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Published: August 8th 2007
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by Miss Wendy O Californ-I-A baby. Arguably the most diverse state of the nation, home to the most immigrants and influences. It has the most national parks and the biggest trees known to man, as well as 1,200 miles of rugged wild Pacific coastline. You can feast on exquisite worldly cuisine while sipping fine vino from Napa Valley. And where would we be without the vacuum tube, PCs, the internet, fortune cookies, the seedless watermelon and of course McDonalds.
The craggy North Coast is marked by fog-shrouded woods, rocky cliffs, deserted beaches, wild ocean, redwood forests and thundery skies. We travelled down Highway 1 which twists and turns up the coast. The national forests we passed looked spooky at dusk engulfed in mist and fog. We took some time to appreciate just how enormous the redwood trees were. As well as being the tallest trees in the world, they are also wider than houses making you feel the size of an ant!
Then we hit San Francisco. This was one place I was most looking forward to exploring, after being told it gives NYC a run for its money. Home to the picture-perfect brick-red Golden Gate Bridge,
gorgeous restored Victorian houses, misfits and eccentrics, it was fun, funky and hip.
We stayed in the cute, homely Hayes Valley Inn in the Civic Centre area for 3 nights. Stuart was sick the first day so, as his caring wife-to-be, I went off exploring. I weaved my way through the bursting streets of China Town. It’s the biggest one in the states and I quietly snuck into a couple of local temples, both brightly decorated with thousands of colorful fortunes and paper lanterns handing from the ceiling and the alters were packed with candles and burning incense. I took a breather from the hustle and bustle of the narrow busy streets in Chinatown and escaped to Portsmouth Square, also known as the China Man’s Livingroom. It’s where the local Chinese men come to hang out, share stories and play cards on makeshift card tables made from cardboard boxes. Very cool!
It was a steep hike up through North beach, Washington Square and Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower, one of the tallest buildings in San Fran, offering amazing panoramic views of the city.
Stuart made a speedy recovery when I mentioned a glass of chardonnay and met
me along San Francisco Bay at Pier 39, where all the action is and where all ferry trips leave from. We were gutted all the Alcatraz tickets were sold out for a whole week and only available through touts selling them for $100. We took a lovely slow stroll along the bay soaking up the views and the atmosphere of this laid back city stopping off for a quick peek at the scenic stair-cased gardens and often photographed block of Lombard St in Russian Hill. The tourists were going crazy, half killing themselves as they drove down the steep, winding, famous road hanging out windows and sunroofs with their cameras and camcorders. We had some chill time in a quiet wee park we found away from the crowds of tourists and overlooking the bridge.
The next morning we thought we would do what the locals do and run over Golden Gate Bridge. The fog was so bad we couldn’t even see the water beneath us and the fumes from all the traffic on the bridge negated any health benefits from running, but it was a fun experience all the same.
We were planning on visiting SFMoMA (Modern Art
Museum) but was closed due to a power cut so we just hung out down town having a giggle and soaking up the vibe instead. That night we visited Amir, an old friend of Stuart’s, in the hip, bohemian area of Haught-Ashbury. He took us to a funky wee restaurant where we indulged in tasty tapas style food and fabulous cocktails and wine before he led us astray and dragged us to the gay quarter of San Fran, Castro. We danced the night away with queers and queens and had a wicked night.
A little rusty the next morning, we said goodbye to Amir and the very relaxed, friendly and fun city of San Fran and headed East for more adventures. First stop was Yosemite National Park in Eastern California. Yosemite is a gorgeous park at altitude with massive granite mountains and crystal blue lakes. Although it is smaller than both Glacier and Yellowstone we didn’t have enough time to truly appreciate it and sped through in two days. (See the separate blog for bear news from Yosemite).
Turtles on Tour Argie gets Angry Argie had his first tantrum in a gas station in California, just
north of San Fran. Trying to find a free pump to fill up proved difficult as this bustling station with multiple entrances and exits was jam packed. While backing up to move into another queue after someone stole my spot, I heard a crunch as Argie almost swallowed a small wrecked Ford. Oops. The other car had a smashed window and a crushed door but hardly a scrape was seen on Argie. He’s a rock not to be reckoned with!!!
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Darma
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Congrats!
Just got back from Scotland and London and wanted to wish you both congratulations on your news!!!! Don 't forget about us in OH-IO!!!