Ah, Starbucks, saviour of many a day... (in this case, Portland)
This post may take time to get to you, as we are having a few issues with the website at the moment. Anyway, today is our last day of the trip, tonight the kids and I are getting on a plane back to NZ. And we are looking forward to it - especially these last few days in this hostel! But unfortunately, when you are booking budget accomodation, and leave it to the last minute to do so, you can't be too fussy about what you end up with. There are not enough bathroom facilities here, and when I say that you could wait 3-4 hours just to use the toilet, that is NO exaggeration! The shower rooms are alive with mould, the kitchen is dirty, and our beds had dirty linen on them when we checked in. We won't be recommending this place to anybody!
So the last few days.... well, we left Crescent City and drove through the redwood forest, along the 'Avenue of the Giants', and that was spectacular! The trees were just huge, and we even fitted our car through the drive'thru tree. It would have been lovely to have an entire day to drive that road. We could have easily stopped more frequently to get out and explore.
So now we are in San Francisco, we arrived on Friday night to cooler temperatures and a strong icy cold wind. Yesterday (Saturday) we took the streetcar down to the waterfront and looked at Pier 39 which is a great big shopping place full of craft shops, gift shops, various entertainment and cafes/restaurants. Very busy but a great atmosphere. In fact all of this city is very busy. Sometimes you just have to wait on the side of the footpath and give way to all the pedestrians!
Today once we check out of this dump, we are planning to go to Golden Gate park (which is bigger than central park in New York), and have a look round there before heading to the airport. The kids have seen a different side of life here too - lots of homeless people, some begging in the street, some sleeping at any time of day, in any place out of the way of the hustle and bustle. They have also seen a dodgy looking guy sitting on the side of the road with needles, injuecting himself full of drugs! And yesterday down at the wharf there were 2 homeless guys arguing and threatening to kill each other! Not to mention all the black people who seem friendly enough and don't seem to bother anybody, but many of them really do look quite intimidating.
Anyway, it has been an amazing 10 weeks with many highs and a few lows, but quite an adventure.Looking forward to seeing you all very soon....
Just a bit breezy near Golden Gate Bridge
Feeding the birdies at Oregon Zoo
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