California dreamin' , and a visit to the mid west.

[Blackadder]

The time has come for my annual escape to the US.
First stop will be San Francisco for 3 nights , then a road trip down Highway 1 (except for the area around Big Sur, which is still blocked by landslips) via Napa Valley,Monterey,San Luis Obispo, then inland and up into the mountains at Tehachapi and down to Irvine for a couple of days.
Then it's a AA flight to the tourist mecca of (checks notes...) err Cleveland via Chicago for a touring production of Back to the future the Musical , a road trip down to Cincinnati and into Northern Kentucky, for the flight back to Santa Ana via Dallas/Fort Worth.

 

[Blackadder]

First stop the QF J lounge , the good thing about being on the last QF flight a near empty lounge.
Lounge attendant was questioning how I was entering being a lowly PS travelling whY, a quick explanation of a complementary pass linked to my boarding pass was met with a jokingly “you’ve done your homework, well done.”
Opted for a small portion of the Beef and Potato cheese pie, it might be just me but seemed rather devoid of flavour.
Very tempted by the Chocolate cake , looked sooo good but trying to lose weight so that was a pass.

 

[Blackadder]

No issues with boarding, everyone seemingly adhering to the group calls.
Paid for exit row seating, when crossing the Pacific in whY, take whatever comforts you can get.
Seemingly a very full flight , so unfortunately no shadow.

 

[Blackadder]

No issues on the flight across the Pacific, just water all the way from leaving the Coast in Sydney, to arriving on the California Coast.
Usual spots for turbulence across the tropics, but nothing untoward.
FA crew in economy, were professional without necessarily standing out. Regular rounds for water etc.
Meal service based on Sydney time , instead of California time , so a late supper which I passed on , and a “brunch” prior to an evening arrival into SFO.
Arrived into SFO around 20mins ahead of schedule, but any thoughts of a quick disembarkation went out the window due to Aerobridge issues, which required engineer attendance.
Immigration was busy, but the line moved at a reasonable pace.
Due to the aforementioned aerobridge issues, and queue at immigration bags were already on the luggage carousel.

 

[Blackadder]

Driving around San Francisco the hills are like a roller coaster ride, it really is a bit disconcerting at first seeing a very steep drive up in front of you, or being at the top and see the road just drop away in front of you down the other side.
Today was the hop on/off bus , no specific place in plan where to get off but my cough going to sleep on the seat dictated that it would be at North vista point, which just happens to be a great photography spot on the Northern side of the Golden Gate Bridge .

 

[Blackadder]

Forgot to mention, staying at the Hilton Union square.
It was around 9.30pm when we arrived, after a bit of driving along highway 1, and dinner at a nice restaurant on Miramar Beach.
On arrival only 1 lady on the reception desk for general bookings, 1 for HH members.
Being tired and just waiting to check in , tried to check in online except the system decided to just hang and not issue me with a digital key so resigned myself to queuing up to get things sorted.
Went to tap my credit card for the room charges, money came out of bank account but for reasons that became apparent later , no response from the computers on their end just an endless loop of authorizing on the terminal all the while the checkin line behind me was growing.
After about 20mins, and the lady at the front desk on 3 different computers seeing if any would respond to my checkin it was discovered that because I tried to check in online , and that hanging on me it threw their checkin desk system out trying to checkin there.
The lady was most apologetic for the problem, and then the magic words “free upgrade” to make up for the problems with check in, and she would also remove the service fee for the stay.
End result King Cityview room 34th floor Tower 1.

 

[Blackadder]

Well a bit of a delay in the next chapter due to reasons explained later.
Firstly a great 3 days in San Francisco, like any major city it has it’s homelessness issues but never felt unsafe either walking around, driving or on the muni.
Of course a trip to the Rock (and back), always worth a visit. Then a Baseball game at arguably the best stadium in the country.