We probably hadn’t planned this particularly well, but today is Memorial Day in the USA meaning that there are way more people on the roads and out and about than there would have been, but more on that in a minute.
We managed to get up at a better time this morning as we’d had a good, restful sleep without any wind or rain. Müfit and Leland spent some time securing the steps using tie downs we had picked up yesterday. Müfit thought he was buying the ratchet type of tie-down when in fact he hadn’t, so I wasn’t convinced they would hold with all the shaking around we’re subjected to each day on the highways.
Anyway, Sarah (that’s Orhan’s Sarah) had recommended a place to go for breakfast. We thought it was a good idea to have a filling breakfast and then just have a few snacks later on if needed so that we could travel for longer and not worry about stopping. The little diner was right by the entrance to the freeway, so we drove Al there, left the dogs inside, and enjoyed a final meal with Orhan and Sarah. It was good to see that the straps on the steps were still as tight as they had been, so we were confident that they were going to hold, so after breakfast and a few group photos, we set off again.
We travelled west towards San Francisco, with the plan to approach it from the Marin Headlands side so that we could drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco had been one of the highlights of my trip to California in 1989 with mum, dad, Mark, nan and grandad, so I was looking forward to seeing it again. Originally we had hoped to stay in the San Fran area and do some sightseeing, but having looked into it we realised it wasn’t possible with the RV and the dogs, so we’d have to settle for driving through instead.
It was a slow journey as there was a lot of traffic – added to because it was Memorial Day. Driving across a wetland area before getting to the Headlands we ran into a very long line of traffic that moved slowly for about 20 minutes, then suddenly got going. At the point where it got going, there was a bird – some kind of hawk, I think – hovering above the side of the road. It was really cool to see but really annoying too, as we figured that it was this bird that had been holding up the traffic for so long!
Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge we were looking for the pull-in and car parking area where you can park to spend time looking at the bridge. First off, it wasn’t at all clear where you had to turn – there were no signs saying ‘viewing area’ or anything like that, but luckily we could see far enough ahead with being so high up in Al, that we knew we had to get off the highway at a certain point. And here is where the chaos began. We needed to turn left to go to the parking area but it was blocked off so nobody could turn left. This forced us to go right. If we’d been in a car we could have turned around almost immediately but in a 32′ RV, this wasn’t possible. So we had to continue down a narrow road, through a short narrow tunnel, down a still narrow road that got steeper and steeper and led us into Sausalito. Under any other circumstances we might have been happy to end up here as it looked like a lovely place, but it wasn’t the place for our huge RV.
Knowing that the turning circle in Al is actually pretty good considering his size, I was able to turn into a road and turn us around in just a couple of moves, but then it was back up the steep, narrow road, through the narrow tunnel, and join the end of a long line of cars.
We crawled along for some time until eventually the entrance into the parking area was in sight. At this point, Müfit and the kids got out to take a look at the car park to see if we had any chance of getting into it. They came back and reported that it’s a very small area that was jam packed, but we should try anyway. I told the three of them to go with cameras and at least spend some time enjoying the views of the bridge, water and city skyline, while I edged my way down another steep road into the parking lot, telling them not to be too long as I might need help.
It was probably a good half hour before I eventually got down into the parking area, still behind a lot of cars that were waiting for spaces to become available. I had realised before this that I really had no chance of parking (there just wasn’t enough space for anything of Al’s size), so my only hope was to turn around. Müfit and the kids came back, after spending much longer than I had wanted them to – apparently I was in Müfit’s line of sight the entire time so he wasn’t panicking; shame I didn’t know this!
I turned Al around in another tight spot (I seem to be pretty good at doing this!) and we drove back up the steep hill to the highway, and onto the Golden Gate Bridge. Well, at least we all got to drive over one of the world’s most iconic landmarks! We now have to figure out how to pay the toll because it’s not at all obvious. Müfit’s plan is to wait until he gets a bill for it whereas I’d rather look it up and pay the toll now than having a big fine to pay by not doing anything!
I was pretty sad that I didn’t have the chance to get out and enjoy the views for a few minutes at least. Müfit told me later that if I’d said, he could have stayed/driven Al and given me some time outside, but Müfit is yet to drive Al, and considering the circumstances, I didn’t think it was the best time to start.
We then drove through San Francisco, staying on the main roads so that we avoided any freakily steep streets. Unfortunately we couldn’t see too much from the main road, but the kids got a taste of San Fran at least.
We continued on, hitting the coastal road – Highway 1 – down to Santa Cruz, and found our campground (that we booked back in February) at the Brighton Beach State Park. It’s a nice park that’s set up above the beach, which is accessible via a number of steps. After a late dinner (a cooked chicken that we had bought a little earlier at Safeway), we went for a walk to the beach. The dogs were allowed there on leash, which was nice, though we always prefer to have the option of letting them off as they’re used to running free. The waves crashing on the shore were incredibly loud and powerful, and we could hear them from Al through the night.
Bolgil Family Adventures 