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Trying to get clean and respectable for visiting James, Kim and Sam - Will's cousin, wife and baby son, without a shower involved some creativity - holding our cold water container over the other one's hair for that simulated outdoor shower experience. We thought we were doing well when we were ready to leave at 10 a.m. and got into the car in good spirits, only for those same spirits to be dashed when Will turned the ignition key and NOTHING HAPPENED, not even a PEEP. The battery was completely dead and we were stuck in a car park miles from anywhere, in disbelief we considered our options and then took the only one open to us and called the AAA for assistance.
An hour later Claire could have kissed the AAA guy when he jumped started the engine into life and we were able to get cautiously on our way. The drive up to San Francisco was pleasant and we stopped only once for breakfast at a diner before rejoining the busy roads into the city. By late afternoon we had navigated our way through the steep streets and pastel coloured houses to James' wonderful house in a smart San Fran neighbourhood, where we met James, Kim and baby Sam. We sat catching up with news until Kim's brother, sister in law and baby Harry arrived for dinner.
Dinner was lovely, the food great and the wine flowed, but it was more than just the food and wine, I think it was sitting around a dining table in a family home with good company (and no language barrier) and the comforting thought that at the end of the day we could just go upstairs and crash out in a soft bed - bliss! James and Kim's home is a an older house recently renovated, spacious, tasteful and modern inside. After the anonymous-ness of motels and our cramped tent its really enjoyable to stay in a comfortable family home.
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