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Originally Posted by WiSK
(Post 37043430)
What I don't quite understand - if you get stopped by law enforcement in the US - is it enough to show the Avis printout in terms of registration / insurance? I should have asked at the desk but I was anxious to get on the road.
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Originally Posted by Silver Fox
(Post 37043807)
Yes. And even when I have been stopped and it has not had a copy of the registration (some did, some didn't) once you explain it is a rental and show them all the paperwork which shows ownership (albeit temporary) and insurance.
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Saturday evening I will be in SFO as well.
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Originally Posted by WiSK
(Post 37043876)
Cool good, thanks for the reassurance.
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Originally Posted by BMarkus
(Post 37044300)
Saturday evening I will be in SFO as well.
Originally Posted by guv1976
(Post 37044426)
(I'm guessing that a BAH booking includes liability insurance.) Does your rental contract reflect that liability insurance is included? If not, and you are stopped by law enforcement, you might have to request that they call Avis for confirmation of the liability insurance.
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Originally Posted by WiSK
(Post 37044777)
Ah, still ahead of you, we are leaving for Monterey in the morning. We plan to reach LA by Sunday.
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I had set the alarm for 6am this morning. Although I was awake long before that, my daughter needed all of those hours.
Once showered and dressed we decided to stop by the local Starbucks. Not a chain I regularly frequent, so I foolishly assumed a $6 bacon egg sandwich would be fairly substantial. It wasn't. Then we headed to the 7-eleven where a more adequate $8 ham, salami, pepperoni and provolone sub was to be found. Then we took the F car a couple of stops to Embarcadero and Bay St. Across the road is Pier 33 and the ferry to Alcatraz. Young lady was initially skeptical about this chapter of the adventure but I urged her to keep an open mind. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2d925c66e5.jpg Farewell F car, we will see you later. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e459a415b6.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f4c65b8835.jpg Smaller than I recall... https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8b629d1c33.jpg Bait and switch, our actual ferry was a much uglier model. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cadb17d571.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...743041f113.jpg Getting larger... https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...43ecdc4bb9.jpg Here we are, back to its original size. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6a65972b6d.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...acf56b93ed.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...18ffdd93ab.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1a315c39af.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9f7d7a72bb.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9d6e78ee5d.jpg Lighthouse. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3911c4d4a8.jpg Parade ground. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...920fab2170.jpg Gardens, kept mostly by volunteers. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d799e96aa3.jpg I hadn't realised that Native Americans reclaimed Alcatraz back in the sixties. Then on to the audio tour inside the cell block. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5fd8ac8404.jpg A different kind of check-in experience. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a157adb5eb.jpg Nine foot by five foot. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0a99543fb7.jpg Broadway. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...81a8bf9d8a.jpg Where Red did people's taxes. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f0b62c4e42.jpg Not Michelin rated. I really enjoyed the audio tour and to my surprise, so did my daughter. In the gift shop she wanted a book about the inmates. We had a great time on the island but soon it was time to return. |
Originally Posted by WiSK
(Post 37044777)
Thank you for the clarification. Yes the full terms of my BAH agreement include TPL - third party liability insurance. Good that I printed it out.
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After disembarkation, we headed up to Pier 39. This is the most touristy spot of the Wharf. My daughter wanted to go into every shop. Especially the chocolate place and the bubble perfume emporium. The salesman in the latter was very enthusiastic and asked about our lunch plans and I showed him on yelp where we were headed. He said he'd never heard of it and thanked us for introducing it to him. More on that later, first some photo spam.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...69bd7e69ff.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...045d668ea3.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a527838587.jpg My daughter has never seen Forrest Gump so didn't understand the reference. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7ab034367a.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3e65201ea2.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e6d5e9f010.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...936862a1d3.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a8c3ac1834.jpg They had free samples inside and I learned that scorpion chillies are just a smidgen over my pain threshold. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...feb702ce53.jpg |
Onward to lunch at XICA. This is an authentic Mexican restaurant run by Maria and Ignacio Perez. They started out twelve years ago in Oakland selling street food and have built up their business to now have a great location in Battery St just off the Embarcadero. Why did we want to eat here? Because the whole kitchen is gluten free, including a great selection of GF beers. The staff are really friendly and chatty, so we felt at home immediately.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...84422c68bf.jpg A tamarind soda and a GF IPA, brewed locally in Alemeda. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a99483443c.jpg I forgot to take photos of the restaurant itself, but here is the view from the outside seating. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...429935a53d.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e733fcef2e.jpg Ground steak rolled tacos. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2e6864441f.jpg Pollo frito. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...70883db39d.jpg Chicken wings Elote style. My daughter was over awed with the food and said it was the best thing ever. Why can't we have something like this in the Netherlands? When we were done, I asked one of the staff semi-seriously if they had considered franchise opportunities. She sent Ignacio out to speak with me. I mentioned my son is a chef. How long would it take to train him? Well he said six months for the technical skills and the processes, but to understand the Mexican cuisine mindset, it may take many years! Really a fantastic experience and highly recommend anyone with coeliac disease or other allergies to come and eat here. |
From the Embarcadero we took the F car to see Union Square.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e735aa831d.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fd815febd8.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...57e616fac2.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9e9c09f858.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6716e59cad.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc0df79e95.jpg Union Square. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...580306c2ed.jpg I read recently that Saks is going to close. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...386d06d696.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...26164895e3.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...12c265cc4b.jpg Police pulled over a delivery cyclist. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ac2d753a9e.jpg Powell and Hyde cable car. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8379c76679.jpg We rode the cable car all the way back to Bay St, the turnaround is two blocks from our hotel. I very much enjoyed sitting next to the car operator. It's a skilled job to pick up and let go of the cable at the right moments. He has to maintain momentum and know when to drop when the cables overlap at junctions. He and the conductor were very welcoming to all passengers. Not to mention that it's just a fun ride, up and down the hills, with the open sides. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8340c13ebb.jpg |
Now starts the road trip proper.
Here is the Mustang. We kept the lid on today as the clouds were looking threatening. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...577c97c40d.jpg Noisy thing. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...73e5f72a8c.jpg Glorious. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...311e928421.jpg Golden. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...902d465b24.jpg Gate. First impressions of Route 1: it's very changeable. Some places it's 3 lanes wide with frequent merging with other highways. Other times it's single carriageway with hardly any other traffic. We drove past Half Moon Bay and Davenport on our way to Santa Cruz. There we stopped for some lunch. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4877f6027d.jpg Santa Cruz board walk. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...740d63908a.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cf8e7e43c7.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...80d234eba6.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...02e730c9c1.jpg |
Although the clouds look menacing in the photos above, there were only a few drops of rain all day. We had lunch in Santa Cruz and then headed onwards.
Traffic was very heavy until we passed Aptos. Then it was plain sailing until Monterey. We are staying at the Marriott here and it is much nicer than in San Francisco. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...38ea816e93.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...82ba57c639.jpg Spacious room. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...df6c7f7dca.jpg Sink and little area for making coffee. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...144732b494.jpg Cute little tub. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...30237bd7fa.jpg View of the bay. We headed out, hoping to be in time to visit the aquarium. Turns out it's a bit of a walk. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a033c8f7be.jpg Alvarado st. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...607741e55c.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d521a87d02.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ce682641e7.jpg Old fisherman's wharf. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6c240117c9.jpg Something about Italians? https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5f4b9f5711.jpg Not many seals today. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aaa290e5a7.jpg |
We headed on towards Cannery Row. There is a walkway shared by pedestrians and cyclists. Recent innovations mean that there are tourist families slowly meandering along, mixed with speeding fatbike users in a not entirely safe situation. To further complicate matters, there was some kind of mass jogging event happening that evening, so plenty of groups of runners also using the path.
After a good 20 minutes we reached the Row. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c0550bc300.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...89427c5a4e.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...efb5b57086.jpg No longer the industrial zone from Steinbeck's story. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fc341722a2.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b5317abe43.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...62007af3f5.jpg We enjoyed some retail therapy and a bite to eat, but unfortunately we were too late for the aquarium. We had to make do with this train carriage instead. In retrospect I should have planned two nights here. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...08a58709de.jpg Heading back, there was a dog walking group ahead of us, to add to the congestion on the walkway. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a505fcec08.jpg Another night might have also allowed us to enjoy Iris DeMent. We were still a bit peckish, so checking FindMeGlutenFree app we visited Nacho Bizness. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9e7d62cb5a.jpg Delicious! |
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