1 - Arrival |
2 - Trolley Bus |
3 - Fisherman's Wharf |
4 - Lombard Street |
5 - My car |
6 - Hyde Pier |
7 - Hyde Pier |
8 - Towards Alcatraz |
9 - Hyde Pier |
10 - Hyde Pier |
11 - Coast Road |
12 - My Hotel |
13 - On Alacatraz |
14 - Oooh Cornwall |
15 - Goodbye |
| 1 | The Flight The Gulf war was still keeping a lot of people on the ground but I had always dreamed of going to the USA, and my company wanted me in San Francisco. Just think, away from the grey wet skies of England in early spring and off to the golden West - the long legged tanned blonde babes, the Sunshine and the Surf, Beach boys music... I flew out on the very last Pan-Am flight before they went bust. There were so few passengars that we each had a row to ourselves. |
| 2 | Trolley Bus Yes, its a bus. You hop on and you hop off. |
| 3 | Fisherman's Wharf I stayed at the Holiday Inn, right on the Wharf. You will have seen this sign in dozens of films. Look how heavy the morning dew is before that golden Californian sun emerges. |
| 4 | Lombard Street The twistiest street in the world ( they say). Fair enough. I decide not to drive down it because I had elected not to pay the collision waiver premium. |
| 5 | My Car I sat in this for twenty minutes trying to release the seat belt, and then I gave up. I put the key in the ignition and the belt automatically clipped me in. This was the Ford Probe which reached the UK about two years later ( not this actual one). |
| 6/7/9/10 | Hyde Pier Anybody going to Alcatraz left the mainland from this pier. Few guests of Alcatraz came back again. I did. |
| 8 | Looking at Alcatraz And this is just another dewey day looking towards the Island prison. |
| 11 | Coast Road I always regret that I did not drive down to LA. I had a meeting in Palo Alto, so I drove back up to SF on the coastal road and even that short hop was amazing. If you ever get there, do the drive ( and sing Mrs Robinson when you cross that bridge). |
| 12/13 | My Hotel Well the Holiday Inn is not all its made out to be. here I am getting ready to join the lunch queue, and then maybe a spot of exercise in the yard. There was an American couple of the same name as me there - we never met but we exchanged business cards. From that grew a friendship that lasts to this day and I visited them often in their homes in Maine and Arizona, and they visited me too. |
| 14 | Cornwall After three days I finally got the nerve to drive over Golden Gate Bridge ( remember, my first time in USA etc). What a let down ! The sides of the bridge are boarded up so there is no view at all, but over the other side I found Muir Beach, which looks just like Cornwall, only bigger, much bigger, much much bigger. |
| 15 | Goodbye I was booked in for a week but I managed to conclude business on day one. My office told me that as it was paid, stay ! So I did, for a few days, then off to Philadelphia and New York for a quick look around. I know, I know, but it was a job and it had to be done. |
