Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak

Tuesday 6 September 2011

The Reunion Part 1- San Franscio

After weeks apart, Tristan and I finally reunited this weekend!!!
Given our differing schedules, we hadn't had all that much time to talk on the phone over the past few weeks, so we were both looking forward to some quality time together. I was looking forward to/terrified to show him my expanding waistline and growing belly.  On the flipside, Tristan was looking forward to showing me his finely turned physical form, honed by hours of running.
 
We met in San Francisco. A city I knew from movies and bad tv shows as home to the cable car, golden gate bridge, and many, many sleep hills.  What tv failed to mention was that even in summer, it barely got over 23C, it was windy and foggy, and what looks like a rolling hill isn't - it's a disguised mountain (probably not, but it sure felt that way when I was walking up and down them!!)
We stayed in this lovely little hotel in the heart of the city, within walking (mountain climbing) distance of Chinatown, the wharf, and all the other tourist traps.  It was great!  On that first night, we wondered into Chinatown to get our fill of Asian food - something I had been craving! We chatted and talked: I finally got all the details of how Tristan's phone went missing; he learnt about all the "fun" parts of pregnancy he had been missing; and we discussed the important things in life - the upcoming NRL grand finals.
The next (foggy) day we went on a bus tour of the city.  We went to the gold gate bridge - you could really see too much of it - but it was definitely a highlight! We saw the lovely public parks, the wharf, all the Victorian and Edwardian houses that make San Fran famous, Nob Hill (where all the snobs apparently lived in the early 1900s) and the city centre.  The city is so irregular - with no real flat landscape the cityscape flows up and down with residential buildings seemingly standing at the same height as city sky scrappers.  It was crazy, but the uniqueness of the city added to its charm. 
We had a late lunch/early dinner at a waterside seafood restaurant, and devoured a feast! Living so far away from the coast in Denver, seafood has become a new delicacy! Who would have ever thought! 
After wondering around the tourist district, we waited in line for 45 minutes and caught a cable car home - or at least we tried.  It broke down on a hill (mountain) and we had to sit (slide up and down the seat) for 15 minutes while the mechanics fixed the problem.  200 meters up the road, the track came to an end, and we walked (hiked) the last mile home.  I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow that night.  Given it was barely 8pm, Tristan went and wondered Chinatown, looking for a bargain on a new camera lens.
Between baby RJ and the "rolling hills"of San Fran, I was exhausted! So the next day, we took a gentler option and caught a bus out of town and explored one of the old red wood forests of California. It was bliss to be surrounded by trees and fresh air.  We also got to cross the golden gate bridge!  That afternoon, the bus dropped us off at a little tourist town full of antique shops, art galleries and salt water taffy stores.  We slowly meandered our way along the main road, then caught a ferry back to the city.  It was great to walk around, hand-in-hand, and just hang out.

We caught a ferry back to the city, and walked up the crookedest street in the world - Lombard street - back to the hotel.  My lovely husband gave me a hand to climb up the street.  It felt like a marathon, and I was just as proud as if it were when I finished it.

That night we had Indian.  Another food I had REALLY been craving! Although our favourite butter chicken wasn't on the menu, we still managed to order enough food for a family of four, and clean off our plates.  I think RJ may now come out tandoori orange, but it was so worth it.  I can't remember being so satisfied by food,
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!0AOn)jur)final)`ay*ij)San*Braj!2@*Prhqtaj*`ratad(uha(aodipkc)`is|"qrfackd/sl"avesd/sd(ukg(qbfsc/si$kw/ultkb�!caubct/sg�t home at the end of the day.  Given all the one way streets, up and downs, back and forths, I really admired the way he was able to make it to our destination.  Once we parked the car, we went to collect our golden tickets - tickets to Alcatraz.  Most people had to book theirs weeks in advance, but somehow our concierge finagled a couple of tickets, and we were off to the Rock!

This was the highlight of Tristan's trip, and he could barely contain his glee!  As per our tickets, we arrived at the wharf 30 minutes early, and lined up with 200 other excited visitors to catch the ferry across the Bay.  That day the sun had melted the fog and we could finally see the entire bridge all at once as well as the city scape.  It made for some fantastic photos!

Once on the Rock, we had an opportunity to watch a documentary on the history of the island, and take an audio tour of the old jail house.  It was really interesting.  However, after a few hours, we caught the ferry back to the city, and drove the 5 hours home.

Despite the weather being a lot cooler than I expected, it was a great weekend.  Tristan and I will spend the next few days hanging out, and then next weekend we will go on our next big adventure together to San Diego - we can't wait!

Missing you all at home

Tristan and Penni (together - at last!)

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