Stateside

15/03/12-18/03/12

Ever had one of those days when it seems to stretch on forever? Well for me the 15th March 2012 was literally the longest day of my life. My flight to Los Angeles was at 10pm that night so I had a whole day to wait for my flight at my hostel; taking off on time I was for the first time in my life to cross the international time line. After a 10 hour flight taking off at 22.00 on March 15th from Fiji, I landed at LAX at 13.20 on March 15th – I’m now officially a time traveller! Tired and with my body clock firmly out of sync, I made my way to my overnight stay at my hostel located directly on Hollywood Boulevard, exactly opposite the Kodak Theatre and right on the Hollywood walk of fame! Knowing I would be back in a few days to explore the area properly I only had a quick look round before retiring back to relax; after all it had been the longest day of my life.

No time to wait around in Los Angeles as the next day I boarded a bus for San Francisco, I had an important meeting with someone I hadn’t seen in over a year to keep to. I arrived in the city later that evening after an eight hour journey to find it was pouring down with rain – not the best introduction to what many people refer to as the best city in the world. That night I grabbed a free beer and went to bed early as the jet lag had caught up with me.

With the morning to kill as I waited for my VIP guests to arrive I headed straight down to Fisherman’s Wharf by the water’s edge to get my first look at the golden gate bridge and Alcatraz. This was no simple walk as I discovered just how hilly San Francisco is; you walk up very steep streets to only be greeted by more steep streets further along. In the afternoon I was finally reunited with my sister and her boyfriend after having not seen either for over six months, the most surprising thing was that it felt like I had only seen her a few days before, the length of time apart instantly disappeared the moment I saw her. It felt so strange that I was actually standing alongside her and on the other side of the world of all places! Reunited that evening we went out to do some exploring and to take in the manic atmosphere as it was St Patricks Day, it seemed like the whole city was out on the streets celebrating.

Our first full day was spent down at Fisherman’s Wharf; in the morning we hopped on a ferry to jump over to Alcatraz Island to visit one of the most iconic prisons in history. Alcatraz lies out in the middle of the bay with the city and the golden gate bridge in full sight. It closed a few years ago due to the failing conditions of the buildings but has since reopened as a national park. In its day it used to house some of the most violent gangsters including Al Capone. Today you take an excellent audio tour around the former prison and surrounding grounds. When it was a prison a lot of guards families used to live on the island at the same time and you can instantly see the appeal in living out in the bay as you graze back at the city – what a place to live. Back on the main land we walked across to Pier 39 which has been transformed into a pleasant tourist attraction, it is filled with a variety of shops and food outlets including a shop dedicated to selling left handed items . Off to one side you can see the local Californian sea lions relaxing in the sun on some special jetties. We continued to wonder along the remaining piers before heading back to our hostel via some of the steepest streets in the city.