Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Second Stop - San Francisco

The drive to San Francisco was long.  The weather was a bit better, but going over Sikiyou pass was a bit hairy due to the fog.  Then it was up and down for a long time.  The RV did not drive smoothly.   We planned on parking on the west side of the city along the beach, per information via the internet.  When we got there signs were posted that said no parking from 10pm to 5am.  It was super foggy and driving through hilly San Francisco was difficult.  Luckily it was in the wee hours of the morning so there was no traffic.  We found a street spot around 4am and went to sleep.  We woke in the morning and saw a sign that said you weren’t allowed to occupy a vehicle at night, but really we were only there in the early morning.

Selena had gotten a bit car sick on the trip, and woke up when we parked.  She was extremely thirsty and couldn’t stop drinking water, but she said it wasn’t working.  She was crying and I was starting to freak out, thinking she had diabetes or something.  Floyd suggested getting her some fresh air.  I took her outside for a few minutes and she was able to go back to sleep when we went back in.  She woke up fine in the morning.

The girls and I got some breakfast at Safeway and then got Dyna and walked to the beach.  It was super foggy and the waves were really big, but the girls had fun building the biggest sand castle ever.   Dyna chased some birds.  There were a few ravens (I think) that hung out on the beach.   That was interesting to me because I have never seen ravens in heavily populated areas.   We tried talking to them, but they didn’t reply.  They just seemed to want our bagels.


When Floyd got up, we moved the RV to the beach parking and got our car detached.  I was put in charge of driving since Floyd had already driven so much, and had a lot more to do.  Driving in San Francisco is not easy.  We had a few incomplete maps, but maps don’t really tell you when you can’t turn onto an intersecting road because it is either under or over you.  Floyd’s strength isn’t navigating and mine isn’t driving so we were kind of a mess.  We finally got to Fisherman’s Wharf and the sun was starting to peek out every once in a while.

I felt a bit like home.  It is very reminiscent of Pike Place Market in Seattle.  Fishing and ferries.  They even have the same Ride-the-Duck attraction.  We decided to ride the cable cars.  The cable car took us to Westlake shopping center that had the same logo as the one in Seattle.  Nordstrom’s too!  The one difference though is that it wasn’t as easy to find Floyd a coffee as it would have been at home.  ;)  We went and ate at the mall and the food was great.  After feeling sick from a nasty Burger King whopper the night before, it was great to have some fresh well-made food.  I ate some chilli and salad.

We took the cable car back and attempted to head back to the RV, but we got lost a bit. We got the car attached to the RV and headed out to Los Angeles.   San Francisco was a very pretty city and I think it would be a fun place to explore more.  We didn’t even get to see the Golden Gate Bridge because the fog was too thick.

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