Letters From America 8 – Rule 5

 Ever since I moved in with Kitty she has been quoting Rule 5 to me. Where did she get it from ? From Lodz or some other Polish city ? And what may you ask is Rule 5.

RULE 5 - You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege."

Yes – we have arrived in San Francisco. I am sipping sherry in the Queen Anne hotel – a hotel that looks just like the hotel Paladin stayed in (Have Gun, Will Travel). A beautiful Victorian/Queen Anne period hotel with lavish antique furniture (eat your heart out, Judy).

Union Square  SF   

Kitty has finally stopped driving (the car). She did a superb job but rather like Forrest Gump´s run, she just kept going in a straight line until she decided to stop. Fortunately it was in San Francisco and not Monument Valley. Getting her to turn was difficult. A typical scenario (K) Do I turn or go straight ahead ? (G – very forcefully) TURN RIGHT – NOW. Kitty goes straight ahead. (G) Why didn´t you turn ? (K) I was getting mixed messages !

But she did allow me to do a round at Pebble Beach. Pebble Beach Golf Club is one of the most prestigious in the US – over $500 to play. But I payed my entrance fee and stepped on the course. It was stunning. Unfortunately my entrance fee ($9.50) was only to get into the Pebble Beach estate and peer at the 5 or so golf courses there. But at least I drove past all the courses.

 

Pebble Beach golf course 

The Monterey coast was OK – rather like the Great Ocean Road – but a bit tame after all the National Parks. At Half Moon bay (half way to Frisco) we passed thousands of pumpkins – all laid out in a row. Some were huge (can be 1500 lb) but most were orange and all the same size. Virtually none were for eating. They were for the biggest pumpkin contest OR for Halloween.

I took Kitty to Alcatraz today. But they sent her back claiming she was too tough for them. But it was there I discovered where Rule 5 came from - Alcatraz Prison Rules and Regulations – 1934.

Alcatraz from the ferry 

Sea lions at Fisherman´s wharf - they arrived after the 1989 earthquake and have been there ever since 

a cable car in hilly San Francisco 

By now we have run out of money and I have been forced to send Kitty out to work during the day. You can see in the photo that she is just leaving work after a hard, sweaty 10-hour grind. The pay is not good but at least we can now afford to come home.

(Kitty´s comments - I went into this shop to get directions to a restaurant!  If it came to following Graeme´s instructions or the GPS instructions I always followed the GPS, but sometimes it was set to the wrong route)