Day in San Francisco – 8 September

I took day trip into the city of San Francisco and Alcatraz. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Yep, trams still run here. Probably more of a tourist thing – Strikes in the USA…no ways! – A very cool mesh of roads.

One of the many steep road in town – I couldn’t not smile reading this sign

China-town’s entrance is quite prominent – Building art. Love it. – Could you talk yourself out of this? – Nice view.

 
City suburb – Street art

An interesting story. You will have to zoom in a bit. Times were tough.

 

Next stop: Alcatraz.

 
- Model of the prison

Alcatraz in the distance – The Warden’s garden

What do Indians have to do with Alcatraz? The native population were fighting for equal rights. They took over Alcatraz after the closure of the prison, but didn’t last very long as there is no natural water on the island. Also the reason for closing the prison.

 

 

 

The Cell block

A period representation of an inmate’s cell.

 
You do the tour with a set of earphones. These are the faces of the people narrating. Officers and inmates

The Hole: I’ve always thought that this is over-dramatised by movies, but I went inside. Even though the door was open, there is an eerie silence. Not a nice place to be.

 
The siege of Alcatraz (May 2-4, 1946): 6 inmates escaped their cells. A fire-fight ensued between the inmates and the correctional officers. The last photo shows the remnants of a grenade.

 

 

 

At the end of the day, Shannon met me and she showed me around the city. We ended up finding ways to slide the fastest down a polished concrete slide. Fun, fun, fun.

 

 

 

A thought to end off the day

24hrs on a Harley – 3 September

Harley Davidson Motorcycles are synonymous with the American Dream. A road trip on a Harley is an experience that I can HIGHLY recommend! This would be my first time on a Harley. Since the Rand-Dollar exchange is not in my favour, I had to settle for the shorter version. 24 hour rental, unlimited miles! If you know me, you will know that I want to get as much out of that as possible :)

Eugene came along which I was very happy about and he suggested a trip along the coast to “Michelle” Pfeiffer national park (its not really called that, but after Eugene started calling it that I can’t remember the correct name). On the way back we could go to a braai at a friend’s place just south of San Jose (where I hired the Harley) and spend the night. Jules joined us for this. Get up early the next morning to take the Harley back.

Ready to hit the road! 96 cu.in = 1573cc! I never knew why the back of the seat had an upwards curve at the back…it so you don’t slip off the back when you accelerate :)

Before we really got going, Eugene took me to his and Conrad’s favourite butcher. A couple a years ago Conrad was looking for real South African Boerewors, but couldn’t find. So this butcher was roped in to make proper Boerewors. Now he can’t keep up with the orders :)

A short while into our trip, we saw a war veteran get-together. This is where I realised the difference between the USA and South African Harley culture. In the USA many war veterans ride Harleys, as well as normal folk from various walks of life (and economic backgrounds). More of a brotherhood. In South Africa it is an exclusive culture for people that can afford the bikes (which is a much smaller group of people, usually consisting of upper middleclass. That’s VERY upper middleclass).

 

   
The way there: Eugene doing some off-roading – The view of the cliffs. Like this most of the way. Exceptional! – Another photo opportunity

 
The way back: In “Michelle” Pfeiffer national park. – What a coastline – The biker duo

After dropping the Harley off, we went for breakfast at Conrad & Jackie’s. Yep, you guessed it….braai – The “Tong Master”.

The “breakfast braai” turned into another braai at Eugene & Jules’. Don’t think I’ve braaied this much in a weekend (keep in mind that we had Potjie the night before). – The Master Chef