Today we are going back to where the Brown Family Road Trip began for Pete, Noah & Wes, three and a half months ago, San Francisco.
On the road, Hwy 1 by 7.40 am. Well ahead of Pete’s 8.00 am ETD.
It is another cold, cloudy and today, wet day. Noah and I were going to bike/run this morning, however, it was too easy to roll over and snuggle back under the covers.
It is also Father’s Day in the USA. Luckily the kids and I had a couple of gifts we had been collecting for Pete’s Birthday in July, perfect for an impromptu present.
Leaving Moss Landing we passed more berry farms, more fog, and rain.
We drove on Hwy 1 until Santa Cruz and then onto Hwy 17 North, through the beautiful pine trees and Santa Cruz mountains, towards Santa Jose. Unfortunately, we could not see a lot of these beautiful mountains due to the fog.
The foggy, wet, winding road also cause a few accidents along the way…
A quick stop at Walmart on Hwy 85 South. Probably not the closest, however, at least my limited navigation skills got us there.
Back onto Hwy 85 North and Hwy 101 North, towards San Francisco and our campsite tonight, Candlestick RV Park, on the outskirts of the city.
Today is also the day we are going to catch up with our gorgeous cousins Shelley and Jodie. Our arranged meeting time, 1 pm.
As soon as we arrived at the site we set the van up and wasted no time jumping into an Uber to central San Francisco to start exploring.
When we were here in March my sightseeing was limited as I was sick and spent most of my time in our 70’s motel room and bed. When I did get out it was not very enjoyable fighting the flu in the freezing cold.
I was looking forward to seeing San Francisco with a healthy, happy disposition.
Our first stop Lombard Street, a steep one block street with eight hairpin turns. It was full of tourist, but nice to see.
Then a quick sandwich on the go to satisfy our hunger.
Onto an electric bus and through Chinatown, one of the oldest and most established Chinatown in the U.S. and then a stop in downtown San Francisco.
As Noah’s watch band had broken we tried a couple of stores to find a replacement with no luck.
It was now almost time to meet Jodie and Shelley. Into an Uber and onto Golden Gate Park.
It was wonderful to see them, and we spent the afternoon catching up in the sun and eating ice-cream with patient Jodie splitting her time between the two needy, family starved adults and entertaining the boys in the playground.
Soon it was late afternoon and it was time to move on. A walk through the Haight-Ashbury Neighbourhood with its historic hippie, vintage vibe and then an Uber back to Shelly and Jodie’s neighbourhood, Noe Valley and their local Greek Restaurant, Novy.
A beautiful meal and another beautiful after dinner walk through the hilly streets, passing the Mission Dolores Park with stunning city views and then onto a funky food market, for the girls to grab train supplies to enjoy on their journey to Los Angeles tomorrow.
The day went too quickly, and it was time to say our goodbyes to our gorgeous cousins, Shelley and Jodie. Luckily, we will get to see Shelley again for a couple of days in Hawaii where she will be subjected to more of the Geraldton Brown relatives…
San Francisco, it has been truly wonderful to catch up with our beautiful family and to enjoy your city with a healthy body.
However. It really is an uneasy mix of perfect painted row houses with perfect windows and perfect gardens and perfect rubbish bins. The perfect outside…
Mixed with the poor, mentally ill, drug affected and homeless. An Uber driver told us 20,000 homeless…
Something just does not sit right.
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