As soon as we get through the Californian border with Oregon, the sun suddenly starts shining and we get to enjoy the rest of the coastal trip to SF under the sun! We attempt to go see a natural builder in the hills before SF but we end up lost on steep dirt roads under a burning sun, our car starts to worry us so we have to go back unfortunately and abort the visit.

Arrival in San Francisco happens through the fires running wild in California. We see the smoke coming out of a forest not too far from the highway we are on.

Tom has found us a hotel which is a bit cheaper in the city. We park our car a little further away and take our backpacks. After a 20min walk, we see that our hotel is located in a street entirely filled with homeless people, a lot of them doing hard drugs using needles in the middle of the street and the day. The hotel window and door are barred with heavy iron bars. Its front is occupied by a bunch of homeless people. We go back to the car and cancel our hotel reservation and pick another location, a motel a bit further away. We are a bit shocked by the experience when we had this image of SF as being a free vibrant and fun city, we started with its negative image. As my birthday present, Tom got us two tickets to go see Tenacious D in concert, it is a fun evening in a beautiful concert hall. I finally find a chance to attend a beginner's class for lindy hop to introduce Tom to this dance, it is a fun time and we even venture for one dance together on the dance floor afterwards!

The next day we meet Tom's friend from Jamaica, Andrew who takes us through Little Italy. It is a beautiful sunny day and we enjoy very much the little tour we have with him which also allows Tom to figure out what he wants to do with his parents in SF when they come in a few days now.

After SF, we are so happy to leave the big city and even happier to go and meet again Janete and Gary. We met them at a self-sufficiency course in northen UK, at Will Sutherland’s (John Seymour School of Self-Sufficiency). They are really nice and generous people, with great mindsets and a love for food that we definitely share ! We spend a few days there relaxing before moving on. It is a great friendly time and the absence of electricity due to fire hazards and wind makes it a special time too.

Soon we are back to SF, at the airport to welcome Tom's parents for an incredible West US Road Trip!