Greetings from San francisco

[Culprit]

My Son is in the air on his way back from there after staying with his girlfriend. He loves the place and all his pics are making me look forward to being there. The way things are going with his relationship it looks like being a holiday spot for us.

Have a blast Stui. I'm jealous.

[pietillidie]

Awesome stuff, Stui. Great choice of destinations!

Nice but not surprising to hear you're having a blast. Enjoy!

[think positive]

And where have you been PTID, Mars?

[pietillidie]

[think positive]

[stui magpie]

Hello, I'm home.

Once my head clears I'll put up some more stuff about the holiday, last 2 parts being Vegas and Santa Monica.

Right now I'm huddled in front of the heater wearing 3 layers of clothing, just done 4 loads of washing, organised all the photos and been having a few quiet beers and reds while doing it. I'm not sure what timezone I'm in but I've been wide awake since 2am Melbourne time so I figure I'm going to crash and burn sometime in the next few hours, but not before I cook dinner.

Had an awesome time on the holiday, so glad I visited 4 such different places and had different experiences in each.

[stui magpie]

So, bit more about the holiday for those who may be interested.

I got used to San Fran by the time I left. Last morning there I went for breakfast and could only eat half so I got a takeaway container and gave it to some homeless people laying on the footpath down the street.

Went for a walk around to the Powell St cable car stop to say G'Day to the begger/busker who was usually there only to find his spot had been taken by a younger bigger man. I spotted the regular bloke about a block away, trudging along slowly with his guitar on his back so I went over to him and said hello. Said to him it looked like his spot had been taken, and he looked at me shattered and said he didn't know what he was going to do.

So I handed him $10 and told him to go get something to eat and things will get better. Well bugger me, the reaction was brilliant. He looked at me, then shook my hand and then lunged at me and gave me a hug saying thank you. So I left San Fran with a small warm feeling where I'm told the heart is supposed to be.

Got into Vegas and felt like I'd just got home. Got a room upgrade at the Golden Nugget, sussed out the casino and then went out onto Fremont St. God I love Fremont St, it's a trip. Far better entertainment than the strip.

While I was there this time I consciously did a few things I hadn't done before, while also reprising some old favs. I explored Downtown far more and found a lot of interesting things including a small shopping mall made entirely of shipping containers. http://downtowncontainerpark.com/

I also walked down Las Vegas Boulevard from Fremont St to the Stratosphere tower. 2 mile walk in 43c was a good way to work up a thirst and it was a great walk. Walked past all the old wedding chapels and the stuff that made Las Vegas famous back in the day.

The Stratosphere is a trip. Observation deck is a fully circular room 108 stories up with 360 degree views of vegas.

Next floor up they have an open floor with an amusement park on it, including rides that hang you over the edge and back. Screw that. On the 108th floor they also have this thing where you can jump out with your ankles attached to a 1/2 inch steel cable on a windlass. A bloke jumped out while I was standing there watching and man did that reel make a noise as it let out the cable. It's apparently in the guinness book of records as the highest freefall jump, about 242 metres. Again, screw that.

After Vegas got the bus to Santa Monica. Long day but worthwhile. I wouldn't do it again but I'm glad I've done it once. The scenery was amazing. It's all desert until you get near to LA and it's not sandy desert, it's rocks, tumbleweeds and cactus that look similar to cabbage trees.

Santa Monica. Wow. Very similar in a way to San Francisco, but more laid back. Wealth meets poverty in a more controlled environment than Frisco, but still obvious.

I was staying 100m from Santa Monica Pier which was great. Hired a bicycle and did the ride along the beach promenade to Venice Beach and back. Saw the outdoor gym, all the people playing volleyball on the beach with nets all set up, the basketball courts with people playing on one court 2 on 2 and on another full court 5 on 5 and really going at it.

The area along there is a mix of cheap souvenir shops, a few places to eat and a metric shitpile of homeless people. Went past one area where it was like a shanty town with all this stuff piled up on the grass under the palm trees where people would sleep at night then use as their base to beg during the day. massive eye opener.

Funniest thing i saw the whole trip was a bloke sleeping in the park while the maintenance guy just mowed around him with neither missing a beat.

Did the bus tour up from Santa Monica to Hollywood and took the walk down the walk of stars from Hollywood and vine down to the Chinese theatre and FMD wasn't it manic down there.

There's a scam for those going to the US where people will thrust a DVD or CD at you and try to engage you in conversation. If you take it, they ask for your name, then grab it back and personally sign it for you. Then they want money and you're screwed. After passing on several, I ran into a stand up comedian who pinned me as an aussie and asked if I knew Hughesy, who had apparently been his patron when he visited Aus a year or so ago. (guys name is Kwame Siegal) So after yacking for a couple of minutes he asked for my name and started to do the sign the DVD for me. I pulled him and said, hang on mate, I know this stunt, how much are you going to sting me after you sign it? He looked sheepish and just said whatever I thought was fair. Then he asked how did I spell my name, STU or STEW and I said well done, good pickup. Then I got line of the holiday. He looked at me and said "man, just because I'm standing here surrounded by costumed pedophiles don't mean I didn't go to school". That scored him a $20 for his DVD and a fist bump, which apparently is how you shake hands in the USA.

Last day in Santa Monica, I'm sitting at a bar before I get the shuttle to the airport and there's a couple of half cut guys sitting near me drinking and yakking loudly. As I go to leave one of them pulls me up and says "Hi, my name is Tyson, Richard Tyson. Did you see Kindergarten Cop? I was the bad guy with the pony tail". Fairy nuff I thinks, shook his hand, said something soothing and headed off. Apparently he is the real deal, why he felt the need to introduce himself to me, I have NFI.

I also met Jimmy Kimmel, but didn't know who he was until I saw the posters advertising his show and the lines around the block queueing up to get in.

Coming home was a mess. I was on LA time until I got to Melbourne, so the flight left at around 11pm LA time. They gave us some food and booze around midnight and turned the lights off to get you to sleep around 1am. So I dozed for a few hours, didn't really sleep, until 7am LA time. Checked my bearings and realised 7am LA was midnight Melbourne time. So dozed again until 9am by which time I was wide awake. So by the time I landed in Melbourne at 7am, I'd already been awake fully since 2am.

made Sunday interesting. I was manic all day, like I'd been on a red bull binge, until I finally crashed and burned about 10-10:30pm.

Anyway, that's basically it. I had a blast. So glad I went to 4 different places, 4 different cultures in one country. Apart from the initial shock of the tenderloin in San Francisco, I never felt unsafe and walked around heaps, settled in and really enjoyed the time there.

Now back to work tomorrow.

[think positive]

love the homeless guy story, well done

that guy was good in kindergarten cop, haven't seen him in much else, that would be so cool!!


2 weeks tonight ill be 3hrs off LAX, then another 4 to Atlanta Georgia! cant wait!! 2 things in Atlanta, Noah's Ark, home of the BLT, (bear lion tiger) and 20 min away Senoia aka woodbury, walking dead town!!
then its road trip - charlotte- Washington DC via the Appalachian scenic drive - Mechanicsburg ( 4 speedway)- Rocky steps Philadelphia - Newark airport to drop the car off. New York for 4 nights, Amtrak to Boston - fly to buffalo for Niagara Falls -Denver, Colorado for 3 nights (Mecom auctions and check out the rockies) -cruise from long beach LA down to Mexico, 3 days in LA (gotta do universal!!).

(have fun at work tomoz!!)

[Brenny]

Ooo that's very exciting Stui.

I'm heading over in October for a month. There an Canada. Mainly to the USA for the F1 in Texas then to see a few areas I haven't, such as San Fran.

For half of it at least I'm going to be on my own, which is weird because I don't like doing shit on my own.

[think positive]

[Brenny]

Thanks TP / Stui,

I'm staying in the financial district. Not too far from Chinatown and not too far from the Powell / California cable cars.

I'm not a party animal so I wont be out late. Plus I'll live in Lyft / Uber for the evenings.

I can't believe how expensive the hotels were for 6 nights, it's cost me $2100.

Not sure if something is on there or not in Oct.

I'm staying at the Hilton there. I'm ot too keen on the area, but man this whole trip has set me back a fortune.

Premium economy flights didn't help and Austin over F1 weekend... man!

[think positive]

[Woods Of Ypres]

[stui magpie]

[djh]

Try the Chancellor at Union Square. Steps from the square itself, Lori's Diner is a block up the hill, it is on the cable car line and serves a fantastic breakfast in it's own restaurant Luques.

We have stayed a few times and its always great - it is an old hotel in the European style, so small rooms, but really comfortable and fantastic staff. Much cheaper than other city hotels in San Francisco.

One of the best meals we ate there was at Sotto Mare in North Beach - great (and cheap!) italian seafood http://sottomaresf.com/Sotto_Mare_Seafood_Restaurant/Home.html