Day 19 ~ San Francisco Day 1

Day 19   ~ San Francisco Day 1

We got a very late start today because…..it rained all night! Sincerely, once we got to California, we thought it would be sunny and warm.  So the first several days we experienced foggy cool conditions that might as well been rain, yet we still didn’t want to put up the tarp because it is such a pain.  When we got to Napa Valley, it was warm and sunny all day, so we didn’t even consider putting the tarp on.  In the night, we woke up to pouring rain pitter patting then clobbering the top of the camper.  .......All Night Long.

We had moved the hitch kitchen, microwave and shoes outside to give us more room on the floor.  Additionally, since they haven’t had rain here, in what looks like years, we certainly didn’t bother digging the heater out that Mike had put away.  So when we woke up in the morning it was to a great deal of disappointment and disbelief that this could be happening!  We were warm and dry in our sleeping bags, but we did NOT want to get up and deal with the rain mess and lack of breakfast due to the microwave, toaster, and stove being wet. 

We waited until 11:00 Eastern Standard Time and then had granola and evaporated milk.  We are out of fresh fruit and many other groceries because we didn’t find a Walmart, where it was supposed to be located in Crescent City…..There was a Home Depot in that spot…..Thanks again, Google.  We knew we would be eating out a lot in San Francisco, so I figured we would not worry about the Walmart issue until after we visited the city.  Just kind of worried about how we will fare without fruit in our diets….

So 11:00 AM equals 8:00 AM Pacific Time…….So we left just in time for the rush hour zoo traffic.  Good one, Yeltons!  The KOA that we are staying at is 40 miles from San Francisco.  It took us more than 2 hours to get to the Golden Gate Bridge.  Since we were sitting an arm’s length away from hundreds of people for 2 hours, we made up funny stories about them.  Sometimes we just call out names of people we know, who look like the people in the cars.  Sometimes this is SO funny!  We saw Captain Kangaroo, Rachel Pilotte, Jorge Flores, Mrs. Hageman, Father Fox, and many, many others.  

 No rain here for years….This is what the grass looks like here: 

 

I bet these people are SO glad the Yeltons came, so the rain would follow us and bring the dry land rain.  I am so glad we could do this for so many….

I had to go pee so bad.  I had no idea that commuting to San Francisco would take soooooo long.  There was nowhere to stop, though, and this prompted us to talk about other bathroom issues.  I mentioned that I was very surprised we were all able to poop, since we hadn’t had any fresh fruit for so long.  Mike said that wasn’t really true because after he went to the bathroom:  (Here he made claws out of his hands and dug them into the air.)  His poop went down screaming, “Nooooo!”  I laughed so hard at this description!  Who hasn’t had poop that leaves marks going down?!  I had to discipline myself to STOP laughing immediately because I had to pee so bad!

All in all......It was kind of a fun ride to San Fran.

Before the Golden Gate Bridge, you go under  a few tunnels.  I told Mike to slow down here and be careful because I knew some people who died in a tunnel like this.  Mike didn't believe me and wanted to know who it was.  Princess Diana!!!!!!!!  Of course! 

Then we finally made it to the Golden Gate Bridge area.  Leading up to the (toll)bridge were signs saying “No cash. Call 511.   I thought that meant, if you can't pay for it call the number, and they will tell you an alternate route.  Mike starts messing with his phone, while driving (traffic is moving fast now, of course) and straddling at least 4 lanes of traffic, and trying to watch signs.  The menu  for 511 is very complicated and slow.  I was like, “ Stop with the phone while you are trying to drive!  We have cash and every other kind of way to pay!”  Mike’s interpretation was that you didn’t pay with cash, which was why he was trying to manipulate the phone. 

Windshield Wipers Going

 

We then saw a truck being chased by a policeman going the other way…..What we couldn’t really see was the bridge because it was SO FOGGY and rainy.  No great photo shots here. Then Mike saw a sign for 481.00 dollar fines for ignoring the toll.  Then at the end of the bridge, there was no one taking money payments!  Mike thought he saw a sign as we were going through that said they charged your license plate address in the mail automatically instead of collecting money.   So we assume we will get charged for our tolls in the mail later.  I hope the great state of California doesn’t want their money soon!  We still won’t be home for several weeks!  I find it kind of strange that they would do that in a place where they are going to have mostly tourists, who don’t know the lay of the land.

Getting the lay of the land is what we did for the next few hours.  Mike found Pier 33, where we had to report tomorrow for our Alcatraz tour.  We had paid in advance, since they usually sell out, but would have to get there early to get our Will Call tickets because there wasn’t enough time to receive them in the mail before we left home.  We only had a half hour window to pick up the tickets early in the morning, so I was kind of nervous about getting there in time with all the traffic and finding suitable parking.  .......Suitable would be under 50.00 for the day and within walking distance.

Mike enjoyed driving on the perilous streets of San Francisco.  Not being a roller coaster girl, I didn’t love these perilous streets quite so much.  They are super scary.  You have to give the car enough gas to get up the steep, steep hills, then slam on the brakes when you get to the top, where cross traffic is coming from every direction.  Mike loved it. 

Lots of Mercedes and BMW's here too.  It made me skittish when they would pull up close behind us on a hill, and when it was time to go, our car would slide and spin on the steep, wet street.  Exciting times.

Notice the "Don't Panic" sign.  You see this just when you top over the hill.

Trolley Tracks

 

We were looking for the park that my friend, Chastity, who lived in California for several years, said was a must see.  I knew in my head, the general place the park was located in the city, but I couldn’t convey this to Mike because in this round city, on an island with diagonal streets,  and no idea where north, south, east, or west was located, I couldn’t get us there.  We had a good map in the atlas, but the print was too tiny for my eyes to see, which is a horrible feeling!  This resulted in Mike driving up and down every street, actually learning the city very well!  He was having fun.  We were loving looking at all the townhouses.  (We love that kind of thing, anyway!)

We found pretty much everything we wanted to find!  Except the park!

This sign in Japan Town just absolutely cracked me up!  YUMMY KITCHEN BBQ!

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We found lots of cathedrals, China Town, Fisherman’s Warf, Ghirardelli Square, North Beach, The Presidio and Lombard Street.

 

We went down Lombard Street together.  This street is famous for being the Crookedest  Street in the World!  Then Mike left me at the bottom and did it again so I could take pictures of him coming down it.  He waved his hat out the sunroof so you can see which is our car in the pictures. 

What it looks like going down......

 

........What it looks like from the bottom!

 

We didn’t want to park the car in a garage because it is about 35-40.00 to do that.  Since tomorrow was our big day in San Francisco, we didn’t bother to park, since it was just a partial day.  So for lunch, we just paid a meter in front of the McDonalds on Fisherman’s Warf, and ate there.  Whew.  Dirtiest McDonalds ever.  Sadly, this is a popular hangout for the bereft and hopelessly homeless people.  Plus everyone is standing in line to use the one toilet.  One homeless lady that was there, continues to haunt my mind.  I guess we should have eaten at “Mel’s Diner”, where Mike suggested.   He said he would get the meatloaf there.  Yuck.  That sounded horrible to me, and since Mike and the kids are ALWAYS good with McDonalds, that seemed like a “safer” place to eat.  Plus the parking was easier…..

 

 

Anyway, after eating at McDonalds when there were millions of more inspiring places to eat in San Franciso, Mike and Harrison, who can read fine print better than me, found the Golden Gate Park.

This was a fantastically landscaped park.  It is so huge you have to drive around it to see it all.  Since it was still raining, we went to the Conservatory of Flowers, which was built during Victorian times.  I loved this!  Exploring this place took the rest of the afternoon. 

Conservatory of Flowers

Under the Street Bridge in the Park

Conservatory Ceiling

The Palm Room

Metal Walkway

Lady Slippers

Venus Fly Trap Thing-y

Pineapple Plant

Cotton Plant

Our Guide~  He is showing us the tree from which Channel Number 5 is made.

 

On our way home, we went over the Golden Gate Bridge again.  Somehow Mike knew of a place to park on the North Side of the bridge.  So we parked there and took some pictures.  We also walked the bridge…..Well, some of us ran it. 

San Francisco Skyline

 

 

 

 

 

......Well, some of us ran. And that ended up being the big problem or crapbag as Natalie would say.......Here is what happened. Mike started running for like 10 steps just "to say he 'ran' on the Golden Gate Bridge." So Harrison and Natalie took off running too. Only Mike stopped. But the kids kept running. And running and running. That wasn't the plan, see, because someone told me the bridge was 3.5 miles long one way. So whatever you walk, you have to double back to get your car. We didn't have time for 7 miles of bridge AND my foot was really hurting again. But we did want to walk it. So Mike and I discussed it in the front seat and agreed that we would just walk 1/2 way and come back. Harrison, who is ALWAYS reading and not paying any attention to what we are planning, most likely didn't know the plan. No amount of yelling could sound out over the traffic and wind. Natalie stopped running before the first stanchion. Mike got mildly mad at her, of which she got a little prickly about because she said she was trying to get Harrison to stop running.



So while we walked the entire bridge, the most horrible things were going through my mind. First: Mad at Harrison for not knowing the plan. Second: Mad at Harrison for not thinking about how worried we would be if he ran miles away from us in a huge city. Third: He said he didn't want to go camping, what if this was a grand gesture to show us how much he didn't like camping and didn't stop running when he got to the other side, not considering the ramifications. If he got lost we would never find him again. Fourth: What if child predators were lingering on the other side of the bridge....Harrison would be clueless. Fifth: Harrison is taking a college class this summer at an Indiana college when we get home. He will be on his own for a week. I am fine with that. He might not know all the ins and outs of making his way on campus, but he will easily figure it out. Learning how to be a street kid....not so much. He is wayyyyyy too much of an intellectual. And again.....what if he was kind of running away? Harrison never expresses his feelings EVER. He is always polite. Even when he is mad. What if he hated this trip so much that he ran away????



When we reached the first stanchion, no Harrison. Big hurt in the foot. Big hurt.



Then we reached the second stanchion. There didn't seem to be a boy in a John Wayne t-shirt here either. Then he came running from around the bend, arms in the air. He was quite proud of himself for running the entire Golden Gate Bridge. (He had run back to where we were.) His smile of triumph quickly faded when he saw the incredible anger on our faces. It was a long limp home to the car. 

 as late when we headed back to the campground in Petaluma.  When we got to Petaluma, we ate dinner at Applebees before going back to the camper.  

Tomorrow:  More San Francisco, including Alcatraz!