OUR BIG WORLD TRIP

What we've been doing in ...

SAN FRANCISCO

Wed. 27 August 2003

Well, we made it! Nothing lost, nothing stolen, nothing broken. PHEW! I'm writing this on the courtesy laptop in the foyer of the lovely Beresford Arms Hotel in Post St and it's just gone 11pm. What a neat facility -- look forward to daily updates!

The rest of the family crashed HOURS ago. The kids did amazingly well but when their heads finally hit the pillow at about 8pm they were out like lights, and Averil wasn't far behind!

The flight and all the security stuff was fine except for Customs & Immigration at the airport -- it was really hot inside the hall, for some reason, and we got stuck behind a HUGE group of Asian students who didn't speak `English - of course -- had no idea how to fill in their forms. It must have taken us almost an hour to get through, and by "luck" we were inspected by a fellow called Jose, who was without doubt the surliest officer in the US Customs Service, and I'm sure would have been happy to deport us out of sheer spite. What a swine

We got to the hotel no probs, the room is really nice, the hotel is just great. Dad, you would love the beautiful antique grandfather clock in the foyer -- I must remember to take a pic for you. The room's big and comfortable with a great bathroom and a fantastic little kitchenette, so we'll save heaps on food costs, and there's a little general store just across the street for supplies.

We wandered into Union Square after we checked in around midday, but by the time we hit Macy's food hall for lunch we were all so out of it from the flight and lack of sleep that we had to go straight back to the hotel after we ate. The kids were incredibly good considering, but got VERY ratty as the day wore on, especially poor little Amy. Lucas as usual bounced along until ordered to lie down, after which he was unconscious in moments They were heartbroken when we walked down to see FAO Schwartz, the big toy store -- Lucas had his heart set on seeing it but it is now closed. Amy cried. :( Oh well, c'est la vie!

After lunch Av and I napped for an hour or two in the late arvo while the kids watched telly -- we REALLY needed it -- we were totally wrecked with fatigue and general stress. After we got up we went out and walked around briefly but Amy was dead on her feet so we placated her by having dinner in a really nice little Japanese restaurant right across the road from the hotel. Beautiful food (I had tempura) and reasonable priced.

San Fran is going to be great -- it feels like home already. Can't wait to explore. I'll try and get some photos up as soon as I can but I don't think I can do it here at the hotel, so I'll have to nip over to an Internet cafe tomorrow evening perhaps.

Anyway, I'm off for a duty-free Cointreau nightcap and then off to bed.

Overall, just an incredibly easy, pleasant trip. We've been very fortunate. More so than the young family sitting next to me, who were going to Nice (in France) to meet up with the dad, with something like a 30-40 hour trip ahead of them! Yikes.

OK - more soon. Cheers to all Dunks

Thurs. 28 August

Well, here we are again, coming to you from the land of "Arnie for Governor" and "All you can eat rib tips" and "Who Wants to Marry My Dad? (Reunion)". How can you not love America?

What a GREAT day!! It already feels like we've been here a week. Slept like the dead last night, came down in the morning and enjoyed our complimentary breakfast (Yummmm) then headed into town and bought some City Passes, which are fantastic value -- free rides on all transport (except the BART system) and entry into five major attractions including a Bay cruise, SFMOMA, Exploratorium and more.

It was cool and overcast in the morning but in the arvo it cleared to a gorgeous sunny day. After we bought the City Passes we took the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf, looked around, and immediately found a great little free museum of mechanical amusement machines, which the kids loved as much as we did.

Then we had lunch -- clam chowder in a sourdough bread-roll bowl (YUM again) by the water. We saw some really funny sights but one was a classic -- the Port Authority are redeveloping one of the old piers and the caterpillar crane which they'd been using somehow had managed to tip right over, almost off the edge of the pier -- I have a photo of it lying on its front, tracks in the air! They were bringing in a big crane to right it as we walked past.

Then we went Over to Pier 39 and wandered about, bought some cards and souvenirs and looked at the sea lions. By that time the weather was really coming good, if rather breezy, so we decided to do the Bay cruise, and we were so glad we did.

The ferry went right out under the Golden Gate Bridge and back around Alcatraz. Awesome stuff. I even saw a pretty big shark in the water, right near the ferry, about half way out -- small wonder no prisoners ever made it off Alcatraz! Amazing. The kids loved it, although it got pretty cold out on the bay as the wind was up by then -- but what a great ride.

It was getting late by the time we came off the boat so we piled on the cable car again and back to the hotel for the free wine and cheese arvo tea, then we staggered upstairs and watched some TV, then did a bit of shopping at the store across the street and made some dinner.

TV here is hysterical. We watched an hilarious new show called "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment", sort of an update of Candid Camera. It had some really funny bits -- one of the best was a Louisiana bayou airboat cruise, where they had a stuntman working in disguise on the boat. They staged him falling off the boat and then had a big mechanical 'gator rigged up which, when he fell in, popped out out from under the pier and appeared to grab him -- you should have seen the passengers' faces! That was followed by "Extreme Makeover" in which the subjects undergo radical makevoers including plastic surgery, laser eye surgery, breast implants and some truly gruesome remedial dental work. They looked great, I have to admit, but you have to wonder about the lengths some people will go to get their mugs on TV.

Off to Golden Gate Park and the Haight tomorrow, all going well. More news as it comes to hand. We are having a ball. Lucas has declared unequivocally that San Francisco is the best country he's even been to.

'Night all!

Fri. 29 August

Another BIG day. Typical San Fran summer weather, it seems. Cloudy/misty in the morning, clearing for a while to glorious late summer weather in the afternoon, then all misty and cool again in the late arvo.

Today we went to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, which was excellent, and needless to say the kids adored it, since there were many, many things for them to see and do. The area was also interesting for their parents, not only because of the great beauty of the park, but also because we realised that the music bowl in the park opposite the Academy was the location where Oliver Stone filmed one of the the major concert sequences in his movie'The Doors'. Far out!

Appropriately, after leaving the Academy I called in my turn and we walked over to the Haight-Ashbury district (man) and strolled down the legendary Haight Street, epicentre of America's 'Summer Of Love' in 1967 and home to many famous musicians, writers and artists etc.

Folks, I have to tell you that the houses in Haight-Ashbury and the surrounding areas have to be seen to be believed. The extraordinarily beautiful and varied designs, the ornate detailing, plaster mouldings and paintwork on these magnificent Victorian weatherboard mansions, -- many of them three or four stories tall, often detailed with gold leaf and fitted with stunning leadlight windows -- can only be appreciated by seeing them. There is NOTHING like them in Australia, except possibly the best streets in Ballarat -- but I seriously think these houses have no equal anywhere that I have seen, except the magnificent Garden District in New Orleans.

I never thought Sydney could be topped, but I could quite seriously move here in a flash if I had the opportunity. The downside is that the climate is very like Melbourne (four seasons in one day FOR SURE) and costs might be problematic too -- I took a look in one real estate window and noted that one of the more lavish houses in the Haight district (which resembled MANY others that I saw) was up for sale for just under US$2 million (about AU$3 million). Eeek!

It was a strange, bittersweet but fulfilling experience to finally walk the famous streets where so many heroes of mine have lived and walked and played. I must say that I thought of many old friends with whom I wished I could have shared this afternoon.

We strolled along admiring the sights and stopped for afternoon tea at a really nice cafe, although my enjoyment of that moment was dulled somewhat by the discovery that a San Francisco iced coffee is just that -- black coffee with ice in it -- UGH!!!. But the addition of a couple of sugars took the edge off it and I slugged it down; caffeine is caffeine after all.

I took HEAPS photos (what a surprise) and just HAD to stop at the famous house at 710 Ashbury St (a VERY cool street indeed) where of course The Grateful Dead once lived, back in the mid-60s. We passed many other long-gone hippie landmarks -- the buildings remain but all are now turned to other uses. The famous Psychedelic Shop is now a Goodwill store (sort of a Yank version of Vinnies).

But we were lucky that for our all-too-short stroll along this famous street it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and as we wandered along it was easy to imagine what a supremely cool and groovy place it must have been back in its golden days in the summer of '67.

After we left the main area Averil took the kids back to the hotel in the late afternoon, but I stayed on and climbed up to the top of Buena Vista Park, which is in the middle of Haight St, just opposite where Janis Joplin once lived, in Lyon St.

The views from the top of the park (which is centred on a very steep hill) can obviously be stunning (hence the name) but by the time I made it up to the peak the mist was rolling in from the ocean and I only got glimpses of what was on offer. On a clear day it must be magnificent. Oh well. After heading back down, I walked all the way to the eastern end of Haight St, snapping many of the gorgeous mansions as I went. Fun.

So far we have had a great time here, but I must say that one very sad aspect of this otherwise beautiful place is the sobering fact that there are many, many poor homeless people all over town, and needless to say most of them black. They are everywhere to be seen, even in the central business and shopping areas, all over the Haight, in Buena Vista Park, and particularly down the bottom end of the Tenderloin district, east of our hotel, which is one of the rougher inner city neighbourhoods.

The problems here are far worse than anything I've seen anywhere in Australia, and the sight of homeless people dossing down in the plaza in front of the magnificent San Francisco City Hall (the dome of which is lavishly detailed in gold leaf) on a very cold evening was a little too ironic for my taste.

More tomorrow. It's after midnight and I am exhausted. Cheers!

Dunks

Sat. Aug 30

A late-ish start -- I think the kids are still getting over the jetlag ... so are we. In the morning we went down the SF Museum of Modern Art -- great building. Not as long there as I might have liked but the kids got bored so we headed across the road to Yerba Buena Gardens (lovely city park/plaza area) and ate our lunch. The kids had a ball playing in the gardens and jumping around among the fountains, and there was a performance troupe moving about, with amazing costumes about ten feet high, as the photos will show.

After lunch we caught the bus down to the famous Lombard St (the crookedest street in the world) and we walked up the precipitous hill to the top. There was a constant stream of traffic of people queueing up to drive down it, so much so that they had police at either end directing traffic. The view east from the top of the hill is SENSATIONAL. After that we walked down Polk St for a few blocks (it's a holiday long weekend so the Powell St cable-cars were PACKED) heading through Russian Hill, which seems to be quite a trendy Newtown-y sort of area, then we got the bus the rest of the way home and had dinner in the hotel. Not a major day, but pleasant and not too hard on the kids.

Sun. Aug. 31

A bit of a Hitchcock pilgrimage day today, but not by design. Another late start -- the free breakfast in the hotel lobby is too conducive to sitting around gas-bagging with the other guests! After breakfast we headed over to Japantown in the Fillmore district, and of course made the obligatory pilgrimage stop at the legendary Fillmore West concert hall. We had a really nice cheap lunch (HUGE helpings) at a little cafe in the Japan Centre, then we caught the bus over to the Mission district and visited the famous Mission Dolores, which is the oldest surviving building in San Fran. built in the late 1770s. A beautiful place. It's also famous to film fans as one of the key locations for Hitchcock's film "Vertigo". We were surprised at how tiny the cemetary garden is, where the scenes with Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart were filmed. I doubt if it's even the size of a footie field, yet in the movie it looked huge. The guy in the sounvenir shop told us that the fake grave they constructed for the movie -- which plays such an important part in the plot -- was still there until the 70s, when a new priest took over and had it removed. But it was well worth a visit and was given a delightful bit of extra local colour as a Spanish wedding party was just coming out of the big basilica next door as we came out.

Then we walked up to the main road just near the US Mint and caught a really cool old streamliner 1940s electric trolley car down to the waterfront. We walked up along the harbour shorefront from the old ferry terminal towards the Bay Bridge, where there is an amazing Claes Oldenburg sculpture, a giant bow and arrow about ten metres tall, constructed to appear as if the front of the bow and the head of the arrow is buried in the ground. It was a really gorgeous afternoon, warm, clear and sunny and the kids got the added thrill of seeing a couple of sea lions out in the water just off the shore.

Finally we caught the California St cable car up to the top of Nob Hill, where all the REALLY swanky hotels and apartments are, including one palatical mock-Gothic high-rise apartment right at the top of the hill, which was used as another of the locations for "Vertigo".

After we got back I walked back up (it's only about five blocks up the hill from the hotel) and took some photos before it got too dark. It was really cool, as the mist was hammering in off the bay and I got some nice atmospheric shots of the big cathedral on the hill among other things. It's quite amazing how the fog comes in each evening, making it seem really wintry and bleak, even though the temperature doesn't drop that much, but the fog gets quite thick in a very short time. I have a couple of good before-and-after shots from the top of the hill, one as the kids were walking down to the hotel about 5:30pm and it's still clear and sunny, and another only about 45 mins later and the whole place is shrouded in mist!

We splurged and had dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant across from the hotel and headed home, although Lucas was so wound up (probably still on Sydney time) that he didn't get to sleep until well after 11pm, naughty boy.

Mon. 1 Sept.

Labor Day Public holiday today. A FANTASTIC day, the best yet. We got a much earlier start today and it was beautiful weather all day, no morning fog, as we have usually had in the city area. We had a couple of options so we headed down to Union Square but being a holiday Monday the cable cars were PACKED and the queues were huge so we went on past and caught and F-line trolley car down to the waterfront and after checking it out, we decided to hire bikes and go for a ride. It turned out to be a great adventure and something I think the kids will always remember.

The hire place had these great "tag along" mountain bikes, which hav little one-wheeled kids bikes that hook onto the back of the adult bikes -- perfect for Lucas, whose balance isn't up to riding on his own. We trundled off along the foreshore towards Golden Gate Bridge, which is a really pleasant easy ride, all flat. We stopped at Fort Point, which is under the southern approach of the bridge and is another famous 'Vertigo' location, the spot where Kim Novak's character (well, her double anyway) threw herself into the bay. It was VERY misty there, and the foghorns on the bridge pylons were honking loudly and ominously at regular intervals, and hearing the horn, Avvy had the brilliant realisation that this sound had obviously been worked in as a motif in Bernard Hermann's famous score for 'Vertigo', represented by the big ominous chord that follows the opening arpeggio in the title music. Clever girl.

After lunch we girded our loins and headed up to ride across the bridge. We made our way up the hill (mostly on foot as it was STEEP) and then we rode all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge on the dedicated bike path on the western side. THe bridge was *totally* enclosed in fog. It was a bit scary -- it's VERY VERY high and the wind was gusting quite strongly. It really makes you appreciate the unbelievable courage of the guys who built it. But it was a phenomenal experience and the kids had the time of their lives, especially Lucas, who I must say was happy as a lark. Photos will follow as soon as I can arrange to upload them. It was a fantastic experience.

The freakiest thing was that by the time we got to the northern pylon, it was almost clear, and as we headed off the bridge you could see how the fog was coming straight in from the ocean, right through the bay entrance and past the bridge in a really compact stream. It was uncanny to see behind us the bridge almost totally shrouded in fog, yet the whole northern shore and the bay ahead was in clear, open sunshine, and the interface between the fog stream and the warm air from the north was almost a vertical wall. I've never seen anything like it.

Once off the bridge we coasted downhill into Sausalito, which is a really lovely spot. Very up-market coastal resort town, sort of a cross between Double Bay and Lorne in Victoria, but VERY upscale in a way only American towns can be. There was one glass gallery we saw (we dared not go in with the kids, sadly) which had hundreds of the most stunning glass pieces we've ever seen. Eye-popping vases, paperweights, sculptures and much more.

We had arvo at Starbucks (I know, I know) and then wandered around for a while until we could get the ferry back to San Fran. That turned out to be an "interesting" experience. We just missed the 4:15 ferry, so we thought we'd have a short walk, take some pics etc. When we headed back to get the 4:45 a huge queue had appeared out of nowhere -- turned out there was an art festival on there today and everyone decided to catch that ferry. We didn't think we'd get on but we did and all the hire bike riders had to cram their bikes in on the lower deck. The sight as we left was amazing -- looking back to Sausalito from the ferry you could see a huge wave of fog rolling in off the ocean behind the town, pouring down from the top of the big hill behind the town at high speed, like a scene from Koyaanisquatsi -- it was incredible.

It only took about 15 mins to get back but to our dismay we discovered on arrival that we had to disembark from the middle deck (the ferry has three decks) so we had to drag our big heavy bikes up the stairs -- not impressed -- we had not been forewarned about this by the hire place. One funny thing happened as we came in -- a guy with a hired racing bike was picking his bike up and suddenly there was a huge POP! -- his back tire had a blow-out right there. Needless to say everyone jumped a mile.

As we dismebarked, to add to the hassle, a drunk bloke who was going upstairs in front of me collapsed at the top of ther stairs, right in my way, and couldn't get up, and I nearly didn't get off in time, but luckily a crewman appeared and picked him up and then helped me with the bike, so I made it just in time. Phew!

Then we cycled back down from the terminal to Pier 41, which is a couple of kms, but all flat along the waterfront, where we had been yesterday, and it was fairly sunny over that side so it was nice. We dropped off the bikes, sore but happy (the seats were incredibly hard and uncomfortable and our bums are all aching!) and we then caught the trolley bus back to Market St. That turned out to be another interesting experience. We just missed one and had to wait about 15 mins for the next, but when it came in, it was jam-packed. Luckily we managed to cram in at the front as the doors opened right in front of us, but there was literally not a spare inch to stand in. One woman sitting near me tore strips off the driver with the some *very* colourful language when she got off, abusing him roundly for letting so many people on.

We got back about 6:15 and got bought some pizza (which you can get by the slice here -- great idea) and then I headed over to the laundromat across the road to do some washing, where I had a chat to a nice young couple from Adelaide.

Well, it's been a HUGE day but perhaps the best and most enjoyable so far, and above all else the kids had both great fun and a very memorable experience, and I have to say that they behaved absolutely superbly. Not a whimper throughout the ride to Sausalito, which is about 10km I think, and both of them had a whale of a time.

Tomorrow is our last full day here, and we'll hopefully do the Exploratorium and have a bit of a wander through the Presidio. If I have time I'd really like to go back to the Haight again and maybe even try and get over to City Lights Bookshop, which I might try to do on my own, as it would be far quicker, and it would not really interest the kids.

We'll be very sorry to leave -- it's been a fantastic week and I could not really imagine a better start to the holiday. We've done HEAPS but we will have plenty of time to relax on the train down to Los Angeles, which will take most of the day, and I dare say the kids will need the rest.

OK well that's all for now. Hope everyone back in Oz is well. Another instalment tomorrow if I have time. Amy and Lucas say hi to all their friends and family. We've been a bit slack with postcards (sorry!) but will have plenty of time to catch up with that and diaries etc on the ride down. Hoo-roo for now!

Tue. 2 Sept.

Another big day. We had a rather late start, as we were pretty tired from the ride. We decided to take the Alcatraz tour but were not able to get on a tour until well after midday. Nevertheless it was a great experience and quite fascinating. The kids did the audio tour with us and were captivated. It's a very forbidding place, one can only imagine how dreadful it must have been to be kept here. The environs are rather nice now, but all the greenery has grown up since the prison was closed -- prior to that it was totally bare.

Unfortunately, the late start for Alcatraz and the travel in between meant that we only had a very short time at the Exploratorium, which was a real shame, since it is far and away the best science institution I've seen anywhere -- terrific exhibits, all really interesting and well designed, heaps of fun, everything hands-on and very kid-friendly. Can't recommend it too highly to anyone coming to San Fran with kids - you could easily spend an entire day there.

Wed. 3 Sept.

With great sadness we said goodbye to San Francisco. We had a wonderful time and really didn't want to leave. We left early and caught the shuttle bus to Oakland to pick up the train to Los Angeles. We were rather lucky with our timing -- we discovered that there had been a massive accident on the Bay Bridge the evening before (a car carrier lost its load!) and some motorists had been trapped on the bridge for hours through the night -- lucky we weren't leaving that evening!

We had a marvellous trip down on the train -- a real highlight. The journey took us through the Salinas Valley, which is one of California's major agircultural areas. Mile after mile of farms, enormous tracts of strawberries, artichokes, lettuce etc. Further on we passed some oil fields and a beautiful old ruined Spanish mission -- sadly though we came up on it so fast I wasn't able toget a photo. It then headed up into the mountains, past Folsom Prison and then out to the coast. On the shore the line skirts the edge of Vandenburg Air Force Base and we saw what appeared to be Titan rocket launch pads (possibly test pads) quite close to the line.

The train was very well set out. A great observation car, a good cafe/takeaway bar and we found the "kids' room" in one of the forward cars, which was a big play space with (phew) a TV and VCR with a bunch of videos -- to the kids delight and my relief, most of them were Bugs Bunny cartoon compilations.

In the evening as we passed Santa Barbara we had a lovely dinner in the dining car -- the food was superb and it was a real treat to sit down to such a nice meal, have a glas of wine and take in the scenery and the sunset over the beaches and the ocean.

We arrived in Los Angeles in mid-evening, around 9:30, and found the Metro rail platform without much trouble. There we hit the only snag of the day -- Lucas faltered with his bag as we were boarding and I dropped my ticket down between the train and the platform - D'OH! Needless to say we had no more change (although we later discovered that Lucas had a pile of it in his wallet) and I had to go right back up to the main lobby of the station to find some more. I was successful, thanks to a nice lady in the coffee shop, and off we went to Hollywood and Vine station. The LA Metro is cool -- clean, new, and the stations around the H'wood area are all done out in different themes. The Hollywood and Vine station was naturally decked out movie-style -- the columns have been made to look like palm trees and the whole ceiling was studded with blue film reels.

The station comes out right in front of Pantages Theatre, where "The Producers" is playing. It was about six blocks to our hostel, a bit of a hike with our heavy bags, but no problem aside from that. The hostel itself was a bit primitive after the luxury of the Beresford -- no air-conditioning and it was very hot that night -- and to our dismay, the bathroom door came off its hinges as soon as Averil opened it! But on the up side it proved to be only a few yards off Hollywood Blvd and just a couple of blocks from the major attractions such as Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The next morning I discovered that it was only yards from the Hollywood YMCA, where Simon and I had stayed on my first visit. Then we wished we'd stayed there instead since it's obviously been totally renovated! After checking in we went straight to bed after a very eventful and mostly very enjoyable and memorable day.

You can read all about our next little adventure in Hollywood on the Los Angeles page .....

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