CaptainOrange

Pretty hard to get this photo wrong Up before sunrise again. Even though there is only a two hour difference between Saskatchewan and California, neither of us has managed to adjust. Wendy wants to try and sleep in, so I am going to head to the Golden Gate Bridge. I think I can catch the sunrise. SF skyline at sunrise Not Alcatraz I missed my first bus, but when I arrived, this is what the SF skyline looked like. Alcatraz is beside my pinky. To the right of the awesomely giant cable, you can make out bits of the Bay bridge and then... the other stuff. At this point I'm about 1/3 of the way across. There were no other pedestrians at 7am, but there were plenty of cyclists. Every couple of minutes, I was passed at high speed by a flight of whizzing spandex. At the far side I managed to find a way to walk under the bridge. Their security is a bit more forceful than under the Broadway Bridge at home. The razor wire did, in fact, deter me (the shame). Mario's Dream. ...

My Preciousss... At 2am Wendy startled me awake. There was scratching on the roof. I leapt out of bed and closed our skylight fearing something big, like a racoon, skunk or jaguar might come tumbling in. We haven't quite worked it out, but at 8am, it seemed more likely that it was mice or squirrels and not jaguars. In the morning, when we awoke for the second time, we were tired and a bit too sore to get out of bed. San Francisco hurts my ass! But, in a good way ;) The hills and stairs are really omnipresent. Also, we haven't been great about catching the bus (which SF folks call the 'muni'). Everything seems really close--and by Saskatoon standards it is--but the vertical is a really big thing.  +david aschim , I have renewed respect for your trail running. This morning we headed back to Golden Gate park. It is huge and there is still some stuff we missed. We stopped for breakfast at  Amitis Cafe . Wen had a great toasted sandwich and I had a mediocre coffee. ...

Lots of these strange things in SF??? Went for a run this morning. I've had my eye on the Twin Peaks since I got here. According to my GPS, it is only 2.2 miles from where we are staying--Oh yeah, stupid Google decided that since I came to the US, I must now want all my measurement in imperial--anyway, I thought I would give it a try. I mentioned this to our hosts, Jorge and Nico, and they seemed to think it was a little odd. It was only 240m worth of ascent, but I found it quite difficult. The grade on these SF streets is really something else. Had you ever heard that? It was pretty grueling work, but the view was totally worth it. Wendy suggested that I not take my phone while scrabbling up the slope so you will have to make due with an iPhone panorama. Sigh. View From Twin Peaks -- Stupid iPhone :( We spent most of today at Fisherman's Wharf and specifically on pier 39. We saw a pretty lame aquarium and went on a cool boat tour of the bay. My legs were really kil...

Really, it is the first day that we will do anything other than land in a plane and take a cab to our accommodations. This is where we are staying for about $160/night There is a deep, wooden hot tub out here! Speaking of which the cab driver was really interesting. We think he was slightly autistic or a high functioning skitzophrenic. When we said we were from Canada we didn't get to speak for 10 minutes. He was older, with white hair and reminded me of a cross between Donald Sutherland and Matt Frewer. Anyway, he launched into a dialogue starting with Tommy Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland and meandering through a bunch of tangents winding up with Tommy D. once again. Not the safest cab driver, but he got us to destination. An Embarrassment of Riches Day 2 -- Walking with J.P-M. We got up before sunrise. San Francisco is two hours behind us right now so we were sure to have plenty of daylight. We walked around the neighbourhood that we are staying in and had coffee/...

Calming nerves isn't a sign of addiction, is it? Day 0 -- Are we on Vacation Yet? This is only the second time that Wendy and I will take a real "just for us" vacation since we were married. She normally doesn't like the stress of travelling and prefers the comforts of hearth and home. Failing that, she satisfies herself with managing any and all details that could lead to a vacation becoming too unruly. Camping, for instance, simplifies life to the degree that everything is within your control. Or, at least, anything that you don't control (like the weather) can be planned for and accommodated. So, she is really happy right now ;) Bit of a rocky start to our vacation. We arrived at the airport Saturday at 2:30pm . Our flight was a 4, so we left ourselves plenty of time to have coffee and clear security. Jodi was kind enough to drive us to the airport and on the way we got our first bit of unruliness. Our flight was delayed by 50 minutes. That was a bit ...