Ian's just got his thermarest, sleeping bag and pillow out at 00:15 and I joked that we should put the tent up!
We have access to a water fountain. Ian found it on a recent wander around the terminal. Wouldn't it be ironic if we were unlucky to catch SARS from a public water vessel in the United States of America, having travelled trouble free through the most infected countries, China excluded?
After 2 hours light sleeping Ian offered me his makeshift bed and I accepted his kind offer without hesitation. He then assumed the role of luggage protector. 2 hours later, having dozed off himself, Ian woke me and we made our way to the United Airlines area where a short queue had formed in anticipation of the arrival of the airport staff. An exceedingly long queue had formed for the US Department of Agriculture's x-ray machines and we were thankful that we had passed through their checks yesterday. My bag was reswabbed and the giant plastic bag resealed. Our seat allocations from last night had been held and we had been given emergency exit row seats.
I removed my boots in preparation for the next security screening which went smoothly. Starbucks was open and we were very grateful for that! Water and hot chocolate, what a treat! As all of the other stalls were closed I was pleased that I had bought the calendar in Maui as I may not have been able to purchase it on the mainland.
Our Boeing 767 flight boarded at 06:25. We departed from Honolulu at 07:12 and 4 hours 38 minutes later we arrived at San Francisco International Airport at 14:50 local time, 22:50 BST. As we ascended from Honolulu, shortly after sunrise, we had a stunning sleepy view of Lanai, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii, their volcanic peaks breaking the cloud layers as if they were bidding us farewell. It was exquisite. The flight was very good, a smooth journey accompanied by information from the flight deck and air traffic control. I watched a very teary film, Evelyn, starring Pierce Brosnan, which was very good. The inflight service from the flight attendants didn't seem up to scratch 'though. Throughout the flight we were only offered two drinks, one with a light breakfast and the second about 30 minutes before we began to descend. The crew's galley was strewn with used trays and waste throughout the flight and only one toilet was in operation for economy class passengers.
At San Francisco we reclaimed our bags and found that there wasn't a hotel reservation desk. I found an information kiosk which had a YHA guide offering us a number of hostels around northern California. On enquiring by telephone I managed to get us a private room with a bathroom for USD 60 per night. We took a bus to Colma bart station from where we took the very spacious and comfortable subway to Powell Street station. A brief walk around the block revealed the location of our hostel where we checked in. The room is basic yet adequate.
We showered and changed before dining in Lori's Diner almost next door.
After dinner we strolled in the cold wind for 15 minutes at which point we reached a Borders and there we remained for another hour.
Back at the hostel we wrote our journals before laying down for some well overdue rest.
Copyright 2003 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.