San Francisco

Upon Raven's recommendation, we left the car in the ferry parking lot and sailed into San Francisco via Oakland/Alameda Ferry. I feel better today - not so foggy. However, there was fog over the Golden Gate bridge when we first headed out which I hear is pretty common. We could see bits of the red frame peeking through beyond the Bay Bridge. The bay was choppy and alive with sailboats and these red-orange speed boats for the thrill seekers riding the waves.

The plan was to grab something for lunch, check out Piers 39 & 41, and take a cable car ride through the Streets of San Francisco - one of my favorite 70s cop shows. I was excited to see Nob Hill and hear the ring-a-ding of the trolleys. The ride was so worth it, totally living up to my expectations. I would have grabbed the side rail and hung off the car as it climbed the steep hills. but they wouldn't let me. It was invigorating to be in a big city again...I would love to go back and spend several days there.

The ferry ride back to the car allowed several beautiful vews of the Golden Gate - a perfect ending!

Leaving the Oakland area, delays in finding a rest room led to a bigger delay. I was so excited to finally see a Starbucks and place to freshen up that I pulled into parking lot prematurely jostling into a parking space. Jose and I got out to inspect the tire which resembled a sudden blister on a pinched finger.

It was Sunday around 7:00 p.m. and the auto shops were closed already. so we had to stop for the night in Livermore. Luckily, the tire was still inflated enough to transport us to one of the group of hotels right next door.

Getting in so early provided a great opportunity for me to catch up on the blog and get a good night's sleep. we were up at 7:00 a.m. and found a WalMart's tire center, and they had us back on the road by 9:00. By the way, while waiting for the new tire to be installed, I became well informed of the many hazardous conditions in the life of a car tire. Mine was aptly called - pinch shock! THINGS TO AVOID: potholes and curbs! RECOMMENDATIONS: get a new tire and remove the old one from service. Hysterical!!