Day 14: San Francisco Sight-Seeing

Up early today. 
We have forgotten just how noisy it is in the heart of San Francisco. 
At 2am a club appears to empty onto the street below. 
At 4am the first lot of rubbish bins are emptied. 
At 5am the next bins are emptied. 
At 6am hotel Doormen start using their whistle for taxi cabs!!

So, we head off for the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park for it opening at 9am.
Call down to the valet to have the car readied whilst the last bits and pieces are organised for our outings today. 
Sally Sat-Nav is switched on and it appears that she's working better today.  It must be due to the fact that it's only 72°C this morning and she's nice and chilled. She's even taking a charge and not just running off the car power!
I have a good idea of how to get to Golden Gate Park and notice Sally is guiding me correctly!

We park the car in the underground car park and head up to the Academy of Sciences.

We have to exchange our City-Pass voucher for our booklets which the assistant on the desk doesn't know how to so, so a supervisor is called.  Within a minute we have 3 San Francisco City-Pass booklets in our hands and exchange the Academy one for entrance.  It's fairly busy outside today, so we enter and as we've never been here before just wander about the first level and have breakfast at the cafe.  Ouch.  Very dear for banana cake and teas!

I get us tickets for the 10;30am showing at the Planetarium.  This is a new show for the weekends that is to show the universe in it's context of size.  It always blows my mind to think how big and old the universe is! 

After the show, we go up to the Living Roof to see the views from it and the roof its self.

De Young Museum

Part of the Living Roof.

Back down stairs to visit the rest of the exhibits and then down to the basement to the aquarium.

Entrance Area.

Exhibit beside the Biodome.

We have a wander round the aquarium area and then leave the Academy to go over to the Japanese Tea Garden.

Wedding Party Photos

Bride & Groom.

California Academy Of Sciences

Japanese Tea Garden Entrance

There is now an entrance charge for this.  Never paid before!  We were just going to have a wander, so not willing to pay $30 for this privilege.  We grab a hot dog and watch an Asian wedding party having their photos taken.  Always seem to see weddings here.  Must be good luck to get them taken at the Tea Garden.

Jump back into the car and off to the hotel to drop it off before heading up to Chinatown.

Chinatown entrance.

Chinatown.

We wander through Chinatown buying a few knick knacks.  When we reach Little Italy we wait on a bus to take us down to Fisherman's Wharf.

As its a Saturday the Wharf and area is heaving.  We purchase the dearest ice cream cones ever and sit down at the back of the pier in a nice quiet spot to eat them. 

Marina view whilst eating ice cream

Have a walk around the wharf, buying some gifts. 

Alcatraz from Pier

The Sealions are back!!

We walk along the front toward Ripley's Believe It Or Not as Meghan wants to see it.  Denise gets caught by the Living Tree yet again.  Three visits in a row!!
Ripley's in good.  So much cheaper than the one in London.

Meg did the tongue rolling bit and later found out the true meaning of it.  Not happy!!

After Ripley's we walk along to Ghirardelli Square.

Meg seven years after the last time.

We have a walk back along the other side of the front back to the wharf.  We wait on the bus to go back to Union Square, get on it, but get off near Chinatown as they are playing sardines in a can with us.  We walk back through real Chinatown, with shops selling live fish and every part of an animal.  The smells are a bit intense at some parts.

We arrive back at the hotel and drop off our purchases and head out for tea.  We buy some pizza and salad and take this back to our room to eat and relax.

Day 13: Yosemite to San Francisco

Up and have breakfast at the Best Western High Sierra where we were staying the night.

Load the car up and head off up the road to Yosemite.  It’s about 30 mins to Lee Vinnings where you turn up Hwy 120 over and over Tioga Pass. 

Road up to Tioga Pass

Up at Ellery Lake

Ellery Lake

Ellery Lake

 About 12 miles up the road you stop and pay your fee and you notice how high you are.  Nearly 10000ft.  This is the highest I’ve ever driven before. 

Pay Point

Driving along and stopping for photos and to see the sights.

Stop at Tuolumne Meadows for a walk and to grab a drink from the shop. 

Tuolumne River

Lambert Dome

Tuolumne Meadows

Yosemite.

Back in the car to drive the rest of the pass.  It takes a while due to all the photo stops!!

Climbing the rocks.

Spot The Climbers?

Tenaya Lake.

More climbers.

Half Dome from Olmsted Point

Olmsted Point View.

Redwoods at Tuolumne Grove.

Look-out Bear!!

Have to say the scenery was stunning and after driving the bareness of Death Valley the day before it was great to see so much green.

The valley was very busy, so we don’t go on the loop, we’ll do that on out next trip here. 

Now, Sally Sat-Nav has performed with no hitches until now.  Driving down the road it suddenly tells us to take the next exit.  Driving through what only can be described as scenes from Deliverance we start to doubt we are on the right road.  Denise consults the map and yes she could be taking us on a short cut.  Oh, but no.  When we reach the highway again she sends us back up the road 10 miles to where we would have arrived 15 min earlier.  A few swear word aimed at Sally!!!

Onto Oakdale where we stopped for lunch.  Driving out of town we see a few roadside fruit shops, so we stop at Denise’s Farmers Market to buy some fruit. 

Fruit Market.

Suitably stocked up on grapes, strawberries and nectarines we continue onto San Francisco.

Sally Sat-Nav takes her second mishap of the day and takes up off the freeway only to re-join 3 blocks down the road!  She’s getting rebooted when we get home as punishment!!

It’s nearly an hours wait to get onto the Oakland bridge.  Not a happy chappie as our lane was for cash and when we get closer, find it’s closed and have to get into a new lane!

Arrive at the Donatello where we are staying and check in.

Get all the luggage brought up to our room where the first thing we do is to unpack every bag and put our clothes in the hotel drawers and cupboards.  Repack all the gifts and shopping we have bought into a sensible order and go off out for tea. 

We end up at the Westfield Shopping Centre.  Pasta for Meg and Korean for Denise and I.

Take in a few more shops, buy some milk and head back to our hotel for a nice cuppa and to relax.

Nighty, night.

Day 12: Death Valley to Mammoth Lakes

Up and have breakfast at the Staybridge again.  Last night we got all bags ready for loading into the car. 

Arrange the luggage into the car, seven large luggage bags now and a number of other ones!

We filled the cool box with juice and the chocolates and covered with ice.  We also made sandwiches for lunch. 

On leaving the hotel it was straight to fill up the tank with petrol. 

Car suitably fed, then start off to Pahrump.  It’s about 60 mins from Vegas.  

Road to Pahrump

We get there and head for Bell Vista Road to drive to Death Valley Junction.  I had read when planning this drive that it was about 3 miles from the normal junction. You start to doubt you are heading the right way as you leave the town behind and are out in the sticks when you see the turn!

From here it’s a good 30 min drive to Death Valley junction and the Amargosa Opera House.  Meg and I see a Road Runner.  Didn’t see Wilde Coyote though.

Amargosa Opera House

Next stop, Furnace Creek where we stop along the way to pay our fee and get a few photos.

Pay point.

Zabriskie Point



In Furnace Creek we get some ice lollies as it’s hot, hot, hot.  Eat our lollies in the car as they are melting too fast outside. 

Old Dinah at Furnace Creek

The barren Death Valley

Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells

Back in the car and off to Stovepipe Wells.  We stop here for eat our sandwiches.  I get some nice freezing cold juice from the shop.  Definitely eat in the car as it 115°F (46°C). 

Stovepipe Wells RV Park!!

The next bit of the drive up to Paramint Springs it a large climb up over 4000ft, so to take the strain off the car overheating with the luggage the air-con was off during the large climbs. 

Leaving Stovepipe Wells behind.

At the top of the pass.

Going down to Paramint Valley and that straight road.

Gosh, it got a bit sweaty, but seeing cars at the side of the road overheated, we knew a wee bit of discomfort was worth it. 

Downhill, air-con was on full blast!

The road is so straight at some points and you enter Paramint Valley and onto the next final large climb.  This pass is up to about 4500ft with a few switch backs.  We were also stuck behind a large truck for a bit until we stopped for photos.

Paramint Valley

Rainbow Valley & Paramint Valley

Snow in the hills in the distance whilst it's still over 110°C

Onward to our next stop Lone Pine for some cold drinks and rest stop!  A local McDonalds makes do.

Mammoth Lakes is only just over 100 miles from here, so just drive.

We arrive just before 4pm.  Knackered mainly due to the heat.

We were planning on just taking a small bag of clothes into this hotel as we’re just staying the night, but at check-in they say bring everything in as smells attract the bears!

Have a swim in the pool.  Burr, it’s nice a cold.  Lovely after the heat today.

We go for a drive round Mammoth Lakes, park and go for a walk. 

We get food in an Irish Pub, fish and chips and loaded skins for Meg.

No chance of alcohol at over 7000 ft for me!

Tea!

Back to our hotel .