California 2007

We flew out of Dulles on JetBlue - not bad. And the flight path took us directly over the Grand Canyon, and Jo - in the window seat - took several nice pictures. It was a great way to start the trip!

It's expensive, and it has more than its fair share of natural disasters, but there's no denying that California is beautiful. And on this trip, we got to see some of the variety of its beauty. We flew into Long Beach, picked up a rental car, and escaped L.A., pausing only to see the Hollywood sign and to have lunch.

We headed up the coast, fighting our way through some major traffic near Malibu. It seems that on two-lane roads in California, the white broken line that separates the two regular lanes actually marks a third lane, for use by nuts on motorcyles. The traffic backup we found ourselves in was apparently the result of an accident involving a motorcycle - go figure.

But the further we got away from L.A., the better the traffic became, and we proceeded up to our first stop, Ventura. On the way, we made the first of many stops to see and enjoy the Pacific - Cabrillo Beach.

Sunday we hit the road, continuing north along the coast and enjoying the scenery. We had lunch in Santa Maria, then headed to the small town of Guadalupe, and visited the Guadalupe Beach. The weather was outstanding, and the beach was just wonderful. We also drove a bit to the north, to visit and explore the Guadalupe Beach Bridge, a combination of footbridge over the Oso Flaco Lake and boardwalk that leads through some dunes to the northern part of Guadalupe Beach. It's about a one mile walk from the parking lot to the beach, but it was a very enjoyable walk. The whole area is part of the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve, and it was definitely worth every minute we spent there.

We continued north and stayed the night in San Luis Obispo, and the next morning we headed inland to Yosemite. We stayed in a lodge outside of Yosemite, and as soon as we had checked in, we headed off to see the Giant (is there any other kind) Sequoias in Yosemite's Mariposa Grove. These trees are HUGE!! The only way to take a picture that shows something of the scale of the sequoias is to have a person in the picture, too. Lucky for me, Jo was there. {grin}

We had that afternoon and the following morning to explore as much of the park as possible. So after the Sequoias, we headed to the Wawona Tunnel, and on the east end of the tunnel is an overlook of one of the most beautiful vistas in Yosemite, including El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall. We continued on to Yosemite Valley for a peek at Yosemite Falls and to have some dinner at the Mountain Room Restaurant.

The next day we headed back to Yosemite for more fun. Fortunately, the road to Glacier Point had opened just the week before - it's generally closed from November through May due to snow. The best one-word description of Glacier Point that I can think of .... WOW!!! From one view to the next, and the one after that, it's unbelievably beautiful.

After Glacier Point we headed back to the lodge for lunch, then hit the road for Fresno. The next morning we continued to make our way to the coast, and Morro Bay. I had hoped to do some kayacking there, but the weather didn't cooperate (so overcast we couldn't see the top of Morro Rock), so we spent the afternoon visiting the small shops in town. The next morning, we headed north up SR1 - the Cabrillo Highway - past the Big Sur lighthouse and some wonderful views (here and here) of the Pacific to our destination that day, Monterey.

There's a very nice aquarium in Monterey - it seemed especially good for kids - and we had a great time. The next day - Friday - the weather was, for only the second time this trip, not so great. It's wasn't really bad, but it was overcast, and the pictures we took along 17 Mile Drive and Pebble Beach don't show the true beauty of the area. But along the way we spotted and photographed the Lone Cyprus - I've seen pictures of this tree for years!

Fortunately, as we proceeded up the coast, the weather improved and the scenery was just wonderful. We made several stops, including Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in the country. The lighthouse itself was closed but the grounds were open, and we wandered between the lighthouse and another building to see a deck and several people gazing out over the Pacific ... whale-watching! And son-of-a-gun, after a few minutes, we saw several spouts and the backs of several whales - an unexpected treat.

When we got to San Francisco, we kept going north, over the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods. I had visited Muir Woods on a previous trip to San Francisco. I was sure Jo would like it ... and I was right. We had a very nice, relaxing walk way back into the woods, then crossed a small creek and headed back on a different and more narrow & natural path.

We had dinner and stayed the night in Tiburon, a very nice town a bit north of San Francisco. The next day, we headed into San Francisco. Our hotel was located just down the street from where we needed to turn in our rental car - it could not have been more convenient. And despite getting to the hotel around 9:00 in the morning, we were able to check in, and that gave us a chance to re-group before heading out to explore the city.

We had almost two full days in San Francisco. Two full weeks wouldn't have been enough, but the plan was to explore on foot the first day, and take a couple of organized tours the second day, and it worked out well for us. We stayed near Fisherman's Wharf, so - of course - getting down to the water was the first priority. From one of the piers, we could see Alcatraz Island in the distance.

And naturally we couldn't visit this part of the city without stopping at Ghirardelli’s to buy some chocolate - for friends and coworkers, of course! For dinner we decided to head to Chinatown, and we combined that with a ride on a cable car - sort of a rice-a-roni excursion. {grin}

Our second and last day in San Francisco was one of organized tours - a city bus tour and a bay cruise. Both were excellent. The city bus tour hit three spots I really enjoyed - Twin Peaks, offering one of the best views of the city and bay and beyond; the Japanese Tea Garden in the Golden Gate Park; and - of course - the Golden Gate Bridge. And the bay cruise took us right under the Golden Gate Bridge, and on the return trip, gave us great views of the city.

We did a lot of walking (and enjoyed every step) and we did a lot of driving and we took many, many pictures and I have to say, we had one helluva time. We managed to see some of the very best that California has to offer, and that's very good indeed. It's a trip we will remember fondly for a good long time.

The Related Links below include our favorites from this trip.