It's In The Trees!
Sep. 10th, 2021 03:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanDay 4... & we become indepedently mobile...
Sept.14. Friday – San Francisco
Awake about 9ish, a quick bowl of diabetes for breakfast, then thank god for our new Nespresso machine & off into town by 11am to collect the Escape... the SUV that will hopefully get us to New York in four & a bit weeks. So, the 38 bus, connecting with the 4 & a short walk took us to the rental office where the shiny, silver not-quite-as-big-as-expected Great Escape awaited
Circumstances dictated that our first trip was to be a short one, to an ophthalmologist to deal with a flare-up of Julia’s uveitis. We were lucky to get an appointment for only ninety minutes after we just fronted up to the surgery without one, so had a little time for some shoe shopping at Nike & brunch at Boudin’s in the Macy’s Basement, after the Cheesecake Factory on the seventh floor was too crowded for the time we had available. Julia ordered their clam chowder & also bought two tins of it to take away, we both had the Grand Cheese with Bacon sourdough sandwich & some vaguely berry-flavoured soda. The sandwich was great – the cheeses not overpowering & the bread light. The chowder was disappointing & looking at the ingredients on the cans we bought explained why... the dreaded High Fructose Corn Syrup was listed amongst the ingredients. Why America, why??!! We decided we’d leave the tins behind at our lodgings when we head out of town, unless another street beggar tells us he hasn’t eaten in two days... do we have a meal for him!!
Back to the doctor, then back to the car for the first real driving test. I did pretty well... nobody beeped their horns or called me an asshole in the city traffic & I remembered to keep on the right-hand side of the road until we were two blocks from our apartment, when I came around a corner & proceeded down the left side. Fortunately, there was nobody else on the street & I realised fairly quickly what I was doing
A change of footwear, grab the cameras & the plan was to head to Muir Woods, just north of town over the Golden Gate. As we reached the bridge, we saw that it was completely free of fog, so the decision was made to pull into the viewing area car park & walk across the bridge while we could see anything & everything. Turns out, the bridge is longer than it looks, when you're on foot &, while there was also more wind than expected, we were both feeling the heat in our overcoats by the time we returned to the car park about an hour later. The construction is amazing seen up close & a lot less rigid than our Harbour Bridge... you could feel the support cables vibrating &, on one occasion, moving. This is how the Golden Gate is designed to survive earthquakes – just sway along with ‘em
By this time it was after 5pm, but we headed for Muir Woods anyway, thinking that the late-afternoon light would be nice & atmospheric for photos. Down a steep, winding road, which was a good test of both the car’s capabilities & mine, until we reached the Woods at the bottom of the valley. By arriving late in the day we scored two bonuses – entry was free instead of $7 each & the pathways were relatively empty except for a few couples of all ages & gender mix. We met an older couple who asked us to take their picture in front of a tree & afterwards wondered if we were from England (That’s two times so far...). When I asked them if they were from around here, they said they were from Ohio & went on to explain that was in the United States, but not near here. Really?! I suppose I shouldn’t be too harsh, there are plenty of people out there who wouldn’t know that - some of them would be American...
Giant Redwoods are a pain in the neck... literally. They are incredibly tall & grow either in clumps (‘families’), or as massive loners with amazingly wide trunks. Spending so much time looking up at them is probably why the pathway is fenced – you could easily wander off & run headfirst into another tree you weren’t looking at. A beautiful, peaceful & quiet place, with the silence only occasionally broken by birdcalls or tourists who felt the need to share their trivial conversations with the world at large. Julia & I were able to communicate just fine barely above a whisper, why must people be so loud ALL the time... you'll disturb Caesar & the other apes!!
Taken while standing inside a dead Redwood trunk... didn't have to crouch down...!
Our idea to get sunset shots of the Golden Gate had to be postponed when we ran out of light on the way back from Muir Woods. This wasn’t helped by our Navman GPS, whose vaguely Australian accented instructions first directed us back to Muir Woods when we were halfway out, then put us on the freeway heading north away from San Francisco. After which my trust in Madame Navman was gone & we relied on road signs to get us back to town, which we eventually did around 8.30pm, feeling just a littlefungry hangry hungry by then...
A change of footwear, drop off the cameras & a drive back downtown for another attempt at the Cheesecake Factory in Macy’s for dinner. Stepping out of the elevator we were swamped by an even bigger crowd than there had been at lunchtime &, with an expected hour-long wait, we decided to find that hotdog stall we’d seen outside earlier in the day... “just to tide us over ‘til dinner". Fortunately, or unfortunately, he’d packed up & gone, so abandoning the Cheesecake Factory for a second time, we set off down Market St in search of anything appealing without a long wait. Three attempts brought us to Lori's Diner – a 50s style restaurant with burgers, shakes, flapjacks, hotdogs & thank god... New York Cut steaks & Guinness!!! Julia ordered a hotdog & their clam chowder, which turned out to be overly creamy & a bit short in the clam department, but at least didn’t seem to have HFCS in it, unlike the plastic packaged crackers served with it, which did. Why America, why??!! But overall it was not a bad meal at all & so filling, the word ‘dessert’ wasn’t even mentioned ‘til we were in the car & on the way home
Well, I’ve been driving in the USA for nearly twelve hours now & either I’ve mostly got the hang of it, or drivers in San Francisco are tolerant & patient. Myself, I’ll assume the former... touch wood. In fact – touch a Giant Redwood
Sept.14. Friday – San Francisco
Awake about 9ish, a quick bowl of diabetes for breakfast, then thank god for our new Nespresso machine & off into town by 11am to collect the Escape... the SUV that will hopefully get us to New York in four & a bit weeks. So, the 38 bus, connecting with the 4 & a short walk took us to the rental office where the shiny, silver not-quite-as-big-as-expected Great Escape awaited
Circumstances dictated that our first trip was to be a short one, to an ophthalmologist to deal with a flare-up of Julia’s uveitis. We were lucky to get an appointment for only ninety minutes after we just fronted up to the surgery without one, so had a little time for some shoe shopping at Nike & brunch at Boudin’s in the Macy’s Basement, after the Cheesecake Factory on the seventh floor was too crowded for the time we had available. Julia ordered their clam chowder & also bought two tins of it to take away, we both had the Grand Cheese with Bacon sourdough sandwich & some vaguely berry-flavoured soda. The sandwich was great – the cheeses not overpowering & the bread light. The chowder was disappointing & looking at the ingredients on the cans we bought explained why... the dreaded High Fructose Corn Syrup was listed amongst the ingredients. Why America, why??!! We decided we’d leave the tins behind at our lodgings when we head out of town, unless another street beggar tells us he hasn’t eaten in two days... do we have a meal for him!!
Back to the doctor, then back to the car for the first real driving test. I did pretty well... nobody beeped their horns or called me an asshole in the city traffic & I remembered to keep on the right-hand side of the road until we were two blocks from our apartment, when I came around a corner & proceeded down the left side. Fortunately, there was nobody else on the street & I realised fairly quickly what I was doing
A change of footwear, grab the cameras & the plan was to head to Muir Woods, just north of town over the Golden Gate. As we reached the bridge, we saw that it was completely free of fog, so the decision was made to pull into the viewing area car park & walk across the bridge while we could see anything & everything. Turns out, the bridge is longer than it looks, when you're on foot &, while there was also more wind than expected, we were both feeling the heat in our overcoats by the time we returned to the car park about an hour later. The construction is amazing seen up close & a lot less rigid than our Harbour Bridge... you could feel the support cables vibrating &, on one occasion, moving. This is how the Golden Gate is designed to survive earthquakes – just sway along with ‘em
By this time it was after 5pm, but we headed for Muir Woods anyway, thinking that the late-afternoon light would be nice & atmospheric for photos. Down a steep, winding road, which was a good test of both the car’s capabilities & mine, until we reached the Woods at the bottom of the valley. By arriving late in the day we scored two bonuses – entry was free instead of $7 each & the pathways were relatively empty except for a few couples of all ages & gender mix. We met an older couple who asked us to take their picture in front of a tree & afterwards wondered if we were from England (That’s two times so far...). When I asked them if they were from around here, they said they were from Ohio & went on to explain that was in the United States, but not near here. Really?! I suppose I shouldn’t be too harsh, there are plenty of people out there who wouldn’t know that - some of them would be American...
Giant Redwoods are a pain in the neck... literally. They are incredibly tall & grow either in clumps (‘families’), or as massive loners with amazingly wide trunks. Spending so much time looking up at them is probably why the pathway is fenced – you could easily wander off & run headfirst into another tree you weren’t looking at. A beautiful, peaceful & quiet place, with the silence only occasionally broken by birdcalls or tourists who felt the need to share their trivial conversations with the world at large. Julia & I were able to communicate just fine barely above a whisper, why must people be so loud ALL the time... you'll disturb Caesar & the other apes!!
Taken while standing inside a dead Redwood trunk... didn't have to crouch down...!
Our idea to get sunset shots of the Golden Gate had to be postponed when we ran out of light on the way back from Muir Woods. This wasn’t helped by our Navman GPS, whose vaguely Australian accented instructions first directed us back to Muir Woods when we were halfway out, then put us on the freeway heading north away from San Francisco. After which my trust in Madame Navman was gone & we relied on road signs to get us back to town, which we eventually did around 8.30pm, feeling just a little
A change of footwear, drop off the cameras & a drive back downtown for another attempt at the Cheesecake Factory in Macy’s for dinner. Stepping out of the elevator we were swamped by an even bigger crowd than there had been at lunchtime &, with an expected hour-long wait, we decided to find that hotdog stall we’d seen outside earlier in the day... “just to tide us over ‘til dinner". Fortunately, or unfortunately, he’d packed up & gone, so abandoning the Cheesecake Factory for a second time, we set off down Market St in search of anything appealing without a long wait. Three attempts brought us to Lori's Diner – a 50s style restaurant with burgers, shakes, flapjacks, hotdogs & thank god... New York Cut steaks & Guinness!!! Julia ordered a hotdog & their clam chowder, which turned out to be overly creamy & a bit short in the clam department, but at least didn’t seem to have HFCS in it, unlike the plastic packaged crackers served with it, which did. Why America, why??!! But overall it was not a bad meal at all & so filling, the word ‘dessert’ wasn’t even mentioned ‘til we were in the car & on the way home
Well, I’ve been driving in the USA for nearly twelve hours now & either I’ve mostly got the hang of it, or drivers in San Francisco are tolerant & patient. Myself, I’ll assume the former... touch wood. In fact – touch a Giant Redwood
