So... What Are You Waiting For? Carpe Diem - Live the Dream

I'm so confused that it's already been a week since we left NZ. So much has happened in the last 7 days!! Because its been so full on and I haven't yet had the chance to sit down and have a one-on-one with my blog I'll attempt to briefly recap some of the adventures from the past week. As it stands I've just finished sitting through an arduous (yet mildly entertaining) 4 hour orientation at work and am now sitting cosy in front of the fireplace looking outside at what is quite possibly the most stunning place in the world - Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe. What started off this morning as a bit of 'clear snow' (a.k.a rain) has just in the past half hour morphed into the big, white, flakey stuff - HALLELUJAH! Tom (the cool kid who already has his season pass) is currently outside shredding some gnar, so I figured while I wait for him to come in and make me all jealous, I'll do some catching up.

SO... highlights so far:

• The flight - Oh. My. God. Ok, well it wasn't that bad, in fact I managed to sleep through about half of it which is a record breaker for me, however, the OMG bit refers to the little incident in which the plane randomly fell a few hundred feet, lifting everyone out of their seats and waking everyone up from their mid-flight sleep. Needless to say, the sudden sensation where your stomach drops and you feel the G-Force of the plane plummeting to the earth immediately reduced me to a frenzy of panic and tears. I have never been so shocked and afraid in all my life. Dramatic I know, but for a split moment there I honestly thought I was about to die lol! Far out. But seriously, worst turbulence of my LIFE.

• First Impressions - We got off to a rocky start when we first arrived in San Francisco. Unfortunately first impressions last, and incident after incident I encountered the unfriendliest, rudest most obnoxious people I have ever dealt with. Additional to that were the hustlers and bums which stalk every corner of every block and have no problem harassing you for money, food, drugs (or, in Tom's case, to buy some useless item off them, but that's a whole other story). Even the bell boy at our hotel stalked and harassed us for some kind of hook-ups in Tahoe. Being at a certain end of Market street probably didn't help... crazy to think that just a block's distance makes all the difference. All-in-all San Fran was filled with too many dodgy people and too much dodgy stuff.

• Getting around - A definite highlight. Tom and I each hauled around 3 bags each (hand luggage, board bag and suitcase). Now when you take into account all the heavy crap we had in our bags it works out to be about 45kg for all our 3 bags of luggage combined...so 45kg each. We walked like packed Donkeys in the pouring rain from the airport, onto the train (BART), up multiple flights of stairs, past a couple of blocks through the city, to our hotel and then further into the city for our out-bound trip at 6am surrounded by homeless people and other dodgy city folk...all the while it absolutely poured with rain. That's what I call hard work. Wishing I had hit the gym before I left NZ and got myself an umbrella. Fun times.

• The Renoir Hotel - Quite possibly the most homosexual hotel I have ever stayed at. I'm talking, full on GAYBO. Let me just get this straight, I have absolutely nothing wrong with gay people... let's just say a few things caught me by surprise. Now we all know that San Francisco is the gay capital of the world, but you don't understand how gay until you go there. I need to upload photo's of the hotel brochure as an example. Let me just quote the first sentence: "I left my heart in San Francisco...for how many gay men and women has this song come true? Enjoy the views of the annual San Francisco Pride Parade from our Market Street rooms and suites!" You really need to see the photo's of all the gay pride/man-on-man action in it. Let's just call it a bit of culture!...

• Alcatraz - Best known as one of the world's most legendary prisons, Alcatraz is a 'must see' for anyone going to SF. Once home to some of America's most notorious crims, the federal penitentiary that operated here from 1934-1963 brings a dark kind of mystique to the Rock. We took an audio tour of the prison and everything else that was to be explored about the islands dark history. Civil war-era buildings which dot the island give an insight into the 19th century when the island once served as both a harbour defence fort and a military prison. This haunted place is ironically, in its own right, stunning. Thankfully we had incredible weather this day too :)

• Fisherman's Wharf - Pier 39 and Fishermans wharf reminded me a little bit of Santa Monica but with way more shops and things to do and see. We came across the funniest and most talented street performers, and finally for the first time experienced the goodness of 'In and Out Burger'. There was so much to see and do we hardly got round to doing it all but will make an effort to go back when we fly back to NZ.  

Snow's here, gotta bounce!