If You're Going to be "Munsoned" Out in the Middle of Nowhere, Be Sure to Wear a Flower in Your Hair

I woke up in Reno with frost on the inside of my car. It was cold. I had some breakfast and ventured into Reno and went to the only place I intended to go - the National Bowling Stadium. I was fortunate enough to be there for a bowling tournament which was scheduled that day and I was able to see some true athletes in action - no famous names but they all had the kit and their own balls and stuff. The actual bowling scores weren't that impressive though - the highest score I saw was 247 but most were around 150 - I could've been in with a shot if I'd have registered but they didn't believe me when I said my name was Roy E. Munson.

The sad thing was that I had travelled over 700 miles out of my way and slept two nights in the car just to phone up my brother and make him laugh about where I was (which he did and he guessed where I was sthraight away). I bought him a souvenir at the pro shop and I couldn't find the salad bar that claimed to have over 50 types of potato topping so I made my way out West to try and get to San Francisco by that evening.

My journey there was pretty quick but as the winter solstice is approaching the sun set quickly and it was dark by the time I arrived in San Fran which made it difficult to find the hostel, especially as I was stuck in rush hour on the Bay Bridge which was intimidating to say the least.

I stayed in the YHA (when I eventually found it) and I was having to pay a lot of money, not just for the room, but to leave the hire car in a valet/garage. This meant that my trip was going to be cut short unless I didn't want any money for the rest of the trip. I met the guy in my room (called Dave) who was from Melbourne and we chatted about the music scene in San Francisco which was pretty impressive - they advertised for DJ Vadim and Jazzy Jeff and all sorts but mainly for New Years Eve and Christmas parties which was a shame that I wouldn't be able to see them. His interests in music were very similar to me and my brother but I didn't get much of a chance to chat after that as he was awake for the night scene and I was awake in the daytime doing the tourist thing.

Night-time in San Fran is intimidating too as the bums are out in force - mental instability is rife in America and the tramps are experts in this field! I opted to shower up and get some good sleep for a change (as the cold nights in the car had taken their toll) and I felt much better about things and I almost felt human again.

The next day I went out to see the sights - I walked through Chinatown (but I didn't see David Lo-Pan), I then walked past Larry Flynt's Hustler Club but it was shut (too early). I reached Fishermans Wharf which has great views of Alcatraz and there are huge sea-lions that flank one side of the harbour. I went on to the Coit Tower which has panoramic views of San Francisco and, as it was a clear day, I was able to see everything. However, because of the smog (which is a huge problem in the States), my ohtos of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge seem distant. Because of this, I decided to walk to the Golden Gate Bridge which, I have learned, is quite far from the Coit Tower!

Before I got there, I stopped for some clam chowder at Pier 39 which was superb and then I walked up the beaches and parks to get to the bridge. I had been walking for 2 hours when I finally got a s close as I wanted - walking on the bridge was not necessary! By the time I got back to the hostel, I was pooped - they weren't lying about the hills here! I got an early(ish) nightand just stopped in the diner next door to the hostel for some dinner.

The following day I planned to leave, but not before visiting the City Hall and going to the library to check my emails and catch up on the Blog. While I was entering the library, I was sure I saw Robin Williams walk by but I couldn't be sure - when I was chatting to someone in the library, they said that he lives nearby so it could've been him. Other than that, it was an uneventful day - the libraries here seem to attract all the bums and weirdos though - one guy with taped up glasses (always a sign of mental illness) was playing with a knive in the queue for the internet and all the tramps go in there to keep warm and gamble on-line - freaks!