Modesto to Big Oak Flats (just outside Yosemite)
Had a terrible night’s sleep the room was about 29-30 degrees C all night, had to open the door around 4am to help it cool down and there was a huge bunch of people leaving Denny’s Diner so it was also quite noisy with the door open, so consequently did not get the crack of dawn leave that we had planned but that happens. We popped into Denny’s Diner to get some authentic American diner food, we both got all you can eat pancakes ($4) and a bottomless coffee ($1.95) easy to see how people can get ultra large in America, first lot of pancakes come out as 3 and then you get 2 more at a time until you are done. I only had 3 Lewie had 5 (well 4 and a bit) as we were just going to have a light lunch. Grabbed some GAS (petrol) and headed, got a smidge lost but nothing we could not handle as we rock and headed to Yosemite, got a little lost again and had to back track for 15 minutes or so but all good. Then passed a sign saying turn air con off for next 5 mile (or something like that) so we were thinking what is coming ie car needs the power etc it was steepish and windy but nothing crazy, it was also interesting noting that the other drivers were more timid than Lew even though he was driving normally they just must not be used to curves???
So had a debate as to the colour of the purple/pink flowers beside the road, Lewis swears they are pink but his is wrong, although I will admit to lilac rather than purple – regardless they were pretty. Found our accommodation and managed to book in early (score) it is really nice there is a glacier stream bubbling away and a nice sitting / picnic area with swinging chairs overlooking it – and there were a heap of butterflies hanging out in the mud (and lots of people trying to photograph them – me included) which were cool. So we ate our lunch (apple for me and bran and apple muffin for Lewis) see we were allowed to have pancakes for breakfast! And then headed into Yosemite.
On the way in we hear on the radio that they have free entry into Yosemite this weekend for whatever reason so it was very packed but we didn’t have to pay (we will tomorrow) there are just people and cars everywhere but we don’t really know where we want to go or see and we are just so busy looking at the massive mountains and awesome view really cool. At the entrance you got some info and in it they said if there is a sign on the side of a road with a red bear picture that a bear had recently been killed here and please DO NOT SPEED so last year there were 27 bears killed on the road and 19 a year is average… not cool so then Lewis instructed me to find him a bear… and we did see one! It was chilling in a meadow really cool we pulled over (with a million other excited people) and took some photos yay. Just before the bear we saw snow – Lewis did not believe me until he could see it too, it was patchy, covered in leaves and dirt etc. but it was snow… so there was Lewis in his Hawaiian shirt and sandals in snow… fairly cool. So to the visitors centre and get some hiking maps etc., went through the display history of Yosemite – interesting that Roosevelt was significantly involved in the declaration of Yosemite and John Muir was again substantially involved. Yosemite was originally declared to protect the sequoias from logging and ended up protecting the whole ecosystem and area which was cool.
We walked to mirror lake which was a little less mirror as the moment as the water is quite high (one of the bus ladies said as high as it has been in 25 years due to snow melt) but also they are letting it go back to its natural state which is a developing meadow that forms a pool in high snow melt times so it was cool to see. In the late 1800s they put in a toll way, a lodge that had boats on the lake and also put a dancing floor over the lake (for visitors pleasure) thank goodness they no longer have these “comforts” and it has just gone back to the original natural way. We saw a little snake on the way back, and saw a deer beside the road, completely not fussed by the cars or people, lots of naughty squirrels (and not naughty ones, that were actually hunting their own food). You do get a sore neck from consistently looking up it was just gorgeous. On the way out of the park we saw the same bear in the same place (very cool, and some very dumb people walking closer to it to get photos) and then Lewis saw another in the woods not far so quickly pulled over and ducked out to get a few photos on my camera – very very cool as this one was quite close and no one else was there so Lewis spotted it all himself. We had dinner at a restaurant just up the road which was a normal American small town restaurant but around us were a table of Germans, a table of Italians, French, Japanese, us and we think a table of Americans but unusual that for such a small town feel that there was just a international flavour.. crazy then back to plan tomorrow and get an early night back again tomorrow
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Saturday 5th June – Golden Haven Spa
Calistoga to Modesto
Slept in (Lewis needed it) then tried to organize accommodation in Yosemite but had internet issues and had to check out then my computer battery died in my computer – all with min having no food… not good! So we decided that we would find accommodation the old fashion way – turn up in the area and then just see….Grabbed some food from the local super market, Lewis got a “bun” that turned out to be a cold potato stuffed with meat, cheese etc.. funny! Not really what Lewis was expecting to eat but did the spot. Then headed off to Modesto. Passed a massive wind farm - probably had 400ish turbines super impressive. (stopped at MacDonald's on the way to try and use their free Wi-Fi which of course for whatever reason was not working Grrr) got into Modesto and had absolutely no idea where the main street was or anything, managed to fluke a main street and asked at a “gas station” and we were only few blocks away (nothing special but somewhere to sleep) still had no place to stay in Yosemite so as wi-fi was not working at the hotel (for whatever reason) we headed into the town to find a Starbucks or similar found one but apparently to have access to the free wi-fi you have to have a card and buy 5 things on this card and etc etc the dude was embarrassed to tell us but also mentioned that there was a pizza shop around the corner with free wi-fi so we ordered a pizza and booked accommodation (pizza was nice) and rang mum. So we will be off early to Yosemite yay!
Slept in (Lewis needed it) then tried to organize accommodation in Yosemite but had internet issues and had to check out then my computer battery died in my computer – all with min having no food… not good! So we decided that we would find accommodation the old fashion way – turn up in the area and then just see….Grabbed some food from the local super market, Lewis got a “bun” that turned out to be a cold potato stuffed with meat, cheese etc.. funny! Not really what Lewis was expecting to eat but did the spot. Then headed off to Modesto. Passed a massive wind farm - probably had 400ish turbines super impressive. (stopped at MacDonald's on the way to try and use their free Wi-Fi which of course for whatever reason was not working Grrr) got into Modesto and had absolutely no idea where the main street was or anything, managed to fluke a main street and asked at a “gas station” and we were only few blocks away (nothing special but somewhere to sleep) still had no place to stay in Yosemite so as wi-fi was not working at the hotel (for whatever reason) we headed into the town to find a Starbucks or similar found one but apparently to have access to the free wi-fi you have to have a card and buy 5 things on this card and etc etc the dude was embarrassed to tell us but also mentioned that there was a pizza shop around the corner with free wi-fi so we ordered a pizza and booked accommodation (pizza was nice) and rang mum. So we will be off early to Yosemite yay!
Friday, June 04, 2010
Friday 4th June – Marina Inn
San Francisco to Calistoga.
Lewis picked up our clean washing and the car from the parking lot, we drove Lombard street (not really as scary or cool as it looked walking but still fairly cool) Min was “taking video” on Lewis’s camera… well let’s just say that it helps if you press go!
Then out of San Fran over the golden gate bridge (the day was misty) and into Muir woods, they are just amazing the trees are huge. It is impossible to explain the sheer size and majesty of them.. I expected to be amazed but was not prepared for the prehistoric feel of the forests also the misty atmosphere really added to the feel of the woods. We saw baby chipmunks, a spotted owl and a whole heap of annoying people (whilst we were there too we did not feel the need to yell to one another in the woods, fortunately we took a higher, slightly longer much quieter walk which was lovely, we saw a squirrel eating bark/moss some wrens and just got to enjoy the feel of the woods which was lovely). The café / gift shop had baby redwoods for sale it was a battle with Lew to leave the tree there and no he could NOT get it into Australia (he wanted 3). A medium tree that had come down had been aged at over 1000 years old and it was a medium sized one. They were MASSIVE One of the trees had had its original trunk destroyed by wildfire or lightening due to the size of it this original tree was over 1000 and the babies were about 1000 years old themselves CRAZY! The root system covers about an acre per tree.
Headed from Muir woods to Sonoma valley (winery area) called into the info centre and got some info, we headed to the oldest winery in the region Buena Vista 1859? The area is known for its Cab Sav tasted some good wines the Chardonnay was really lovely, they called Shiraz something different. The dude knew his stuff but we had to head to make our spa in time, on the way we had to pass through a tiny town called Saint Helena and it took FOREVER to get through this area (about 15 minutes to transverse through a tiny town) so we were late for our spa in Calistoga (most stressed I have been on this trip as we were late it turned out ok however they just moved our spa booking back ½ an hour). Plus they had over quoted me by $100 so double bonus! Dropped our stuff off in the room and headed down for the mud spa. We had a couple’s one so you got in a mud bath (sphagnum moss, mineral water and clay) it was hot on the bottom so you had to slide in sideways and then squiggle down to get in the mud. It was a very weird feeling as you were completely supported by the mud – quite relaxing but didn’t smell that great. Had a tea mud thing put on our faces and lay there and stewed for about 15 minutes. Then out of there and rinsed off in a mineral shower, mine was cold so was a bit of a shock.. The mud stuck to Lewis hairs so that was funny and took FOREVER to get off him, then into a hot Jacuzzi again with mineral water, by now Lewis was cooking, then from there into a room to cool down, wrapped in blankets… not sure how that worked Lew was still sweating for hours. Then back to the room, I read whilst Lew slept for about 2 hours, then went to dinner in the main street at a nice Italian place, I had spaghetti Bolognase (apparently this place was famous for this) and Lew had lasagne (very nice).
Lewis picked up our clean washing and the car from the parking lot, we drove Lombard street (not really as scary or cool as it looked walking but still fairly cool) Min was “taking video” on Lewis’s camera… well let’s just say that it helps if you press go!
Then out of San Fran over the golden gate bridge (the day was misty) and into Muir woods, they are just amazing the trees are huge. It is impossible to explain the sheer size and majesty of them.. I expected to be amazed but was not prepared for the prehistoric feel of the forests also the misty atmosphere really added to the feel of the woods. We saw baby chipmunks, a spotted owl and a whole heap of annoying people (whilst we were there too we did not feel the need to yell to one another in the woods, fortunately we took a higher, slightly longer much quieter walk which was lovely, we saw a squirrel eating bark/moss some wrens and just got to enjoy the feel of the woods which was lovely). The café / gift shop had baby redwoods for sale it was a battle with Lew to leave the tree there and no he could NOT get it into Australia (he wanted 3). A medium tree that had come down had been aged at over 1000 years old and it was a medium sized one. They were MASSIVE One of the trees had had its original trunk destroyed by wildfire or lightening due to the size of it this original tree was over 1000 and the babies were about 1000 years old themselves CRAZY! The root system covers about an acre per tree.
Headed from Muir woods to Sonoma valley (winery area) called into the info centre and got some info, we headed to the oldest winery in the region Buena Vista 1859? The area is known for its Cab Sav tasted some good wines the Chardonnay was really lovely, they called Shiraz something different. The dude knew his stuff but we had to head to make our spa in time, on the way we had to pass through a tiny town called Saint Helena and it took FOREVER to get through this area (about 15 minutes to transverse through a tiny town) so we were late for our spa in Calistoga (most stressed I have been on this trip as we were late it turned out ok however they just moved our spa booking back ½ an hour). Plus they had over quoted me by $100 so double bonus! Dropped our stuff off in the room and headed down for the mud spa. We had a couple’s one so you got in a mud bath (sphagnum moss, mineral water and clay) it was hot on the bottom so you had to slide in sideways and then squiggle down to get in the mud. It was a very weird feeling as you were completely supported by the mud – quite relaxing but didn’t smell that great. Had a tea mud thing put on our faces and lay there and stewed for about 15 minutes. Then out of there and rinsed off in a mineral shower, mine was cold so was a bit of a shock.. The mud stuck to Lewis hairs so that was funny and took FOREVER to get off him, then into a hot Jacuzzi again with mineral water, by now Lewis was cooking, then from there into a room to cool down, wrapped in blankets… not sure how that worked Lew was still sweating for hours. Then back to the room, I read whilst Lew slept for about 2 hours, then went to dinner in the main street at a nice Italian place, I had spaghetti Bolognase (apparently this place was famous for this) and Lew had lasagne (very nice).
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Thursday 3rd June – Marina Inn
San Francisco
We had our complimentary breakfast at the Marina Inn. Not a very good breakfast but at least it was something to eat, wouldn’t want Min to get grumpy!
The first item for the day after breakfast was that we had to move car from the street to a parking lot. Parking in San Fran seems to be a problem as there are many more cars than spaces; also many hotels don’t provide parking. Still $22 was not much extra when we considered that we got the rooms for $45 a night near the centre of San Francisco.
We had a very big day planned with a tour on the ducks and then hire bikes and ride across the golden gate bridge. First though we did a bit of looking around the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Min and I both found leather jackets that we wanted. They were at least half the price we would have paid in Australia. There were a lot of touristy shops selling crappy souvenirs, so we really didn’t see much else we wanted to buy. Fisherman’s Wharf seems to be the tourist area of San Francisco so I am sure that there are nicer parts of the city if you are only there for a couple of days this is the place to go to get tours and hire bikes etc.
The first part of our day long adventure was a ride on the Ducks with Captain Jeff and toured through north beach down town then around the stadium and the bay. The Ducks are amphibious vehicles… well trucks really first built for WWII and they can move on land and sea, though to be fair not very well on either. They’re big and unwieldy but they give you a great couple of hour’s tour of San Francisco. Captain Jeff was fun and a great tour guide and the best part was we got Quackers. Quackers are a bright yellow duck bill shaped noise maker… needless to say Min loved hers.
Once we were done with our whirlwind tour of some of the central suburbs of San Francisco we needed some sustenance, so we ate ice-cream at Ghirardelli’s where (According to our tour guide) cocoa powder was first made.
After our healthy lunch of a chocolate fudge Sunday for min and a Banana Split for me (Mine had fruit in it, Fruit is healthy right?) we ambled back down to the Fisherman’s Wharf area and hired bikes. We cycled along the water front then up some stupendous hills and across the golden gate bridge. The view of and from this bridge is spectacular to say the least
On the way back along the foreshore of the bay we saw a store called sports basement. Min and I both wandered around inside for over an hour. Min bought some running shoes and I bought myself another pair of Keen Sandals. This time though I got the Venice model. I have to say I had a very tough time fitting my Jacket, water bottle some gloves and a hat in my little bag once I bought the new sandals. Once we were finally on our way again out the back of the store we saw the canoes of San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club. Everything was going well but we were starting to run a little late for returning the bikes.
We made it on time and returned the bikes before the shop closed. Next stop was to quickly go to Golden Gate Leather and buy the jackets we saw earlier in the day.
Then walked to north beach area and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. The restaurant ended up being quite a walk and after the long day already we were not only tired but starving by the time we made it to Pellegrini’s. Pellegrini’s is an Italian restaurant that was pointed out to us by Captain Jeff on the Duck tour earlier in the day. It may have been due to comparison but at the time it certainly tasted like one of the best meals we’d ever eaten.
After an excellent dinner we started off home on foot again. As we were walking down Columbus St back towards Fisherman’s Wharf we passed Lombard St and our hotel was on the corner of Lombard and Octavia and for some reason I suggested to walk back to the hotel via the more direct route of Lombard St. The problem with the walk ‘down’ Lombard St is that it goes over Russian Hill before descending to the relative flat area around our hotel on Octavia St. Lombard St climbs 88m in the space of a couple of city blocks achieving a grade of 27% on a stretch that has to have switchbacks for the cars to be able to safely drive along it. Anyway we walked over Russian Hill along Lombard St the crookedest street in the world (Captain Jeff recons that Lombard is the second crookedest street in the world behind Wall St).
Great day we saw amazing things but we were very tired.
We had our complimentary breakfast at the Marina Inn. Not a very good breakfast but at least it was something to eat, wouldn’t want Min to get grumpy!
The first item for the day after breakfast was that we had to move car from the street to a parking lot. Parking in San Fran seems to be a problem as there are many more cars than spaces; also many hotels don’t provide parking. Still $22 was not much extra when we considered that we got the rooms for $45 a night near the centre of San Francisco.
We had a very big day planned with a tour on the ducks and then hire bikes and ride across the golden gate bridge. First though we did a bit of looking around the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Min and I both found leather jackets that we wanted. They were at least half the price we would have paid in Australia. There were a lot of touristy shops selling crappy souvenirs, so we really didn’t see much else we wanted to buy. Fisherman’s Wharf seems to be the tourist area of San Francisco so I am sure that there are nicer parts of the city if you are only there for a couple of days this is the place to go to get tours and hire bikes etc.
The first part of our day long adventure was a ride on the Ducks with Captain Jeff and toured through north beach down town then around the stadium and the bay. The Ducks are amphibious vehicles… well trucks really first built for WWII and they can move on land and sea, though to be fair not very well on either. They’re big and unwieldy but they give you a great couple of hour’s tour of San Francisco. Captain Jeff was fun and a great tour guide and the best part was we got Quackers. Quackers are a bright yellow duck bill shaped noise maker… needless to say Min loved hers.
Once we were done with our whirlwind tour of some of the central suburbs of San Francisco we needed some sustenance, so we ate ice-cream at Ghirardelli’s where (According to our tour guide) cocoa powder was first made.
After our healthy lunch of a chocolate fudge Sunday for min and a Banana Split for me (Mine had fruit in it, Fruit is healthy right?) we ambled back down to the Fisherman’s Wharf area and hired bikes. We cycled along the water front then up some stupendous hills and across the golden gate bridge. The view of and from this bridge is spectacular to say the least
On the way back along the foreshore of the bay we saw a store called sports basement. Min and I both wandered around inside for over an hour. Min bought some running shoes and I bought myself another pair of Keen Sandals. This time though I got the Venice model. I have to say I had a very tough time fitting my Jacket, water bottle some gloves and a hat in my little bag once I bought the new sandals. Once we were finally on our way again out the back of the store we saw the canoes of San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club. Everything was going well but we were starting to run a little late for returning the bikes.
We made it on time and returned the bikes before the shop closed. Next stop was to quickly go to Golden Gate Leather and buy the jackets we saw earlier in the day.
Then walked to north beach area and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. The restaurant ended up being quite a walk and after the long day already we were not only tired but starving by the time we made it to Pellegrini’s. Pellegrini’s is an Italian restaurant that was pointed out to us by Captain Jeff on the Duck tour earlier in the day. It may have been due to comparison but at the time it certainly tasted like one of the best meals we’d ever eaten.
After an excellent dinner we started off home on foot again. As we were walking down Columbus St back towards Fisherman’s Wharf we passed Lombard St and our hotel was on the corner of Lombard and Octavia and for some reason I suggested to walk back to the hotel via the more direct route of Lombard St. The problem with the walk ‘down’ Lombard St is that it goes over Russian Hill before descending to the relative flat area around our hotel on Octavia St. Lombard St climbs 88m in the space of a couple of city blocks achieving a grade of 27% on a stretch that has to have switchbacks for the cars to be able to safely drive along it. Anyway we walked over Russian Hill along Lombard St the crookedest street in the world (Captain Jeff recons that Lombard is the second crookedest street in the world behind Wall St).
Great day we saw amazing things but we were very tired.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Wednesday 2nd of June – Fireplace Inn
Carmell by the Sea to San Francisco.
Breakfast at the inn (lewis liked the bagels) , really nice really clean and simple. Chatted to a dude at breakfast about Napa valley, packed up and headed to the Monterey aquarium. Got a little lost on the way there (just after Min states that “wow I know where we are and how good am I” we just spun around and then followed the signs, missed the parking lot then had issues with one way streets but finally sorted it out and got a car park. Walking out of the parking lot a lady asked if we were going to the aquarium as she had 2 tickets she could not use and could not get refunded, it appeared legitimate and she waited for Lewis to come back from the car (had forgotten to lock it) so we bought them off her (saved us $20 and she got $40 that she would not have got as could not get a refund so worked out all around).
In the Aquarium we went straight to the otters and only had to wait 10 minutes for feeding/training time, they are so cool they only had 3 on display the other 2 were out the back where they act as companion animals or surrogate parents to sick or injured wild otters. They were just rolling around and around in the water, washing faces, scratching bellies and just generally grooming until the gate opened and someone came in they were on high alert and trying to scam food. They got ice blocks to start (just like the ones in your freezer) and one little one snitched ¾ of the blocks and had a pile on its chest, they are so clever he was banging them on his chest but then would hold all the blocks on his chest and role in the water (to wash off the bits) and then bang it again. They are no longer allowed to have seafood with a shell in the display area as they were banging the food on the glass and scratched it so badly they had to replace it, they still get proper shelled food out the back.
They had a very cool giant kelp forest which was massive the tank must have been 25ft high 20 meters wide, sardines/anchovies were in a massive school and all the other fish were cruising very cool. We also saw really cool sea horses , weedy see horses. They also has some wave generator that went over a Perspex walkway cool. The rest was fairly normal with the highlights for us listed above, oh and in the ocean out the windows you could see wild otters hanging out.
Lunch at Bubba Gump shrimp (as in Forest Gump bubba gump shrimp), it was an experience, food was good great view of the wild otters. Made it out of Monterey safely and much easier than on the way in.
Stopped at Santa Cruise – lewis was hoping to see the bike shop but to no avail, ended up at the beach which was just weird… there were roller coasters all up and down the strip, cable cars and merry go rounds people on the beach but there was no one in the water. We did see some brown pelicans including one that was diving for fish.
Lew noticed a lighthouse on the drive so we stopped and had a good look it was Pelican point lighthouse, and unfortunately the mist rolled in again just as I was getting out of the car to take a photo, oh well at least we saw it :)
San Francisco – great driving by lew , we made it to the correct street on the first go, intersections were very funny Lewis basically would stop and then just hope and go it seemed to work quite well. Many more horns here. Our street is incredibly steep with a park in the middle of it then down the other side – through a chicane which we JUST fitted through the dodge charger is not the skinniest little beast out there. But managed to find a park about ½ a block away which was great. Room is not massive but has everything we need and is quite good $$ and has breakfast included (double bonus). We walked down to the fisherman’s wharf which was a nice walk but starting to get a little chilly, we had a bread bowl of clam chowder and ate it looking over the water, saw some crazy people swimming (with wetsuits) and 3 old long boats rowing – fairly cool then really started getting cold so walked back to the hotel, in the morning going to do a tour and hire some bikes.
Breakfast at the inn (lewis liked the bagels) , really nice really clean and simple. Chatted to a dude at breakfast about Napa valley, packed up and headed to the Monterey aquarium. Got a little lost on the way there (just after Min states that “wow I know where we are and how good am I” we just spun around and then followed the signs, missed the parking lot then had issues with one way streets but finally sorted it out and got a car park. Walking out of the parking lot a lady asked if we were going to the aquarium as she had 2 tickets she could not use and could not get refunded, it appeared legitimate and she waited for Lewis to come back from the car (had forgotten to lock it) so we bought them off her (saved us $20 and she got $40 that she would not have got as could not get a refund so worked out all around).
In the Aquarium we went straight to the otters and only had to wait 10 minutes for feeding/training time, they are so cool they only had 3 on display the other 2 were out the back where they act as companion animals or surrogate parents to sick or injured wild otters. They were just rolling around and around in the water, washing faces, scratching bellies and just generally grooming until the gate opened and someone came in they were on high alert and trying to scam food. They got ice blocks to start (just like the ones in your freezer) and one little one snitched ¾ of the blocks and had a pile on its chest, they are so clever he was banging them on his chest but then would hold all the blocks on his chest and role in the water (to wash off the bits) and then bang it again. They are no longer allowed to have seafood with a shell in the display area as they were banging the food on the glass and scratched it so badly they had to replace it, they still get proper shelled food out the back.
They had a very cool giant kelp forest which was massive the tank must have been 25ft high 20 meters wide, sardines/anchovies were in a massive school and all the other fish were cruising very cool. We also saw really cool sea horses , weedy see horses. They also has some wave generator that went over a Perspex walkway cool. The rest was fairly normal with the highlights for us listed above, oh and in the ocean out the windows you could see wild otters hanging out.
Lunch at Bubba Gump shrimp (as in Forest Gump bubba gump shrimp), it was an experience, food was good great view of the wild otters. Made it out of Monterey safely and much easier than on the way in.
Stopped at Santa Cruise – lewis was hoping to see the bike shop but to no avail, ended up at the beach which was just weird… there were roller coasters all up and down the strip, cable cars and merry go rounds people on the beach but there was no one in the water. We did see some brown pelicans including one that was diving for fish.
Lew noticed a lighthouse on the drive so we stopped and had a good look it was Pelican point lighthouse, and unfortunately the mist rolled in again just as I was getting out of the car to take a photo, oh well at least we saw it :)
San Francisco – great driving by lew , we made it to the correct street on the first go, intersections were very funny Lewis basically would stop and then just hope and go it seemed to work quite well. Many more horns here. Our street is incredibly steep with a park in the middle of it then down the other side – through a chicane which we JUST fitted through the dodge charger is not the skinniest little beast out there. But managed to find a park about ½ a block away which was great. Room is not massive but has everything we need and is quite good $$ and has breakfast included (double bonus). We walked down to the fisherman’s wharf which was a nice walk but starting to get a little chilly, we had a bread bowl of clam chowder and ate it looking over the water, saw some crazy people swimming (with wetsuits) and 3 old long boats rowing – fairly cool then really started getting cold so walked back to the hotel, in the morning going to do a tour and hire some bikes.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Tuesday 1st of June - Raggard Point Inn
San Simeon to Carmell by the Sea.
Disappointingly the fog was thicker than ever in the morning so did not get to capitilise on the great views that were obviously around our accommodation. We saw another humming bird (they are so tiny) Lewis hunted it for a while with his camera but to no avail, so grabbed a coffee and some fuel (Lewis got one called the red eye – 3 shots of coffee then topped up with drip coffee and if needed you can add cream) then off to the Elephant seals again – they were a little more active with mock battles going on in the water AND we saw ground what we think are ground squirrels (California Ground Squirrel Otospermophilus beecheyi) they were cool, one tried to get into the car engine to warm up as it was COLD. I had jumper, jacket and beanie on (lucky Lewis bought 3 beanies).
The off to Hursts castle, next tour didn’t leave for 2 hours and would take over an hour so just went to the loo, bought some food (yoghurt) and headed off to big sur. Still foggy which was a little disappointing but still massively beautiful area huge mountains (well to us) that reach the sea in spectacular cliffs. Around 12 the sun came out and wow was it even more beautiful – great scenery on both sides of the road, we even saw a light house – though some of the photos are dodgy as they were taken in the car whilst moving through the window (no real place to stop) we did try and do a walk but the walks were damaged by fire and were closed. Saw some naughty birds (stellers jay) were stealing biscuits (unfortunately could not get a photo without a biscuit) they were cool but cheeky.
Stopped for lunch at Big Sur bakery and Restaurant which had an art? Shop attached with crazy African inspired art and didgeridoos made in Indonesia – needless to say we did not purchase anything from here. There were more naughty birds (Stellers Jays) at lunch diving and stealing crumbs they were quite bold, lunch was nice and the coffees great (surprising as in the middle of nowhere for a place to to have a barista was not expected). Then drove on – stopping regularly for photos until we got to carmel, drove past our accommodation and went to the beach – water was freezing (apparently – Lewis touched it but I did not) people were on the beach in hooded jackets, lumber jackets and all the surfers had full wet suits but there was one crazy man swimming in just swimmers.
Looked at doing 17 mile drive (costs $9.50 just to drive on a road to ogle rich people’ houses… not really our thing) but Point Lobos State Reserve was just a few miles around so we headed there paid our $10 and had an awesome time. It is only a small reserve but it had a lot of animals there. On the first trail we saw Deer, then we saw Cormorants not very exciting but you tend to spot a lot of them when you’re looking for Sea Otters. After many many Cormorants Lewis spotted what could have been a sea otter but it was a very long way off and even with my big lens it was hard to tell what it was exactly. We also saw the stick piles produced by the stick rat. It was really the pretty scenery that was the highlight on the first walk. The scenery on the second walk was not as nice but there was an absolute bonanza with animals. We saw SEA OTTERS, cutest things ever. We saw Harbour seals, Sea Lions, couple of cool birds including maybe a canary.
At 5 we decided to leave the reserve and check into the hotel.
The hotel was cute but what we really needed was dinner. We had planned to get some fish and chips and go down to the beach and eat. Lewis though was feeling tired and just wanted to eat and get back to the hotel to rest. Changing the plans all the time doesn’t sit well with me so Lewis had to pick the restaurant. We ended up eating at a very nice Italian place. Meals were lovely as was the Napa Valley Cab Sav that we had with dinner.
Soooo Mannnnny Sea Otter photos to sort through.
Disappointingly the fog was thicker than ever in the morning so did not get to capitilise on the great views that were obviously around our accommodation. We saw another humming bird (they are so tiny) Lewis hunted it for a while with his camera but to no avail, so grabbed a coffee and some fuel (Lewis got one called the red eye – 3 shots of coffee then topped up with drip coffee and if needed you can add cream) then off to the Elephant seals again – they were a little more active with mock battles going on in the water AND we saw ground what we think are ground squirrels (California Ground Squirrel Otospermophilus beecheyi) they were cool, one tried to get into the car engine to warm up as it was COLD. I had jumper, jacket and beanie on (lucky Lewis bought 3 beanies).
The off to Hursts castle, next tour didn’t leave for 2 hours and would take over an hour so just went to the loo, bought some food (yoghurt) and headed off to big sur. Still foggy which was a little disappointing but still massively beautiful area huge mountains (well to us) that reach the sea in spectacular cliffs. Around 12 the sun came out and wow was it even more beautiful – great scenery on both sides of the road, we even saw a light house – though some of the photos are dodgy as they were taken in the car whilst moving through the window (no real place to stop) we did try and do a walk but the walks were damaged by fire and were closed. Saw some naughty birds (stellers jay) were stealing biscuits (unfortunately could not get a photo without a biscuit) they were cool but cheeky.
Stopped for lunch at Big Sur bakery and Restaurant which had an art? Shop attached with crazy African inspired art and didgeridoos made in Indonesia – needless to say we did not purchase anything from here. There were more naughty birds (Stellers Jays) at lunch diving and stealing crumbs they were quite bold, lunch was nice and the coffees great (surprising as in the middle of nowhere for a place to to have a barista was not expected). Then drove on – stopping regularly for photos until we got to carmel, drove past our accommodation and went to the beach – water was freezing (apparently – Lewis touched it but I did not) people were on the beach in hooded jackets, lumber jackets and all the surfers had full wet suits but there was one crazy man swimming in just swimmers.
Looked at doing 17 mile drive (costs $9.50 just to drive on a road to ogle rich people’ houses… not really our thing) but Point Lobos State Reserve was just a few miles around so we headed there paid our $10 and had an awesome time. It is only a small reserve but it had a lot of animals there. On the first trail we saw Deer, then we saw Cormorants not very exciting but you tend to spot a lot of them when you’re looking for Sea Otters. After many many Cormorants Lewis spotted what could have been a sea otter but it was a very long way off and even with my big lens it was hard to tell what it was exactly. We also saw the stick piles produced by the stick rat. It was really the pretty scenery that was the highlight on the first walk. The scenery on the second walk was not as nice but there was an absolute bonanza with animals. We saw SEA OTTERS, cutest things ever. We saw Harbour seals, Sea Lions, couple of cool birds including maybe a canary.
At 5 we decided to leave the reserve and check into the hotel.
The hotel was cute but what we really needed was dinner. We had planned to get some fish and chips and go down to the beach and eat. Lewis though was feeling tired and just wanted to eat and get back to the hotel to rest. Changing the plans all the time doesn’t sit well with me so Lewis had to pick the restaurant. We ended up eating at a very nice Italian place. Meals were lovely as was the Napa Valley Cab Sav that we had with dinner.
Soooo Mannnnny Sea Otter photos to sort through.
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