Solvang to Los Angeles

Day 5: Cambria to Solvang

Our day starts with a lovely breakfast at the Burton Inn; hot chocolate, tea, bran muffins, cinnamon pound cake, cereal, danish and fresh fruit.

We left our key at the reception and drove to Hearst Castle for the 9:20 tour. First the bus drove us to the top of the mountain where the estate is situated, while an overhead recorded tour message played. It said to watch for some special herbivores; Indian deer, outlandish sheep and goats, plus zebras which sadly we didn't see.

Atop the mountain we quickly started the tour. First we go to the sun terrace overlooking the ocean. The mountain is so high the views are astounding!

We walk to the Neptune Pool, a huge outdoor pool lined with marble collumns and statues (can't touch a thing, security is tight). From there we go on an inside tour of one of the guesthouses; just walk along the tour carpet without explanation which I guess is fine because we like the outside areas better anyway.

Back outside we go to the sun terrace with Segmet(?) by Casa Grande. Segmet is very intriguing to me for some reason. Casa Grande, as the name implies is huge! It has 100-something rooms of which we only explore the main ones on the first floor. It's strange to imagine someone actually living there; everything is just so big.

Finally we go to the indoor Roman Pool. It's huge, 3 meters deep and made of blue and gold (actual gold!) tiles about 2x2cm. It's the most beautiful indoor pool I have ever seen!

We get back on the bus and drive to the visitor's center. We're lucky enough to have movie "Building the Dream" about Mr. Hearst and why he built the castle start when we get there so we don't waste any time.

We ask for directions to the lighthouse at Piedras Blancas (closed) and also the seals. The woman at the visitors center says we've come at a good time; birthing season.

The seals aren't hard to find; the beach is littered with them! We watch them from the bluff 10-20 feet away from them. One of the guides tells us about 400 pups (out of 3600) have already been born.

They're cute big, but nothing compared to their moms and dads. No wonder they're called elephant seals, although they're actally named after the males' long noses.

They don't smell bad, but when they fight they make farting sounds from their mouths haha. The males fight to keep their harems of 30-40 females, while the females fight over pups. We even see a "collector" with 3 little pups.

Apparently birthing is quick and easy, and the easiest way to see a newborn pup is to follow the sea gulls, who are attracted to the after birth ... something we get to see twice.

It's warm and sunny, but there's a cold wind blowing from the ocean so it's great to get back into Andy.

We drive to Morro Bay, with its claim to fame Morro Rock; a volcanic rock in the ocean. It's connected to land by a thin strip of land allowing us to drive onto the grounds of the rock. We watch the surfers for a while then drive further around the rock.

I'm hoping to see a sea otter, but all I see is birds. Luckily Sandy spots two of them; they drive under water, then come up to float around on their backs.

We get back on Rte 1 and try to find Bubble Gum Alley in San Luis Obispo, but we couldn't find it. Hungry we go on to Pismo Beach Fish & Chips, but it's late and I want to see Rancho Guadelupe Dunes, but when we get there it's closed because the road is sanded over ... the drive through farm country in the mountains is nice though. It's fun to see cauliflower being grown.

We drive back to Rte 1 and soon we arrive in Solvang, a replica of a Danish Town filled with gingerbread houses and windmills. It's night time and everything is decorated with permanent? Christmas lights.

We arrive at our hotel, Solvang Gardens Lodge and head to the Danish Inn for dinner. We order the smorgasbord/buffet. Nice, but not great, but it's quick and there's a windmill.

Day 4: Carmel to Cambria

Another cloudless day! We check out early (after relaxing by the fireplace a bit) and head down to Katy's Place for breakfast. It has great reviews and we have a coupon (which incidentally we didn't bring. Doh)

Sandy is super happy because they have potato pancakes, while I get scrambled eggs with cheddar, sausage patties and delicious fresh fruit. We love it!

We drive back to Little Napoli where we ate last night to take a picture by daylight, then decide to visit the Carmel Mission. It's nice and old, but that's about it so we get back on Rt 1 only to find out that we're only a few blocks from our next stop; Carmel River State Park. Oh well.

The waves at Carmel River SP are huge! Nice swells like on a surfing poster, almost teal when they break, with large spray shooting up in the air.

We walk to where the river meets the ocean, but the current looks strange and we can't tell how deep the water is so we walk along the river until we find an easy place to cross. Carmel River is a bird refuge and we spot quite a few interesting birds, as well as numerous washed up golf balls. I collect them in my shoes, but there are so many that Sandy makes me choose which ones to keep.

We walk back to the ocean to watch the waves some more. Then we get back to the car and drive all of 2 miles to Point Lobos State Nature Reserve.

We get there at 11:18, but I see a sign that says free guided walk of Cypress Grove and luckily we're able to catch up with the tour. There's only 4 other people. Our guide is very knowledgeable and tells us what to smell and look for.

We're very lucky that the sky's clear today; we can see for miles and wind up seeing two whales during the tour!

The algea is orange instead of green; an interesting thing to see and apparently quite rare.

After the tour we walk to Sea lion Cave to watch the stinkies on the rocks. On the way we see some smaller silver ones again; it turns out they're harbor seals. They don't get along with the sea lions so they like to keep to themselves.

We walk back to Cypress Grove to look for sea otters, but this time even the one I thought I saw is gone. We decide to leave the park, but we make several stops along the way, one at China Grove where we see a couple of cute birds with yellow heads.

We decide to skip lunch and instead watch the waves as we snack on granola bars and chocolate.

Route 1 becomes considerably more curve as we drive towards Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, but we make it. We check out the waterfall, McWay Falls and walk back along the river through a redwood grove. It's awesome to see there large beautiful trees up close.

We head out again and pull into a vista point to watch the sun set over the water. It takes on very strange shapes so it's fun to watch.

Unfortunately it is now also dark(er) and Rte 1 is getting SCARY curvy. We drive very slowly to make sure we get there in one piece, because there are no guardrails or lights, just caution signs with lots of squiggly lines.

A little after 6:30 we reach Cambria and check into the Burton Inn. The room is very nice and actually larger than our appartment with not one, but two TVs.

Hungry we drive a short distance to the Black Cat Bistro, the fanciest place we've ever eaten. A piece of meat (pork with pancetta ham for me, scallops for Sandy) with lettuce and sauce for decoration.

We make a quick stop at the Squitt House's Amish furniture and antiques store then head back to the Inn.

Pedometer didn't work. Fixed after guided walk: 8,209 steps.

Day 3: Carmel

7:30 We wake up less sore and have breakfast at the office. I burn my toast so Sandy takes pity on me and makes me a new one. I eat it with jelly, OJ, apple tea and cereal. We have some time before our ride is scheduled so we use it to explore the little streets of downtown Carmel.; art gallery, art gallery, restaurant, art gallery ... art is big business in Carmel. The stores are old-fashioned Swedish looking, almost like Hansel & Gretel. We decide to go back to the Village Corner for lunch and then go back to change for our ride. Pedometer total city walking: 2595 steps.

The equestrian center is along 17 mile drive, where the rich allow you a glimpse of their million-dollar homes for a mere $8.75 -- fortunately we don't have to pay because we are guests of the equestrian center. We arrive early and discuss which horse we'll end up on. We fill out the paperwork, while one of the trainers tells us she's only filling in because the other woman recently had a bad accident in which the horse landed on top of her -- "not to worry, the trail horses aren't like that." Okay, then!

I end up on a white gelding in his late teens called Twilight and Sandy's on a sorrel called Ringo. There's a young couple and the guy (wanting to impress his girlfriend?) asks for a spirited horse even though he's never ridden before. Strangely they grant his request and so I get to see him get run off with not once, but twice! LOL.

The ride is amazing! We leave the ranch and ride through the forest. Lots of ran has made the trails muddy and Sandy's horse goes through great lengths not to get his feet wet. Gradually the forest thins out and from high in the hills we catch our first glimpse of the ocean and the numerous golf courses. Pebble Beach is renowned for its top notch golf courses; there's 7 already and now they're planning to tear down the equicenter and part of the surrounding forest to make it 8. What a waste!

We descend from the hill into the dunes; the horses sink deep into the sand here. The sides of the road are covered with what looks like inverted green beans with red sprouting from the gound. They're in bloom.

The view of the waves crashing onto the rocks is amazing! When we get closer we see (and hear!) there's a sea lion on the rocks. This one's silvery, instead of brown like the ones at Pier 39. We go back up again past the golf course when we bunch of deer, dark with large antlers, are watching the golfers.

It's very cold by the ocean with the wind blowing over the water, but I'm glad I can unzip my polartec when we go back into the forest.

We're very hungry after our ride, so after our ride we tip our guide, Alicia, and go to the Village Corner again. Sandy has a gyro sandwich and I have a turkey sandwich with lime chipotle mayo, swiss cheese, pickles and tomato. It's really nice to sit outside by the fireplace with the sun on our back and the birds singing and hopping around.

After lunch we drive to Pinnacles National Monument, a rock formation of approximately 23 million year old volcanic peaks. It's pretty late when we get there because the way there (146) is mostly one-way, with sharp curves but it's totally worth it.

We watch the colors change as the sun goes down and then go for a 20 minute walk. It's so nice that Sandy wants to walk a bit longer to "see what's around the bend" ... and then the next, and the next, until finally we realize we'd better head back. By the time we get back to the car it's getting really dark so we made it just in time.

We drive back along our crazy 1 lane road (60) to 146, 101 and then in Salinas we lose track of 68. After getting some much needed gas we finally happen upon 68, only to find out we're heading the wrong way. In the end we do get it right, but we're tired by the time we get back so we have dinner at Little Napoli. Sandy has gnocci in gorgonzola sauce and I have grandma Celia's spaghetti and meatball. Sandy loves her food; I love the breadbasket, the rest is just OK, but the ambience more than makes up for it; wine bottles, Italian paintings, waiters in tidy black and white, nice lighting.

Sandy has a canoli for dessert, while I eat the strawberries and white chocolate that comes with it.

Weather: 58 degrees and sunny.

Day 2: San Francisco to Carmel

7:30 Breakfast in the lobby turns out to be a group activity. There are only three tables so everyone has to sit together ... even Pip the cat has joined us and is sitting behind me on the window ledge. We don't have a lot of time though so after receiving directions from the owners we head off towards Fort Mason.

Fort Mason: The grass is all green because of the recent rain. It's a steep climb and an even steeper descend (ouch!), but we are rewarded with a nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge and the harbor.

We walk past the maratime museum and a small harbor and arrive at the cable car stop just in time. We get to stand on the back by the conducter, great picture opportunity.

Waiting to leave.

Inside of the cable car.

We get off at the stop for Lombard Street, the world's crookedest street. As we're waiting for cars to pass we notice another cable car passing us by with one of the passangers being filmed ... we think it's Phil from the Amazing Race, but it turns out to be Ryan Seacrest who's in town for the American Idol auditions.

Cars maneuvering the sharp curves take a long time to get down, but it's probably safer than if it were to go straight down!

Our next stop, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill leads us down another steep incline, then up another. It is incredibly steep and we have to stop frequently to rest our legs. Luckily the tower itself has an elevator for most of the way, or we might have turned around right there ;-)

View of the Bay Bridge from Coit Tower. The 360 view of the city was amazing! You can see everything from the Golde Gate Bridge, to Alcatraz, to the business district and everything else in between.

Cityview with typical San Francisco buildings and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

We decide to walk 'straight' to pier 39. It has become completely overcast by now, but at least it's not raining. The stinkies are out in full force! It's great to see them by daylight.

Cute carmel colored sea lion sleeping on his friends.

Sea lion love. :-)

While most of the sea lions are sleeping lazily, some are busy defending their raft. They bite and try to push each other off, all the while making lots of noise. They are so much fun to watch that I could've stayed there all day, but it started raining so we decided to walk back to the car.

Passing through Fisherman's Wharf in the rain.

Cute horse drawn carriage waiting to pick up customers.

It wouldn't be San Francisco if we didn't take a picture of some crabs ;-)

On our way back the rain makes a beautiful rainbow over the small harbor by the Maritime Museum. Luckily it stops raining soon thereafter, but the bridge is still hidden in the clouds, ruining our plans to take pictures of the bridge.

On our way back the bay is lined with sail boat, very cute!

Luckily, it's true what they say about San Francisco; the weather really does change in less than 10 minutes and before we know it the bridge emerges from the clouds.

Small beach on the way to Fort Point. Apparently, they are holding a local dog meet, because there are dogs everywhere! We're quite surprise to see a couple of kids playing in the water, but as it turns out it's not actually that cold.

Sandy on the rocks by the beach. :-)

Fort Point turns out to be closed, but we manage to take some nice pictures along the way:
See the clouds in the background?

Because we still want to see the Park and some other things on the way to Carmel we decide not to drive across the bridge. For now this is as close as we'll get.

The road takes us past the bridge to a small pull off, with a great view of the Bridge from the other side, as well as the bay turning into the ocean.

Our next stop, the Golden Gate Park, is actually nowhere near the Bridge itself (the Park by the Bridge is called the Presidio ... doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but anyway). Although the Park isn't very hard to find, we're having a difficult time trying to find the major sights. We wind up completely driving out of the Park and following the road to the ocean. The ocean isn't on our itinerary for San Francisco, but when we see how wild the waves our we pull into the parking lot and enjoy the smell of the ocean for a while. As it turns out this was a great idea; we can see the top of a windmill peeking out from above the trees.

The windmill was donated to the Park by Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands.

We spent some time looking for a plaque with some more information on why the windmill was donated to the park, but we unable to find more information. As it turns out, Wilhelmina had nothing to do with the windmill! It was built around the turn of the century to help supply water for the park in a cost effective way. To read more about the history of the windmill go to: Dutch Windmill.

We get back in the car and drive a little ways to the Bison enclosure. At first it looks as if they are not there at all and we see several people walk away disappointedly, but then we spot them off to the side. We walk through a strong smelling eucalyptus forest and there they are;
They're behind double fences so it's hard to take a good picture. Nonetheless, this is my first time seeing a bison so it is very cool!

One without the fence in between, but unfortunately they're very far in the distance.

One of the many waterfalls.

We set off in search of the Japanese Tea Garden, but get hopelessly lost. At the same time the weather is changing and before long the entire sky is overcast. We stop at the concession stand by the lake, buy a hotdog and ask for directions; luckily, it's right on the other side of the island. Unfortunately the island turns out to be quite sizeable and it's a long walk to the other side.

Finally, we spot the bridge to get onto the island. It's very cute!

Nice flower. We've already walked more than halfway around the island and still no Tea Garden. It's drizzling a bit and we contemplate turning back, but decide to just keep going until we find it.

Finally, we run into it. "But this looks nothing like the book," I say. Admittedly, the weather isn't helping much, but I get the feeling we just spent a very long time walking around in the rain for no good reason ...

We stumble upon this huge multi-tiered waterfall and I decide to climb the steps in the hopes of finding the Japanese Tea Garden at the top, but no such luck. We keep walking for a while longer in hopes of finding a second bridge, but decide to turn back in case there is no second bridge (as it turns out, if we'd just turned the corner we would have found it).

By the time we get back to the car we're both worn out. One quick look at the guidebook tells us that what we just saw was the Chinese Pavilion, not the Japanese Tea Garden. :-( It's getting late and we still don't know how to get there, but we decide to give it one more try.

After some more driving in circles, we manage to get directions from the guy selling pretzels and this time we have no problems getting there ... parking, however, proves to be very difficult and in the end we settle on a parking spot quite a distance from the garden.

Gnarled trees right next to our parking spot.

The Japanese Tea Garden, so called because there is a small (busy) place in the garden where you can enjoy the scenery as you drink tea, is very beautiful! Many little bridges, waterfalls, special plants and the highlight; two Japanese pagoda's.

Me in front of the pagoda's.

>Without me.

Scaling the bridge, notice how narrow the steps are.

One of the pagoda's seen from the other side.

It is already 4 p.m. and we still want to see Natural Bridges SP (which we ended up not being able to see) and Pidgeon Point lighthouse so we leave the garden and somehow manage to get on Rt 101 right away. I pull out the guidebook and realize that the directions for Natural Bridges are not compatible with the directions to Carmel that we got from Mapquest. Luckily, we look at the map and notice a thin scribbly line leading straight to the ocean.

We get off the highway and we are amazed by how beautiful the road is. We're surrounded by trees on both sides and surrounded by mountains. Admittedly it is a bit more curvy than the highway, but at least it's taking us where we want to go and the scenery is amazing. Then a little bit curvy turns into hairpin twists every which direction, with no sight of the road ahead and suddenly it doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

The road takes us deep into the mountain, becoming increasingly curvy as we go along. To make matters worse the sun sets and we are left in complete darkness. Amazingly we make it to the ocean.

Pigeon Point lighthouse. It is actually a working lighthouse as you can tell.

At this point we've been driving for quite a while and we both need to use the restroom so we decide to grab a bite to eat in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, today happens to be one of those days where nothing goes right and we end up passing right through main straight, then turning around only to make a huge detour through suburban Santa Cruz and finally settling on Mac Donald's because it's the first thing we can find.

With the help of the people from Mac Donalds we get back on the road. The Carmel Resort Inn is easy to find and we love our little cottage. Never have I seen a framed calendar page used as a decoration, but it works! Best of all, the room has a fireplace, but we can't figure out how to work it. It is actually controlled by the a/c unit or something like that and when I wake up during the night it's on. :-)

Pedometer total for the day: 18,988 steps!

Day 1: San Francisco

Note: Click on picture to make it larger.

2:00 a.m. Yawn. We're not very happy when the alarm goes off after less than 3 hours of sleep, but we have a plane to catch ...

3:30 a.m. We're on our way to the airport. There is no traffic at this time of day so it doesn't take us long to get there at all. We didn't have time for breakfast so we wait for Dunkin Donuts to open up and grab something there.

6:10 a.m The plane leaves on schedule. One of the flight attendants asks the man sitting with us to move a couple of rows back so we have the entire row to ourselves! It's a long flight so we try to catch up on some much needed sleep, which unfortunately is very hard when you're on a plane.

9:30 a.m. The plane descends over the Bay. We can't see the runway until we touchdown so it's almost like landing on water. Very odd. We pick up our rental car, a grey Ford Focus we call Andy and pick up some groceries. Most streets in San Francisco are one way only so after getting lost it takes up a while to find our hotel, the Golden Gate Hotel. When we get there we quickly drop off our bags then head down to Chinatown.

The gate at Bush & Grant St.

Sandy with one of the lions guarding the gate.

Beautiful lampoons by one of the shops.

The touristy side of Chinatown. Lampoons, bright banners, you name it ... they have it, but it is a bit over the top so we decided to head over to the "real" Chinatown.

Suddenly, the tourists and the bright decorations are gone and we are surrounded by a sea of people speaking in languages we don't understand. Everyone has to squeeze past each other because the stores use little stands outside to display their goods.

Here's a picture of one of the little stands. I'm not quite sure what they are selling. It doesn't look familiar and the signs, like everything else are in Chinese only.

Deserted alley with a famous temple of which I have forgotten the name. :o

And another stand by the side of a store.

Headless chickens in the window. Yuck! Nonetheless, we are both hungry so we head over to a small restaurant that's filled to capacity .. this we think is a good sign. As it turns out it was a great choice; Sandy had a delicious Singapore noodle combination and I got curry shrimp with rice.

Then the time has come to say goodbye to Chinatown and walk towards the visitors center. On the map it doesn't look all that far, but San Francisco is made up of hills, hills and and more, steeper hills and even walking for short distances is exhausting. We pass the cable car stop and decide to take the cable car on our way to Alcatraz.

Cable car on the Powell-Hyde line.

We make a brief stop at the visitor center and pick up some brochures. Then we start walking towards Alamo Square.

Pigeons at the visitors center.

There's a tram stop in front of the visitor center so we got to see a couple of strange old-fashioned trams as we were deciding which way to go.

Old-fashioned tram with Christmas decorations.

Another tram

Alamo Square is a long way from the visitor center and we pass through an area of town that makes both of us feel uncomfortable. Many people hanging around, being high, no other tourists in sight. Also a lot of homeless people, more than we'd expected, but they are not bothering anyone.

Statue facing City Hall.

City Hall, not listed anywhere as one of San Francisco's top attractions, but defintely worth a visit. It must be great to see it during the summer when the trees have leaves!

The walk to Alamo Square is proving tougher than we'd anticipate and we have to stop every once in a while to catch our breath. We are rewarded with some beautiful houses along the way ... Alamo Square is definitely in a rich neighborhood.

Pretty houses on the way to the square.

Alamo Square ... not entirely sure it was worth the climb, but the houses are very cute and the view of the skyline behind the houses is magnificent! There's a park across the street so we decide to sit in the shade for a while before going back. One would think going downhill is easier, but as it turns out it's just as bad as going uphill.

When we arrive back at the visitor's center we go straight to the cable car stop, because the ferry to Alcatraz leaves in 40 minutes. Unfortunately, the line is huge and not moving. We spend 15 minutes in line then realize it's not going to work.

Circle used to manually turn the cable cars when they've reached the end of their route.

We ask the people at the visitor's center what's the quickest way to get to Alcatraz and they tell us to take the cable car, or otherwise the tram. Having already decided the cable car isn't going to work we hop on the first tram, only to find out it's moving very slowly and making stops at every block. Time is running out and we fear we will not make it to Pier 41 in time. We decide to get off the tram and somehow manage to grab a cab during rush hour. Our driver is a nice Russian man who drives like a maniac to get us to the ferry on time. Thank you, thank you :-)

The woman at the ticket counter looks concerned as we come up to the window. "Have you brought some kind of sweater?" she asks. She is relieved to find we brought both sweaters and jackets, because it gets "pretty cold" she says. We make a quick run to the bathroom (disgusting!) then get in line to board. It's here that I get my first glimps of the sea lions, or the stinkies as we like to call them. They are unbelievably loud!

The island seen from the ferry.

Neither of us is very good with boats, but the sights are so amazing that we soon forget (almost all) our seasickness.

Golden Gate Bridge and freightship by the setting sun.

The boat up close

Getting closer ...

San Francisco skyline seen from the ferry to Alcatraz

We got off the boat and walk to the gathering point on unsteady legs. There's large grafiti saying "Indians Welcome" on the first building we see. I don't know a lot about US history so at first this make no sense to me, but they tell us during the tour that at one point Alcatraz was occupied by Native Americans.

Building on Alcatraz

When our group has gathered we are joined by our ranger, a nice woman who guides us during the outside portion of the tour.

It's getting late and the sun is setting over the Bay.

Inside we are equipped with a headset and an audio tour narrated by several prisoners & prison guards who were on Alcatraz when it operated as a prison. I'm very glad we decided to do that, because it really made history come to life this way. The cells are very small, but as far as prisons go they are actually very luxurious we are told.

A typical cell.

After our tour of the cell block we go outside for a presentation about Al "Scar face" Capone, Alcatraz's most famous prisoner. I thought it was very interesting, but also very, very cold. It was completely dark by then and the wind had picked up a lot. We were so glad we brought extra clothes, but even so it was freezing!

San Francisco by night, seen from Alcatraz Island. Minutes later a fog rolled in, so dense that when we were back on the water we could not see anything. Nothing, but complete darkness.

Exhausted we walked over the Pier 39 to get dinner. Pier 39 is where the sea lions are so we walked over to see and mostly hear them, before grabbing a pizza at North Beach Pizza.

Some pictures of the hotel:
Seen from the front.

Our room, the street outside was very busy, but we had no problem falling asleep.

Pip, our feline tailless hostess :-)

More to come ...