[lashbear]

DAY TWO...Saturday 30th November 1991


I awoke at 9:30 this morning, without the slightest trace of a hangover. I used the automatic timer "Mr Coffee Jr" to great advantage, then Maree eventually awoke (With me slurping coffee, the coffeemaker going "thwoik/splat/drip", and the refreshing smell of smoke, is it any wonder?). we got ourselves into gear then went down to breakfast, American style.

The restaurant/cafe downstairs was nicely decorated, and we settled down to read the menu. I decided to order Corned Beef Hash. It arrived, accompanied by home-fried potatoes and fried eggs! I was sure to have a high cholesterol count shortly after.

Having finished the meal and paid the inexpensive bill, we decided to go shopping. One of the largest stores in town was Emporium.

It was a grand store inside, and quite large. I spent a lot of the time looking for the toilet. When I finally found it (oh blessed relief) it was labelled the restroom (I should have known). I then discovered the most delicious drink known to the civilised world......Dr Pepper. This drink has a wonderful taste, not unlike sarsaparilla, and it is quite unique. I ended up drinking about 40 litres of it throughout the duration of the trip.

Once we had left the Emporium, we went over to STBS (SanFrancisco Ticket Booking Service), which was located at Union Square, to try and get tickets for "Beach Blanket Babylon" at Club Fugazi. It turned out that there were no tickets available until the middle of the next week......VERY popular show.

We went around the corner of Union Square, and were greeted by the sight of children playing in the snow. SNOW?! Yes, even though it was winter, the temperature never got below a very comfortable 15 degrees C. and so the city had provided a snow-making machine to provide a white christmas for everyone. We took some photos, and then at 11.30 headed down to the Cable-Car turnaround, to the Reebok shop.

I bought a pair of Weebocks for someone back home, and then we went to a discount electronic/souvenir shop. I had always wanted a Zippo lighter, and so I bought one. Maree bought a mini-cassette recorder for Barrie. We went out, and next door to the newsagent, where they filled my lighter for free, and I bought another bottle of Dr Pepper.

We retraced our steps, went to the cable-cars again, bought a ticket from the vending machine, and hopped on a cable-car (again) to return once more to Fisherman's Wharf. I had promised a friend of mine, Jo, that I would get her a pair of native American earrings. I found a stall set up outside one of the piers along the Embarcadero, which had the most beautiful Peacock feather earrings, so I bought a pair.

Heading to our left, once again, we headed for Pier 39. Once there, we went upstairs to see "The SanFrancisco Experience". This was a multi-media presentation, giving the history of the city, and including such highlights as the great earthquake, during which there was rumblings, fire and smoke, and showing you around all the areas with various lighting and sound effects to go with the projected pictures on the screen. In the foyer, there was a selection of antique coin-operated amusement machines. We tried some, and in one we had a penny pressed flat and stamped "SanFrancisco" as a souvenir. These machines abounded throughout our trip.

We went out into the sunshine again, and decided to look around the shops for an hour or so.

We went into "The Last Woundup", which was full of wind-up and batter-operated toys. There was a sign over the counter that proved that even the Americans have a sense of humour about themselves. It said; "Relax, if you break it, you don't have to pay for it - Feel free to play with the merchandise - eat, drink and be merry while in the shop - All our staff have been instructed NOT to tell you to 'have a nice day'".

"Kitty City" had an enormous range of merchandise, all themed around cats. "The Music Box Shop" sold - you guessed it - Music boxes. the sound while in the shop was magical, as there must have been 100 various music boxes going at any one time. We went into "The Carousel Shop" (where do they come up with these unusual names?) and looked at the carousel horses, memorabilia and recordings. I bought a tape of Marches played on a wurlitzer carousel organ.