July 28
Decided against driving to Yosemite because there are fires there and the fire service only had them under 10% control. Two reasons: 1 don't want to get caught up in it 2 don't want to be in the way of the emergency services. So we drove down highway 1 ( the Pacific Highway) past Carmel, Monteray and Big Sur. So glad we did...... stopped in Monteray for a drink and met a lady who is 84 years old, English born who served in our Royal Navy based in Plymouth!! She could not believe it's my home city and she was so thrilled she called her friend over to tell her. What an amazing coincidence, as she said we were destined to meet! Gave me goosebumps...
The drive itself is well worth the effort, the scenery changes so much. Up hill, down dale, sunshine, fog... and so reminiscent of home. At times, with the moorland scrub and granite outcrops, we could have been in Devon, Cornwall, the Peak District or the Lake District. Quite bizzare. However, seeing the elephant seals along the coast is spectacular! There they are lying on the beach, moulting and creating the most almighty din! They could almost be playing to the crowd, drama queens the lot of them!! Anyone travelling down the road should give the Whalewatchers Inn a miss. Vastly overpriced and the food's not that good either! And the restroom, no words can describe how truly awful it is!! To quote from the film Forrest Gump 'that's all I have to say about that'.
Must admit it's good to be on the road and tomorrow it's Long Beach and the Queen Mary for David, watch this space because the sad, shipwatcher man will be in his element!
Monday, 28 July 2008
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Freezing in San Francisco
July 27
Today it's like winter! Fogged out with a brisk northwesterly!!!! The guide on the city sightseeing bus informed us, quite seriously, that the best time to visit is in the spring or autumn! The temperature today reached a high of 55 deg fahrenheit! The wind chill took that down another 10 deg! Coats are definitely de rigour!! David cannot remember ever being so cold at the end of July.....
Still we had fun nevertheless. Lunch in The Rainforest Cafe on Fisherman's Wharf.... well worth the money for David's look of amazement.... it's great fun with the elephants, pumas and gorillas animatronics, especially when the 'storm' hits..... and the food is great too... oh, and the margueritas......
The city sightseeing tours are a bit of a rip off, not as cheap as their European counterparts and the constant 'begging' for tips is really annoying. So saying, the more mature guide on the trip around the bay and over the Golden Gate Bridge bucked the trend and didn't mention tips until the very end of the tour as we disembarked from the bus.
Took the cable car ride, worth the $5 for the experience...
Today it's like winter! Fogged out with a brisk northwesterly!!!! The guide on the city sightseeing bus informed us, quite seriously, that the best time to visit is in the spring or autumn! The temperature today reached a high of 55 deg fahrenheit! The wind chill took that down another 10 deg! Coats are definitely de rigour!! David cannot remember ever being so cold at the end of July.....
Still we had fun nevertheless. Lunch in The Rainforest Cafe on Fisherman's Wharf.... well worth the money for David's look of amazement.... it's great fun with the elephants, pumas and gorillas animatronics, especially when the 'storm' hits..... and the food is great too... oh, and the margueritas......
The city sightseeing tours are a bit of a rip off, not as cheap as their European counterparts and the constant 'begging' for tips is really annoying. So saying, the more mature guide on the trip around the bay and over the Golden Gate Bridge bucked the trend and didn't mention tips until the very end of the tour as we disembarked from the bus.
Took the cable car ride, worth the $5 for the experience...
Alcatraz et al
July 26
Awake early, still on UK time even though we managed to stay up until 9pm local time! Great breakfast from the Cityscape restaurant on floor 46 of the Hilton Hotel - the views are amazing - panoramic, and we looked directly into the bay with the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz as our main focal point. We're going to have dinner there tonight (July 27) to see the city all lit up!
Alcatraz is a real must see when you visit. Although very run down now, the sense of despair one must have felt on landing is quite palpable, very stark and austere. The wardens and their families must have felt almost as incarcerated as the inmates, and the wind! Take the audio guide inside the prison it's excellent - to hear the voices of past governors and inmates is eerie but incredibly effective. Would be no good if you were claustrophobic - the cells are a mere 5ft x 9ft x 7ft obviously no windows and the draught inside is almost as much as outside!
The walk is quite steep up to the prison and the smell from the gull droppings is vile, but hey you're only there for a short time!
Once done on the island it's a short walk back from the ferry landing site to Pier 39 and that is great fun! All boardwalk, fab shops, entertainment etc. Plenty of places to eat and then on to my favourite store, the San Francisco Music Box Company! All types of boxes - large, small, snow globes, something for everyone! Go see the sealions too! Enormously entertaining but watch for the crowds, mid afternoon is very busy!
Awake early, still on UK time even though we managed to stay up until 9pm local time! Great breakfast from the Cityscape restaurant on floor 46 of the Hilton Hotel - the views are amazing - panoramic, and we looked directly into the bay with the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz as our main focal point. We're going to have dinner there tonight (July 27) to see the city all lit up!
Alcatraz is a real must see when you visit. Although very run down now, the sense of despair one must have felt on landing is quite palpable, very stark and austere. The wardens and their families must have felt almost as incarcerated as the inmates, and the wind! Take the audio guide inside the prison it's excellent - to hear the voices of past governors and inmates is eerie but incredibly effective. Would be no good if you were claustrophobic - the cells are a mere 5ft x 9ft x 7ft obviously no windows and the draught inside is almost as much as outside!
The walk is quite steep up to the prison and the smell from the gull droppings is vile, but hey you're only there for a short time!
Once done on the island it's a short walk back from the ferry landing site to Pier 39 and that is great fun! All boardwalk, fab shops, entertainment etc. Plenty of places to eat and then on to my favourite store, the San Francisco Music Box Company! All types of boxes - large, small, snow globes, something for everyone! Go see the sealions too! Enormously entertaining but watch for the crowds, mid afternoon is very busy!
Monday, 21 July 2008
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Test
Saturday 19 July 2008
New to this, testing to see what happens before our epic adventure begins....... just testing pic upload....
New to this, testing to see what happens before our epic adventure begins....... just testing pic upload....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)