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San Francisco |
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Travel videos - destinations available: California, coast and mountains Thailand 1 (Pranburi & Koh Samui) Florida Everglades
- Tamiami Trail
Additional pages My Surrey Border Films- Films I have made with other club members. misc and one off films Destinations where there is not enough film to have a page to itself, or individual events etc. |
We
arrived in San Francisco in February 1998, as part of a two centre
holiday to
include Maui also. We had intended to fly straight out again
and spend
the first weekend in Honolulu, but we were on standby and the flights
were
full, so we had two weekends in San Francisco instead. This was well
worth it,
one weekend would not have been enough. Our luggage, however did go to
Honolulu, at that time ‘internal’ flights did not cross check to ensure
that
all suitcases had passengers to go with them. They did
send them straight
back, so the first day we simply stayed near the hotel , so
that we could
check in regularly to the hotel to see if our bags had arrived. You can
walk
safely around San Francisco, simply taking the normal precautions you
would in
any town, anywhere. Nearby was Lombard Street, part of which is the
crookedest
street in town, but actually is a steep hill, with a zig zag road
inserted into
the normal street. It has attractive houses and flower beds, so worth a
visit. |
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second day we took a guided bus tour of the city, which is very useful
to get
your bearings and an idea of what’s where. The tour had an optional
extra of a
visit to Alcatraz,
which we did.
Whilst having no particular sympathy for the inmates, this is
an
interesting place to visit, and the tour is very well done. You can use
personal tape players with headphones, and you take the tour at your
own pace,
and wind the tape on in time with your progress. |
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Fisherman's Wharf has an atmosphere all of it's own. |
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also went down to the terminal and made a
journey on a cable car, taking the route that went to the Cable Car Museum.
Here they have many
‘retired’ cars, but also is where the cable motors are, continually
turning.
The cables run under the tracks, and the cars have a lever which fits
down
through the opening and grabs the cable, simply being dragged along by
the
running cable. There was a long queue for the cable car ride, but it is
an
unmissable San Francisco experience. They don’t travel very fast, about
14
miles and hour, but as you toil slowly up hills, and feel as if you
night run
away down the hills, it's as good as any roller coaster. As one of my
travelling companions says on the film, as we are about to start down a
steep
hill ‘you feel as if you are about to fall off the edge of the world’. |
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We took and afternoon tour to Muir Woods, the home of coastal redwoods, which grow in a 450 mile long, 30 mile wide strip of California coastline, where they enjoy the climate of coastal fogs. These trees are taller but thinner than the more famous sequoias, and usually live from 500 to 800 years. It is a lovely place to visit, the towering trees giving an aura of peace and tranquility. The trip also took in a visit to the town of Sausalito a little way down the coast. |
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The final day we took a full day tour out to the Sonoma Valley, taking in a small independent winery, and two belonging to members of the large companies whose wine you see on our supermarket shelves. The tour also took in the town of Sonoma itself, which has many historical buildings as a reminder of it’s own colourful history. The Mexicans governed northern, or Alta, California from Sonoma, and it was here that on 14th June 1846 a few Americans stormed the Fort, and Mission. The man in charge, ‘General’ Valleja, seeing the writing on the wall, surrendered, and the rebels raised the Bear Flag and declared California a republic. California’s independence was shortlived, on 9th July 1846 the Stars and Stripes were raised, and on 9th September 1850 California joined the Union, and became the 31st State. The Bear flag became the State flag. General Valleja, after a short imprisonment, returned to his property in the area, forsaking his home country for a new life, and later was one of the first Senators for the new State. For an interesting perspective on his life, click here. |
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© 2004 Gillian Gatland |
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