Goodbye 2016

We had a bit of a sleep in and then headed to the shops. The girls and I looked at the sales while Jason opted for antique shops and vinyl record shops. That took us hours..

View to Union Square from our room

After lunch, I walked 45 minutes through some pretty shady San Francisco streets to meet Jason at Alamo square to see the "Paineted ladies".

The painted ladies

View down the street to City Hall

More houses of San Fran

City Hall

Not  sure if the walk back was any more comfortable with Jason in tow, at 4pm the homeless people were claiming their stakes on the footpath, and I'm pretty sure the pimps and drug pushers were on many corners. We came across some funky smelling cigarettes and funky smelling people too. I was relieved to get back to Union Square.

Inside Sears resturant

We had an early dinner at Sears restaurant next door where we had seen many people wait in a queue to get into. Apparently it is world famous. We ate simply but well, the food serving sizes living up to their reputation of being large.

 We had a stroll around the block and had a quick look in the foyers of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and the Westin, both glamorous and elegant.

Christmas Tree in Union Square.

Huge cake in the foyer of the Westin

Union Square

We are still undecided and uncommitted to see the fireworks down at the bay. We've had a big day, it's cold outside and we're on the move tomorrow.

Serendipitous San Francisco

What a day, I hardly know where to start!

We went down to Pier 33 on the bay with the faint hope that we might get tickets to Alcatraz. We tried to buy them on line 5 days ago but it said all tours were booked until the 4th January. I had heard conflicting reports on whether to buy them in advance or not, and just didn't get around to it thinking all would be fine. My bad.

Of course there were none, so the consolation trip was a bay cruise that went up to Alcatraz but that was all. As Jason went back to the ticket office, the girl he had just been asking about tickets directed him to guy who was trying to get a refund on two tickets he couldn't use! Unbelievable! It was a no brainer, we sent the girls off as we had already been there years ago. It was just like sending them off on a big ride at a theme park. They were gone for about 4 hours and said it was well worthwhile. We were so glad to be able to make up for our mistake of not buying tickets earlier.

Off on an adventure

Alcatraz

 Jason and I wandered up a little further to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, however, it was tourist overload on steroids. Goodness knows what it must be like in the height of summer holidays, it was mayhem! The best thing about the wharf were the sea lions!

Pontoons of sea lions

King of his domain

Jason found a submarine and a WW2 ship to explore, and I did what any self respecting deserted wife would do, went shopping and bought shoes (on sale of course)!

 The liberty ship (carrier ship)

Jason going onboard the submarine

One of the best things I saw was this street that appeared to go up at right angles. I believe the area at the top is called Nob Hill.

Jones street

I also went into a penny arcade where they had many old amusement type machines still working.

We met the girls back at Pier 33 and went in search of food which we finally had at 3pm. A bit more exploring of the area revealed Hyde Pier and some old ships to explore which Jason was very excited about (us not so much). The best thing was that they were part of the National park program, and our annual pass got us in for free. 

View from ship yard towards Golden Gate bridge shrouded in fog

Looking back to SF

It was getting toward dusk (again), and it was going to be a very long walk back to the hotel, so we decided to catch a cable car back as the route went right past where we were staying. We had a long cold wait, but eventually got on, Jason and I electing to ride on the standing positions hanging half out of the car! It was our cheap thrills now that we can no longer tolerate roller coasters in our old age :)

Waiting for the cable car

On the cable car (Jason standing on the running board)

The end 

It was time to find warmth and food, so we headed toward the Westfield on Market street where we found a food court that catered for everyone's taste. It was a fairly short walk back up a hill and we were home. After the quiet and solitude of Lake Tahoe, we're finding the crowds rambunctious and the begging homeless people confronting. I'd also like to tell the busking trumpet player out on the street under our window where to put his instrument!

We're all pretty tired and foot sore, and I'm sure there'll be a sleep in tomorrow.

Happy New Year everyone in Oz!

San Francisco sojourn

It was with a mixture of both sadness and anticipation that we left Lake Tahoe this morning. Our last day was spent making the most of our holiday time relaxing. Of course there was more washing to do which, infuriatingly, never goes away no matter which country we are in (along with the inability of the family to put dirty dishes in the dishwasher)! We sadly disrobed the Christmas tree of it's trimmings and took it to the Christmas tree recycling point where it will be recycled into chips. The girl couldn't bear to come and have requested we have real Christmas trees at home from now on!

Jason, Sam and I went for a last snowy stroll at dusk down to the lakeside, returning in the dark which wasn't such a great idea, as the drop in temperature turned the roads and footpaths icy. We dropped into the Hyatt Regency to see how the rich people lived and admired the open fireplaces and the life size gingerbread house which smelt as good as it looked.

Hyatt Regency Gingerbread house

It was a rather uninspiring drive from Lake Tahoe to San Francisco with mostly highway driving, traffic jams and no scenery. We wanted to approach SF from the Golden Gate bridge, so that did take us off the main highway towards the end of the journey. Hence the only interesting photos I have are of that iconic bridge. She is a beauty. We spent quite a bit of time at one end and walked to the first pylon. Is was very windy and cold, and of course, it was getting dark at 5pm!

Approaching SF

Driving over the bridge

The iconic Golden Gate bridge.

Sunset view from the bridge

Walking back over the bridge

SF at dusk

SF at night

We are staying in a hotel right on Union Square. The street is bustling with buskers and trams, a big change from the silence of the pine trees at the lake. We can see the large Christmas tree from our window and will look forward to exploring more of the city tomorrow.

Truckee and tremors

Melting snow

The weather is warming up to temperatures over 0, so the snow is melting and there is a lot more greenery to be seen now. Sometimes the snow is falling off in clumps from the trees, and the houses are dripping water off the eaves. This is fortunate for us, for even though there is still ice on the smaller roads, travelling on the bigger roads is much safer and far less treacherous. We have been very fortunate with the timing of the snow fall, as it will make our departure less stressful.

Squirrel in the tree outside our apartment.

We wanted to explore a bit more of the area so decided to check out Truckee, about 30 mins drive away. Cute little outpost type of town and very touristy. Truckee is a historic railroad town and the situated near the Donner Lake where a group of settlers tried to unsuccessfully cross the now named Donner Pass in the winter of 1849.

We had a stroll up and down the main street and had lunch in a rustic type diner that had train circling around the ceiling, and all manner of memorabilia on the walls (rifles included).

Pack dog!

Gingerbread house window display

Street art

Gypsy caravan

Streets of Truckee

Main Street

Street art

Sierra Tavern

Train in our diner

The interesting walls of the diner

We had a look at some shops back at Incline village including a couple of thrift shop, but no treasures to be found. Probable drop off for the $5 microwave though! We had a late night and just as we were settling to sleep, the beds start shaking. It was an unsettling feeling. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we discovered that there had been an earthquake at a place called Hawthorne in Nevada approximately 200 kms away. There was another tremor about 10 minutes later, then a small one after another 30 mins. This morning's news reports they were about 5.7 on the richter scale, and no significant damage at the point of impact. Lets hope it stays steady for the next week!

Carson City

We tried to get to a ski/sled slopes today, however, our car really didn't want to go up the slippery icy road, and the car park was so full that it just put us off completely. The day was so beautiful with sun and blue skies so we really wanted to stay out.

Car parking at Diamond Peak. There were shuttle buses
to the ski fields from the car park.

We decided on a drive to Carson City about 30 minutes away. Jason had a date with a guy and some duelling pistols, er, to buy. Jason met the man at a gun show in Vegas and had bought these pistols from him then. Today he took custody of "the girls' inheritance". This guy has his collection of cars, guns, a plane and other stuff in a hangar, yes, a hangar!

Out and about Carson City:

This is the view from the mountain down to Carson City

The snow on the roof of our car finally melted and slipped down onto the car front window

We walked to the local cinema and went to see the latest Star Wars movie Rogue One. On the return home in the dark we tried to not slip on the ice!