Just to let you all know I'm home safe and sound. I'ts really cold too.
I didn't realise how brown I had become until I put my arm next to Anne's at the airport. Anne was there waiting for me despite our plane being delayed for 2.5 hours due to mechanical problems.
It was great seeing her, and when we got to the motorway turnoff to my place, she went right instead of left and said we had to swing by somewhere first. Turned out Anne had moved house from an apartment in the city, to a four bedroomed house down by Takapuna Gramma not far from me. David had stayed at home and cooked dinner and his family was there as well.
I semi unpacked the suitcases and gave out the pressies. The jeans I bought for Anne in New Jersey fitted her perfectly (whew). Pleased about that. it's nice being the same size as it means we can share clothes when we want to go out :)
Today - I'm just slowly getting organised and doing washing. Haven't touched my mail, or my bank accounts. Don't even want to see my credit card bill!!!! Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away???
Cats pleased to see me home, still a little unsettled but neither of them have ignored me or punished me at all which is good. Both look like they've put on weight, so they've been fed well!
I'm not interested in living out of a suitcase now for several years. No more trrips for a while. I have a lot of sleep to catch up on, I need to get back to the gym, and will keep up all the walking, as well as start running again. But first my feet need to get back down to a more normal size. I' sure the cold weather will help with that!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
2nd August - Hawaii
Last day in Hawaii before coming home. I got up early and went for a swim at the hotel pool, then lay in the sun until 9am. Early but the sun was still hot at that hour. I then headed up for a shower and dressed in time to meet Larry at 9.30am. He was everything I had imagined him to be and it was so great meeting him after all these years. I was saddened that his wife Suz couldn't be over to meet us too. We headed up to the hotel pool and sat in the cabana bar and talked all morning, took photos, made him write in my book. Then we headed up to the hotel room to get bathing suits as we were going to the zoo and then to haumanu bay for swimming. However, we found out it would take us an hour to get to the bay, so decided to only go to the Honolulu Zoo instead. Larry dropped us off there, but it really wasn't far. He then went on to audition for a major role in 'LOST'. I hope he gets it :)
The Zoo was small. Didn't really allow for good photos as the cages were still those old fashioned black ones. Many of the animals were not there, or sleeping as it was so hot. Some exhibitis had no water which I thought was terrible. The rainforest aviary was good though and I managed to get some good photos there. Honolulu also had two Komodo Dragons. Highly endangered and rare, it was interesting seeing them, but were smaller than I had imagined them to be. Guess Jurassic Park had influenced my perception of these jurassic animals :)
It was really hot at the zoo, and we were finished by 2.00pm. We headed over the road to the beach and walked back to the hotel via the beach with our feet in the water to try cooling us off. Some of the waves drenched us but it was nice. It took about half a hour (about the length of three beaches) to get back to the hotel. Both Mike and I were really tired, the beaches were crowded, so we decided to relax at the hotel pool instead. So we would swim when we were hot, then lie in the sun to warm up. Blissful. Very blissful. At one stage the sun went behind a cloud and I felt cold. I laughed as in just 24 hours we would be in the winter of Auckland and it'd be much much colder.
For dinner we headed to the restaurant where we had breakfast and had an all we could eat buffet for $12.00. That included dessert, which I had a pineapple and mint mousse. Sounds horrible but was really really nice.
After dinner we headed to the Pacific Beach hotel to see an aquarium that took up two whole floors. Great spootted stingrays, and all sorts of tropical fish - was very interesting. A diver was in there feeding the fish when we got there so that was worthwhile seeing. Over to Macy's where I bought Anne her Clarins stuff, and through the market again. I decided to try one more time for a Pearl. I was able to draw a voucher and this time got a 40% off, chose an oyster, and this time got a rather large black pearl. The black pearl was larger than the other 3 I got the night before. So I was very pleased. Decided to leave it at that, and headed back to the hotel to pack. Took me about an hour to pack up everything, then hit the sack. Home in the morning - and I'm more than ready to get there.
The Zoo was small. Didn't really allow for good photos as the cages were still those old fashioned black ones. Many of the animals were not there, or sleeping as it was so hot. Some exhibitis had no water which I thought was terrible. The rainforest aviary was good though and I managed to get some good photos there. Honolulu also had two Komodo Dragons. Highly endangered and rare, it was interesting seeing them, but were smaller than I had imagined them to be. Guess Jurassic Park had influenced my perception of these jurassic animals :)
It was really hot at the zoo, and we were finished by 2.00pm. We headed over the road to the beach and walked back to the hotel via the beach with our feet in the water to try cooling us off. Some of the waves drenched us but it was nice. It took about half a hour (about the length of three beaches) to get back to the hotel. Both Mike and I were really tired, the beaches were crowded, so we decided to relax at the hotel pool instead. So we would swim when we were hot, then lie in the sun to warm up. Blissful. Very blissful. At one stage the sun went behind a cloud and I felt cold. I laughed as in just 24 hours we would be in the winter of Auckland and it'd be much much colder.
For dinner we headed to the restaurant where we had breakfast and had an all we could eat buffet for $12.00. That included dessert, which I had a pineapple and mint mousse. Sounds horrible but was really really nice.
After dinner we headed to the Pacific Beach hotel to see an aquarium that took up two whole floors. Great spootted stingrays, and all sorts of tropical fish - was very interesting. A diver was in there feeding the fish when we got there so that was worthwhile seeing. Over to Macy's where I bought Anne her Clarins stuff, and through the market again. I decided to try one more time for a Pearl. I was able to draw a voucher and this time got a 40% off, chose an oyster, and this time got a rather large black pearl. The black pearl was larger than the other 3 I got the night before. So I was very pleased. Decided to leave it at that, and headed back to the hotel to pack. Took me about an hour to pack up everything, then hit the sack. Home in the morning - and I'm more than ready to get there.
1st August - Hawaii
Bus picked us up at 8.30am on a tour around the island. Past Diamond Head slopes and around to Hanauma Bay which I loved. Abssolutley stunning. The tour guide was excellent and moved her mirror so we could lipread her. Unfortunately my asthma flared up on the bus and because I couldn't get enough oxygen I kept falling asleep. Further - my implant really really needs a map and I understood absolutely zilch so Mike was interpretiing for me most of the way, when I had my eyes open!!
We stopped for lunch at a golf course the ko'olau. I looked at golf gear in the shop afterwards with Mum in mind. But had to walk out in the end because there was nothing under $100. Thought that counted right? Some of these golf courses charge $100,000 per year to join!!
On up the coast - very beautiful beaches - reminded me a lot about Barbados once we got away from all the highrises of Waikiki. It got very hot, and I wanted to get out and swim at every beach we stopped, but no time. We stopped at a Japanese Buddhist Temple, the Byodo-in Temple which was also very interesting. We also stopped at the Kualoa Ranch, and was taken on a short boat trip on a fresh water lake. At high tide the sea spills over into the lake and it was weird sitting on the boat looking up at the sea which was slightly higher. This area is the site of Jurassic Park filmset, Fantasy island and a few other famous movies.
Then up to the famous North Shore beaches where the surfies are, and the swell runs hot at certain times of the year. So beautiful again - I've never seen such blue blue water. Down the middle of the island through coffee, sugar and pineapple plantations. Stopped at the Dole Pineapple plantation and went in to the shop. A real tourist trap - everything too expensive, but I did buy a pineapple icecream which was very refreshing. But even that was steep aat $4.50!!! We passed Pearl Harbour but wasn't able to stop as we were running late.
We got back to the hotel at about 5.30pm. I wasn't hungry so Mike went with his Mum to dinner while I had a shower and then headed out to buy a cabin bag for the plane as I was running out of luggage space. I also found all the manuals and charger for my phone, and took it over to the Tmobile guy and told him to give it to someone needy. In return I got free internet access and arranged to meet up with Larry Littleton the next day. Larry I met on the Say What Club years ago when I first joined. We have been talking to each other ever since online for 12 years so it was great to set this up. He and his wife moved from Santa Barbara, California to Ka'uai, Hawaii a few years ago.
After that I met up with Mike and his Mum and her partner Paul again and we walked over to the beach to watch the fireworks that go off every Friday night. Mike went for a swim and watched the fireworks from out in the water, I was minding his bag so I missed out on seeing them. I can't swim at night due to having no balance. It's bad enough trying to walk on sand in the dark, but trying to swim in the dark is worse as if a wave hits me I don't know which way is up, and the waves at Waikiki can be quite powerful!
We then walked around the shops and then Mike and I walked through the market. I decided to try for a Pearl from the Maui Divers store. It's not guaranteed you will get one, but they gave me a swing at the barrel, and I pulled out a 50% off voucher. So I could then choose an unopened oyster and pay only $7.49 for it. There may or may not be an oyster in there - a true gamble. Well - it just so happened that a fairly large pink pearl was in the one I chose. So I was rapt, and they were surprised. Deciding that luck was on my side, I did it again, and paid $14.99 for the next gamble. This time, I got not one, but two white pearls in the oyster I chose. The white ones were only marginally smaller than the pink one. Not being a gambler really, I decided to quit while I was ahead, but was really pleased about it. Will get them set back home.
Got back to the hotel around 10 to 10.30pm.
We stopped for lunch at a golf course the ko'olau. I looked at golf gear in the shop afterwards with Mum in mind. But had to walk out in the end because there was nothing under $100. Thought that counted right? Some of these golf courses charge $100,000 per year to join!!
On up the coast - very beautiful beaches - reminded me a lot about Barbados once we got away from all the highrises of Waikiki. It got very hot, and I wanted to get out and swim at every beach we stopped, but no time. We stopped at a Japanese Buddhist Temple, the Byodo-in Temple which was also very interesting. We also stopped at the Kualoa Ranch, and was taken on a short boat trip on a fresh water lake. At high tide the sea spills over into the lake and it was weird sitting on the boat looking up at the sea which was slightly higher. This area is the site of Jurassic Park filmset, Fantasy island and a few other famous movies.
Then up to the famous North Shore beaches where the surfies are, and the swell runs hot at certain times of the year. So beautiful again - I've never seen such blue blue water. Down the middle of the island through coffee, sugar and pineapple plantations. Stopped at the Dole Pineapple plantation and went in to the shop. A real tourist trap - everything too expensive, but I did buy a pineapple icecream which was very refreshing. But even that was steep aat $4.50!!! We passed Pearl Harbour but wasn't able to stop as we were running late.
We got back to the hotel at about 5.30pm. I wasn't hungry so Mike went with his Mum to dinner while I had a shower and then headed out to buy a cabin bag for the plane as I was running out of luggage space. I also found all the manuals and charger for my phone, and took it over to the Tmobile guy and told him to give it to someone needy. In return I got free internet access and arranged to meet up with Larry Littleton the next day. Larry I met on the Say What Club years ago when I first joined. We have been talking to each other ever since online for 12 years so it was great to set this up. He and his wife moved from Santa Barbara, California to Ka'uai, Hawaii a few years ago.
After that I met up with Mike and his Mum and her partner Paul again and we walked over to the beach to watch the fireworks that go off every Friday night. Mike went for a swim and watched the fireworks from out in the water, I was minding his bag so I missed out on seeing them. I can't swim at night due to having no balance. It's bad enough trying to walk on sand in the dark, but trying to swim in the dark is worse as if a wave hits me I don't know which way is up, and the waves at Waikiki can be quite powerful!
We then walked around the shops and then Mike and I walked through the market. I decided to try for a Pearl from the Maui Divers store. It's not guaranteed you will get one, but they gave me a swing at the barrel, and I pulled out a 50% off voucher. So I could then choose an unopened oyster and pay only $7.49 for it. There may or may not be an oyster in there - a true gamble. Well - it just so happened that a fairly large pink pearl was in the one I chose. So I was rapt, and they were surprised. Deciding that luck was on my side, I did it again, and paid $14.99 for the next gamble. This time, I got not one, but two white pearls in the oyster I chose. The white ones were only marginally smaller than the pink one. Not being a gambler really, I decided to quit while I was ahead, but was really pleased about it. Will get them set back home.
Got back to the hotel around 10 to 10.30pm.
31st July - Hawaii
We had no dinner on the plane coming through last night because we had to pay for the meals and they wouldn't accept cash. I didn't want to ring up a Credit Card charge of only $5 as the fees would be that much!! We weren't impressed.
So this first morning in Hawaii we were starving. I got up fairly early, and popped down to the hotel lobby looking for an internet cafe so I could carry on unlocking the phone that we had done at the airport the night before. I found no internet cafe, but I did find a T-Mobile store (same store that sold us the phone in SFO when we arrived). I told him what I needed to do but they had two internet booths that you pay for, so I fed $5 in and got into my email. Found hte email from Tmobile saying that I couldn't unlock my phone as we hadn't had it for 3 months. Thats NOT what we were told when we got the phone, so I called over the tmobile guy and showed him the email. He asked what type of phone I had so gave it to him. Turns out that even if we unlocked the phone, we still wouldn't be able to use it in NZ becauase it's the wrong frequency. Again we had been told we could so we were not impressed.
After this, Mike's mother took us ddown to this really neat restuarant for breakfast - $7.95 eat all you want. They had amazing food. I honed in on the french toast and pancakes!! Afterwards I felt guilty and had some fresh fruit. The fresh fruit cancels out the calories in the maple syrup right?'
After breakfast, we jumped on a trolley bus to the Ala Moana shopping centre. I was sunburnt from San Francisco so didn't want to get more burnt, plus I still hadnt bought my tshirts I wanted to buy. Headed down to Walmart first, then over to Sears. I spent ages in the shoe section as they were so cheap, but ended up buying nothing as no room in my luggage. Instead I just drooled. Then to the women's section and I bought some jeans, tshirts and a pair of shorts. Thats it - done - no more shopping for me. That had taken two hours. By now it was very hot, so sat and had a drink and headed back to the hotel.
Jumped in our swimsuits and headed over to the beach and had a swim on Waikiki beach and lay in the sun until 5.30pm. Bliss Bliss. I wasn't hungry - still full from breakfast. We had dinner at an Ihop restaurant (cheap), and then wandered around the shops and marketplace. Eveyrthing so cheap but so much the same. Booked a day tour around the island for tomorrow.
Hit the sack early again as I'm still tired.
So this first morning in Hawaii we were starving. I got up fairly early, and popped down to the hotel lobby looking for an internet cafe so I could carry on unlocking the phone that we had done at the airport the night before. I found no internet cafe, but I did find a T-Mobile store (same store that sold us the phone in SFO when we arrived). I told him what I needed to do but they had two internet booths that you pay for, so I fed $5 in and got into my email. Found hte email from Tmobile saying that I couldn't unlock my phone as we hadn't had it for 3 months. Thats NOT what we were told when we got the phone, so I called over the tmobile guy and showed him the email. He asked what type of phone I had so gave it to him. Turns out that even if we unlocked the phone, we still wouldn't be able to use it in NZ becauase it's the wrong frequency. Again we had been told we could so we were not impressed.
After this, Mike's mother took us ddown to this really neat restuarant for breakfast - $7.95 eat all you want. They had amazing food. I honed in on the french toast and pancakes!! Afterwards I felt guilty and had some fresh fruit. The fresh fruit cancels out the calories in the maple syrup right?'
After breakfast, we jumped on a trolley bus to the Ala Moana shopping centre. I was sunburnt from San Francisco so didn't want to get more burnt, plus I still hadnt bought my tshirts I wanted to buy. Headed down to Walmart first, then over to Sears. I spent ages in the shoe section as they were so cheap, but ended up buying nothing as no room in my luggage. Instead I just drooled. Then to the women's section and I bought some jeans, tshirts and a pair of shorts. Thats it - done - no more shopping for me. That had taken two hours. By now it was very hot, so sat and had a drink and headed back to the hotel.
Jumped in our swimsuits and headed over to the beach and had a swim on Waikiki beach and lay in the sun until 5.30pm. Bliss Bliss. I wasn't hungry - still full from breakfast. We had dinner at an Ihop restaurant (cheap), and then wandered around the shops and marketplace. Eveyrthing so cheap but so much the same. Booked a day tour around the island for tomorrow.
Hit the sack early again as I'm still tired.
30th July - San Francisco - Hawaii
Up early and checked out by 8am. Luggage went into storage for the day. We then wandered down to the bus to use our off/on ticket for the second day. First stop this time was the botanical gardens again - but this time we walked over to the Conservatory of Flowers. We saw no sqirrels this time, but we did see warnings about wild coyote's in the area, warning us not to approach them if we did see them. We didn't.
Conservatory of Flowers were fascinating - much bigger than Auckland's Wintergardens, with over 29,000 varietires of plants. At one end they also had a butterfly exhibit. I saw my first 'american bumble bee' So different to our big black and yellow striped ones.
Back on the bus and our next stop was Fisherman's Wharf. I bought another jacket to bring home for $20. We also had clam chowder in a sourdough bun again for lunch. Couldn't resist as it was so yum. By this time it was getting late, so back on the bus to Coit Tower.
I found this interesting as I have read the book 'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill' which has immortalised this whole area. We walked from the bus, up the hill, up the hill, up the hill, then up up up the stairs. This was steeper than the worlds steepest street. My legs still hurt from it 4 days later. Beautiful area though, and I recognised many things from the book. We paid $4.50 to go up the tower, to find the tower encased in glass so not good for taking pictures. I found this price a bit of a rip off actually, as we were finished within minutes, but then had a 20 minute wait in line to get the elevator back to the bottom. However, we were running late - we had to be back at the hostel by 3pm to get a taxi to the airport by 3.15pm. It was 2.40 so I persuaded the others in linne that we had a plane to catchand would they mind letting us through first. They did :)
We hightailed it back to the bus, but going down the hill was slow because of my balance and we had just missed one. There was no way we could wait half an hour for the next one so we found a rude taxi driver who took offense over everything I said as he misunderstood that I was admiring the victorian houses, instead he thought I was telling him where to turn. He got really argumentative and aggressive. Because of it we didn't want to tip him, but he wouldn't give us the correct change so he got his tip anyway. Cheeky sod.
We waited for the shuttle to take us out to the airport on the corner of Derby Lane and Taylor street where our hostel was. Also on the corner was a massage parlour. Seems we could please no one today as one of the 'madame's' came out and told us we couldn't loiter on the corner as it wouldn't please her clientele. We told her that wasn't our problem, and that we were waiting for a shuttle to take us to the airport and we weren't moving. She disappeared back inside, but she kept a beady eye on us the whole time. Weird.
To be honest - I loved the places we saw in San Francisco - Muir Woods, all the places we visited by bus, the treatment the police gave us - all were very positive experiences, but I hated the bums, the stench of urine in the streets as we walked, and hated being harrassed for 'change, change' by these same people all the time. One even followed us. Those experiences weren't so positive.
At the airport we nearly missed our plane. We wandered in and asked where the Air New Zealand counter was. They told us at counter 3, but it wouldn't open until 5.30pm. I wondered about this as our flight was at 6.55pm and I thought that was late. However, we went and had a coffee, and I remembered that we had to try and unlock our cellphones so we could use them back home in New Zealand. Not being able to use a phone, we asked twopoliceman having a break to help us. That they did - rang the 611 for customer service and got our phones semi unlocked. We were told that an email would be sent to us and we had to reply using an unlock code number within 24 hours. Not a problem. Again wonderful service from San francisco's finest.
By this time it was 5.30pm and we wandered back to counter 3 to find no lanes unopened, so while I went to the restroom, I got Mike to ask again. Turned out that our flight was an alliance flight with United Airlines ande had been given the wrong info, and final check in time was fast approaching. An airport official found us a trolley, loaded our suitcases on it, and we raced to the terminal. We tried to check in using fast check in to find we coudn't so had to join a long queue. Hearts beating, hot and bothered, and in front of an old man who continually farted something terrible. People as far as 6 or 7 back were holding their coats/scarves/tshirts over their noses it was so bad. I hid in my coat.
Finally the old man got served and left and the air pollution gradually cleared and before long we were finally at the counter checking in. Unfortunately Mike was overweight again in his baggage, so he was dividing things between suitcases. Unfortunately, because we were on such a tight timeframe, he got flustered, and his behaviour was noted as suspicious. So as we were going through security we were separated and Mike was tested for drugs. Oh well - all adds to the experience of travelling. I also set off the alarms - my bra wires do that to me every time. One of these days I''m going to go through airport security topless. Might save time.
No sooner we got through security - we were racing down to our plane. It took off as soon as we were seated, however we were not the last ones on the plane. Close though! Flight to Hawaii uneventful. Arrived at 9pm Hawaii time and got a shuttle to our Hotel. I was exhausted so went straight to bed, however Mike's mum and her partner was also here, so Mike stayed up talking to them.
Conservatory of Flowers were fascinating - much bigger than Auckland's Wintergardens, with over 29,000 varietires of plants. At one end they also had a butterfly exhibit. I saw my first 'american bumble bee' So different to our big black and yellow striped ones.
Back on the bus and our next stop was Fisherman's Wharf. I bought another jacket to bring home for $20. We also had clam chowder in a sourdough bun again for lunch. Couldn't resist as it was so yum. By this time it was getting late, so back on the bus to Coit Tower.
I found this interesting as I have read the book 'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill' which has immortalised this whole area. We walked from the bus, up the hill, up the hill, up the hill, then up up up the stairs. This was steeper than the worlds steepest street. My legs still hurt from it 4 days later. Beautiful area though, and I recognised many things from the book. We paid $4.50 to go up the tower, to find the tower encased in glass so not good for taking pictures. I found this price a bit of a rip off actually, as we were finished within minutes, but then had a 20 minute wait in line to get the elevator back to the bottom. However, we were running late - we had to be back at the hostel by 3pm to get a taxi to the airport by 3.15pm. It was 2.40 so I persuaded the others in linne that we had a plane to catchand would they mind letting us through first. They did :)
We hightailed it back to the bus, but going down the hill was slow because of my balance and we had just missed one. There was no way we could wait half an hour for the next one so we found a rude taxi driver who took offense over everything I said as he misunderstood that I was admiring the victorian houses, instead he thought I was telling him where to turn. He got really argumentative and aggressive. Because of it we didn't want to tip him, but he wouldn't give us the correct change so he got his tip anyway. Cheeky sod.
We waited for the shuttle to take us out to the airport on the corner of Derby Lane and Taylor street where our hostel was. Also on the corner was a massage parlour. Seems we could please no one today as one of the 'madame's' came out and told us we couldn't loiter on the corner as it wouldn't please her clientele. We told her that wasn't our problem, and that we were waiting for a shuttle to take us to the airport and we weren't moving. She disappeared back inside, but she kept a beady eye on us the whole time. Weird.
To be honest - I loved the places we saw in San Francisco - Muir Woods, all the places we visited by bus, the treatment the police gave us - all were very positive experiences, but I hated the bums, the stench of urine in the streets as we walked, and hated being harrassed for 'change, change' by these same people all the time. One even followed us. Those experiences weren't so positive.
At the airport we nearly missed our plane. We wandered in and asked where the Air New Zealand counter was. They told us at counter 3, but it wouldn't open until 5.30pm. I wondered about this as our flight was at 6.55pm and I thought that was late. However, we went and had a coffee, and I remembered that we had to try and unlock our cellphones so we could use them back home in New Zealand. Not being able to use a phone, we asked twopoliceman having a break to help us. That they did - rang the 611 for customer service and got our phones semi unlocked. We were told that an email would be sent to us and we had to reply using an unlock code number within 24 hours. Not a problem. Again wonderful service from San francisco's finest.
By this time it was 5.30pm and we wandered back to counter 3 to find no lanes unopened, so while I went to the restroom, I got Mike to ask again. Turned out that our flight was an alliance flight with United Airlines ande had been given the wrong info, and final check in time was fast approaching. An airport official found us a trolley, loaded our suitcases on it, and we raced to the terminal. We tried to check in using fast check in to find we coudn't so had to join a long queue. Hearts beating, hot and bothered, and in front of an old man who continually farted something terrible. People as far as 6 or 7 back were holding their coats/scarves/tshirts over their noses it was so bad. I hid in my coat.
Finally the old man got served and left and the air pollution gradually cleared and before long we were finally at the counter checking in. Unfortunately Mike was overweight again in his baggage, so he was dividing things between suitcases. Unfortunately, because we were on such a tight timeframe, he got flustered, and his behaviour was noted as suspicious. So as we were going through security we were separated and Mike was tested for drugs. Oh well - all adds to the experience of travelling. I also set off the alarms - my bra wires do that to me every time. One of these days I''m going to go through airport security topless. Might save time.
No sooner we got through security - we were racing down to our plane. It took off as soon as we were seated, however we were not the last ones on the plane. Close though! Flight to Hawaii uneventful. Arrived at 9pm Hawaii time and got a shuttle to our Hotel. I was exhausted so went straight to bed, however Mike's mum and her partner was also here, so Mike stayed up talking to them.
29th July - San Francisco
We waiting around at the hostel because Mike's replacement credit card was arriving sometime between 8am and 10am. It arrived just on 10am, so as soon as we had it, off we went on the city tour bus from Union Square. We got the one that was $32 but the tickets lasted for two consecutive days instead of just 24 hours.
First stop was the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square. Picture postcard Victorian houses in a row, probably the most photgraphed site in San Francisco next to the Golden gate Bridge. Took photos then waited for the bus and reboarded. It was a little longer than the 'every half hour' they said it woudl be.
Next stop was the Botanical Gardens. It was a glorious summer day, and it was really pleasant in the gardens. I wanted to see the Flower Conservatory (or covered hothouses), but we weren't sure where they were so didn't chase it up. We did see another Squirrel though. I know I know - I can hear you all sighing - but they're sooo cute!!
Back onto the bus, and our next stop was the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked over it to the other side. It was lovely and warm as the su was shining but that wind was a bit nippy, but we kept on walking fast so kept ourselves warm. Mike now has 459 photos of San Francisco City from the bridge, as he would take 10 steps and the take another 7 photos!! At the other side of the bridge, we once again had to wait for the bus to turn up, but it was very pleasant sitting in the sun.
Next stop was to see the crookedest street in the world. We were going to get the cable car up, but we were too stingy to pay the $11.00. Besides, there was an hour long wait. So we decided to walk up... the steepest street in the world. After we had walked up the steepest street, we walked down the crookedest one. Lots of photos. By this time it was getting late, and the last bus left around 5.00pm. I wanted to make sure we got the bus back to Union square i time. so we walked to the Fisherman's wharf bus stop and and got one straight away. Got off at Union Square. Mike's replacement credit card wasn't working, so we did try and get some help from the banks, but they woudn't help us as we weren't 'customers'. I've found this attitude in USA banks before when I've wanted USA travellers cheques cashed, and they wouldn't do it because I wasn't their customer! Sigh - of course I wasn't - I'm an overseas traveller wanting international cash and these are international cheques - I found the attitude appalling actually as it simply wouldn't happen in NZ. Any bank in NZ will help you whether you are a customer or not.
After not getting any help there, we headed to dinner at a diner on the corner of union square. Always full so looked good, and it was - a great meal and cheap. Back to the hostel for another early night, but also to pack, as we have to check out of the hostel in by 8am and put our luggage in storage until 3pm as were heading to the airport late afternoon to fly out to Hawaii - eat your heart out!.
First stop was the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square. Picture postcard Victorian houses in a row, probably the most photgraphed site in San Francisco next to the Golden gate Bridge. Took photos then waited for the bus and reboarded. It was a little longer than the 'every half hour' they said it woudl be.
Next stop was the Botanical Gardens. It was a glorious summer day, and it was really pleasant in the gardens. I wanted to see the Flower Conservatory (or covered hothouses), but we weren't sure where they were so didn't chase it up. We did see another Squirrel though. I know I know - I can hear you all sighing - but they're sooo cute!!
Back onto the bus, and our next stop was the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked over it to the other side. It was lovely and warm as the su was shining but that wind was a bit nippy, but we kept on walking fast so kept ourselves warm. Mike now has 459 photos of San Francisco City from the bridge, as he would take 10 steps and the take another 7 photos!! At the other side of the bridge, we once again had to wait for the bus to turn up, but it was very pleasant sitting in the sun.
Next stop was to see the crookedest street in the world. We were going to get the cable car up, but we were too stingy to pay the $11.00. Besides, there was an hour long wait. So we decided to walk up... the steepest street in the world. After we had walked up the steepest street, we walked down the crookedest one. Lots of photos. By this time it was getting late, and the last bus left around 5.00pm. I wanted to make sure we got the bus back to Union square i time. so we walked to the Fisherman's wharf bus stop and and got one straight away. Got off at Union Square. Mike's replacement credit card wasn't working, so we did try and get some help from the banks, but they woudn't help us as we weren't 'customers'. I've found this attitude in USA banks before when I've wanted USA travellers cheques cashed, and they wouldn't do it because I wasn't their customer! Sigh - of course I wasn't - I'm an overseas traveller wanting international cash and these are international cheques - I found the attitude appalling actually as it simply wouldn't happen in NZ. Any bank in NZ will help you whether you are a customer or not.
After not getting any help there, we headed to dinner at a diner on the corner of union square. Always full so looked good, and it was - a great meal and cheap. Back to the hostel for another early night, but also to pack, as we have to check out of the hostel in by 8am and put our luggage in storage until 3pm as were heading to the airport late afternoon to fly out to Hawaii - eat your heart out!.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
28th July - San Francisco
Well. Life certainly is not boring. And it's days like these you really wish you had normal hearing so you can sort things out yourself.
It started last night. I hit the sack at 8pm as I was simply exhausted. Mike went out and searched for a beer and dinner and walked the streets. He felt someone brush up against him, but didn't think anything of it.
Until.... this morning. Where's my wallet??
We unpacked everything. Went through every pair of shorts and trousers. Every nook and cranny. Every drawer and pocket. We unpacked and repacked everything. No wallet to be found. It was lost - good and proper. $250 USD cash, Credit cards, Drivers license - G O N E!
We found out where the police station was so, instead of going on our city wide tour, we walked down 5 blocks to the police and wrote up a report for insurance purposes. There is no hope of it being handed in, because of the number of homeless around the area he was.
We told the police we needed help to ring to cancel the credit card as we couldn't hear on the phone. Not a problem. He wrote everything down - fortunately Mike had written his card number in a note book so we had all the information. Unfortunately due to budget constraints the station couldn't make a toll call so they told us to go to the Southern Station on 850 Bryant. I asked if we should take a taxi - but they said no - walk it.
So we walked it. After an hour we finally found it, but not before asking several people if we were on the right track. We were but were told to 'watch our backs as it's unsafe'. Lovely.
The police are behind glass and you talk to them via a phone. We couldn't do that so we told them we were deaf and they passed us pink paper through the glass with written messages. We were told to go to the 4th floor to room 454 and ask for the Robbery Inspector. Before we could get to the lifts, we had to go through a security check like the airport!!
We were seen by a Sergeant Scott Warnke. He was simply brilliant, and went well out of the way to help us. He spent a good two hours with us, ringing NZ for us and cancelling the credit card, and then organising a replacement with Mastercard International that will be delivered to Mike tomorrow morning between 8 and 10am at the hostel. He will be able to use the card, but not at any ATM to withdraw cash.
This lovely police officer then DROVE us down to Fisherman's Wharf afterwards so we could spend the afternoon down there. Now that is really going above and beyond and we are truly truly grateful for his help.
We then spent the afternoon at Fisherman's wharf wandering around. We had lunch at the Boudin Bakery = clam chowder in Sourdough bun - it was wonderful = slurp - yum. We watched this duck-like diving bird dive under the water and attack 3 seagulls from underwater which was hilarious. The seagulls complained bitterly!
Onto Pier 39 and took photos of the sealions, then wandered around the shops. Caught the cable car back up to Union Square then walked back to the hostel. Got back about 8pm. So all in all a good day, apart from the initial panic from Mike this morning!! I kept Mike calm though - re-iterating that there was absolutely nothing we could do about it but sort it out.
City tour tomorrow now - at least the lost wallet gave us something different to do :)
It started last night. I hit the sack at 8pm as I was simply exhausted. Mike went out and searched for a beer and dinner and walked the streets. He felt someone brush up against him, but didn't think anything of it.
Until.... this morning. Where's my wallet??
We unpacked everything. Went through every pair of shorts and trousers. Every nook and cranny. Every drawer and pocket. We unpacked and repacked everything. No wallet to be found. It was lost - good and proper. $250 USD cash, Credit cards, Drivers license - G O N E!
We found out where the police station was so, instead of going on our city wide tour, we walked down 5 blocks to the police and wrote up a report for insurance purposes. There is no hope of it being handed in, because of the number of homeless around the area he was.
We told the police we needed help to ring to cancel the credit card as we couldn't hear on the phone. Not a problem. He wrote everything down - fortunately Mike had written his card number in a note book so we had all the information. Unfortunately due to budget constraints the station couldn't make a toll call so they told us to go to the Southern Station on 850 Bryant. I asked if we should take a taxi - but they said no - walk it.
So we walked it. After an hour we finally found it, but not before asking several people if we were on the right track. We were but were told to 'watch our backs as it's unsafe'. Lovely.
The police are behind glass and you talk to them via a phone. We couldn't do that so we told them we were deaf and they passed us pink paper through the glass with written messages. We were told to go to the 4th floor to room 454 and ask for the Robbery Inspector. Before we could get to the lifts, we had to go through a security check like the airport!!
We were seen by a Sergeant Scott Warnke. He was simply brilliant, and went well out of the way to help us. He spent a good two hours with us, ringing NZ for us and cancelling the credit card, and then organising a replacement with Mastercard International that will be delivered to Mike tomorrow morning between 8 and 10am at the hostel. He will be able to use the card, but not at any ATM to withdraw cash.
This lovely police officer then DROVE us down to Fisherman's Wharf afterwards so we could spend the afternoon down there. Now that is really going above and beyond and we are truly truly grateful for his help.
We then spent the afternoon at Fisherman's wharf wandering around. We had lunch at the Boudin Bakery = clam chowder in Sourdough bun - it was wonderful = slurp - yum. We watched this duck-like diving bird dive under the water and attack 3 seagulls from underwater which was hilarious. The seagulls complained bitterly!
Onto Pier 39 and took photos of the sealions, then wandered around the shops. Caught the cable car back up to Union Square then walked back to the hostel. Got back about 8pm. So all in all a good day, apart from the initial panic from Mike this morning!! I kept Mike calm though - re-iterating that there was absolutely nothing we could do about it but sort it out.
City tour tomorrow now - at least the lost wallet gave us something different to do :)
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