Once in awhile-now and again-this is us

hey martha maybe ray would take you to san fransisco for this. how about it ray? by the way did you take martha to dunsmuir?

well, we did make it off of the rock. and i think that helped us get our minds back. it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our time on alcatraz. (no cars or traffic).  we got right on 101 when we reach shore and didn’t look back. we made it to moss landing that night and stayed in the same place as last time.

we got some more artichokes and drove most of the day to bulleton,  for you know what don’t you?

 

we were going to eat at the hitching post again but it was closed for labor day. “darn”. but we stayed in their parking lot anyway. we know they wouldn’t mind and i left them a thank you note. so our trip ended without some of those delicious ribs.

we left bulleton, stopped at the goodwill outlet in oxnard and got home tuesday evening. it’s a sad and happy time. we get to come home and see family and neighbors and midas again, but now we have to get back to the daily grind of things. you know laundry, dirty dishes, yard work, vacuumming, all that stuff that you guys have been doing. ha ha.

 

“when and where are we going next jerry”???????

 

 

we had a really good trip. some highs and lows in the weather, but that always happens when you travel. sometimes we have mechanical problems. other times we don’t have any. well this time we had one big problem.

we we’re on our way to fisherman’s wharf driving up one of the many hills they call streets, and heard a loud noise. jerry immediately pulled over. luckily it was a four lane one way street. but a car was next to the curb so we were still in the street. jerry checked things out and came back and said the bracket for the holding tank had broken and let the holding tank fall to the ground. we couldn’t drive anymore. in case you don’t know the holding tank holds, holds the, toilet water.

 

so this means the holding tank, with it’s toilet water, could fall off. so not only do we need a tow truck but a flat bed tow truck. which you see we finally got. but it took many calls to aaa after they sent a regular truck.  while waiting jerry looked under the coach again. he did some handiwork with a bungee cord and got the tank pulled up and tight enough to hold it temporally.

after waiting a good 2 hours, and smelling susies cakes bakery, every time someone would pick up a bag, the door would open and all these wonderful smells would come out. we could see them in there frosting cakes and such. and then the door would shut again. delivery people would ring the bell, show their phone, and someone would bring a out a bag and then the door would shut again. kind of like a drug deal?

jerry decided to go and ring the doorbell wanting to buy something. she said they were only a place for people to pick up orders. they can’t sell anything to the public. jerry did his song and dance and got something for his efforts. these delicious cupcakes and some really good snickerdoodles.

as we waited jerry called around and found a repair shop that could take us that day and probably fix it that day. it was in richmond across the bay. so off we went. another trip on the bridge.

 

the coach got fixed that day and it was only $237. dollars. an honest repair shop.

thanks again for everything jerry. i love you.

 

 

p.s. – we laughed afterwords about what if the tank had fallen off and slid down the hill and broke open. we would have needed the hazmat team. and then got saddened if it had fell off on the freeway. it could have caused a terrible accident.  we have someone watching out for us.

thanks again for all your comments. it wouldn’t be the same without you.

love, jillyandjerry

 

 

 

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“ALL ABOARD”

we went on our tour of alcatraz sunday. we had no trouble parking the coach right near pier 33 where it leaves from.  alcatraz is only 1 and 1/2 miles away from shore so it is a very brief ferry ride. our shirts were a big hit tracy. everyone was commenting how cute and clever they were. a lot of people took pictures. thanks again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it’s an interesting part of history to explore. the park rangers explain a little bit to you when you get off the boat. then you’re on your own to visit whatever part of the prison you want to. we took the audio tour of the cell blocks. what we see in movies is a little more glorified than it really is. except for the reality shows you can see on tv now. you walk in one of those cells and realize someone could have been in it for years. going by just a number, not a name.

 

 

 

 

the showers

 

 

 

 

the inmates gave names to different areas. this was the dining hall.

 

one fact we learned was the birdman of alcatraz didn’t have birds while he was there. he had them at leavenworth and they wouldn’t let him bring them with him.

itwas like it was it’s own little city out there. some guards and the warden lived there with their families. they had a store, movie theater, bowling alley. and they knew they could leave and be in the city quickly.  just like we did.

 

 

 

 

did we make it?  stay tuned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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i’ve been trying to get those words in. haha. remember that show. it was my favorite for as long as it was on. every thursday night. a young micheal douglas.

 

we decided to rent a car for a day to see the city. i don’t think the coach likes driving those narrow, car filled, double parked, one way streets any more than jerry. and this is what enterprize gave us, because they didn’t have the compact car jerry ordered

you can also rent these. gps go cars.

 

every trip here we like to get a shrimp cocktail at fisherman’s wharf. so we did that first. we went inside the resturant this time instead of getting it from one of the stands. i had my cocktail and jerry got his clam chowder in a sourdought bread bowl. eating inside we got our twelve dollar parking validated.

 

 

 

we had seen the coit tower but never been in it so we did that. the views are spectacular, but it was a hazy day.

 

we had driven by the famous painted ladies, but never stopped to take pictures. we probably all remember them from full house.

 

 

 

this is teddies flat, as they were called, when she lived here. 1928 taylor street. the one on the left corner with the shades open. i remember how much i loved it. teddie had it decorated with antique furniture from jerolds grandma’s store. it was cooled by a central built in cylynder that had windows opening to each flat. all that cool air would come from the cool three story interior from the cool ground. (i didn’t explain that very well).

the view down her street. you can see all the way to alcatraz. not in this picture though.

we also went to another mission.

 

 

we turned the car in by four and went back to camp. we’ve been seeing whales, but tonight we saw a beautiful sunsset.

stay tuned

 

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we started coming to san francisco when teddie and jerold lived here in the seventies. teddie hadn’t had jake yet when they first moved here. i called jake to say hi and find out how old he was. can you believe he is now 45?
jake said he’s busy at work. amanda’s cook book on fermenting is doing well. she was recently in japan on a reality tv show promoting it. you know fermenting is becoming a very healthy way to eat. saurerkraut anyone? kimchi?

 

so it’s been over 45 years we’ve been coming to the city by the bay. and i had never heard of these steps before. i read about them a few years ago in a sunset magazine. i cut the  the article and have saved it all this time. i do that a lot. and we finally made it here.

what a joy it is when that happens.

also a joy to see something so beautiful.

 

what an accomplishment. they are so unique. even the succulent gardens on the sides are kept gorgeous.

they are in an old neighborhood with narrow streets that jerry maneuvered through expertly. thanks jerry.  it’s a little gem in the big city.

and no we didn’t walk up them. there are signs posted everywhere to lock you car and take valuables with you.  it takes only 10 seconds for people for people to break in.

so we locked the car and i took the most valuable thing i have, quickly took pictures and went back to the coach.

we found some delicious smoked salmon and had it for dinner.

don’t know what we will do next – stay tuned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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