jalapenos, Jack and Cheddar cheese inside and out, topped with sour cream and salsa), I opted for something smaller the Denver Plus (ham, bell pepper, red onion, mushroom with cheddar and jack cheese inside and out).  The boys enjoyed a Miner's Special (two fresh eggs, ham, bacon, breakfast potatoes and toast).  The coffee was even half decent (and bottomless) and the fresh juice was delicious.  Dougal reckons he has had the best hot chocolate ever - it arrived with about a 5cm layer of cream on top!!!!

Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam was an impressive engineering feet.  94 workers were killed in constructing the dam - some were run over by trucks, some were crushed by mud and muck, some fell to their deaths while building the dam wall and some were electrocuted.  Others accidentally blew themselves up - they were known as Powder Monkeys.

The span bridge running North to
Las Vegas is impressive on its own.

The project could not afford to give all the workers hard hats so some of them dipped their baseball caps in tar to make them harder.

The dam was completed two years ahead of schedule.  Lots of movies were filled there, including Transformers 1.  The dam was built to provide water to the farmers of California, Nevada and Arizona.  The electricity produced is only a side benefit.

Hoover Dam is filled with 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete, enough to pave a strip 16 feet wide and 8 inches thick from San Francisco to New York City.

The Colorado Rive below
the dam wall.

The dam wall.  94 workers were killed
during the construction.

The Nevada / Arizona State Line
at Hoover Dam.

We thought Poppy would like to visit the Dam because it is one of the seven industrial wonder of the world.  You can read more about it at this link. 

OMG...Yosemite!

Yosemite National Park seems to be a place deliberately laid out to capture all the splendour and amazement Mother Nature could possibly muster.  From massive granite formations to crashing waterfalls, green meadows and quiet reflective pools, the place just seemed to have it all. 

All of us below Lower Yosemite Falls. 
Our first day was spent on bicycles
taking in the sights.

 

We spent the first day exploring the Valley on hire push bikes.  They were a great way to get around.  We parked them at the trail head of some of the shorter walks (Mirror Lake, Lower Yosemite Falls and Happy Isles) and did the hike from there.  The crowds were pretty small but most of the guide books say the place is full of visitors after the Memorial Day weekend (last Sunday in May).



Dougal at Happy Isles.





Our first day biking around Yosemite. 
Fi and Ferg with Half Dome in the background.



Mirror Lake - catching the
reflections of Half Dome.



Fi and Doogs at Happy Isles Bridge. 
Lunch on our first day in Yosemite.




 

 

 

 

 

 

We did a longer walk on our second day.  Fergus picked out the Mist Trail walk - about 13km all up but going past 2 spectacular waterfalls (Vernal and Nevada).  We were very proud of the boys as they kept going at what was a pretty difficult walk.  Most people had turned around and headed back at Vernal Falls so the track higher had far less people - certainly no children.  The views and sights of the water crashing over these massive granite cliffs were amazing.  We had certainly earned a drink by the end of it so we headed up to the very impressive Awahnee Hotel for a refreshment.  It was well worth the trip as the pictures at the link will show you.

 

Standing at the top of Vernal Falls. 
About halfway to Nevada Falls.



 

The aptly named 'Mist Trail '-

between Vernal and Nevada Falls.



 

 

Nevada Falls seemed to grow
more and more powerful as we hiked.



Pretty steep going in parts. 
Doogs completed all 12km.



  

The top of Nevada Falls.  The views (and
thunder of the water) were amazing.

 

Many more rivers to cross...

   



The RV...

The RV has been a pretty comfortable ride for the first few days.  The boys are happy to now be in their own beds (they’ve been sharing a queen or double in every place we’ve stayed until now) and there’s enough storage space for all our luggage, food etc.  We were upgraded to a ‘slide out’ – the left hand side of the vehicle slides out on a hydraulic rail after you park to give more room in the kitchen and 3^rd bed.

RV at Indian Flat camp site,
just outside Yosemite NP.

Doogs happy to be in his own
bed at last.

Ferg has the job of connecting water and power when we pull up at an RV park.  He’s taken that on pretty well and goes through a check list before we take off to make sure vents are closed, external compartments are locked, hoses and pipes are stowed etc.  Doogs has the job of ‘dumping’ – emptying the black and grey water at designated park sites.  It’s a pretty simple system involving valves and hoses (although we told Dougal he’d have a shoulder length glove  and a surgical mask to clean out the toilet pipes manually!).

Water, power and sewerage
all had to be tended to.

 

Doogs had gone missing when it was time to empty the sewerage...

 

But turned up second time around!




Driving in the US is a treat.  The RV handles pretty well with power steering and cruise control and gets along at about 60 – 65mph.  The freeways make covering distances pretty easy and the drivers are all very courteous – most of then give RV’s sporting hire company signs a pretty wide berth.  We’ve hardly seen any roadkill yet (apart from the rather dubiously named ‘Roadkill Café’ on Route 66 just off Interstate 40) – not sure whether that means most of the wildlife has been shot already or they have a pretty good system of cleaning up the carcasses.

The kitchen in the vehicle is pretty simple – fridge which keeps things reasonably cold, 3 burner gas stove, an oven and microwave.  Fi has made some pretty good meals – stir frys and a spag bol after our hike in the Grand Canyon.  Breakfast is usually cereal and boiled eggs and we normally make some sandwiches for lunch if we are travelling or hiking somewhere.  We bought some gin for Fi before we left San Diego and I’ve been enjoying Fat Tire beer – a very tasty drop I discovered when we were last here back in 2000.

Just enough room to get
tucker ready for the day.



Our favourite camp site.  Silver Lake,
just below the Tioga Pass in the Sierra Nevada

 We’ve got a shower and toilet in the vehicle but the RV parks we have stayed at are pretty well equipped with facilities.  We don’t want to be emptying black and grey water at every stop we come to so we try to minimise the use of the onboard shower facilities.  Most of the RV parks have pretty reasonable showers and washing up facilities and laundries.  Some also have cable TV hook ups.  Free WIFI is provided at most camps and most have a pool as well.  Most of the sites cost about $40 - $50 a night to stay.

A Fat Tire (in the glass; not around my middle)
and a diet Pepsi after a day in Yosemite.

At 25 feet, ours is by no means the biggest RV on the road.  Some of them are more akin to busses rather than cars and have multiple slide outs on each side of the vehicle.  People seem to have their entire households with them – they walk their dogs in the morning and have little enclosures beside their vehicles for them to run around in.  We parked beside an older couple from Alabama at the Grand Canyon who had a weber Q doing some ribs for dinner and most of the larger vehicles are towing a car, pushbikes, boats or motorbikes.

Some of the place names  we’ve passed are classic American – “Bear Head Mountain”, “Devil Dog Road” and “Rattlesnake Wash (gully)”.  They all sound like names out of a Western.  In some places in Arizona, the countryside resembles Afghanistan (just a comparison; not a flash back) – flat low desert with a narrow green belt astride the Colorado River.  In the distance, rocky, barren mountains dominate the skyline.

This service station and store
even had a brothel out the back...

 

 

Very stark countryside in
some places.

Driving the RV........ It is not that hard but not that easy!!! initially it took me awhile to build up the courage to drive the RV (& thus give Ben a break from driving).   So about 300 miles into the first leg......... Ok - here we go.  It is automatic and has the gear stick "on the tree", it has power steering (phew),  it is 25 feet long (long enough that you can't see behind you, using the rear vision mirror!),  it has two rather big side view mirrors - which you constantly use to see who is to your right and left. The radio reception is very patchy ( given the vastness of the US), we try and listen to tunes when "in range".  The boys are sitting in around the table behind the driver seat (wearing lap belts). - either sleeping, reading, writing in their journal or gaming ( when they are charged).

So I have stepped up into the cabin, sitting in the drivers seat, make sure I can see right and left via the rear mirrors, put the RV into drive and remind myself "keep to the right"!!!!!  Fortunately there are many cars about - so I can take their lead and follow.... Now onto the highway, in the Arizona desert, not too much traffic, though there are lots of scary big trucks!!!!!! 

Silver Lake resort...with warning signs
of the locals...

We've tried to adopt the Geoff Benson two fingered wave from the steering wheel when we see another RV (a slight rise of 2 fingers without moving your hand from the wheel - a form of greeting in rural areas of Australia).  Not too many responses from other drivers yet - apart from looks of bewilderment.  One hire RV gave us a very enthusiastic wave back with hands waving in the air and grins from ear to ear.  It might take a while before the Aussie country wave catches on but we'll keep persevering!