Ok, I’ve got a confession. I’m a transport geek. There, I’ve said it. My name is Andrew and I like trains, trams and trolley buses. I mention this now as today I have been in transport geek heaven. San Francisco has a lot of ways of getting around (or transit as they seem to call it. To me that just conjures up images of dodgy white vans). Cable cars, trolley buses, buses, bikes, rickshaws and segways. Oh and walking (although I read today that the American motto is “why walk when you can ride”. Explains why 50% of the population is obese).

This morning we took a cable car to…the cable car museum! Now I know that’s not on the top of most people’s places to visit but if you consider that Frisco (yes I have started calling it that, and it’s quicker to type) has the only cable car system in the world, then a museum about this is unique and so is as much a part of Frisco as the Golden Gate Bridge or Alcatraz (and its free. Bonus).

Today I revelled in shearings, grip men and pulleys, and I don’t care who knows it. Yes I took a picture of a load of spinning pulleys (see below); yes I bought a pin badge and yes I grinned all the time I was in there. As well as the museum today we have been on cable cars and trolley buses (or as we call them, trams, but not like the metro link. These ran on time and were really cheap) and I have loved every minute of it.

So that’s it. I like trains, trams and trolley buses. But unlike other men of my age who suffer from the same condition I have vowed to maintain certain standards; I vow to shower every day; I vow to change my underwear everyday; I vow to only be excited by proper trains and trams (i.e. not the one that goes from Ormskirk to Preston. That’s just a bit dull). Long live the geek. Now excuse me whilst I take a trip on the BART (the Bay Area Rapid Transit) the Frisco tube to you and me. Let me tell you about its history…..

PS: tomorrow we start our journey down the coast and will be moving on each day, so blogging may become more infrequent from now on.