Checking in...email no. 3 (San Francisco)

Hi again!

Just checking in again to let you know we arrived in San Francisco this evening, after about 5 ½ hours on the train and a 45 minute bus ride. The train wasn’t too bad, except the toilets stunk like pee and poo…they clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a while!!! But if that’s the worst we have to say, then you can figure out we’re still having a great time. :-)

Tahoe City was beautiful…the snow was awesome and we both thoroughly enjoyed walking in it (in small doses for Fi though – too much of a sook when it comes to the cold!). Note to self for future snow trips: pack thermals (top and bottom), thick socks and boots. :-) The lake itself is magnificent – it’s pretty massive and looks absolutely delightful early in the morning (before the rain resulted in a bit of fog cover). We didn’t do a great deal though – had a couple of relaxing spas, walked around and chilled out in the cafes…although, we must admit that the coffee wasn’t too crash hot. :-)

We’re progressively learning more and more about the U.S political system and gaining insights into people’s perceptions…coupled with it being all over the news here, we’re hearing about it a fair bit.

Met more lovely Americans – so far we have not met anybody that doesn’t fit this description. Most people are really friendly, approachable, talkative and helpful…it’s very easy to spark up conversations and gain insight into how they see the world. The service staff have been amazing (mostly) – really helpful and nice. Hopefully our positive experience with people continues for the next two weeks!!!

That’s all we have to say for now…Dave will be attending the AGU conference tomorrow and present his poster, and then we’re free agents. The weather isn’t exactly conducive to outdoor adventures, but we’re keen to walk around and do some exploring so figure that a few rain drops won’t dampen our spirits (nothing an umbrella or two can’t fix!). We’re both excited about the Alcatraz tour on Thursday night and we’re trying to figure out if we’ll be able to watch a Broadway show (or similar) another evening. Our plans are very fluid at the moment - but we’ll certainly keep you updated if there’s anything noteworthy to mention!

We hope that you’re all going well and enjoying the change in weather (for the Canberrans, anyway!).

Lots of love

Dave and Fi

xoxoxoxoxox