San Francisco/Yosemite

Everyone I've spoken to says San Francisco fast becomes their favourite city and I can see why the Americans like it, it's very European! There are lots of steep hills to encounter when walking round the city though. I very nearly had a heart attack on a few of them!

We decided the best way to see the city was by renting bikes. Yes, me on a bike. I'm the girl that cycled full speed into a barrier in France and nearly beheaded myself, I cycled into a stationary car, numerous lamposts, I even nearly spilt my head open after just wobbling off my bike going round a corner. So cycling was a brave decision. Luckily I came away from it unscathed (apart from a very sore bum!).

We cycled along the main roads, then down to the Golden Gate park which was beautiful! We went right down to the beach and Seal Rock. Saw no seals but struggled with the vertical hill up to the bridge. Having to get off a bike and push is humilating at the best of times, it makes it worse when you get a golfer shouting "Aren't you supposed to cycle it?!" at me.. although he went beetroot when I then said "Aren't you supposed to get it in the hole?" His friends loved it!

When we finally reached the bridge, it was so foggy that you couldn't even see the bloody thing!! It lifted when we reached the other side and we managed to get a nice view of it. Coming down the other side to the ferry was thankfully mostly downhill. Seeing two guys on a tandem trying to get up the steep bit I was coming down was absolutely hilarious! Far too much effort involved! We made it to Sausalito, felt like we were cycling in Southern France, then caught the ferry back.

The sight of the vertical hill on the other side to get back to the bike rental made me almost cry. I could barely push the bike to the top! Definately on the verge of having a heart attack! It was awful! It was then made worse that the promising downhill was actually too steep to cycle down almost pushed me over the edge, literally!! We realised later we'd actually cycled 20miles which was an achievement and apart from my incredibly sore bum, I absolutely loved it!!

We also visit Alcatraz! (yes, let the criminal jokes begin..) It was good and interesting to see but the whole tour was so sugar coated that it was almost a holiday camp, even Al Capone was almost a stand up citizen! But contradictory facts aside, was amazing to see and walk round it!

From San Francisco, we headed to Yosemite, where we staying in the BUG hostel. It was practically a campsite, had a nice cafe and even had a Health Spa which turned out to be very cheap. Was nice to come back from a hard days walking in Yosemite to a hot bath, hot tub, Sauna and fancy showers! Yosemite itself was very surreal! El capitan was unbelievable and the waterfalls were insane!

Standing on the Valley floor in one if the meadows and looking at the surrounding scenery began to feel increasing like sonething from the Sound of Music. Really liked the park itself after not really knowing what to expect, it was just ruined slightly by all the people! I'd hate to see what it's like mid july!

Overall, San Francisco is expensive and very european and Yosemite is beautiful but far too overcrowded!

Coast Starlight!

On our return from Hawaii we had a rest day in Seattle, then we got the Famous Coast Starlight train down from Seattle to San Francisco.

When we got to the train station we seemed to attract attention because of our backpacks and the fact that we were the youngest there by a good few years. We got speaking to a couple who were interested in our trip and after hearing we were going to Emeryville the lady said she was sure that they had made a film called Emeryville Horror. She went on to say it was about the Emeryville whores.. Her husband patted her gently on the head, chuckled and actually said that she was thinking of something else but they might make one now we were going! So funny! I later saw them stumbling up the train, she had her fingers hooked into the back of his jeans shuffling behind him being towed along. Brilliant!

The train was amazing, we had a tiny cabin to ourselves with two fold out beds. We got given free champagne in our cabin on arrival as well as coffee and juice etc. The train had a Parlour Car for drinks, a dining car, an obervatory lounge, a cinema and even had a shower!! We spent the afternoon wine and cheese tasting then had a steak dinner which was pretty good.

We had someone to fold our beds down for us and it soon became apparent that this was the difficult bit! Once they were down, we had a foot of space in which to move. I was in the top bunk, which was VERY clostrophobic, I could touch the ceiling with my elbow and even then not fully stretched out. I even had to be strapped in with Cargo straps through the night incase I fell out, which would typically happen to me!!

We had a massive breakfast as well the next morning which set us up for our trek into San Francisco!

Casual trip to Hawaii..

After the homeleness of the Beagle, I was pretty sad to be back in a hostel in Seattle!

We stayed in the Green Tortoise which is across the street from Pike Place Market. The reviews make out this place to be amazing but I'd go with Average at best!

We went up the Space Needle, wandered round Pike Place Market, just managed to catch them throwing the fish which is definately a talent! We had a coffee in the first ever Starbucks and caught a ferry over to Bainbridge Island for the afternoon.
Predictably it rained.

We weren't too upset about the weather as our next stop was a cheeky trip to Hawaii, we had managed to get cheap flights out to Honolulu when we were in Nashville.

The flight was very budget, a six hour flight with no food, entertainment or leg room! The free mai tais sweetened the deal slightly!

We staying in Wakiki for the whole ten days we were there. Food and drinks were so expensive, the $8 loaf of bread was a breaking point for us, so we bought food in bulk for the week and cooked our own food! Accomodation left little to be desired as well, but Hawaii is Hawaii!

Spent all the time baking on the beach. It became a bit unbearable at 35°c everyday, all you could concentrate on was the sweat literally running off you which meant reading was impossible. Floating around in the sea soon sorted that problem! You weren't short of entertainment however, the beach was full of overenthusiastic Japs trying to impress their girlfriend by surfing which ultimately ended up by ending up face first in the shallow part of the water. I even witnessed a Small child running out of the water, planting its face in the sand, then running after the other kids in the water barely able to see through all the sand caked on its face! Comedy Gold.

We obviously found time to appreciate the odd Mai Tai (would be rude not too) and the live music! It wasn't quite the imagined white sand, deserted beaches, more tacky tourist central but it was so much fun!

Wasn't too sad to leave, my skin had started to blister in the heat and I'm looking forward to California which is fast approaching!!

The Beagle

This part of our trip definately deserves its own post on here.

We landed in Seattle to pick up another car, and drive almost straight out to Idaho. The drive was amazing. No snow!! The green fields and trees were a welcome sight. Felt like home.

When we reached Cottonwood, we were a bit early but what an amazing sight to turn the corner and be greeted by a giant beagle who was accompanied by two smaller ones. Very surreal.

Heading into the shop we had a warm welcome from Frances and Dennis and their dog, Sprockett. Immediately felt like home! They have another part of the business where they make wooden carvings of dogs using a chainsaw then handpainting them. They were absolutely amazing, struggled with the desire to empty my entire bag and just fill it with wooden dogs!

They gave us the key to the Beagle, recommended dinner places for us then left us to explore.

The outside might be amazing, but it doesnt even begin to do the inside justice. We discovered dog shaped biscuits, a full fridge, handmade granola, muffins, bread, the list goes on! The headboard of the bed had dogs carved into it. Then trouble started when we discovered the attic full of games and puzzles.

We spent a very enjoyable evening playing beagle-opoly and doing jigsaws. I slept in the attic which is designed for children, inside the nose was a shelf with cusions and fairy lights so I managed to squeeze myself in here, for maybe a not so peaceful nights sleep because I couldn't straighten my legs, but can you say you've slept in the nose of a Beagle? Well I can now!

The morning brought mixed emotions. From disbelief of being in a Beagle to being sad that we had to tear ourselves away from this magical place! Its funny that all the little homely touches, feeling so welcomed by Frances and Dennis and having Sprockett to bother, made me feel really homesick for home comforts and the dogs. Really didn't want to leave! Just shows how good it really is here.

Thanks to Dave Gorman for bringing us here, Frances and Dennis for having us and giving us probably one of the most unique memories we'll get from this whole trip.

Its an absolute Hidden Gem!! Anyone who considers coming to America, don't even think twice about heading to the Dog Bark Park. It was worth every second of the 13 hour round trip we made!

Not everyone can say they've been in a Beagle!!