California - Part 3

On our way down south, we stopped in San Francisco.  I have always wanted to visit this city and I was excited to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was really cool, the bridge that is.

When we got into the city, we got a hotel room which I thought was in the theater district.  It very well might have been.  After we checked in, we took Simon on a walk to do his business. There were weird people everywhere!!  I was scared we were going to get mugged and we had to keep walking around because there was no grass to be found anywhere and Simon wouldn't go. Finally we found 4 blades of grass growing in the crack on the sidewalk where he could relieve himself.  After taking Simon back to the room, I thought we could go get some dinner at a hip place down the street.  We walked back out and apparently so did the rest of the vagrants.  We had a drink and then decided it would be best to order a pizza from the safety of our hotel room.  On the way back, Adam put his sunglasses on and puffed his chest out to look more menacing.  I didn't dare pull my camera out in fear of being pegged as a tourist. 

The next day we drove around the city a bit, but the damage was done, I was disenchanted with San Francisco.  It was nothing like I've seen on TV.  I think the next time I go there I will have to stay in a very expensive hotel in the rich part of town because where we stayed was scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is not the street we stayed on!

I did love all of the intricate architecture though

After leaving San Fran, we headed down the Pacific Coast Highway to southern California.  This road was filled with beautiful scenery, scary heights, steep dropoffs, and winding pavement.  We stopped at a couple of scenic vistas to take in the views.  You just can't capture the beauty.  I loved all of the wild flowers!

The greatest surprise was when we spotted a beach full of seals!  It was awesome!  They were huge!

This guy below was fighting other seals to get to a more cozy position.  

What the  ?

I love this!

Next we saw some guys kite surfing.  I think I would like to try this one day.  I probably need stronger arms.  (Note to self, work on arms.)

After a long day on the PCH, we stopped in Santa Maria for the night.  When we got to the hotel, we checked in and then went to move the truck in front of our room.  It would not start!  In the morning it started,   and we took it to a Ford dealership down the road.  While they were putting a new battery in for free, thanks Adam's dad for the extended warranty, we walked down the road to get some lunch.  Little did we know we were in a town famous for pea soup!  We ate at Andersen's, a danish restaurant, and both had pea soup for the first time.  It was surprisingly good.  We also shared a Monte Cristo sandwich on the advice of the waitress and the couple in the booth next to us.  I should have suspected something, they were both 400 lbs.  The sandwich came and was covered in powdered sugar.  It was like a funnel cake with ham in it.  Plus they provided raspberry preserves to spread on it just in case it was not sweet enough.  We ate the sandwich and then rolled ourselves out of there past the danish wedding cookies and fudge in fear of a diabetic coma.

With a new battery, we rolled down to Malibu.  I expected more.  The beach was OK, but I prefer the Gulf Coast.

As we got into Los Angeles, the traffic was horrendous!  There were 25 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic.  We could not get out of there fast enough.  I think I might like to fly there and spend a couple of days seeing some sights on another trip.  Adam and I were just not in the mood after San Francisco to deal with a big city.

Plus I couldn't get over the smog.  There was a haze lingering over everything.  I felt like my eyes were foggy. Below is a picture of smoggy mountains.  EEWWW.  No thank you.

California Part 2

After experiencing the Redwood Forest, we drove down the coast a little more and then turned inland to get away from the chilly ocean breezes.  We set up camp at the scenic campground of Kimtu in Willow Creek, California.  It was so beautiful there.  The entire campground was on the side of a mountain with the Trinity river right below.  There were trails to the rock beach and crystal clean flowing water in the river.  Right behind our campsite was a waterfall which provided constant soothing noise, excellent for sleeping.  When sleeping outside, I wake up at the sound of an acorn falling so the waterfall was able to drowned out all the natural sounds of the forest.

Simon loves camping and hanging out in the tent!  He can't wait for it to get set up and the air mattress to be inflated.  I can't tell what he likes more, the cool breezes blowing through the tent or scavenging under the picnic tables for scraps.

The next day was my birthday and we went into town to do laundry and get some groceries. At the laundry we met the nicest lady.  She was Cahto Indian.  She raved about the beauty and natural resources of Northern California.  We told her about our trip and how we were seeing other parts of the country to make sure Florida was really the right place for us.  Adam asked her about jobs in the area and she said she only knew of one right now and that was "Fish Counter."  ???  Apparently her tribe is need of someone to count the fish in the river.  The fish population is unstable and they need to get an accurate read on what is happening.  Seemed like an impossible job for us and I wasn't sure if we had to become honorary members of the tribe and I think my mom's side of the family is part Cherokee and I'm not sure if all Indian tribes get along and I would hate to insight some sort of tribe war and I don't even know where to get arrowheads.  It would have turned out to be a big mess, so we thanked her for her wonderful conversation and gathered our freshly laundered clothes and went to the market.  Adam got us salad, tasty filet mignons, and mushrooms in honor of my birthday.

The rest of the day we explored the river bank and walked some trails.

This pine cone looked like a pineapple. I thought it was weird.

The trees had twirly moss, kinda magical

Simon wouldn't get out of his tent for most of the afternoon.  Finally I threatened to throw him in the fire and he got up.

At first he thought it was funny, but then his feelings were hurt and he sulked in the camping chair.

Adam made us our special dinner and it was so tasty!!  The best birthday!

The next day we headed down the coast and drove through wine country.  There were vineyards everywhere.  Really pretty.  I would have liked to have stopped at a winery, but it was really hot and Simon couldn't be left in the truck.  Maybe next trip.

California - Part 1

The Other Sunshine State!

We were pretty excited to make it all the way to California!  Just inside the state border we came upon the most beautiful river.  It looked so majestic we had to stop.

The water was so clean!!  I was wanting to jump in until we felt how cold it was.  There were some kids playing in it on the other side, but they had to be purple.

Our journey down the California coastline took us right through the Redwood Forest.  WOW!  These are trees!  It is impossible to capture the grand scale so I only took a few pictures.  You have to see them with your own eyes!

Out of the Redwood Forest we got our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean in Crescent City.  

The guy below was a bum who rode a bike with a dog on his back.  It was so weird!  The dog was constantly clawing at his shoulder to keep stable.

The oceanside drive was really cool with big boulders sticking out of the water and green green vegetation on the bank.

For an outdoor outing we stopped at the Trees of Mystery.  They had giant Paul Bunion that invited people into the attraction and talked to you.  I was happy to see they allowed dogs and we all set off up the gravel trail.

It was pretty cool because they had informational facts and carvings along the trail that led you up the mountain.  

At the top of the trail there was a gondola that took you up to the very top.  It was super steep and far off of the ground and I was a little scared.

Simon's first gondola ride.  He was scared too.

View from the top

Is that a sasquatch?

Trees of Mystery was a great pit stop and we all got to stretch our legs.  Plus they gave away free fudge samples in the gift shop.  BONUS!

Back on the road we got more great views of the Pacific Ocean.