092418. New Post. 081618 through 092318
091618: We leave the Ritz with an ongoing dispute with the total over a room rate and a free breakfast. (092418: still unresolved, but SG is on it with full force – Move over Conrad!!).
I say it almost every day when we are on the “back roads”. Unbelievable. etc… We head south on state 89 from Kings Beach, destination far away – Monterey. Well, I pre-pay for these hotels so let’s hustle!! This is along the west shore of Lake Tahoe. The road winds and bends around the lake, anywhere from lake level to 500 feet up. We cannot stop and take pictures because all the road side spaces are taken by Tourists!! Most memorable is Emerald Bay.
Then the scariest little part: at 500 feet up, the road narrows to two 10’ lanes and the shoulder falls away – completely. COMPLETELY!! On both sides….No room to pull over unless you want to park 500’ below. I’m developing a nice little aversion to high bridges. This helps a lot.
By comparison the Kit Carson Canyon pass is tame, but actually far from it. More majestic views.
We travel 3-1/2 hours and only drive 63 miles. Monterey still a LONG way off. We stop in Jackson Ca. for a shopping break. Cool little old area like a cowboy town Main Street.
Made a mistake – not taking care of the hypoglycemia and by the time we get around Stockton and on freeways I am paranoid of SG’s driving. With Absolutely No Reason – she is a great driver, slower than me, cautious but handles the car well. I never experienced that degree of paranoia except on bridges. Lesson learned = EAT, Dummy!
Monterey Ca. We get there later than we wanted, delayed by a search for tinkletoriums strangely lacking once we get off The 5. (Cali slang for interstate highways: ”The 5”; The 101.”). We are in the farmland of the nation. We pass several tandem trucks loaded with tomatoes. Mega farms. Huge irrigation systems. Thousands of acres, many apparently ready to harvest, but only small clumps of 10-20 vehicles and the workers hand picking crops. Apparently Hispanics (Migrants?) Furriners taking American jobs? Maybe, but there are no Americans waiting anywhere I can see to take those back-breaking jobs.
Yes, Monterey. Well, we rely on Trip Advisor and go to Crystal Fish, a local place. Excellent reviews, but not a lot of them compared to the Honky-Tonk Cannery Row. Crystal Fish on Lighthouse Av is an oasis for a tired traveler. Beer and Wine only, fast courteous service and no pretensions. Then we take a look at Cannery Row. On the water, always a plus, but Totally Tourist. We didn’t spend a lot of time in Monterey. Quality Inn again, North Fremont St. Nice, clean, in a mixed Hispanic neighborhood, but cheap.
We go to Asilomar State Beach. KELP!!
We witness cloud formation right before our eyes. The famous fog that keeps all the trees and plants along the coast so green forms when the ocean air meets the warmer land.
We go on and take the famous 17 mile drive. We almost balk at the $10.50 charge for the ride. Glad we didn’t This is the tour of Pebble Beach. Don’t cheap out; it is more than worth it. Wealth? Did I mention WEALTH??? The kicker is that this drive was created in 1881 (no typo) so all could experience this beauty.
Dinner in Carmel-By-The-Sea. Very Uptown. No Gap or MickeyD here. TripAdvisor says “You’ve reached your destination” for Il Fornaio. What? Where? Go down the alley and enter. Wow. First Class. All locals looking at two ragged refugees from a day in the car. My hair was perfect.
091718. The day I’m to meet Steve and spend some time. Slowed the Blog considerably. We drive to Oakland to meet Jacklyn L (SG’s niece) and her two kids. I had a lot of fun with Niko, the four year old. Good boy; listens to old men. I hit the road for Redwood City to meet Steve. I pick him up at the office.
We drive out to an area on SFO bay, but still in the lagoons. We pass through a marina (Wow) and wind up at the end of the drive. There is a large fenced off area with a new building with huge security. Barded wire fencing. Someone is kiteboarding so we walk that way. At the end of the compound, there is a ramp leading to a long dock. At the near end, there is an Aristotle Onassis type boat with all sorts of snorkeling gear hanging in the raised open stern. More toys – jet skis, tenders etc. Everyone on and around this ship is FIT. Not a little fit – James Bond FIT. Men and women.
We chat up the guys that are kite boarding. English chaps – close mouthed – speak when spoken to – and one was the Captain of the Ship. I could not avoid feeling that these guys were like the equivalent of Navy Seals.
Steve and I have dinner at a place in Belmont Ca. Steve and signs warn of smash and grab artists in all areas. This is less than 100 yards from Oracle headquarters. Nice neighborhood. I learn this is endemic in California these days because it is no longer a felony.
091818: I drive Steve to work and spend the day kicking around Redwood City. Not bad. We eat that night at The Striped Pig. Excellent burgers, salad and olives.
091918: SG and I meet by BART in SFO to meet my brother Matt. SG and I challenge Matt to show us something we haven’t seen in SFO. We go to 16th Avenue Steps and Grand View Park. We are greeted by our raptor host beginning his noon meal of fresh rodent:
The park is aptly named.
Our price for the tour was that we had to go to a listen to a panel of advisors for a moot court debate at Hastings Law School where Matt teaches constitutional law.
The lecturers presented their views on an issue of whether a florist could turn down a request from a gay couple to supply flowers for their wedding on the basis that it was the florist’s right to refuse on religious grounds and the florist’s expression of free speech in thecae of a Washington state law prohibiting discrimination (Matt, you cannot correct my misinterpretation of what it was all about). Anyway, Matt was a panelist and succinctly stuck it up the a… of the knucklehead representing the florist. The audience of 90+ students cheered wildly!
Matt, David, SG Steve and I have dinner at Wonderful in Millbrae. Chinese food. David orders (He is Chinese) and calls us all Yankee Dogs and orders strange dishes for us and a glass of water for himself.
SG and I spend a noisy night in a Quality In in San Bruno. Avoid it at all costs. Well, not maybe all costs. It was clean and ok, and not too many planes flew over. And at over $285, it was by far the cheapest place in the entire area.
092018: Susan and I get on The 1. Cabrillo Highway. The Pacific Coast Highway. It is cooler than a mashed potato sandwich. Cliffs shear to the water from 600 feet or more (or less). Surfers, lots of tourists, magnificent coastline. We took lots of pics; provide the tequila and you can see them all. Here are a few:
So, having lucked out in Challis, ID and seeking more small town places, I pick Ben Lomond. We are looking for a redwood forest. Big Basin Redwoods State Park. It’s on the map bordering The 1. But not really. Dirt path. NG for the A7. So we go to Davenport Ca. And brave the stoners.
We take a left and participate in Mr Toad’s Wild Ride!! Light, dark, twisty like a Twizzler – up the mountain and DOWN the mountain to a tranquil place that gave birth to these awesome trees.
Then Ben Lomon – my experiment in small town places. Quality Inn, nice, clean. Its neighbor:
Dinner: we chose some place in the next town. We get there and they had a power outage and …..no dinner. The BarKeep (and the people chained to their bar stools) recommend Casa Nostra and tell us to ask to sit in the “Tavern.” We always sit in the bar, so so what? Well, the tavern are a few tables surrounded by Redwoods. 19 of them.
Did I not say that Ben Lomond and a few other small towns, Boulder Creek and Elton are in the middle of Big Basin?
092118: Back on The 1. More pacific. Ho Hum…Long ride to Lompoc Ca., closest town to Vandenberg AFB. Thought about two small towns but went to the Hilton Garden for SG. (she can’t take too much Quality – her folks raised her right). Ate local again. Scratch Kitchen. Walked there. Maaaveloussss Darling. The bar flies were a little irritating. We ubered back to the hotel.
092218: off on The 1 to Santa Monica. Traffic awful. Fast but organized. Lots of signs. They have signs for the signs. I splurge – SG had done all the wash – so we head for the Palington House. 3 blocks from the ocean, in the middle of town. A dream – and not outrageous.
We go to Santa Monica Beach and enjoy the sun.
That evening, we visit Donna L, a lifelong friend of SG at her home in Westlake Village. I decide on a short cut to get there and we go up and down Topanga Canyon Road, home of the mudslides. Easy to see why. Donna serves us a delightful dinner.
We return by the Malibu canyon road and wind up at Pepperdine U campus.
Every year for several years, Pepperdine displays a flag for every 9/11 victim. Sobering.
092318: Must See: Muscle Beach
We are off to see Dan and Ginnie M, SG’s sister at their home in Carlsbad. I moan about the traffic all the way. Once here, the weather goes from perfect to cloudy all day. Well, Ginnie and Dan are great hosts and we will be here (without blogging) for a while. Their home is peaceful, quiet and lovely with hummingbirds in the back yard and warm (not sunny so far…) weather.
092418: Walk on the beach
