City Experience

     So, apparently a week in the City by the Bay goes very quickly.  San Francisco is everyone's favorite city.  Its visual appeal has a lot to do with this.  It is built on a series of hills that not only help create an interesting architectural environment but also allows glimpses of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate or the Pacific Ocean, as the city itself if surrounded on three sides by water. We three had a week filled with food, drink, lots of walking and more food, drink and lots of walking. Luckily, we all like to do pretty much the same thing. We are a family who really enjoys the outdoors.
     Our first full day was spent biking from Fisherman's Wharf across the Golden Gate Bridge, down an incredible hill to Sausalito, lunch and the ferry (with our bikes in tow) across the Bay back to the wharf.  We had taken the cable car to the Wharf but decided to walk back to our respective hotels.  When I say that most of the streets in San Francisco are steep you cannot even imagine how steep they actually are.  There are streets where no cars are allowed due to the incline.. so for people who live at the top of the hill, there are steps built into the sidewalks.  The steepest grade can be 31.5%!!!! We walked the length of Hyde St. towards home and it was no easy feat. I am very happy now for all the hours spent at the gym.  It was definitely quite the workout.   That walk home was the first of many, many miles spent exploring the city on foot.
     Bob and I were on our own the next day as my brother was attending his lectures in emergency medicine. The morning was lightly raining so we decided it was finally time to hit a laundromat.  By the time that task was completed the skies had cleared.  We took the bus out to Alamo Square, home of the famous Painted Ladies.  A block of very large, very ornate victorian homes made famous in many movie scenes but probably most notably the opening scenes for the TV show Full House (remember the cute little Olsen twins).  Actually, most of the surrounding neighborhood homes were of victorian architecture and were all charming.  We met up with Wally for dinner and more walking. I'm am hoping all this walking is counter-acting all the food and wine I am consuming.  I love big cities!!
     Wally joined us Thursday for the day (playing hooky??)  We started our day at Dottie's True Blue Cafe.  The 45-minute wait for breakfast in a little neighborhood place was well worth the wait.  Fresh squeezed juices, fresh produce and a spicy, veggie frittata was a great way to start our day. We walked to Telegraph Hill and the Coit Tower.  There were literally hundreds of wooden steps up to the top of a hill to the Tower, a structure dedicated the the fireman of San Francisco.  That was a tough climb, but the rewards at the top with the view was worth it all.  We also visited City Lights Bookstore.  A hang out made famous by the likes of Kerowac and Ginsberg.  So....we walked home, of course.  It was early because Bob and I had dinner plans with his cousin who lives outside the city.  Had a great evening of Italian food in North Beach and conversation with family we don't get to see often.
     Friday was our last full day in this fabulous, vibrant city.  Wally was attending his lectures so Bob and I boarded a bus and headed out to the Golden Gate Park. This park is one of the largest in the world and has over 1,000 acres of botanical gardens.  The main objective was the Japanese Tea Garden.  It was a lovely area of well manicured trees and ponds with an place to sit and partake in a cup of some unusual teas.  We had plans to see other sites but were growing restless and decided to just walk some of the sidewalk trails enjoying the beautiful weather and outdoors.  We grabbed a bus and headed to 21st Amendment Brewery, a stop we didn't want to miss.  Although I am not a beer drinker, I have spent enough time with Bob and my kids to know how breweries and their brews can be interesting and worth investigating.  What was supposed to be a short walk from the bus turned out to be a very long walk and I was glad to sit at a bar and have some light fare.  I even tasted several of the sampler beers Bob got.  We were going to grab a cab back to the hotel but were able to hop a bus right to our front door.  That night was filled with laughter and more good food as we had tickets to see a San Francisco icon, Beach Blanket Babylon, the "world's longest running musical revue".  It is complete with pop and political spoofs, great music and singing and cast members who wear ridiculously large hats, some of which contain the complete San Francisco skyline.  An Italian dinner afterwards and, of course, a walk home.  Wally stopped by our hotel first and we hit the bar on the second floor. Bob and I had heard the noise from there every evening but never ventured in until now.  Very loud, very urban and upscale but fun.  Last night in the city was fab.

Gone but not Forgotten

I'm finding travel weird at times.  When you visit an area that you think is the most magical place on Earth, you feel like you will never see or do anything quite like that again. Big Sur was that kind of experience. From our cozy cabin in the woods to hiking to see the only place in California where a waterfall plunges directly into the Pacific or hiking among ancient redwoods, it was something I find hard to describe. Big Sur is one of the most memorable sections of coastline, with 5,000-foot-tall mountains rising up out of the Pacific Ocean.  Early Spanish missionaries called it El Pais Grande del Sur (the Big Country of the South) and this rugged land has resisted development.  The population of 1,500 is roughly the same as it was in 1900.
     That being said, we left Big Sur and headed north once again to the next destination I was really looking forward to...San Francisco and my brother.  He was coming down from Oregon for a medical conference in San Francisco (all planned and timed this way on purpose) and was meeting us a few days before his conference commenced to show us the city. I have not seen him in over 2 years and was really looking forward to spending some time together. He has made many trips to San Francisco for both business and pleasure and loves this city.  I was looking forward to having someone show us the ins and outs that you might not find in a book.  Bob and I were also looking forward to exploring on our own as we enjoy walking neighborhoods and learning how to get around using the city's public transit system. Will let you know how all that goes.

Me and Big Sur

I have asked Bob to also do a blog about Big Sur as I know we both loved many of the same things about this magical place but thought it would be nice to see both perspectives.  I'll start with our accommodations at Deetjen's Big Sur Inn.  This place was recommended to me by my brother and will be the only stopping place I will recommend to anyone who asks "Where should I stay in Big Sur?" You can only make reservations over the phone as they want to be able to ask you questions about what type of cabin, bed size, bathroom facilities you would prefer. In the early 30's a Norwegian immigrant, Helmuth Deetjen, came with his wife to Big Sur.  They bought 120 acres of land in Castro Canyon and began building their homestead.  The Deetjen's were always welcoming overnight guests and so the Big Sur Inn was created.  Over the years they built Norwegian-style rooms and gave each of them a name.  Deetjen did all the work himself and used locally milled, scavenged redwood.  When he died he left the Inn "to be forever enjoyed by transient guests wanting to experience the peace, friendship and beauty that can be found at the Inn."  It is a National Historic Site and operated by Deetjen's Big Sur Preservation Foundation.  All that being said, when we arrived I was instantly in awe of the little cottages tucked away in the forest.  Our cabin, Stokes, was at the far end of a very narrow road and had its own small deck and bench overlooking a small waterfall.  The inside was cabin-cozy with simple furnishings and two rockers in front of a small wood burning stove.  Even with all the simplicity the accommodations were shabby-chic with a wrought iron chandelier, floral comforter and antique dressers.With the windows open we could hear the sound of the waterfall all day and night. Home for the next 3 days.

A Hop, Skip and a Jump

Internet access has been nearly non-existent for the last few days while we were nestled in the canyon of Big Sur.  I feel like we saw so much since San Luis Obispo but will not dwell too much on it as the few days in Big Sur seem to be what is occupying our whole self.  We headed out from SLO toward Hearst Castle on Wednesday morning.  We had tour reservations for the afternoon tour.  We stopped along the way at Morro Bay, a busy commercial fishing harbor where the main attraction is Morro Rock, a Gibraltar-like monolith that also serves as a peregrine falcon preserve and nesting site. We briefly walked around, spotted a falcon and headed towards the beach.  It was so windy it was almost impossible to walk and I was crunching sand and hiding beneath my hooded sweatshirt. We decided to leave the beach and head up a small trail called Black Hill where the views were spectacular of the Rock, the valley on the other side and part of a chain of sister mountains.  We left Morro and headed up the highway to see the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery which is a California coastal sanctuary for seal pups.  The bulls can weigh up to 2-1/2 tons and the beach was littered with hundreds of these massive mammals in various stages of molting. It looked like carnage on the beach. We left that amazing sight and headed to Hearst Castle.  I was afraid it would be a little too touristy for us but we thoroughly enjoyed this unique attraction.  You have to see the Castle to believe all that it is--144 rooms, including 36 bedrooms over 3 guest houses and the Casa Grande. It is the second largest attraction in California, next to Disneyland.  Hearst is still a working beef ranch of approximately 80,000 acres (originally 250,000).  The ride up to the actual house(s) is on a bus and it takes a very winding road up. We actually saw big-horn sheep on the ride down.  The normal route from Hearst to our next stop of Big Sur would normally be about 65 miles north on the PCH.  However, there was a landslide of significant magnitude about 35 miles away and we had to detour around.  We had been given advanced warning about the slide so we were prepared.  You had to travel north of Big Sur and then go south to get there.  The scenery changed on this route as we left the pounding surf and rugged cliffs. It was more rolling hills, trees and farms.  There were some areas that had grape vines growing at the many vineyards for as far as the eye could see.  Quite impressive.  Made me want a drink. We went about half way to King City, stopped for the night to pick up our travels in the morning. The weather was definitely taking a turn for the better as we left King City,  We stopped at Carmel-by-the-Sea, a small village that is also one of Northern California's biggest attractions.  It was originally a haven for artists and writers but apparently they have long since been priced out of the area.  There are many art galleries still remaining.  The town is on a hill and walking down to the bottom brings you to a beautiful, white sand beach. Again, the rugged cliffs are ever present and never cease to amaze me. The town is quiet with no postal delivery so all 5,000 residents pick their mail up at the post office.  There are no house numbers. We did notice that most of the homes had been given names such as Coastal Cottageor Beach House.  The local real estate office had pictures of various homes for sale and only one small condo was under 1 million. While the homes are not all that large, it apparently is all about location, location, location. After a walk on the beach we walked the neighborhoods, as we usually like to do.  Again, the gardens in California are incredible and each house had unique gates for entrances into their yards.  Bob is quickly using up his camera card with all the photo ops we have seen.  I called Deetjens in Big Sur to say we were about an hour away.  Check in was 4pm so we had time to drive and stop for lunch first.  The best was yet to come.....

On our own.

So we picked up our rental car and headed back towards LA and the beaches. Stopped very briefly at Santa Monica again and then headed a little farther south to Venice Beach.  It seems like there is always some type of filming going on at the beaches but did not spot any stars.  There were no bikini-clad roller blading women or muscle men on the beach (as advertised in the brochures) but plenty of people on bikes and some sunshine.  Venice is trendy and apparently in the summer is packed with sun worshippers, but today was quiet and lovely. Just a few blocks off the beach is a small area of tranquil canals that gave Venice its name.  There is a foot path along the Grand Canal.  The houses that back on to the canals are an interesting architectural mix from modest cottages to mini-palazzos. Every house has lovely gardens with roses and cactus and flowering trees.  We had a late breakfast and continued north to Santa Barbara. Our original plan was to stop at various beaches along the way but we mostly stopped and looked and did not actually walk any of those.  We stopped at an information center in Oxnard and the woman there was very helpful and gave us alot of brochures, maps and general knowledge.  We finally arrived in Santa Barbara in the afternoon.  The town sits on a curving, sandy bay with the Santa Ynez Mountains as a backdrop.  It is mainly Spanish and mission-style architecture with red tile roofs and a strong Mediterranean flavor.  It bills itself as The American Riviera.  It had been a long day so we ate lightly at a vegetarian cafe and went to bed. The next morning was off to the Santa Barbara Mission.  There are 21 Missions up and down the coast and the Santa Barbara Mission is labeled as the Queen of the Missions..  It sits high on a knoll above the town and its design was based on the designs of Roman engineers.  There was a lovely rose garden with roses named after famous people and colors I have never really seen before.  The history of the Chumash indians at the mission and the handiwork done by both the Native Americans and the friars was inspiring.
         Our next stop would be San Luis Obispo (labeled SLO by the locals), which is located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Like most of the towns along the PCH the town revolves around an 18th century mission.  It is a college town, home of California Polytech State University so the downtown area was a typical college type town with shops and restaurants.  Had a lovely dinner at Luna Red, a restaurant serving tapas (small portions) of swiss chard wrapped around red quinoa, fennel and walnuts, pizzette, roasted tomato soup and basil and wilted spinach salad.  Very nice.  It was raining pretty hard for the 6 block walk back to our hotel but it was a nice end to the day.  Off to Hearst Castle.  Will let everyone know how that goes.

Jumping Off and Jumping Cactus

Our trip to Los Angeles was uneventful, which is how you want your flights to be.  Met by our lovely niece who has been a California resident since starting college there in 2003.  Our first day was run by adrenaline and lasted almost 21 hours.  We ran into LA city the first night for a sampling of beer by Angel City Brewing and then Mexican food and some vendor shopping and on to Santa Monica to see the Pacific at night and walk the Pier.  It was very windy and quite chilly.  Need to rethink all those summer clothes I packed.  The next morning was to be a hiking trip to Big Bear Mt. but when we woke up the temperature at Big Bear was 34 and raining.  It was also raining quite hard in Los Angeles so a quick change of itinerary led us south towards Palm Springs, the Mohave Desert and a promise of sunshine.  The rain did stop as we neared Palm Springs.  The most amazing sight we saw at this point, besides the sun, was the "forest" of windmills.  These enormous 3-bladed structures line the flat lands and the mountains for miles.  I have never seen anything quite like it. Our final destination was Joshua Tree National Park where the high Mohave Desert meets the low Colorado Desert. It is almost 800,000 acres of changing landscape but most notably covered by the Joshua Tree, a cross between a tree and a cactus and it grows best at the elevation of the park, which is between 3,000-5,000 ft.  The road in the park passes by gigantic granite boulders that form small and large playgrounds for rock climbers.  They sometimes seems to defy science as they perch precariously on top of each other.  Our first adventure was a small loop around a trail where we saw the desert in bloom and climbers on the boulders. Our next adventure within the park was a much more strenuous hike up Ryan Mountain.  The steep, 1.5 mile each way trail was truly invigorating!  Just what Bob and I enjoy.  It was very windy and cool but since the temperatures in this area can climb to 100 in the summer, it was a welcome climate.  We made it to the top, 5,247 ft. elevation in around an hour.  Going back down, while all downhill, took less time but hiking downhill has its own challenges.  We then drove out of the park, which takes almost an hour.  The vegetation on the way out are the Cholla cactus.  An extremely beautiful cacti also known as "jumping cactus" and with good reason.  Although they do not actually jump, the plants have an annoying tendency to attach themselves to you with even the slightest touch.  We toured the Cholla Garden where the warnings are severe about staying on the marked trail.  We did not disobey those rules.  It was almost 3 hours before we would be back in the suburb of Corona and my niece's lovely dog, Lovey.  Bob drove home since Kate had been driving us everywhere and he struggled with the high winds on the highway.  A quick dinner on the grill and it was bedtime for an early rise on Monday when we would get driven back to the airport to pick up our rental car.  More to follow.....

So, we have finally arrived at the time we have been thinking about and planning for almost 3 years. My 20-year anniversary with QVC has afforded me an extra 2 weeks of vacation for the year 2011 and Bob's retirement from UPS after 33 years has afforded him the luxury of unlimited time off.  We hope you will follow our adventures for the next month as we explore the "left coast" from Southern California up to Portland, Oregon via the Pacific Coast Highway.  Good times!