Something has come to my attention!

Everywhere we go, other travellers have been before us. Every photo we take, has been taken a thousand times before. Even if we were trekking in the Himalayas or dragging a sled to the South Pole, someone will have done it before! But somehow we all come away with different stories and different memories! The one thing that is different for each of us is the people we meet along the way. The people in our stories!

I was excited about San Francisco because I would be seeing Josh and Lynora again. Josh and Lynora were the couple that I meet on my first week at Reef CI in Belize and now they were kind enough to put Liann and me up in San Francisco. We arrived late in San Francisco due to bad weather but Josh still picked us up. He claimed to be a night Owl but I think 2am was pushing it a little.

As Josh and Lynora lived in a one bedroom apartment in the city they had arranged for us to stay with Josh's step-mother Linnea over the Golden Gate Bridge in the town of Larkspur. Linnea's house is built right on a tidal estuary/river where the houses are connected by a raised boardwalk and she has a separate studio/apartment that we stayed in.

We had arrived early Friday morning so after Josh treated us to a breakfast we had a much needed chill out before getting picked up for the weekends activities.

At the weekend we headed out to Yosemite! The Belize reunion wasn't over yet as we were joined by Mika and Jacqui for a couple of night's camping and (more) hiking. Mika and Jacqui had travelled all the way from South California so sadly their visit was pretty brief but we still managed to squeeze in a hike up the Mist Trail to the beautiful Vernal Falls. Liann and I's feet just about survived but we were definitely suffering from our Supai adventure. At the top of Vernal Falls is a perfectly clear but chilly lake with some natural rock slides that we played around in before heading back to the cars. On the Sunday we had to wave goodbye to Mika and Jacqui while the rest of us stayed in the area and went for a drive to a lake where we could swim and finish off a large bottle of JD in the sun.

Having to work Monday to Friday Josh and Lynora had to leave us to our own devices but they left us Josh's car to explore. Monday was a write off, after a whirlwind week or so we just had to stop for the day, do some Laundry and take the chance to call back home and catch up.

Tuesday was time to hit the city, so we parked at their apartment and caught the bus down to the Fishermans Wharf/Pier 39 area. We wondered the Pier and went for some famous San Fran Clam Chowder, served in a bread bowl! Well actually Liann had the Clam, I went for the Chilli option, I figured that it's the Sourdough bowl that everyone likes anyway! It's amazing how fast a day in a strange city goes, between wondering around and getting lost a few times the day flew by.

The next day we awoke to clear skies and sun so rather than waste it in a city we headed to the stunning Napa Valley. After lunch in the Food Market which is far more up-market than the name suggests we headed out through the valley. Driving along the Silverado Drive dropping into a few Wineries along the way is certainly a pleasant way to spend an afternoon but it could soon get pricy as each tasting costs between $15-20.

Thursday's weather was not quite so kind to us which hampered our Golden Gate photo session a little. But I guess the clouds consuming the bridge towers did add a little atmosphere. From there we headed up north past Stinson Beach and up to the Point Reyas Marine reserve for a day on the NoCal coast. That evening was our chance to show how greatfull we were for all of Josh, Lynora and Linea's help. So as a token of our appreciation we cook a traditional British meal; Cottage Pie with Eton Mess for dessert. Yum! Now, not to blow our own trumpets too much but I think we did pretty well, even if we did under estimate skinny Lynora's appetite! I even made meringue from scratch as we couldn't find it anywhere!

The week had run away with us again and we had actually only spent one day in the city so Friday was our last chance. In the morning Josh had to use his car so Linea took us out to a local cafe for breakfast. Punjab's Indian Burrito was an odd 'fusion' but tasty all the same. When done with his morning meeting, Josh gave us a lift back down into town. This day was a little more productive with a $15 Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge boat tour giving us some great shots of the city and its infamous attractions. From there we took a stroll to Lombard Street, otherwise known as the crookedest street. San Francisco is characterised by its steep roads moving up and down the city. Lombard Street however proved to be a little too steep so the road has been built as a series of tight left and right hand turns. Good job the slalom like street is a one way! The cut-outs have been turned into colourful flowerbeds so it has become quite a tourist attraction; Probably a nice place to live, if you can put up with all the tourists standing in the middle of the road.

Another of SF's attractions that exist because of the hills is the cable cars. The trams are pulled along by underground cables along some of the main roads. The whole system seems to fail as a transport method but is great for tourists. I have to admit, clinging on to the outside of the tram as we hurtled down Powell Street was pretty good fun and well worth the free for all at the stop. Oh and no one seemed to ask for a ticket so it was free! Even better!

We took a quick wonder through the Hippy Centre of Hyte-Ashbury towards a bar that we had arranged to meet Josh and his brother in. Zeitguist was a cool grungy 'Dive Bar' with a beer garden, a rare thing in San Francisco or even America! After a few drinks we headed back to Josh's apartment for the night ready to set off early Saturday.

Lynora and Josh had recently clubbed together with some friends and bought a speed boat so the plan was to take it out for a spin in the river delta near their friends Carl and Carla who also kept the boat.

It just wasn't meant to be though! Barely around the first corner and only doing a couple mph we hit something and totally destroyed the propeller! Sounds like a dive club day out! Before anyone thinks it, I wasn't driving! So we limped back to the slip with our tail between our legs as others passed the exact same spot without hitting a thing! Strange! Anyway the damage was too bad to continue so Carl and Tony took the boat off to the repair shop. What else could the rest of us do but slip in a quick wine tasting session. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Carl and Carl's beautiful house in Brentwood having a pool party. A bottle of Jack, multiple beers, a few glasses of wine and some of the dreaded Tequila later and I passed out with no memory of dinner or getting to bed just a quiet feeling of embarrassment the next day. What better way to nurse a hangover than to listen to a ludicrously loud Batman film at the IMAX before lunch in the college town of Berkley.

Now back in Larkspur it was time to say goodbye to our amazing friends. Not only had they given us a place to stay, taken us for meals, and spent two awesome weekends with us but they made our time in San Francisco special and unique!

Lynora, Josh and Linea if you guys are reading this, thank you for everything and if you ever make it to Wales I'll do my best to be half as good a host!