After hearing how tricky it was for RVs and larger vehicles, we were pleasantly surprised how easy it was to get around San Francisco. Admittedly we didn't stay downtown but after several hours researching where was the best place to stay, we ended up in Larkspur on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Marin RV park, although it was another example of a very expensive city RV park (actually literally a car park) with more rules than Alcatraz it was perfectly located for the ferry that took us straight into the city.

We spent two days exploring the city and had a great time. Entering the city from the water, even on a commuter ferry gave us a taste of the harbour, including the closed Alcatraz (another victim of the federal close down). We did the usual tourist things including Fisherman's Wharf and the sea lions.



Other highlights were fabulous dim sim in Chinatown, trawling up and down those steep hills for the views and the Exploratorium museum for the kids and I (way too many school kids to be in Steve's comfort zone).



As Yosemite is still closed we then headed southwards to a couple of state beaches north of Santa Barbara. It is warm enough for them to be pretty busy and it's too rough and cold in the sea to swim but it is perfect weather for kite flying and digging in the sand.



It's also given us time to play with our new kitchen "toy" a Dutch oven, a cast iron pot with 3 little legs that sits in the coals of the fire. We've made a couple of delicious stews in it so far and are looking forward to see if we can bake something in it another night.