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Published: July 12th 2014
Tuesday 1st
We hang around the hotel in morning and make our final packing. After lunch we drop the car back at the rental company. No problems ! we then get taken to the airport nice and early.
Just as well for when we go to check in we get asked for a copy of our electronic USA visa. I explain that it's ELECTRONIC and I don't need to have a copy, that's why they are electronic. She tells me I must produce a copy to get checked in. I give her our ref. nos and she tries to look up the visa on her I Phone whilst also checking people have paid the airport duty tax. After 40 mins we get no where. I offer to look them up on our PC and she agrees. I boot up the PC and then she tells me that she doesn't know any passwords to get on line !
Eventually she gives up and lets us check in but says I must get it printed off.
I get the visa run off in the VIP lounges when two girls are very helpful.
We board and the two hour
flight to Guatamale goes smoothly. We then have to get off with our hand luggage even though we are continuing on the plane to LA. We get taken to another security area where the luggage is scanned and then searched, even though this was done in Costa Rica. Off we go round the corner where we see more security officers. The luggage is then all opened again and searched for the third time ! We then get back on the plane and sit in the same seats. Well we try to sit but on returning there's a woman in the aisle seat who refuses to get up to let us in. I ask then gesture for her to get out but no moving her ! A steward then comes along and sees the problem but tells me I have to ask her NICELY ! Two minutes later she moves as it wasn't her seat!
The flight goes uneventfully and we land in LA on time. Only have to que for 45 minutes to get through immigration and customs, a record for us !
Finally at 2am we check in at our hotel. What a day.
Wednesday 2nd
We wake early as we are to be collected by the camper van people. Christine opens the curtains and we find that we're next door to them! After breakfast I walk along to them and cancel the pick up.
We walk next door and they let us pick our van. It's like a Ford Transit van with only a fold up table and bench seats which convert into a bed. Cooking is with a portable two ring camping cooker. It's basic but we hope will be fun.
We negotiate the LA Freeways and get onto Route 101 along the coast heading north. We stop off for some food and lock the doors when they are wide open and now we can't release the locks to close them ! Red faced I call the camper van people for advice. I think they think I'm an idiot ! I get told how to unlock them.
After stocking up, which doesn't take much as there isn't a fridge only an ice box, we drive along the coast and stop in Malibu overlooking the beach.
Late afternoon we walk along the sea shore and it's not the greatest bit
of beach we've seen. Lots of sea weed and a very busy highway alongside.
The evening sees us eat our first meal, chicken salad, we can't do anything complicated. I still think it'll be fun, I'll just lose even more weight !
Thursday 3rd
We set off a bit late on Route 1 and soon joined the 101 looking for a shopping mall only to get lost. After 20 mins of going in circles we rejoin 101 and head through Ventura. It's not a pleasant drive, more like being on the M25 at rush hour. Eventually we reach Santa Barbara and turn off for the beach.
We stop and walk along the beach front and onto Stern Wharf. There are people fishing and just taking a stroll. It's a pretty area.
We call in at the visitor's centre and get told of a camp ground in the hills back from the highway. We decide this is better than driving along Route 101 and set off. The drive is mainly up some very steep hills and the scenery is very attractive, certainly better than we've seen so far.
Hour an hour later we turn off
at Lake Cachuma and into a National Park. The site is huge and boarders the lake.
After settling in we walk to the lake and hire a motor boat for a trip around it. We go across to inspect the dam at one end and turn up several of the inlets. There's not a lot to see but the landscapes quite attractive and it's a good way to spend an hour or so as the weather's really lovely.
Christine gets fed up being the passenger and takes over the controls. She soon shows me how to zig zag across the water as she struggles to keep the boat straight.
It's been a really lovely sunny day and late afternoon we take a walk around the RV park and are amazed at the size of some of the motor homes. They are HUGE !
Friday 4th
American Independence Day and we take a short drive into nearby Solvan. It's a strange town. Rebuilt with mock half timbered houses and false windmills, it was established by the Danes but it doesn't look like Denmark ! We're here to see The Fourth of Parade.
It starts at
11 and we arrive early to see the main street already lined with people and chairs. It starts on time and it's a mixture of local clubs, schools and lots of dancing horses. It's a good local event and the crowd are nearly all wearing T shirts or other clothes bearing the American flag. There's lots of cheering and shouting "Happy 4th of July" The people are such a happy and patriotic lot.
It's over an hour later and the streets are full of very happy people. We walk along and have a drink in a local brewery as it's a really hot and sunny day.
After lunch we walk into the town field and an event run by the Rotary Club. We are promised a BBQ and music.
Unfortunately the food is dire. Just chilli dogs, beef burgers and tacos, all precooked and just fizzy drinks. We sit and people watch and see so many badly over weight people, no wonder if this is their diet.
Eventually the music starts and that's also a bit hyped up. The first band can play but the girl singer thinks she's a pop star but unfortunately doesn't have
a voice to match. The following acts are local wanabees of questionable ability. We leave after an hour or so.
We have dinner out and decide to head back to site before the fireworks. It's been an interesting day and good to see so many happy friendly people.
Saturday 5
th We leave early, for us anyway and drive along route 154 until we rejoin 101, everything has a number. Having research the directions we pull in at a Kmart and finally buy a few things to make living in the van more comfortable. Towels will help ! And also an out side light. Basic things we thought we'd be getting.
We also at last find a decent supermarket and stock up with food. More ice needed for the fridge, it gets through a 7lb bag every two days. For a country that boasts about shopping, the malls can be very hard to find for a stranger in town.
Finally we're ready for our van camping at last and we set off for route 1 along the coast.
The scenery isn't anything special for most of the way and around the lunch time we decide
to stop. Camp sites aren't as easy to find or as plentiful as they are in Australia or New Zealand. We finally find one in Cayucos at the end of Morro Bay. The site's full but they let us park up in their van storage area. It's pretty awful !
We take a walk around the small town and along the beach. It's also pretty awful ! So we return to the park and decide to drive on. Luckily we get our money back !
The drive from here on is very spectacular with the road winding around the coast line and great views over the ocean. Unfortunately finding a camp site proves difficult and we get refused from one as they're full. We have to continue driving and go past Hearst Castle, where we had wanted to stop but we're in danger of not getting a site for the night.
After 35 miles or so we see another site but it's full too. I pull in and speak nicely to the woman in charge and she lets us park up at the side of the car park. It's really quite nice ! Trees and grass all
round and just across from the sea. We have a late afternoon walk along the cliffs and watch the people surfing and swimming although the water looks very green and cold.
We have our first BBQ since Australia and as the night cools down we both put on our colourful trousers bought in Equator. They draw some strange looks from other campers, perhaps Americans aren't ready for them yet !
Sunday 6
th We drive along the coast which is supposed to be one of the best drives in the world, but we can't see anything due to the fog. It's a really shame as this was to be one of our highlights.
We pull in a couple of times at view points but still can't see a thing. We talk to a couple waiting for the fog to clear and they suggest a hiking trail to us. We decide to park up for the night at Big Sur and go to the Andrew Molera State Park for the hike. It's 8 miles, not Km anymore !
It's a very hot day and the hike starts up hill for the first ¾ miles and is a
slog. We walk through big redwoods and it's a nice walk but hot ! Walking along our path we see a Bobcat and we get up really close before it runs off. The walk then tops a series of ridges and we trek along them and stop for our picnic lunch. We continue and start to go down hill along a coastal path. We get great views of the water.
After 3 hours we start to tire and Christine falls over a root and hurts her legs, luckily the camera's ok !
We finish around 4 hours and go back to the camp site for a welcomed rest.
Our site is amongst big redwoods and beside the the river. It's a pretty spot. We have another BBQ and sit beside a fire pit. We just need 2 boy scouts or preferably 2 girl guides !
Monday 7
th We set off continuing north along the coast although we can't see much for the fog again. We get glimpses of a rugged coastline from time to time.
After 45 mins or so we stop in Carmel and take a look around. There are many attractive timber
clad houses leading down to the beach but unfortunately the mist spoils our view of the shore. There's lots of small shops selling very expensive clothes and jewelry and it's clearly a very up market area.
We press on north and stop at a shopping mall to buy a phone. It takes me over an hour just to get it ! There are about 6 people in the shop and 8 people serving and they say sorry for the delay but it's a busy day ! This has been typical of the slow service in most places.
On we go along the coast and we again get the occasional view of what is a very pretty and rugged coast.
Late afternoon we pull in to a site in Pescadero. There's not much choice as sites are hard to find. This one's quite attractive and set on a hill overlooking the freeway with the sea in the background. The mist soon rolls in and it turns quite cold.
We're glad of the heat from our BBQ and the fire I've lit in our fire pit.
After we've gone to bed for the night we see two
skunks rip open our refuse bag and eat the left overs.
Tuesday 8
th Up nice and early and we get a Skype call from Roger before I can wash ! It's nice to hear from him again.
We set off and soon meet heavy traffic as we get closer to San Francisco. Every road is like the M25 at rush hour. We pass through part of the city centre and over the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a wonderful view of the bay as we drive nose to tail in 3 three lanes.
Out the other side and we exit at the right junction much to my relief and pull into our site. It's a big car park with services. There are some huge Rv's here and our little van looks lost. They completely block out any sun shine to our pitch.
We're told how and when to catch the bus into the city but we still have to wait nearly an hour as the advice was wrong. We get off and walk to Pier 39 , one of the city's main attractions. Its full of restaurants and tacky souvenir shops. The view of the bay
is great with Alcatraz in the distance but the Wharf's a bit of a disappointment. The fog again rolls in and as it gets cold we bus back to site.
Wednesday 9
th We go to catch the bus into the city but again it doesn't arrive and by the time one comes we don't get there until way after 10.30. It's a late start.
We try to take a Hop on Hop off bus around the city but can't find any of the ticket stalls. We eventually get on one but not the one we wanted ! Never mind we've made a start at last.
Our first hop off is in China Town where it's possible to buy the weird and the wonderful. Also any service you may require !
We decide to walk to Union Square where we listen to a Phillipino singer for a while and then find that our bus won't stop. It's easier to hop off than on ! Reluctantly we walk to the Civic Centre and pass many down and outs and drunks. It's not a very good area and we see more homeless here than anywhere else on our
travels. I don't think it's an area that tourist are supposed to see.
The Civic Centre park is full of football fans watching an out door screening of Holland V Argentina. I have to leave them to it and do the cultral bit round the building. It's quite impressive with marble everywhere.
We manage to stop our bus and head off to Alamo Square to see the “painted ladies” Victorian houses in clap boarding and painted. They look great, much better than the average building in the city.
Back on the bus and our next stop is Haight Ashbury Shops. A throw back to the 1960's with lots of tie dyed cloths. They look good if you want to look out of date and no body around is wearing any of them.
At last we find a book shop and get a guide book for California and New York. There's hardly any book shops in the city and we are told at Macy's that they no longer stock any !
We hop back on the bus, we getting better at stopping them ! This time we sit tight for the rest of the tour. We
go through Golden Gate Park and head towards the bridge. The bad news is that we're on an open top and open sided tram style bus. We get there and the fog has closed in and there's a gale blowing. We freeze as we go over the bridge and there's more bad news. We have to come back over it !
We then drive through The Presido, an area that was a military base and housing. It's a nice green area with attractive buildings and quieter than the city.
We thaw out as the bus returns to the city and soon get off to catch our bus back to the RV park, where we have a cup of tea to warm us up. Dinner is al fresco and it's getting cold again as the fog returns.
Thursday 10
th Up and out early to catch the bus ! One still doesn't come but we mange to get one into the city by 9.30. On route we see lots of bewildered tourists standing at bus stops with time tables trying to work out what bus to take where. SF has the worst public bus service we've come across.
We walk up Lombard to the top of the hill and look down on the section of road with 180 degree bends in it. Only small cars can get around them and it's fun watching the traffic drive so slowly to get round the corners.
We then walk down to Hyde Street to catch the old cable car and have to que for 45 mins. We get a good outside seat and then just as the car pulls away a very large chap stands in front of us blocking our view !
The ride is fun as passers by wave to us and the car creaks and groans its way up and down the hills. We get off in Union Square and have a look at the paintings on display before taking a very long walk through China Town and up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower.
We que for another 45 mins for the lift to the top as it only takes 8 people at a time. From the top we get a good view out over the city. It's not the most attractive skyline we've seen as most buildings have flat roofs but it shows
us just how large SF is.
From there we get a bus back to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch and enjoy clam chowder and fish and chips.
We try to book a visit to Alcatraz but all the tickets have been sold to tour companies until August ! A real shame as we had wanted to go.
We're pretty tired after all the walking and decide to catch to the ferry back. It's another 25 min walk to the terminal and then a 30 min ride right across the bay to our site. We get a good view of the Bridge and Alcatraz Island on the way.
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Ed
non-member comment
Excellent report, you deserve e medal for perseverance. See you soooon.