Magnificent Mount Shasta

The last time we left the West, it was partially because we were tiring of all the jaw-dropping scenery. Mt Shasta is a prime example of why we were so anxious to return after a two-year absence. Unlike many really tall mountains that are merely the highest of a group of peaks, it stands alone, four or five thousand feet higher than its neighbors. Another attraction of the area is Shasta Dam and lake. The dam is the second tallest (Hoover) and the second biggest (Grand Coulee) in the country.

Our mouths are gaping, but we're ready for more .

An Easy Day at Rockaway Beach

Two days of walking up and down the hills of San Francisco is quite enough, thank you. So on our last day in the Bay area, in the midst of a heatwave (over 100 away from the beaches,) we took a drive down toward Half Moon Bay. Unfortunately on this hot Saturday, half the population of the valley had the same idea. Change of plans - why not just part way to the small coastal community of Rockaway Beach. Good choice, as it turns out - super fresh seafood lunch and a stroll along the 55 degree water. And we're ready to head north tomorrow.

An All-Day Tour

Today we splurge on an organized tour (as opposed to our own disorganized ones.) A really good idea for a relaxed look at all the many sites to see in this historic, picturesque city. But wait. Dave makes the big boo boo of this spring/summer season - forgetting to put the rechargeable battery back in the camera. And after making sure that it was fully charged, too! Geez, what a maroon! Twice before in four years - at Mesa Verde NP when I forgot to upload the previous day's photos (had room for only a dozen new shots) and again at Hoover Dam when I forgot the camera altogether. (Even a new higher capacity camera with AA power wouldn't have helped there.)

So with disposable in-hand, we at least recorded the second half of the day. We enjoyed seeing the downtown districts and the Transamerica Building, Coit Tower, Chinatown, Lombard Street (again,) Fisherman's Wharf, the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Golden Gate. Not much left to see in SF.

Ups and Downs in San Francisco

Our first morning here, we went into the city via BART, getting off the train in the middle of downtown. What an amazing transit system BART is. We are easily impressed since we have never ridden a heavy rail transit system like the NY subway or the DC Metrorail or the L in Chicago or the T in Boston. (Did I cover them all?) Can't see how it gets up to speed so quickly - moving about 1000 people from zero to sixty before the last car has cleared the station.


Cable car rides, hikes up and down Lombard St, the famous "crookedest street in the world, Hyde Street Pier, Ghirardelli Square, the streetcars and the Ferry Building, a lunch w/margarita in the Cannery (site of Del Monte's beginnings) and dinner at Ciappino's near Fisherman's Wharf. A full and tiring day finished off with the hundreds of thousands of commuters on the BART.

San Francisco Here We Come

We have arrived at San Francisco RV Park in Pacifica, CA. Great location, right on a bluff overlooking the Pacific a few miles from the city, but tiny sites on a virtual parking lot (with pool and spa.) The drive up from Hollister was special for an old geek like me (I think we were called "nerds") - right down the middle of Silicon Valley. City names like San Jose and Santa Clara and Cupertino and Mountain View and Palo Alto, home to the PC revolution and the dotcom boom with corporations like Google and Yahoo and Intel and Cisco and HP - almost everyone but Microsoft started here.

A Trip to Monterey

Our RV travels take us all over the country, but most of the time we plan our route to take advantage of our membership parks where we can stay for free (or nearly free - we do have dues which work out to about $50/month.) Sometimes, we end up having to pay (as much as $60/night) so that we can be within a reasonable driving distance to a single-visit attraction like the Hearst Castle, or really close to a multiple-visit destination like our daughter, Shannon's home or to San Francisco.

San Benito, a Thousand Trails preserve (and therefore one of our freebies) is an hour away from the Monterey Bay and Peninsula area, not a drive we'd want to make a half-dozen times, but it is close enough to make a few trips to see the sights in the area. This time we took in Cannery Row, a section of the bay made famous by a John Steinbeck novel (his home and a museum dedicated to his works is in nearby Salinas.) It has been converted into a typical "tourist trap" collection of shops and eateries - even someone with a fertile imagination (yours truly not included) would have a devil of a time seeing what it was really like during its heyday. So what the heck, we acted like the tourists we are, went into a bunch of shops, and ate a really delish meal at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. We also toured Fishermans' Wharf (more shops and restaurants,) but the jewel of our day was the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the second largest in the world (after the new Georgia Aquarium) and one of the best in the country. Its location right on the bay allows it to use the actual bay waters in some of its displays. It also has the world's largest single-paned window in the Outer Bay display. Even though its a little pricey, don't miss taking it in if you are closeby.

San Juan Bautista and the Rib Cookoff

Saturday we took a short drive to the mission town of San Juan Bautista. The mission here (ca. 1770's) is one of the 21 missions established by the Spaniards in California. It's nice, but the real reason we made the trip is the annual SJB Great American Rib Cookoff. (You can only do so much of that historical culture without doing some current-day culture too.) BBQ, beer, and music, with a few sidewalk vendors thrown in for good measure - what a fun thing to do on a weekend.

The trip took us thru the San Benito Wine Trail past five or six wineries. There are vineyards everywhere here. This time we didn't stop, but stay tuned for further developments.

Searching for the California Condor

Well, here we are in central California, the principal range of the California condor. There are two groups of them, one that soars over the Big Sur section of the coast, due west of our current locale, and the other patroling the Pinnacles Nat'l Monument, a few miles south of us. Yesterday we drove down for a glimpse of these huge birds, beautiful in flight, and nightmare ugly up close. But, alas, as you can tell by the choice of photo for the day, we struck out. They are supposed to be easier to spot on one of the 8-10 mile hikes - like that's ever gonna happen. We will try one of the two-milers next week. Maybe we'll get lucky - ya just never know...

The Pinnacles are unusual for one other reason. The primary mountainous formation (pinnacle) is the western half of a volcano which formed 15 million year ago on the San Andreas fault. The fact that this half of the peak (still on the fault line) is 190 miles north of the eastern half has been used to prove the rate of movement along the plate boundaries. There. Now you've had the Geo I lesson for the day, sorry about that. Our RV park is also in the fault zone - we felt a couple of jolts the other night - and yes it was a quake!

Thousand Trails Park - San Benito

Just sitting here sipping margaritas in the middle of thousands of acres of vinyards - but it's all nectar of the Gods isn't it? We're in an RV park called San Benito just south of Hollister in central California. Got here last Thursday, and as is our habit on longish stays, kicking back (relaxing is a very high priority in our lives,) getting familiar with the local area and mapping out our sight-seeing strategy. While we're here we plan to see Monterey (especially the aquarium and Cannery Row,) Pebble Beach and the 17 Mile Drive, Carmel, and the north end of the highway that travels along Big Sur. We'll see how much of it we get done.

Morro Bay State Park

We arrived at Morro Bay State Park along the central California coast on Monday June 1 for a three night stay. Very pretty here with hundred foot eucalyptus trees and huge spreading spruce - such a contrast from our last location in the remote hills inland from Santa Barbara. The marina across the road is packed with mostly older sailboats and trawlers. Can't help checking them out with a critical eye anytime we see some. Morning fog - they call it the "marine layer" - slowly disappears into bright cool afternoons.

Hearst Castle

Today we drove up to see the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, a monstrously extravagent estate built in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's by William Randolph Hearst (of yellow journalism fame) as a retreat for himself and his a-list guests. Its sits on a hilltop a few miles off the road (you really have to know where to look to spot it from Hwy 1,) reachable only by tour bus for a mere $24 ticket. The main house reminded us of the mansions we saw seven years ago in Newport, RI. Seen one show off home, you 've seen 'em all. (Although this one wins the prize.)

Big Sur (Southern Edition)

After our tour of the Castle, we drove further north on the spectacular Pacific Coast Hwy route along Big Sur, going from beachside, with stops to see the seals and sea elephants lazing on the gray sand, to the cliffs a thousand feet above the surfline - the whole awesome scene such a contrast to the Florida Atlantic, although US1 through the Keys sure has its own incredible views.