California (yes the USA)

We arrived from Ottawa to a significant lift in temperatures (99F or nearly 40C). We picked up a hire car and drove to our time share unit at Windsor in Sonoma country. This took longer than the expected 1.5 hours as San Francisco people clearly take an early mark on Friday afternoon and the traffic was very slow even at 14:30. As it continued at 40C we had a catch up day (blog writing etc) and then on Sunday drove into SF. Mind you we did not expect the change in temperature down to 17C. We had seen an article on the Californian Science Museum and had this near the top of the list for a 1 -2 hour visit. So much for our planning – it was so interesting that we left when the doors closed.
There were many great exhibits that we both enjoyed but the planetarium at the end of the day is a must see for any visitor. The 6 digital cameras have you flying out through the roof, hovering around the centre and then traveling out around the globe, moon, solar system, milky way and then other galaxies. The effects were so good I thought I experienced G forces as we swept through the skies. Just brilliant.

A wine tour was also a must as we were in the Californian wine area of Sonoma and Napa Valley. We went to four “ranches” (vineyard is much more romantic). The one at Battaglini was a small “Estate” winery (ie all they do occurs on their land – no imported grapes). The winemaker (Giuseppe "Joe" Battaglini) had some friction samples on display (for roads) and it turned out he was a civil engineer in a previous life which added a new dimension to the conversation.

He also had some very old vines (over 100 years). Not large grape producers but great history and flavour. The density of the grape bunches was really surprising. This is some of his Petite Syrah (or Durif as we know it). Apparently Syrah (Shiraz) was grafted with the Peloursin grape by Dr Durif in Southern France in the late 1800s.

We also had an interesting tasting in the middle of a field of a small specialist white winemaker. (They make reds in the Italian vineyard on Lake Como.) We succumbed to joining this club and receive some of their very limited bottle production. We came to the conclusion that the area produced excellent whites but we were less enthusiastic about the reds.

We were given a couple of German crystal glasses that I can now report have arrived safely back in Australia. We also now have an excuse to visit Northern Italy again. The Sauvignon Blanc and ‘1470’ Chardonnay were excellent.

The following day we opted for another trip to SF and started with a tour of Alcatrez.

The audio tour was narrated by both guards and inmates. The inmate Darwin Coon (bottom right) was actually in the prison when we left having written a book which he was signing. (Looked a bit different from this ‘photo.)

No escapes were apparently successful although there is a question over 3 escapees who (using spoons) slowly removed the grates from their cells and then climbed up onto the roof via the services gallery. It is unknown how they left the island but as the strong currents/cold water and sharks in the bay would make a swim a challenge it may be that they all drowned. Apparently nothing has ever been heard of the three (other than in a Clint Eastwood movie!).

A few inmates were quite well known. On the left is Capone (jailed for tax evasion – couldn’t get him on anything else). Apparently a fit and threatening character who slowly lost his mind as a result of Syphilis. Not the type you want your daughters to bring home.

The guards and some of the families lived on the island (and commuted regularly to SF) and developed some lovely gardens.

These and the view of the city were particularly difficult for the inmates. A free society only a couple of kilometres away.

The prison was shut in 1963 and later was the subject of an unsuccessful land claim by the native Indians. Now it thrives on a million tourists a year and is a wild life sanctuary.

Choosing where to eat wais a challenge. On our first trip we ate at pier 39 where Helen had some great halibut. The seals in this area are a huge attraction. They are certainly get up to some bizarre antics when they are in such numbers.

We also drove down “the crookedest street in the world”.

And of course had to enjoy a cable street car ride.

Looking over the bay from the street car with Alcatrez dominating the middle distance.

At the end of the week we took in some of the forests, starting with the oldest petrified forest in the world at 3.5 million years. Robert Louis Stevens visited in the early 1900s and was rewarded with one of the trees being named after him. Amazing history of a volcano eruption (near St Helen’s) knocking huge redwoods over, then being buried by ash, the timber slowly rotting and being replaced (at the microscopic level) by silica, then finally the ground being worn away exposing the petrified trees.

After the petrified trees we went to see one of the last stands of natural redwoods on the Californian coast. Some of the statistics are staggering – over 100 metres tall (tallest living thing on earth) 6 metres diameter. Their size makes it difficult to capture on a picture but…..

On the way to the airport we stopped in at Sausalito for an ice cream and final view of the city. A wonderful warm day with a small jazz band playing outside the nearby bar underscored our need to come back to SF and was a great way to end the holiday.

That and a view of the Golden Gate bridge.

So how to summarise such a varied trip? Awesome? Brilliant? Really a summary is not possible – but we are looking forward to doing some more tripping in 2010.