steve-and-carols-excellent-adventure

Today we had so much fun hanging out with our hosts Will and Emily. In the early morning, Carol and I walked to a coffee shop and had coffee and croissant. When we got back, Holden was up, so we played for a while. Like this: We then took a drive to Venice Beach. Here's one shot of the boardwalk. I could have taken 7,459 similar pictures, but I figured everyone would get the idea: We stopped for a lunch of tacos. Everyone was happy to get a bite to eat: My man Holden and I decided to try and see whose sunglasses were more awesome. Obviously, his were: Carol and I learned something interesting today. Venice Beach is so named because there are actually man-made canals in the town: After Venice Beach, we went back home and then walked to one of Will and Emily's favorite dinner spots. Emily's brother Mitchell joined us for dinner, which was a special treat, as he also lives in LA and we don't get to see him much: And also, it w...

After last night's blog entry, around 10:00 pm, I took a walk over to the coast where we had seen the beautiful sunset. Since it had been a clear day, I had expectations of some good star gazing. Even though there is a half-moon, it had not yet risen, and there was no light pollution, so I saw ALL THE STARS. Plus, the Milky Way, plus several shooting stars. I was not disappointed! This morning, we grabbed a cup of coffee at the hotel, packed up and hit the road. We had an early appointment for a tour at Hearst Castle. I really knew nothing much about this place, other than that it was a "must-see". And as it turns out, it really was a "must-see". I won't bore you with all the history, but being there made me feel as if I was literally in Renaissance Spain or Italy. Well into the tour, I mentioned to Carol that I wasn't even taking pictures because they would completely fail to capture the scale, grandeur, and sheer beauty of the place.  ...

We got up early this morning and drove into downtown Monterey in search of coffee and breakfast. But first, we stopped at Fisherman's Wharf  to look at the water. We walked out onto the quay, scanning the water for critters, and we heard the barking of sea lions. There were dozens of them sunning themselves on a jetty about a hundred yards from us. Not close enough to take a photo, but plenty close enough to hear. However, on our way back off the pier we noticed this fellow lying in what appeared to be the most uncomfortable position ever. Pretty much lying on top of some submerged rocks: We grabbed some delicious coffee and breakfast (including veggie quiche) at a coffee shop called Plume's right in downtown Monterey, went back to the hotel, packed up, and hit the road. Our first stop was to visit the John Denver Memorial  in Pacific Grove (which is an adorable little city). It was in a scenic spot right on the bay near where his plane crashed. From the...

This morning, we ate breakfast at the Petaluma Hotel and then left for San Francisco. Before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, we stopped for some photos: We then crossed the bridge and drove down Lombard Street because that is a requirement when one goes to Frisco (another requirement is never to call it Frisco).  We then parked at Union Square. The plan was to take a cable car from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, but wouldn't you know it, the cable cars are shut down for repairs. So we hoofed it through Chinatown and Little Italy to the wharf. Chinatown was fascinating. Apparently it's the largest Chinatown outside of actual China. The small grocery and vegetable shops were intriguing, with may unfamiliar items and signs entirely in Chinese. I really felt like I was in a different country. Like maybe China. Down at the wharf, there was a pier with antique ships as well as a shop where craftsmen restored antique boats. Like this one:  For lunch...

Today was a LONG day of driving. We had breakfast at our hotel in Kalmuth, CA, packed up, and hopped back on the 101. Shortly thereafter, we left the 101 and chose the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway . This is a beautiful scenic two-laner through deep groves of giant redwoods: We then rejoined the 101 in  Orick, CA  and noticed a few animals just ahead of us: Yes! Those were ELK! We were laughing because we were in Glacier National Park and saw no wildlife at all (well, except for the exotic white tailed deer), and now we're seeing a herd of elk on the side of the highway. We continued along the 101 and came to a section called the Freshwater Lagoon Spit . We decided to pull over an put our feet in the Pacific: Here I am practicing my surfer moves:  We got off the 101 again and took  The Avenue of the Giants . This was another stretch of scenic drive that winds through thick groves of redwoods. Here I am just leaning against some tree...