I went on a seven day Top Deck tour called California calling. We started the tour in San Francisco and ended in Los Angeles. It was a tour for 18-35 year olds and we had a group of 14 people. On my trip we had people from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Scotland. Our guide was an American guy who drove us around on our private bus.
San Francisco
The trip started in San Francisco. I arrived two days early so I would have a chance to see more of this city.
Hotel: I stayed at Hotel North Beach in China Town. It was just a hostel with about 100 rooms in an old apartment building. My room was tiny with just a single bed, cupboard and fridge and there was a shared toilet and shower in the hall way. The receptionist was friendly and helpful. While very basic it was adequate for the cheap price I paid.
Tip! Always check the reviews of your hotels before booking. The tour recommended a different hotel called Hotel Metropolis. The reviews of this place were that it was a nice hotel but terrible location. It is right in the middle of the city where there are a lot of homeless people. There is a street around the corner from it which the locals call "Zombie land", because there really are thousands of homeless people down there. Not a safe option for a solo traveler.
Homelessness is a huge problem here. Some causes may be due to the emergence of new drugs and the hippy vibe in the 80's. There is a huge gay and lesbian culture here and also a large number of Vietnam vets have settled here and have not been cared for. There is approximate 100,000 homeless people in San Francisco.
I did a tour to Alcatraz and Angel Island. The tours to just Alcatraz book out early, so to get there I had to do a full day tour and go to Angel Island as well. It was a cold rainy day and I didn't bring warm enough clothes. I guess I thought being close to summer and going to sunny California that it would be warm. But I forgot how far north San Fran is and didn't know about its cranky weather. I bought myself a poncho and boarded my ferry.
Whilst waiting in line to board the ferry i got talking to a couple and their son from San Diego. After having a laugh because they thought I was a lesbian since I said I was visiting my "partner" we all ended up hanging out for the day.
The trip over to Angel Island took about 30 mins. Once there we boarded a tram and did a tour of the island, learning about its history. It used to be used as a military base. We then had time for a beer and some potato soup to warm ourselves up. Then got back onto the boat to go to Alcatraz.
Alcatraz was not spooky like I thought it would be. With thousands of people making their way through the biulding it was hard to picture the conditions that the prisoners faced. When you get there you begin by collecting your audio head set which guides you through the cells. You learn about some of the escape attempts and how the prisoners took the guards hostage. They say that no man ever escaped Alcatraz alive.
Tip! Book early. Take warm clothes!
After the tour I said good bye to my friends and headed down to the Fisherman's wharf. I stopped by the aquarium for a bit. They had a really good shark tunnel and some cute furry animals called a chinchilla. But there wasn't really anything stand out about it.
I decided to get a cable car home, as this is something you must do while in San Fran! I bought my ticket and lined up. I was on the outside of the cart, holding on for dear life! We went up a giant hill, making a few stops along the way. I hopped off in China town and walked back down to my hotel. I just got a cup of tea and chilled for the rest of the night.
The following day I met up with my tour group. After meeting everyone and getting papers and stuff in order we headed off to our first attraction; the Golden Gate Bridge. It really was quite beautiful. We walked across it, talking about an hour. It is interesting that this is the first major construction in histroy where Occupational Health and Safety was enforced and successful. A safety net was used to catch biulders if they fell, and hard hats had to be worn. Only 11 men died building this bridge where it is normal for one man to die for every one million dollars spent. There are help telephones along the bridge as it is one of the most popular suicide sites in the world. The red paint was originally just the base coat, but people thought it looked so good that they decided to keep it red.
Yosemite National Park
Death Valley
Las Vegas
Route 66
Grand Canyon
Lake Havasu
Los Angeles
