Civic Center Inn San Francisco

... us again and as we left the pier behind, the view back towards SF and around the surrounding bay was great. The boat trip only lasted about 10 minutes, and before we knew it we were docking at Alcatraz Island. After listening to a 'mandatory' talk from one of the rangers, we were free to roam the island and headed straight for the theatre that shows a film detailing the history of Alcatraz.

The island originally served as a military fortress ...

... lag before returning to work.

The rest of the planning is all fun stuff! What sites to see, which days to do what, etc. Looking forward to it! Check back soon for contact details while we're away, links to facebook/twitter updates, and (depending on internet availability) day-by-day updates on our journey!

... basking in the sunshine and making some horrible nosies.

We then took a walk along the shoreline towards fishermans wharf. There is an old submarine and warship which you can look around - although we gave that a miss we did go into a fabulous museum with a huge collection of "end of the pier" arcade called the Musee Mechanique of San Fransisco. It's amazing what fun you can have with just $1. We then walked on to Ghiradelli Square home of the ...

... unglaublich, wir haben es tatsächlich geschafft, fast das ganze Frühstück zu vertilgen.

So gesättigt machten wir uns auf den Weg zu den Piers. Wir bummelten den noch geschlossenen Läden entlang, bestaunten gestylte Autos, wunderten uns über die verrückten Amis und lachten über die Seehunde am Pier 39, die teilweise lautstark miteinander am Streiten und Kämpfen waren.

Das Wetter wurde immer besser, d.h. der Nebel verzog sich, das Meer war ruhig und so beschlossen wir ...

... with palm trees. I got through the airport security quickly and had a while to wait so I read some magazines and got more green tea, then discovered flinghts were being delayed due to bad weather and mine was an hour late. The actually flight went pretty well - I flew with Virgin America and they had good onboard entertainment as well as an interactive Google map showing you were you were flying. It was gone 11pm by the time I landed at San Francisco airport. I ...

... and then off to baggage claim. Found Virgin America and booked in our next lot of luggage and went and had something to eat. It was good to finally be on USA soil. We went for pizza for the kids but no ham and pineapple pizza. We got cheese and peperoni. But neither of them liked it. We had forgotten how all their food is so different. We had 3 hours till our next flight and customs only took us an hour. The flight ...

... May 30th Heidi lived in San Francisco about 9 years ago, so she knows the city very well. After a full day of touring the city and eating in Chinatown, Jodie and I tried to get her to change careers to one of tour guide. She is a remarkable tour guide and her energy is endless. By the end of the day, Jodie and I had to bow out of joining her for dinner so we could go back to the RV for some sleep. We were all toured out. May 31st On Saturday, we met ...

... miles down the freeway past that) but extremely convenient for work, and such a cute area. Next week Albert is taking off from work, since half the week is eaten up by the holidays anyway, and most people are out of the office for the whole week. Not much point in trying to go in. So we're going to go check out some local sights-places I've never bothered to go to right here in my own backyard. My parents will probably join us, so it should be a nice little get-away.

... told me about the things she does to help and I was really glad to be able to discuss how I'd been feeling with someone. I ate dinner at a sushi bar. I got talking to a conservative, but friendly couple. They reminded me of Dougie and Jeanette from Shirley Valentine - the tedious couple who tried to take Shirley under their wing because she was single. Mind you, spending so much time alone in the evenings over the past week, I have almost started a ...

... backpacks. We managed it in about half an hour, passing through Chinatown on the way. We checked in and shared a room with a long distance cycling Kiwi called Richard. The cost of the bed was still astronomical by Asian standards (i.e. standards we had better discard pretty quickly) but there was free internet access and a free breakfast and sauna. And that night, it being St Patrick's weekend (that holiday they celebrate in the States), there was a party with free beer and food. This was not too bad...