The alarm went off at 6:45 this morning. We hopped (me) and dropped (EK) out of bed, fumbling for clothes and to shove the rest of our things into suitcases, hoping desperately that everything had been distributed appropriately, and that nothing would be over the weight limit. We stripped the beds, gathered everything together, and loaded up the Prius for our final drive. I was a little bit sad to be ending the trip, but at the same time, incredibly excited to be heading home again.
After a little fiasco with me attempting to find a coffee shop I couldn't seem to find, and the propensity for all of Glenwood Springs' left turn lights to refuse to operate, we were on I-70 by 7:40. It was a little later than we had anticipated, so the stress was running a little high for me, and we didn't have time to stop for breakfast. The scenery was at least, still incredibly gorgeous, even if I was a little too stressed to enjoy it. Traffic was at least cooperative, and we managed to make it to Denver early enough to refuel the Prius, and turn that sucker in to Enterprise. With their help, we had found a limo service that also offered cars to shuttle people around. A little pricier than the shuttle we used before (I think), but still far cheaper than a taxi. Our ride showed up right on time, in an Escalade (I snorted, but hey, whatever), and we loaded up and headed out. Our driver was a pretty cool fellow, and the drive to the Denver airport seemed to take no time at all. We had a slight hiccup when we got there, as apparently they only take cash for payment, and the credit card that EK thought they were putting it on was only for the purpose of reserving the car in the first place. She dashed inside for an ATM and we had a nice awkward moment waiting for her to return.
Once that was all settled, we headed inside to the kiosk to print out our boarding passes and check our bags (I had the foresight to prepay the night before), and we were excessively pleased to learn that our compulsive packing had paid off, and that my suitcase weighed in at a svelte 45lbs, and EK's at 41lbs. Relieved, we headed down to security, where we had our first experience with one of those full body scanners, and I had the fun job of making sure that the massive amount of crap in my pockets got out my pockets, lest I be patted down.
Thoroughly irradiated, we made it through without incident, and made it down to our terminal, where we hit up an Einstein Bros. for breakfast/lunch. We found our gate, shoveled food into our mouths, and sat down to wait for our flight for just over an hour.
The flight itself was pretty great. I am still convinced that I will never tire of the feeling of accelerating to take off, or the momentary weightlessness as we level off or start the descent, and I don't ever want to get tired of it, either. Our captain was pretty awesome as well; before we boarded, he came out and introduced himself. We got an amusing lecture on the three rules of making our plane load faster (hint: it starts with "Don't" and ends with "block the aisle"), then actually managed to board the plane in a timely fashion! We made pretty good time, and we flew into Hartsfield about 8 minutes earlier than we were scheduled to. Unfortunately, this left us waiting on the tarmac for a good 15 minutes or so, while our pilot intoned that if we enjoyed our flight, his name was Richard and this was Delta, and if we didn't enjoy our flight, his name was Steven, and this was Airtran.
EK's dad was waiting at baggage claim to grab us, and without too much trouble we found the van, he jimmied the back door open, and we were off. Right up until we got to the exit for the airport garage, where we got nice and backed up in traffic. Despite that, and the ancient van's terrifyingly huge turning radius, we eventually made it out, popped through a Chick-fil-A drive through, and made it back to Duluth and EK's car without doom or death. We even managed to get in and out of her parents' without too much delay.
316 was cooperative as well, and we got back to Athens around 8:30 or so. It took another 10 minutes to do the suitcase shuffle and make sure that I had all of my clothes out of EK's suitcase, and that she had all of her books that had been shoved into mine, but I sent her off with a thank you and a hug, and finally was home.
Partially, I wanted to chronicle the very last day of our trip. Mostly, I wanted to chronicle my thoughts on the whole thing. This has been...incredible. It's definitely not been without it's stress as well. I worked myself to exhaustion in the very real sense so that I could afford to do this trip in the first place. The driving was stressful, more so because I am a complete loon, and did it all myself (this I have no one to blame for except myself). Occasionally the hostels were stressful, or our plans to stay with someone fell through. It was hot, it was cold, it was so much walking and hiking and "where do we go to dinner, what do you want to do, should we stop." But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I have always wanted to travel. It feels like some part of me is always wanting to be somewhere else and do something new, even though I am an awful homebody, and it's hard for me to break out of my set patterns. This trip felt freeing in so many different ways. I feel like I can't use, "I don't have money" anymore, because I don't have very much money, but if I'm given a chance to plan and a little financial guidance, I really can make it happen. To an extent, I feel like there's nothing that I can't do now. I've seen a lot, but there is still so much out there that I haven't had a chance to see or experience. I still haven't been out of the country...maybe one of the cruises that KCN's been talking about. I feel like there's more to this, somehow, as though this is somehow significant and important and a Thing. To me it is, to others, maybe not. It hasn't really changed my life, or changed the world. It's changed my outlook, though. I feel different even as I come home and feel safe and secured and the same.
Day 15:
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Deserves a quiet night
This morning, we slept in until 9 before we hauled ourselves up and got prepared for a day of relaxation at the end of our epic cross-country adventure. I know. Just the sound of that sentence makes me cringe. Who the hell needs a vacation from their vacation? But for all the fun this has been, and it really has, we've done a lot of walking and driving. So much driving, and to have a day where we aren't needing to be somewhere was nice. Also, Glenwood Springs is known for its enormous natural hot springs. How could we not?
We hit the hot springs just after ten, and since it was the off season, we only had to pay $13.25 for an all day pass. We rented out a locker as well, then headed up to the changing rooms, only to find out that we had to shower before we got into the hot springs. It was a little awkward, but mostly in that "walk through a place soaking wet" way. The Glenwood Hot Springs are divided into two different pools, one of which is piped pretty much directly from the hot spring itself, and stays right around 104 degrees. The second pool is a lot larger, and has a diving board at one end, as well as lanes for laps, and a nice huge area for swimming. It's also a frigid 94 degrees, by comparison. EK and I spent a good hour between the pools before we realized that we were completely starving.
Utilizing our all day pass, we headed out, and decided to try the Glenwood Brew Pub, since it was supposed to be open this time around. Fortunately it was, and we enjoyed a nice lunch. I got a mesquite turkey grilled cheese and their house honey wheat beer, which was delicious, and EK ended up with a really solid cheeseburger. Nothing mind blowing, but still very tasty. Afterwards, we headed back to the hot springs for more hot and less hot swimming in mineral water. We lasted another hour or so before we called it a day, showered off the minerals as best as we could and hit up the Sacred Grounds coffee place, where we got smoothies and waited to kill time until our hostel opened back up and we could get real showers.
Some more relaxation and showers with real shampoo and conditioner were just what the doctor ordered, and around 7, feeling pretty good, we headed back out for a cheap meal at May Palace, a place that served several different types of Asian food, and was doing a "recession special" wherein all menu items were 1/2 off. Hard to resist. On our way out, I also got the chance to dote on the hostel's resident dog, Spacey, who was about the sweetest thing out there.
The food was all right, the service was ok, but the price couldn't be beat, and full, we hit the hostel once more to start packing up. The biggest adventure so far, as I write this, has been finding a way to fit in all of the books that we have obtained in our adventures without going over the weight limits. I am downing my Lumberyard Red Rock Raspberry Imperial pint right now, because there was no way that, plus the books, plus everything else, was going to fit in to the suticase. EK has some of my clothes. I have almost all of her books, I am honestly not sure how this is going to pan out, but we're out of here tomorrow at 7, so for now, good night.
We hit the hot springs just after ten, and since it was the off season, we only had to pay $13.25 for an all day pass. We rented out a locker as well, then headed up to the changing rooms, only to find out that we had to shower before we got into the hot springs. It was a little awkward, but mostly in that "walk through a place soaking wet" way. The Glenwood Hot Springs are divided into two different pools, one of which is piped pretty much directly from the hot spring itself, and stays right around 104 degrees. The second pool is a lot larger, and has a diving board at one end, as well as lanes for laps, and a nice huge area for swimming. It's also a frigid 94 degrees, by comparison. EK and I spent a good hour between the pools before we realized that we were completely starving.
Utilizing our all day pass, we headed out, and decided to try the Glenwood Brew Pub, since it was supposed to be open this time around. Fortunately it was, and we enjoyed a nice lunch. I got a mesquite turkey grilled cheese and their house honey wheat beer, which was delicious, and EK ended up with a really solid cheeseburger. Nothing mind blowing, but still very tasty. Afterwards, we headed back to the hot springs for more hot and less hot swimming in mineral water. We lasted another hour or so before we called it a day, showered off the minerals as best as we could and hit up the Sacred Grounds coffee place, where we got smoothies and waited to kill time until our hostel opened back up and we could get real showers.
Some more relaxation and showers with real shampoo and conditioner were just what the doctor ordered, and around 7, feeling pretty good, we headed back out for a cheap meal at May Palace, a place that served several different types of Asian food, and was doing a "recession special" wherein all menu items were 1/2 off. Hard to resist. On our way out, I also got the chance to dote on the hostel's resident dog, Spacey, who was about the sweetest thing out there.
The food was all right, the service was ok, but the price couldn't be beat, and full, we hit the hostel once more to start packing up. The biggest adventure so far, as I write this, has been finding a way to fit in all of the books that we have obtained in our adventures without going over the weight limits. I am downing my Lumberyard Red Rock Raspberry Imperial pint right now, because there was no way that, plus the books, plus everything else, was going to fit in to the suticase. EK has some of my clothes. I have almost all of her books, I am honestly not sure how this is going to pan out, but we're out of here tomorrow at 7, so for now, good night.
You're as bright as the sun
We managed to get up and out around our "normal" time, and were on the road towards Glenwood Springs, CO after a slight detour for aloe and to Barnes and Noble for EK and coffee for me. Heading north, we got to watch trees disappear into desert once again as we entered into reservation territory. Right around noon, we stopped in Tuba City, only to find that we had finally switched over to Mountain Time. We stopped at a Shell, and then for some Taco Bell, as that was unfortunately the most palatable, cheap, and quick option for food. Then? Then we hauled ass across the rest of Arizona, and back into Utah.
On the positive side, it wasn't long before the scenery decided to once again become pretty much incredible as we drove through the initial parts of Monument Valley. The rock formations were really astounding...kind of like being in a strange mirror-verse of the Grand Canyon. It's hard to believe that wind was the primary shaping agent for these outcroppings. Just flat, boring land, and then suddenly a giant pillar of rock, or an arch, or some other unfathomable shape. Not long after, we hit Utah, and got to drive past "the Valley of the Gods" and then through a little town called Mexican Hat, named, we discovered, after a rock formation close by. Slowly but surely, we inched our way through Utah to hit Hwy 191, and we began the careful climb upwards, and into these really astounding and unexpected green valleys like Blanding, Utah, Monticello, and Moab before passing by the Arches National Park until we finally hooked back up with good old I-70, heading east, this time.
After what seemed like an age, we finally hit the Colorado border, and then Grand Junction not too long after that. Glenwood Springs, our final destination, was another hour and a half or so, and we rolled into town around 8 and some change. We decided to change up our travel plans a little bit, and spend an extra night in Glenwood Springs. The Glenwood Spring Hostel is fortunately in the off season at the moment, so getting a private room for two nights wasn't an issue, and we found ourselves tucked up in the upstairs of a house behind the main hostel house, and the only other occupants of the house.
Settled and pretty damn hungry, we decided to finally find food. EK used her cell phone magic to find us the Glenwood Canyon Brewpub, which sounded pretty excellent. That is, right up until the point at where we got there, and realized that we were an hour late for last call, due to
their yearly floor cleaning! Great luck. Instead, we decided to say the hell with it, and went across the street to The Pullman, which was highly rated, but kind of pricey, apparently. After all, our food expenditures for the day had consisted of Taco Bell, so splurging a bit didn't seem harmful.
To say that we were pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. The meals weren't cheap, but they were on par cost wise with something that you'd find at Longhorn, or similar, and for that money, you got dishes like the hangar steak that EK got, with marrow butter and duckfat potatoes. Or you get what I got--the most tender lamb shoulder I've ever tasted with a few roasted potatoes, kalamata olives and chickpeas, and dandelion greens. The portions were just enough, but not huge--a nice change, to be sure. I also grabbed a blackberry soda from the Rocky Mountain Soda Co, which was very, very tasty. For a meal that ended up being a second choice, I couldn't have been happier with the results. Would do again.
We headed back to our hostel, cracked open one of the Lumberyards for EK, and another English cider for me, and relaxed until it was time to pass out.
Day 13:
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On the positive side, it wasn't long before the scenery decided to once again become pretty much incredible as we drove through the initial parts of Monument Valley. The rock formations were really astounding...kind of like being in a strange mirror-verse of the Grand Canyon. It's hard to believe that wind was the primary shaping agent for these outcroppings. Just flat, boring land, and then suddenly a giant pillar of rock, or an arch, or some other unfathomable shape. Not long after, we hit Utah, and got to drive past "the Valley of the Gods" and then through a little town called Mexican Hat, named, we discovered, after a rock formation close by. Slowly but surely, we inched our way through Utah to hit Hwy 191, and we began the careful climb upwards, and into these really astounding and unexpected green valleys like Blanding, Utah, Monticello, and Moab before passing by the Arches National Park until we finally hooked back up with good old I-70, heading east, this time.
After what seemed like an age, we finally hit the Colorado border, and then Grand Junction not too long after that. Glenwood Springs, our final destination, was another hour and a half or so, and we rolled into town around 8 and some change. We decided to change up our travel plans a little bit, and spend an extra night in Glenwood Springs. The Glenwood Spring Hostel is fortunately in the off season at the moment, so getting a private room for two nights wasn't an issue, and we found ourselves tucked up in the upstairs of a house behind the main hostel house, and the only other occupants of the house.
Settled and pretty damn hungry, we decided to finally find food. EK used her cell phone magic to find us the Glenwood Canyon Brewpub, which sounded pretty excellent. That is, right up until the point at where we got there, and realized that we were an hour late for last call, due to
their yearly floor cleaning! Great luck. Instead, we decided to say the hell with it, and went across the street to The Pullman, which was highly rated, but kind of pricey, apparently. After all, our food expenditures for the day had consisted of Taco Bell, so splurging a bit didn't seem harmful.
To say that we were pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. The meals weren't cheap, but they were on par cost wise with something that you'd find at Longhorn, or similar, and for that money, you got dishes like the hangar steak that EK got, with marrow butter and duckfat potatoes. Or you get what I got--the most tender lamb shoulder I've ever tasted with a few roasted potatoes, kalamata olives and chickpeas, and dandelion greens. The portions were just enough, but not huge--a nice change, to be sure. I also grabbed a blackberry soda from the Rocky Mountain Soda Co, which was very, very tasty. For a meal that ended up being a second choice, I couldn't have been happier with the results. Would do again.
We headed back to our hostel, cracked open one of the Lumberyards for EK, and another English cider for me, and relaxed until it was time to pass out.
Day 13:
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Sunday, May 15, 2011
Falling's not the problem
Saturday morning started out with EK deciding we needed a real breakfast before our journey out to the Grand Canyon. Using the power of 4square or Urbanspoon, I am not sure which, she gave the Garmin our destination a few miles away from the hostel. I pulled into a shopping center, and then realized that EK occasionally has the memory of a goldfish and didn't remember the name of the restaurant she had chosen. We decided that, of the possibilities, it was probably Mike and Rhonda's The Place, a little hole in the wall diner.
Turns out, it was another win for food, and we enjoyed a ridiculously hearty breakfast that included more coffee for me, and the heartiest portions of hash browns either of us had ever seen. Those alone could have been breakfast. Stuffed, we popped back into the car and headed about 90 miles north towards the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
The ride itself was pretty chill, and we paid our $25 to get into the national park and headed towards the visitor's center. We parked in the Raven parking lot, and headed to Mather Point and for our first view of the Grand Canyon. I am a reasonably verbose person. Occasionally, I even make sense and am eloquent. There is no way that I can adequately describe what the Grand Canyon was like on first viewing. If I am recalling correctly, a lot of it was me breathing deeply, and saying, "holy shit" over and over again. In person it's unreal. There's a part of you, staring into this enormous hole in the ground, that genuinely cannot comprehend the scale of the thing. You can focus on just about any point in the distance, and it takes concentration before you start to really make out the topography inherent, and are able to discern that no, that is in fact not the canyon floor, but a point several hundred feet above it still. Surreal is probably the best word that I can offer up.
We decided that our best bet was a walk around part of the Rim Trail, so after gaping at Mather Point, we headed on our way. EK was extremely indulgent every time I darted off the trail to stare at the, as the brochure claimed, "gentle views." This frequently involved me clambering over and down rocks and standing as close to the edge as I could until the vertigo set in, or the wind started howling past my ears. The Rim Trail lead us along to the Yavapau Lookout and the Observation Center that was there. It was nice to spend a few minutes out of the sun and looking at diagrams of the geological make up the Grand Canyon, and catching glimpses of the Colorado River waaaaay far away. Before long, we were out again. The park had decided at some point to set up the "Trail of Time" along the South Rim. This was done mostly with little metal inserts into the Rim Trail denoting years, and with exhibits along the way of the different rock strata that make up the Grand Canyon. While it wasn't exactly accurate in terms of time scale, it was definitely effective in showing the make up of the canyon, and giving people a general idea of the extensiveness of time.
Several times along the Rim Trail, the pathway split into two sections; one would always venture closer to the edge of the canyon, but was less well cared for, and often steeper, and the other was well maintained and and easier slope, ostensibly for the ease of disabled users. During one of the steeper splits, EK and I looked up to see an older Asian couple coming down the pathway. It looked like the lady's wheelchair was out of control, but the gentleman insisted it wasn't as they careened down the pathway. We watched in amazement as the lady screamed, "No, Dad-ddiiiie!" to her grinning husband and they zoomed past us. Several more stops for pictures and dubiously wise ledge excursions on my part, we eventually made our way to the outskirts of the Grand Canyon Village, where we explored an hundred year old building that had been turned into a gift shop-cum-historical exhibit. We also managed to see a raven that was about half again as large as my cat, before heading down to the train depot. We managed to find one of the free bus routes to take us back to our car, which had been our goal. On our way back to our lot, we got an impromptu tour of part of the park, got to see the mules getting ready to leave for a trail ride into the canyon, an elk who was just chilling by one of the trees, and a small herd of deer next to the road.
Our route:
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Exhausted, we hopped into the car and headed back to the Grand Canyon International Hostel for a much needed round of laundry and dinner. Despite having to get the hostel attendant to Fonzie the washing machine, we managed to obtain clean clothes without too much money or hassle, and then headed a block down the street to the Lumberyard Brewing Company. We had imbibed dinner from them the night before, so tonight we thought that we might actually try some of their food along with their beer. Turns out, it was a pretty good choice. EK and I both got the pulled pork BBQ platter with a side salad. While the BBQ sauce (we got their regular) wasn't anything to write home about, it was still very tasty, and the meat was nice and tender, and served with Texas toast and cornbread. The salad was pretty good as well...no iceberg, and plenty of vegetables. EK tried their Porter, and I indulged in their Trippel, which was delicious, if also 10.8% ABV. I also got a half pint of their Gold, which wasn't bad, but wasn't spectacular, either.
Stuffed and satisfied, we wandered back to the hostel, and passed the rest of the evening giggling (me) and reading (both of us).
Day 12:
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Saturday, May 14, 2011
An incredible 8 ft heap
We hauled out of Las Vegas Friday morning, pausing just long enough for nice hot showers and for me to grab coffee and get cheap Vegas gas. We had intended to get some food as well, but put it off. We headed out and past Lake Mead, just missing Hoover Dam as EK had Fallout: New Vegas flashbacks, and arrowed down Hwy 93 into Arizona. We trucked down through the desert, where I encountered driving very similar to that in Nevada, making it nice and difficult to reliably use my cruise control. Eventually we picked up I-40, and enjoyed the scenery getting more and more scenic, even as the towns became fewer and further between. We also enjoyed a plethora of signs warning us about the elk/deer for the next 20/30/65 miles.
We pushed straight through to Flagstaff, and got here about 3. We checked into the Grand Canyon International Hostel, which is tucked up right into/next to Historic Downtown Flagstaff, and looks like it was part of an old motel at one point. The motel part has since been converted into apartments, so parking is a little convoluted, but over all the hostel has a really nice, homey feel to it. As soon as we moved our stuff in, we headed out for close and cheap food. The winner was Dara Thai. The hostel manager recommended it, and it was almost directly across the street. The food was damn good and damn filling, which was just what we needed.
Sated, we hopped back into the car for the half hour drive or so down to Sedona. Ah, Sedona. We have determined that Sedona is essentially Helen with scenery and a lot more New Agey nonsense. For those unaware, Sedona is well known for it's amazing vistas as well as the "energy vortexes" that have, for lack of a better term, cropped up, in the surrounding landscape. Regardless of your particular beliefs on the matter, you can't deny that Sedona is quite gorgeous. EK and I perused a few kitschy shops, got some ice cream, and then decided that our feet were still a little too pissy after our impromptu Vegas trek to go hiking to see one of these mystical places. They shall remain forever a mystery. On the plus side, we did get to see the much promised elk on the drive back to Flagstaff.
Once we arrived back at the hostel, EK and I took our laptops down to the common room, since the room we had was crammed with two bunk beds, and had no AC or ceiling fan. Upon discovering the vast collection of VHS they had, we decided to watch Disney's Tarzan, since that one had somehow escaped me as a kid. Logically, we also decided that we needed liquor, and lo, we had passed a purveyor of booze on our way back to our hostel.
As it turns out, the liquor store was further than we thought (but still only a few blocks), and was in fact, not a liquor store at all. They did, however, sell many fine smokables and beer. So much beer, and so much of it local. EK and I walked out of there with two bottles of Lumberyard (local brewery a few blocks from the hostel, actually), EK got some Dogfish Head, and I picked up a 4 pack of pretty good English cider. We then proceeded to have beer for dinner, watch Tarzan, and then watch The Ghost and the Darkness, which was quite a Thing. Yes. By the time we were beered/cidered out and had finished our foray into cinema magic with Val Kilmer, our roomates had already come in and gone to sleep. I think EK passed out pretty quick, but I was in sleepy but unable to sleep mode, so I read until about 2, and listened to the drunk graduates celebrate on the streets outside.
Day 11:
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We pushed straight through to Flagstaff, and got here about 3. We checked into the Grand Canyon International Hostel, which is tucked up right into/next to Historic Downtown Flagstaff, and looks like it was part of an old motel at one point. The motel part has since been converted into apartments, so parking is a little convoluted, but over all the hostel has a really nice, homey feel to it. As soon as we moved our stuff in, we headed out for close and cheap food. The winner was Dara Thai. The hostel manager recommended it, and it was almost directly across the street. The food was damn good and damn filling, which was just what we needed.
Sated, we hopped back into the car for the half hour drive or so down to Sedona. Ah, Sedona. We have determined that Sedona is essentially Helen with scenery and a lot more New Agey nonsense. For those unaware, Sedona is well known for it's amazing vistas as well as the "energy vortexes" that have, for lack of a better term, cropped up, in the surrounding landscape. Regardless of your particular beliefs on the matter, you can't deny that Sedona is quite gorgeous. EK and I perused a few kitschy shops, got some ice cream, and then decided that our feet were still a little too pissy after our impromptu Vegas trek to go hiking to see one of these mystical places. They shall remain forever a mystery. On the plus side, we did get to see the much promised elk on the drive back to Flagstaff.
Once we arrived back at the hostel, EK and I took our laptops down to the common room, since the room we had was crammed with two bunk beds, and had no AC or ceiling fan. Upon discovering the vast collection of VHS they had, we decided to watch Disney's Tarzan, since that one had somehow escaped me as a kid. Logically, we also decided that we needed liquor, and lo, we had passed a purveyor of booze on our way back to our hostel.
As it turns out, the liquor store was further than we thought (but still only a few blocks), and was in fact, not a liquor store at all. They did, however, sell many fine smokables and beer. So much beer, and so much of it local. EK and I walked out of there with two bottles of Lumberyard (local brewery a few blocks from the hostel, actually), EK got some Dogfish Head, and I picked up a 4 pack of pretty good English cider. We then proceeded to have beer for dinner, watch Tarzan, and then watch The Ghost and the Darkness, which was quite a Thing. Yes. By the time we were beered/cidered out and had finished our foray into cinema magic with Val Kilmer, our roomates had already come in and gone to sleep. I think EK passed out pretty quick, but I was in sleepy but unable to sleep mode, so I read until about 2, and listened to the drunk graduates celebrate on the streets outside.
Day 11:
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Friday, May 13, 2011
It's time to set it off
Tamar was a sweetheart (and a SCAD grad, too! go check out his webcomic if you're inclined), and let us use the real person's bed, as opposed to the single foldout in the living room. After a decent night's sleep, we were up, showered and out to check out the Border's down the street that was going out of business. Unfortunately, we were a little too on the ball, and we learned that apparently nothing in the Hollywood area opens before 10am. Except the Trader Joes! To kill some time, we headed down the street and picked up some snacks for the road, and then mauled what was left of the book selection at Borders. Now I have to figure out how to get more books into my suitcase. Shit.
Before too long (amazing given our propensity for books) we were on the road again and stuck in traffic once again as we headed south towards Seal Beach. I was not sad to see LA go, since the traffic had made it pretty stressful. On the other hand, I do suspect that it was the only place where I could see an old VW bug with NOS in it. Seal Beach wasn't really a place that we were going to stop initially, but when I found out that it was close to LA, I insisted that we head down there for a bit so that I could relive a little chunk of my childhood.
This trip is the first time that I'd been back to California since my parents and I moved out here for a summer the year I turned 5. It was only a summer transfer for Dad's work, but it was a hell of a time for me, since that summer was the first that I remember so fully. EK was pretty awesome and indulged me, despite the fact that it was out of the way. When we got to the beach (and were generously gifted a parking pass from a guy who was heading out), we headed out to the very end of the pier so that we could have lunch at Ruby's, which is a pretty swank little diner, 40's/50's style. I remember that they used to serve kids meals in little cardboard Cadillac trays that fascinated me as a kid. I had an amazing Cobb burger, and EK enjoyed a fried seafood medley that was pretty yummy. After a few pictures to indulge my Mom, we were back on the road, and mostly traffic free for once.
We struck out across California and the Mojave Desert, which was pretty and, well...desert~y. The drive would have been a lot more palatable if I had been able to reliably use the cruise control without cars deciding to do silly things like slow down arbitrarily and change lanes in front of semis and the like.
About 3:30-4, we hit Vegas and checked into our hostel, the classy Hostel Cat, whose location was definitely underneath a sign that read, "Strippers," next to the "best" adult bookstore in Vegas, just down the street from "Precious Slut" tattoo parlor (as well as several other tattoo parlors), and across from two different wedding chapels. Vegas is just as classy as you might have imagined. Our hostel definitely felt the skeaziest of any that we've stayed in so far, but I really think that was a function of Vegas, more than anything else. Hostel Cat did a very good job of making sure that we were secure, and making sure that people (hookers) were not allowed in. We bummed around until just after 8, and then decided to hit the strip, since apparently it wasn't very far.
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To be fair, it wasn't. Comparatively. The Main strip was on the same street as Hostel Cat, but when you start out going several blocks in the wrong direction and then head all the way down to Caesar's Palace, it's something like 4 miles. We got shuttled through Treasure Island, and might have gotten a little lost until we eventually wound our way through to the outside. We wandered down the strip a bit more until we got to Caesar's Palace, and began our walk around and through the shops to the casino itself. We stopped off for a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe (shameful, I know), and then hit the slot machines, which is to say that we put a couple of dollars in, I didn't know how to work them, and then we left to find a bus to take us back to the hostel.
If there's one thing that Vegas has going for it, it is definitely the public transit. We had the best bus driver ever, and though we overshot our stop a bit, it was a hell of a lot better than walking all the way back at midnight. We made it back to the hostel safely and once again, passed right out.
Day 10:
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Before too long (amazing given our propensity for books) we were on the road again and stuck in traffic once again as we headed south towards Seal Beach. I was not sad to see LA go, since the traffic had made it pretty stressful. On the other hand, I do suspect that it was the only place where I could see an old VW bug with NOS in it. Seal Beach wasn't really a place that we were going to stop initially, but when I found out that it was close to LA, I insisted that we head down there for a bit so that I could relive a little chunk of my childhood.
This trip is the first time that I'd been back to California since my parents and I moved out here for a summer the year I turned 5. It was only a summer transfer for Dad's work, but it was a hell of a time for me, since that summer was the first that I remember so fully. EK was pretty awesome and indulged me, despite the fact that it was out of the way. When we got to the beach (and were generously gifted a parking pass from a guy who was heading out), we headed out to the very end of the pier so that we could have lunch at Ruby's, which is a pretty swank little diner, 40's/50's style. I remember that they used to serve kids meals in little cardboard Cadillac trays that fascinated me as a kid. I had an amazing Cobb burger, and EK enjoyed a fried seafood medley that was pretty yummy. After a few pictures to indulge my Mom, we were back on the road, and mostly traffic free for once.
We struck out across California and the Mojave Desert, which was pretty and, well...desert~y. The drive would have been a lot more palatable if I had been able to reliably use the cruise control without cars deciding to do silly things like slow down arbitrarily and change lanes in front of semis and the like.
About 3:30-4, we hit Vegas and checked into our hostel, the classy Hostel Cat, whose location was definitely underneath a sign that read, "Strippers," next to the "best" adult bookstore in Vegas, just down the street from "Precious Slut" tattoo parlor (as well as several other tattoo parlors), and across from two different wedding chapels. Vegas is just as classy as you might have imagined. Our hostel definitely felt the skeaziest of any that we've stayed in so far, but I really think that was a function of Vegas, more than anything else. Hostel Cat did a very good job of making sure that we were secure, and making sure that people (hookers) were not allowed in. We bummed around until just after 8, and then decided to hit the strip, since apparently it wasn't very far.
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To be fair, it wasn't. Comparatively. The Main strip was on the same street as Hostel Cat, but when you start out going several blocks in the wrong direction and then head all the way down to Caesar's Palace, it's something like 4 miles. We got shuttled through Treasure Island, and might have gotten a little lost until we eventually wound our way through to the outside. We wandered down the strip a bit more until we got to Caesar's Palace, and began our walk around and through the shops to the casino itself. We stopped off for a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe (shameful, I know), and then hit the slot machines, which is to say that we put a couple of dollars in, I didn't know how to work them, and then we left to find a bus to take us back to the hostel.
If there's one thing that Vegas has going for it, it is definitely the public transit. We had the best bus driver ever, and though we overshot our stop a bit, it was a hell of a lot better than walking all the way back at midnight. We made it back to the hostel safely and once again, passed right out.
Day 10:
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Let's go see the Killers and hang out in the bleachers
We were up and pancaking and out of the Hostel Obispo by 10ish. I swung us by Blackhorse Coffee, which we'd found out the day before was pretty decent, and were back on Hwy 1 headed towards LA before too much longer. The PCH started out by swinging us through some heavy farmland, some of which was still in sight of the beach, which was kind of neat. It was a little less neat as we started climbing upwards again, and we came across places that were being worked by migrant farmers directly across from prestigious and lavish white people golf-courses. Awkward.
Unlike the rest of the PCH, this section was pretty tame in comparison, at least until we hit the coast again. It wasn't as wild and rocky as it was further north, but still very pretty. We stopped around noon in Santa Barbara, and wandered around for a bit before EK found a place called the Brophy Bros., and we knew that we had definitely found our place of lunching. With a name that like, I wasn't honestly expecting much, but Google Maps took us up into the harbor area, where we parked and found our restaurant waiting for us upstairs and overlooking the docks. We sat outside on the narrow deck and had a pretty fine view of the water and various boats coming and going, as well as one lone seal/sea lion (I couldn't really tell the difference from where we were) rolling about between the boats. I got garlic baked clams, and EK got a delicious grilled fish sandwich, and we split some clam chowder that was to die for. All in all, for a place that we picked based on the completely ridiculous/amazing name, pretty damn good.
We hopped back on Hwy 1/101 (they kept merging and diverging throughout the trip), and continued towards LA. Our route took us through Malibu, where we learned that we are still definitely not mature enough to refrain from giggling madly at people in wetsuits, and that damn there are a lot of nice houses in Malibu. Eventually we went through Santa Monica and into LA, which we made a little bit after 3. Our host wasn't going to be in until late, and we didn't have dinner plans until 7:30 with one of EK's high school friends, so we decided to head down to Seal Beach to kill some time.
Now, Seal Beach isn't very far out of LA, maybe 30 minutes or so, but apparently traffic starts early (or never stops...which is the answer I am leaning towards), so we were slammed in that, and as I worried about whether or not we were going to make it down and back in time for dinner, EK was emailing and texting. Eventually her high school friend Tamar advised that we just head back and chill in Santa Monica until it was time for dinner, so we could avoid a lot of the really bad parts of LA, and also make sure that we weren't caught in 4 hours worth of traffic.
We turned around, and I cursed my way through more traffic (thankfully a little less heavy), and finally arrived safely at the Santa Monica beach, where we hopped out, rolled up our pants and took off our socks and shoes and went down to the water long enough to let the surf come to us, and to say, "Yeah, that is about as cold as I thought" before sloughing back through the sand to sit and people watch.
Right about here I get the full scoop on our evening plans, which had changed slightly. Due to some internet/social faux pas, EK determined that we would be finding lodging elsewhere for the night, and that Tamar was going to be amazingly awesome, and put us up instead. People watching garnered us a street hockey game, more people on roller blades than I've seen since the mid nineties, and a few enterprising folks had combined roller blades (and one skateboard) along with reasonably sized hand held sails.
We left about a quarter to 7 to head down to C&O, which was a pretty good Italian joint in Venice Beach, and met with Tamar, who was a pretty awesome dude. Afterwards we headed to his and his girlfriend's apartment near Hollywood. We watched the first season of the IT Crowd and then crashed right the heck out.
Day 9:
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Unlike the rest of the PCH, this section was pretty tame in comparison, at least until we hit the coast again. It wasn't as wild and rocky as it was further north, but still very pretty. We stopped around noon in Santa Barbara, and wandered around for a bit before EK found a place called the Brophy Bros., and we knew that we had definitely found our place of lunching. With a name that like, I wasn't honestly expecting much, but Google Maps took us up into the harbor area, where we parked and found our restaurant waiting for us upstairs and overlooking the docks. We sat outside on the narrow deck and had a pretty fine view of the water and various boats coming and going, as well as one lone seal/sea lion (I couldn't really tell the difference from where we were) rolling about between the boats. I got garlic baked clams, and EK got a delicious grilled fish sandwich, and we split some clam chowder that was to die for. All in all, for a place that we picked based on the completely ridiculous/amazing name, pretty damn good.
We hopped back on Hwy 1/101 (they kept merging and diverging throughout the trip), and continued towards LA. Our route took us through Malibu, where we learned that we are still definitely not mature enough to refrain from giggling madly at people in wetsuits, and that damn there are a lot of nice houses in Malibu. Eventually we went through Santa Monica and into LA, which we made a little bit after 3. Our host wasn't going to be in until late, and we didn't have dinner plans until 7:30 with one of EK's high school friends, so we decided to head down to Seal Beach to kill some time.
Now, Seal Beach isn't very far out of LA, maybe 30 minutes or so, but apparently traffic starts early (or never stops...which is the answer I am leaning towards), so we were slammed in that, and as I worried about whether or not we were going to make it down and back in time for dinner, EK was emailing and texting. Eventually her high school friend Tamar advised that we just head back and chill in Santa Monica until it was time for dinner, so we could avoid a lot of the really bad parts of LA, and also make sure that we weren't caught in 4 hours worth of traffic.
We turned around, and I cursed my way through more traffic (thankfully a little less heavy), and finally arrived safely at the Santa Monica beach, where we hopped out, rolled up our pants and took off our socks and shoes and went down to the water long enough to let the surf come to us, and to say, "Yeah, that is about as cold as I thought" before sloughing back through the sand to sit and people watch.
Right about here I get the full scoop on our evening plans, which had changed slightly. Due to some internet/social faux pas, EK determined that we would be finding lodging elsewhere for the night, and that Tamar was going to be amazingly awesome, and put us up instead. People watching garnered us a street hockey game, more people on roller blades than I've seen since the mid nineties, and a few enterprising folks had combined roller blades (and one skateboard) along with reasonably sized hand held sails.
We left about a quarter to 7 to head down to C&O, which was a pretty good Italian joint in Venice Beach, and met with Tamar, who was a pretty awesome dude. Afterwards we headed to his and his girlfriend's apartment near Hollywood. We watched the first season of the IT Crowd and then crashed right the heck out.
Day 9:
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The low rider, is a little lower
Tuesday marked a full week come and gone in our trip, and our first full day in San Luis Obispo. We woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes, and made our way out to the kitchen for entertaining conversations with the Brit and the Aussie, wherein we got to explain the South to foreigners, and I was very glad for once that I was a product of the Internet and not the South itself. Embarrassment for my region, to be sure.
Since the hostel closed between 11 and 4:30 and essentially kicked everyone out, we decided that we would go hiking, and settled on heading up to Montana de Oro State Park to do some hiking. After some wibbling trying to find the right parking area for the Bluff Trail and having a coyote bounce across the road in front of us, we set off across some beautiful sea cliffs (after a warning about rattlesnakes being out and about). We managed to see several rabbits, as well and some really lovely waves and rock formations. We got about a mile or so before EK's ankle started to ache, and we headed back towards the car via road this time.
We still had some time to kill, so we hit downtown San Luis Obispo for some food, and ended up at the Black Sheep Bar and Grill, which, as EK said, definitely lived up to it's name. As we were waiting for what ended up being huge and amazingly delicious food, one of the bar regulars had started to make crank calls to the local Starbucks. We laughed, enjoyed what seemed like a pretty cool place, and then headed back to the hostel, which was still not open, so we went for another walk, back towards town for some coffee and chilling.
Our lunch was a little late, so we ended skipping dinner and instead hit up the Sunset Drive-In for the Fast Five, which was pretty horrifically hilarious. I'm glad more than anything that we saw it in the drive-in, because EK and I could not shut up with our clearly delightful commentary. Thus ended a pretty productive and fun day!
Since the hostel closed between 11 and 4:30 and essentially kicked everyone out, we decided that we would go hiking, and settled on heading up to Montana de Oro State Park to do some hiking. After some wibbling trying to find the right parking area for the Bluff Trail and having a coyote bounce across the road in front of us, we set off across some beautiful sea cliffs (after a warning about rattlesnakes being out and about). We managed to see several rabbits, as well and some really lovely waves and rock formations. We got about a mile or so before EK's ankle started to ache, and we headed back towards the car via road this time.
We still had some time to kill, so we hit downtown San Luis Obispo for some food, and ended up at the Black Sheep Bar and Grill, which, as EK said, definitely lived up to it's name. As we were waiting for what ended up being huge and amazingly delicious food, one of the bar regulars had started to make crank calls to the local Starbucks. We laughed, enjoyed what seemed like a pretty cool place, and then headed back to the hostel, which was still not open, so we went for another walk, back towards town for some coffee and chilling.
Our lunch was a little late, so we ended skipping dinner and instead hit up the Sunset Drive-In for the Fast Five, which was pretty horrifically hilarious. I'm glad more than anything that we saw it in the drive-in, because EK and I could not shut up with our clearly delightful commentary. Thus ended a pretty productive and fun day!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
We're flying forever bored
Monday morning found us enjoying Monterey, as we got up and tried to finish the ginormous remains of the burritos from Sunday's lunch. HI Monterey was a very gracious host overall. I would definitely recommend them for hostel-staying if you're in the area. We packed up the car and checked ourselves out before heading down to the aquarium. We made the attempt to drive down there, since we were going to be heading out directly afterwards, but parking was nowhere to be found cheaply, so we ended up parking in the hostel's lot and walking the four blocks down to the aquarium.
From the outside, it doesn't look like much, that's for sure. Monterey Aquarium is situated at one end of Cannery Row, and is itself in an old cannery. The place is pretty cool, and set up decently with a deep bay exhibit, as well as deep water exhibits, penguins, several different touch tanks, as well as sea otters, flamingos, rays and skates, turtles, and honestly too many different fish and critters to name. On an intellectual level, they did a great job mixing up the interactive and the educational with the oh-man-look-at-that-cool-thing. It also helps that the aquarium looks out onto Monterey Bay itself, and incorporates natural tidal pools and the bay into it's exhibits as much as possible. Overall, a very awesome experience.
I managed to wend my way past school children, grab a coffee, and we trekked back to the hostel to begin what would end up being a 6 hour long odyssey. Earlier this morning, while we were making attempt number 2 on the burritos, we got into a discussion with one of the other hostel patrons about the blockages on Hwy. 1. It had been brought to our attention by L that there was the possibility that some of the highway was gone and done for via landslides. He was right, to an extent, but it seemed like one landslide had cleared up, only to have another one take it's place further down the road. The helpful lady mentioned that there was a particular alternate route we could take that would still let us see some of the prettiest parts along the coastal highway, as well as gave us a few pointers about other things we could stop and see, and with that in mind, we hopped into the Prius and proceeded to get about a half mile down the road before we had to stop and start taking pictures.
And welcome to how it took us almost 4 hours to get 65 miles down the coastal highway.
I wish I were joking. I have no idea where we took most of the pictures that we did. But I know that it's at least chronological, and possibly indicative of what ever 1/4 to 1 mile of the coast looks like. To be fair, it is completely gorgeous throughout there. But it was seriously getting ridiculous. We eventually made it through Big Sur, which was very pretty in and of itself (and we were also glad for L's advice to gas up before we left Monterey, as gas there was $5.44/gal). Our helpful guide back in Monterey also suggested that we take a moment and stop at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to see a waterfall. We were a little skeptical at first, but it took us down about a 1/4 of a mile and underneath the highway to where a creek jumps off the edge of a cliff and onto the beach. I think I could have never left that little trail, staring at that cove.
Eventually we dragged ourselves away and made it down to Lucia, which is literally a building and an "inn" attached that is also a restaurant and a general store. Here we were told to obtain cookies and more detailed directions, both of which we did. The folks at Lucia were kind enough to post up a sign stating that continuing south can be done via a crazyass winding road through a state park and then government land, or we could turn around and go back to Monterey. We hopped back into the Prius, sugared up, and proceeded to giggle ourselves silly down to Nacimiento Rd, which began to corkscrew up into the Santa Lucia Range and through the Los Padres National Forest until suddenly we were viewing the Pacific Ocean from the tops of mountains and realizing that we couldn't see the horizon at all.
On our journey to find Hwy 101 (only slightly less scenic), we eventually left Los Padres and hit the Fort Hunter Liggett, which involved some really beautiful and lovely rolling hills and grasslands. And then also some tanks. We finally made it out to 101 again and took that the rest of the way into San Luis Obispo, where we found our hostel (The Hostel Obispo), checked in, and then hauled ourselves out and took a walk down to Yanagi Sushi for dinner. If there is one thing that I am definitely enjoying about our hostel time, it's the prominence of walkability that seems to be prevalent.
Thus goes Day 7!
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Sunday, May 8, 2011
Your songs remind me of swimming
Despite it being ridiculously cold and windy (a trend that would continue for the rest of the day), I managed to get a pretty long sleep in, and we were a little later getting up and out than we had anticipated. We got our stuff together...it always astounds me how much a suitcase worth of stuff can spread out over three days, and headed out in search of crazy hipster coffee again (Blue Bottle), and after some adventures with the Amtrak tracks that run right through the docks, we managed to find it, but not parking, so I sent EK tucking and rolling out of the car for my morning fix and other sundries. It took two more turns around the block before I snagged a space, and was able to actually fix my coffee and we were on the road again, heading down 880 to 92-West, which took us across the Bay and joined us up with Hwy 1, the Coastal Highway, in Half Moon Bay.
It's sort of a miracle that we actually made it to Monterey at all, considering that we stopped at least 5 times along Hwy 1 to admire the scenery and snap something like a billion pictures. We eventually made it down to Santa Cruz, where we stopped to eat around 3pm at a place called Mission, where obtained the largest burritos that EK and I had ever seen. We agreed that we really should have just split one, but we figure hey, at least we have lunch for tomorrow worked out. On our way to Santa Cruz, we passed several farms, at least one of which had something completely insane like "Strawberries, 1 basket for $2" and it was then we decided that we needed to restock the cash reserves. That being said, we might now have three pounds or so of fresh and delicious cherries.
By the time we finally made it to Monterey, it was almost 5, and the aquarium, which we had been planning on going to, closed at 6, so we checked into our hostel for the night--this time it was Hostels International, which seems to be pretty awesome so far, and then headed a little further south towards Carmel and the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. If we had stopped a lot on Hwy 1, that was nothing in comparison to the 17 mile drive. Every time we would stop, it seemed that the ocean just got more majestic, and the beaches and rock formations kept getting more and more amazing. It was well after 8 before we got out of there.
Back in Monterey, we realized that we had left the rest of our SLC beer in Beth's fridge, so clearly the solution was to go out and get a beer before we headed back to the hostel. We were in luck, and definitely found a treasure in the Cannery Row Brewing Company. A beer turned into beers and an appetizer, then beers and a burger topped with avocado and pico de gallo that was to die for. I had one of their house brews, the Madam Flora's red light district, as well as a Speakeasy Prohibition beer, both very good. EK got the Eye of the Hawk, and a Rasputin. Excellent food, excellent beer, excellent service and music.
Tomorrow, we're going to hit the aquarium nice and early, maybe get breakfast or lunch, and then it's on to San Luis Obispo.
Day 6, mostly:
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It's sort of a miracle that we actually made it to Monterey at all, considering that we stopped at least 5 times along Hwy 1 to admire the scenery and snap something like a billion pictures. We eventually made it down to Santa Cruz, where we stopped to eat around 3pm at a place called Mission, where obtained the largest burritos that EK and I had ever seen. We agreed that we really should have just split one, but we figure hey, at least we have lunch for tomorrow worked out. On our way to Santa Cruz, we passed several farms, at least one of which had something completely insane like "Strawberries, 1 basket for $2" and it was then we decided that we needed to restock the cash reserves. That being said, we might now have three pounds or so of fresh and delicious cherries.
By the time we finally made it to Monterey, it was almost 5, and the aquarium, which we had been planning on going to, closed at 6, so we checked into our hostel for the night--this time it was Hostels International, which seems to be pretty awesome so far, and then headed a little further south towards Carmel and the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. If we had stopped a lot on Hwy 1, that was nothing in comparison to the 17 mile drive. Every time we would stop, it seemed that the ocean just got more majestic, and the beaches and rock formations kept getting more and more amazing. It was well after 8 before we got out of there.
Back in Monterey, we realized that we had left the rest of our SLC beer in Beth's fridge, so clearly the solution was to go out and get a beer before we headed back to the hostel. We were in luck, and definitely found a treasure in the Cannery Row Brewing Company. A beer turned into beers and an appetizer, then beers and a burger topped with avocado and pico de gallo that was to die for. I had one of their house brews, the Madam Flora's red light district, as well as a Speakeasy Prohibition beer, both very good. EK got the Eye of the Hawk, and a Rasputin. Excellent food, excellent beer, excellent service and music.
Tomorrow, we're going to hit the aquarium nice and early, maybe get breakfast or lunch, and then it's on to San Luis Obispo.
Day 6, mostly:
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All the glitter and the gold
For our last full day in San Francisco, we slept in a bit and lazily made our way up and out, starting off with breakfast at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe in Emeryville, which was pretty close by, and right across the street from Pixar. There was a little bit of a wait, but we finally got a seat at the bar, and ended up getting a damn good breakfast. The staff was nice and friendly, and the whole cafe had a really comfortable, fun vibe. Afterwards we headed back to West Oakland and dropped off the car so that we could walk to the BART station, which is only a few blocks from where we're staying. After a slight train mishap and a wrong direction, we hopped on a train moving in the correct direction, and were scooting our way into San Francisco proper.
EK found a walking tour online (which can be found here) which we were determined to follow, since it covered a good chunk of the city, we didn't need a guide, and we could follow all the little seals that had been placed in the sidewalk. It also had the added benefit of avoiding a lot of the really enormous hills, choosing instead to zigzag us back and forth. We hopped off at the Powell St. BART station, and made our way up to the Old Mint a few blocks away to start the tour, then back tracked and made our way through Market St, and up through Union Square before the trail meandered us back and forth through Chinatown, past Portsmouth Square, through what appeared to be a more financial/business district, and up towards Broadway and a place called the City Lights Bookstore. It is honestly a miracle that we got out of there at all, and even more so that I only spent as much as I did.
Afterwards we stopped for a quick lunch at Nizario's Pizza. EK and I each had a slice, and man. That was more than enough. Very large, very filling. We continued on, and then found ourselves besieged by gelato places and amazing smells. We made it about two blocks, past St. Francis of Assisi, before we had to stop at Stella's Pastries, where we grabbed something that was puffed pastry and light, fluffy filling and raspberry and delightful...that neither of us can recall the proper name for, which is really a shame.
We continued on to Washington Square, and up, flirting with Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower before cresting Grant Ave. and catching some lovely views of the bay and the descending houses. We passed Jack Early Park and took several several flights of stairs down to the bay area, and it was about here that I think we managed to lose the trail. The trail was supposed to end us in Fisherman's Wharf, and we veered off towards Pier 33 and eventually ended up in front of the Teatro ZinZanni and a MUNI stop.
Eventually we found a car that was not completely full, but hopped on heading in the wrong direction, so we rode down a stop or two and switched to a tram heading in the right direction, which got us back to the BART, this time at the Embarcardero stop, which took us back nice and easy to West Oakland.
Our hosts treated us to more delicious pizza, and we earned our keep a bit by helping Beth move some of her stuff from old home to new apartment while our laundry ran. We popped back into San Francisco while the dryer was going to get ice cream at Mitchell's, which was...phenomenal. I got the Mexican Chocolate ice cream, and EK had something they labeled as "grasshopper" but was really closer to grasshopper on steriods with oreo and chocolate chunks and some swirling fudge that was completely ridiculous. On our way back, we drove through the Castro, and around what I think was the Mission Dolores Park, which had a truly incredible view of the city at night.
After a reasonably full day, we retrieved our laundry and headed back to West Oakland for the night.
EK found a walking tour online (which can be found here) which we were determined to follow, since it covered a good chunk of the city, we didn't need a guide, and we could follow all the little seals that had been placed in the sidewalk. It also had the added benefit of avoiding a lot of the really enormous hills, choosing instead to zigzag us back and forth. We hopped off at the Powell St. BART station, and made our way up to the Old Mint a few blocks away to start the tour, then back tracked and made our way through Market St, and up through Union Square before the trail meandered us back and forth through Chinatown, past Portsmouth Square, through what appeared to be a more financial/business district, and up towards Broadway and a place called the City Lights Bookstore. It is honestly a miracle that we got out of there at all, and even more so that I only spent as much as I did.
Afterwards we stopped for a quick lunch at Nizario's Pizza. EK and I each had a slice, and man. That was more than enough. Very large, very filling. We continued on, and then found ourselves besieged by gelato places and amazing smells. We made it about two blocks, past St. Francis of Assisi, before we had to stop at Stella's Pastries, where we grabbed something that was puffed pastry and light, fluffy filling and raspberry and delightful...that neither of us can recall the proper name for, which is really a shame.
We continued on to Washington Square, and up, flirting with Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower before cresting Grant Ave. and catching some lovely views of the bay and the descending houses. We passed Jack Early Park and took several several flights of stairs down to the bay area, and it was about here that I think we managed to lose the trail. The trail was supposed to end us in Fisherman's Wharf, and we veered off towards Pier 33 and eventually ended up in front of the Teatro ZinZanni and a MUNI stop.
Eventually we found a car that was not completely full, but hopped on heading in the wrong direction, so we rode down a stop or two and switched to a tram heading in the right direction, which got us back to the BART, this time at the Embarcardero stop, which took us back nice and easy to West Oakland.
Our hosts treated us to more delicious pizza, and we earned our keep a bit by helping Beth move some of her stuff from old home to new apartment while our laundry ran. We popped back into San Francisco while the dryer was going to get ice cream at Mitchell's, which was...phenomenal. I got the Mexican Chocolate ice cream, and EK had something they labeled as "grasshopper" but was really closer to grasshopper on steriods with oreo and chocolate chunks and some swirling fudge that was completely ridiculous. On our way back, we drove through the Castro, and around what I think was the Mission Dolores Park, which had a truly incredible view of the city at night.
After a reasonably full day, we retrieved our laundry and headed back to West Oakland for the night.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
I'm looking for words that are so well rehearsed
We started off surprisingly early, waking up at 7, which was unacceptable, given that we didn't have to do a ridiculous amount of driving. EK and I managed to chill out on the delightfully comfortable mattress in the spare room until our host's boyfriend needed the room for work purposes.
After some intense food debating, with the helpful input of Beth and Matt, it was decided that what we really needed to do was go to Chicken and Waffles, or the Home of Chicken and Waffles. I am still somewhat unclear as to what the precise name was, but it was pretty delicious all around. The enormous buckwheat waffle and the turkey sausage I had was delicious, the fried chicken and grits EK had with her waffle were amazing, and they made a mean mac and cheese as well. I was delighted to see that they served sweet tea, only to discover (somewhat unsurprisingly, I suppose) that what they called sweet tea was definitely like no thing I have ever experienced before--thick and viscous and like no drink ever made. Otherwise sated, we parted ways with our hosts and hit up a hipster coffee bar (definitely the most hipster of coffee bars I have ever been in), before hitting 880 and heading south towards San Jose and the Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
Once again, I found myself pretty impressed with the Prius. As we headed out of Saratoga and began to climb up into the mountains, and then began to weave back and forth in a way that put Blood Mountain to shame, the Prius did a great job. Shortly, the road narrowed, and suddenly became "two lane," which is to say that it became one lane with no lines and naught but tiny switchbacks and DEATH as other cars, cyclists, and the most insane motorcyclists came at us head on. When we finally got to the park headquarters, we took a moment to gaze around in astonishment before heading off to the headquarters to pay for parking and a hiking map, and decided on a hiking trail that would take to Sempervirens Falls along the Sequoia Trail.
Talk about a humbling experience. I'm actually amazed that EK and I managed to make any progress on the trail at all, because it certainly seemed like we were stopping every few minutes to gape and take pictures and marvel at what a crazy damn thing nature is. We made it to the falls, which was small, but very beautiful, and definitely worth the hike.
We took our life into our hands again getting back down the mountains, and stopped in Saratoga for some pretty decent sushi, and then trekked back to West Oakland and chilled with Beth and Matt until another friend of EK's alerted us to the fact that our presence was required for drinks out at some delightful hipster beer (Athenians, think Trapeze on steroids) and then a late night trip to one of the many mobile taco stands for some perfect street food tacos.
Thus goes day 4:
View Larger Map
After some intense food debating, with the helpful input of Beth and Matt, it was decided that what we really needed to do was go to Chicken and Waffles, or the Home of Chicken and Waffles. I am still somewhat unclear as to what the precise name was, but it was pretty delicious all around. The enormous buckwheat waffle and the turkey sausage I had was delicious, the fried chicken and grits EK had with her waffle were amazing, and they made a mean mac and cheese as well. I was delighted to see that they served sweet tea, only to discover (somewhat unsurprisingly, I suppose) that what they called sweet tea was definitely like no thing I have ever experienced before--thick and viscous and like no drink ever made. Otherwise sated, we parted ways with our hosts and hit up a hipster coffee bar (definitely the most hipster of coffee bars I have ever been in), before hitting 880 and heading south towards San Jose and the Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
Once again, I found myself pretty impressed with the Prius. As we headed out of Saratoga and began to climb up into the mountains, and then began to weave back and forth in a way that put Blood Mountain to shame, the Prius did a great job. Shortly, the road narrowed, and suddenly became "two lane," which is to say that it became one lane with no lines and naught but tiny switchbacks and DEATH as other cars, cyclists, and the most insane motorcyclists came at us head on. When we finally got to the park headquarters, we took a moment to gaze around in astonishment before heading off to the headquarters to pay for parking and a hiking map, and decided on a hiking trail that would take to Sempervirens Falls along the Sequoia Trail.
Talk about a humbling experience. I'm actually amazed that EK and I managed to make any progress on the trail at all, because it certainly seemed like we were stopping every few minutes to gape and take pictures and marvel at what a crazy damn thing nature is. We made it to the falls, which was small, but very beautiful, and definitely worth the hike.
We took our life into our hands again getting back down the mountains, and stopped in Saratoga for some pretty decent sushi, and then trekked back to West Oakland and chilled with Beth and Matt until another friend of EK's alerted us to the fact that our presence was required for drinks out at some delightful hipster beer (Athenians, think Trapeze on steroids) and then a late night trip to one of the many mobile taco stands for some perfect street food tacos.
Thus goes day 4:
View Larger Map
Friday, May 6, 2011
It's like the sky is new
Once again, we were up at 7:45, and despite the Garmin's valiant but futile attempts to find me a place of coffee procurement, we managed to get out of Salt Lake City by about 8:30. EK and I are both still on Eastern Standard time, so early for here still felt like 10:00ish for us. We caught a glimpse as we headed out on I-80 of Antelope Island, which is a pretty large chunk of mountain land that's just chilling in Salt Lake, and apparently filled with antelope, and then we were heading into the salt flats. Flat and bright white, and kind of incredible, we spent most of the morning speeding along I-80 and enjoying dodging around small mountain ranges and looking at the rock graffiti/art that people who had come before us took the time to stop and create.
As we made it through and began to climb into the mountains, we hit the Nevada border and continued our journey through the high desert. From the Nevada border until we hit Reno was, in all fairness, an awful lot of the same topography; high plains, scrub brush, and the occasional set of mountains to dodge around. We saw dust devils hundreds of feet high sprouting up across the large patches of scrubby valley, and every so often a lively town built around a rare (very rare) river. 500 miles and some change later, we began to see long patches of scrubless dust, until suddenly, Reno and elevation. We plowed through Reno and on towards the California border, ecstatic over the sight of trees slowly cropping back up here and there until finally, wending our way along the Truckee River (several or twelve times) we hit the border.
I'm not knocking on Nevada, but the difference as we hit California was palpable. Once again we found ourselves in the mountains, this time with towering pine trees and greenery ( a welcome change). We were stopped at the agricultural station a few miles in, and it was about this time that we got a message from EK's friend in San Francisco, that, if we had time, we should hop over to Lake Tahoe for the hell of it. It's vacation, we thought, and we weren't going to make it into San Francisco in time for daylight or dinner as it was, so we decided why not.
The ranger at the station was very helpful, and mentioned that King's Beach was a lovely place to visit Lake Tahoe, and we nodded and continued into historic downtown Truckee, which was a pretty delightfully quaint little town, all terraced houses and shops and snow, and a nice main street area set up. After a brief stop, we hopped onto 89 and made our way down to Tahoe City, then took 28 as we drove along the edge of Lake Tahoe, ogling the multimillion dollar homes that line the lake until we got to King's Beach. King's Beach was everything the ranger had promised, and we spent a good twenty minutes snapping photos and staring, mesmerized, at the water and the mountains, and vistas just as spectacular as anything we'd seen prior to this point.
About now (maybe 6 or so), we decided we should probably decide on food and maybe look at the map again, to see that we had made an inadvertent half-loop down and around, and we weren't that far from Truckee. We got on 237, and wound our way back up from the 4200 feet Lake Tahoe rested on, to about 7000 before leveling out and getting dinner at a fantastic pizza joint in Truckee again, called Village Pizzeria. With delicious pizza and a very oddly shaped root beer, we were back on I-80, going past Donner Gap and snow drifts that had to be taller than EK and me, put together, cut into to make room for the road.
We wound our way through the Sierra Nevadas, experienced Emigrant Gap (the valley through which a lot of the first Euro-centric settlers traveled into California), and some more truly phenomenal scenery before I-80 began it's descent out of the mountains towards Sacremento. Sadly, by this time, it was mostly dark, so our view as we dodged around Sacremento and then as we headed into Vallejo and Oakland was limited at best, but it was some kind of surreal to see the hills covered in lights in the dark.
After a few more Garmin mishaps (like the difference between 880 and 580), we managed to get off of I-80, and into West Oakland around 10:30 pacific, where we cruised around the block for a bit, waiting for EK's friend to get back from work, so we could get in and get out of the car and eventually to sleep.
Our route for May 5th, total around 700+ miles:
View Larger Map
As we made it through and began to climb into the mountains, we hit the Nevada border and continued our journey through the high desert. From the Nevada border until we hit Reno was, in all fairness, an awful lot of the same topography; high plains, scrub brush, and the occasional set of mountains to dodge around. We saw dust devils hundreds of feet high sprouting up across the large patches of scrubby valley, and every so often a lively town built around a rare (very rare) river. 500 miles and some change later, we began to see long patches of scrubless dust, until suddenly, Reno and elevation. We plowed through Reno and on towards the California border, ecstatic over the sight of trees slowly cropping back up here and there until finally, wending our way along the Truckee River (several or twelve times) we hit the border.
I'm not knocking on Nevada, but the difference as we hit California was palpable. Once again we found ourselves in the mountains, this time with towering pine trees and greenery ( a welcome change). We were stopped at the agricultural station a few miles in, and it was about this time that we got a message from EK's friend in San Francisco, that, if we had time, we should hop over to Lake Tahoe for the hell of it. It's vacation, we thought, and we weren't going to make it into San Francisco in time for daylight or dinner as it was, so we decided why not.
The ranger at the station was very helpful, and mentioned that King's Beach was a lovely place to visit Lake Tahoe, and we nodded and continued into historic downtown Truckee, which was a pretty delightfully quaint little town, all terraced houses and shops and snow, and a nice main street area set up. After a brief stop, we hopped onto 89 and made our way down to Tahoe City, then took 28 as we drove along the edge of Lake Tahoe, ogling the multimillion dollar homes that line the lake until we got to King's Beach. King's Beach was everything the ranger had promised, and we spent a good twenty minutes snapping photos and staring, mesmerized, at the water and the mountains, and vistas just as spectacular as anything we'd seen prior to this point.
About now (maybe 6 or so), we decided we should probably decide on food and maybe look at the map again, to see that we had made an inadvertent half-loop down and around, and we weren't that far from Truckee. We got on 237, and wound our way back up from the 4200 feet Lake Tahoe rested on, to about 7000 before leveling out and getting dinner at a fantastic pizza joint in Truckee again, called Village Pizzeria. With delicious pizza and a very oddly shaped root beer, we were back on I-80, going past Donner Gap and snow drifts that had to be taller than EK and me, put together, cut into to make room for the road.
We wound our way through the Sierra Nevadas, experienced Emigrant Gap (the valley through which a lot of the first Euro-centric settlers traveled into California), and some more truly phenomenal scenery before I-80 began it's descent out of the mountains towards Sacremento. Sadly, by this time, it was mostly dark, so our view as we dodged around Sacremento and then as we headed into Vallejo and Oakland was limited at best, but it was some kind of surreal to see the hills covered in lights in the dark.
After a few more Garmin mishaps (like the difference between 880 and 580), we managed to get off of I-80, and into West Oakland around 10:30 pacific, where we cruised around the block for a bit, waiting for EK's friend to get back from work, so we could get in and get out of the car and eventually to sleep.
Our route for May 5th, total around 700+ miles:
View Larger Map
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
When the world starts turning
We started off bright and 8am early in Boulder today, slipping into a Starbuck's that was en route and narrowly avoiding a crazy man in a red truck before popping onto I-70 and heading back down towards Denver and eventually Utah. I-70 took a little more time, but honestly, I'm not sure how much of that time was distance, or both of us going, "Oh, look at that MOUNTAIN." They do not make mountains like the Rockies back home, that's for sure. EK and I made fools of ourselves for a couple of hours before stopping in Silverthorne, CO to eat breakfast at the Sunshine Cafe. Somewhat of a spur of the moment decision, but more than worth it. There was admittedly also a certain novelty in the fact that it was barely above freezing, and there was still snow everywhere.
After some more freaking out about Mountains and Snow and the like, we wended our way further into the mountains, and eventually downward, watching the snow and the scraggly pines and cedar disappear as we followed alongside the Colorado River until finally the mountains began to flatten out into mesas and scrub and dirt took over. We managed to get some photos of some incredible scenery as Colorado slowly turned into Utah. We stayed on I-70 for the bulk of our trip before hitting Hwy 6 and cruising north towards Salt Lake City. We traveled through parts of the Uinta National Forest, and more amazing mountains and scenery before hitting Spanish Valley and being startled by the blades of gigantic wind turbines.
Salt Lake City itself was nicer than I had expected, though what I had expected was pretty well limited to Mormons and a desert. We checked into our hostel, The Avenues, and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was in an older neighborhood, and within walking distance of the Temple Square. After we got settled, EK and I figured, why not and began the trek down to the cultural/religious/geographical (this last, if only because it's the progenitor of SLC's roads) center of the city.
Whatever you think of Mormonism or the west, or even Utah, SLC is beautiful. There are mountains surrounding the city, and a lot of the architecture is beautifully done. There's a lot of emphasis on transit, biking, and walkability, as well as several underground parking decks, excellent landscaping (especially within Temple Square), and a decent amount of greenspace on downtown buildings. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much more than the Temple District, due to being on foot, and the impending evening.
We made it back to the Avenues without incident, and decided that our somewhat meager dinner could stand to be supplemented, so we walked the four blocks to the neighborhood Smith's (kind of like a smaller Publix), and picked up a snack, some bread for breakfast the next day, and snagged a build-your-own six pack, filled with local beers. So far, the Wasatch Apricot Hefeweizen was delicious, and the honey beer that EK tried was pretty decent as well (though I'll have to double check on the make and model of that one). We finished off the night with terrible movies, and with me being too exhausted to finish up this entry on time, sadly.
Our route for May 4th.
View Larger Map
After some more freaking out about Mountains and Snow and the like, we wended our way further into the mountains, and eventually downward, watching the snow and the scraggly pines and cedar disappear as we followed alongside the Colorado River until finally the mountains began to flatten out into mesas and scrub and dirt took over. We managed to get some photos of some incredible scenery as Colorado slowly turned into Utah. We stayed on I-70 for the bulk of our trip before hitting Hwy 6 and cruising north towards Salt Lake City. We traveled through parts of the Uinta National Forest, and more amazing mountains and scenery before hitting Spanish Valley and being startled by the blades of gigantic wind turbines.
Salt Lake City itself was nicer than I had expected, though what I had expected was pretty well limited to Mormons and a desert. We checked into our hostel, The Avenues, and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was in an older neighborhood, and within walking distance of the Temple Square. After we got settled, EK and I figured, why not and began the trek down to the cultural/religious/geographical (this last, if only because it's the progenitor of SLC's roads) center of the city.
Whatever you think of Mormonism or the west, or even Utah, SLC is beautiful. There are mountains surrounding the city, and a lot of the architecture is beautifully done. There's a lot of emphasis on transit, biking, and walkability, as well as several underground parking decks, excellent landscaping (especially within Temple Square), and a decent amount of greenspace on downtown buildings. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much more than the Temple District, due to being on foot, and the impending evening.
We made it back to the Avenues without incident, and decided that our somewhat meager dinner could stand to be supplemented, so we walked the four blocks to the neighborhood Smith's (kind of like a smaller Publix), and picked up a snack, some bread for breakfast the next day, and snagged a build-your-own six pack, filled with local beers. So far, the Wasatch Apricot Hefeweizen was delicious, and the honey beer that EK tried was pretty decent as well (though I'll have to double check on the make and model of that one). We finished off the night with terrible movies, and with me being too exhausted to finish up this entry on time, sadly.
Our route for May 4th.
View Larger Map
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
So far so fast
We left this afternoon from Atlanta, flying out on Delta. For me, the first time I've been much farther than Baggage Claim since maybe 1994. Flying is a...bit different these days. What's not much different is the feeling of the plane accelerating and lifting off. It's still one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had. If anything, that sense of amazement and sheer thrill is even more acute now that I'm older. I looked around on the plane, and I couldn't help but wonder how not every person on there was as fascinated and amazed with what was happening as I was.
I can't be positive of the exact route that we took, but I know we went over a rather lot of flooded land, which was exceedingly surreal to go over. The inflight movie was a Vince Vaughn piece of I don't even know, and our first glimpse of the Rockies was delightful. Denver International was a bit different from Hartsfield, but a nice little place. Friendly people, and a shuttle which fit us in despite being crowded (also filled with friendly people) and took us to the Enterprise and our Prius.
A note on the Prius...I really don't particularly like Toyota. I actually like the Prius. It's fun to drive, handles really well, turns nice and tight. The hybrid factor is very nice, and so far, so good. We'll see how it holds up in the mountains tomorrow.
After EK and I obtained the car, we headed up towards Boulder, with a minor panic about the $4 toll road we had taken, and a ten minute detour that turned out to be completely unnecessary. Boulder is...actually kind of gorgeous. I managed to notice that much at least between drooling about the architecture and the mountains ninjaing closer. Boulder gets major credit for being extremely bike and pedestrian friendly as well. EK's friend Callie, our generous host, took us out to Conor O'Neill's, which had some amazing beer (5 Barrel) and delicious food (and also some more awesome architecture).
We're camping in the spare room tonight, and are poised to make the trek across the Rockies to Salt Lake City tomorrow.
I can't be positive of the exact route that we took, but I know we went over a rather lot of flooded land, which was exceedingly surreal to go over. The inflight movie was a Vince Vaughn piece of I don't even know, and our first glimpse of the Rockies was delightful. Denver International was a bit different from Hartsfield, but a nice little place. Friendly people, and a shuttle which fit us in despite being crowded (also filled with friendly people) and took us to the Enterprise and our Prius.
A note on the Prius...I really don't particularly like Toyota. I actually like the Prius. It's fun to drive, handles really well, turns nice and tight. The hybrid factor is very nice, and so far, so good. We'll see how it holds up in the mountains tomorrow.
After EK and I obtained the car, we headed up towards Boulder, with a minor panic about the $4 toll road we had taken, and a ten minute detour that turned out to be completely unnecessary. Boulder is...actually kind of gorgeous. I managed to notice that much at least between drooling about the architecture and the mountains ninjaing closer. Boulder gets major credit for being extremely bike and pedestrian friendly as well. EK's friend Callie, our generous host, took us out to Conor O'Neill's, which had some amazing beer (5 Barrel) and delicious food (and also some more awesome architecture).
We're camping in the spare room tonight, and are poised to make the trek across the Rockies to Salt Lake City tomorrow.
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