Our First Day In San Fransico

Wednesday October 10th 2012

We are staying at the Fairgrounds in Antioch CA for 2 weeks, just a parking lot with full hooks for $17.00 a day.  It is about 30 miles north of San Francisco. We will be taking BART (Bay Area Rapid Transportation) into town, just a couple of bucks, no hassle, no finding and paying for parking.  It is about an hour each way, but it was a nice time to sit back relax and read a book. 

Mike’s younger brother Owen has lived in San Fran. for many years, it has been about 15 years since we last saw him.  Owen met us at the BART station in town, and we spent the day having a personal tour guide. 

Walking San Francisco may not be easy with all the hills and stairs, but we managed to keep up with Owen. 

We left the BART station and headed to Union Square.

Mike and his brother Owen.

From Union Square we walked to China Town, a very hopping place, lots of people. 

 

The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest building in San Francisco and one of its most iconic. Although the building no longer houses the headquarters of the Transamerica Corporation, it is still strongly associated with the company and is depicted in the company's logo.   It is 850 feet tall, upon completion in 1972 it was among the five tallest buildings in the world.

The tower has no public access except for the first floor lobby, thus visitors cannot go to the top for a panoramic view.

A few statics on the building,Transamerica Pyramid 

 

Sts Peter and Paul Church

Saints Peter and Paul Parish in the neighborhood of North Beachand across the street from Washington Square.  A beautiful church inside and out, the church has some of the most beautiful stained glass I have ever seen.

From here we walked to up Telegraph Hill to Coit Towner, I think Owen was testing us to see how much stamina we have.  Not once did I break down and whine. Of course I new we would stop at the end of the day and have a glass of wine. 

  

The Coit Tower is built on top of the 285ft high Telegraph Hill, which is situated between Fisherman's Wharf and the Financial District. In 1850, a pole with movable arms on top of the hill was used as a signaling station. The wooden arms were adjusted to signal the incoming of ships. In 1853 it was replaced by an electric telegraph station, hence the hill's name.

 

The Coit Tower was built in 1933 with funds from Lillie Hitchcock Coit. She was an eccentric who was best known for her support of the local firemen. When she died, she left one third of her fortune for the beautification of the city. The result was the Coit Tower, which is both a memorial for Lillie Hitchcock Coit and for the San Francisco firemen.

 

The interior of the tower has a number of murals, most of them depicting life in California during the Great Depression. The murals are the result of a project that was part of the so-called 'New Deal' in which the federal government initiated a large number of projects aimed at creating as many jobs as possible for the unemployed

In total 25 painters and 19 assistants worked on the project, which shows - among many other scenes - a bank robbery, a scene from the harbor and a look into a department store. At the time several of the murals caused controversy as they were deemed too left wing. Thanks to their historic significance the murals are now protected as a historical treasure.

 

At the top of the Coit tower is an observation platform with spectacular 360° views over San Francisco.  Alcatraz Prison and Pier 39. 

That was enough sightseeing for one day, we stopped for a glass of wine in the Italian neighborhood, from there hopped on a bus back to the BART station.  Thanked Owen for a great day.  

Triple D and Hot Air

Santa Rosa California  Oct 7th and 8th 2012

Mike is a big fan of Dinners Drive-Ins and Dives, also known a Triple D.  Guy Fieri the host of the show travels the country stopping at small out of the way restaurants featuring them for his show.  Guy also owns 4 or 5 restaurants of his own, one of those restaurants is in Santa Rosa California, Johnny Garlic’s, a pasta grill. 

  

Our waitress posed with me to take a picture of the giant menu.

 

The food was delicious the atmosphere was great and the staff was outstanding.  It was a wonderful experience, we would go back anytime.

We park in a Kmart parking lot for the night, this was our first Kmart.

While we were eating breakfast the next morning we kept hearing this whoosh sound coming from outside.  Look what we found.  We love hot air balloons.  Our kids bought us a ride for Christmas a few years back and we flew over the St. Croix River Valley.  Our second experience was in southern Spain, I had booked a flight over the internet before we left the states, it turned out to be the highlight of our trip. 

  

Talked to the pilot and it was his first time in a Kmart parking lot also. 

Still living our dreams.

Glad We Did It, Will Never Do It Again In A MH

 

Highway 1 on the California coast was not built for a 38 foot motorhome pulling a truck.  The views were breath taking and so were some of the switchbacks and hairpin turns, many times we had to stop and let oncoming traffic go by.  We would do it again in a heartbeat in a car. 

  

I could post hundred more pictures, but this gives you a good idea of how beautiful this area is.

   

Our campsite at Ocean Cove, $20.00 a night, no hookups, the view was well worth the money. 

 

 

I was up early, it was a perfect morning, no wind just a light breeze and the temp was mild.

Then the fog started rolling in, that was pretty cool, never saw that happen before.

A little wildlife, can you call birds wildlife?  A pelican and buzzard posing so pretty for me.  Stormy thought she could pose just as good as the birds.  I think she had other things on her mind with the birds.

 

Ocean Cove campground had the it factor for us, no amenities, but oh the views.

California Here We Come, Are We Confused

Thursday October 4th 2012

The day started a little off, I dropped an earring down the bathroom sink.  Mike thought I should just get a nose piercing and everything would just be fine.  Not going to happen, he took the drain apart and found the missing diamond earring, life is good again.  Back on the road.

Our first stop in California was Smith River National Recreation Area in Six Rivers National Forest.  Mike’s brother Owen suggested a stop here to see the rare California Pitch Plant (Daringtonia californica).  It is a carnivorous plant.

 

Can you see why the plant is sometimes called a Cobra Lilly?  The plant grows in a limited range Northern California and Southwest Oregon, in bogs with cold running water.  What a beautiful plant, we were so lucky Owen told us about this area, we would never have thought to stop and check it out.

Our next stop was Gasquet CA.  The only reason we stopped here was to see this fountain..

We stopped to take a picture and then wanted to find out more about it.  Mike asked a few people in the store next to the fountain, but nobody seemed to know anything about it, other then it had been there for ever.

Mike read about a roadside attraction called Confusion Hill in one of our travel books, and wanted to stop and check it out. 

 

Confusion Hill was built in 1949 in the Redwood Forest on Highway 101. 

 

 

The Redwood shoe house was a float in a parade in 1947, then moved in 1950 to Confusion Hill.

 

Gravity House.  You feel as if your standing strait, but it looks as if your at an angle.  I had to leave it made me very sick to my stomach. 

 

The Totem Pole is a chainsaw carving done in 1992, it stands over 40 feet high. 

It was just a fun place to visit and spend some time.