San Fran Baby.......

Okay, as sad as we were to leave NZ, we have to give San Francisco it's due. It is beautiful. People are friendly, easy going, happy, laid back and very accepting of everyone from all walks of life! It took us a day or so to get over our mini depression. I mean arriving in a big city (okay, okay, okay, it is not LA or anything, but compared to NZ, it is a big city), in a cab after being in NZ for 2 1/2 months; you have to admit, it would have been a bit of a shock - so don't judge us for being a bit down in the dumps the first day - even though we were still on our trip of a life time and we were in California! We were not ungrateful, just a bit shell shocked that's all. Our plans in San Fran were to stay 1 night in the Hostel and then meet our friends Anita and Kathy on the evening of April 14th. They were staying in San Fran until April 19th. Our friends Gitte and Mina were meeting us on April 18th and staying until the 24th. Meeting our friends in San Fran was awesome and made our transition back into North America much, much easier. Delia and I would still have from April 24th to the 27th in California before we headed to Victoria, BC to visit family and friends.

So lets start at the beginning shall we....? We walked around town and went for Italian on Columbus St. - this was the place to go if you wanted good Italian food apparently. I don't know about the area or other restaurants, but this restaurant was good. We stayed down at the Fisherman's Wharf when we were at the Hostel and when we stayed with our friends at the Argonaut Hotel. It is actually a great place to be - easy access to tons of shopping, eating, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge and easy access to trolleys and buses to get around to other places in San Francisco. The first day when we were walking around, we saw Alcatraz from the shore and the Golden Gate Bridge - both very cool to see. I also saw some triathletes training in the water as the Escape from Alcatraz race was coming up soon. Made me a bit envious, but I certainly was in no shape to race that's for sure!!! The 2 days gave us some time to catch up on things that we hadn't done for awhile, like....I don't know....like a hair cut =) Delia researched and we ended up going to a place that was not too fancy, but I wasn't going to go for a $10 cut either! Nothing special, but it got the job done and it felt sooooo good! It is funny how something so small can make such a difference in the way that you feel about yourself. The whole experience was pretty uneventful, but Delia was her usual self so we had our funny moments. As we were leaving the receptionist asked if we left anything in the closet and Delia replied, "Not since 14 darling"! Okay, maybe you had to be there, but the receptionist who was trying desperately to remain professional and maintain her composure; laughed so hard that she snorted!

The other thing that we needed were dress/casual clothes. Even though we were not going to be doing anything too fancy, we thought we needed something other than hiking gear. I absolutely hate shopping, and to shop for dress clothes is even worse! As I was finishing getting my hair done (I took longer than Delia - no kidding!), Delia went out and scoped out some spots to go. She found a thrift store so I bought some pants and capris - can't remember if Delia bought anything or not. As we were walking home we saw the Patagonia Store.....Okay, I LOVE that kind of shopping. I went from pouting to being excited...pathetic, but true (yes, I am 12). I bought long shorts and a shirt and loved them! Again, I don't think Delia got anything.....it's all about me you know...again, pathetic! As you can see, we really are not city people - the stories are pretty lame! Thank goodness for friends that's all I can say!

The next day we were meeting Anita and Kathy. We ate breakfast at the hostel packed up and got ready to move up and out! We moved from the Hostel to the Argonaut Hotel and walked around some more. There was a Wine Room right beside the hotel, so we went there to taste some wine and get some advice on where the best wineries were; Sonoma, Napa Valley and/or Russian River. We actually got the best advice from a girl; Ali, at a place called the California's Wine Tasting. A very relaxing day and then just waited for Kathy and Anita to arrive. Even though they arrived late, there was always time for some wine, cheese, crackers and a chat amongst friends......it has been 4 months since we have seen them....absolutely crazy how fast time goes.

For the 6 days that Kathy and Anita were there; and technically 4 as they arrived late and then left early, we sure packed alot in! We took the trolley ( a must in San Fran), went to the Castro, the Museum of Modern Art, saw the show "Beach Blanket Babylon" (very funny!)....and that was only day 1. The next day we rented a convertible and headed to the wineries; Napa/Sonoma/Russian River. We stopped first at J. Winery for some sparkling wine then over to Unti. We didn't know, but you needed an appt and it was very crowded so they could not fit us in. George; the owner (did not know this at the time), took us aside and ask if we could come back at 4:30pm. We liked him instantly and of course agreed. He gave us another name of a winery (Ridge Lytton Springs) and were back by 4:30pm. When we got back to Unti, everyone had left and there was just George and Alex. Turned out that they were actually closed at 4:30pm, but stayed open for us. And they didn't just "tolerate" us, they entertained us and gave us healthy servings of their wine. George was so proud of his wine and vineyard; it was a pleasure to listen to him. Sure you will always get your pretentious type vineyards, but you will also always find the ones that truly do it for the passion of it....and that was George! George gave us an ideal recommendation for dinner in a small town not too far away called Hearldsburg at Diavola. It was relaxing and fun, not to mention the good food and wine.

We finished our visit in San Fran with Anita and Kathy by cycling the Golden Gate Bridge through Sausalito to Tiburon, where we had a drink and a bit to eat at the harbour front restaurant and then hopped on the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf....cycling in sytle! That afternoon we met Gitte and Mina and we all had dinner together at the "Catch" in the Castro. We said our goodbyes to Anita and Kathy the next morning and then started our second journey in San Fran with Gitte and Mina.

It started off with the usual shopping, trolley ride and Castro visit. Although we have been there before, there are always new things to see. We had lunch at Harvey's (named after Harvey Milk - not the fast food joint) and found his old photography shop where he did his campaigning from - a really neat feeling to be there. The store still had Harvey Milk's sign up on the wall. From there we headed to Golden Gate Park and walked around then went home and relaxed with wine and cheese.

The next day was filled with more eating and relaxing. Mina had a friend that has been to San Fran several times and told her of a place that served more than 250 types of tequila. Not knowing what the name of the restaurant and no one being able to help us, and the fact that we did not feel like travelling very far, we settled to go to a Mexican restaurant right beside our hotel; Las Margaritas.......hmmmmm......ya' think that would have been a wee bit of a hint of a possible place to check...????!!!! Turns out that this MEXICAN restaurant called LAS MARGARITAS was the place.....wow, that was a shocker! Often times, when you are travelling you feel that it is okay to shut the 'ole brain off. Anyways, great restaurant and alot of fun. The servers actually knew the friends of Mina's. A few cool tequila shots later, we had a picture with our sombreros on and stumbled home. The next day we took the ferry across to Alcatraz and took the tour. It was misty which was very appropriate for the scenery. We were pleasantly surprised at how cool the tour was - lots of history there that's for sure!

As much as Delia and I love to do the tourist thing in the city...and San Fran is very cool, the thrill is not even comparable to the country. This is why the second half of our trip was more memorable for me and personally left me wanting more. We rented a Mustang convertible for 2 days that we later confirmed; after much debate, was definitely 'smurf blue'!!! We drove to Russian River, Sonoma and a Napa to do another round of wine tasting. We went to Pride Mountain on a recommendation and was outstanding - beautiful scenery, nice wine and very friendly people. The next day we took a drive along the coast down to Big Sur through Monteray Bay and Santa Cruz. Okay, I know Delia and I saw hundreds of coastlines by this time, but we never get sick of it. It is a rough coast and does not entice the urge to swim, but it is beautiful to look at and the powerful sound of the surf is something that is so ironically calming.

This ended our stay with our friends in the Fisherman's Wharf part of San Francisco. Gitte & Mina went home and we rented a car and headed for Yosemite National Park for a few days. It ended up being National Park week and so our entrance fee was free. We stayed in a place called Yosemite View Lodge that was located just outside the park. With the spring melt the falls & rivers wer in full force; beautiful and powerful. Yosemite is a huge park; can't remember the exact size, but think Algonquin, Banff, Jasper...you get the idea, so we were unable to hike everything (hence my previous statement about California, about it leaving me wanting more)! We hiked around Mirror Lake, hiked up to Bridalveil Falls & drove to the Tunnel View to see El Capitan, Full Dome, 1/2 Dome, Cathedral and Bridalview Falls. We had perfect weather which doesn't make for the best pictures , but it makes it great for walking around. In the afternoon we hiked through the Maroposa Grove to see the big red woods - incredible. The trees are enormous, but are very fragile as their root systems are so close to the surface. We saw the '3 sisters', 'the bachelor' and the oldest tree; the 'Grizzly Giant'. In order to record it's exact age, one would have to cut is down and count the rings - so the approximate age of the tree is 2700 years old! Going through Yosemite was our first sight of snow since last winter!

Yosemite was our last hurra' in California. It is a popular park and is a bit more crowded then we like (even though it is off season), but tourist attractions are tourist attractions for a reason. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it and would love to go back and climb the 1/2 dome!

Our trip was far from being over, but our adventure was coming to an end. We are heading back to Canada; and after 5 months, we will be back on home soil. Something both exciting and sad at the same time.

Before getting home, we are heading to Victoria, B.C to visit with Delia's brother; Jason, his wife; Shannon and their two children Jeremy & Charlotte as well as friends and then to Calgary to see my sister; Lynn and her partner; Jim.