LA to San Francisco (Tuesday)

There are no trees between LA and San Francisco, well…not many anyway. I catch the bus to SF. It’s a cheap option and is an opportunity to see some of the countryside. Surprisingly it is largely treeless. The hills are brown and naked. The sky is without cloud and the valley we are driving through is full of agriculture. There are irrigation channels everywhere giving life to a wide range of crops and orchards and all that green is a colorful contrast to the brown surrounding hills. I didn’t expect this at all. Towns are few and far between. Those amazing freeways extend well beyond the city limits and even out here there are aerial roads as freeways cross over and combine with each other. Cement is king here!

I arrive in San Francisco at 5.30pm and taxi to hotel. The taxi driver is from Nigeria and has been here for 30 years. He loves San Francisco and has no trouble telling me all of the things I need to see.

After booking in I find a bar and the Guinness I’m tucking into is my first beer in America (the drugs I have been on wouldn’t allow it earlier!). I’m celebrating because I have just become a Great Uncle and no that isn’t some award for being special to my nephews and nieces. Nephew Dan and his wife Rebecca have just had a baby girl. My sister is a Grand Mother and Dad is now a Great Great Grandfather. Congratulations to all for this special life milestone. And my age-related insecurities are just fine!!!