California Road Trip report
Oct 16th, 2007 | 02:08 PM
#1
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Joined: Jul 2007
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California Road Trip report
We returned last night from a 10-day road trip up the California coast and back down via Yosemite. Following are the highlights.
Oct. 5, Friday
We left home around 9:30 a.m. (dh wanted to wait till L.A. rush hour was over), and drove north along Hwy. 101 to Monterey. Some of the highway runs along the ocean, so it was a pleasant drive. We spent 3 nights in Monterey.
Oct. 6
The first day we drove down to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Oh, my goodness—that place is beautiful! Acres of towering coastal redwood trees, lots of hiking trails of every level of difficulty, and the air smells so good! We must have noticed 20 different shades of green in the forests. On the way back to Monterey, the kids (ages 16, 14, and 10) wanted to stop at the beach and play, so we stopped at Point Sur for an hour of exhilarating fun. It was sunny, but cool and windy; another gorgeous spot. The huge rock formations in the water are fascinating, one or two are worn through to an arch, and there are sea caves that we thought would be fun to explore. Too bad they’re inaccessible.
Oct. 7
We spent most of the next day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium: if you are interested in sea life, you must visit. It is a large, beautiful and well-managed aquarium. We saw a white shark (and lots of leopard sharks), hundreds of beautiful “jellies” of every color and size, strange-looking mahi mahi, huge yellow-fin tuna, and our favorite—sea otters! We stood by a huge window to watch them playing and being fed. They are adorable. Dd (age 10) spent quite awhile at the indoor tide pool, a sort of petting zoo of sea critters. Another gorgeous day (we had great weather this whole trip); we enjoyed just strolling the walkways outside the aquarium, too.
More to come...
Oct. 5, Friday
We left home around 9:30 a.m. (dh wanted to wait till L.A. rush hour was over), and drove north along Hwy. 101 to Monterey. Some of the highway runs along the ocean, so it was a pleasant drive. We spent 3 nights in Monterey.
Oct. 6
The first day we drove down to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Oh, my goodness—that place is beautiful! Acres of towering coastal redwood trees, lots of hiking trails of every level of difficulty, and the air smells so good! We must have noticed 20 different shades of green in the forests. On the way back to Monterey, the kids (ages 16, 14, and 10) wanted to stop at the beach and play, so we stopped at Point Sur for an hour of exhilarating fun. It was sunny, but cool and windy; another gorgeous spot. The huge rock formations in the water are fascinating, one or two are worn through to an arch, and there are sea caves that we thought would be fun to explore. Too bad they’re inaccessible.
Oct. 7
We spent most of the next day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium: if you are interested in sea life, you must visit. It is a large, beautiful and well-managed aquarium. We saw a white shark (and lots of leopard sharks), hundreds of beautiful “jellies” of every color and size, strange-looking mahi mahi, huge yellow-fin tuna, and our favorite—sea otters! We stood by a huge window to watch them playing and being fed. They are adorable. Dd (age 10) spent quite awhile at the indoor tide pool, a sort of petting zoo of sea critters. Another gorgeous day (we had great weather this whole trip); we enjoyed just strolling the walkways outside the aquarium, too.
More to come...
Oct 16th, 2007 | 03:21 PM
#2
Joined: Sep 2004
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Hi fischerl, I am looking forward to the next segment of your trip report. My late husband and I took so many road trips throughout CA (residents of CA) and I especially have fond memories of the ones when the girls were growing up! Travelling with children is very special.
Oct 16th, 2007 | 08:13 PM
#4
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Oct. 8
We left Monterey and drove north to San Francisco, but stopped on the way to explore Henry Cowell State Park (thank you, scdreamer, for the recommendation!) near Santa Cruz. Another beautiful park; it has a small but very nice nature center with plenty of interactive activities. The friendly docent gave us a brochure with self-guided trails, and even lent me his flashlight for the Fremont tree. This huge tree is named after John C. Fremont, an explorer of the area (along with Kit Carson) in the mid-1800s. The story goes that he camped out inside the tree while traveling through the forest. It had been burned out and was hollow, and all 5 of us fit inside with room to spare. There is a shelf carved in one wall and plenty of room for a bed of pine needles.
Many of the redwoods we saw are hollow; the bark is almost impervious to fire, disease and insects, but the heartwood is not.
It was a cool, misty day (we loved it) and I think this was the forest that reminded the kids of some scenes in Lord of the Rings. Or maybe they just imagined they were hobbits…
We continued north and stopped in San Jose, so I could show the kids the house I grew up in. We also visited my mom’s grave—a bittersweet time for us all.
Then it was on to San Francisco.
We left Monterey and drove north to San Francisco, but stopped on the way to explore Henry Cowell State Park (thank you, scdreamer, for the recommendation!) near Santa Cruz. Another beautiful park; it has a small but very nice nature center with plenty of interactive activities. The friendly docent gave us a brochure with self-guided trails, and even lent me his flashlight for the Fremont tree. This huge tree is named after John C. Fremont, an explorer of the area (along with Kit Carson) in the mid-1800s. The story goes that he camped out inside the tree while traveling through the forest. It had been burned out and was hollow, and all 5 of us fit inside with room to spare. There is a shelf carved in one wall and plenty of room for a bed of pine needles.
Many of the redwoods we saw are hollow; the bark is almost impervious to fire, disease and insects, but the heartwood is not.
It was a cool, misty day (we loved it) and I think this was the forest that reminded the kids of some scenes in Lord of the Rings. Or maybe they just imagined they were hobbits…
We continued north and stopped in San Jose, so I could show the kids the house I grew up in. We also visited my mom’s grave—a bittersweet time for us all.
Then it was on to San Francisco.
Oct 17th, 2007 | 08:52 PM
#5
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Oct. 9
When I was planning this trip, I was thinking “trees, rivers, nature…” and thought of San Francisco as a stopover on our way to Redwood National Park. But we all agree that San Francisco was a ton of fun and well worth the day we spent there (we wished we had a couple more days). We spent most of the day in and around Fishermans’s Wharf, watching the guys crack and steam crabs (and loved our clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl!). We went on a self-guided tour of the Pampanito, a submarine that survived WWII action. There was even a retired soldier (who had served on another sub during the war) sitting in the galley to regale us with his war stories. We all found it fascinating.
We wandered around in a museum (right on the wharf) that houses antique mechanical toys and “arcade” games. They are still in working condition, although most cost a quarter or 50¢ now instead of the original penny or nickel! This was a fun place, although the kids remarked about how morbid a few of the games were (“See the guillotine! Drop your penny in and watch the execution!” etc.) There are some amazing realistic tableaus (crafted from toothpicks or other tiny objects) that come to life when you drop your coin in the slot: a carnival and a farm among them.
We also toured the Boudin Sourdough Bread factory and museum—great fun, great history and science lessons, and yummy samples at the end. (And of course you can buy your San Francisco sourdough boules there).
The kids dragged us to Ghiradelli Square, although we warned them that it was no longer a chocolate factory. I didn’t require much convincing, though, since I was craving some dark chocolate by then! We paid premium prices for several bars of the stuff, and enjoyed every bite! We all bought different kinds, and shared them: milk chocolate with caramel, dark chocolate with raspberry filling, dark chocolate with ground espresso beans, dark mint chocolate. (We made them last several days, by the way). Dh noted that the girl behind the counter who served us was really a guy…
We really wanted to walk around in Chinatown and get dim sum for dinner, but we were all so exhausted (especially dh and me ?), that we contented ourselves with driving up the middle of Chinatown and window shopping from the car. We ate at Mel’s Diner, just steps from our hotel in the northwestern section of the city. The food and service were fine, and we especially got a kick out of the working jukebox, which contained hundreds of hits from the 50s and 60s. Although it had a slot for quarters, we found it to be free of charge. We kept the music going pretty much the whole time we were there.
We noticed that San Francisco has yummy tap water; when I asked about it, I was told that the water comes from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir (near Yosemite).
When I was planning this trip, I was thinking “trees, rivers, nature…” and thought of San Francisco as a stopover on our way to Redwood National Park. But we all agree that San Francisco was a ton of fun and well worth the day we spent there (we wished we had a couple more days). We spent most of the day in and around Fishermans’s Wharf, watching the guys crack and steam crabs (and loved our clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl!). We went on a self-guided tour of the Pampanito, a submarine that survived WWII action. There was even a retired soldier (who had served on another sub during the war) sitting in the galley to regale us with his war stories. We all found it fascinating.
We wandered around in a museum (right on the wharf) that houses antique mechanical toys and “arcade” games. They are still in working condition, although most cost a quarter or 50¢ now instead of the original penny or nickel! This was a fun place, although the kids remarked about how morbid a few of the games were (“See the guillotine! Drop your penny in and watch the execution!” etc.) There are some amazing realistic tableaus (crafted from toothpicks or other tiny objects) that come to life when you drop your coin in the slot: a carnival and a farm among them.
We also toured the Boudin Sourdough Bread factory and museum—great fun, great history and science lessons, and yummy samples at the end. (And of course you can buy your San Francisco sourdough boules there).
The kids dragged us to Ghiradelli Square, although we warned them that it was no longer a chocolate factory. I didn’t require much convincing, though, since I was craving some dark chocolate by then! We paid premium prices for several bars of the stuff, and enjoyed every bite! We all bought different kinds, and shared them: milk chocolate with caramel, dark chocolate with raspberry filling, dark chocolate with ground espresso beans, dark mint chocolate. (We made them last several days, by the way). Dh noted that the girl behind the counter who served us was really a guy…
We really wanted to walk around in Chinatown and get dim sum for dinner, but we were all so exhausted (especially dh and me ?), that we contented ourselves with driving up the middle of Chinatown and window shopping from the car. We ate at Mel’s Diner, just steps from our hotel in the northwestern section of the city. The food and service were fine, and we especially got a kick out of the working jukebox, which contained hundreds of hits from the 50s and 60s. Although it had a slot for quarters, we found it to be free of charge. We kept the music going pretty much the whole time we were there.
We noticed that San Francisco has yummy tap water; when I asked about it, I was told that the water comes from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir (near Yosemite).
Oct 20th, 2007 | 08:59 PM
#6
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 117
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Oct. 10
Today we drove up to Redwoods National Park (Crescent City, near the Oregon border). A few miles before we arrived, we were surprised by several Roosevelt elk (a buck and his harem) crossing the road! We had connecting rooms at Econolodge, which was nice for a change! Although we all enjoy each other most of the time, five people in one room gets a bit cramped after awhile.
Oct. 11
We spent today exploring more coastal redwood forests, and found that our National Parks pass wasn’t doing us much good. Redwood National Park consists of several State Parks. Guess we should have gotten that pass instead… We spent most of our time at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and hiked more engrossing (and GREEN!) forest trails. It was cool and misty again today, kind of spooky, perfect for this setting (some scenes in Return of the Jedi were filmed here). Thousands of ferns cover the forest floor, and the trees, of course, are several stories tall! Not much sunlight gets through…We hiked to a creek, but the bridge was washed out, so we couldn’t cross.
We spent a couple of hours at the beach near Crescent City (which was deserted on this cool autumn day—my favorite time of year for the beach), climbing the boulders and looking for seals. I found myself hovering around my 10-year-old on those boulders high above the sea—do all kids think they’re invincible? Yikes. We watched the Battery Point lighthouse flash its light and heard the foghorns and buoy bells. A great day.
Today we drove up to Redwoods National Park (Crescent City, near the Oregon border). A few miles before we arrived, we were surprised by several Roosevelt elk (a buck and his harem) crossing the road! We had connecting rooms at Econolodge, which was nice for a change! Although we all enjoy each other most of the time, five people in one room gets a bit cramped after awhile.
Oct. 11
We spent today exploring more coastal redwood forests, and found that our National Parks pass wasn’t doing us much good. Redwood National Park consists of several State Parks. Guess we should have gotten that pass instead… We spent most of our time at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and hiked more engrossing (and GREEN!) forest trails. It was cool and misty again today, kind of spooky, perfect for this setting (some scenes in Return of the Jedi were filmed here). Thousands of ferns cover the forest floor, and the trees, of course, are several stories tall! Not much sunlight gets through…We hiked to a creek, but the bridge was washed out, so we couldn’t cross.
We spent a couple of hours at the beach near Crescent City (which was deserted on this cool autumn day—my favorite time of year for the beach), climbing the boulders and looking for seals. I found myself hovering around my 10-year-old on those boulders high above the sea—do all kids think they’re invincible? Yikes. We watched the Battery Point lighthouse flash its light and heard the foghorns and buoy bells. A great day.
Oct 21st, 2007 | 05:00 PM
#7
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Oct. 12
We drove down the coast (gorgeous!) to the 299 fwy., then headed east (and further south) to Grass Valley, where we stayed the night with friends. We enjoyed a yummy BBQ dinner, then ended up around the Steinway, singing and jamming the night away. Our friend is an accomplished improvisational pianist. He played, DS (age 14) borrowed a guitar, and we all sang, sometimes in four-part harmony. What fun!
Oct. 13
After a big pancake breakfast, we took off for our last stop: Yosemite National Park. We stayed just outside the western boundary of the park in El Portal at the Yosemite View Lodge. It was wonderful. Plenty of rooms available, and the price, although a splurge for us, was not prohibitive. We paid a few extra bucks for a “river view room” and we were not disappointed. It was a spacious room, with a small balcony (2nd floor) practically hanging over the Merced River. We were delighted! The kids and I had barely stepped foot in the room when we decided we had to go boulder-scrambling on the river. Dh stayed behind in hope of discovering internet access: no luck.
Oct. 14
We did splurge on the Sunday brunch at the huge historic Ahwahnee Hotel (reserve ahead) in Yosemite Valley. The array of food was impressive, the quality fine (not gourmet), the service impeccable, and the dining room atmosphere and the view out the huge windows were wonderful. My 10-year-old opted to order off a kids menu, which was only $5 (kids buffet was $16.50). We then spent most of our time exploring the Valley floor, lots of hikes and nature centers there, along with a free shuttle bus (Yosemite is huge, almost 1200 square miles), but we did drive out to Bridalveil Falls (not much more than a trickle right now, but a pretty hike) and then drove about an hour to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in the southern area. Okay, these trees are humungous! One of them (according to the trail brochure) has branches that are seven feet in diameter! In other words, the branches are the size of most of the trees in the forest. Wow.
The weather today (and for the last couple of days) was sunny and mild, perfect for a day exploring Yosemite.
We were exhausted and hungry by the time we got back to our hotel (around 7:00 p.m.), so we stopped in at the pizza place on the hotel property. When we saw the TV blaring in the corner showing a show we considered inappropriate for the kids, we opted to take the pizza to our room (the kids had been asking for a “room picnic” for days, so they were happy). We sat around on the beds eating pizza and watching “Man vs. Wild” on the flat screen TV; we didn’t have energy for much else!
Oct. 15
After packing up, I took my cup of tea and a copy of the Psalms out to our balcony and enjoyed some quiet morning time. I loved watching the river, and became engrossed in watching a couple of chipmunks scampering around on the rocks. So peaceful, yet in a way exhilarating, too.
We took the 99 fwy. (nondescript), arriving home (we live about 1 hour southeast of Los Angeles) around dinner time. It was a fabulous trip. Now we’re thinking we might like to go to Yosemite for Christmas sometime…
We drove down the coast (gorgeous!) to the 299 fwy., then headed east (and further south) to Grass Valley, where we stayed the night with friends. We enjoyed a yummy BBQ dinner, then ended up around the Steinway, singing and jamming the night away. Our friend is an accomplished improvisational pianist. He played, DS (age 14) borrowed a guitar, and we all sang, sometimes in four-part harmony. What fun!
Oct. 13
After a big pancake breakfast, we took off for our last stop: Yosemite National Park. We stayed just outside the western boundary of the park in El Portal at the Yosemite View Lodge. It was wonderful. Plenty of rooms available, and the price, although a splurge for us, was not prohibitive. We paid a few extra bucks for a “river view room” and we were not disappointed. It was a spacious room, with a small balcony (2nd floor) practically hanging over the Merced River. We were delighted! The kids and I had barely stepped foot in the room when we decided we had to go boulder-scrambling on the river. Dh stayed behind in hope of discovering internet access: no luck.
Oct. 14
We did splurge on the Sunday brunch at the huge historic Ahwahnee Hotel (reserve ahead) in Yosemite Valley. The array of food was impressive, the quality fine (not gourmet), the service impeccable, and the dining room atmosphere and the view out the huge windows were wonderful. My 10-year-old opted to order off a kids menu, which was only $5 (kids buffet was $16.50). We then spent most of our time exploring the Valley floor, lots of hikes and nature centers there, along with a free shuttle bus (Yosemite is huge, almost 1200 square miles), but we did drive out to Bridalveil Falls (not much more than a trickle right now, but a pretty hike) and then drove about an hour to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in the southern area. Okay, these trees are humungous! One of them (according to the trail brochure) has branches that are seven feet in diameter! In other words, the branches are the size of most of the trees in the forest. Wow.
The weather today (and for the last couple of days) was sunny and mild, perfect for a day exploring Yosemite.
We were exhausted and hungry by the time we got back to our hotel (around 7:00 p.m.), so we stopped in at the pizza place on the hotel property. When we saw the TV blaring in the corner showing a show we considered inappropriate for the kids, we opted to take the pizza to our room (the kids had been asking for a “room picnic” for days, so they were happy). We sat around on the beds eating pizza and watching “Man vs. Wild” on the flat screen TV; we didn’t have energy for much else!
Oct. 15
After packing up, I took my cup of tea and a copy of the Psalms out to our balcony and enjoyed some quiet morning time. I loved watching the river, and became engrossed in watching a couple of chipmunks scampering around on the rocks. So peaceful, yet in a way exhilarating, too.
We took the 99 fwy. (nondescript), arriving home (we live about 1 hour southeast of Los Angeles) around dinner time. It was a fabulous trip. Now we’re thinking we might like to go to Yosemite for Christmas sometime…
