Headed South: I Will Never Eat Kale

Why I Love/Hate California

I love California because: 1) It has amazing, amazing scenery across many different landscapes; 2) It is generally 10 years ahead of anywhere else; 3) It is the biggest melting pot I have ever seen -- they probably have a Senegal town focusing on all things Senegalese. I hate California because: 1) They are so full of themselves about things like why we should all eat kale, all the time, in all forms; 2) my God, that traffic; 3) To say that the major cities are filled with self absorbed people is rather an understatement. But there we were, and about to embark on a 9 night tour up the Coast, through Sonoma and ending in Yosemite.

Heading On UP that Highway

The Pacific Coast Highway is probably one of the best drives in America if not the world. We had done it once before but I don't remember the particulars because it was raining torrentially, we were headed south (right next to the cliffs - phobia #1) and our sons were making fun of me from the backseat because I was cringing and moaning. I am pleased to announce that this was a more pleasant experience because we were going North (not on the cliffs), it was bright sunlight and no one was making fun of me.

One of the first things we noticed driving up the coast from LA was how green everything was compared to when we have been to LA in the past.

We stopped for lunch in San Luis Obispo & visited the mission.

The flowers in the garden were spectacular, as can be seen from this series of photos.

The old mission bells.

The stenciling in the church was exquisite.

While the church was small, it was very tastefully and simply decorated.

This grill with spit is big enough to grill a whole cow to feed a whole mission.

First stop was Morro Bay. It's major claim to fame is a giant rock. It WAS giant but to me the draw was the sea otters. God, I love them. Maybe not quite as much as manatees but a close second. They are so cute and it is so much better since people have made the fishermen stop clubbing them to death. Why are my favorite animals the ones they tend to club to death? That's dark. We missed the excitement because two days later some cretin climbed the big rock to propose to his beloved and got stuck and they had to use helicopters and trained climbers to extricate him. Silly goose.

This is Morro rock which the besotted lover chose to climb to propose to his fiancee.

This large seagull caught our attention, ...

but the otter's put on a better show.

Morro Bay is also noted for its surfing.

While watching the surfing this squirrel was wandering around begging for more nuts to add to its stash. It was a tad aggressive and jumped onto the back of the bench Deirdre was on. Luckily, she does not have a squirrel phobia -- yet.....

These sea lions (mother and baby) were sunning themselves on this dock.

This is an all women's crew of racers (all cancer survivors) that practice twice daily on the bay, we were told.

We will leave Morro Bay with this series of sunset photos.

Onward to San Francisco

As we continued up the PCH we pulled over to take in the Elephant Seals. We'd seen them on the last trip but things had changed. Fifteen years or so ago you just stopped the car, hopped out and wandered to the beach where they were basking, fighting, mating and flipping sand at each other. Human parents (stupid, stupid parents) would encourage the offspring to go pose with them. The typical bull weighs 6,600 pounds is 16 feet long and they are really cranky. Particularly during mating season which is when they are on the beach. But now, the seals have been sanitized (or protected from stupid people depending on your point of view) by fencing them off and posting about twelve signs about all the things you are not supposed to do. Sigh....

The beach was covered with bull elephant seals, female elephant seals and their pups.

These two pups decided to cool off in the water...

and one decided to look up and pose for the camera, while the other just snuffled into the water.

This bull is throwing sand on himself to keep cool...

while this one is bellowing for a mate.

This very tiny pup is venturing forth on its own (but momma won't let him go too far).

We really lucked out in that it was wild flower season and there had been enough rain to make them just spectacular. Feast your eyes.

Back on the road we headed for lunch in Palo Alto with Michael's cousin Judy. Palo Alto is a beautiful place (home of Stanford) which is emblematic of much of California and California real estate. We were set on our heels to learn that a 1/4 acre lot with a tear down would fetch $2 million. And it just goes up from there. We had a great lunch and caught up on the family and headed off to San Francisco.

Now, we have rented from VRBO many, many times. And we've never had a bad experience. And this wasn't exactly BAD but it was WEIRD. Having been to San Francisco many times and having seen all the major touristy things, I chose a place in a neighborhood called Inner Sunset which is adjacent to Golden Gate Park. I did this because we'd never spent enough time in the Park and I thought it would be kind of a restful break.

The house was a beautiful Victorian and our flat was the entire first floor. The owner was Michael (extremely complicated Russian last name) and we never actually saw him. We believe: 1) he is very old; 2) he has little use for detailed instructions; 3) he has an altered sense of time. Somehow, despite the faulty directions, inability to reach him by phone and the fact that he wasn't there to meet us we somehow gained entrance. And then... oh, My God. I turned to Michael and said, "It looks like Czar Nicholas just stepped out for coffee". There is really nothing that I can say that would top what the pictures reveal.

A king size plus bed created well before the era of California King beds

In case you were born after 1930, that is a radio built into the bedside table)--both bedside tables.

The focal point is that lovely painting which, to us, looked like slaves trapped in Louis XIV's France or well, actually we have no idea....

Needless to say, I am actively combing the tianguis for a similar objet d'arte

We spent the next day walking the length of Golden Gate Park which is a whole lot longer than one would think. We were 1/2 way through when I noticed that our map was "not to scale". Intent on seeing the buffalo (I'm not sure why since we've seen a million) we slogged forward. Saw them. Yep, buffalo. More miles and we emerged at the Ocean. Having covered at least 7 or 8 miles by now we figured we deserved a drink and food and headed to the Cliff House which has a spectacular view and spectacular Bloody Mary's.

We started out in the Botanical Garden at Golden Gate Park, which was filled with the flowers of spring, some of which I will include in the photos.

A further sign of spring was this beautiful Robin, who stopped to pose.

This is the national tree of Chile, the Monkey Puzzle, Pehuen. The tree can grow to 150' with seed cones of 7". The seeds are edible and the wood is used for firewood & woodworking. The sap is used to treat wounds. Do not say this blog is NOT educational.

The wisteria were in full bloom which delighted Deirdre.

From the Botanical Garden we progressed to the Japanese Garden.

We encountered this zen garden.

We also came across the obligatory statue of Buddha.

This sphinx was outside the de Young museum in the park...

as well as this sculpture, titled Poeme de Vigne, a tribute to the annual wine harvest. It is shaped like a giant wine vessel decorated with figures associated with the rites of Bacchus.

This lion sculpture....

and this sculpture dedicated to Cervantes were also on the grounds of the museum.

On the walk to see the bison, we saw this unusual flower...

and this magnificent little waterfall.

After much walking we finally reached the bison.

After leaving the bison, we saw this wonderfully twisted vine.

At the end of the park we finally saw the windmills....

and then retreated to Cliff House for some libations and lunch.

Elegance Vs. Disneyland

After the refueling stop we paid a visit to the Sutro Baths. Now THIS was interesting. It makes you wish you lived in the early 1900s as long as you had an indoor bathroom. Right next to the Cliff House are the ruins of the Sutro Baths. Back in the late 1800s, Adoph Sutro , a self-made millionaire, decided that San Franciscans needed a place to get away for a weekend day trip. I kind of got the Coney Island feel but it was different. At the Baths, " a classic Greek Portal opened to a massive glass enclosure containing seven swimming pools at various temperatures. There were slides, trapezes, springboards and a high dive. The power of the Pacific Ocean during high tide could fill the 1.7 million gallons of water required for all the pools in just one hour. The baths could accommodate 10,000 people at one time and offered 20,00 bathing suits (Yuck) and 40,000 bath towels for rent." But it didn't stop there. "The front entrance contained natural history exhibits, galleries of sculptures, paintings , tapestries and artifacts from Mexico China, Asia and the Middle East including Mummies. I want to GO! But no. It's over. The automobile and depression killed it. Sigh. So, even though we had marched miles that day the lure of the Sutro Baths overcame our fatigue and we did the little hike to see them. And then, it was time to eat and visit again.

This is what one of the Sutro Baths looked like in the late 1800s.

This is what all of the structures surrounding the Baths looked like then.

The only thing left of those magnificent Baths are the main pool of water...

which can be seen in these two photos,...

these stairs leading down to the old Baths.... There is a barricade at the top because it is HIDEOUSLY unsafe but look who's standing on the stairs.....

and these ruins from the original Baths.

These wild flowers were growing on the hillside leading down to the Baths.

This bride & groom decided that the Baths would make a good backdrop for their wedding photos.

From above the Baths, you can just glimpse a section of the Golden Gate bridge on one side...

and heart rock on the other side.

Dinner with the Girls

Here is an embarrassing admission. We had never taken a LYFT or Uber until this trip. Well, they don't exist in Mexico. Well, they do in Guad but the taxi drivers are beating up the Uber drivers so we sort of stay out of it. But we took one to North Beach to meet up with three of our second cousins for dinner and it was a great experience. The food was terrific (there was NO kale on the menu) and the conversation was great. Amelia had worked in the restaurant and knew everyone which was an added bonus. It turned out that Jenna lived a block and a half from our rental chamber of horrors so we had the opportunity to inflict its excesses upon her. She was impressed.