Everyone took their time getting ready, so we only got out at 11.30 am. Han and See Hack picked us up then, and the plan was to drive over the GG (Golden Gate) Bridge, take a walk through Muir Redwood Forest and visit UC Berkeley.
The drive over GG was pretty awesome, much like Viaduct du Millau. We stopped for pictures on the Marin County side.
Then it was lunch at In and Out Burgers, specially requested by Maylene and Melissa. The menu here is very simple and limited. You have 3 choices; burger, cheese burger and double cheese burger. Then you add drinks or fries. The food actually taste good, because of the limited menu, they can actually prepare the food on premises. Unlike other places where everything has to be reconstituted. The staff here are well paid too, $11.50 an hour according to the hiring poster.
Then we wandered around Muir Redwood Forest where these redwood trees are thousands of years old. There is one particular cross section on display showing the rings that were formed when the wheel was invented, Jesus was born, and I guess the outer most ring should be captioned "timberrrrrrr".
Then it was on to UC Berkeley, very nice campus. They were renovating the student centre which looked huge. Sadly for the ladies, the merchandising shop was being renovated too, so no shopping here.
We then drove over the new Bay Bridge, and saw the old one being dismantled along side.
After a short rest at the apartment, we decided to dine at House of Nanking. The food was cheap and delicious, and the bottle wine only cost $12.95 for the white, and $14.95 for the red. We had one of each!
Catherine ordered off the Chinese menu, dishes that were not available on the English menu.
13th Jan 2014 Mon
I'd booked for us to visit Alcatraz today. Everyone was good and we were there early for the 11 am boarding. We took the Hyde Street cable car there. When everyone got off at Lombard, I took the opportunity to hang off the side. No one else was game.
The ferry to Alcatraz took 15 mins. It was an interesting visit, especially with the audio guide telling us about the inmates, escapes, living conditions and so on.
I didn't think I'd enjoy it, but I did. The best part was that we had to catch the 12.55 ferry, so there was no time to buy anything from the Alcatraz shop. However, this was more than compensated by the afternoon spent at the Market Street Westfield Mall.
Shopping must be very draining, and no one wanted to eat out for dinner. So Catherine cooked instant noodles with lettuce and eggs for everyone.
14th Jan 2014 Tues
Catherine thought that the Segway tour was some kind of a bus tour. So she had a panic attack when she found out.
Her expression during the Segway training was priceless. Here are some pics. I didn't join them and instead sat in the Buena Vista bar while I waited for their return.
Marie the tour guide did a good job, and Catherine was an enthusiastic convert when she returned from the tour. The girls all voted it one of the most fun thing to do.
Then it was on to the Aquarium where we went through a sea tunnell and saw some cool jelly fish. The otters were the highlights of course, and they had touching pools where you are allowed to touch stingrays, baby sharks and other plants.
Lunch was pretty forgettable at Pier 39. Deep fried sea food and the mandatory clam chowder in sour dough bread. Ugh!
The Exploratorium had recently moved to Pier 15. So we dropped in. It is full of hands on scientific experiments such as electromagnetic, sound, light, motion, genetics, perception and so on. Good fun, and we would have stayed longer but closing time was 5 pm.
Then it was time to meet up with Han, See Hack and their boys Sean and Ryan for dinner. We went to Straits in the Westfield Mall, as it was where the ladies were shopping anyway.
Bid the Foos a fond farewell, and I am sure we will see them again in SF or NZ. Thanks, guys, for showing us SF.
15th Jan 2014 Wed.
There were no concrete plans for today. Maylene and Melissa took off earlier to Brandy Melville in Chestnut Street.
The rest of us went to Macy's in Union Sq to buy jeans for sons and dads. We ended up in Ross where the said jeans were procured for half the price. Even I bought a designer jean DKNY brand which the girls say is a designer brand. Me so hip!
I got bored and left them to it and went home to watch some TV and drink wine.
We tried to meet for dinner but no one wanted to eat out. So I was sent out for takeaways from a nearby Chinese restaurant.
16th Jan 2014 Thurs
Time to go home. The shuttle was booked to pick us up at 3pm. The morning was spent configuring bags and repacking to meet baggage allowances. It didn't work out and we had to buy another extra check-in bag.
So 7 checked in bags for 5 of us.
While the ladies were sorting themselves out, I took the bus to Haight Ashbury and spent an hour there. Interesting place. Full of herbal and smoke shops. Recycle clothes and vinyl. Very hippie.
WT announced that everyone was ready. So I came home and we walked into Chinatown for lunch. Then it was back to the apartment to polish off any left-overs, like wine and beer. I was happy with that.
The Supershuttle was parked outside our apartment at 2.30 for the 3 pm pick up. So we boarded at 3 and was all checked in by 4.30 pm.
Catherine wanted me to show the remains of broken iPhones. The camera is kaputt also but I can't be bothered dragging it out. That would make it a camera selfie.
We are still in gate G at the Cafe Del Mondo waiting for our boarding call as I write this. Might write a wrap up of the trip with random observations later. Ciao.
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