#1 Time for a break
Christmas 2019 found me on my own, with a small window of potential time off, and the first opportunity for a holiday in 11 years. If I didn’t take this chance to make something happen, another year or more would fly by. On this side of 40, they seem to fly by faster than before.
I’ve historically blamed pressures of work for the travel laziness. On reflection, it is really the result of a failure to manage my time properly, and failure to plan ahead. Well, that coupled with a reluctance to do anything far from my comfort zone. All of this would need to change, as I was not comfortable to let another 11 years go by with my head down and my work getting the lion’s share of my attention. So rather than let that weird time between Christmas and NY just pass me by again, I thought I should get off my arse and do something.
San Francisco had always appealed. A city proud to be a bit different from the rest, with a rich cultural history and plenty of sights to be seen, as well as being home to some of my favourite films. I’m a fan of Adam Savage, king of geeks and former Mythbusters co-host, and the slim possibility of bumping into him in a bar was enough to swing it. Flights were booked on 21st December for me to fly out on Boxing Day, with 3 days to start in the heart of SF, and who knows what else to follow.
‘The Rock’ is a 1996 action film starring Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage, notable for being one of the few, if not the only film where our hero and protagonist (Cage) is a biochemist. I can relate to the biochemist bit, but unlike Stanley Goodspeed I have yet to disarm a chemical weapon saving the lives of thousands. There is still time.
At a key juncture in the film, former criminal escapologist Mason (Connery) is negotiating the terms of a deal with the authorities, who require his assistance to penetrate Alcatraz Island from the outside. Central to his demands is a suite at the Fairmont Hotel. So on Mason’s recommendation, my first few nights would be spent at the Fairmont. Although after checking their prices, I could probably manage without the suite.
My outbound flight was at 08:00 on the 26th, and I don’t do mornings, so the highlight of my Christmas day was checking into the Novotel overlooking the terminal building at Birmingham airport. It was weird being at the airport on Christmas day, I’ve never seen it so quiet. I enjoyed my complementary malty biscuits and allotment of tea bags before tucking in for the night ahead of a day of travelling.
Street ViewLeaving behind a cold and dark Birmingham morning, I flew with Aer Lingus via Dublin, which I can highly recommend for anyone visiting the States. The onward journey from Dublin is tightly aligned with the Birmingham flight, and Dublin has the benefit of operating a US Customs pre-clearance system. On the long-haul leg of the journey, I and the tall lady sat next to me had the foresight to book the front row seats for extra leg room. Whilst the stretching space was nice, it was countered by the constant flow of loo-queuers. To pass the time, I invented the game of “number 1 or number 2?”. Both the tall lady and I agreed that the benefits of the extra legroom seats did not justify the cost. I also watched half of Chernobyl for the 2nd time (excellent), Rocketman (4/5 stars) and Yesterday by Danny Boyle. It was during John Lennon’s miraculous appearance at the end of Yesterday (sorry, spoilers) that the pilot announced we would be landing.
There were great views of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges as we approached, and before too long, we were on the ground. I was travelling light with my executive traveller’s wheelie bag and the matching smug face that goes with it. Having done the little dance with US Customs back in Dublin meant that just 5 minutes after leaving the plane, I was outside the airport hailing a cab. It was mid-afternoon in a sunny and warm San Francisco.
Street View