Archive for October, 2007
From Hunters Point we drove north. We drive passed the AT&T Ballpark, the home of the San
Francisco Giants. It is a beautiful ballpark and we have spent many happy hours here watching some exciting games.
Parking in the city is hard to find and expensive but on a Saturday you can park in the Howard Street car park (which is just off The Embarcadero) for up to four hours it is just $5. It is the closest parking for the Farmers Market which is held outside the Ferry Building every Saturday morning from 8 a.m - 2 p.m. There is also a Farmers Market here on a Tuesday as well at the same time.
It is just a short walk from the car park to the market but there are a lot of distractions along the way. The Embarcadero itself is a show stopper all on its own. for many years, this part of the city was overshadowed by the Embarcadero freeway which ran above the road and separated the city from the waterfront. During the 1989 earthquake it was badly damaged and was pulled down. Thanks to the then Mayor, Art Agnos, it was never rebuilt and the city and the waterfront became reunited.
continue reading »
October 31 2007 | Special Places | No Comments »
Today we decided to go up to the city. A drive of about 60 miles.
Our first stop was Warm Cove. Not many people in San Francisco would even know where that is I guess. I do not recommend it as a place to spend the day. We had never heard of it either until we stumbled across it. We were investigating Hunters Point, which is a not very nice location near the docks. It is full of warehouses, some dilapidate and very run down.
Warm Cove is a small and very scruffy park on the edge of the bay with a huge power plant looming over it. Am I tempting you to visit? There are a lot of signs around forbidding graffiti and saying “do not deface” which gives you some indication of the regular clientèle. (Tom interrupting: spending some time here could yield some great photos. I’d kind of like to explore this area a little more). At this time of the morning though it was abandoned, only the accumulated litter giving evidence that other people use it.
But it was not without its beauty. There were a few flowers around and some cacti and the fragrance of wild fennel. We spent some time watching the egrets looking for food as the tide came in and enjoyed the sight of the sun as it rose over Oakland.
October 28 2007 | Neighborhoods | No Comments »
One of the most beautiful drives in California and certainly one of our favorites is along
Highway 1 from Half Moon Bay to Pigeon Point Lighthouse. The scenery is stunning, especially early on a bright, clear, autumn morning. The ocean is blue and calm with a few small fishing boats dotted around.
[Click on the image for a larger version]
Notices for pumpkin patches abound at this time of the year but as it is only 9 in the morning I doubt whether any of them are open yet. By lunch time they will be in full swing.
The views inland are just as spectacular, with low valleys in the foreground and the Santa Cruz mountains behind. Along the way we pass many interesting beaches, each with their particular charm. There is San Gregorio with its driftwood sculputres; Pescadero with its sand dunes and trails around the marsh and Pomponio with its fascinating rocks. All of them deserve their own account and we will visit them all at a later date.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse is roughly half way between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz and is a landmark both offshore and on. ‘In June 1853 the Boston-based Carrier Pigeon, on her maiden voyage, was torn apart by a fog-blanketed rock off Whale Point. Thereafter, it was called Pigeon Point.’ (taken from the Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park brochure.)
The lighthouse was built in 1872 and its Fresnel lens guided mariners for over a century. A light still flashes every 10 seconds but now it is from a 1,000 watt light bulb.
As we stepped out of the car, all five sense were on full throttle. The smell of the ocean, pine and seaweed; the sound of the surf and birdsong; the sight of the distant horizon and the light flashing from the lighthouse; the taste of salt spray and lastly, the feel of the sand under my feet and the rough texture of the rocks.
In the last couple of years they have added a couple of features. To the east there is now a short trail along the top of the bluffs and since our last visit there are stairs leading down to a small beach.
continue reading »
October 25 2007 | Special Places | No Comments »
It is barely light when we leave San Jose just before 7 in the morning. The day is bright and the mountains surrounding us were clear and sharp.
Here in the Bay Area most of the trees do not shed their leaves in the Fall so we do not see many trees changing color. Along I280 there were a few trees showing there autumn colors. There are very few shivering Aspen trees here though.
As we approached Hiwhway 92, the sun was beginning to cast shadows on the forest to the west of Crystal Springs. Today the reservoir lives up to its name. Though the level is very low. This is the end of the journey for some of the water from the Sierras via the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct.
I just love this drive on Highway 92 into Half Moon Bay. At this time of the day we have a clear run. Come lunchtime this road will be bumper to bumper, slow moving traffic. Today though it is fun. We climb over the Santa Cruz mountains and as we crest the summit, we get our first view of the ocean.
Coasting down the hill we begin to pass the ecletic businesses along the way. We pass one place selling huge metal sculptures and other displaying carved wooden animals. Then there are the nurseries and fruit stands and even a winery.
Half Moon Bay is the ‘pumpkin capital of the world’ so naturally there are many pumpkin patches with pumpkins littering the ground and covering every surface, each patch vying with their neighbors to provide a better attraction - mazes, tractor rides and pony rides to name but a few. Every year in October they have a Pumpkin Festival here.
At 7.30 we arrive in Main Street. We plan to have breakfast at the Main Street Grill but it doesn’t open until 8 a.m. so we look for coffee. We discover a gem called Coffee Company, just off Main Street. Their special at the moment is pumpkin pie latte but Tom stuck to his regular Fresnch Roast and I had a small latte. It came in a tall glass beaker and looked very attractive with its three layers - milk, coffee and topped with foamed milk. I was looking at the range of teas they serve and it is extensive. Over 36 varieties including Topical fire, Caramel, Rose, Maple and Orange Pekoe.
continue reading »
October 22 2007 | Neighborhoods | No Comments »
We have had breakfast at Main Street Grill several times before but not for a while. Something
seemed a little strange. It was not quite where I remembered it and it looked slightly different. I’m positive the awning was not there and surely the sign was higher? We found out that indeed they have moved one block because the lease ran out on their original place. The current location used to be a restaurant. It is now opposite Half to Have.
Our order was quickly taken and I took stock of our surroundings. It is a bright and cheerful place. The main attraction here is the singing cook who occasionally breaks out with short bursts of opera.
The layout is pretty standard, booths around the outside with a few tables and chairs and 10 low chairs up at the counter. There are curtains at the windows. Just inside the door is a large, modern jukebox but it was not operating. On the walls were photos of Half Moon Bay pumpkins, a large painting of flowers and a print of a bulldog. Old theater posters abound featuring performers like Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines and Billie Holiday.
Our food arrived within five minutes. Can’t complain about long waits here. I ordered a fruit bowl for $6 and Tom had the Basin Street Scramble for $10.50. My fruit bowl was a bit disappointing. For $6 I expected a bigger portion. It consisted of 10 chunks of water melon, a sliced banana - some pieces were a bit brown - and 8 sweet green grapes. As you know, I usually order oatmeal but they only serve that on weekdays. Tom’s verdict on the scramble - good and spicy.
Checked out the restroom as is my custom. Separate rooms but only one stall in each. In the womens the stall itself was cold and grubby. It was very austere without any decoration whatsoever. The toilet roll was empty but there were two new rolls on the tank. There were no toilet seat covers in the dispenser.
The small section outside the stall where the sink was does have a few pictures on the wall - one of a song sheet for ‘In a Little Spanish Town’, one of a house in Half Moon Bay with a hand written note attached which said ‘January Hooker 1995′ and a small picture of a cat looking in a mirror with a lion reflected in the glass with a caption which reads “what matters is how you see yourself”.
The washing facilities are very basic with just kitchen roll to dry your hands on. The room is also used as a storage area with half a dozen boxes under the sink. On closer inspection, I discovered that two of the boxes contained toilet seat dispensers (but not covers) and at least one box contained records for the jukebox.
Summing up I would say the place is bright and friendly, the singing is good but the food is overpriced.
October 19 2007 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
It’s been over a week since we returned from our mammoth road trip and it’s time to review what we liked, disliked and what we would do different.
We were on the road for 16 days and traveled just under 4,000 miles. That is an average of about 250 miles a day, which is some going. We drive a three year old Toyota Prius and it performed brilliantly. It suffered a couple of dings and a small chip in the windshield along the way but apart from that it is as good as ever. Plus of course we got very good gas miles. One thing to note though is the lack of Prius sightings outside of California and Oregon.
Hard to pinpoint our best moment. The appreciation of the sheer size of the Grand Canyon must be near the top of the list but if I had to pick the best it would have to be when we were down among the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon.
We stayed in ten different hotels, mainly Best Westerns. There was one Holiday Inn Express and one Holiday Inn and two independents (Panamint Springs, Death Valley and Safari Motor Inn, Boise). Most of them have blurred into one in my mind but several are worth a second mention. The best one by far was the Best Western Coral Hills in St George, Utah. Not only was it the cheapest one but it had the best facilities, especially the balcony. Second best was the Safari Motor Inn in Boise. Idaho. It was nearly as cheap but it had no balcony. The friendly staff on reception and the closeness to Boise downtown were definite pluses. Panamint Springs Resort in death Valley will be remembered for it’s bamboo four poster bed and it’s amazing location. The worst hotel was the Best Western High Country Inn in Ogden, Utah because we had to change rooms due to the heating not working and the disturbed night due to noisy trains and the loud knocking on the door to the next room after we had fallen asleep.
The best meal we had was at the Rocking V Cafe in Kanab, Utah. We enjoyed the varied menu, the wine, the tasty food and the friendly service. The art gallery upstairs was the icing on the cake. Our second best meal was at Pair in Boise, Idaho. Here the food and wines were delicious and the service was good but the ambiance was just not as good as the Rocking V Cafe. Hard to say which was the worst meal but we had quite a few bland and unexciting combinations.
Each state was different and memorable for a variety of reasons. The most striking impression of Nevada was its bullet riddled road signs. Arizona will be remembered for the vast Navajo lands and the Grand Canyon. Utah was the most spectacular, with its wonderful red mesas but, looking at the state from another angle, it was almost impossible to get any decent coffee here. What we did have was very weak. Idaho was the biggest surprise. We were expecting to see the marvelous sights in Utah and Arizona and we were not disappointed. In Idaho we were not expecting much at all but what we did see was fine and Boise was an unexpected pleasure. Oregon we have been to before but only the western side. We were surprised to find the eastern side was barren and uninteresting. Then of course there is California. Most of the places in California I visited on this trip I had been to before, apart from Death Valley. There is no other place like Death Valley and it was a unique experience. I would love to visit in the spring time when the wild flowers are blooming, especially after a wet winter.
What would we do differently? Over to you Tom…..
Oh boy, what would we do different? Hmmmm, we saw a lot of rock. Now it was all different and all beautiful and in the southwest that’s pretty much what you’re going to get but I wonder if we could have somehow broken it up with other scenery. We could have skipped Arches but that wouldn’t have added any time really. Maybe more time? We took two weeks but three would have been nice, especially if we could have planted ourselves in a nice location with great accommodations for a few days to recharge. Yellowstone would have been nice and it was in our original plans but when we realized how much there was to see we scratched it.
I agree with Margaret, Bryce Canyon was magical. Walking down among the Hoodoos was real special. The flash flood situation at Canyon de Chelly was exciting (I can say that now). I wish we could have seen all of the canyon. Oh well next time.
October 17 2007 | Further Afield | No Comments »
8 a.m. 45 Degrees. Bright and clear
Tom and I wake at 6 and we get up and have our showers. We spent a very comfortable night here. All is quiet in the rest of the house and we try not to disturb anybody. Coffee is brewed and ready and while Tom drinks it, we stand out on the deck to watch the sun rise.
Dirk came down at 7 and started to prepare breakfast. He’s a great cook and we enjoyed our sausage patties, eggs and French toast. Maria came down as breakfast was being served but, before she could start on it, Jacob woke up so she went to deal with him. Jason came down just before we left to say goodbye.
At 8 we were on our way. We enjoyed our short stay at Running Y and we are looking forward to our next visit in December.
It is a beautiful day. We head south on Highway 140 then turn south on Highway 97 until it joins I5 at Weed. In the distance we can see some of Mt. Shasta but the top is covered in cloud.
The first part of the journey us through the Klamath Wildlife Area. Egrets and herons were patiently waiting for breakfast in the shallow waters at the side of the road.
At 8.30 we crossed into California. Soon after that we drive through the small town of Dorris. We leave farmland behind us and start to climb, passing Mt. Hebron and Deer Mountain and we are back into pine forests. Mt. Shasta is getting nearer all the time. I d0n’t think we are going to see the top of it today.
There are a lot of trucks on this road - and it’s a Sunday! Mitch told us that a lot of trucks take this back route to avoid the long, steep grades on I5 through Grants Pass.
At 9.30 we roll into weed. After a restroom stop, where I read on a newsstand that the Ducks lost to Cal yesterday, we are on our way again and soon join I5 going south. Mt. Shasta is still hidden. The cloud shrouding it is smooth and looks like a spacecraft.
We cruise downhill towards Shasta Lake, drinking in the beautiful scenery. The level of the lake is well down. At 10:25 we cross Shasta Lake.
Between Shasta Lake and Ref Bluff the scenery is reasonable but below there we enter the top end of the Central Valley, where it is very flat and there is not much to see. I call this the boring bit but, you know, it is not as bad as the road between Vale and Bend we did on Thursday. At least it is freeway and we do not get stuck behind trucks and R.Vs.
After another restroom stop north of Corning, which by the way was filthy, it is just a short haul to I505. Soon after that we join I80 and we are into familiar territory.
We arrive home about 3, tired but happy. It’s great to go on vacation but it’s wonderful to be home again.
October 13 2007 | Further Afield | No Comments »
There could be some delay in our posts. Margaret fell and fractured her wrist the other day. It’s not serious but her right wrist is in a brace and, of course, she’s right handed. Hunting and pecking with her left will slow things down a bit.
I’m working on a photo gallery of our road trip so stay tuned. It should be up in a few days.
October 12 2007 | Further Afield | 1 Comment »
10:15 a.m. 55 degrees. Chilly
Today is the big college football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Cal Bears. The television coverage started at 7 but the game does not start until 12:30. It’s going to be quite a game as the Cal Bears are favorites to win but it is here in Eugene in front of a very enthusiastic home crowd so it is going to be really exciting.
We were up at 6 a.m. and read the papers, which Mitch drove out to buy. Tom had his coffee so he was all set up.
At 8:30 the four of us went out for breakfast at ‘Ye Olde Pancake House’ in Eugene. Green and yellow - the Duck’s colors - were the predominant colors all around though I did spot one lone Cal Bear supporter in the restaurant.
We went back to Annie and Mitch’s house to load up the suitcase and we were on our way just after 10 after saying our fond farewells. It won’t be that long before we see them again as we will all get together at Christmas.
Our route today is not down I5. We have decided to take the scenic route via Oakridge. We go south on the freeway for about five miles before turning onto Highway 58 towards Pleasant Hill. Wonder whether we will have any rain today? There are quite a few clouds around.
The road runs along side the Willamette River and is bordered by pine trees. There are several reservoirs as well. As everywhere else, the levels are very low. The leaves on the deciduous trees are changing color so there is a lot of yellow and browns among the green.
As we head for the Willamette Pass, the road begins to climb and we hit snow at the side of the road and on the trees at 4,000 feet. At the summit the elevation is 5,126 feet and then we coast down hill past Odell Lake. The trees are a lot smaller on this side of the mountains. They obviously do not get so much rain here. The snow is gone too.
We merge onto Highway 97 and head south towards Chemult. Crater Lake is off to our right and we were thinking about taking a detour to see it but decided not to in the end. Tom has never been there but I have way back in 1999.
At Klamath Falls we are visiting Maria, a friend and ex work colleague, and her husband Dirk with two of their children - Jason and Jacob. They have a weekend cabin at Running Y Resort. They have invited us to stay the night, which will be great. Tomorrow will be our last leg of the road trip and we plan to start out early. There is lots to do at home to get ready for my return to work on Monday. Sigh…
I’m afraid I dozed off for a bit and missed some the journey. When I woke up, Upper Klamath Lake was on my right and were nearly at the end of today’s driving.
This is our first visit to Running Y and it is a lovely resort. Right on the lake and with lots of things to do. Maria and Dirk were not in so we went to the Lodge to wait. We sat in the lounge, overlooking the gorgeous golf course, with a glass of wine and watched part of the football game. The Ducks were leading by a short margin.
When we returned to the cabin, Maria and family were there. It was great to see them all again. After a guided tour we sat and talked and ate some pizza and then we talked again. Later in the afternoon we went for a drive to Klamath Falls and were shown round the town. Before we went back to the cabin, we paid a visit to the Big R Stores. This was a family-owned store selling everything that ranchers, farmers and homeowners would need, including a vast range of clothing for men, women and children. It was a fascinating place and I bought a great pair of jeans at a very reasonable price.
In the evening we all went for a tour around Running Y Ranch. We were impressed by the many sorts of homes there but what struck us most was the sense of spaciousness. This is where we are going to spend Christmas this year. Every other year Tom’s family meet up. We have reserved two cabins here for a week. Hopefully Maria, Dirk and the family will be here as well. I’m really looking forward to it as there is so much to do here. Watch out for our blog in the New Year.
After the tour, we had a very enjoyable meal at the Club House and were entertained by the artistic talents of Jason. He produced a number of recognizable and complicated drawings which for a four year old was amazing.
October 11 2007 | Further Afield | No Comments »
10:00 a.m. 45 degrees. Raining
For some reason, I just could not sleep last night and for five hours I lay awake. But no hurry to get on the road today so I was able to sleep in. Our journey today is only 128 miles.
It is not a very nice day. When we look out the window it was overcast. I went across to the front desk to get a newspaper and some of the complimentary breakfast and it was drizzling. As Tom was loading the suitcases into the car, it was raining.
We fueled up with gas. In Oregon you do not pump your own gas. We asked why at the gas station and were told that it a) it provides employment and b) a kid pumping his own gas blew himself up and since then the law was changed. I’m sure there must be more to the decision.
We are soon outside Bend and traveling north on Highway 20 towards Sisters. The town is named after the three mountain peaks nearby – North Sister, Middle Sister and South Sister or affectionately called Faith, Hope and Charity. The mountain we saw yesterday with a little bit of snow on it was South Sister and it is now covered with snow. The scenery is green pastures and farmland. Very pleasant after our horrendous trip yesterday.
Sisters was a cute little town but we did not stop. At least it has stopped raining now.
The area round Suttle Lake was thick pine forest but with deciduous trees amongst them which were showing their Fall colors. Parts of the forest though have been devastated by fire. At the top of the Santiam Pass, elevation 4,817, there was snow on the ground. The scene looked like a Christmas card with the all the pine trees covered in snow. Even the burnt parts looked better.
continue reading »
October 10 2007 | Further Afield | No Comments »
Next »
Francisco Giants. It is a beautiful ballpark and we have spent many happy hours here watching some exciting games.
