Advertisement
Published: April 30th 2006
Edit Blog Post
London Calling!
In Santa Babara, this was the first British Pub we'd seen for ages so had to pop in for a pint So last leg of the trip here we go!
We touched down at LAX (where there was lots of peolple with guns!) and met Jenn (who we met in Thailand) there who then took us back to her place. It wasn't exactly in LA, just outside up some mountains in the San Bernardino area calle Running Springs. The drive up there was pretty scarey because as we got higher and higher, it got foggier and foggier and couldn't see the road in front which didn't make us feel good with the 7000ft drop next to us!! We arrived at Jenns house to a couple of inches of snow! We were both in shorts and flip-flops as we'd just been in 35 degrees celcius, it shocked us a little now we were in 35 degrees farinhieght!!
It was great seeing Jenn again and she'd planned a road trip up the californian coast on Route 1 to San Francisco. So next morning we packed our car up and headed off. Jenns two friends Indre and Aijah came with us so it was slightly cramped but all the more fun. We didn't stop in LA but drove through Santa Monica (where all
Indre, Aijah, Trev, Jenn and Me
Us freezing on Route one, we though California was the sunshine state! the rich and famous go to the beach) and Ventura the carried on. We stopped in Santa Barbara for a bit of browsing and a beer then set up came in a State Park called Morro Bay. We wern't exactly too prepared and only had a 3 man tent for 5 of us so i kipped in the car. We carried on the next day and grabbed a coffee in this random little town called Cambria then went on to Monteray. It was a cool fishing town and had old wharf buildings and loads of seafood places but where else could we go but the Buba-Gump resturant! It had so much Forrest Gump parafinalia but we love the film and its was a very cool resturant. We stopped off in Santa Cruz too and walked the pier but it was raining by this time so it was a flying visit. We kept driving all the way to San Francisco and got our first sight of the Golden Gate Bridge, very impressive. We camped that night in the China Camp State Park but as we got there late, we had to park on the road and walk to the site so
we all stayed in the tent that night which ended up being the best thing we ever did! Unfortunately, the car got broken into that night! We went back to the car to find a cop car and a real life sheriff checking it out. My whole life flashed before my eyes as all my stuff except for the clothes i was wearing and my toothbrush was in that car! They'd smashed the window and grabbed the first bag they could see which so happened to be my old daypack. Notice the word old. It was full of junk, silly bits and bobs and two pairs of flip flops! They obviously realised this and just emptied it out across the road and scarpered! Useless thieves, there was 4 purses and two cameras in that car as well as other credit cards and passports. Well it was an easy lesson to learn and I definately learnt it!
We went into San Francisco the next day and booked into a motel room (yes an actual bed!). That night we walked round the bay area and watched the sunset behind the Golden Gate Bridge. The next day we went to Muir Woods
Thats a Big Tree!!
Who'd have thought Trev would be a tree hugger! Next he'll be doing naked rituals!! where thay have gaint redwood trees. The trunks are huge and the smell of the forest was so fresh. That night we all went to a gig at the Filmore and watched a band calld Umphreys McGee. They were pretty cool, a jam band but got a bit samey after a while. Jenn and the girls left us that night (thanx girls for a wicked time and showing us how beautiful the Califorian cost is).
The next day Trev and I started to explore. We did a lot of walking and saw a loads of things in San Fran. The city is great, the atmosphere there tops anywhere we've been. The buildings are really cool and it was amazing how you'd be walking through Chinatown then would suddenly be in Little Italy so it would be like you were in an intirely different city. We went to the Fishermans Wharf (the really touristy bit) and walked around and saw Sea Lions on platforms by a pier. The hostel we were staying at was cool and we met 4 Welsh guys there who come from just down the road from where Trev used to live. They were very funny and
The building of blues
The building around San Fran were painted with these great pictures spoke Welsh as their first language, Welsh through and through!! A big group of us had congrigated and the Welsh Lads managed to find a bit of Welsh in everyone there (quite a feat!). We all went out to a small little classic American Bar called Specs. The beer was cheap and cheese and crackers were being handed round. We all went onto a club called the Holy Cow (no obviously not the Taupo one any NZ patriots!). Next day was Easter and the staff at the hostel had left little eggs round the place for us to find which was really sweet. We pretty much spent half the day searching for something to eat and trying to get over our hangovers!!
Trev and I headed off to Alcatraz the next day. It suprised us both how close it was from the coast. It was always said that the prisoners could never make it to shore swimming if they escaped. When we were on the boat we could see the currents swirling around and looked really strong, no way even Ducan Goodhew could 've swum that!! We arrived on "The rock" and realised I'd forgotten my camera, Trev nearly
Quiet down or your out!
We don't look like a rowdy bunch, do we?! murdered me (i was actually almost scared!!) We brought a disposable one though so it was all good. The Island is pretty small and there was a lot more building on it then we expected. The prison Guards and their families used to live on Alcatraz but most the old houses were demolished and are now homes for tousands of nesting birds. We went into the Cell House and it felt really strange being there. We'd both watched loads of films that were set there and it felt like we'd been there before. We did the Audio Tour (which made us look a bit stupid!) which gave us loads of really interesting information. There was loads of famous old inmates like Al Capone and the birdman of Alcatraz that used to be there. In the old dining room there was holes in the ceiling where tear gas bombs used to be in case of an attempted escape or riot. The old excercise yard was still there and bigger than i imagined after seeing it a lot when watching "Escape from Alcatraz". The whole tour was brilliant and we both agreed its the best one we've done on the whole trip
Nice Glasses!
Trev looking very fetching in Eva's glasses! by far.
We went out again that night (well it was Olivers, one of the staffs birthday!). Went to Specs again but got told off a lot for being too noisy!! Really, what else is a bar suppose to be!! We kinda missed our train the next morning but didn't really matter as we can get as many tickets as we want on our Amtrak passes. So we just walked around a bit more and took in the city then left the next moring for the glamourous Los Angeles..........................
P.S. Alcatraz pics will come when we find a computer which works with our pic cd.
P.S. Also during our stay in San Francisco we were there exactly 100 years since the huge earthquake in 1906 which destroyed much of the city. We were all rudely awaken at 4am in the morning to the sound of sirens that marked the exact time the quake struck 100 years ago. Throughout the day there were rememberence ceremonies throughout the city, it was pretty cool to be there.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.173s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 62; dbt: 0.1407s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb