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thewhitelily) wrote2010-04-07 02:39 am
Travels in the USA: Day 3
Today was the day to do the more classic San Francisco sights: Cable Cars, the sea lions, Azkaban Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Muir Woods. The weather tried to do all it could to convince us to turn back, but except in the case of Alcatraz, we were steadfast. The catch phrase of the day was one from someone yesterday, who told us “It’s like this all year round!” in the kind of voice that suggested that would be a good thing. And we were looking at each other trying to to say: You’re kidding, right mate? It’s frigging freezing! We’re from Brisbane. We tried our best, but we couldn’t pack clothes warm enough for this weather. And no one here sells warm clothes, because it’s apparently spring. Which means, by definition, it’s warmed up enough to put away all the woolens.
The plan for the day was to take the cable car into Pier 39, see the seals, and then see if we could manage to see Azkaban Alcatraz in the afternoon. (The previous strikeout is actually related to my apparent inability to ever actually think Alcatraz on the first try. I’ve managed not to embarrass myself by saying it out loud, but there were a couple of times I caught it right on the tip of my tongue!
So, we walked down to the furthest cable car stop from the wharf, to make sure we got our money’s worth out of the trip. The photo on the left was taken before Penski had actually gone through the experience of riding on a cable car. He learned the error of his ways half way through the trip when his hands had practically frozen to the bar. We tried to warn him to put on his gloves beforehand, but to no avail! Note to colleagues: cable car 28!*
* Not the actual cable car we got to ride on, sadly enough.
Did I mention it was cold? And raining? And that I’m wearing full length thermals and was called upon to donate my beanie to Hubby who was sadly slightly underpacked with regards to warmth because he considered his best winter coat to be ‘indestructible’? Despite the fact that it was designed for wear in Brisbane, catch phrase ‘beautiful one day, perfect the next’? And that he has a cold now?
Despite, or perhaps because of, the cold and rain, we have fully experienced the San Francisco cable-car, with the requisite up and down of hill and dale, rocketing through the level intersections, and passing within touching distance of the cable-car going in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, not many photos from the actual trip itself for fear of damage to the camera. I knew I should have got a waterproof model!
By the time we reached the wharf, we were pretty much unanimous in our search for soup, but alas, apart from the ubiquitous clam chowder, soup was nowhere to be found. It’s spring, remember, and thus it’s warm. By definition. Only traditional dishes appear to be exempt from the ban.
We nonetheless wandered around a bit, including going out through the mysterious unmarked door near the end of Pier 39 to see the sea lions, who were despite our fears, definitely there, and definitely arp-arping away and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. I suppose I can see their point, when the alternative’s an ice floe.
We ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, which was complying with the city-wide soup ban but was nonetheless enjoyable and warm. While enjoying the warm and dry afforded by a roof and hot food, a decision was made. Alcatraz, while being something Hubby and I in particular were looking forward to, sounded completely and utterly miserable. And so, we decided instead to head back to the hostel, grab our car, and drive out to the Golden Gate and Muir Woods in the hopes of beating the rain, being close to a warmish and dryish refuge, or if all else failed, seeing it all from the car.
Um… Not so successful. But at least we weren’t out in the open! Luckily we had The Colonel to make sure we didn’t actually physically drive off the road, and to identify the point on the road where we actually passed onto the Golden Gate. Fortunately, it had calmed to a steady drizzle by the time we got to the other side, so we got out and had a quick photo shoot of the bridge shrouded in rain and pouring with cars with their lights on, and jumped back in the car with some relief.
Muir Woods was at the other end of an incredible winding road which seemed to go on for ever and on which, on the way back, I made the big mistake of attempting to sort photos while we were driving. Woah, sorry Agatha! I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that motion sick in my life – I’m usually steady as a rock, and spend plenty of time in the car reading, usually to Hubby. But this trip, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to write blog entries at all in the car, which may mean this might turn out to be more like a Europe-style The Trip Log Which Was Promised But Never Eventuated. Still, we shall see. I shall keep trying, and I’m not too far behind yet.
Like anything green and gorgeous, Muir Woods was beautiful in the overcast misty rain that was all that was really going on by the time we got there. I love taking photos of running water with the tripod, I really do. It’s so easy, and it never gets old to look at the image on the other end and go… no photoshop? Not any? I’m really looking forward to seeing Ansel Adams’ photography in Yosemite again, as I think it was that which really inspired me to start thinking about my photographs and learning about what I needed to do
The giant redwoods were impressively large as promised, but we only did a shortened version of the circuit due to my taking things at a slower pace to avoid upsetting Agatha, and the huge puddles requiring expert and nimble navigation, and the increasingly heavy misty rain. By the time we reached the car, we were all agreed that it was definitely time to go before it started coming down heavily again.
Back at the hostel, thanks to my illness, we considered cancelling the reservation at farmerbrown, not least since it seemed to be in a fairly dodgy area of town. The previous night, a block away, we’d had people banging on the windows of the place we were trying to eat which was… not quite scary, but not something we’d experienced before. In any case, we eventually decided that with a Lonely Planet recommendation, and within just a few blocks of our hostel, too, we really should give it a try, and it wasn’t like me giving up trying to eat was the way to feel better, given how well eating’s usually been going for me.
I’m just so glad that we made that decision. The food was awesome, the atmosphere was wonderful. They had an interesting and nut and beetroot and baby lettuce leaf salad which wasn’t just lettuce served with your choice of dressing and called salad, and they had sweet potato chips (by which I mean fries) which were divine. Together, they made the first dish I’ve actually finished so far this holiday. Hubby had sensational falling-off-the-bone ribs, and Penski had southern fried chicken, and it was just… brilliant. Yay guidebook recommended food!
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