In October and November 2006 I was lucky enough to go to the USA for work, so I took the opportunity to travel around while I was there. My travel emails were well received back home, so I’m posting them here for all to enjoy.
Original Date: 15 November 2006
Hey all,
Contrary to what the NY weather people said, today has been an amazing day. Clear blue skies, slight breeze, and about 20 degrees C.
Perfect!
So perfect, I decided to hire a bike and go for a ride around San Francisco. I rode from Fisherman’s Wharf, around and across the Golden Gate bridge, then all the way back again. The Golden Gate is really, really, impressive. Pictures really don’t do it justice, as half the impact comes from it’s setting (rocky coastline) and the way you gradually see more and more of it as you approach, but trust me when I say the exertion of riding was worth it.
As for the rest of San Francisco, it’s actually has more hills than I expected - and I expected lots of hills. Some of the hills are so steep the footpath is a flight of stairs! I rode the cable cars down to the “main” area, and had a look around, but I was a little tired after my biking adventures so I didn’t stay for long.
The homeless people here are a little overwhelming, especially in the downtown areas. Think at least one per street corner, and another
in-between corners, all with their cups out asking for money. Then there’s the others that just shuffle around looking all homeless-like. I keep feeling like I should be all sympathetic and helpful, but I just found myself annoyed instead.
Anyway, I’m off to relax for a while and let my poor legs recover a little. 
Take care,
Craig
For a lot more photos from the trip, have a look at my Flickr set. I’ve geotagged them, so the map is pretty interesting too!
1 comment so far ↓
Hey Mate,
Just stumbled across your website, read the whole hog on HECS and can say I’m very impressed by the debate you managed to start and sustain.
The San Francisco comment is what really got me thinking though. The homeless people in SF really are overwhelming, my gf at the time began to really hate the city for that reason alone. They were even pushy too, wouldn’t accept no for an answer. I believe on one occasion i decided to offload some change and they had the guts to tell me they didn’t think I had given them enough.
That aside though, outside the center of town, it was a really great city, and the ride across the golden gate bridge was astounding.
-Phil
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