San Francisco day 2 – Golden Gate Bridge

This morning we walked to Ihop for breakfast. We are low on funds but due to the date, I decided to treat myself. As we arrived though, I saw the menu was more expensive than other IHOPs. It was $11.99 for my breakfast. I couldn’t spend that so we left and instead went to the buffalo wings place for breakfast. They did toast, hash brown, eggs and bacon for $5.99. It was huge and really good.

We stopped back onto the hotel for the go pro which we had left charging before making our way to the bus stop for our city tour bus. As we arrived at the bus stop, so did the bus! As they are every 45-60 minutes this was lucky! We jumped on the open top bus and off we went.

We went past the palace of art which was a beautiful big building. The driver told us about the guitarist from Journey who got married there for a quarter of a million dollars. He said he had the place for three days. If you ask me, that’s not a bad price!

Our next stop was the Golden Gate Bridge! We got off here and took some pictures.

I’ve seen this view in movies my whole life. I never thought I’d be standing right there too. We walked over the bridge (1.7 miles) and then walked back again. The views of Alcatraz and the city were amazing. It was so windy too.

We got back to the bus stop at 4:30pm. We waited for the city bus but by 5:15pm it still hadn’t appeared so we decided to just walk back to the hotel. It would take us about an hour.

We walked down past crissy field and the water. The sun got warmer as we walked away from the bridge. We saw two hippies at the pier building an amazing sand mermaid.

After an hour we arrived at the hotel. We stopped into Walgreens to get water. They had huge bags of crispy m&Ms (my favourite!). Scott let me buy two packets as my treat for today. SO HAPPY!

We went back to the hotel and chilled out. We ordered food online from the Indian restaurant down the street. Scott went and picked it up at 8pm. We got korma, rice and naan for $15. We watched some Big Bang theory before falling asleep.

San Francisco day 1 – fisherman’s wharf & downtown

This morning we had pieces and crisps for breakfast (trying to save money). We walked to the bank which declined both our cards. So, we headed down to fisherman wharf in the hope of finding wifi.

Our hotel is on Lombard street, so we continued down it until we got to the crookedest street. It took many hill climbs to get there. It is so steep! It is the “crookedest street” in California. The view from the street was also amazing as it was on the top of all the hills!

We walked down to fisherman’s wharf. As we walked down we had a great view of Alcatraz. Down at the wharf we wandered around looking at all the restaurants and stores. We saw some war ships and submarines. Here there was an old mechanical museum which had many arcade games from the past. Some were very strange!

We walked down to pier 39. Here there were many more stores and restaurants. There was a carousel and some games too. We also took some photos of Alcatraz near the water.

We found a McDonald’s so stopped here for food and wifi. Scott and I shared some burgers and fries. I logged in to see my bank had no money. That may be why it was declined… So I transferred some money over. As I did this I noticed two homeless people sitting eating burgers. One asked the other how long he had been homeless for. He said a year and a half. He asked him why he didn’t just join the army and then he wouldn’t be homeless. The guy just shook his head in silence as if to say ‘no way’. I thought to myself that I’m sitting panicking about having enough money to enjoy our next few weeks in America whilst this guy doesn’t have a house and may well still be honouring his morals in spite of that. Doesn’t matter if you’re in the poorest country in the world or one of the richest, you see things around you that open your eyes all the time. I think once your eyes are opened, they never close again.

We walked back to pier 39 and purchased city bus tickets. We felt it was the only way we would be able to see everything as it was now 3pm and we only had tomorrow. We swayed whether to get the two day or one day but felt as the day was nearly done to just get one. So, we decided to buy one day bus tickets for tomorrow. It included a downtown tour, golden gate tour and parks and beaches. As we bought them the woman told us the passes would be good for today and tomorrow. We asked her to confirm what she said and she did in fact say we could use them for today as well. What’s the point in the two day pass?! I asked myself. Not complaining, we headed straight for the downtown stop to do the downtown tour.

Soon, a bus arrived and we jumped on. After two stops it stopped and everyone got off! Apparently we’d boarded at the end of the tour 😂. The next tour was in 30minutes so instead of trying to get on the bus in front which was packed, we waited on our current bus. At 4:30pm we were off on our downtown tour. We passed the financial district, the tenderloin, union square, china town.. We learned lots of interesting facts and about the destruction of San Francisco in the earthquake. It’s amazing how quickly they rebuilt from near annihilation!

We jumped off at the Lombard street stop (the stop before the one we boarded at). And we walked back to the hotel from here. We had another walk through crookedest street which was still mobbed with silly drivers driving down it and stopped for pictures holding up everyone else. Crazy people!

Back at the hotel we were starving and trying to decide what to have for dinner. We decided on taco bell for cheapness and walked along. Turns out Taco Bell was INSIDE KFC. Like a weird mash up. Both menus on the wall behind the one counter. The floor was sticky, the queue was huge and the place was disgusting. We quickly retracted this idea and headed back to the buffalo wings next door to our hotel. We both got a burger, garlic fries and some buffalo BBQ tenders. It took nearly 40 minutes, I think they forgot about us, but eventually we had our take out. It was so much food! We lay in bed and enjoyed it whilst watching TV.

San Leandro > San Francisco

Today we got up and started looking for hotels. They were so expensive, I felt sick. Anything affordable was in Oakland which adam insisted we avoid due to the neighbourhoods. We couldn’t really abide by this though to the expensive of central San Francisco. Eventually we found an air bnb in Oakland for £60pn (this was the cheapest). I put in a request to book and waited. And waited and waited.

We took our leftovers out the fridge and had these for lunch. I checked the iPad but we still did t have a reply.

Eventually we sat outside in the sun to pass the time. Adam fell asleep, haha. I felt bad that we were still there and suggested to scott we head out for food and wifi and wait elsewhere. Just then, my auntie carol phoned and got a surprise when I said hello! It was nice to hear from her.

We said goodbye to adam who seemed pleased to have had us visit. We thanked him for our meal and nights stay. We told him we would have him in Scotland. “Why the hell would I want to go there?” Was his response. 😂

We headed to the retail park near our air bnb entrance. There was a target so we picked up water and crisps. I was so thirsty I drank so much of our gallon of water! We headed to Burger King nearby for wifi and food. I managed today get wifi in the car park so checked our messages. We had one – declined! The cow had declined our request to stay! No message to say why or anything. I was so upset and at the end of my tether. It was now 6pm and we had nowhere to stay. We went into Burger King to sit. Scott ordered food and the man behind me asked me for the time. As we ate our food, the same man asked us if we have leftovers could we leave them and not bin them. I noticed his own tray of food and thought, bloody hell! However, I soon realised when I noticed his backpack, he was homeless. Unfortunately for him, we can only afford just enough for ourselves!

I searched the Internet for SOMEWHERE to stay. I found a motel in San Francisco for £300 for three nights. It was ridiculous but the cheapest hotel within a reasonable distance I could find. Scott suggested booking one night and then trying to find another tomorrow. But I just wanted our stay here sorted so we could spend our time sightseeing instead of on wifi and driving to hotels. So I booked three nights through gritted teeth.

I felt a lot better though and we headed off. Our GPS told us the hotel it was 8 miles away but gave us a 105 mile 2 hour route. I ignored the GPS and drove the way I knew it was. Turns out the GPS was avoiding a toll on the bay bridge – ridiculous! For the sake of a 97 mile saving for $4. The view over the bay bridge was amazing too as we drove over treasure island into San Francisco.

We soon arrived at our hotel – to no car spaces. Just as someone else parked in the last one, We parked in a disabled space and went to check in. The people who had parked, were in front of us, and it turns out their credit card was declined and they’d given their room away – TO US! :). They were transferred to a nearby hotel and as they left, scott parked in their space. We got our keys and headed up to our room.

The room was nice, but for the most expensive room we’ve ever stayed in in our lives, I wanted more haha. We walked over to Walgreens and got bread and crisps. We had crisp sandwiches for dinner and fell asleep.

Lompoc > San Leandro – visiting uncle adam

Today we checked out of red roof inn. The receptionist let me phone my Great Uncle Adam. After a long jamieson style phone call, he told us to go ahead and head to his. He said he would book somewhere for dinner tonight for us all to go out.

It was a 5-6 hour drive. We drove for a while, heading north on the 101. After a couple of hours driving, I was hungry and wanted a rest. We took the next exit to the nearest subway. On the drive, it was like old country. Like everything we had saw in Old Town, this was it! One of the gas signs was priced “an arm”, “a leg” etc haha.

We stopped for food and fuel. No way were we going through that again. Then, continued the journey north.

We drove past Santa Maria and admired the ocean and cliffs.

At 6pm we arrived at Adams house. It was a one floor bungalow style. I knocked on the door, he opened it and said “my mammy says you’re no comin in!” And shut it on us ! 😂 Back to jamieson humour too I see! He opened it and gave me a big hug and welcomed us in. He gave scott a beer and we had a glass of wine. He showed me a picture from back in the day of my gran, papa, great uncles and my uncle Allan. He asked about everyone and told us some stories. He said he always enjoyed my dads piano playing and gave us a rendition of a song my dad used to play for him haha.

At half seven he took us out for dinner. For 89 he is doing incredibly well. He drove us to the marina where the restaurant was. He told us that the food is good because it’s so expensive. Oh dear! We both felt a bit worried about this!

The restaurant was lovely, styled like an old boat. It was right on the marina with a great view of the boats. The prices were as bad as we expected. I searched the menu for the cheapest thing and then adam said “don’t look at the prices, just get what you want, I have to find someone to spend my money on”. This was so nice of him! I thanked him and ensured this was okay with him. I ordered BBQ ribs and scott had Cajun chicken pasta. Adam had a sampler with crab, steak and various small dishes.

As the restaurant had wifi, scott and I started checking for hotels. Then adam said “Why’s everybody looking down? I got a fright there, thought everyone was saying a prayer!” Haha!

The food was amazing and there was so much of it we had to get doggy bags.

We headed back to the house. Adam said I could use the computer to find hotels. Everywhere we looked was so expensive and in areas we didn’t consider. I asked adam if we would be able to stay tonight and find somewhere else tomorrow. He said that would be fine and asked in that case did I want another wine. I of course said yes.

The three of us sat exchanging stories and we listened to adam tell us about his life and a lot of things he’d done. He told me to tell my dad that he loves him and that he’s grown into a handsome man.

As it passed 11pm my eyes began to close. I’d been out drank by an 89 year old. Adam sorted our room and we said thanks as we headed to bed.

San Diego > Lompoc

Today we left San Diego. We said goodbye to Mia and thanked her for our stay.

We started our drive north towards San Francisco. We booked a night in Lompoc which is a coastal town between Malibu and Santa Maria.

It was one big drive up the 101 which was beautiful to see. Lots of water and beach towns, shadowed by cliffs and big waves. As we listened to the rock radio station playing old favourites of mine, I felt like my teenage dream had come true.

I watched the miles on the clock count down in relation to how many miles our GPS said we had left. As we got closer we realised we wouldn’t have enough so decided to detour for fuel. As the car hit 40 miles it changed to “— miles”. Our exit said it would be 19miles away. We followed this, slightly on edge hoping there wouldn’t be traffic. As we exited, we realised our exit was straight onto another freeway for 17 miles!!! Scott entered nearest gas station into the GPS which said it would be 16 miles away. We had no choice so headed this way. As the 16miles counted down, my stomach in knots, we turned a corner to which it said “19 miles to go”. WHAT IS GOING ON?! I screamed at the stupid GPS. We were going to break down if we didn’t get fuel NOW. I grabbed the GPS and searched for gas stations again. 2.1miles came up for a k circle. I followed that, praying we would make the 2 miles. As the numbers counted down we saw the big K CIRCLE sign and rolled right in. I’ve never been so relieved.

As scott filled the car, I checked for directions to our motel. Our motel? 0.4 miles away. 😒

We checked in. Our room was rather nice for a motel. Comfy bed and good TV channels. We jumped on the wifi and looked for food. There was a Taco Bell nearby which is always cheap so we headed there. We got a sharer box and a couple of $1 items (quesadilla and a taco). Total $7. 🙂

We spent the evening watching TV before falling for a well needed sleep.

Downtown San Diego

Today we made toast and eggs again for breakfast. I got directions for downtown San Diego.

We drove into San Diego and parked in one of the malls. They did 3 hour free parking with validation.

First we walked to the gaslamp quarter. It was such a cool place. The stores and restaurants were all styled really well. There wasn’t a McDonald’s or Burger King in sight. It felt like a really laid back place to be. I could imagine coming here as a teenager or resident every weekend and just enjoying how cool it is.

I could have walked around here all day but time was of the essence, so we headed up to little Italy. It was as you’d imagine with lovely flowers, outdoor eating areas and lots of Italian food. The smell of pizza was everywhere.

We walked down to the pier front. There was a park here where several families were having bbqs and birthday parties with gazebos and tables. What a great idea! I wish we had the weather at home for things like that. Down on the grass there were lots of fountains. All the kids were running around soaking wet, laughing. It was a really nice place. Again, I could picture myself here. I could so live in San Diego.

We walked along the marina taking photos of the boats. There was one boat in particular, it was the U.S.S Midway museum. It was a museum on a war ship.

We were passed by a man on a jewellery and elvis covered motorbike. Nothing out of the norm for California.

We walked back to the car as it had now been three hours! We collected the car and drove to old town. We parked up here and walked around. It is what it says on the tin – an old town. You feel like you’re wandering through San Diego in the past. It has old cigar stores, shopping, saloons, a flag pole and canons. There was one area with a band and people dancing. It was a really cool place, too. Everything in San Diego seems to be cool.

Hungry and tired, we drove back to the house and parked up. We walked to chilis again. This time scott had fajitas and I had BBQ ribs. The food was amazing once again. We used our earned points to get a free dessert – a hot cookie with ice cream to share.

Another long day, time for bed.

San Diego – la jolla cove & Belmont park

In the morning we decided to go to vons and pick up breakfast stuff to save money. Back at the house we made toast and eggs.

We decided to have a beach trip day. Our first stop was to La jolla cove. We parked at the top of a small side street. I’m not sure if I was allowed to park there but there were no signs to say otherwise.

We walked down and the view hit us instantly. Huge cliffs over looking the water of windsurfers, kayakers, birds, sea lions. We walked the trail right round the cliffs to the beach. The beach was small so really busy. The sand was covered in dead shrimp which made the birds happy. We quickly noticed the sea lions were swimming in between people! There were even some on the sand. We found one and went over to get photos with it. It wasn’t bothered at all and was clearly enjoying his sunbathing.

We walked round to other cliffs where we found sea lions lying RIGHT next to people. You could easily have touched them (if you were stupid). We got some more good pictures and watched some silly tourist get roared at when they got too close. It was really cool to see them this close in the wild though. Who needs sea world?! Stop paying for the torture of animals and visit La jolla!

We headed back to the car and went to our next stop – mission boulevard. We drove all the way down mission boulevard admiring Pacific beach and Belmont park. We parked right at the end in mission pier. There was a park here with a small beach. We sat in the sun and people watched for half an hour or so.

The map showed Belmont park as only a mile away so we walked the beach all the way up. Again, as everywhere in California, we saw some characters. The houses on the beach front were lovely. A very interesting place to live.

We arrived at Belmont park which had lots of rides, roller coasters and food stalls. We shared a massive ice cream called a “monster waffle cone”. I was tempted to ride the rollers coaster but it was $6 :(. We walked around watching everyone before heading back to the car.

We parked the car at the house and headed to Buffaloes wild wings for dinner. It was really busy but we got a table quickly. We had Buffaloes before in Florida. It’s like a sorts restaurant with lots of big screens showing sports. I had chicken tenders and scott had a nacho burger. We watched kimbo slice knock a guy out in less than two minutes. The crowd didn’t seem too happy.

We headed back to house. Mia offered us some chicken that they were cooking but we were too full. Instead we enjoyed an Oreo cookie ice cream and fell asleep after a long day.

Palm Springs > San Diego

We made our final breakfast in desert hot springs. We woke up to a note saying arielle had gone to Los Angeles but we were more than welcome to stay again. We really wanted to but we would end up staying there the whole time and not seeing anywhere else in California haha!

We sunbathed for the last time, hoping our years tan would miraculously return. We wrote a note for arielle thanking her for everything and saying that we hope to return one day, maybe in the near future!

As we left, we noticed the usual clear blue sky was half covered by dark, horrible looking clouds. Not even clouds, but like storms you see in films. We realised it was from a forest fire that was on the news. It looked really scary!

The GPS told us our journey to San Diego would take two and a half hours. We have noticed here there are car pool lanes. They are for vehicles with two or more people. I couldn’t understand why no one was using them so didn’t bother in case you need a permit or pay or something. It didn’t take too long for me to realise that actually every car only has one person in it, ITS LUDICROUS!

We hit some traffic on the freeway (probably due to everyone driving solo – Jesus!) so our GPS said she had a quicker route. We clicked to follow this which took us off at the next exit. I fought my way through the jam to get to the exit which was loaded with people clearly doing the same thing. We sat in the exit for over fifteen minutes before eventually getting out to the street. I turned back to see the freeway now moving freely. Annoying. I then, realised the GPS was simply taking me off and then back on the next exit further down. What s bloody waste of time. Definitely took longer than waiting in the traffic.

As we arrived in San Diego we drove around the street trying to find a parking space. We found one on the street and headed up to the apartment. We were met by Mia, a Brazilian lady who now lives in San Diego. Her home was lovely and spotless. Nice bouncy carpets and a balcony facing the pool. She showed us to our lovely room.

Hungry, we got ready and headed out for dinner. We turned about straight away for our jumpers as the cold hit us. We noticed a chilis bar and grill. We loved this place in Florida so headed there. We ordered the dinner for 2 for $20. I ordered chicken fajitas and scott ordered a bacon cheeseburger, this came with shared Texan chilli cheese fries. The food was amazing. I joined the rewards programme and we earned some points for our meal.

As we walked back towards the house, the sea world fireworks started. They were huge and so loud. We stood in vons parking lot and watched them. Then we stopped into vons and picked up some snacks.

Back at the house we ate our snacks and watched Bruce almighty on the TV before falling asleep. It’s the first place we have been that we haven’t needed air con.

Palm Springs day 4 – chill day two!

This morning we woke up to the hot house. Men were in trying to fix the air con. After a couple of hours, they finally got it working!

We went to vons supermarket and picked up some food – eggs, turkey bacon, bread, etc. we came back to the house and cooked some brunch. It was nice to have a home cooked meal again. I miss that about Japan.

We asked arielle if we could stay again and offered her money but she refused. She insisted last night didn’t count due to the lack of air con. She said that tonight instead would be her goodwill gesture. We tried to leave the money for her but she was very insistent that we didn’t pay her.

We went down to the pool for our hour sunbathing session. As always, it was very hot. 111 degrees if the car thermometer is correct!

After another long hour, we got showered and relaxed in the room. I couldn’t be bothered moving so we started ordering a dominos online. At the end it hit us with a $4 delivery charge (it’s down the street). So I forced myself up and we went to pick it up instead. We got a BBQ chicken and onion pizza and a Philly cheese steak sub sandwich for $12. You wouldn’t get those prices at UK dominos!

We set up our munch in front of the TV and watched American dad. I was so tired and fell asleep at 9pm.