Day 2: Picking up the RV and Mozzeria

I woke up pretty early but I felt utterly refreshed with no trace of jetlag. I guess it is Asher 1-0 Jetlag then! We all decided to get some breakfast and there was an authentic American diner opposite of our hotel so we decided to venture out on a brilliant sunny day to troop over to the diner.

The breakfast were excellent, Sara and I had French toasts with eggs which was delicious. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and the atmosphere, there was various memorabilia scattered on the walls and there was even a classic jukebox as well. However, the TV showed something very English- football!

We had some time on our hands before our shuttle bus to the RV headquarters so we decided to go for a quick walk. I discovered San Francisco is basically a city stationed through three or four valleys so we had quite bit of a hike to reach top of the valley but we could see the river once we arrived at the top. The buildings were very colourful and arty- there would be a row of houses and each house was cladded in different colour.

In a nutshell, San Francisco is a boutique city. However we all clambered downwards and caught taxis to a hotel which was a meeting point for our shuttle bus however we had to endure a two hours wait. We used some of the time to have a quick explore and we saw a vintage tram on its daily route which was great.

Eventually, the shuttle bus turned up and we all was escorted to the headquarters where we met our home for next month. It was very luxurious and huge. There are some quick facts about it- It was a slide-out model that sleep eight people which meant that when the motorhome is stationary, it can be extended to open up a bunk bed. It was over 30 feet long and it was furnished with leather furniture and suede wallpapers. It was a five stars motorhome compared to the one I travelled in New Zealand!

After we got through the paper work, we headed for Wal-Mart which is an americanised Asda because we needed to purchase bedding and utensils. We then kitted out our new home and decided the bed rotation. Stuart and Julie had a double bed completed with their own wardrobe! Ashley and Richard bagged the bunk bed while Sara and I had overhead bunks. James and Lucy were left with a convertible sofa bed though halfway of the trip Sara and I would swap with them two.

We all went to Mozzeria, which is an Italian restaurant run by deaf owners. However on the way, our new motorhome got off an auspicious start when Stuart accidently scratched the motorhome with another car! Luckily we were able to repair the damage with a trusty scourer.

We arrived and entered into a deaf universe! All members of the staff were deaf. It was a novelty for us all as we all chatted away with a friendly waiter which I then recognised from an global online campaign to promote subtitles on all forms of media.

We stayed behind after the closing time and we learnt much about the origins of the restaurant and how a enterprising deaf couple decided to open a restaurant though the husband wisely left all of the running to the wife! They tried to source all of their food, decorations and any piece of items from deaf businesses. It was very good to see a deaf business thriving. We turned in for a night with our stomach full and our hands exhausted from all of the chatter.