FRIDAY 25TH APRIL 2025

With a marriage scheduled to take place in about thirty hours,  the first order of this day was to get a Marriage License. This saw us accompanying the bride- and groom-to-be to a County Clerk’s office.

We drove to Contra Costa County in Martinez, California. I have no idea why. It was a pretty town though, so worth the trip.

There was a group of Hispanics waiting outside. From their classy presentation it was clear they were waiting for a bride to arrive.

At the entrance door stood a tall well-built uniformed man who seemed intimidating at first glance. Then he withdrew his hands from his belt, spread them (his hands, not his belt, haha), and said, ‘Welcome’. Well – That was unexpected!

While Bill and I had nothing to do with the paperwork, it was interesting to see who visits the office and why. It wasn’t overly busy but a couple of the customers were agitated from having been sent from one place to another, or not being able to find the record they needed in a searchable database.  The young male front desk clerk was patient and polite but I’d say he earns every dollar of his pay packet.

Lilly and Bob (they’ve given permission to name them) were asked if they wanted to get married right away. Yep! You can just walk in off the street! Two marriages took place in the half hour we were there. I was able to look inside one of the two marriage rooms. Mmmmm. It had nice stained-glass windows, I can say that much about it. Other than that it was spartan.

If you ever find yourself in Martinez and are seeking refreshment you may care to try Vic’s a family-owned cafe restaurant with a Mexican-cantina feel (not that I’ve ever been in one). Here Bob ordered Eggs Benedict and declared them “the best”. Bill and I had already breakfasted in the hotel, but one thing I enjoy about the States is their system of bottomless coffee.

It was over this brunch we decided in splitting up for the rest of the day, so we were dropped at Concorde BART station (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to make our way into downtown San Franisco.

Here the ticket seller went out of her way to assist us buy a “Clipper” travel card and load it with the exact money for a trip into San Francisco and back to the nearest station to our hotel.  The service level we receive from people in public positions outdoes anything you’d encounter in Australia.

We’d no sooner settled into seats when the transit police came through. We were fine but a guy sitting near to us was questioned over something. I asked the policewoman whether I should have tipped the ticket seller at Concord. We are still getting used to who gets what, and the service we’d received was extraordinary. The answer was no, but in the course of chatting the policewoman warned us about bag snatching. The train wasn’t busy at that time of the day so it would have been a quick getaway for any passenger who tried that. I’m pleased to report no trouble on our ride which lasted around forty minutes and included a section that run under water.

We exited at Embarcadero near the snazzy Hyatt Regency Hotel and by devious means busted into their toilets for a much-needed restroom stop. Thus relieved, we set off for the Ferry Terminal Building at the end of the road. Its interior is now shops and restaurants and we mooched around for a while before going in search of a ferry ride. Once again, the ticket seller was helpful and engaging and pointed us towards a historic tram for a ride down to Pier 39 where we picked up a 3pm cruise with the Red and White Line.

This one-hour San Francisco Bay cruise let us see attractions such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Angel Island, and Sausalito with an interesting commentary. We sat inside at big picture windows. This was only our third day in the San Franciscan area and each has been cold, about 15’C. We’re told the previous week was warmer, and warm weather is forecast for just after we leave. We lucked out there – but at least it wasn’t raining in any serious way.

Being as how we were at Pier 39 we followed an overpowering scent and the sound of coarse barking to where the resident seals were basking on or fighting over spots on the wooden piers. By now we were well familiar with the area from our previous visit in 2018.

We decided to walk back along the wharf front to Embarcadero. That’s around a half hour stroll. Along the way we noticed many driverless cars. They are available to rent for a joy ride.

A massive sculpture stands in front of the ferry terminal building. Made of steel mesh and named “R-Evolution,” the sculpture stands 45 feet tall and weighs about 32,000 pounds. She’d only been erected earlier that month, so we were lucky to see her. She was made by Italian Marco Cochrane who is quoted a being inspired to bring “Goddess energy into the world” and describes this piece as a symbol “of feminine strength and liberation.”

It was 5pm by the time we reached the station. Peak hour Friday, which brought its own interest. We found the correct platform and boarded the correct line (blue instead of the yellow we’d come in on). Although the train was full, we found seats – as it happens uncomfortably near a homeless man who was wrapped in swathes of blankets which bore the odour of the streets. Apart from that he bothered no one. It’s impossible not to notice the level of homelessness in San Francisco. As we travelled along, we saw several encampments lined between the rear of industrial sites and the train tracks. Basically, small communities of People down on their luck who had banded together into small communities.

Our destination was the end of the line, but we got off one stop earlier intending to walk to our hotel which was in between the two. It was raining by then, and a connecting bus was there, so we jumped on board with only 20cents left on our Clipper tickets. I tried to pay in cash, but the driver carried us for free and prompted us to when to get off. More examples of random kindness.

We stopped off for an Indian meal before going back to the hotel. It was very spicy – I had to ask for yoghurt to cool it down. There were bags and bags of takeaway waiting to be collected. We’d never seen so many. When we returned to the hotel we discovered the possible reason. There was a convention of sub-continent Indian families meeting there for the weekend. People everywhere! And not only that – but shoes also everywhere. Their meeting room was just behind the lobby. 🙂

Even though we were just down the hallway, the room insulation was so good we heard nothing. It was great to turn into bed at a reasonable hour, and pretty much alcohol free (we’d shared a half bottle of white wine over dinner). This ensured we were fresh for the big event – the wedding of Lilly and Bob.

More of that in the next post.