Guess Where I Am?

Almond Croissant & Coffee

Haight Street Whole Foods

Did you guess San Francisco? That's right, boys and girls, I'm still here in the City of Love...oh, no, wait, that's Philadelphia. San Francisco is the City of Haight, where the Summer of Love was celebrated, just blocks from the garage where my cat lives inside of my RV and the hotel where I am living, probably until Monday or Tuesday.

Recap: If you've been following my blog, you know that I had planned to spend one night at an RV park in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco, about two weeks ago. After that I was going to visit friends in Santa Cruz and meander down the Central California Coast. However, my engine overheated on the rise that leads to the Pacifica exit and it turned out I needed a new engine. Then, about a week later when I got stuck at about the same place, we found out that the new engine was defective, so I was here a second week getting the second new engine.

Recent Events: On Thursday, I moved out of the hellish rooming house and went to pick up The Guppy at the garage. It was ready and the new engine runs so smoothly, it purrs. I drove around San Francisco, testing whether it had any trouble stalling out or with idling in low gears, at low speeds, up hills, etc. No problems! So I picked up Sonja from the deluxe cat spa and started to head out of town. Took the Great Highway south along the coast and got to the same hill that had buffaloed me on my last two attempts to escape San Francisco, and whaddyaknow...suddenly the gas pedal hit the floor and the engine was racing! I put on the brake, pulled over to the shoulder, and let the engine stall out, then called the garage to come out and tow me back to town.

The accelerator problem is a new problem, not related to the engine replacements. It's due to an old, rusted-out accelerator cable that needs to be replaced. It's a fairly straightforward job that should just take a couple of hours, but the problem is finding the part. Apparently accelerator cables for my particular vehicle aren't something you'll find at a standard parts store, and the used ones that the garage has been able to uncover at various wrecking yards are just as old and rusty as the one they removed from The Guppy. So now we are waiting for the part to come directly from a Toyota factory, hopefully on Monday.

So I'm back to living in the Stanyan Park Hotel, a couple of blocks from the garage. Fortunately the garage has paid me 100% of my expenses for the six days I was delayed due to the defective replacement engine, plus they have comped all of my tows. Right now, since the current problem isn't the garage's fault, I'm back to paying for my own hotel and other expenses. And I considered going to a cheaper place, such as a hostel, but I decided instead to concentrate on my eBay sales and just try to make enough money to meet this weekend's expenses. So I'm listing about 50 vintage designer scarves today.

I wasn't going to write another blog entry until I got out of San Francisco, because I felt like there just wasn't much to say. But My Favorite Sister Sharon said she'd looked for news of me on my blog all week and she was pretty sure everybody would want to know what I'm doing and that I'm okay. Sharon says my stay here is part of my journey, and, who knows, it may be a really important part of it. I have certainly learned acceptance, patience, and being okay with having little control over things, especially with this most recent return to the garage.

My Best Friend Helen says she thinks I'm not supposed to go to Pacifica--maybe I'm supposed to take the freeway to Santa Cruz instead of the coastal route. I dunno. I'm just taking it a day at a time, trying not to have expectations. I do know I'm a lot luckier than most of the other people who are staying at this particular hotel--it's near the children's hospital, and a lot of families are here to be close to their babies who have serious health problems.

I went to the Goodwill and a few other stores in Haight-Ashbury to buy some clean clothes and other things to make my stay here more comfortable. Now I have a real plate and silverware for the food I can purchase about a block away at Whole Foods, plus bubble bath and a small candle...might as well make the most of my stay in a hotel, I figure. I've learned a lot about what I need to keep in my "exit bag" for situations like these.

Almond Croissant Reviews: During the days I stayed at the San Francisco Guest House on Geary Blvd., I often had coffee at the Royal Ground, a coffee shop across the street. They serve a nearly mystical almond croissant. It had substantial, chewy, almost sourdough-like pastry with just a hint of almond paste in the center...just enough to keep you wanting more. So good I had it two days in a row.

The almond croissant pictured at the top of this blog entry is from Whole Foods on Haight. I don't know whether Whole Foods gets their pastries from local bakers or if they serve the same ones nationwide. The one I got here in San Francisco, I'm naming the Mucho Crustini, because it had so much edible matter (almonds, almond paste, and I'm not sure what else) spread on top. It also had more almond paste inside than I care for. Excessive on all counts. I probably would've liked it better back when I was a kid and liked gooey excessive things.

That said, I'm going for a walk in Golden Gate Park, probably to the De Young Museum for the afternoon. Then it's back to work on that pile of eBay scarves!

Still Stuck in San Francisco

Greasy Sonja in Her Stroller, En Route to the Kennel

Let's see, the last time I wrote was on Friday, and I expected to be able to pick up the Guppy at the garage and head down the highway to Santa Cruz, where I wanted to spend the weekend, meet some friends I've known online for many years, and pick up some General Delivery mail.

However...

I tried to leave...AGAIN...and the engine still wasn't running right. In low gear or going up hills, it would stall, just like it did the day before when I tried to leave. So it was back to the shop. They decided to bring in a diagnostician from their other garage on Saturday morning. They'd spoken to him and he suspected that the new engine was defective and would have to be replaced. Plus, my carburetor apparently is about shot as well, so they think the whole mechanism will work better if it's replaced, too.

I was really pissed that they would try to send me out of the garage with a vehicle that wasn't working correctly. I asked the manager what his plans were for getting me a place to stay until they get this right. He was noncommittal. He did say perhaps they could pay half of my hotel, or give me some credit on the carburetor replacement (I've already fully paid for the engine replacement, and I won't have to pay for that again).

He also--and I can barely believe this--suggested that one option would be for them to put the Guppy out on the street so I could sleep in it. I think this is about the most irresponsible thing I could imagine a garage owner suggesting--especially considering that Friday night, the coldest weather San Francisco has had all winter was forecast. They were expecting snow, and Buzz wanted to put me on the street rather than commit to taking care of my expenses that are necessitated by the garage's failure to get this job done. Sheesh!

I went back to the hotel down the street from the garage for one night. On Saturday morning, the garage confirmed that they'd be replacing the engine again, and that a replacement would be available on Monday, so I'm looking at getting out of San Francisco this coming Wednesday at the soonest. I decided to move to a cheaper hotel, since Buzz hasn't said how much he's going to help me with my delay costs. I found a guest house, which is really a rooming house for foreign students. It's barely adequate, but more about that below.

I also decided to get Sonja into a kennel or vet's office that does boarding, since it was going to be another five days or so before I could leave town. Saturday morning I was at the garage and was just going to start making kennel plans when I went into the RV to check on Sonja, and she was gone! The driver's side cab window was wide open--even though Buzz and Ian, the technician who had worked on my car all week, knew the cat was in there and that the windows needed to stay shut. (I had vents open on the top of the RV so Sonja had some ventilation.)

I was devastated! The garage keeps its big doors open all day so cars can get in and out, and I figured Sonja had escaped the garage and was a goner. I went to the guest house in tears, and then began doing the footwork to try to get my cat back. I stopped at a pet food store down the street from where I was staying and asked for appropriate ideas and phone numbers, and the guy got me in touch with Animal Control and the SPCA. He also suggested making a poster, so I headed back to the guest house to do that on my computer. Just when I'd emailed the poster to the garage so they could print out some copies and get them posted, I got a call from Buzz. Sonja was in the garage! She'd hidden in a cupboard full of big greasy old auto parts, under a workbench. She was filthy and scared and wouldn't come out.

So I ran...literally ran, with my fake knee and my arthritis and all that...to the garage and got down on the greasy floor and wrecked my clothes and comforted my kitty. I could not get her out from there myself, because of my arthritis--no way I'd be able to get squeezed into the cupboard, grab Sonja, and then back out again. So Buzz had to do it.

I got Sonja back into the RV and then started calling kennels from the Yellow Pages. It was late afternoon by now, and I could only find one place open--the fanciest, most costly place in town, called "Feline Wishes & Caviar Dreams." This place is gorgeous--so much nicer than the place I'm staying, and almost as costly. I got Sonja settled there and then headed back to the guest house.

That night, I discovered that the so-called bed on which I'm supposed to sleep is actually just a folded out futon-style couch. And it's not even a real futon mattress on it! It's just a metal frame that has some stuffing attached to it, and there are these seams where there's no stuffing at all, so I could feel the metal frame as I was laying there. Horrible! I ended up moving the bedding to the floor and sleeping on a hardwood floor with no mattress at all. Me, a 55-year-old woman with arthritis. Sheesh!

So, once again, I was faced with a choice. Should I move to another cheap place? The only ones I could find were hostels that were down in the touristy part of town, near Union Square or Fisherman's Terminal, and I wasn't sure this would be any better. At least at the guest house, I had my own room and decent Internet, and I'd already found a few A.A. meeting places within walking distance. Or should I move back to a more expensive hotel? I decided that perhaps the best thing to try first was to get an air mattress, so I bought one yesterday.

I still did not sleep well even with the air mattress on top of the lousy bed, because the bed is so uneven that I felt like I was falling out, so I put the air mattress on the floor and slept there. Finally, early this morning, it occurred to me to put the air mattress diagonally on the bed so I wouldn't be so affected by the dips and crests, and this worked. I slept in until 8:45 a.m., when the landlady woke me up to tell me that I couldn't have any breakfast this morning because they were starting to remodel the kitchen, where a cold breakfast is usually available from 7 to 10 a.m.

It's Monday, and I have spent most of today working my eBay business. I got a bunch of things that I'd sold packed up and mailed out. I've photographed the next batch of scarves and I will start listing them. I want to get a bunch of work done today, and then tomorrow happens to be the monthly free day at the Museum of Modern Art, so I'm going to take the bus there.

I should call the garage and ask them whether they're gotten the replacement engine today. I don't even want to talk to them anymore, but I am sticking with this AAA garage because of AAA's promise to resolve any disputes.

I did take a nice long walk down Geary to Japantown today, and I saw some beautiful murals on a public building along the way. The one pictured here is made out of one-inch tiles, and it's simply gorgeous. It must have been designed using a photograph of this lovely face.

I've been getting some great support from family and friends, as well as from my online tribes (Babble, Yahoo VanDwellers, my online AA home group, and so on). People have been incredibly nice to me here in San Francisco. I still feel that, if you have to break down someplace, this is a very interesting and fun place to hang out, but it sure as heck is costing me and it's often been frustrating, scary, and stressful.

Hello from Haight-Ashbury

Rodin, The Thinker

Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco

Yes, by George, I am still in San Francisco. The Guppy got its new engine and I was ready to take off yesterday in the late afternoon. However, the engine stalled out three times within a few miles of the garage, so I finally just had them tow me back and I spent one more night with my friend Joni. Today they have discovered that there was a part that sent the flow of gasoline into the carb (if I understand this correctly) that needed to be replaced. The garage is doing this at their expense and they will also carefully check out the vacuum hoses and whatever else may have contributed to the engine quitting on me and then I can be on my way...again.

The Sharon Art Studio in Golden Gate Park

I have some General Delivery mail to pick up in Santa Cruz and I may not get there before the Post Office closes today, so now my plan is to spend the weekend in Santa Cruz. This will give me a chance to meet Mikey and Stacy Thurber in person some time over the weekend (finally!), then I can pick up my mail on Monday morning and continue on my way. It means I will spend a shorter time at some of the other Central California Coast locations that I'd picked out.

Lemon Trees

I had picked out places to stay for the first six weeks out on my trip, but in actuality I have only spent one night where I intended. I'm going to try to keep some of the really terrific reservations that I've made ahead of time, such as my two weeks in Palm Springs at a couple of Coast to Coast resorts, but after that I'm just going to play it by ear. It's too frustrating to be constantly making, changing, and canceling reservations.

Tulips in February!

So I've spent an additional couple of days here in San Francisco. The garage's initial prediction of when they'd be done with the motor was Wednesday noon. Now it's Friday at about 1:30 pm and I am still here, using the Internet at the world famous Red Victorian Bed, Breakfast & Peace Arts Cafe, which is on Haight, just a few blocks from the garage. These past two days, I've been able to see more of San Francisco, get to another A.A. meeting, and enjoy more of Joni's hospitality and companionship. It's really been nice, but I am ready to go! I wanted to be camping on beaches this week.

Down and Out in San Francisco--Well, Sort Of...

Almond Croissant, The Coffee Roastery, San Francisco

Tuesday, February 22, 2011~San Francisco, California

I haven't written for a couple of days because I've been very busy in San Francisco. This wasn't my plan. On Sunday, I was heading into San Francisco and was planning to spend just one night at an RV park in Pacifica. But when I was just short of arriving at my destination, The Guppy began to make a high keening noise and then it overheated. I pulled over to the side of the freeway and let the engine cool off, then put water in the radiator. No dice, the vehicle would not start. So then I had to call AAA to get towed back into San Francisco to a garage.

By the time we dropped off The Guppy, it was dark and I was really tired and disappointed. I found a hotel near the garage and stayed there one night. The next morning, I found out that my RV needed a new engine and that it would take a couple of days for the work to be done (as well as it costing so much that I will have doubled my investment in The Guppy, not that I'll ever be able to resell it for that much).

Lucky for me, I have a childhood friend, Joni, who lives here in San Francisco and she took me in. My kitty, Sonja, is still living in the RV, in the garage. I figured she would be better off there, because she has her food, water, litter box, and the environs that she's become familiar with over the past week.

Joni is semi-retired and does a lot of interesting volunteer work. I was fortunate to arrive at a time when she was in town and not terribly busy, and she's been the most wonderful host, showing me the city and helping me find my way around with maps and bus routes and so on. This morning, Joni and I walked to The Roastery for coffee, where they serve a very respectable almond croissant--excellent pastry, a little short on the almond paste filling. Then Joni headed off to get her hair cut (doesn't she look great?), while I went to an A.A. meeting at The Dry Dock.

Afterward, I spent most of the day walking around the city. I walked all the way up Fillmore to Haight, then headed towards Golden Gate Park, shopping at thrift stores and vintage shops all the way. I found a lot of great inventory to sell on eBay, about a dozen designer silk neckties and about 10 designer silk scarves. I'm also going to sell some scarves for Joni, who doesn't have to dress up so much now that she doesn't go to an office every day. If I get all these things sold, it will add up to, hmm, maybe five percent of the cost of a new engine...

It's disappointing to be delayed on my trip and to have such a huge expense to cover, but I'm really trying to make the best of the situation. And, really, if you have to get stuck somewhere with your vehicle in the shop, San Francisco is a beautiful place for that to happen. Today it was sunny and I must have walked five miles. I could have taken buses, but I really enjoyed the sights along my walk, especially the beautiful USF campus, where I stopped for an afternoon cuppa Joe.

Joni and I had a fabulous seafood meal at Scoma's down at the Fisherman's Terminal, and we are planning to go to an art museum tomorrow morning before my Dolphin is ready for me to move on. I hope to be at New Brighton State Beach in Santa Cruz before dark tomorrow night. K84thihyg myytshi8eht crosweiud--whoops, that was supposed to read, "Keeping my fingers crossed," but, you know, I really can't type very well when I cross my fingers...

Gotta share these fun pictures of a "recreational vehicle" that I saw along my travels, the One-Log House in Garberville that I stopped at on my way to San Francisco. This log was hollowed out in the 1940s and was trucked around to be displayed to people on a semi truck for a while, but then came to rest (at several places previous to its current location) due to lack of funds to keep moving it. It looked like a delightful place to live, kind of like being a chipmunk or something.