| It's the supreme irony for air travellers that the
earth shows much of its beauty through the windows of an aeroplane at
38,000 feet. The earth that we are seeking to protect; the carbon that
the plane is creating, it's an unequal equation.
However, in early June 2009 Jean and I were on our way to
San Francisco on a B.A. 747 for three whole weeks touring California and
a tiny piece of Nevada. I had planned the itinerary myself and pre
booked all the accommodation, mostly of the Bed and Breakfast type which
we tend to prefer in the U.S.
In those three weeks we saw a huge variety of
weather, topography, lifestyles and scenery. From the sub 50 degrees (F)
of San Fran (on arrival) to the 100 degrees of death Valley.
The map here shows our route, taken in a clockwise
direction from San Fran which is in the top left corner.
From our first night in San Fran, we went via
Sacramento to Lake Tahoe where we spent two nights, on to
Yosemite via Bodie a
mining ghost town, for
four nights, Death Valley for one night,
Vegas for two nights,
Santa
Barbara for three,
Carmel for two and back to
San Fran for the rest of
our stay.
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The nine hour flight from Heathrow passed quite
easily: a meal or two, a wine or two, a movie or two and a snooze.
Unfortunately, most of the whole of Canada and North America seemed to
be covered by cloud so we didn't get any good views.
In fact, the captain apologised for the lack of
views of that iconic Golden Gate Bridge as we descended into San Fran.
Having left Heathrow in glorious sunshine, it came
as a bit of an unpleasant surprise to emerge into a cold and grey San
Francisco. However, it does have a reputation to keep up... |
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Californian weather in the UK... |
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...and a grey, uninviting Alcatraz seen from the
water frontage near our accommodation. |
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Yep, the streets are steep, just like in
the movies. |
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What I didn't expect to see was a coach
from our home town: Cardiff.
At least it would feel at home in the
grey dampness of that first afternoon in S.F. |
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I had only ever seen these strange vehicles on TV,
here they were being used for a conducted tour of downtown S.F. |
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As a cyclist myself, I am curious to know how they
stay upright. |
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