Travel All Over The San Fran Bay..? Ask The Blundell Brudda’s!!

A sign that states our intended path!


Saturday rolled around & brought with it the chances of major thunderstorms. Apparently the storms were supposed to have arrived anytime from 3 days before to 2 days later which is testament to San Fran’s weather. From what was gleaned from local knowledge, they’re able to predict what will happen but not as accurately as when as our meteorologists (sometimes!) do! Something to do with currents & winds & (using my own non science based conclusion, using Ballarat, Victoria as my thesis ) that due to San Fran having quite steep hills, heightened by the fact that atop these ‘mountains’, the ‘altitude’ is increased by, usually the tall & landmark buildings of the area, creating man made ‘basins’ that capture low pressure troughs & cooler temperatures, which in turn are warmed when heated by the sun, quickened by asphalt that absorbs heat rapidly & you have a sizeable area that could be prone to inclement weather patterns!! There, my first & probably last, published (!) science pondering - hell, even Darwin, Freud & Einstein had to start somewhere, why not San Fran weather…? Next stop, Melbourne’s climate!!

Funnily enough, I was too tired after putting my scientific know-how out into the world & lucky for me, whilst meeting up with Steph & Lane in the foyer the rain arrived in torrents & the thunder soon followed. Not the best if you’re planning to cycle across the Golden Gate. Plans were abandoned & we bid Steph & Lane farewell as they were leaving the next day. Ric & I were reduced to hanging around the Hostel for a few hours, which worked out OK. Both of us had a nap, there was a ‘Law & Order : SVU’ marathon on one of the cable channels & we managed to find a cinema that was close that was showing ‘Vantage Point’, late in the arvo. The movie isn’t as good or tense as the promo/previews would have you believe. It’s OK but not as brilliant as you maybe led to believe, especially due to the cast involved - William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Dennis Quaid & Forrest Whitaker, all who have won Academy Awards @ some point I’m sure, I mean, come on, who doesn’t place Quaid’s performance in “Inner Space” as one of the finest produced in the ‘80’s…?

A view of the Bridge as we walked around the bay.

No matter what your stance on “Inner Space”, the following day brought fairly decent weather & based on my earlier intellectual hypothesis we disregarded the weather report thinking “it can’t happen twice in two days” and ventured forth. We decided to catch a bus to Fisherman’s Warf where you could hire bikes & then take it from there. Upon getting closer to the Warf we got off the bus, electing to stretch out our legs and get our bearings. During the stroll we abandoned our ideas of cycling & decided to walk across the Bridge. From the Warf, the Gate is still small, as in there is no visible sign of ‘life’ upon it. Along the way to the Gate we happened to stumble upon that great, old & highly appreciated American tradition, supported by those the world over & one of course that we had to take part of… Hooters….!! We had a highly overpriced domestic beer & bailed. I knew it would be tacky, which it was, but I never assumed that it would be a place of family gatherings & girls catching up socially, which it was….!! (* & **)

* Tim Blundell only suggested entering said establishment in order to quickly give his younger brother a true taste of America that he had been able to understand over 2 months of travel. Tim or Ric would never volunteer to enter such a space if a social understanding was not required.

** the above ‘*’ is a lie but said establishment was not sought out and we did, in truth, stumble upon it by accident. For those who doubt, check the San Fran location & you will find that it is located on the waterfront & not some seedy back street & yes I bought a stubbie holder that has the address on it to prove you nay sayers wrong!!

A sign at one of the Crisis Phones.

Anyhoo, after about an hour & a bit’s walking, we reached the start of the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s quite large but easily & safely accessible for pedestrians. It is fairly obvious that the same problem exists on the Golden that exists on the West Gate except that pedestrians aren’t supposed to be on the West Gate… There are for use of a better word. “Crisis Phones” all along the walkway, which, if installed on the West Gate could prove a great assistance & deterrent to those who are feeling that way inclined…

Why is the Golden Gate called as such..? It obviously never was made of such metal & it’s iron & steel (& paint) give it a, truthfully, nice red/maroon/orange colour. Maybe it’s like Uluru at sunset during a certain part of the year…? Despite these mysteries, it took Ric & I around 45mins to cross the bridge & despite a brief shower & a wind in the middle & most open section of the Bridge that was determined to cast us aside, we crossed it!! It added an extra air or element to the fact that we’d seen a famous landmark. The view itself is nothing to quickly write home about but it’s a personal ‘victory’ & a definite memory & achievement that although thousands have done before us, on that day @ that time, that particular experience is & forever will be, uniquely mine & Ric’s. It’s not a photo, a sight to explain, a taste to describe, a tangible thing we can show, it is one of those extra special sub ticks that’s always a part of your “Things I Want To Do/See” list but that you don’t realise until you’ve actually done it. For me it ranks alongside taking the stairs, not the lift, up & down the Eiffel Tower & riding a camel around the pyramids of Giza but even more so as seeing the Golden Gate was cool to see but not as ‘important’ as the above but the crossing itself was for some reason, equal to…?!?!

Giz having a rest before continuing the journey!

If anyone reading my Blog steals this idea I will not sue for I know it is one I will never pursue. Especially because of what America has taught me over the last 2 months, I expected (as did Ric so I know I haven’t been ’Americanised’) that there would be refreshments available upon crossing…. No, nyet, nada..! Rest Rooms yes (thankfully) but after walking for around 3-3.5hrs from Fisherman’s Warf to across the Golden we expected a basic form of refreshment to be available, even if just one frosty cold beer..! I had actually envisioned an oasis of Macca’s, Wendy’s, Carl Jr etc, especially as, after the non San Fran end you hit highways & non pedestrian friendly motorways & more hills (although these are grassy & tree laden).
The view we could see of where we’d commenced to where we currently stood was slightly overwhelming. Not because we could envision where we’d left from after a long walk but because we could physically see our starting point & the entire path we’d walked! Figuring that walking back to the civilised side of the Golden would take longer than walking to the next taste of mankind, which was a small hamlet only 1.5 miles away but meant walking on the road & around & up some crazy corners & inclines, but on a possibly falsely remembered idea that it may have a ferry service back to the American culture we despised but wearily craved, we shrugged our shoulders, looked to the slowly darkening skies & advanced…

Upon entering the hamlet, more of a town (whose name escapes me & that I’ll hopefully remember before I post this entry…), we abandoned seeking out the ferry & stopped @ a little Italian restaurant & had a glass of red. Just one but it did arouse our hunger, justifiability so & we decided that we’d have dinner here & now. Please note that by this time we’d been walking for some 4 or more hours & that’s not counting the km’s walked before Hooters.. Ok, it was only, maybe, 1-1.5kms but it’s worth mentioning - how long it’d been since we sat or had a break of any kind, not Hooters…..

Another photo to give you an idea of the steepness of San Fran.

The food was pretty decent & we then did set out in search of the ferry again. Our waiter hadn’t filled us with much hope as he knew that the ferry’s stopped earlier in Winter & it was after 1730 when we left… Success!! We found one & managed to board it, truthfully, about 2mins before it, the last & final ferry of the day left!! On the ferry I & then Ric, met Tell again. He & his mate had cycled the Golden & then further into Muir Woods & were now heading home. It was a pleasant way to wrap up the day & upon getting deposited along the Warf, despite being knackered, Ric & I walked back to the Hostel…! Taking into account that it used to take me 50mins to walk from St Kilda to the Arts Centre (approx 5.5kms), that San Fran is REALLY hilly & finally, as a testament to our efforts that day, we covered a further 4-4.5kms bringing our entire total walked distance, not counting any kind of man made transportation to approx 20-25kms..!! Which for those Eastern Suburb readers means from pretty much Ringwood to Collingwood/CBD or alternatively, from the CBD or your nearest city/landmark to 20-25kms (13-16miles) away from it for those who aren’t from the East or don’t live in Melbourne!!

My Lil Bro being a professional photographer! It's a photo that both of us think is really cool!

I must rest now for my purge of scientific genius, delivered in pure & data supported guess-ta-mations, which I’ve suppressed for years has left me weary & I must rest... Also they are about to serve a hot meal on the plane, bound for Buenos Aires & I must eat for my brain needs nourishment (although it still seems to be in debate wether it come in liquid or solid form)!