Hello, Summer

On the afternoon of July 24, we leave San Francisco's cloud cover and are plunged instantly into the heat of Summer.

Our first few moments in the Sun are glorious; we happily shed fleece jackets while we drive southward on the US-101.

But it's not long before things start getting too warm. To make matters worse, our car's air-conditioning system seems to be malfunctioning, so it only circulates air at ambient temperature.


It is about 3pm by the time we reach our destination, the Pinnacles National Monument campgrounds. The area is hot and dry, and shade is scarce.

In fact, our allotted campsite is in direct sunlight, with not even an overhanging leaf to save us from the Sun's glare. Fortunately, the Pinnacles seems to be one of the few Government-managed campgrounds that isn't fully booked for the weekend, so we are able to transfer to a leafier area.

Compared to other U.S. recreational camping areas, those at the Pinnacles are unimpressive. Its best feature by far is a small, cool, free-to-use swimming pool which we routinely visit every morning of our three-night stay.

By Monday, we are more than ready to leave sunny California. Heading northward in our uncomfortably warm car, we cross our fingers in hopes of cooler days in Oregon.

Life in a cloud

Our month in San Francisco is spent soaking up city life at its best: brunches at trendy Fillmore cafes; sushi, Mexican and Thai dinners; functional public transportation ... and high-speed Internet.

We sublet a studio apartment in Lower Pacific Heights. The centrally located studio affords us room to sleep, but little else. It's quite a change from spacious suburban living in Las Vegas, and it takes us awhile to get used to sleeping through traffic noises and the constant sound of foghorns from the bay.


It's also cold, surprisingly so. Despite Summer's arrival elsewhere in the U.S., San Francisco is engulfed in a cloud within which temperatures hover in the low twenties (degrees Celsius, of course). After three weeks of shivering nighttime walks, I finally give in and retrieve my coat from a bag of clothes I'd packed away for next Winter.

Our San Francisco experiences are many and varied, so I'd best present them as a list of favourites:

Yelp - The remarkable Web site to which we owe the discovery of most good things in San Francisco. It lists restaurants and activities alongside user reviews, and is so well used by locals that stores physically advertise their Yelp ratings in attempts to attract walk-in customers.

The Grove, Fillmore - A funky cafe that served up good ice-blended coffee, a hearty chicken pot pie, and the BEST apple pie I've ever tasted!


Sundance Kabuki Cinemas - With rocking armchairs, fresh buttered popcorn, a restaurant and an over-21 balcony theatre (complete with cocktail bar), the Sundance Kabuki takes movie-watching to new heights. We visit weekly ... at least.

Napa Valley Wine Train - Navigating several vineyards to sample random wines isn't really our thing. So we have dinner on the Wine Train instead, have a bottle of Napa Valley Pinot Noir with our four-course meal, and see the sights from the comfort of an old-style train cabin.

Free outdoor San Francisco Symphony concert - Much like Sydney's Symphony in the Domain, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra attracts a vibrant crowd to its free concert on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The concert takes place in the rather male-dominated Dolores Park, and features music by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Brahms.


Fourth of July at the Presidio - We falsely assume that the Golden Gate bridge is San Francisco's Sydney Harbour Bridge equivalent, and make our way to the Presidio for dinner and what we assume to be the best view of the fireworks. As it turns out, the pyrotechnics take place in North Beach. We catch a distant view with our dessert.

Brunch at Wing Lee - Super cheap and extremely tasty, Wing Lee in the Richmond is Yum Cha at its best. We order 4 pork buns, 3 shrimp dumplings, 2 huge spring rolls, 2 pork turnovers and 2 cans of diet coke for just over $10. Mmm!