San Fran tastic

It seems our ability to do long distances has been diminishing of late. We left the lovely hotel in Oregon and spent the next night in a run down little motel in Arizona beach. It was lovely finally being able to put on a swimsuit and sit in the glorious sunshine on the beach. Though we both thought the water looked lovely we quickly started squealing and running out of it when we discovered how cold the water was. We met a couple of guys when we went to the local fish and chip shop. They had been doing some serious off roading through the desert. Very impressive and serious adventure riders as well as really friendly guys. The following day we didn't travel very far from Arizona beach before finding a lovely campground next to a river. We had intended to go on the coast road but the thing was, we needed Internet access to try and book accommodation in San Francisco, and this site offered a beautiful view and Wi Fi so we stopped after only ** miles (too embarrassed to say how many but we weren't out of double figures)


It was nice sleeping in the tent again and both of us slept really well. In the morning, as we were leaving, there was a real hoo har going on. A black bear had come into the campground and ravaged the bins. It was scared off into some trees by some campers. However, we didn't hang around to 'get up close' and take photo's as others from the site were doing. Instead we decided to carry on down the coast road which turned out to be a single track, gravel road in places and no view to be seen because of the thick fog.


We then travelled down route 101, continuing through the red woods and 'Avenue of the Giants' and onto highway 1 - the up close coastal road.


The red woods were massive and the forests very dense. Yet again we were in the fog and many of the views blocked. On the brief occasions when you could see the coast there were some spectacular sights. Unfortunately, our ride up route 1 was spoiled by a particularly awful motor cycle rider, part of a pair, who thought he owned the road. The road was smooth and had brilliant bends and curves but these were clearly too difficult for the rider in front so it became quite frustrating for us especially as he wouldn't let us pass by. Brian pulled over tand stopped to give him time to get ahead and clear the road for us to enjoy. It was fantastic. To be honest it seems a long time since we took bends at that speed. Brian leaned the shed over and kept the speed up as if he was riding the Aprillia not a 2 ton tractor of the motor cycle world. We soon caught up with the two motor cycles who had caused us some problems but Brian cunningly got past (much to their surprise) and the journey to Fort Bragg was exceptionally good. I love this bike! I love route 1. The next day was San Francisco and riding over the Golden Gate Bridge. Beautiful blue skies and sunshine up until 'The bridge' then back to the fog so unfortunately I didn't get the full impact of how high the bridge was and the splendid views to be seen when you cross it. I've had a look at the postcards around the city for that. Our hotel is very old and quite run down but serves the purpose it was intended for. San Francisco is fantastic. The architecture is quite mind boggling at times. We took an open top bus ride through some of the neighborhood and a cable car ride down California street. We had a really interesting visit to a cartoon museum, and on one of our night out I nearly bought Brian a Dali painting but didn't quite have the £2k plus that they were asking for it. However, it was lovely sitting in the gallery being told all about it. The trip to Alcatraz was really good and the audio tour was brilliant.


It had recordings from some of the prisoners and told of failed escape attempts. It was lovely just wandering round the island and trying to imagine what it must have felt like to be imprisoned there and yet be able to see and hear the sights and sounds of the city ....... so near and yet so far. A constant reminder of what you were missing.


I've enjoyed real Clam chowder in a diner car and we had a scrumptious meal in China town. Last night we ate in an Irish bar. I had bangers and mash with HP sauce and I can't tell you how delicious it was - good, basic English food. Unfortunately I'm clearly not quite as young as I thought I was and have developed a bit of a problem with my knee from getting on and off the shed. It is much better now after a rest form the riding and wearing a great knee support. Not very sexy but it has definitely helped. So here we are getting ready to leave the big city. It's been quite and experience. I was really looking forward to getting here and have loved every minute of it this beautiful and cosmopolitan city.