Day 6 - reacquainting myself with San Francisco

While I was in Seattle, I overheard a woman on her phone telling a friend that Seattle is hillier than San Francisco. I giggled, as my recollection was saying to Brendon and Hayden that I would hate to ride a bike in SF as it was the hilliest place I’d ever visited.

 

San Francisco is definitely the hillier city. Fun fact, Seattle needed material to fill those raised roads I mentioned in an earlier blog. They shaved earth off their hills to do so, making previous 35-40 percent gradients 16-18 percent.

 

On arrival I felt maybe I’d been wrong. Jumped off the bus at the transit centre and began the 2k walk to my hotel. After the first very flat 700m, the rest was a gradual incline until the last 50m which would be at about a 20% gradient. I made the realisation that I had way too much luggage!

 

The receptionist had to wait for me to get my breath back before I could tell her who I was and what I was doing there! But after a couple of minutes I’d stowed my luggage, and walked down to Union Square to get my bearings and jump a cable car down to the wharf.

 

Got myself a Boudin’s crab chowder in a sourdough bun. It was delicious but not on the same level as Pike Place Chowder. Looks like I’ll need to visit Seattle again to get the best chowder fix in future.

 

Cable car back into town to check in, shower and change and then my first bus ride down to the wharf for an Alcatraz cruise. Finally I was going to be able to walk through what is arguably one of the world’s most famous prisons.

But first I had to get something quick to eat. I grabbed a hot dog from a roadside vendor. $5 for a hot dog. “Do you want the lot? Onions and peppers?” I agreed and gave her a $10 expecting change. Oh no she said, you asked for the works and that’s $10. More fool me - should have checked but I guess now I know better!

I chose the Night Tour and wasn’t disappointed, but definitely need to go back for the day tour and the Behind the Scenes tour.  It  has such a sad history and I was pleased they addressed the Indians of all Nations protests of the late 60s as well.  I actually loved the gardens which were designed and maintained by the inmates - the sea breeze was full of the scent of the plants in the garden and there were hundreds of sea birds around the cliffs.

 

As the sun set, the buildings took on a more ominous look as the shadows began to eke in and the lighthouse began to do the job it was built for. The wind picked up, making the ride back to the mainland chilly enough to zip up the jacket and seal off the hoodie.

Dropped in to a neighbourhood liquor store on the way home where I picked up a strawberry margarita in a can - only 250ml at 16% alcohol. Holy Dooley - that almost blew my ears off my head!

Had a quick chat with the cashier about the weather etc, and he asked how my day was. Told him long but at least I wasn’t working. Asked him if he had long to go on his shift and he said if I was around in an hour he’d be available for a drink. I must have looked shocked but recovered enough to say that if I was even awake in an hour I’d be amazed and took myself out of the shop and home to my hostel.

 

No real plans for tomorrow so will play it by ear and see how it all pans out.

Day 5 - 24 hours-ish on a train

I’ve travelled overnight by train in the US before, getting on at midnight in Flagstaff, Arizona and alighting in LA at about 9 the next morning. Amtrak runs a bunch of trains to just about anywhere you want to go, or close enough that you can get there.

 
This trip I elected to take the 9.40am Coach Starlight from Seattle to Emeryville, with a bus transfer to San Francisco, which normally takes approximately 24 hours. The train continues along the Pacific Coast right down to LA, adding another night and getting in at 5am.

Sadly, my train was delayed, so the bonus of the large “Sightseer Lounge” with its large windows from floor to ceiling, skylights and comfy sideway-facing chairs missed some of the more scenic parts of the journey as the sun had set before we got there but for the 7 hours I sat in the lounge there was plenty to make me smile - covered bridges (think Bridges of Madison County), railway bridges, picturesque mountain ranges, mirror-like lakes, farming fields, river boats, houseboats, pine trees, palm trees, and urban life of all shapes and sizes.

I took lots of snacks on the train to avoid paying a fortune for breakfasts, lunch and dinner, however the food was affordable and the coffee, while barely stomach-able, staved off the worst of a caffeine withdrawal headache.

I had a nice seat partner, a young fellow from New York state here to visit his brother.  I didn’t talk much to him during the trip but got chatting as we waited to pull into our destination station and then as we waited for the bus. Also chatted to a nice Manchurian gentleman on the bus and a San Francisco resident who has been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - starting in Mexico and she finished in Seattle to return home for a medical appointment.

Couldn’t sleep much but the beauty was that the Lions game started at 11.35pm my time, so I could keep up with the score as signal kicked in and out.  I even managed to watch the replay from 5am - Kayo works in the US (but wouldn’t work in Spain for the grand final).

Some of the pros and cons of the train - pro - you can just sit back and relax as someone does all the work to get you there. I read an entire book, started another, watched a few tv programs I had downloaded, texted the family - you could knit, do crosswords - it’s pretty smooth so not too jolty.

Con - the toilet are not ideal. Small, cramped and while staff try to keep them clean, some people still piss on the floor, the seat, the hand bowl - you get my drift.

Pro - the staff are all lovely, don’t mind a chat and have fun guessing the accent.

Con - there’s a quiet time and if passengers get on after the announcement they don’t know the expectation so they get on and make a lot of noise and chat instead of removing themselves to a lounge to talk among themselves or on the phone.
 
Pro - even though we departed late, generally they can make up time. Unless they get stuck behind a slower train which we did so we arrived three hours later than scheduled.  We departed late because they were waiting for equipment to arrive. The equipment was the train! The equipment was late due to people “walking on the tracks. Don’t walk on the tracks, folks, please!”

Pro - you can get out at some stations and have a stretch and a smoke if you need. It’s nice to get some fresh air after being couped up inside.

Con - unless you fork out for a sleeper car, it’s not easy to sleep. The seats recline further than a plane, you have plenty of legroom and a footrest but unless you’re average height, that isn’t helpful.

Anyways, got into town with the bus and then had a longish walk uphill to my hotel to drop off luggage - but more about that tomorrow!

Day 4 - Seattle at its finest

Another jam-packed day ahead, starting with the Underground Tour - a short walking tour of the Pioneer Square area of the city and a really interesting look at the history of early Seattle. 

For those who don’t know, Pioneer Square was originally built at sea level and was the thriving business-centre. But due to the tides, the roads were muddy, the sewers didn’t work correctly and following a devastating fire that wiped out the area, they began a rebuild that didn’t address any of those issues. Until someone suggested raising the street height one storey, which they did. So all of those buildings which had started being built had a ground floor that was suddenly beneath the streets.

 

The tour was entertaining and very informative , but most of all, our tour guide Adam was freaking hilarious. Teaching history through humour means I remember so much more of this tour than so many others I’ve done!

 

Onto the light rail and monorail again to the Seattle Centre where I visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit, which was both breathtaking in its beauty and mind blowing in its design and construction. I spent hours wandering through the gardens marvelling at the craftsmanship.

 

Lunch at the Armory (TVD fans will know I quietly loved the name) was a really bad option as I went to “Premium Meat Pies” Now, the US does a great sweet pie but they are yet to master a good savoury meat pie. I had a shepherd’s pie ($11US) that I ate because I’d paid so much for it. It was less than the size of the palm of my hand, had pastry like cardboard and the filling was more potato than meat, with little gravy to bind it all. Disappointing, but an A for effort.

 

Following lunch, it was off to the International Fountain to just relax and kick back. It was nice being able to watch the kids playing in the sunshine and just be kids.

 

The Space Needle was next, and who doesn’t love going up high and looking down at the world and enjoying the view. Really wasn’t going to do it but so glad I changed my mind. It was such a clear day it felt like you could see forever.

 

Quick bit of shopping on the way home, grabbed some Korean BBQ from the place next to the hostel for dinner and at 8.30 I thought I was done for the day.

 

That is, until I checked my credit card statement and realised the museum ticket was US$78.  When I checked my ticket I realised I’d bought entry to the exhibit and the Space Needle - and not knowing had bought a second ticket to the Space Needle.  So I hopped back into my street clothes, got on the train and the monorail and did the Space Needle by night! So much for that nice early night - it was 11pm by the time I got back to my room again but worth every second!

 

Tomorrow morning I’m off to San Francisco by train - won’t you join me?

Day 3 Finding Seattle’s Soul

As I’m writing this, I’m laying on my bed, absolutely shattered after a day jam-packed with discoveries.  I started the morning with a walk along Waterfront Park, with the early morning walkers, runners and cyclists.  Not much open as it’s geared to the lunch and dinner crowds, so to find myself some breakfast I ambled back to Pike Place Markets and got myself a sausage, egg and cheese bagel and a bottle of water, sat down and watched some people and wrote  yesterday’s blog. (PS the bagel was delicious and had an onion flavour).

Decided to do a harbour cruise so made my way down but not before spying a sign for the Gum Wall, something that was on my Wishlist. So down a couple of flights of stairs and there it is. Not just one wall but multiple walls along the both sides of the street plastered in discarded gum. Gross but oddly satisfying at the saw time. Gum Wall - tick.

Onto the Spirit of Seattle for an hour cruise around Elliot Bay. Learned some cool fun facts and I’ll share a couple.  The roof on Lumen Field is designed to bounce the sound from the crowd back down into the field. It is so effective that at an NFL game it registered a 2.2 earthquake on the Richter scale.  But that figure was bested twice last year with a staggering 2.4 - by Taylor Swift at her two concerts.

Second fun fact, a container was lost of a ship off the coast and broke open, spilling rubber duckies into the ocean. The disaster was used as a tracking operation and the last duck reported was 15 years after. There is a book you can read about it called Moby Duck.  (Thanks to tour guide Lars for the fun facts - highly recommend the tour, we even got some good glimpses of Mt Rainier as the weather was so glorious).

 

Off the boat and walked back to the Klondike Gold Rush Museum - one of only a few free things to do here. Great hands on exhibit and while the gold rush was in Alaska, not Washington, Seattle took full advantage to convince the stampeders to kit themselves out at their local businesses before they set off.  I picked up my annual National Parks pass here too, so I can save a bit of money on entry fees.

 

Onto the light rail and a quick transfer to the monorail and I was at the Seattle Centre where I had a blast exploring Museum of Pop Culture. Some really great exhibits that asked thought provoking questions and really got you questioning things. And an absolute nerds paradise of film props, costumes and other paraphernalia.

 

Strawberry shortcake for a snack which was a cup that had cake in it, then a strawberry syrup made from fresh strawberries poured over top and topped off with whipped cream - yum.

 

Back to Pike Place again for chowder from Pike Place Chowder - I chose a bread bowl of the Market special, lobster, shrimp and crab chowder - it made yesterday’s clam chowder pale into insignificance, and I may go back again tomorrow if I have time to stand in line again.

 

Made my way through Pioneer Square again to have a quick nap (still staving off the last of the jet lag - that’s my story and I’m sticking with it) before jumping on a bus back up near the Seattle Centre to check out the Olympic Park Sculptures, followed by a walk the length of the waterfront to get home. Made a few different turns to see other streets and realised not always the best option as the sun was going down and there were some interesting groups interacting in the streets. I’m listening to those same groups from my room at the moment, along with sirens from both police and ambulances.

 

So needless to say, it’s time to brush my teeth and head to bed. There’s another day of exploring tomorrow.

Day 2 - Heading to Grey’s Anatomy territory

After a not bad night sleep, I repacked the bags and headed back to LAX via the motel shuttle. Was ready and waiting inside the foyer well before the many who needed the shuttle, however when the driver said he could only take 11, some very rude, insistent people were determined that the line was outside and they were here first. So myself and a family of 6 were relegated to wait for the driver to return and take us in the second swing. I was ok with that as I (as always) had planned plenty of time to get to my flight. However that did not stop me from wishing flight cancellations and uncomfortable seat buddies to the 3 groups who took the shuttle first.

The flight to Seattle was beautiful - I decided to put away the electronics and just read a book and look out the window and what a choice that was. It felt like we followed the fault line the whole way up as we passed over mountain ranges some with high snow-topped peaks, and cratered lakes so blue it seemed impossible the colour was real.

 

The train ride from the airport into town was about 30minutes and I struck up a conversation with a horticulturalist who was over visiting from the east coast. I now have a new instagram friend and have convinced him that the spiders and snakes aren’t as bad as he has heard, so he may add Australia to his travel list.

Quick stop at my very austere hostel, the cheapest place to stay in Seattle at $220 per night. I essentially have a bunk bed and a desk in my room and share a bathroom and common areas with many others.  I do have my own room - it would be cheaper to stay in the dorms but I could be lynched for my snoring so better to pay for some solitude!

 

The afternoon was spent exploring Pike Place Market - a rabbit warren of market stalls that sells a myriad of different items. A late lunch of clam chowder in one of the restaurants was welcome and as I sat staring out at the harbour, “Mystify” by INXS began to play - talk about an Aussie moment for a bit of home.

 

Back to the hostel to get my room key and officially move in for the next three nights, then a short walk to T-Mobile Park to watch the Seattle Mariners take on the LA Angels in a baseball match.  The home team lost 5-1 but it was certainly a spectacle and lots of things the Australian stadiums could learn from, including the diversity of food and drink available - not the same thing at every stall but lots of different choices.

 

I had a fried chicken burger, served by a lovely fellow who complimented me on my accent, enjoyed a spiked peach drink (750ml at 5% alcohol made the loss much easier) and was surprised at the technology buying the drink. You scan your credit card to enter and as you take things out of the fridge, it registers and then as you walk out they say thanks and you are done. No registers, no cash - just a card and sensors that watch what you get and then charge to your credit card - like magic.  I don’t know how they know me and my credit card but determined to find out a little more!  My favourite thing though was the ice cream in a baseball helmet - my own little bit of Mariners to take home.

 

Slow walk back to the hostel talking to my boy back home and tucked into my non-air-conditioned. The tiny fan gives just enough air movement to give the illusion of cooling the room ready for a refreshing night’s sleep.

Until then, stay safe and see you tomorrow.

 

Day 1 - Welcome to LA

With a 10pm flight to LA, I realised flying day can be pretty intense when you have to wait all day to fly.  Finally it was time to be dropped at the airport and my very nervy stomach could start to settle as I waited the obligatory two hours to board.  With next to nothing open in the airport it was an absolute godsend that I had packed a book that I’d found in our hotel in Sarria during last year’s Spanish adventures, as I didn’t want to be that person charging their phone before they even left the airport.

 

Watched a lot of young travellers making TikToks of their impending holidays (I think I can almost do the choreography to “Apple” from memory now). Paid too much for much needed water for the flight ($8.50 for a 1l Pump) and settled in for boarding.

 

Delighted to get on board and find that my seat choice gamble had paid off. I picked the first row of three in the middle aisle, where they reduce the seat numbers in the centre aisle toward the back of the plane. While it’s a little noisier back there, here are some of the pros and cons I found.

 

Pro - as I’d picked the seat on the right end of the row, I got two seats to store my gear under.

Con- the seats weren’t perfectly aligned so I did need to slightly tilt my head to watch my screen as it wasn’t directly in front of me. Same deal for the tray table - it was about 5cm to my left of centre, but a small price to pay for no squashy leg room.

Pro - there was never a line for the toilet at the back of the plane, and I watched those using the middle loos stand in bunches waiting for almost the entire flight.

Pro - the noise from the plane negated the crying baby sounds behind us so it just blended in.

Not a bad selection of entertainment on board. I watched Ghostbusters Frozen Empire (who doesn’t love Paul Rudd), Mean Girls (the musical reboot), Avengers Endgame (so I could fall asleep and not be worried I didn’t know how it ended) and finally David Holmes - the Boy Who Lived, the story of Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double who suffered a spinal cord injury while filming the final movie and is now a wheelchair user.  Probably not the best selection when I’m tired, anxious and a little overwrought but his approach to life post injury reminded me so much of our boy that it was actually a delight to watch, even with a few tears, especially when his mum spoke about not being able to just “fix things with a plaster” like she was supposed to be able to do.

 

My seat mates were lovely - my immediate neighbour a young woman on the way to see family who offered me gum and complimented my newly done hair. One passenger made me uncomfortable as I found him standing next to my seat multiple times during the flight stretching (there was a bit more aisle space where I was). This was a little unnerving to wake from sleep to have someone so close to me.

 

Disembark at LAX at 6.30pm local time, spend an hour and a half in line for immigration and for the first time I have to give my itinerary and show my return flight booking before being allowed into the country. Perhaps the camping element in my trip had them thinking I’d go on the lam and disappear into the back country never to be seen again!

 

Finally through it all, wait for an hour and a bit for a hotel shuttle that never arrived, so walked to the cab rank and spent too much on a cab to get to the Motel 6 I booked, knowing full well I’d be back in 6-8 hours for my flight to Seattle.

 

Nice room, comfy bed and about 6 hours of fitful sleep and I’ll be ready for the next day’s travels.  Won’t you join me for the next instalment?

West Coast or bust

Yesterday I got an email from QANTAS asking me to prepare for my flight in four days.  That’s right, 4 days!  My last post was written in January with planning in its infancy.  I’ve just re-read the post, and while the bones are the same, the bulk that has been added, then changed, changed again and finally firmed up, but with still enough flexibility that further change isn’t impossible is quite impressive.

Some things have just come together perfectly, some are like pieces that were perfectly placed with spaces between waiting for the right pieces to be found to fill the gap and others were last minute rearrangements that tore the puzzle apart and forced some slightly mis-shaped pieces in their place.

My favourite rearrangement is August 3rd. I was so disappointed to find out that Brett Goldstein (aka Roy Kent in Apple’s Ted Lasso) was performing a series of gigs in March this year.  I saw Nick Mohammed (Nate) perform in London, and would love to have gotten the double in the US this year.  In March, Brett posted on his Instagram advising he had to cancel one of his Vegas shows and it would be rescheduled to August.  Now I am camping in Sequoia on that date (it was meant to be night 3), so I made the decision to drive the 7 hours from my Lodgepole Campground to Boulder Beach Campground at Lake Mead, so I could then drive into Vegas that night to see Brett live.  I then drive to Joshua Tree National Park the next day, spend three nights, drive back to LA and fly back to Vegas.  Crazy, I know, but hopefully worth every kilometre, hour and cent.

That rearrangement has also given me a few other options - visiting Calico, a ghost town from the silver rush era, and a hike on the Historic Railroad Trail outside of Boulder City, the old trail used to transport supplies during the construction of the Hoover Dam. 

My bags are packed (and repacked multiple times). I am only taking a small bag that is carry on size but will check it, a small day backpack and my handbag.  I figure the smaller the bag, the less non-essential stuff that I will feel the need to take.  If I can’t fit it, I can’t take it.  There may be a bit of shopping done while I’m there to warrant a larger bag, but I have a plan in play to cross that bridge when I get to it.

That has been a challenge in itself, as I’ll be camping in weather ranging from 7 degrees right through to temps in the 40s.  The first two weeks will be more like a Brisbane winter, while the second half will be like the absolute worst extremes of a Brisbane summer and then some.  It’s going to be quite the ride!

So be prepared those of you who follow my holiday blogs - it’s almost time to explore again and this time is like nothing I’ve done in the US before.