Jason and I like to getaway just the two of us every now and then. We adore our children, but sometimes it's nice to pretend we ourselves are those young college kids dating again, and just getaway for a long weekend. California was one of these examples. So when Jason's air mile points on Delta airlines had added up to enough points we decided it was time for a getaway and that we would travel as far as they could get us... so California it was. We are not especially big city people, as a geography major and being married to a forestry major northern California was much more our style, and San Francisco was calling. A direct flight from Detroit to San Francisco on the evening flight had us landing at SFO around Midnight (PST), quickly renting our car and then heading straight to our airport area hotel for the night. ( It was afterall pretty early in the morning.) Adter a few hours of sleep, we were up bright and early, okay not so bright since it was actually more in the complete darkness since we were still on EST. 5 am San Francisco time to be exact. But this actually worked in our favour because we headed through the city with absolutely no traffic, across the Golden Gate Bridge through the fog, and up highway 101 to travel to the mighty California Redwood Forest. By the time it started getting light out we were a few hours north of the city and driving through the trees at Humboldt Redwood State Park. It was just dawn when we tried to take these photos of the forest. We were also lucky to see some friends in a field along our route. These are some of the Elk we saw grazing along the way. From the trees to the ocean was our next plan, and the little highway that took us down the crest for the next 40 minutes might have been the most winding and crazy drive we have ever been on. It wound through the trees, around sharp curves and up and down hills. Lets just say that it's probably a good thing that our sometimes car sickness prone little girl wasn't with us. Because even we felt very nauseated. But then suddenly the trees opened up to a lookout and there was the pacific ocean right in front of us. I will be honest. I think I expected Northern California to be more green than it actually was, but it's ruggedness has it's very own charm. Because we were visiting in October it wasn't warm or sunny. But it wasn't terribly cold for us either. We followed the coastline from the town of Rockport, California, driving the infamous Pacific Coast Highway #1 and made our way south. To enjoy the views , and keeping breakfast in our bellies we often stopped at many of the lookouts along the route. Usually switching drivers every other time. Other stops we made were in the quaint ocean side small towns along the way. It was nice to be moving at a slower pace and take our time exploring as we took a few days heading back to the city of San Francisco. One of these little stops was in the town of Fort Bragg. When we had done some research before leaving home we discovered that Fort Bragg had a Glass Beach. So this is where we stopped to look around, and roll up our pant legs as we explored the Pacific and the beautiful coloured glass stones along the beach. The Glass Beach is abundant in sea glass created from years of dumping garbage into an area of coastline near the northern part of the town. The pounding waves broke down the glass and pottery and tumbled those pieces into the small, smooth, colored pieces that often become jewelry quality and that cover Glass Beach. A feathered friend. We had some fun also getting a different view of the coast line by stopping and visiting some of the lighthouses along the coast.(It was also to get Pictures and postcards for my dad, because if you know him, you know he's a huge lighthouse enthusiast.) Here is Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. Mendocino, California might have been one of our favourite little spots though. The town was used as the location they filmed the fictional town of Cabots Cove for the tv show- Murder She Wrote. It was quaint, lovely, artistic and yet not especially touristy. We also had one of the most amazing sandwiches I have ever eaten at a little cafe here. Not sure if it was because at this point we were starving, or if it really just was that good. Some day I would like to go back to Mendocino. http://www.visitmendocino.com/ From Mendocino we were headed to our bed for the night. http://www.elkcoveinn.com/ On the 20th anniversary to the day of our very first date, we stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast called Elk Cove Inn and Spa over looking the Pacific Ocean. Falling asleep to the sound of the waves, taking a walk on the beach, and waking up to the most magnificent breakfast spread in the morning. Such a wonderful place to stay. As we explored the coast north of San Francisco we didn't manage to find any whales, but we did discover some other sea life along the shores. We happened across some seals playing one morning. At Point Arena, we had an opportunity to climb the lighthouse. As a kid I had climbed many with my dad on Canada's east coast, but this would be Jason's first time to climb those spiral staircases to the clouds. Which was very true on this morning as the fog was really thick. We spent an hour or two at this location. The guides in the museum were great, and this is the lighthouse we were able to climb. Here is the view from the top. A few more images from the Northern California Coast near Point Reyes. Soon we found ourselves in the Muir Woods and the Marin Headlands, and found ourselves looking out over San Francisco. Though we had a few miles down the coast that we still wanted to see and discover. But since we only had the car for one more day there were two things we wanted to do. One of course was to drive back across the famous Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped to take a quick picture before heading across. And another few on the other side. Our good friends Heather and Bob from Pittsburgh had been in San Francisco just a week before us and hadn't been able to see the bridge at all because of all the fog off the ocean and in the bay. So we really lucked out. From the headlands we also got our first real look at the city while looking out over the Bay. You could see downtown, the bay bridge over to Oakland and Berkley, and even the ROCK! . The other thing we wanted to do was to actually drive down Lombard Street...and in these pictures you will see why. Lombard Street is known for the one-way block on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, where eight sharp turns are said to make it the crookedest street in the world. It was built in 1922, to reduce the hill's natural 27% grade, which was too steep for most vehicles and pedestrian. After Lombard Street we headed back over to Highway 1, and drove south of the city towards Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Carmel by the Sea and Big Sur. As much as we wanted to discover the city, the Pacific Coast had still more in store for us. As we headed south the highway continued to wind and turn, though not as much as north of San Francisco. Here the coastline started opening up into bigger road side stops, and even beaches. When we arrived in the Monterrey Carmel area Jason was excited for us to visit the 17 mile drive. http://www.pebblebeach.com/interactive-map This is a pay road and private neighbourhood around Carmel and the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course. Talk about a view from the tee box. We didn't join the long line up and throngs of people at the Monterrey Aquarium and along Cannery row tourism area, so we used that saved time to head a little further south to Big Sur, California. It was totally worth it to see this view. Our afternoon meal was enjoyed over looking these trees and the pacific at Nepenthe Restaurant. Though we both agreed the food lacked something, the view was lovely. http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/ Our furthest destination to the south on Highway 1 was Big Sur. We turned ourselves around and headed back north but not before taking a photo of the tiny McWay Falls. On our route home we saw lots of activity along the beaches. Para sailing, surfers and picnickers. After a few days of driving the coast it was time to see the big city. We would check into a hotel near the airport, return our rental car, and start using the BART. The Bay Area Rapid Transit. https://www.bart.gov/ Hotels in San Francisco were very very expensive. So we cashed in some of Jason's hotel points and stayed just outside the city in San Bruno. By doing that our entire hotel stay could be covered, and it saved us more than a few dollars. A nice clean bed, and free breakfast was all we needed each day. Our points we cashed in this time were with the Choice Hotel chain. We decided to try a new brand of hotels with the chain, the Ascend Boutique line. We chose to stay at Villa Montes. an Ascend Collection Hotel. http://www.ascendcollection.com/hotel-san_bruno-california-CA654 From our hotel in San Bruno we only had to walk about a few blocks to the train station and we could head right into the city each day. Less than 20 minutes on the train, right downtown to the Ferry Terminal if we wanted, or at any stop along the route depending on what we wanted to see. Our first full day in San Francisco and there was something that we really wanted to see. In fact we had bought our tickets for it months earlier as you need to do. We boarded our boat at 10:30 am and we on our way to ALCATRAZ!!!!! You catch your boat at Alcatraz Landing dock along the Piers, standing in line with many other people waiting for their Ferry out to the Rock. http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/ Once you arrive at this National Landmark you are lead into the Prison itself and then issued a headset for the self guided audio tour. Jason and I each received our own headset and made sure we started them at the exact same moment so that we would be able to walk and listen and look at all the same things at the same time. Sometimes one of us would tap the other as a signal to stop the recording in case one of us wanted a few more minutes to look or finish reading something longer. At Alcatraz you tour the prison, and the grounds, which provide you with amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge and of course the City of San Francisco. You also get a sense of how far a swim to mainland would be, and how cold that water would be as well. The Alcatraz tour was very worth the money. A terrific view of the hills and streets of San Francisco for Alcatraz. After Alcatraz we spent the day exploring along the Piers and Fisherman's Wharf. Which was both lovely and smelly, due to some visitors from the sea. On our next day in San Francisco we traveled to a few more places within the city that we wanted to see. All of them giving us tremendous views of the Bay Area. Coit Tower, a slender white concrete column rising from the top of Telegraph Hill, has been an emblem of San Francisco’s skyline since its completion in 1933. Its observation deck is reached by an elevator (tickets can be purchased in the gift shop), and provides a 360-degree view of the city and bay. So we had visited the Golden Gate Bridge. We had visited Alcatraz, and even walked the Pier at Fisherman's Wharf. But there was something so truly San Francisco that we hadn't done yet! So yes ...Absolutely!!!! We rode the famous San Francisco Cable Cars. Perfect timing too as it only rained for 10 minutes, but we got caught in it catching our Cable Car. http://www.sfcablecar.com/ The cable cars took us for a ride to our next stop. CHINA TOWN. This was our first time visiting such an ethnic and cultural neighbourhood like this. It was still raining while we were visiting so not many pictures of the shops and alley ways, but an interesting stop on our travels. But now that the sun was out we had one more stop to make in this our final California day. We wanted to walk to the top of the hill and see one more place that seemed pretty famous. We wanted to visit the painted ladies at Alamo Square. One of the most photographed locations in San Francisco, Alamo Square's famous "postcard row" at Hayes and Steiner Streets is indeed a visual treat. A tight, escalating formation of Victorian houses is back-dropped by downtown skyscrapers, providing a stunning contrast. The grassy square itself is an ideal midday break. To finish up our visit to San Francisco. Here are a few photos from the plane.
On the day we left San Francisco the San Francisco Giants played the Detroit Tigers for the World Series. The Giants won, but being in both finalist cities on the same day was pretty cool.
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