Travel - 2016 USA - San Fran/Santa Barbara

Arrived the next day and got to the hostel. Luckily my bed was already free so I could drop my stuff and try get some sleep. Even though I was tired that wasn't happening so I went out for a walk.

Up past Coit Tower for a great view of the city and various piers before heading to pier 39 for some food and to look at the seals lazing about. Back to the Green Tortoise hostel for free dinner (was taste too!) before crashing.

Got to have a nice sleep in, as far as shared rooms go, before heading out to brunch with some good friends from home. Andrew and Anthony were over for their own holiday so it was nice to catch up. After brunch we went to the palace of fine arts for a walk before they had to head off to catch their flight.



On the walk home I went over a few more hills (San Fran is like going over mountain passes, so many hills!) and was able to also head down Lombard st which loozed pretty nice. They had a traffic control guy here full time and in the short span I was there he had to yell at 3 people to not just stop in the middle of the street and quite a few pedestrians to not stand on the road... bloody tourists...



For dinner I was able to catch up with another trail friend, Heman, and his partner. Sadly Zook had started a new job and wasn't able to make it into the city for Tuesday night drinks. 



Hired a car for the day to see some of the ot as close views of the city. Started the day by driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and hitting up the view areas. For the amount they charge for the toll (7.50 USD) you would think they could afford to build a few more carparks. There were heaps of cars backed up and people taking spots. Also didn't help that there was a wedding party for a photography session with lots of people. Eventually got a park and took the iconic picture before moving on.



After the bridge I continues onto Muor woods. Needed a little bit of nature... and less crows.  Well plenty of beautiful nature bur another parking lot at the start. Luckily most people were only on the short creek walk near the visitor center and as soon as I turned off onto the 11 mile loop I was almost alone. Only seeing a handful of people. 

Surrounded by giant trees and fresh air felt amazing. The redwoods here were truly massive trees. I think I might need to get new shoes though, these had a lot of miles on the PCT and have done quite a few since as well. I'm starting to feel that the soles have lost a lot of their support.



After getting rejuvenated it was time to head back to the city. Luckily I've been against the main flow of traffic and seeing how slow it 'flowed' the oposite direction made me very glad I was. Hostel was having a pub crawl that looked good but I was out early the next morning so opted for bed instead.

Awake before most people in the hostel except 24hr desk staff and 2 people getting breakfast ready to catch my connector bus. Luckily it was a short bus before getting onto a train. Takes a lot longer than a car, or flight, but leaps and bounds above the bus in terms of comfort. Train took most of the day but eventually I pulled into the Beautiful Santa Barbara. Just in time to see the sun set over the marina.

The next day I took the time to explore Santa Barbara a little more. Felt like a mini Gold Coast. Same kind of shop fronts with surf gear and jewellery stuff. Quite a lot of tourists meandering about too. 



I also stopped in to the dive shop Iwas renting gear from to get fitted. Took 3 wetsuits to find a decent one, trying on 7mm wetsuits in this heat isn't fun... Shop helper went to pack the regs in the bag and I pulled him up and asked if I could test them first. Regarding started to free flow after 1 breath... This is why you test gear before a trip... especially hire gear.
Gauge is in PSI but I think I'll manage 50% and 25% on the fly. I brought my computer so I can dive in meters and not feet. Diving in a jacket BCD is going to be interesting. So too will be the cold water...

A cruise ship came in and the area suddenly got a whole lot busier. Lots of tandem bikes and little cart things. Quite a few people also out on SUP boards and kyaks around Stearns wharf too. Looks warm and feels warm in the sun... I think underwater is going to be another matter... 

Boat departs at 1am in the morning (yeah... 1am) so I've checked out of the hostel, leaving most of my hiking gear in their lockup. I'll go pick up the hire gear soon and then begin a long wait until I can hop on the boat and hopefully sleep on the trip out to the Channel Islands. Let's go diving!!