And My Special Guest Is . . .

. . . My dear friend Becci!

We were chatting on the phone on Friday night . . .

Becci: I'm so happy I have a completely free weekend.
Dalene: Really? Then you should come join me in San Francisco.
Becci: Well, my daughter is at her grandmother's all weekend . . .
Dalene: And I've got frequent flier miles to get you a ticket.
Becci: Seriously?
Dalene: You ask your husband if he minds and I'll check on flights.

So I drove up from Cambria and she flew in from Portland and by noon we were in San Francisco together!

We decided to travel light and hoof it around the city today, so I didn't bring my camera, but I do have the following pictures from my trip up the coast earlier today.

Elephant seals and harbor seals at Point Piedras Blancas:

Climbing up through the fog on Highway 1 heading toward Big Sur:

Above the fog just after sunrise:

Fog rolling up the mountainside:

Point Sur (the lighthouse is barely visible as a blip on the right side of the rock):

And fog lifting off the ocean just before coming into Big Sur:

Beyond there, I was fixed on getting to the airport in time to pick up Becci, so I'm afraid you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for some fresh shots from around SF - my favorite US city!  We did make the most of our first day here, however.

We made our way to our hotel (the Tuscan Inn near Fisherman's Wharf), stowed the car, then headed off to get tickets for the sightseeing bus tour (for those of you who came down for my birthday - yes, the same one, and yes, we had Fiona as our guide).

We grabbed a quick bite at In-N-Out (because you must when in California, right?).  Wasted a few minutes watching the cable-car turnaround (I didn't realize they do it manually until today), then hopped on the bus. 

It was VERY foggy today, so without risk of sunburn, we rode on the top (brrrrrr).  In fact, it was so foggy, we couldn't even see Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge or even Coit Tower!

We hopped off when we got to Chinatown, grabbed a couple warm beverages, then toured the entire length of Grant Street (well, the part with Chinese shops, anyway).

Next we hiked over to Union Square and watched the ice skaters (we even cheered a few on, as they hung out at the rail on our side of the rink).  We visited a few shops, and when we recovered from sticker shock, decided to go in search of dinner.

We landed at a cute little Italian place on Kearny where we met a gent from Australia dining at the table next to us.  Brian ended up sharing his pizza and a few stories with us, which was great fun - as he departed he gave us his business card and a hat pin from Australia - very nice!

It was pretty dark, we were stuffed and decided to head back to Union Square to hail a cab.  Another adventure, as our driver had no shortage of commentary about the state of taxi affairs in San Francisco - it was entertaining and a safe and warm journey back to our hotel (thanks, John!).