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Published: July 30th 2016
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At the beginning of July our dear friend Fiona flew into San Francisco to spend just over a couple of weeks with us. We were so pleased to see her and catch up with all the news from home. Her remit was to see the Golden Gate Bridge, watch a baseball game, visit Alcatraz and drive down US1 coastal highway to Los Angeles. We all also had tickets to watch the Ladies US Open golf championship which was taking place near San Jose. Her first full day with us was 4th July and Americas Independence Day. We went to a local parade with lots of bands and floats and people wishing everyone a 'happy 4th July'! It was kind of ironic that three English people were waving flags at this particular celebration but we didn't raise our English accents much so we were safe!! It was fun to watch and the children and adults there were all planning their BBQ's and meals for the afternoon which would be followed by a big firework display in the town. Our very friendly airbnb hosts, Rosa and Eddie invited the three of us to a family gathering in the afternoon which was really kind
and we enjoyed spending a lovely sunny afternoon in nice surroundings talking to their family. It was a great start to Fiona's holiday.
We had two days in San Francisco. We visited Alcatraz Island which was a fascinating and harrowing place, had clam chowder on pier 39, watched the sea lions and peered at the Golden Gate Bridge which unfortunately was quite misty that day. There are a lot of photos of the GG bridge in all the gift shops and a lot of them are misty shots so we are presuming it is often like that there. We watched an evening baseball game, a first for all of us, between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies. There was a great family atmosphere there and we gradually got the hang of the rules. We travelled on the street cars up and down the hills, saw Lombard street, the zig zag road you can drive down and people watched which was fun.
The ladies US Open was really good to watch. We mostly followed an English player called Jodie Ewart Shadoff and chatted to her family as we walked round. She did pretty well finishing tied 8th.
It was held at Cordevalle Golf Club and the course was in lovely condition with plenty of places to stand and watch. We all enjoyed it and the lovely sunshine that accompanied the days spent there.
We had a day in Monterey visiting the aquarium which was extremely busy and a ride into Carmel with a couple of beautiful scenic drives and Pebble Beach GC to ogle at too. Our drive down Highway 1 was on another beautiful sunny day and we made lots of stops to take photos. Santa Cruz was a highlight as we spotted sea otters just off the pier wrapping themselves in kelp and cracking open crabs and shells on their stomachs with their babies looking on, just magical to watch.
We drove down Big Sur which was stunning in the sunlight and on to San Luis Obispo in the heart of wine country. We obviously made sure we had some tasting opportunities which is a very nice way to spend a couple of hours. There was a great farmers market there with all sorts of street food and we tried out some Mexican food which was very filling and tasty. We also stayed at
Santa Barbara and spent some relaxing time on the beach there as well as having well earned ice creams on the pier. All the beaches along this coastline are spectacular and most are very wide which means it doesn't matter how many people are there it never really feels crowded (except when trying to park the car which can be tricky but Dave managed brilliantly!) Our time in Los Angeles covered Santa Monica, Venice beach, Hermosa beach, Manhattan beach and we were staying in the Redondo beach area so we saw plenty of sand and sea as well as street entertainers, skate boarders, stalls selling jewellery, ornaments, clothes, weird painted skulls? glassware and many other items. There are cycle/jogging/skating/walking lanes to negotiate along the promenade which on the whole work very well with just the odd person getting in the wrong lane and causing a bit of mayhem.We also visited the Dolby Theatre in LA where the Oscars take place and all the star signs and hand prints in the pavement are outside as well as a spot where you
can have your photo taken with the Hollywood sign behind you. Then we drove around Beverley Hills to view the beautiful houses and we walked along Rodeo Drive to peer into the shop windows and have very snooty shop assistants peer back! It was a fun visit but LA is a very busy and sprawling city, good to visit but also good to get away from. Fiona got on her flight to London after lots of hugs and waves and it was back to us two again.We drove to Palm Springs to spend a week in a golf resort. When we arrived at 8pm in the evening the temperature was 106F!! The rest of the week was much the same so needless to say we didn't do too much, just toddled over to the on site swimming pool for a dip every day, sometimes three times a day to cool down. Thank goodness for air conditioning! It was a very relaxing week and Palm Springs is unusual in as much as it's in the middle of a desert area (the
Coachella Valley to be precise) and really was made famous in the Rat Pack era when Hollywood stars came here to escape the city. Now it is full of golf courses, tennis courts, shopping malls and retirees! The place is surrounded by wind turbines which power the city but in July it is very quiet and only mad English people go there! Right now we are house and pet sitting in Santa Ana, about an hour south of Los Angeles, enjoying better temperatures and walking a lovely dog. We are close to Huntingdon Beach and Newport Beach and plan to spend some time watching the world go by.
It was lovely having our friend come over and we are looking forward to September when we have two more very special friends joining us, this time in Colorado when we will be seeing some more sights that this huge country has to offer. Keep your comments coming in, we love hearing from everyone.
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Jo Woodward
non-member comment
California
Hi Ann and Dave Loved reading this post as we are now in San Francisco!! sounds like the US open was great, what a fab experience ??⛳️ You are right about the farmers markets only been here 2 full days and already seen several and we had our lunch from one yesterday on the way back from a 16 mile cycle ride over the bridge and back!! Misty for us as well but we did spot a humpback whale under the bridge. Monterey for us tomorrow. Take care and look forward to reading your next post xx