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Call Sign being the only trade magazine with a
reporter in San Francisco, Dial-a-Cab trainer Daren Morley decided
to take full advantage! When planning my recent trip to California, there were a number of places I wanted to visit. Starting in San Francisco, then driving down to Los Angeles via the beautiful scenic Highway 1, onto the fantasy land of Las Vegas and then flying fly over the Grand Canyon. At the end, a well-earned rest in the peaceful surroundings of Lake Tahoe. However, after driving 2500 miles in three weeks, visiting three states and two separate time zones, I can confirm that my girlfriend Rosie and I left our hearts in San Francisco! One of the main reasons for that was the warmth and hospitality of Call Sign’s SF reporter, Charles Rathbone and his wife Bettina. Knowing someone with local knowledge can be a real advantage when booking hotels and looking for hidden places of interest to visit, so I contacted Alan Fisher and asked whether I could have Charles Rathbone’s e-mail address. For those who don't know, Charles drives a TXII in San Francisco and writes occasional articles in Call Sign. Charles replied almost immediately and recommended two excellent hotels that were very reasonably priced and privately run with a more personal service. We decided on the Queen Anne Hotel, which was the hotel Charles and wife Bettina married in last October (see Jan 2005 Call Sign). Charles also offered to be a tour guide for us and recommended places of interest to visit. Once we arrived in San Francisco, Charles was unable |
CALL SIGN’S SAN FRANCISCO REPORTER HELPS DAC TRAINER
FIND HIS WAY!
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to meet us on the day we had originally arranged due
to political commitments; it was a Polling Day and Charles was
assisting in one of the Polling stations. Charles made arrangements
to meet us a few days later, but sent his delightful wife Bettina to
take us out in his absence. Bettina took us on a four-hour walk
through the streets of San Francisco taking in Pacific Heights, the
zig-zag of Lombard Street, Chinatown, down through the skyscrapers
of the financial district and finishing up at the Ferry Building -
one of the few buildings left standing after the 1906 earthquake.
After a well-earned coffee break, Bettina walked us back up to Union
Square where to use one of Bettina's phrases: We were pooped!
Rosie and I later visited the notorious prison island of Alcatraz, made famous by Hollywood films such as Burt Lancaster’s Birdman of Alcatraz and Clint Eastwood’s Escape from Alcatraz, so I thought I knew what to expect. But that prison has a really eerie feel. Charles – amazingly wearing |
a Dial-a-Cab cap - and Bettina picked us up from the hotel the next morning
in his TXII and gave us a two-hour guided tour in the taxi,
stopping at places of interest along the way including the
staggering Divisadero Street. It was a surreal experience driving
around San Francisco in a London taxi, but Charles explained that
the TXII has become more popular since fuel prices had risen so
much. Even so, I was impressed at how well the TXII coped with the
San Franciscan hills! Charles finished the tour by stopping at the Golden Gate Bridge; it was a glorious day and the bridge looked stunning. Charles and Bettina really enhanced our visit to San Francisco and both Rosie and I feel that we have made new friends in California. I know Charles and Bettina are hoping to come to London in the not too distant future and we look forward to that so that we can repay the favour by showing them the sites of London…
Daren Morley |
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