Californian Castles, Cliffs, Coastline and Canada

We knew we needed an early start as we were booked for a 8.10am tour of Hearst Castle which was about 15 minutes north of the Days Inn at San Simeon (our motel). The buffet breakfast was generous so we took full advantage of what was on offer and given our penchant for variable eating times an opportunity for a generous breakfast is always taken. There were a number of other guests taking a similar approach but it always interests me to see those people who never seem find anything to their satisfaction. Hmmmmm!!!

Well we were certainly satisified with the food and the motel by the time we left and I guess if others weren't that's their problem. We did have an interesting chat with one couple, from Mizzourah (Missouri), just talking with them had me thinking of the coming Summer Odyssey.......

With us thinking of renovations when we get back to Narooma our next destination was to be one of the most dangerous outings that would occur during the year! We were heading to Hearst Castle!!!! http://www.hearstcastle.org/ This quite a place but then if I had the money that William Randolf Hearst would I have built something along these lines? Probably not (I would incorporate an apiary and a honey house) but it is amazing!!! 

The trip from the Visitors Centre where you park your car is very clever and at no time do you see your final destination.The views are great but the drive is steep. 

 The recorded message that plays while you drive gives you plenty of information before you are met by your guide at the Hearst's Guest Cottage

And then you follow your easy to find guide (he' about 204cm - 6 foot 8) who takes you up a few (haha) steps until you get your first view of the entrance of Hearst Castle......

Don't know whether I mentioned that this place is big. If I did say that I was doing something that I don't often do, using an understatement. The Hearst Castle is...............

VERY BIG!!!!!

And while it is certainly very impressive, one of my jobs in 2011 is tidying a house and cooking meals. I'm not sure I'd like to cook for the guests at a table quite this big. And I certainly wouldn't like to fill the wine glasses nor even contemplate washing the dishes! And forget polishing the table!!!

But I guess pools like these would be pretty nice.

Oh well enough dreams for us. It was time for us to say farewell to absolute luxury but apart from the amazing house, gardens and stories the best part of the whole experience was the guide. It was his 28th year as a tour guide and it showed. His knowledge of the history of Hearst Castle was  fabulous and the way he relayed it was even better. Now if only Daryl Kerrigan had a tour guide like this showing people around his Castle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_(film)#Cast .......

Now it was back to Highway One but were heading in the opposite direction to what we had planned. This is not an unusual thing for us!!! Due to the landslide we were going to have to do some backtracking but I guess if you have to double up on a road it may as well be on one of the most scenic coastal roads in the world. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

This piece of road is very similar to Australia's Great Ocean Road but maybe a little longer. They are both magnets for surfers, sightseers and seriously strange survivors of a different era.... 




Big Sur is an interesting place with homes ranging from the fantastic to the unbelievable

Lunch was at a great little bakery/cafe/restuarant/reading room http://www.bigsurbakery.com/menus.html#/home Great place and a great lunch and an interesting story !!!!

Big Sur was as far  as we could go as parts of Highway One had got a little too close to the sea http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/03/16/1524359/highway-1-closed-through-big-sur.html Oh well maybe the work crew from the Eurobodalla Shire Council could sort out the problem.

The good news was that we had a trip back to look at the fantstic views again.

The only problem was that we had spent a teeny weeny too much time admiring the view so we were a bit short of time given that we had to navigate through Los Angeles traffic, return the RockinCorolla and get through customs and get our plane. 

However all those obsticles  were overcome and Richard (Branson) managed to get us back to.........  

OH CANADA, OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND (for this year)

Back on Highway One!!!!!

We had a couple of nagging thoughts on our minds as we left San Francisco. The the first thing was going to be whether Mrs Garmin was going to start to talk with us and whether we would have any confidence in where she was sending us. And the second was going to be whether Highway One had been repaired. Apparently there had been a rockslide which had closed the road.

Well our doubts about Mrs Garmin were diminishing as we headed south over the Golden Gate Bridge and as we drove through the suburbs we thought our trip was returning a bit more to what we had planned.

Not that what had happened so far in California was at all disappointing. Indeed it was exceeding our expectations at every turn. BUT we didn't expect the turns to quite as twisty!! Oh well, hadn't we been lucky with the weather!!! (That's one for the Frost's)

We had made it back onto Highway One and back onto the coast

As you can see there was a bit of a wave and the sun was shining so what else do you do but stop for a picnic lunch at a park. And where else would you stop but at San Gregorio State Beach http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=529 Well of course one of our party had to go down the beach and test the water temperature the report was BRRRRRR!!!! So no swimming took place but it was a really nice place for lunch.

As we headed further onto Highway One our luck took a slight turn for the worse as we passed a rather LARGE sign saying that the highway was indeed CLOSED just beyond Carmel by the Sea. Oh well there's always something.


One of thesupposed highlights of this part of the coast is Pebble Beach Golf Course http://www.pebblebeach.com/golf . However as we didn't pack a set of clubs we had to make do with the drive around the gated community which surrounds the golf courses.  

Now this drive is included in many of the guidebooks as a highlight but I don't know whether the tiredness we were feeling or the disappointment of the road closure or the $9.50 for the 17 mile (30km) drive played a part in the fairly poor rating the drive received from these reviewers.The Golf Courses did look great but when your home town has a pretty nice course http://www.naroomagolf.com.au/golf-course.html and you aren't golfers it becomes difficult to get excited.
We turned back and headed inland towards Salinas where we could continue along Highway 101 and make our way to our destination for the night. San Simeon.

On the way however we did pass the sign to

Maybe the Kerrigans were looking in the wrong place!!!!!



And maybe we were as well but it was a nice drive. However it was nice to get to Bonnie Doon but it was even nicer to get to San Simeon and, even though any place to get anything to eat was closed, the room and the motel were great....







  

A day of rest????

We had enjoyed 4 very busy, action packed days since we had arrived in California. The thought of a day of rest or at least a  slower day may have come to some people but with the words of the audience response to the Angels song "Am I ever gonna see your face again" ringing in my brain, we launched into action again!!!!

We started by testing Mrs Garmin by seeing if she could find Lombard St which is San Francisco's and possibly America's or even the World's crookedest street. She passed that test with flying colours but then again it wasn't all that tough a test. We were staying in Lombard St and the crooked block was only about 500 metres (550 yards) away. But after the last few days it was a step in the right direction for Mrs Garmin (and Mr and Mrs Frost).

Now is Lombard St the crookedest street? I'll let you decide whether it is or isn't.

But having walked down and up and driven down I think it's  the  crooked that I've been down or up or down...

Wouldn't the cross country runners I've coached over the years love doing hill sprints on Lombard Street???

Perhaps it's lucky that I'm no longer coaching anyone except for myself

Next stop for the RockinCorolla and the team was a great place for one last view of San Francisco. The views from the interestingly named Coit Tower http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/casfmenu/a/coittower.htm were great as the day was improving and as Mrs Garmin was almost behaving getting there was almost easy. 

The view from the top is very good but the murals were the fascinating part for me as they give a great snapshot of America during the Great Depression. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_Tower#Murals 

Another fascinating thing lurked at the bottom of the tower but you could hardly say it was totally hidden from view... Only in America!!!!!

Enough of that silliness time is short and there is soooo much to do!!! The last San Francisco stop was to look for the last of the hippees in Haight - Ashbury http://www.lovehaight.org/ This is a lovely area of the city and in reality it appears to be a very pricey place to live as many of the older houses are looking very nice.

But with it getting increasingly sunny and warm and with Mrs Garmin getting increasingly sure of herself it was time to say goodbye to a city that we would love to come back to.

Houseswap maybe...... Something to ponder 

Beach Blanket Babalyon!!!!!

When we are researching things for our trips, whether they be in Canada, the USA, Australia or even if we are heading to Upotipotpon (look it up) we go to a variety of sources. The Internet, Travel Agents, Friends and increasingly the Rough Guides are all places that have the type of information we need.


Several of these sources recommended going to Beach Blanket Babylon. I'm not going to say a lot. If you have been there you know what it's like if not look at http://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/ 

I have often commented on the lack of humour in American Comedy and have put that lack of humour down to an inability to laugh at themselves. I was wrong, this is a great show where there are no "sacred cows" and the writers and performers take the p*** out of lots and lots of people from all over the world, including the USA. To make it better the singers and dancers are great and the script/song writers are fabulous.

It was the most entertaining musical review that I have seen. If you are in San Francisco do yourself a favour and head down to

CLUB FUGAZI

678 Beach Blanket Babylon Boulevard
(Green Street)
San Francisco CA 94133


Lots and lots of fun....


After the show Julie, Paulette, Alan and I went in search of a drink (as you do). We had hoped to call in at http://www.thestinkingrose.com/about.htm but alas it was closed. Never mind there are lots of really good bars so we just had a couple of drinks and continued the laughter at the Vesuvio http://www.vesuvio.com/. A great bar! We finished up back the Francisco Bay hotel where we had a couple more quiet drinks and swapped travellers tales before calling it a night...

San Francisco - Go to Jail. Go directly to Jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200

Whilst we slept soundly after the excitment of the previous day we knew we had an early start! And more than that we knew we were off to Prison!!!

No, the authorities hadn't caught up with me for past misdemeanors! We were off to Alcatraz. And were paying for the trip!!!! You would think we that we Aussies, with our experience of such voyages, would get a boat trip to Prison for free. At least that's the one thing the Poms did for us......

We left Mrs Garmin safely in her bag and drove, using a map, to Pier 29 1/2 (a parking station) just along from the ferry terminal. Even though the day was a little dreary it wasn't really raining. I wasn't really looking forward to another semi swimming day.

Even though it was off season there was quite a crowd for the ferry. We hadn't really anticipated that, but, it had taken less time getting there and parked (5 minutes) so that was a bonus. After the previous couple of days we thought anything up to an hour to travel 2 km was a possibility!!!!!

While walking around the dock with (walking) stick in hand I was approached by one of the Alcatraz Cruises staff who noticing me walking with a stick said that I could wait at some seats near at the front of the queue. Nice!

Before long boat number 2 arrived and we boarded for the short trip to Alcatraz.

Altho it looked dark and gloomy on a Wednesday in March 2011 I bet it would have looked even darker if you were heading there as a prisoner in the years from 1934 to 1963. And by the time you got to these views it would have looked very dark indeed.

  

The National Parks  Service http://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm who now run Alcatraz do an excellent job. One of the best things they do is to give everyone who is doing a tour a headset which, for those who listen (most do) ensures that the progress through the excellent displays is both quiet and slow. Alcatraz is a very moving experience.

Although even while there you can't keep a beekeeper from noting that there were flowers on the Blue Gum...

And even a truck to move a load of bees or to bring back a crop of honey !!!

You had to wonder at just how difficult it would have been for those that thought there was a chance, either for redemption or a chance to escape, to look at this view or to hear the sounds of San Francisco from the exercise yard....



Mind you I wouldn't have liked to try the swim. There was more movement in the water than at Narooma Main on a bad day and the water temperature is about 15C (60F) at best. The swim will take a very good swimmer around 30 minutes. For those doing time there, I don't think swimming training was one of the actvities offered. But as we had been model Prisoners and had served our time we were given parole. Or shown the door!!!

From Alcatraz is was a walk around to Fishermans Wharf for a bagel and a coffee before caatching the tram to Castro.

San Francisco has been quite a liberated place for quite a while and that was highlighted both during the hippie era of the 60's and the Gay Liberation era from the 70's. If you get the opportunity have a look at the movie Milk http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2425401.htm Interesting times indeed and the Castro is still a very interesting place..

Caught the next Market Street tram back down from Castro Street and got off at a farmers Market that sold an amazing array of fruit, vegetables, breads, preserves and honey http://www.citybees.com/ all the stall holders were very friendly and had worked out that if you gave a taste it helps you get a sale. It worked for us!!!

Another trip on the tram took us to Powell Street where we waited for a Trolley Car. I was going to say that a Trolley Car is just like a Melbourne Tram used to be, but if I did say that I would be wrong, wrong,wrong!! The only thing they share is the fact that they both run on rails.

We waited with a lot of others for the Trolley Car to arrive even thought we could see three of them sitting about 200 metres away. They are only for tourists these days and as we were tourists we just had to wait and watch the passing parade.

Finally a trolley car arrived about 100 people were squeezed into and onto it. We thought we might fit onto the next one but like the Saints in 2009 & 2010 we didn't quite make it. The guys who operate the Trolley Cars and the rigmarole involved were entertaining enough to keep us entertained while we waited...

Nothing wrong with manual labour. It works!!!! After the works crew finally got the three Trolley Cars that seemed to be just waiting around. We were aboard. I was given no option as to where I was going to be sitting. "Get inside, you fool, and hang on"! "And don't hit anyone with that stick"!! The option was given to our chief pilot, either "sit inside with your mate or stand outside and hang on". What option do you think she took???

 I don't think I have ever heard a more ridiculous question?  

But I wonder what it was that we ran over. Never mind the ride and the views were great!

Our trip took us to Fishermans Wharf and although we had been snacking it was quite some time since our last meal (breakfast) so we checked the options and sat down to a late lunch of Clam Chowder served in a Bourdin Roll. When washed down with a cold beer and a glass of wine it was a great meal. And much needed, I was famished!!!



Next stop was to collect the RockinCorolla and return to our hotel, have a quick shower, meet Alan and Paulette and get ready for...............................................................

Beach Blanket Babylon!

To be continued........