Day 16 - Washington to San Francisco

All good things come to an end, and we finally had to leave Washington.  Our stay there was most enjoyable, and we were both a little sad to leave, still onward and westward.  If you like Canberra you'd probably like Washington as well -and we can't recommend the AKA White House too highly.  We spent the early morning finishing our packing and then travelled to the airport in a Lincoln limousine - for less than the cost of a taxi in Australia for a comparable journey.

The airport was a bit confusing at first - the self-check in wasn't overly intuitive.  With assistance we were able to complete the process, and, $50 later for our suitcases (apparently our tickets, flying with United Airlines, didn't include checked luggage).  Our seats were at the very back of the plane and we weren't initially seated next to each other.  Thankfully a very generous lady swapped seats with Rhonda so we could sit together.  Rhonda thinks the lady just didn't want to spend an entire flight sitting next to me - I understand that.  The Steward looking after our section of the plane was fantastic, a great sense of humour and he was very engaging - apart from trying to hit on Rhonda (in jest, although I understand his motivation).  Rhonda got a coffee, which was undrinkable, so she took it back and he gave her two complimentary bottles of wine.  The flight lasted about five and a half hours.

We got to our Hotel in the late afternoon and felt very relieved.  It's rather grand, as you can see from the pictures below.  I'm here for the 34th International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, which is being held at the hotel (as it is every year) so we get a very good room rate (less than the hotel in New York).

The Claremont Hotel Resort and Spa

Feeling pretty happy at this stage

I stayed here just over three years ago, and, frankly, had a better room (with views over San Francisco Bay), but we have no complaints.  We wandered down the road (and when people in San Francisco wander down the road they wander DOWN the road - it's very hilly here), had dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant, bought some groceries and staggered back up the mountain to the hotel.  Tomorrow we're off to the de Young Museum, in Golden Gate Park - apparently you can't visit too many museums.  See  you all then.