Hi All,

Hayley here. Hope everyone is well. It must be a tough time to be in Victoria, we both can't believe the news coming out of there. we're counting ourselves very lucky that all of our family and friends are safe and sound.

On this end, the last few days have been fun and adventure filled. On Thursday the 15th we got up nice and early because we had plans to go to Alcatraz! We caught a coupla buses down to the embracdero and walked all the way along Fishermans Wharf which was quiet and tourist free as it was so early. We booked our tickets at Pier 33 cause they can sometimes sell out. We had a few hours to spare so we caught the historic F Train (kinda like a tram, pics in SF album) back down the Embarcadero to check out Fort Mason for a while while munching on salt water taffy. This was originall used to defend the city and later was the place where troops were shipped out to the pacific in WW2. (ed: these days, most people just use their taffy for eatin'). There's a hostel, cool gardens and grounds and awesome views of the city and the beautiful bridge. We also saw a cool, telescopic camera thing which explains how the GG bridge can retty muh be used as a thermometer- the temperature causes the cables to contract and release, the bridge rises and falls slightly, visible through this viewer thingamajig- faskinating! After all this walking it was about time I introduced Ryan to a warm, tasty Fisherman's Wharf tradition - clam chowder. The only down side of this culinary experience was after ordering our delicious hollowed out bread bowls full of chowder i was immediately swooped by big, nasty looking seagull- i swear it landed on my wrist!! I wasn't encouraged by the guys close by warning me they were rabid!! :) In short Ryan really enjoyed the meal especially on a drizzly kinda day.

Next it was off to catch the ferry to Alcatraz the allegedly inescapable island prison, infamous for housing the most hardened criminals of the the mid 20th century, including Al Capone. It only took about ten minutes to get to the island and we were treated by awesome views of the city and the island the whole way. After we disembarked we took a steep walk amongst the remains of various buildings to the famous cell house. Ryan picked up his head set to listen to the audio tour, which i declined, having listened to it on my previous two visits to Alcatraz. This was actually pretty cool as i got to look around and take some pictures in total silence as EVERY other person in there was glued to their head sets! again, amazing views to both the city and the bridge. Ryan throuroughly enjoyed the audio tour, the stories of escape and attempted escape from Alcatraz are really interesting! after a coupla hours we headed back to shore (by ferry, we didn't fancy the swim) as we had a date in Walnut Creek! We took the short train ride to meet Harry, a family friend of the Smith/Russell's (my Uncle Neville's childhood best friend). We had dinner with the whole family at a lovely Vietnamese restaurant (though were a little concerned about the naming of the place "Le Cheval?!"). It's been great to get the opportunity twice in the last few years to meet up with the Batten's and we were very appreciative of what Harry termed our alast good meal before we head off to South America :)

Pretty exhausted after all the running around of the last two days (and i'm pretty sure Ryan was suffering from jet lag though he insists he's super human and has defeated the syndrome :P) Saturday was a relaxed day- got up lateish and headed to see Ocean Beach- so different from the baybeaches we're used to- goes on for miles with HUGE waves crashing on the shore. We then picked up some supplies for a picnic in Golden Gate Park (a park in the north west of the city whci spans about forty blocks- pretty big!) we entered on 8th avenue and fulton and and lunch in the rhodedendron garden one of many smaller areas within the park. We walked on to see the AIDS Memorial Grove ( a 7.5 acre tribute to those affected by the syndrome in SF) and the Conservatory of Flowers (a cool 20s style green house, check out the pics in our album). We unexpectedly stumbled a crosee a drum circle too- heaps of happy, pantsless hippies and dancing playing percussion on anything they could find. so san francisco :) we finished our lazy afternoon off on the lawns of the park- ryan had a nap and i watched the dogs- so many gorgeous dogs of all shapes and sizes here! Saturday evening was our final night staying with the wonderful Jessica so we went out for dinner at a sushi boat (no not a sushi train a BOAT). Ryan drank a gallon bottle of Japanese beer and we all at a lot of sushi but not so much that we couldn't enjoy ice cream afterwards! we popped down to visit a friend of Jess' who works at his parent's corner ice cream shop -joe's. we can highly reccomend the peanut butter chocolate home made ice cream you can find there!

But the night was far from over! In our search for a friendly couch ryan and i had "met" Alexis. Unfortunately she couldn't host us while we were here but having decided we were "good people" she kindly invited us to her birthday party! so having made a decision not to pass up opportunites to have fun and meet new people- we went! after a slightly muddled introduction (Alie: I'm Alie. Ryan: I'm Ryan. Hayley: from AUSTRALIA! Alie: oh HEY!) we had such a good night. We met fellow couch surfers who had been the round the world in three weeks (from the UK to Russia then on the Trans Mongolian Railway to Beijing) and just generally enjoyed the randomness of the occassion. so thanks Alie! Took us a while to bus it back to Jess' but we made it- we are VERY familiar with the SF bus system nowadays!

The following morning, we packed up and said our sad goodbyes to Jessica. Refusing a lift in order to get some experience hauling our backpacks around, we walked all the way across the park and about ten blocks further to Wes and Brandi's house in the Sunset district. They're such a cool couple who host surfers now after surfing couches on a epic journey across the US. and they have one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met- Mouse! she's just like a human. so cute.

Hi all, it's Ryan now, giving Hayley a break from her homework :p. After briefly settling in with our new hosts, we decided to hit the ground running and see some more sights! We caught a late morning bus from Sunset down to an area called "the Haight", chocful of hipsters, scenesters, gutter punks and generally a pretty cool neighbourhood for looking around and doing some window shopping. It's essentially the reason why when you come to San Francisco you have to wear flowers in your hair (puff, puff, pass anyone? see our photo album for further explanation!) As soon as we stepped off the bus, we went to Amoeba Records, a MASSIVE, well, record store, with just about every category for CDs, LPs, DVDs etc imaginable. Window shopping is so frustrating! After perusing the many other interesting shops along the main strip of the Haight, we began to make our way towards the Castro. Anyone who has seen the recent movie Milk will recognise this area where a lot of the campaigns for equal rights for gays and lesbians originated back in the sixties. Today, the legacy of the district's history is proudly displayed, the streets lined with rainbow flags. Generally speaking, it's a pretty awesome area with great houses, cool little shops and a friendly atmosphere.

From there we walked through Mission Dolores park (more cute dogs for Hayley - I think her dogalogical clock is ticking!) down towards Mission street - the city's latino district, recently known for becoming somewhat young and fashionable. Here we spent more time window shopping (Hayley actually did make a purchase of some $1 buttons) which quickly worked up our appetites for a Mission Street tradition - burrrritos! We went to "the best" taqueria in the area (recommended to us by Jessica) and it was muy delicioso! Hayley ordered a vegetarian burrito, and me? The burrito "mojado", which was basically as big as my head. I was a little concerned when hours later I saw a english/spanish sign warning of a piso mojado/wet floor.

Following my floor burrito, we took a looong walk back to the middle of town and thought about seeing a movie, but we were both pretty wiped out from a big day of walking around, so we decided to make it back to Wes & Brandi's and call it a day. We did however get caught walking about 12 blocks in the first decent rain since we've been here. I feel like I haven't experienced such rain and bitter cold for years! We arrived home pretty waterlogged, but after a great nights sleep on a very comfy futon, we got up relatively early to catch the BART into Berekeley and spent most of our day exploring the University of California campus (which is an amazing place) and its surrounding streets. We decided to make our way towards a highly recommended co-op restaurant called "The Cheeseboard Pizza" for a late lunch. The Cheeseboard is located about 1.5 miles from the UC campus, but we decided to walk rather than bus the journey as we are a couple of pretty mean penny pinchers. When we arrived at our destination, feet aching and bellies empty, waiting for us was the ultimate disappointment - the place was closed! Somewhat disheartened, we caught a bus back to the centre of Berkeley, tails between our legs, and haunted by thoughts of nothing but P I Z Z A - which were soon satiated by the first pizza joint we came across. Defeated, but noentheless thoroughly entertained by our earlier part of the day, we left this beautiful part of the Bay Area and returned home to the comforts of candy and a warm bed.

That brings us up to date (finally!). Please feel free to leave comments on the msg board section of the blog, meanwhile we will keep adding more pics to the San Francisco picture album until we get to New York.

Until next time, all our love,

Hayley & Ryan