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High by Eunice Kirby My sister in law lives in Los Altos in the heart of Silicon Valley, so we have to return to California on a regular basis (it's a hard life sometimes!) This year we stopped off in Chicago for a few days on our way over. It is a wonderful city, very hot in June - mid to high 90's - and we were amazed to learn that it is still run on maritime law i.e. if a ship wishes to travel along the river, all the bridges have to open regardless of the traffic situation, as the ship has priority. Apparently, this happens mostly at weekends and is a magnificent sight to see. We took two boat rides, one along the river and one along the lake front, both offering spectacular views of the skyline. We also went to the top of Sears Tower, which this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and to the Sky deck at the top of The John Hancock Building. "Big John" gives the best views of the city as it is not so central as Sears Tower. We then flew on to Seattle for a few days in The Emerald City, again it was lovely and hot with not a drop of the rain we had been told to expect. Seattle is a city with a sense of humour - ride the "Ducks" or take the Underground Tour and you will see what I mean, never has history been treated so irreverently but come over so memorably. I would recommend Seattle to anyone, as long as they don't mind walking up and down lots of hills! Once we had collected our hire car, we set off on the 800 odd mile journey south through Washington, Oregon and Northern California, to San Francisco, 2000 miles later we arrived. The thing about America is that there is just so much to see. We went round the Olympic National Park, visited the Hoh Rain Forest, spent a day at Mount St Helens, climbed to the top of the tallest Lighthouse on the Oregon coast and spent a day at Crater Lake marvelling at the colour of the water. We spent a couple of days in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, tasting the wine and watching "Old Faithful" erupt (one of the few geysers in the world that erupts on a regular basis - every 15 minutes when we were there). We saw a petrified forest, waterfalls of icy cold crystal clear water, trees that are hundreds of years old, spectacular coastline and empty roads where we could drive for hours without seeing a building or another car. We spent a couple of days in San Francisco itself before going down to my sister in law's, and managed a trip to Angel Island and Alcatraz. This was my third trip to the city, but the first time that I had managed to find the time to get to Alcatraz. San Francisco changes every time I visit but I do love the place. It will be different again the next time I go with the opening of the new waxworks opposite Pier 39 due next summer, but it will be another couple of years before I am back. Our last
five days were spent with my sister in law, seeing where she now works,
lives and shops. She lived in La Honda the last time we visited and we
went to see her old house and the devastation caused by the landslides
and heavy rain last year. Part of the road she lived on just isn't there
any more. First published in VISA issue 36 (spring 2000) |