Never a dull moment...

A quick recap on the weeks events!

Its an unwritten rule that if the sun is out and you're from Liverpool you wear shorts, a t-shirt and flip- flops. It doesn't matter if its not that warm, which it hasn't been really. We're also compelled to swim in something/anything (Albert Dock) even if the waters not that warm (frozen). Well, I drew the line at the stagnant pond at the foothills- Joe didn't, he was right in with the dog!
This leads me to following tale of idiocy.

Firstly, last Sunday (06.02.11) as a preamble we drove up to lake Sonoma. Once there we obviously fancied a swim in the lake. It was a bit chilly to dip your toe in so we went for the jump in head first get it over with approach. It was the coldest thing I've ever done and I've rolled in snow with nothing but swim shorts on! It was so cold I actually has a burning sensation in my neck and chest. Not sure what it meant but it didn't feel refreshing!
Not to be put off, on Wednesday (09.01.11) myself and Joe decided to hike up the Russian River (even colder) and look for a good spot to swim. Jen dropped us off and said she would pick us up on her way to get Molly from Basket Ball practice. I suggested that rather than us turn back and meet her where she dropped us off, we'd keep walking up river as there was a road that roughly followed it and when she called we would cut through the embankment to the road where she would no doubt see us on her way.

The walk wasn't what I imagined there was a lot more wading against the flow of the river and through mud than I remembered (probably the time of year) and soon we found ourselves on the wrong side of the river with out the proverbial paddle; this is when we got Jens call. We surveyed the embankment on the other side, the river was running quite fast but there was a fallen tree that was half in, half out of the water. We couldn't see through the thick trees on the bank but Joe thought he heard a car so we decided we would wade across to the tree climb up onto it and shimmy along to the embankment then up onto the road.

This turned out to be a somewhat naive and optimistic ill thought out plan. Firstly the water got deep and we had back packs with phones and cameras in them so we devised a plan where I would hold the bags and Joe would swim up to a point where he could climb onto the tree, he would then shimmy out to me where I would pass him the bags and then swim across myself. As soon as Joe started to swim the current got him and swept him into the tree nuts first. He then had to fight the current to get out of the water and onto the tree and then fight the branches and twigs to get out to me amidst ominous sounds of wood cracking! I eventually handed him the bags and proceeded to be swept into the tree nuts first myself. Once we'd fought our way to the bank, we found ourselves knee high in mud and in thick overgrown thorn bushes. By the time we'd fought our way to the top of the bank we were covered in scratches, nettle stings and mud. We were also greeted by a 7ft high fence with not a road but a vineyard beyond it! Joe ended up digging a hole under the fence like some kind Wiley fox trying to get into a chicken coup whilst i looked out for any angry wine makers with guns! Once through (covered in even more mud) we moved stealthily through the vineyard and scaled the fence on the other side and only then did we reach the road. A few minutes later Jens car appeared like a celestial vision; it was like a happy ending in a horror film, we were saved!

As if that wasn't enough drama for one day we got home to be greeted by a mangy one eyed Chiwawa pissing on the carpet, but thats another story for another day...

San Francisco



[30.01.11] Sunday: Drove into San Francisco today with Jen, Molly, Lily & Joe. Selena had Volley Ball practice. She is actually very good so Jen is forking out a small fortune for her to play club VB during the close season at the school cos if she doesn't she won't get back in the school team! Don't get me started on the schools here; that's just one observation I may at some point tear into Windsor High like I did Daryl!

 The trip had the duel purpose of giving myself and Joe a lift to the city (only homeless people get the bus in America) and, more importantly, take Molly to a dog show in Daly City. I have to say I was a little disappointed, I thought it was going to be all 'Little Miss Sunshine' with Dogs. Full of pampered, yappy little Bichon Frise's dressed up as former First Lady's. I think Molly was hoping the same cos even she was bored. Lily was so bored she tried to knock herself out by eating an entire carton of nacho cheese. It was  a much more normal affair than I give most Americans credit for plus there weren't even any funny pooing incidents so I'll move on.

Phallic dog toys



dog shortly after being groped





After the Show Jen dropped us off at the Hostel which was fine and in a good location a couple of blocks away from Union Square. The week prior when booking the room on the web I asked Joe 'Shall we get a private room or a dorm?' he was non committal so I said 'we should probably go for the dorm. I think we should try and meet people and it will be good practice for when we're proper travelling...you never know we might get lucky and end up in a room with 3 Swedish girls...then again we could end up in room with an old man that snores...' Not one but two snoring old men!!! and two German Lads, one was mute and the other was sound [Thomas].

That evening we decided to walk/hike to China Town. I don't need to tell anyone reading this that San Francisco is famous for its hills and I foolishly said to Joe at the bottom of a particularly steep one 'race ya to the top!' Turns out there are two ways to do a 'whitey' in California.

The dorm was good practice for travelling, Chinatown was good practice for China! Its an amazing place, very authentic sights and smells and no one speaks English. After the meal we decided to try our luck going for a drink. As Joe is only 18 we wondered if he'd have trouble getting served, he did, however after a few knock backs we ended up in a dive bar just around the corner from the hostel with a Korean barmaid that could barely speak English and probably didn't want the hassle of having to pronounce identification. It had a pool table and a duke box so all was good.

[31.01.11] On Monday morning we got up and went down for breakfast. In reception they had Sky Sports News on, we sat and watched in amazement as Torres was sold and Andy Carrol was bought! I actually thought at the time we'd bought Charlie Adam too, gutted we didn't get him.

Buoyed by a bit of shrewd business in the transfer market we went off to Alcatraz which despite being my 7th time in San Fran' I've never actually done before. It was well worth it and very interesting but I'm not going to bore you with the details; other than it was the reason the Spanish never discovered San Francisco bay. Apparently they sailed past it twice a year but never noticed it because the opening to the bay is only a mile wide and because of the position of Alcatraz in the bay it plugged the gap so to speak on the horizon! Also it was only a federal penitentiary for 30 years and its now Americas second busiest National Trust attraction.

That evening we walked/hiked to an area called north beach to try and find more bars, we found a few but none of them had more than 3 people in them (an improvement on the night before) so went to a liquor store and ended up back at the hostel playing scrabble (not in the Luke Traynor sense).

View of GG Bridge from Lincoln Park

[01.02.11] Tuesday we went for a cracking bike ride. The route took us up through Haight Ashbury, through Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach, up through Lincoln park, through sea cliff, down through Presidio, over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalito where we had pizza and got the ferry back to San Francisco. It was a beautiful day but there was a thick looming fog that sat just off the coast all day that made for some dramatic views.

I also got my architecture fill- I don't normally visit buildings when abroad unless I'm forced to, but two of my favourite architects Renzo Piano and Herzog & De Meuron have new buildings adjacent to each other in Golden Gate Park so they graciously made it very easy for me to visit them. I'm not going to harp on about architecture but they where both very impressive in very different ways, see for yourself...

 

H&M's de Young Museum

  

Piano's Academy of Sciences



When we returned to the hostel we were shattered so a quiet night was in order. There was a notice up in reception for a Poker night in the rec room with a $5 buy in so we decided to do that. I started off well but soon got bored. Myself and Joe decided that a woman at the end of the table had been consistently bluffing so we conspired to 'out bluff' her. Turns out she had a flush, me and Joe went to the cinema.

Went to see True Grit which was, as usual, good but over hyped and somewhat self indulgent for the Cohen Brothers. would you agree Mike?

Trans America Pyramid

[02.02.11] Wednesday. Basically we walked around the areas Joe had not seen yet and in particular I wanted to take him up the Bank of America Building where you get great views across the city. I did it once before with Rich years ago but unfortunately since 2001 America's paranoia hasn't abated and they still wont let anyone with a backpack into a tall building. We also went to see another of my favourite buildings now that i was suitably inspired: Mario Botta's MOMA! It was closed so we turned our attentions back to getting drunk.

Back at the Hostel that evening a guy from New York, Johnathan, did a sterling job of rounding up a group of us to go out partying in the Mission district. We were well up for it and I told Joe straight "If you don't get in to the bar I'm putting you in a cab home by yourself!" Joe got ID'd in the first place and we where left standing outside whilst everyone else had gone in.

Joe + One

I just didn't have the heart to leave him there so we walked down the road and soon came to a bar with no bouncer, we dove inside and Joe hid in a corner while i went to the bar. We must have been stood there for 5 minutes when a girl came over to us and started chatting, her mate had pulled so she was left standing there like a lemon and decided to talk to us. After I'd finished my beer I left Joe with her to run back to the first bar to tell everyone which bar we had gone to so they could come an join us when they were done. When i got back, well I'm sure you've all guessed, Joe was in a passionate embrace with a certain someone; so resisting high fiving him there and then i took myself off to the bar, got a round in and sat and waited... and waited. Joe eventually came over and said she wanted to take him to a bar over the road for cocktails so i said OK, I'll finish your beer and follow you over. After another 10 minutes it struck me that everyone else was having a great time in a bar up the road, Joe was obviously having a great time and here was me, sat at a bar by myself like billy no mates!

The rest of the gang eventually tuned up and we had a great night, we even went to another bar where Joe was ID'd only this time the bouncer couldn't be arsed to do the Math and work out how old he was!

I was talking to an Aussie couple most of the night who had the right idea, working for 6 months and travelling for 6! they'd even been to Liverpool! They said they loved scouser's and laughed at everything i said. It was a nice change.

[03.02.11] Thursday. Got the bus home- ran like clockwork and completely uneventful. Jen and Selena had missed us, Lily hadn't noticed we'd gone, Molly meow'd like a cat all night...

California, Land of replica Italian Medieval Castles

[WB 23.0.11] Not much to report this week, I feel like myself and Joe are becoming Americanized. All we do is sit on the couch watching TV eating fast food. Dougal's leg is playing up again so he cant go for walkies and consequently neither do we. In fact we're walking less and less and piling on the pounds. However even I baulked when Lily asked for a lift to guitar practice at the local gym the other day. By local i mean the gym across the street and by across the street i mean it would be quicker to walk there than drive- I'm not even joking!!!

On Thursday we drove out to a little town called St Helena in the Napa Valley which is packed full of wineries and one in particular is shaped like an Italian Castle! Its actually a bit more than that; the patron/narcissist who commissioned it imported over one million bricks from Italy because of his 'deep love of Medieval Architecture (sic)...and his Italian Heritage' His name is Daryl, recently changed to Dario because of his deep love of Italian names... Experts call it a masterpiece apparently- experts in what? replica medieval castles? Anyways it was impressive nonetheless.

Upon entry there was a pay desk with two women standing behind it. one of them was attending a couple whilst the other was busying herself with some files. We stood at the desk for a couple of minutes roughly in front of her after which without looking at us she walked to the other end of the desk and said "I can take the next customer over here, thank you" so myself and Joe walked to the other end other desk and declared our intentions to customersize the winery. I don't know why but that really pissed me off; is that unreasonable?

After walking around for a bit looking at the faux banquet hall and fake turrets etc. we got round to the tasting. Joe being a minor was given a plastic cup of grape juice and told to stand 3 feet away from the bar whilst i was tasting the hard stuff- truly bizarre! The Sommeleir tending us was actually a top bloke, his name was Tim. The price of the ticket included a taste of 5 wines but thanks to Tim I was tipsy by the time we left.

Yet More Basketball to report on, this time it really was a grudge match! Windsor High Vs Neighbouring Healdsburg High. It was a scintilating game and the baying crowd threatened to erupt in to violence a number of times. I dont know what they feed these kids here what with 10 of them 6'5" plus on the court and the rest threatening to shoot each other in the stands. Windsor won!

San Francisco to follow...