San Francisco the 2nd

No idea where this is going to end up so you're going to have to be on your toes folks. The picture of Jacob on the right isn't the same as the one last year incidentally. He's just as shy as Danni.

Baggage eventually arrived at 2.00 on the 22nd San Fran time. Freezing here so had to buy long jeans anna jersey which is annoying as they were both in the suitcase.... rats rats rats.

First day we got one of the tourist buses. Brilliant as the one we chose didn't have those awful headphones. We got a local who kept us entertained with stories. He sang songs, he looked after everyone..... and this on one of the open topped buses. Best 30 dollars ever. We got back in the evening in time for the second wine and cheese party at the Nikko.

We're having a great time but had a few let-downs which is probably due to expectations rather than realities. eg

Second day we took the tour which incorporated Monteray, Pebble Beach (golf course), and other interesting places. The tour was quite good and was enlivened by a Filipino bus driver who had obviously taken lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of speed pills. He talked non-stop with the volume control set on high (to go with the pills) for the two bloody hours it took to get to Monteray. I kid you not but it was literally impossible to even talk between ourselves to comment on what he'd said because he was on to the next bit of information. When we eventually arrived at Monterey he got so excited that there was the possibility that we might see whales that it took 5 minutes to stop the ringing in our ears.

We got off the bus with me having to be restrained from bopping the driver.

Monterey was made famous by the writer john Steinbech who wrote a book called Cannery Row. There is no other real reason for Monterey being known apart from it having been a fishing village. There are posters of Steinbech and Eckhart and other folk made famous from the book but... that was it folks. No Information centre, no booklets, no interest at all apart from restaurants, big fat Americans, giftie places and tour buses. The sad thing is that few people seemed interested.... it was just a place to stop and tick off on the map of "places we have been to". The rest of the tour was spent going through Pebble Beach Golf Course which Stephanie should remember. We played it many times Steph... try to keep up..... "You're in the rough stuff"..... remember? We saw Arnie's House, Danny de Vito's House (small), de Caprio's house, the proper Psycho House, Tiger Wood's parent's house, another house, some other famous person's house, another famous person's house, George Clooney's house (we're collecting his houses: saw his house on Lake Como in Italy.) and also saw some Grey Squiddels which I was fortunate enough to have been captured on film throwing peanut shells at the nasty little buggers. Us Scots hate grey squiddels because they've eaten the local red squirrels out of home somuchso that there are few red squiddels left in Scotland.

On the way back we were supposed to go to a garlic wine tasting but because it was Good Friday it was closed. Instead the driver took us to a fabulous eating area where you had the pick of the sort of places which made America famous for fat people:  Macdonalds, Burger King, to name but a few. Luckily we found a remaindered clothes place where we bought some necessary warm weather clothes for the next day.... luggage still in Oz.

Got back at 9.30. It was a good day. Tomorrow we're off to Yosemite... pronounced yo.semet.ee.