Welcome to the USA?🛫🛬

My introduction to the USA was not a good one.

Especially to the mythical hippie city of LOVE, San Francisco. 

After a 13+ hour flight from Brisbane to San Fransico we were held up in customs for another 3+ hours, with not one reason why from the "friendly staff" at the airport. 

Our plane from Brisbane to San Francisco in Brisbane

There were a lot of Aussies on my plane hoping to get connecting flights to other cities within a 2-hour+ window of landing in San Francisco. 

Most of them missed those flights and had to hang around the airport for up to 12 more hours to get another flight.

Most of them were footy fans heading to Vegas like we would be, but we were staying in San Francisco for a couple of days before heading to Vegas.

One Sharkie supporter went up to an Asian American guy at the gate and told him he had a connecting flight to catch to Vegas in 2 hours to which the guy replied, "not my problem".

 That Sharkie supporter got a message to his phone while we were still in the line that his plane had left.

From then on when we met people who didn't seem to care about us, we would use the catch phrase between us of "not my problem".

I thought that being Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks supporters that seeing the shark from 'Finding Nemo' in the hotel lobby was a good omen (Nemo spelled backwards is omen:-), but it wasn't.

Just turned out the hotel was run by sharks who stung us for an extra $75 to get our room earlier than our 2pm check in.

A sealion outside of our San Francisco hotel:-)

What Synchronicity Really Means? 👅😝

I wanted a shave and a shower so I would be refreshed for a trip to the Japanese tea gardens around lunch time, before walking across the Golden Gate Bridge and then heading off to the Last Rites cocktail bar with my son, because he wanted to see the first episode of 'Survivor' screen live there. 

I'm not a fan of 'Survivor', but I am a fan of drinking:-)

It was starting to feel like a game of 'Survivor' on our first day in America to me.

And let's not forget that this was still February 26th (Carpe Diem Day) and by the time I had left the bar and made it back to the hotel room I had been awake for over 36 hours -

Carpe Diem Day is February 26th? ⏰🛫⌛🌞🛬⏰

I think if it wasn't for our lunchtime visit to the Japanese tea gardens my mind wouldn't have calmed down like it did when I stepped through the gate to have some tea and a few fortune cookies -

There's Always SynchroniciTea: Signs Are Everywhere!? 🥠🍵🫖🧋🚏🚦👀👂

There's Always Tea: Signs Are Everywhere!

I loved this bridge in the gardens, and I even got up there to take a photo and nearly fell off into the water when stepping backwards and just managing to grab hold of the rail to steady myself.

You get a good view of the tearoom from the bridge, just watch your step when walking backwards on the bridge, or you could end up sleeping with the fishes:-) 

I highly recommend a trip to the Japanese tea gardens if you are ever in San Francisco.

I even saw the first live squirrel in my life in these gardens.

The squirrel is in the centre of the photo:-)

After we finished our visit to the Japanese tea gardens we went for a walk to the old windmill and saw these signs along the way.

We didn't see any thank God, but it was a rather nervous walk until we could get an Uber ride to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Windmills of My Mind

The first thing that caught my attention as I walked to the Golden Gate Bridge is that they had installed suicide prevention nets.

I remember watching a documentary last year called 'The Bridge' thinking it was going to be about the history of the bridge, but it was about people jumping of the bridge to end their life. 

The Bridge (2006)

So, it was a rather sombre walk out there recalling all those people who took or tried to take their own life by jumping from this bridge. 

Personally, I couldn't see those nets making much difference, as if you were serious enough you would just jump onto the net and then walk off the net and still die. 

I did get to touch the lowest point of the circular tube that goes right to the top of the bridge.

I liked how there was a dunny in the middle of the bridge and joked to my son that maybe it belonged to a time traveling doctor called Dr. Poo:-)

After our walk along the bridge, it was back to our hotel room and off to the Last Rites to watch 'Survivor' and remember why I hate that show.

The bouncer on the door asked me for ID, and I'm 60:-P

Last Rites

And to top the day off we caught a driverless car from Last Rites back to our hotel room.

And just as I was starting to like the city and its people, I had to run into the troll who guards the Coit Tower the next day ... but that's for another post.

There's No Place Like Home?🛫🏡🛬