Washington DC to San Francisco

Thursday, July 10

Correction to our post yesterday - we found out after we had posted it that President Obama was in Texas yesterday so the mystery person in the calvacade remains a mystery. Our cab driver this morning told us it was probably the Vice President as he gets similar treatment. Whoever it was, was certainly someone important!

We had to be up early this morning for our United flight to San Francisco. We had used points to upgrade to First Class and were pleased about being in the pointy end of the plane for the five hour flight. We arrived at Dulles International Airport about 7:30am, checked our cases and proceeded through security. Noelle went straight through while I was directed to another line where I got the full treatment, including the body scan.

It was nice to be in the first group to board and to turn left to seats 3E and 3F instead of our usual right turn. It was even nicer to be offered a drink soon after settling in to our seats while we waited for everyone else to board - very civilized. Not long after take off we were served breakfast and it came with real cutlery and a cloth napkin - after so many economy flights you notice these refinements!! The Bloody Mary was a nice accompaniment too.

The only drawback with United is that they don't have the personalized entertainment option where you can choose what you want to watch, so we read, snoozed and looked out the window as we flew over the patchwork of America at 35,000 feet. It's always fun trying to pick out landmarks that indicate where you are, and after the farming areas of Pennsylvania and Indianna we were able to pick out Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan.

A patchwork of farmland in Pennsylvania or Indianna

Through the light cloud we could see Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan

We continued west over a large city on the banks of the Mississippi River and then across Wyoming and Utah. The variety of colourful scenery below was amazing, and a highlight was the sun shining on the hills and mountains while rivers meandered through the valleys.

The Mississippi River

Somewhere over Wyoming?

Part of the trip was cloudy and that let us snooze without missing anything. As we were in row 3 we could see the cockpit door and were interested that whenever the pilot or co-pilot wanted to leave the cockpit to use the bathroom, etc., the chief purser blocked the aisle with what looked like a pull-across wire "fence" for security.

We finally arrived in San Francisco and another "treat" - our luggage came off quickly because it had been tagged as "Priority". We got a cab straight to our hotel and fortunately our room was ready so we left our luggage in our room and went out to explore the area around our hotel. It's been 29 years since we were last in SF so we were keen to get our bearings and identify some local landmarks. Our hotel is just near Union Square surrounded by the usual big retail stores, and Powell Street where the cable cars run. They never cease to delight passengers and spectators alike. We plan to ride one tomorrow down to Fisherman's Wharf.

Noelle in Union Square

Powell Street cable cars

Alan at Union Square

We also came across a big Westfield shopping centre at the end of Powell Street so went in to have a look around. In the main atrium area we saw there were curved escalators - something we've never seen before. Of course, we had to use them.

Inside Westfield Shopping Centre in San Francisco

As our body clocks were still on East Coast time (3 hours ahead), we decided to have an early night so we can hit some more of the tourist spots here tomorrow.

 

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