Nicholas Quirke was given a first class tour of San Francisco courtesy of Richard Firth. Taking in all the sights and sites of San Francisco from the Bay and the Ferry Building, Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, thee Legion of Honour and the Holocaust Memorial to, Haight Ashbury and  Castro, where they had a satisfying lunch. It was a real treat to not be behind a wheel and to be able to sit back and play with the Go Pro and take photographs. The scenery was beautiful on yet another day of blue sky. it felt like a fresh spring day back in Brighton and it really was a teat to be out of his ‘deep country’ outfit. Nicholas loved the architecture of San Francisco and was fascinated by the tram lines, trams and some of the cheeky Road names particularly in the Castro area. Nicholas observed the open affection that men demonstrated to each other and realised that despite Brighton’s profile and large Gay community, it was a very rare sight to see two men holding hands as casually and frequently as he saw in the city. They visited the Human Rights  Centre which had been Harvey Milks shop, boasting a picture of Harvey looking out of an upstairs window. After Richard departed, Nicholas went to see the mosaic steps. This turned out to be quite a mission, took him a long time to get there and was ultimately disappointing. Despite the obscure side street location there were hordes of tourists climbing them. He noticed signs advising to lock cars and to keep valuables with you, so it was with interest that he saw two seemingly innocent looking skater youths peering into car windows, scanning for potential takings. On his way back to the motel he went to spend more time and do some shopping at the market  in Haight Ashbury, famed as the birthplace of counter-culture, the ‘Summer of Love’ and the Hippie movement. This visit framed the journey from Coast to Coast for him having visited the site of Woodstock as his first stop. Once back at his motel he walked to Castro and had a tea and enjoyed watching San Francisco society . Nicholas had considered driving up to Oregon the next day to see the Redwoods but decided to stay in San Francisco an extra night and see the Redwoods in Seqouia Park instead, “The tallest living things on earth” as Richard emphatically stated.