Well since Florence we have driven down the
West Coast to San Francisco via Highway 1 and what amazing scenery we have
had. Initially we were coming down via
101 until I saw another road right on the coast. The towns we have stayed in weren’t
necessarily a highlight, but we have had some amazing experiences. I, like Pete, can’t believe
the scenery we have seen. Sometimes it
would be great to just sit and take in the place you’re at. Of course, that is not going to happen with
the action bunny I travel with.
The Redwood Forests are a must see before
the US totally deforests the whole country of Redwoods. Depending on who you believe there is around
5% remaining, but what worried both of us is the number of logging trucks and
timber yards still in existence. As a
result, we refused to buy anything made from Redwood. That now adds to our list of DO NOT BUYS, the
first being ivory, followed by whale meat.
End of my preaching…on that subject anyway. The forests are spectacular!
Every photo I took, didn’t seem to do
justice to its beauty! I am absolutely
gobsmacked to think there is still logging going on.
In Fort Bragg we had dinner overlooking the
entrance to the Noyo River and as an added bonus to a great meal we had seals
swimming past and a setting sun, AND the NHL Stanley Cup on the TV in the
background. Look
at that, Sport on the TV while we have dinner!
Also in Fort Bragg, Denise wanted to see the
Glass Beach, but as we discovered, most of the glass has been taken by previous
tourists. I have no idea what it was
like previously (so I should check Google), but with a howling wind and temps
around 10C, it was a little chilly. He did nothing but whinge about going to the beach. To be honest it was pretty ordinary but him
being cold, was always going to happen because he was in shortsssssss.
We have discovered that fuel prices in
California are at least 50c/gal more expensive, but it hasn’t stopped our
travelling. We just look for cheaper
fuel and continually top up. As soon as we crossed the border the fuel prices sky rocketed
which baffles me. They love to have the
biggest cars that guzzle fuel like it is going out of fashion.
Our first day travelling through the
Redwoods was with sea fog rolling in. We
were also looking at the spectacular coastline, and trying to see views, but
that proved a little difficult. We were supposed to be able see whales and seals not far off
the coast. That was definitely not going
to happen. We even took a scenic drive
around another area in the hope that the fog would clear.
Highway 1 appears to be a popular bicycle
route, but boy have we had some strong winds.
For those riding South it would be fantastic, but I pity those riding
North. The road in extremely windy with
many hills and at many points is right on the coast, usually looking down from
an unfenced road edge. At many places it
was very high up. I can understand this
frightening many drivers, but I loved it…until I thought about where we are
driving – in an earthquake region with possible tsunamis. That makes for some interesting discussions
while we drive.
The other surprising thing about Highway 1
was when we first joined it, we were passed by a big semi-trailer with cars on
board coming the other way and thought he was game as the 5-10kms of road ahead
of him was hilly and windy. What we
didn’t realise was we had another 60kms to go of the same thing. The next day it was another 200kms. I got a shock several times when the road on
the GPS showed it doubling back on itself not twice, but three times.
Part of this adventure is realising
that sometimes we have forgotten things about each other. Like!!! I don’t function well if I don’t have
lunch!!!! AND SO FOR TWO DAYS THE BOY
WONDER FORGOT TO FED ME AND WONDERED WHY I HAD GOT A LITTLE FANGERY. The real problem was that there were places to
have lunch but they were those places that didn’t look very nice. The boy does now stop for coffee so progress
is slow.
I have now reached the stage where I have no
idea what towns we are in at times, and really don’t care. I am loving the countryside. We continue to be amazed at the scenery we
stumble upon and I am now sure Denise has more pictures than Streetview. Who wants to come around for a modern day
slide night? Not
happening! If you are not on Facebook
you miss out.
On our travels in North America we have seen
everything except for bears, oh, and mountain lions, cougars, coyotes…. I have Denise on bear watch whenever there is
a clearing, or we are driving beside a river, but so far, no bears. I am very disappointed. The other day I spotted
vultures sunning themselves on the side of the road. We have also had a deer jump out in front of
us on our way home from dinner. Thank goodness
it wasn’t bigger. Peter thought it was a
dog.
We have seen many seals, some from a
distance, but the closest I have seen them was in San Francisco at the wharf. There were lots of
them on floating pontoons, making all sorts of noises.
Coming in to San Francisco we realised that
the first game of the NBA Finals was on that night. I asked Denise to check to see if there were
any tickets available. Unfortunately, as
we were travelling the coast road, reception was not great, but eventually she
found some, only to realise we wouldn’t make tip-off. So now we are contemplating another night here
so we can see Game 2. Only problem is we
have to give up something else we had planned to see, and Game 2 tickets are
even more expensive than those we considered for Game 1. We will wait and see.
So far we have seen San Francisco from the
headland overlooking the Golden Gate, from the waterfront on the North Side, and
from a cable car (over the hill and back again). Boy it’s hilly here. We even went to see that street which
zig-zags snakes down a block. It was
steep just getting up the normal road to get to it. We have also seen Alcatraz, Fisherman’s
Wharf, and the sealions at Wharf 39, and many more things. Did I say this place is hilly? He tried to kill me
but that is really being melodramatic!
I now believe Australia has the worst
drivers, as no country we have visited, has the road rage we have at home. In the US they just toot their horn, and if
they are really angry, give it a good long blast, and all is over.
We are now inside the final two weeks (I
thought we had three weeks to go until I checked the calendar) of our trip and
I am a little disappointed this has to end.
Never mind, there is still so much we have to see and do. It looks a little daunting. Oh well, we can rest on the plane.
As I have tried to type, that boy,
has done nothing but pestered me only because he can!!!!! So I will sign off
for now.
Hope you are all well
Big hugs and kisses
Denise and Peter
xxxx
OK, after many issues with bookings, we are
off to the NBA Final tonight.
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