Just in case you were wondering, the trip home to Georgia was uneventful and on time. The heat and humidity in Atlanta didn't take long to zap the last little bit of energy from us.
All in all I considered the trip a smashing success and I had a wonderful time. I'm pretty sure Crimson enjoyed it as well. While it is pretty easy to say Crimson enjoyed Venice Beach the best, it isn't as easy for me to pick my highlight. I'd probably have to go with the "journey". Although long and taxing at times, the sights along the way were well worth it. Everything from giraffes in San Diego, crazies on Venice Beach, and friends in San Francisco contributed to a great trip.
If I did it again, I wouldn't change much. Perhaps I'd cancel Santa Monica for a longer stay at Venice Beach. I might cancel the trip to Monterrey aquarium. Maybe add a day to San Francisco or LA to see a bit more. However, the reality is I couldn't have asked for a much better trip.
If you made it this far reading the blog, thank you. The words flowed pretty quick but it was a bit of work. Fortunately, it was a labor of love.
See you after my next journey.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
California Trip - Day 12 - San Francisco Part 2
After a long day we needed the extra rest so I decided to let our last day in California set its own pace.
The first thing we were trying to do was get to Alcatraz. I thought that getting on a boat on standby would be near impossible when tickets had been sold out about 10 days in advance. However, we were able to get on the 11:30 boat despite arriving at 11:20. As a bonus, the weather was quite a bit nicer than when we were originally scheduled to go.
Crimson and I both liked the tour. The fact that the audio tour is narrated by former guards and inmates makes it even more interesting. When we'd seen everything we wanted to see, we were just in time to catch a boat back to the mainland.
We wanted to have lunch at In n Out Burger since I'd heard it was one of the best fast food restaurants without a location in Atlanta. However, first we stopped by Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. Obviously Crimson was hungry or just didn't care because unlike Venice Beach she was in a hurry to get on with it.
In n Out Burger was good but not great although certainly one of our most reasonably priced meals on the trip. For dessert, it was of to Ghiradelli Square to load up any extra space we had in our travel bags with chocolate!
One more stop before an official end to our tourism. We (or I) had to see the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alamaeda. It's one of the best collections of pinball machines that are playable in the country. I promised Crimson to keep the visit relatively short and kept my word by staying only 90 minutes. We had fun playing a lot of games I've never played before. On this day, Crimson was the better player than me.
This night we stayed near the hotel as our flight left at 7AM the next morning. It took us awhile to find somewhere to eat but when we did we hit the jackpot. Big Joe's Cafe had great diner style food, huge portions and very reasonable prices.
The first thing we were trying to do was get to Alcatraz. I thought that getting on a boat on standby would be near impossible when tickets had been sold out about 10 days in advance. However, we were able to get on the 11:30 boat despite arriving at 11:20. As a bonus, the weather was quite a bit nicer than when we were originally scheduled to go.
Crimson and I both liked the tour. The fact that the audio tour is narrated by former guards and inmates makes it even more interesting. When we'd seen everything we wanted to see, we were just in time to catch a boat back to the mainland.
We wanted to have lunch at In n Out Burger since I'd heard it was one of the best fast food restaurants without a location in Atlanta. However, first we stopped by Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. Obviously Crimson was hungry or just didn't care because unlike Venice Beach she was in a hurry to get on with it.
In n Out Burger was good but not great although certainly one of our most reasonably priced meals on the trip. For dessert, it was of to Ghiradelli Square to load up any extra space we had in our travel bags with chocolate!
One more stop before an official end to our tourism. We (or I) had to see the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alamaeda. It's one of the best collections of pinball machines that are playable in the country. I promised Crimson to keep the visit relatively short and kept my word by staying only 90 minutes. We had fun playing a lot of games I've never played before. On this day, Crimson was the better player than me.
This night we stayed near the hotel as our flight left at 7AM the next morning. It took us awhile to find somewhere to eat but when we did we hit the jackpot. Big Joe's Cafe had great diner style food, huge portions and very reasonable prices.
Califronia Trip - Day 11 - Beyond San Francisco
Since I didn't have time to drive to Seattle or even Portland, I did want to see something a little beyond San Francisco. Today was that day. As usual, things started off cool and foggy.
The first stop was a walk across a section of the Golden Gate Bridge. If Crimson was scared, I couldn't tell because she was huddled up inside her coat trying to keep warm.
From there it was on to Point Bonita for more vistas. It turned out Crimson enjoyed walking around the old battery at Fort Barry. The haunting quality of the sight had her a bit on edge but she had fun climbing around and exploring.
We had lunch at Muir Beach overlook where the clouds surrounded us. From there it was up the coast seeking more beautiful spots among the twisting turns of the road. This journey took a good deal of time and patience and when we finally reached our final destination, Salt Point State Park, I thought we'd come for nothing. I couldn't see much of anything interesting from the road.
We parked and starting walking towards the coast. Here, we found the rock formations I had seen and Crimson had a good time climbing around on them. It had actually warmed up a bit and it was great to be out of the car for awhile before the long and twisty drive back to San Francisco.
We went to have dinner with John and Svengi despite me almost canceling due to exhaustion. I'm glad we went as we had a fabulous time with them. A late night but well worth it to have some home cooked food and good company.
The first stop was a walk across a section of the Golden Gate Bridge. If Crimson was scared, I couldn't tell because she was huddled up inside her coat trying to keep warm.
From there it was on to Point Bonita for more vistas. It turned out Crimson enjoyed walking around the old battery at Fort Barry. The haunting quality of the sight had her a bit on edge but she had fun climbing around and exploring.
We had lunch at Muir Beach overlook where the clouds surrounded us. From there it was up the coast seeking more beautiful spots among the twisting turns of the road. This journey took a good deal of time and patience and when we finally reached our final destination, Salt Point State Park, I thought we'd come for nothing. I couldn't see much of anything interesting from the road.
We parked and starting walking towards the coast. Here, we found the rock formations I had seen and Crimson had a good time climbing around on them. It had actually warmed up a bit and it was great to be out of the car for awhile before the long and twisty drive back to San Francisco.
We went to have dinner with John and Svengi despite me almost canceling due to exhaustion. I'm glad we went as we had a fabulous time with them. A late night but well worth it to have some home cooked food and good company.
California Trip - Day 10 - San Francisco Part 1
San Francisco is normally pretty cool this time of year but 10 degrees cooler on this particular day. We briefly check out the almost vacant Ocean Beach before finding the Camera Obscura closed. No huge problem, as it is still a nice place to take some pictures.
From there it is on to Crissy Field and a walk towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Facing a stiff breeze in our face, we work our way there, then quickly head back.
I mention to Crimson that the Exploratorium is just around the corner and she shows interest. When planning the trip she didn't seem interested so I really hadn't budgeted any time for it. When went in anyway and to see it.
We were both thoroughly impressed. This was easily the best science museum I had ever seen with hundreds of interactive exhibits. We spent about and hour and a half in there and easily could have spend another hour or two. Great place for kids and adults.
For lunch we met up with an old friend, John and his wife, Svengi. We got to enjoy some quick Chinese food before our scheduled trip to Alcatraz. We made plans to hook up with them for dinner the next night.
We were cutting it close to make our boat to Alcatraz. Unfortunately, the GPS chose this moment to route me on a less than ideal path. We got stuck behind slow bus after slow bus on the heavily traveled Market Street. We found a parking spot and race to the pier only to see our boat pulling away. We'd missed it by less the 5 minutes. Were we given standby tickets and hoped to use them in two days.
So, we checked out the ferry plaza and took some pictures of the city skyline from Pier 14 before heading to our hotel in Union Square. Dinner on this night was at the Cheesecake Factory on the top floor of Macy's. A little cold outside but the food was good.
From there it is on to Crissy Field and a walk towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Facing a stiff breeze in our face, we work our way there, then quickly head back.
I mention to Crimson that the Exploratorium is just around the corner and she shows interest. When planning the trip she didn't seem interested so I really hadn't budgeted any time for it. When went in anyway and to see it.
We were both thoroughly impressed. This was easily the best science museum I had ever seen with hundreds of interactive exhibits. We spent about and hour and a half in there and easily could have spend another hour or two. Great place for kids and adults.
For lunch we met up with an old friend, John and his wife, Svengi. We got to enjoy some quick Chinese food before our scheduled trip to Alcatraz. We made plans to hook up with them for dinner the next night.
We were cutting it close to make our boat to Alcatraz. Unfortunately, the GPS chose this moment to route me on a less than ideal path. We got stuck behind slow bus after slow bus on the heavily traveled Market Street. We found a parking spot and race to the pier only to see our boat pulling away. We'd missed it by less the 5 minutes. Were we given standby tickets and hoped to use them in two days.
So, we checked out the ferry plaza and took some pictures of the city skyline from Pier 14 before heading to our hotel in Union Square. Dinner on this night was at the Cheesecake Factory on the top floor of Macy's. A little cold outside but the food was good.
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