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| Hotel |
In June 1999 I went to San
Francisco for the JavaOne
Conference.
I decided to hang out there a bit more and visit some friends of
mine in California while I was there.
Saturday 12th
I packed my stuff and drove down to Brussels. An evening out with
the people I'd been skiing with in February was scheduled and my
flight was leaving from Brussels
on Sunday. How convenient :) The night on the town consisted of
meeting eachother at a bar outside a castle after which we drove
down to a Moroccan(?) restaurant in downtown Brussels where Cous-Cous was
served. Of course accompanied by the dancing of various
belly-dancers :)
Dinner took a tad longer than planned so it was close to 1am
before we left the restaurant and went to a club to dance and
hang out a bit more.
I guess it must have been around 4am by the time we got home.
With me having to get up around 10am that didn't leave much time
for sleep.
Ah well, who needs sleep anyway...
Sunday 13th
I did get up around 10am, although I must admit my sister, who I
was staying at, had a hand in that.
She and my nephew Laurens took me to the airport for my flight
to SF via Washington.
She promised to take good care of my Mini, which she
would be using the two weeks I was away.
The flight from Brussels to Washington
was pretty uneventful. Didn't get any more shut-eye and was
amazed at myself not longing for a cigarette during the trip.
Customs in Washington
wasn't much of a hassle and I joined (oops, wrong word ? :) the
other addicts there in the 'smokers-cage' :)
On the flight to SF I
sat next to a guy who was also 'in the business' (That's the IT
or ICT business for those of you who don't know what I do for a
living :), so we had a nice talk about 'shop-stuff'. By the time
I got to SF I was
beat. Even though it was just 7pm, with the 9 hour time
difference it was 4am in the morning for me and I'd had less than
6 hours sleep in the last 42 hours. So I was glad to finally
check into the
hotel and get to bed.
Monday 14th
I woke up at 6am. Now this was very eerie for me; I never wake up
that early by myself. Usually a whole battery of alarmclocks
isn't enough to get me up at that time ! :) It gave me the
opportunity to get a little 'feel of the town'; find out what was
where, before heading over to a days' session on XML. The session
was quite an eye-opener to me, but that's shop-stuff again, so
I'll leave that for now :) Enjoyed lunch in the sun in the park
across the street. While it wasn't to hot, it was pretty nice
weather and it would stay that way the rest of the week; overcast
and windy in the mornings and evenings and bright and sunny
during the days. Almost would make you feel sorry to be 'locked
up' inside most of the day...
After the session I walked around a bit. I'd taken up the plan to
rent a motorbike the second week and do a tour of the area. Also
tried finding a mobilephone (always can come in handy when
stranded in the middle of nowhere :), but didn't find one that
was affordable enough.
Sun NL had organized a getogether
that evening which I attended and where I met a friend of mine; Gerald and his 'sidekick'
Jacco.
After the meet we walked back to our respective hotels
together and had a quick bite to eat at a Jack-in-the-Box.
(Fast-food :)
Back at the hotel
I made a couple of calls to let people know I arrived in one
piece and went to sleep.
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| Moscone Outside | Moscone Inside | Gerald & Jacca (left two) |
Tuesday through Friday
Was filled with attending numerous sessions of the JavaOne
conference.
Now I know you're supposed to learn and 'network' during the day
and party at night, but after those long days I usually was quite
beat so I stuck to having dinner with a couple of interesting
people and turning in relatively early. Others obviously had some
more energy than I did, given the stories about visits to gay
Karaoke bars and such :) On the last night of the conference I
had dinner again with Gerald
and Jacco, discussing the modeling
of movement without using time or distance... No, we didn't
have too much to drink, honest :)
Saturday 19th
I spent most of the day hanging around SF. Walked down to Fisherman's Wharf,
found a bikeshop
there that would rent me a bike for the week, lay in the grass
for a while, walked around Pier 39, looked at the SeaLions there
and took the long walk back to the hotel; darn
are those hills steep!
Back at the hotel
I gave one of my friends, Louise a call and arranged to come over
for a BBQ the next weekend and called another friend Stan,
who'd I visit on Monday. Dinner was served in the Planet Hollywood
restaurant, although I don't quite get why they call it a
restaurant; it's merely a posh fast-food chain :)
Incidentally, I never was asked for an ID in bars this time
around :)
Sunday 20th
Was kind of similar to Saturday. But instead of hanging out at Fisherman's Wharf I
hung out at the square close to my hotel, where
an artists exhibition was being held. Also got a map of the
region, which would come in handy during my trip and bought some
postcards, wrote them and send them off.
In short; an enjoyable, laid back day in a laid back town. By
that time I also had gotten back into my usual rhythm again of
getting up late and going to sleep late.
Monday 21st
Checked out of the hotel, took a
cab down to the bikeshop
(I wasn't going to walk those hills again !:) and rented a Yamaha V-star
Classic for the week.
Drove back to the hotel and somehow got all of my gear on the
back of the bike.
I'd planned to take the scenic route down highway 1 for a bit,
but as usual it was covered in clouds, which made it cold and
wet, so after some 10 miles I headed back east again and took the
highway round the bay area to Milpitas. So what's in Milpitas you
ask ? MiniMania, that's
what :)
As a righteous Mini-lover
I couldn't very well come that close and not stop by to say hi to
the owner Don, now could I ?
As I was heading for Yosemite, Oakhurst to be
exact, that day, I decided to take a short cut past Mt Hamilton Observatory.
Finding that road turned out not to be as easy as it seemed on
the map though. The owner of the shop I stopped at to have some
sandwiches for lunch was very helpful though so I eventually
found the small and twisting road. After about an hour I
got to the observatory and saw a sign there 'no services next 50
miles. Checking the fuelgauge I figured I'd better take in some
gas as I had no idea yet what the mpg of the bike was. That
turned out to be a problem; when I turned around I saw another
sign saying; 'no services next 21 miles'... So there I was, sort
of in the middle of nowhere, with probably not enough gas to make
it to the next services and no intention to turn back; would take
two hours to get back to where I was. I asked another biker that
I happened to see there what would be best to do and he advised
against continuing as there was nothing the next 50 miles or so.
I found some people inside the observatory and although they were
not allowed to sell me gas, they did help me out with 2 gallons.
So I continued on my way. All in all it took me over three
hours to cover what had seemed to be a shortcut. I decided to
take the highway as far as possible from there, since I wasn't
making good time and wanted to arrive in Oakhurst before
sunset. Well, that was the plan anyway. Stopped on the way to
have a bite to eat and then continued onto Yosemite/Oakhurst. I
hadn't thought of gas anymore, which I should have... About 20
miles from a turn-off, in the mountains leading up to Yosemite, the
bike started to stutter. So there I was, the sun already setting,
in the middle of I don't know where, 20 miles from where possibly
the next gasstation was, running on reserve that I didn't know
how far it would take me. Ah well, we'll see :)
It took me far enough. Made sure to gas up and continued on my
way to Oakhurst.
It was completely dark by that time and about 3 hours later then
I'd said I would arrive. Arriving in Oakhurst I gave
Stan
a call to tell him I had arrived and he came to pick me up. Met
his parents, George and Helen and sat on the patio for a while
relaxing after a rather long and eventful drive.
Tuesday 22nd
Since the week and day before had been a bit exhausting I slept
in for a bit. After having breakfast and enjoying 'The Mansion' a
bit Stan
and I headed out to the local Bass
Lake to swim, peddle on airbeds, lay in the sun and 'chat up'
the locals a bit :) (Okay, so it _was_ politics that were
discussed :)
Afterwards we stopped at ehhh, not sure what to call it. To
Americans it probably is a restaurant, to me it looked more like
a roadside pub where they also served food. Anyway, they had some
burgers there that I really needed to get a taste of, or so Stan
said. Later though I got the impression we were there for
'something' else than just the burgers. He told me he's always
dragging people from all over the world (Stan
has an extended circle of international friends) in there.
Later that day Stan
tried to teach me the basics of the fine sport of golf on the 9-hole range
he and George have created on the grounds
of the Mansion. Although I must admit I wasn't to bad at it
(I didn't dig into the grass to much), it's not really my kind of
sport and the neighbors kid most definitely was a lot better at
it than I was. Enjoyed watching him and Stan
play for a bit and got a tour of the grounds
afterwards, with Stan
telling all about the (sometimes weird :) plans he had for it.
Stan,
being involved in the local community as he is had to attend some
meeting or the other. I in the mean time enjoyed the company of
his parents George & Helen for dinner at... ehhh, some sort
of Mexican restaurant I guess you'd call it. Taco's were served
and eaten. The rest of the evening was enjoyed on the patio
overlooking the Mansion
and looking at the stars that always seem to be shining brighter
away from home.
Wednesday 23rd
I slept in again. Sure, some people may call that a waste of time
and beautiful sunshine, but it happens to be one of my hobbies!
:) A holiday without some R&R isn't one to me. After having
breakfast I got a map of the area and started out on what was
going to be a drive around Bass
Lake. I drove up the small winding roads on the one side and
down again on the other. As I own a dirt bike myself I didn't
shying away from using some dirt tracks on the way down where I
got some nice views of the lake. The sun out, riding in the wind
in a beautiful and very quiet setting... it doesn't get much
better than that so I toke my time enjoying it.
When I got back after a couple of hours it was close to
dinnertime already which we enjoyed together. Stan
again played a round of golf. I opted for watching them play and
do some reading on the patio this time.
Thursday 24th
Although I had initially planned on setting out for Lake Tahoe I changed my
plans and decided to join Stan on
his trip to Mammoth Lakes,
on the other side of Yosemite. So I
drove into town to get some money and fueled up the bike. On the
way back to the Mansion
I spotted a Mini
in the corner of my eye. Turned around but it kept going and it
was getting about time to set off for Mammoth Lakes so I didn't
get to see it up close.
Got back, packed up all my gear onto the bike and by that time a
friend of Stan
who'd be joining him; Teri arrived. Said my good-bye's to George
& Helen, took some pictures of all of us together (well not
all; there always had to be one taking the picture :) and then we
set off.
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| Me, Teri, Stan | Teri & Stan | Me, Teri, Stan (again :) |
Although it was a sunny day again, I always 'dress up' when
riding a bike. first hand experience has taught me that you
always want to have some form of protection just in case you fall
off a bike. This didn't seem to bother two other bikers who
passed us on the twisty roads in Yosemite. The
first had already passed and the second, wearing only jeans and a
T-shirt apparently got fed up with driving behind us so just
before a sharp corner he decided to overtake us. Luckily there
was no oncoming traffic, but he did approach the corner way to
fast. As a result he skidded through the dirt next to the corner
and was only with shear luck able to keep his machine and him
with it from coming in contact with the brutal mountain-face.
Even with the sun out Tioga pass, being at about 10.000 feet can
be quite chilly. Before getting to that elevation I stopped to
tug myself in a bit more. The drive down to Mono Lake on the other side
of the park was a spectacular one; broad roads meaning high
speeds (well, AFA you can speak of high speeds in the US :).
Took in some gas again (didn't want a repetition of Monday :) and
on we went to Mammoth Lakes.
As it had gotten already a bit late we dropped off or stuff,
freshen up a bit and set out to find a restaurant that would
still serve us. The meal (burgers I think it was :) was
complemented with a couple ehhh, well it had tequila in it, that
much I remember :) Not sure what we did the rest of the evening.
Listened to some music, talked, played a card game I think, we
had fun and I got to know Teri a bit more, that much I remember.
Friday 25th
I think by now you can guess at what time I got up :)
After having breakfast I packed up my gear to the bike again.
Just before I left Stan's
brother also arrived so I said hi to him and my good-bye's to Stan
and Teri and off I was to Lake
Tahoe. Even if it was in the afternoon it still was a bit
chilly, but the sun was out so the temperature rose quickly
during the day.
On the road to Lake Tahoe
I saw a lot of other bikers. When I arrived in Bridgeport I
understood why; there was a biker-rally called the "Bridgeport
Motorcycle Jamboree" there that weekend. There were
already about a thousand bikes assembled, but as one of the
organizers told me, they were exception several thousand of
bikers there that weekend. Would have been fun to hang out there
a bit more to see what US bikers-meetings are like.
Around 14.30h I was close to Lake Tahoe; in Minden
Nevada. Still had to drive around to the other side of the
mountain though so I arrived at the touristcentre around 4pm. I
always like to meet people while traveling, so I asked if there
were any B&B's/Motels/Hotels around where one would find a
more young international crowd. They only could think of one,
that was closed at that time.
I drove up north along the lake, enjoying the view and keeping an
eye out for interesting looking places to stay. I found a nice
small lodge motel, run by a woman who was originally from
Germany; Antje. Unloaded my gear and took a nice long rest in the
Jacuzzi; very relaxing after a days drive on the bike. After I
was regenerated I drove along the lake's coast for a bit
and sat down to enjoy the sun set.
Back at the motel Antje told me the restaurant next to it was having a Mexican night, so that was as good a place as any to have dinner and some tequila of course :) Ran into Antje and some of the locals there and got updated on what was going on around there. Something to do with someone working (or not ?) at some pizzaplace and someone going there (or not ?); IOW; the usual local stuff. I didn't stay up to late as the next day I had the drive back to San Francisco ahead of me.
Saturday 26th
Got up at about 9 and had breakfast in Antje's kitchen. Got some
real coffee for a change and a full continental breakfast
together with some homebaked muffins. After packing up again,
thanking Antje for her good care and saying goodbye I headed down
south again along Lake
Tahoe, stopping once to have enjoy the view again before
heading back to San
Francisco on the highway. By noon I was at Placerville where
I took in some gas and food and around 13.15 I passed Davis.
Coming into San Francisco
the wind picked up and I had trouble keeping the bike in a
straight line.
Around 3pm I arrived at Louise's place where I was invited for a
BBQ that evening. Now while Louise and I 'go back' more then 10
years, we've never met in person. Our contact had been through
BBS's, back in the old days, and by internet email since that
came into swing. It's always weird to meet people in person that
you've been in contact with for so long. Even exchanging pictures
never really gives you the full picture of what they are like.
Louise and her family turned out to be even nicer people than I'd
expected. So I finally got to meet her in person, as well as her
daughter Alicia (who I'd talked to way back when too),
granddaughter Briana and the boyz; Chris, Louise's hubby and
Alicia's friend Ryan.
We just hung out for a while, enjoying eachother company, playing
games and catching up on what was happening in our respective
lives.
Since I hadn't arranged a place to sleep for the night yet I
checked in at the Days Inn at the end of the street. Took a
shower to freshen up and gave my sister a call to let the family
back home know I was doing alright. Hadn't thought of the time
difference though, so ended up calling her in the middle of the
night her time :)
I also met my neighbors who seemed to be having some
Spring-Break-like party going on.
But I had a date for BBQ at Louise's place so I got back on the
bike and drove to her place again. Now I know Aussies are
supposed to know what throwing a Barbie really is about, but I
can tell you that some Californians also know their way around
the fire. Big (and I mean big !) piece of meat were ritually
burned and enjoyed with the proper amounts of fluids. I was sorry
to have to leave somewhere in the middle of the night but I
really was getting tired. I promised I'd look in again before
leaving and drove back the the motel. Gave my sister a call (who
was awake this time :) and went to sleep.
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| Louise & Briana | Louise, Alicia, Briana | Louise, Chris, Alicia, Ryan |
Louise, Chris, Alicia, Me |
Afterparty |
Sunday 27th
I was getting closer and closer to the end of the trip so of
course I slept in ! :)
After breakfast (or was that lunch ? :) I got the bike out as it
again was a fine day in California. Drove to the beach but it was
a bit chilly there. Did help a couple of guys with engine trouble
and talked to a(nother) biker for a while before heading up
highway 1. Passed Louise's but she didn't seem to be home so
continued towards the Golden
Gate Bridge.
As it happened the Pride Parade was taking place that day, so I
stopped to have a look at that for a while. Lots of people being
extravagant and having fun, IOW; SF was one big party.
As I'd promised myself to drive over the Golden Gate this time
(hadn't when I was there before) I continued up north. Stopped on
the other side of the bridge to take some pictures and mostly to
look at other people taking pictures. As I was sort of running
out of gas again (seems to have been a theme during this trip :)
I drove down to the bay, filled up, got some sandwiches and
enjoyed them overlooking the bay and San Francisco.
And again I continued up north on the highway 1. Some twisty
roads and some straight through Point Reyes Nat'l
Seashore brought me, with some stops on the way to enjoy the
views, to Point Reyes
itself, where I sat in the sand looking at the Ocean (the Pacific
not the one I'm 'used to' seeing).
When I got back to the motel it was already dark and the
pizzaplace around the corner I'd planned on eating at was already
closed, so I decided to have supper in a local Mexican
restaurant. The guys behind the counter didn't quite understand
English (at least not the way I speak it) as as my Spanish is
ehhh 'rusty' I ended up pointing out what it was I wanted, Taco's
filled with all kinds of stuff. Ended the evening doing watching
some tv (getting up to speed with current events again) and doing
some reading before going to sleep.
Monday 28th
Got up at a decent time and made arrangements for an airport
shuttle to pick me up the next morning.
Took a long detour driving back to Fisherman's Wharf
where I dropped off the bike at the bikeshop. Told them the
bike had been a blast, although maybe a bit underpowered and I
could have done with a windvisor. I only had to ask I was told.
Ah well, next time :)
Took a long walk along the bay to the South Beach Harbor where
the eXtreme
Games were being held. Had planned to visit them, but the
lines were a couple of miles long(!) so I decided to skip that
and just enjoy the atmosphere around the event. Had lunch
watching more and more people get in line to get in and talking
to an (Australian I think it was) girl who was competing.
Walked down town into the financial district and continued lunch
there looking at all the 'suits' coming out the offices for a
minute to have lunch or smoke a cigarette. Got onto the L-line
subway which took me back to my motel, which incidentally was
right across from the Zoo. In
order to try to get back into European time again I took an
afternoon nap. When I woke up again I walked up to Louise's to
find her and Chris home. Had some coffee and conversation and
said my good-byes to them. Back at the motel I packed up all my
gear, ready to leave the next morning and went to sleep (again
:).
Tuesday 29th
Got up at 8.15 and after a fast shower and breakfast was ready to
leave around 9.
Shuttle took some time arriving, but got to the airport in time to catch my
flight out. The stewardess took good care of me so all in all it
was an enjoyable flight to London
Heathrow. Again had to wait a bit for my transferflight so
walked around Heathrow a
bit.
Was very unimpressed by what I saw; basically an old airport with
some new sections. Even the monitors showing the departure
information weren't quite up to speed; didn't indicated what gate
I would be leaving at. Based on the flight number I guessed what
gate I might have to go to and started my quest for my plane.
Although hardly anyone seemed to know anything I eventually found
it. The flight back to Brussels
was a short one and upon arriving my sister was there to collect
me. She had taken good car of my Mini and after a
visit to her place of work and having some snacks there I set off
for home.
Arrived back home around 4pm ending what had been a great trip.
The END.
