We had a fantastic time in San Francisco; the weather was perfect, we didn’t see a single cloud the whole time, we did lots of fun activities and we survived our stay in the ghetto.

We booked a room through Priceline, where you select the region you want to stay in and the price you are willing to pay and the site generates a match for your requirements. We tried the Fisherman’s Wharf area and Downtown but came to no avail. We ended up raising our price and selecting more regions and we were given a Holiday Inn. In the ghetto. So we arrived and checked in, to find that parking was an extra $35 a day, which wasn’t on the website and had we realised, we would have just paid a little extra and gotten somewhere really nice that would have parking and possibly breakfast included. Oh well, live and learn. Being the first Tuesday of the month, entry to the San Francisco Gallery of Modern Art was free. It was on the three block stroll to the Gallery that we realized we were in the ghetto. It wasn’t too bad, just your standard hood, but I could feel Zane getting a bit uneasy. After two blocks though, we were in downtown and the crazies were outnumbered by suits and shoppers.

The Gallery was really nice, but had a lot more wanky Modern Art than I would have liked. I like big colourful statement art and there was a bit of that, but also heaps of the old blue swipe on the wall that wanky arty people stare at for ages, discussing the meaning and existentialism of the artist, when all it is, is a blue swipe on the wall.

After that we caught up with Adam and Robyn down in Fisherman’s Wharf. We walked, which looked like a very small distance on the map but equated to 45 minutes of walking, my speed, not Zane’s. We had some little baby Corona’s and some nachos and went to Pier 39 to watch the big sea lions on the jetties. There were probably about fifty, all flopping around and having wrestling matches and trying to push each other off the jetties.

We went to a little pub/Indian restaurant for dinner and it was really yum. Adam and Robyn generously offered to drive us back to the ghetto and we got hopelessly lost. It took almost an hour to navigate around the city and take numerous wrong turns, when in reality, it’s only a ten minute drive. We got there in the end though, and it was better than walking.

Day two in San Fran and the four of us got physical. We rented bicycles for the day and rode from Fisherman’s Wharf around along the water, past the beach and up along the Golden Gate Bridge and over to Sausalito. It was around a 9 mile ride, so that’s 14.4 kms! It took us around two hours and when we got to Sausalito we were gagging for a beer. We got some $4 fish’n’chips and beer and enjoyed them in a pretty little garden nook behind a bar. We had sure worked up a thirst. Having had such an energetic day and due to the large hill out of Sausalito, we decided to opt for the ferry home.

Day three and Zane and I went to Alcatraz. It was $26 each for the boat there and back and an audio tour through the cell blocks. It was a fascinating tour, with commentary from some of the wardens that worked on the Rock and some of the prisoners, and it covered the daily life in the prison, escape attempts and the lives of the families of the wardens who lived on the island as well. It was truly a great insight and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting San Fran.

The next day we went to the Napa Valley and had a look around some of the wineries. We stopped in at the Domaine Chandon vineyard but as the tastings started at $22 we took some happy snaps and moved on. We then stopped at V. Sattui Family Winery where they have run an Italian style deli alongside their winery and beautiful picnic tables surrounded by the old cellars and rose gardens. I had procured a free wine tasting coupon and the man generously gave Zane a free tasting (valued at $5) so we had a great time trying and pretending that we could buy wines. I think he saw through us though, and he looked like we’d cancelled Christmas when we said we weren’t going to buy anything, poor guy must work on commission. We also ignored the ‘no outside food’ sign and we brought our own salami, crackers and cheese but we did buy the two cheapest items in the deli, a loaf of nice bread and some bruschetta mix and we had a delightful picnic.

Last night we stayed at Berryessa Lake which was, until about three years ago, a booming campground, with a hotel and pub and grocery store. The lease on the area ran out and everything was demolished, leaving a shell of a campsite with only port-a-loos and no running water. We did, however have a site right on the lake and it was so peaceful and beautiful, 28 degrees Celsius with a cool breeze coming off the water. We got there at around 2pm and had a really nice, relaxing afternoon. I made sushi for dinner and made some serious strides with my knitting.

Tonight we are about 30 miles out from Yosemite Park and I am so excited to get in there and do some hikes and explore the park. We have a campsite reserved for the next two nights. We won’t have wi-fi for a while so next time I’m on I’ll be sure to update and hopefully put up some more pics!

Much Yosemite love,

T and Z.