made it to San Francisco
Well, we're in San Francisco and we dropped off the rental car yesterday, so the roadtrip is over. Tomorrow Joy will fly back to NYC and I will have a few days in San Francisco on my own before flying to HK late on Tuesday night.
The last few days of driving were also great with only the brief exception of actually driving into SF on the last day. We left St George, UT a bit late, stopping at a vegetarian place called the Health Deli to scope it out. They were closed but the owner saw me taking pictures outside so he came out and we chatted with him and his wife for a bit. They were very nice, but have been forced to recently scale back their hours after losing all three of their employees. Apparently there is a labor shortage in St George due to the rapid economic growth there, or something like that. So these guys have limited hours and get most of their business preparing food for a nearby spa. We bid them farewell and hit the road and wound up in Vegas around lunchtime. We had a fantastic Indian meal...I mean really, really great, and then took a drive down Las Vegas Blvd all the way to the Southern edge of town before getting back on the highway. We were on the Interstate briefly before bailing back to winding desert roads leading us eventually into California. We spent the rest of the day driving through Death Valley National Park and we stayed in a small town called Lone Pine, California on the other side of the park, facing the Sierra Nevada. I even managed to get a vegan burrito in a Mexican/American restaurant there called Bonanza.
The next day was our last day of driving really, and I think we made the most of it. We headed North up another two-lane highway and made a left into Yosemite National Park, actually the first road north of where we were that went through the mountains. The scenery was of course beautiful, though we didn't really stop and explore in detail, just enjoying the scenery on the road. We pulled off a few times to take pictures, but just like all of these places you could spend a lot more time exploring the parks in detail. Getting into the Grand Canyon Park costs $25 per car, and Yosemite cost $20 per car. When we got to Yosemite, we had the option of paying $5 more with our Grand Canyon receipt and getting an annual pass, so I did, just in case, which means for the next year I can get into any National Park for free. $50 is a pretty good deal I think for that access, too bad it doesn't work in China too.
So, we eventually arrived here in SF and spent yesterday walking around. The weather isn't great, it's overcast and kind of chilly. Yesterday we took a walk through Chinatown, which is actually very large here. Joy got a gigantic dimsum feast and then had to go back and take a nap. I met my friend Ian for lunch at a vegetarian place called Golden Era which was very good. We had seen him the night before for a drink at the hotel after our arrival and urgent finding of an Indian restaurant. Yesterday afternoon, Joy and I explored an all-Japanese mall for a while, then took the streetcar down a bit to Haight St and looked around Haight-Ashbury. I must say that each time I come here, I feel the same way, which is that I don't really care for SF. I know a lot of people who live here and love it, but I never feel any attachment to it or desire to come back really. It's ok, but in my opinion doesn't hold a candle to New York. Walking anywhere here is kind of difficult and far, it's not really set up for it. The mass transit isn't particularly useful. It works, but it's nowhere near as simple and accessible to everywhere as New York. I will say that the city is pretty diverse, which is a redeeming quality. There are tons of Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Thai and other restaurants and people. Architecturally it is kind of interesting, but many streets are kind of dull. In New York, you seldom walk for a block without something of interest popping up. There are no 20 minute walks in Manhattan through residential districts without stores, restaurants, museums, bars, and 1000 people. Here, it just feels less lively. Perhaps it is the weather to some extent or the season, but it always seem this way to me everytime I come here: Ok, but not New York.
So last night Joy wasn't feeling great so we decided to do some takeout from a Japanese place near our hotel. It actually worked out ok, I got vegetable udon noodle soup and Joy got the same but with chicken. Pretty tasty. Today we are kind of getting motivated now, but the weather is still very overcast and chilly, so it's kind of a bummer. This has been by far the worst weather of our trip. Every other day until yesterday in SF was at least sunny, and only chilly up in the mountains. Yesterday, the sun was only out here for about 10 minutes. Hopefully today that changes. We may take a trip to Berkeley today which I have usually liked a bit better than SF proper.
I uploaded some pictures to my Flickr page which is linked to the right, or you can get to simply by clicking here. I will add new pictures to the end of that set until I leave for HK and start a new one.
The last few days of driving were also great with only the brief exception of actually driving into SF on the last day. We left St George, UT a bit late, stopping at a vegetarian place called the Health Deli to scope it out. They were closed but the owner saw me taking pictures outside so he came out and we chatted with him and his wife for a bit. They were very nice, but have been forced to recently scale back their hours after losing all three of their employees. Apparently there is a labor shortage in St George due to the rapid economic growth there, or something like that. So these guys have limited hours and get most of their business preparing food for a nearby spa. We bid them farewell and hit the road and wound up in Vegas around lunchtime. We had a fantastic Indian meal...I mean really, really great, and then took a drive down Las Vegas Blvd all the way to the Southern edge of town before getting back on the highway. We were on the Interstate briefly before bailing back to winding desert roads leading us eventually into California. We spent the rest of the day driving through Death Valley National Park and we stayed in a small town called Lone Pine, California on the other side of the park, facing the Sierra Nevada. I even managed to get a vegan burrito in a Mexican/American restaurant there called Bonanza.
The next day was our last day of driving really, and I think we made the most of it. We headed North up another two-lane highway and made a left into Yosemite National Park, actually the first road north of where we were that went through the mountains. The scenery was of course beautiful, though we didn't really stop and explore in detail, just enjoying the scenery on the road. We pulled off a few times to take pictures, but just like all of these places you could spend a lot more time exploring the parks in detail. Getting into the Grand Canyon Park costs $25 per car, and Yosemite cost $20 per car. When we got to Yosemite, we had the option of paying $5 more with our Grand Canyon receipt and getting an annual pass, so I did, just in case, which means for the next year I can get into any National Park for free. $50 is a pretty good deal I think for that access, too bad it doesn't work in China too.
So, we eventually arrived here in SF and spent yesterday walking around. The weather isn't great, it's overcast and kind of chilly. Yesterday we took a walk through Chinatown, which is actually very large here. Joy got a gigantic dimsum feast and then had to go back and take a nap. I met my friend Ian for lunch at a vegetarian place called Golden Era which was very good. We had seen him the night before for a drink at the hotel after our arrival and urgent finding of an Indian restaurant. Yesterday afternoon, Joy and I explored an all-Japanese mall for a while, then took the streetcar down a bit to Haight St and looked around Haight-Ashbury. I must say that each time I come here, I feel the same way, which is that I don't really care for SF. I know a lot of people who live here and love it, but I never feel any attachment to it or desire to come back really. It's ok, but in my opinion doesn't hold a candle to New York. Walking anywhere here is kind of difficult and far, it's not really set up for it. The mass transit isn't particularly useful. It works, but it's nowhere near as simple and accessible to everywhere as New York. I will say that the city is pretty diverse, which is a redeeming quality. There are tons of Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Thai and other restaurants and people. Architecturally it is kind of interesting, but many streets are kind of dull. In New York, you seldom walk for a block without something of interest popping up. There are no 20 minute walks in Manhattan through residential districts without stores, restaurants, museums, bars, and 1000 people. Here, it just feels less lively. Perhaps it is the weather to some extent or the season, but it always seem this way to me everytime I come here: Ok, but not New York.
So last night Joy wasn't feeling great so we decided to do some takeout from a Japanese place near our hotel. It actually worked out ok, I got vegetable udon noodle soup and Joy got the same but with chicken. Pretty tasty. Today we are kind of getting motivated now, but the weather is still very overcast and chilly, so it's kind of a bummer. This has been by far the worst weather of our trip. Every other day until yesterday in SF was at least sunny, and only chilly up in the mountains. Yesterday, the sun was only out here for about 10 minutes. Hopefully today that changes. We may take a trip to Berkeley today which I have usually liked a bit better than SF proper.
I uploaded some pictures to my Flickr page which is linked to the right, or you can get to simply by clicking here. I will add new pictures to the end of that set until I leave for HK and start a new one.
posted by Dan at 8:50 AM
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