Day Ninety: Homeward Bound...06/01/09

So here it is... the final post. We'll lose 8 hours of our lives between Day Eighty Nine, and Day Ninety. But as the sun is rising on Day Ninety, we won't be too far from touching down on the tarmac of Dublin Airport. What can I say about the last three months... I suppose it would be a cliche to use the term, an experience of a life time, but in all honesty, that's exactly what it was. As uncertain as the future is for all four of us, the long road from New York to San Francisco is most definitely something we'll never regret, or indeed forget. We've covered almost 9000 miles, been through 15 states and a countless number of cities. I've taken nearly 3000 photos, and Aidan has many hours of video footage. These, along with the blog, will forever live, as testimony to our incredible adventure. There are so many wonderful tales, that we will be telling for years to come. I guess there is not much else left to say, except thank you to everyone who has followed the blog, and thank you so much for all your encouraging comments. Stay tuned for Aidan's final video entry which will be posted next week, But from me, it's over and out, and we'll see you all real soon...

Day Eighty Nine: The Road To San Francisco International Airport...05/01/09

I'm writing the final two days in advance, as this is my final session of blog entries. We'll get up early today... The first stop will be the RV rental depot, where we'll bid farewell to our home of the last three months. From there, we will get a taxi to the airport, and we'll board the 2.40pm flight, non stop and direct to Dublin fair city...

Day Eighty Eight: We Packed Our Bags... 04/01/09

A short and simple entry for today... We got out of bed some time before noon, and began the process of getting ready to leave. We did a thorough clean of the RV, dumping any items that we have no intention of taking home, fishing rods, golf clubs etc, and packed our suitcases for the final journey home. All said and done, it took us most of the day, but we settled down in the evening, and chilled in the RV for one last time. It will be nice get back to normal beds, and home that doesn't move, but this old thing has been very good to us over the last three months. It will be missed... We'll hit the hay early tonight, as we plan to have a very early start in the morning.

Day Eighty Seven: San Fran, Take Two...03/01/09

Thankfully the weather was more favourable today... We had clear blue skies and the sun was beaming down on us. We took the ferry into the city, and there was certainly more to see this time around.. The first sight along the way, was the infamous San Quentin prison. Known for housing serial killers, San Quentin is also the former home of Charles Manson, leader of the notorious Manson family. Of course most people would be familiar with it, because of the historic Johnny Cash concert that was held there in 1969.. As the ferry drew closer to the city, we finally got to enjoy a clear view of Alcatraz, as well as the Golden Gate Bridge far off on the horizon. On our final day of being a tourist, we saw and did everything we had planned. The boys even ran into a Ballyshannon women in an Irish shop. She was genuine Irish too, Aidan says the Ballyshannon accent was unmistakable. When most folk back home (that I know of anyway) travel to America, they don't go much further than Boston or New York. Well as nice as these two Eastern Cities are, San Francisco is just amazing. In fact every city in California we've had the pleasure of visiting has just been bloody awesome. I mean no disrespect to Boston or New York, I've been to both of them (Boston on a previous trip, in case you're wondering), but life is just very different on the west coast. Maybe it's just more suited to my way of life (easy going), but next time you want to make a trip to America, come to Cali... Now I'm off to collect my cheque from the California Tourist Board..

Day Eighty Six: A Change Of Plans... 02/01/09

We woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain pounding down on the roof of the RV, so we just rolled over and went back to sleep for another while. As I mentioned yesterday, our original plan, was to once again catch the ferry into the city, but we decided it wouldn't be worth our while on account of the weather. When we did eventually get out of bed, we instead did what we had planned to do on Saturday. One of the terms of the contract we signed as we were picking up the RV way back in October, was that it must be returned with a full tank of gas, as well as having received a full oil change etc. So some time after midday, we drove to Camping World which was about 45 minutes away, and fulfilled the obligations of our contract. As we were driving back to the RV park, we realised that the weather had turned full circle, and it was now a beautiful Californian day. We took advantage of this, and decided we'd make tracks for the Golden Gate Bridge. It was only about eight miles from where we were, and as it came into view, it was a truly awesome sight indeed. So we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, and when we got to the other side, we pulled into a car park to see if we could find a place to take photos. We soon realised however, that this was a car park we most definitely should not have been in. When we got to the back of car park we were faced with an underpass with a clearance of only 11ft. The RV being 12ft in height, we had a problem!! The situation rapidly grew worse when we tried to reverse, and there was a seemingly never ending stream of Asian tourists making use of the pedestrian crossing immediately behind us. On top of all that, the traffic was also quickly building up... It was one of those "Sweet mother of crap, what do we do now?!" sort of moments. Thankfully it was only a matter of minutes before our rescuers arrived, in the form of, not one, not two... but three police cars!! The police soon took control of the situation.. One moving the traffic back, one keeping the tourists well clear, and the other directing us out of the tight spot we found ourselves in. Needless to say, the police, along with the tourists, had a very good laugh at our expense!! In fairness, it was bloody hilarious... The whole thing was recorded on video, so I'm sure Aidan will include it in the final video blog. At this point, we reckoned it would probably be a good idea if we just drove back to base, so as not to get ourselves in any more bother. That's exactly what we did, and we got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge for the second time in the space of 20 minutes. What we did get to see, was really too amazing for words. There is just something very special about San Francisco, and indeed California in general. It's just so nice over here... The forecast for tomorrow gives clear blue skies all day, so we'll get up early and catch the ferry back into the city. It will be the final excursion of this trip, as Sunday will be given up for packing and cleaning.

Day Eighty Five: A Lazy New Years Day In San Francisco... 01/01/09

We made no plans for the first day of the new year, so we had a bit of a sleep-in today. We haven't done any food shopping for the last week or so, because we've been trying to use up what we had left in the cupboards before we leave. Much to our dismay however, when we went to prepare breakfast this morning, we discovered there wasn't much left at all, bar a few mouldy spuds and sprouts from Christmas... Not the most appealing of breakfasts, you might agree... After a quick check on the Internet, we entered some co-ordinates into the GPS, and set out on foot to the local Chinese restaurant. Yeah alright... Chinese food for breakfast, probably wouldn't be very appealing to most people either, but it certainly hit the spot nicely. We spent the rest of the day, doing what we'd probably be doing on New Years Day if we had been back home... absolutely nothing. We'll get up early tomorrow and make our way back into the city. We've plenty more we want to do and see...

Day Eighty Four: The Last Day Of 2008... 31/12/08

Here it is... December 31st 2008. If you'd asked any of us a year ago.. Where do you think you will bring in 2009? I don't think any of us would have said, San Francisco California, but it's a funny old world isn't it... Well, San Francisco is where we are, and today, San Francisco is what we went to see. We left the park early and made our way over to the ferry terminal. We were met at the gates by a friendly gentleman, who to a certain degree, reminded me of Morgan Freeman. He was a neatly dressed and well spoken sort of fellow. When Aidan and Ronan, who were a few paces ahead of myself and Brian, were approached by him and offered free return tickets for the Ferry, they give him the cold shoulder, thinking he was just another "bum". It was obvious to Brian and I, that his intentions were indeed genuine... He explained to us, that he had these extra tickets which expired at the end of the day, and he didn't want any money or anything in return. We gratefully accepted them, and parted company exchanging New Years greetings. Even when Aidan was brandishing his credit card at the ticket booth, and he gave them a second chance to avail of his generosity, they once again ignored him. Suckers!! The tickets worked a treat, and Aidan was left kicking himself having just forked out $14 for something that he could have got for free. (If you know Aidan you can imagine his reaction... Hilarious!) We boarded the ferry for the forty minute journey to the far side of the bay. Unfortunately, we had to endure the famous San Francisco fog, which made for poor visibility. While we were unable to see the Golden Gate bridge, we did enjoy a somewhat obscured view, of Alcatraz itself. An eerie sight through the dense fog... The ferry docked and we disembarked, setting out on a walking tour of San Francisco. We are here for a few days and so have plenty of time to explore this wonderful city more extensively. Today however, we just dandered about and did a bit of shopping.. (Yes Roisin, Aidan did go to Abercombie and Fitch). We also went to Chinatown on one of the iconic San Francisco Trolleys. A very unique way to travel, I have to say... We made the return journey on the ferry just before dark, and settled down in the RV with a few civilised beers to bring in the New Year. We may have been 8 hours behind everybody back home with our celebrations, but lets hope it brings happiness and joy to all. Happy New Year everybody...
(More Photos to come by the way).