Day 13 - San Luis Obispo to Santa Ana

We brought the rain to California - you're welcome - we had gully washers at times but no complaints here as long as it isn't white. Continued on Highway 1 from San Luis Obispo to Santa Ana. As we began our trip we saw acre after acre of farmland as we drove through many small villages and towns. Passed by Vandenberg Air Force Base. Had to dodge tumbleweed and palm frond debris as it seems that the heavy rains brought heavy winds too. Drove through Santa Barbara and probably would have stopped but it was pouring and we weren't ready for lunch yet. We waited until we got to Ventura to stop and had a yummy Thai lunch. We somehow got off of Rt. 1 - it changes back and forth from 1 to 101 and ended up experiencing LA traffic on a rainy Friday afternoon. We can cross it off our bucket list now- lol. At least I got my view of the LA skyline. Made it in early tonight. After watching the news this evening I guess we were lucky to miss the mudslides and the worst of the rain in SoCal. We are only 80 miles from our condo so we are ready for the final short trip to Pacific Beach tomorrow.  We just found out that we can get in at any time and don't have to wait until 3 pm so PB(Pacific Beach) here we come. Our pictures today aren't too clear but it's what the weather allowed.

Palm debris

Rough sailing today

Majestic Palms

Choppy ocean waters

Rincon RV Camping right along the ocean only $28 a night.  We were thinking of Bob and Coleen's big rig.

Birds enjoying the sand including dozens of Pelicans

Taking Flight

The lone wolf aka Ron

Austere yet still beautiful and not as severe as yesterdays' cliffs

View of LA

A flower heart along the LA Freeway

LA Skyline.  Took almost two hours to drive through LA proper being slowed down by a Tractor trailer that jackknifed.

Day 12 - San Francisco to San Luis Obispo

This morning we "left our hearts in San Francisco" as we drove past the "Painted Ladies" on our way out of town. From there it was on to Highway 1 for a scenic journey down the rugged Pacific Coast. We also took the 17 mile drive by Peeble Beach and it did not disappoint. As per Dad's suggestion we had lunch at the Lodge in Peeble Beach overlooking the 18th green - what a wonderful ambiance. From there we continued down the Pacific Coast Highway stopping at many vista points, farmers markets, Big Sur and taking loads of pictures. In 9 hours we only got 190 miles to San Luis Obispo as it was a slow but breathtaking ride (and not as hair-raising as expected due to Ron's incredible driving.)

Again I'll show you some views from our day's travels!

Painted Ladies

Pidgeon Point Lighthouse

Lone Cypress - Peeble Beach

View of Peeble Beach from the Lodge

18th hole at Peeble Beach

Piedras Blancas Lighthouse

 

Getting closer to San Diego!!!!  We're starting to dig this California thing.

Day 11 - San Francisco

Who says it never rains in California. It did today. They desperately need it though given the drought that they are experiencing so that's ok. Slept in a bit and got a little later start today. First we walked about 5 blocks so we could ride the Cable Car down to the Embarcadero. Strolled through the Farmers' Market at Pier 1 and then down to Pier 35 to take the ferry to Alcatraz. We took the audio guide tour of the prison and it was very interesting and well done. After returning to the pier we headed to Fisherman's Wharf for a delicious seafood lunch at Alioto's followed by dessert at Ghirardelli Square. From there we walked to Lombard Street (all up hill I think) and took pictures of the most crooked street.  Then we walked back to the hotel in the rain.  We were soaked when we arrived but it was a good day and I think in two days we have seen most of San Francisco's highlights.

Cable car

Cable car we road

 





China Town

Farmers' Market

View of San Francisco from Alcatraz

Alcatraz

Alcatraz

Alcatraz

No he's not in a cell

Alcatraz

Hummingbird we saw on the Embarcadero

Fisherman's Wharf

Fishing Boats

Clam Chowder at Aliotto's

Bay Scallops Creole and rice

View from our table at Aliotto's



San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park

Ghirardelli Square

Architecture of San Francisco

View of Lombard Street

Tomorrow we will head down the Pacific Coast Highway - I am already getting my knuckles ready.  We'll see how it goes.

Day 10 - San Francisco

We arrived late last night about 9:30. We decided to start our tour today with a little help from Gray Line Tours by taking their ultimate city and Muir Woods tour.  They picked us up at our hotel at 8:15 and took us down to their office at Fisherman's Wharf. Our morning tour took us through San Francisco to Muir Woods.  On our way we passed Ghirardelli Square, Galileo High School which had such notable graduates as Joe DiMaggio, Linda Evans and O.J. Simpson and the Presidio  We also went over the Golden Gate Bridge and saw Alcatraz from a distance.

The lone sailor statue

View of Alcatraz

We spent about one hour at Muir Woods and had another opportunity today to commune with nature.  It was awesome.

On the way back we has an hour to visit Sausalito a quaint little bayside town.

We went back to the Gray Line offices and had lunch (on our own) before taking off on the second part of our tour which was of the city itself.  We were taken through the different parts of the city and given much of the history of San Francisco. We went over the Golden Gate Bridge and got to take pictures from a different vantage point, drove through Golden Gate Park and drove to Twin Peaks. My head is still spinning with all the facts we heard today.

Lombard Street

 

Lands End

 

Lands End

At the end of the tour we got off at Pier 39 and explored that area for a while before walking down to Pier 1, down Market Street to Union Square and finally had dinner about 3 blocks from our hotel before heading home for the night.  It was a busy day.

Ron and I had considered moving here as it is a beautiful city but with a starter - 2 bedroom, 1 bath home averaging $700,000 and the average rent for a one bedroom apartment $3000 I think we'll stay at the lake. 

That's all for now!