Tuesday 10 January 1984 – San
Francisco #3
We all slept
well and late – I only woke after seven and the others were later than that.
The television was turned on and of course that put the kibosh on an early
start.
It was dull
and overcast again so we weren’t in any particular hurry so it was after 10.00
when we got down for breakfast. The woman in charge seated us in the dining
area which was uncomfortable, so we moved and she was most upset. Apparently
the staff get the guests on rotation and we were upsetting the pattern. Bally
cheek, I say. (we had no idea how poorly
wait staff were paid in the US
and how important tips were to them.) Since we wouldn’t move back, the
waiter was moved to our table and all was well. We had our last American
breakfast of pancakes, egg and sausage for me but a banana pancake for Matt –
very nice indeed but rather rich.
 |
| Matt and Rab in the woods |
I decided we
had seen enough shops yesterday so after breakfast we headed for Mills Wood on
the other side of the Bridge. This is a forest reserve which contains the only
indigenous forest within easy reach of San
Francisco and there are many redwoods there which I
thought should be worth seeing. It was drizzling slightly when we left the
hotel, but it didn’t last for long. We found our way pretty well over the Golden Gate Bridge and to the off ramp to the
reserve. The road was very winding which got both Rab and Matt going a bit, but
nothing serious and both recovered well.
The trip was
well worth it as far as I was concerned and even my two Philistines were not
unimpressed. Although the trees are not as tall as some of those in the
Yosemite and Sequoia
National Parks, they are
still over 200 feet and beautiful to see. It was quiet and cool and we spotted
a chipmunk and some very pretty birds. We were just looking at a slice of
redwood that was said to be over 1,000 years old when it was cut down in 1930
when a loud Australian voice queried our citizenship. A very nice couple from
Sydney with whom we had a drink at the restaurant. They were very pleasant and
offered to give us details of their contacts in Hong Kong.
Remains to be seen if they will do that. (They
didn’t. Our experiences in all our travels were that rarely, if ever, did
promises of keeping in touch come about.)
We made our
way back to the hotel via The Cannery which is another collection of trendy
shops. Rab said on Sunday that she wondered how they all stayed in business.
Robbie said quite simply that they did not. Many failed but there are always
more to take their place. Of course it is winter and not the tourist season but
it is really quite pathetic to see all the shops with no customers. We dropped
the car back at the hotel and went across to the Burger King so that Matt could
have his last Whopper. He had two.
Back we went
to Jefferson Street
to pick up my photographs from the One Hour Shop. I had been a bit worried
about the last film, which was 200 ASA as I had inadvertently kept the setting
on 400 ASA for the last 36 shots from San Simeon onwards. All was OK however
and they turned out well. We used one of our Sheraton vouchers and so we now
have duplicates of all the shots.
A last
stroll along the front and a few video games – Rab is quite taken by Frogger –
and we landed up at Fisherman’s Wharf eating a pot of shrimp as we walked. I was
also tempted by a plate of breaded prawns for $5.75. Our final stop was a shop
on Pier 39 to buy a very nice wooden carving we saw yesterday. We thought it
would be about $40 but it was $100 so we decided to give it a miss. A last
caramel apple and then an absolute final Burger King for Rab and Matt.
We got back
here at 20.00 for an early night after I finished packing, but the TV was so
good tonight that it is now 23.10 and the set is still on! Hope they are not
too grumpy tomorrow!!
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