Arriving in San Francisco

Bodega Bay, being on the coast is usually fogged in and that is what we discovered when waking up Friday morning.  Continental breakfast was moved up an hour so we could be on the road by 8:00.

It’s a special day for 3 of the group today – John VanderSteen is celebrating his 69^th birthday and Joe & Margaret are celebrating 44 years of marriage.  The attached photo shows the 3 – Margaret is standing closer to John but that’s only because there is a bicycle between Joe and Margaret so don’t start getting any misgivings about what is happening on tour.

Check out those cycling shirts - they are from last year's Europe trip to Milano - the average age of these 2 cyclists now is 70 - not bad for some old guys!

If you look closely, John is holding a snail he found - we teased him that he should go at a snail's pace today since he is getting old....

Must be pick on John day today, he had to fix the chain on his bike today as well...this did slow him down too.

The fog was still there when we all took off shutting out our view of the ocean and whatever else we saw coming in yesterday.  Highway 1 turns inland from here and the scenery changes – it’s big ranch country with towns few and far between each other.  The only green we see is the leaves on the trees, the rest is brown and very dry.   John VanderSteen had to get his hands dirty when he had to fix the chain on his bike when it broke.  John Koning was blessed with another flat tire…..

A bit of confusion with directions this morning caused some stress but eventually every one landed up at the designated stop for lunch.   Although Highway 1 appears tempting on the map, it’s considered extremely hazardous – narrow, winding, shoulderless and busy.   Here we parted ways with the cyclists – they would be doing some bike paths and busy streets getting to their destination at Fisherman’s Wharf and we would go our own way, stopping at Costco to stock up groceries for our 2 days off in the city.

Driving to our destination took us over the Golden Gate Bridge – too bad it was foggy and we couldn’t see much.  The van arrived at 3:00 p.m. at Fort Mason – we are patiently awaiting the cyclists who I’m sure will have their own story to tell when they arrive.  They were to stick together like glue this afternoon – the route was so confusing.  Once the cyclists arrive over the bridge, it is necessary to negotiate a fair amount of city traffic, a very slow process especially at rush hour.

The guys finally showed up at 5:00 - not sure the story but I am going to post this for now.