Our first port of call on arriving in the US was San Francisco. After nearly 13 hours on the aircraft flying from Sydney the chance to walk around, stretch the legs and explore country that will be our home for the next three years was welcomed.

San Francisco is a beautiful city but I'm not sure I'd like to be walking up and down those hills all time. You certainly would get fit walking around. We caught the cable cars from our hotel to Fisherman's Wharf and all the other locations around the city. The cable cars have wooden brakes and you could smell the burning timber as the cable cars were going down hill. Thankfully they held while we were riding on them. The movies with all those car chases up and down the hills don't really do it justice.

Our friend Bob Frank travelled up from Los Angeles to catch up us. He had really spent much time in San Francisco so it was a good opportunity for him as well to look around.

On the Saturday morning we went to Alcatraz and explore the old jail. The view of the city for the jail is amazing. The jail is a little run down but they have recognised its potential from a tourism perspective and they are taking steps to ensure that it doesn't decay further.

That afternoon we hired bicycles and road along the foreshore and over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. We then caught a ferry back to San Francisco for a few drinks with Bob in one of the local pubs. Something that interested us was tipping and how much to tip for different services and food.

Sunday we headed to the airport and flew to Washington DC, via Dallas - Fort Worth and on to our new home.

Bob Frank, Carol & Adam Our first meal in the USA, how better than to spend it with a fellow American.	Carol riding the cable car	On our way to Alcatraz	Proof we were there!	A Typical cell at Alcatraz
Jailed!	The Hallway of the cell block	From the outside of Alcatraz		Looking from Alcatraz back to San Francisco
One of the cells in Alcatraz where they mounted an escape. They have never been found so it's uncertain whether it was a successful escape attempt.		The exercise area at Alcatraz		Leaving Alcatraz by Ferry
	The streets of San Francisco		This is the 'Worlds crookedist Street'
The Golden Gate Bridge				Proof we cycled over the Bridge
The Infrastructure of the Bridge