Yosemite

We left San Fransisco after a couple of great days and headed towards Yosemite National Park. After stocking up at a Market we drove into the park on a beautiful drive and were lucky enough to spot a young bear on the side of the road. We arrived and set up camp in one of the most spectacular spots.

Yosemite Campsite

The warning from the check in person was fairly blunt, food, toiletries or basically anything that smells goes in the bear locker. After that we thought we might sleep in the bear locker.

The Bear Locker

You even sign a waiver agreeing that you have done so and if not could be fined. The place is absolutely packed with all accommodation full. We walked into the village to check out what was around. Views of the park are spectacular and everywhere you look is another great vista.

Yosemite view beside the campground

The village is well set up and we had some great pizza and Degnan’s in the village. Caught a shuttle bus home which is really convenient. They run every 10 minutes and stop at all the major spots. Headed back to camp to have a fire and some ‘smores’. Toasted marshmallow and Hershey’s chocolate between grain crackers. Not bad. Locked up our bear locker and hit the sack. We heard the rangers scaring a few bears away throughout the night. Well, Leisa and Hamish did but I managed to sleep through the lot.

We started the next day with a small hike out to Mirror Lake which didn’t mirror much as it was bone dry. Still good views of the Half Dome though. We then caught a shuttle to El Capitan and watched a climber being flown out after a fall.

Amazing views and the fact that the climbers sleep on the rock face seemed a bit extreme to evade the bears. We headed back into the village and checked out the museum, visitors centre and Indian village. We needed to do a bit of housekeeping and so grabbed a shower for $5 each and did the washing. A restless night for Leisa as she heard every noise and after a couple of hours remembered that we left all our toiletries in the car. So after a late night rescue of the soap we tried to get some sleep. The ranger was active all night scaring away a bear through the night. We shouldn’t worry though as at least ten people were sleeping in their bags on the ground in the campground. Temps have been around 2 degrees at night. A bit chilly. This was a really great spot and you could definitely spend some time here.

Yosemite vista

Off to Death Valley tomorrow.

 

San Fransisco

A full day in the city started with a cable car ride down California st.

California St

Very steep at times but great fun. The drivers earn their keep as starting and stopping is a very manual operation with a series of levers controlling the brakes and also moving off. We caught another car down to Fisherman’s Wharf with a driver who was worth the fare alone. He referred to Grace as “girlfriend” and Hamish as “Junior” and had plenty to say on the trip down. Good value and pretty amusing.

Cable car fun

Down at the wharf we went into a museum for old arcade amusements. Old wooden bowling and basketball games through to the Pacman. Good fun for a couple of dollars.

Grace tries some old style arcade bowling

We then walked up to Pier 39 where a colony of sea lions have made the place their own. Hundreds of these barking animals fight for their very own piece of real estate on the pontoons originally created for boats. They have been their since 1990 and seem content to sun bake, cool off and then sun bake some more. Not a bad life if you can get it.

Pier 39 locals

A bit of lunch and we then made our way out to the Golden Gate bridge. A couple of bus rides later and we were at the start of the bridge and some spectacular views.

Golden Gate Bridge

We walked to the centre of the bridge along with plenty of other tourists and bike riders. This is a very pretty city and everyone is enjoying what we have done.

Looking back to SF from the middle of the bridge

We headed back to the Exploratorium which is a bit like Questacon. We were told this was free today but after arriving at 4:15pm we found we were a day out. They let us in for a donation as it was close to closing. The kids had fun with all the hands on activities and I’m sure that Tom would have stayed given the chance.

Grace shrinks at the Exploratorium

It was back into the city for ice cream at Ghiradelli Square and then dinner down at the wharf again. The day ended with some cable car rides which was a great way to cap off the day. Yosemite tomorrow and some different countryside.

 

Big Sur to San Fransisco

We left Big Sur after eating some nice pastries for breakfast and continued along Highway 1 towards San Fransisco. The views continue to be spectacular with plenty of pics along the way.

Bixby Bridge on Highway 1

On the way we saw where every artichoke in the world must be grown. Much like the strawberries the day before we saw acres of these growing. It also seemed very labour intensive with small villages nestled in amongst the crops where the workers lived.

Artichokes aplenty

We detoured into Monterey which was a coastal fishing town known for its old cannery. This part of town is definitely set up for tourists with a wide range of food shops and souvenirs. We walked along a jetty which was home to sea otters and large seals while also looking in massive candy shops. Chocolate covered apples and Bubba Gump restaurants are all around. Hamish liked the fact that we have seen highway patrols in pursuit, fire engines and CHiPs has also made an appearance with two police on bikes.

Monterey and CHiPs

After Monterey we headed towards San Fransisco on some of the biggest freeways I’ve seen. We went from one 5 lane freeway to another until we landed in the centre of the city with cable cars alongside and thankfully we found our accommodation easily. Thanks again ‘Sylvia’. The lady at the hotel couldn’t be helpful enough and pointed out every tourist destination in the city. We started walking down to Fisherman’s Wharf checking out the “crookedest street” in the world along the way.

The "crookedest street"

The wharf area is home to an endless array of food outlets with clam chowder, shrimp and calamari in abundance. The highlight for the night was the Alcatraz tour which started at dusk giving us great views of the Golden Gate Bridge as we cruised out.

Golden Gate at sunset

Once on the island you are given a personal audio tour which is brilliant. It is narrated by ex inmates and guards bringing the place to life and giving you a good feel for what it must have been like. For a place which was for the worst of the worst they sure did have a great view of the city.

Alcatraz

Don't pick up the soap!

An Alcatraz cell

Not that they had the opportunity to see it. After the tour we caught a bus home looking forward to getting some sleep.

 

The Big Sur

After leaving LA we tried to get a look at Venice Beach but struck a bike race on a Sunday morning. Road blocks made it it all too hard for ‘Sylvia’ our GPS navigator, so we continued along the road north to Malibu checking out the locals along the way. We picked up some supplies at a small supermarket and continued up towards Highway 1. The countryside was very dry and sparcely covered. Not much livestock to speak of either but we now know where all the strawberries come from. We drove for miles through acres of strawberries growing in what seemed like sand, to be honest. We stopped for lunch at Pismo Beach where we endulged in peanut butter sandwiches in front of million dollar houses on the beach.

Lunch at Pismo Beach

San Luis Obispo was the next stop where we went to Kohls and bought some pillows and a hammer. More on the hammer later. With some fuel at Cambria and some driving tips from the servo operator. First to the stop sign has the right of way apparently. Luckily I was applying this principle anyway. Although he did say something about turning left, where you best be wary.
The road from here on became a little tighter and at San Simeon we stopped to see the Elephant seals who were basking in the sun, making the odd strange noise and doing little else.

Elephant Seals at San Simeon

The road became very tight from here on and the scenery quite spectactular. Ocean views and a road that hugged the coastline were very reminiscent of the Great Ocean Road back home. Countryside is still quite dry but there were plenty of photo stops along the way.

Scenery on Highway 1

The day was getting pretty long and we were keen to make the campsite at Big Sur before dark. We only just managed arriving at around 7pm and putting up the tents in dwindling light. The fact that the site was in amongst some of the biggest redwood trees you’re likely to see made it a little dimmer as well. One of the nicest camp sites we have stayed at though.

Big Sur campsite

Getting back to the hammer we bought. It was an all purpose pliers, hammer, fence strainer, wheel brace come screwdriver and it seems not much good at any of those jobs so we had to borrow a real hammer from the guy next door. Dinner was at the campground with a very respectable restaurant filling the spot.
Tomorrow promises to be a good one as we head up to San Fransisco.

 

Arrived alive

We touched down after a 12 hour flight and had a pretty quick run through customs. Walked out the door and straight into a National Car rental shuttle which took us directly to the car rental place. This was also pretty easy although after we loaded our Chevy Traiblazer up we headed to the exit gate when it started to make a terrible squeaking noise. The guy at the gate said go back and see another guy and he will give you another car. He then gave us a brand new Ford Explorer which was a lot nicer than the old Chevy. So as we headed out in the new car I remembered that I had the hand brake on in the Chevy and that was probably the noise. Great scam if you want to upgrade though. After concentrating on staying on the right side of the road we made it to the hotel which was pretty good and with a quick meal downstairs all travelers are now crashed and I am about 5 minutes from joining them. Off to the Big Sur tomorrow. Go the Eels!!!!!

 

USA coming soon!!

This blog is a record of our upcoming trip to the USA. We will be touring the South West, dodging cars, bears and the infamous Mickey Mouse.
Below is our proposed route over three weeks.

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