Tuesday, 6 March 2012

Day 5 – Oh look it's the bridge!


Alright so we started out the day all keen with the thoguhts of riding across the Goldengate Bridge. It's one of those must do things you see while researching for a holiday. After much walking down to the Fishermens wharf (one section of it) we managed to track down this bike hire place we had a pamphlet for. It was slightly more costly then all the other places but fortunately for us we struck really lucky! The guy that was manning the store was a phd research student that stayed in Darwin for a bit and was really hoping for some aussies to stop by because he was tired of the standard americans who had no humour. For stopping by we had a major discount haha. ThouHght that was a great thing! :P However the problem though now was when we started riding, I realised that I havent been on a bike in well... years!!! They do say that you never forget how to ride a bike... which is true.. but I dont think riding 30km's after so long was a good idea. Especially up and down those crazy hills. My legs are STILL hurting... I think they will still hurt for the next few days. Great views though of the city. Really worth seeing the bridge up close.

So at the Fisherman's wharf, I found my favourtest store. It's called ISS or spelt out International Spy Store. It has an amazing range of security devices, tools and other items that could help you with spying activities. We came in early before the bike ride but we didnt have enough time to stay and do much. However one thing did catch my eye - lock picking class! So after talking to the people in the store I really wanted to learn – which is just what I did. I came back at 5pm and stayed till closing time at 7pm learning and well picking all the locks they had. 5 door locks and 3 pad locks... also something I will deny ever having been taught... if you want to know what then ask me privately elsewhere. But it was great fun... I never realised how locks worked and its really all quite complex – logical but complex. I ended up picking their number 4 door lock with 4 tumblers and a pattern to them in a rather quick time. Spent the most time figuring out lock number 5 which had 5 tumblers and some really tough and complex pattern to which one to get first. Most people give up after the third lock apparently. Lock number 4 and 5 are just too complex for people with their tumbler patterns. Apparently though after much fiddling and getting all 5 tumblers up we found that it was broken and would not turn which was a shame since im one of only a few who's managed to pick it. It's rather surprisingly fun. Going to try practice this more I think.

So finishing up at 7pm had some side effects – it was freezing outside (like 9 degrees Celcius) and not to mention that it was all dark outside. So getting home involved... well walking – which was not something I was looking forward to after that long bike ride. But there was no way to avoid it. Out with the map and checking locations then off I went freezing myself to death. By chance I found myself walking up Hyde st, where the cable cars go. Good that it had an excellent view, not so good that it's probably one of the steepest streets in San Francisco. And it was telling. My legs ached so bad, was NOT a smart idea at all. I persevered though, and as I reached the top I was rewarded with a brilliant night view as well as finding the crookedest street. Took some nice photos there.

Tonight we kept it easy to recover from our escapades. Had cheese steaks for dinner – which we thought was actual steaks with cheese sauce. In actual fact it's more like ground meat in cheese sauce all in a bun. Great food but damn its cheesy. Night activity involved going home to watch tv. And well if you have never watched WWF and wrestlemania and all that stuff... please do... it is the most hilarious thing ever!

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