Home Sweet Home!

Wednesady and Thursday - Morro Bay to Sierra Madre to Tucson!

Hello!

We were up and out early on Wednesday morning, heading to Anne and Arthur Vaughan's in Sierra Madre, CA.  Not too much traffic; left the coast and took 118 south of Santa Barbara across to the freeway and Pasadena.  Arrived at the Vaughans about 11 a.m.

SO good to see them and catch up on all the family and news!  Then we went out to lunch at "The Only Place In Town" -- which isn't anymore, as there are several other nice places to eat -- but at one point they were, so the name remains!  Anne and I picked up Ava Louise from school (Margaret is in training to be a junior docent at the Pasadena Historical Society).  FABULOUS to see her!  She is getting so TALL!

Have to admit that we did stop for yogurt in the Sierra Madre triangle, and a quick walk-through their little farmers market in the square -- I did pick up some strawberries for Robert to take back to AZ!  Then back to the Vaughans.

Anne made a wonderful dinner -- a huge and beautiful shrimp salad with wonderful garlic bread; lemon squares and raspberry torte for dessert!  YUM!  Lisa, Jon and the girls came for dinner; Margaret Rose is now almost as tall as I am, and she and Lisa are now "sharing" shoes!!  Oh my...

Early night, as we wanted to be on the road early, and Margaret Rose had homework to do!

Up at 6-ish, and out the door by 7 -- the very LAST time R has to re-pack the car!  Easy job driving across the desert, and we pulled up at our door in the 3:30 p.m. range.  Got EVERYTHING unpacked and put away -- and of course started the laundry...have to admit, while we are tired, at least we won't be dealing with jetlag!

So, Dear Friends -- we are now safely home!  Thank you all for coming along with us, and your comments along the way!  Until we travel again!!

Much love,
m
xxx

In the car and heading south!

Tuesday – San Francisco to Morro Bay!

Hello!

Well, we’re back on the road and heading south!  Up this morning around 6, and down to breakfast at 7:30 a.m.  We’re going to check out of the hotel, and take all of our belongings (those which they aren’t already storing for us…as well as everything that we left in the car…) downstairs, so the hotel will keep an eye on things. We will then take the bus (those handy 3-day passes!) to the Asian Art Museum for a 10 a.m. showing of the Cyrus cylinder.  We will then head back to the hotel, pick up the car from the parking garage, head down the street to load it up, and voila! We’ll be on our way out of town!

So…we walked from the hotel through Union Square and down to Market Street, where we again caught the #5 bus heading west.  This time, though, we only had to take it as far as City Hall, as the museum is on the street directly across from it.  Have to admit that SF’s city hall is quite lovely and it’s a very nice morning; not warm, as we were in jeans and needed jackets, but sunny with blue sky.  Well, we were so efficient that we arrived at the museum about 9:20 a.m. … and they don’t open until 10!  (I HATE to be late!)  Decided to find some place where R could have some coffee – and wouldn’t you know, there wasn’t a Starbucks in sight!  So strange!  We did, however, find Philz Coffee, a thriving coffee shop with seating and out of the wind.  (I know that Chicago is known as the “windy city” – but San Francisco must certainly get an honorable mention; the wind just sings between those buildings and up and down those streets!)  Robert had a great cup of coffee, and I had a chocolate chip cookie, and we killed time until almost 10 a.m.

We were, of course (surprise!) the first folks in the museum.  We picked up our pre-purchased tickets at Will-Call and then headed up to the second floor for the special exhibition.  It was very small (one small room; about a dozen or so pieces) – and all pieces that were on loan from the British Museum (which we weren’t able to see when we were there in February!!)  But we did have the room by ourselves for the first 10 minutes or so, which was nice.  Additionally, they don’t have a problem with photography (except flash)!

So…the significance of the Cyrus Cylinder.

 

Basically, the cylinder is a clay foundation marker from a building in Babylon.  It goes on to talk about the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, a Persian king.  Cyrus, unlike many other ancient rulers, decided to release all of the Babylonian captured peoples and let them return home.  According to the Bible, this included the release of the Jews back to their homeland, where they went on to build the Second Temple.  Cyrus was held to be a truly enlightened ruler, who worked to be inclusive of all races and religious beliefs, something very rare at the time (and not very common today!).  The cylinder also sets out the rules of conduct for the king – how he is to treat people – all people, that is, with respect and consideration for them and their individual beliefs.  In other words, it is a very, very important artifact.

We finished with the exhibition about 10:40, and then headed out the front door of the museum, directly to a #19 bus stop.  Bus came along in about 10 minutes, and whisked us up the street to California, where we got a cross-town cable car back close to the hotel!  (Robert is truly amazing when it comes to buses and public transportation.  This time, he was insisting that we walk only downhill, as he didn’t feel like walking uphill – which can be tough to do in San Francisco, with all those hills!) Found the California street cable car, and we were able to ride right in front all the way back to Powell, where we hopped off.  Then, to the car park – which, truly, was filled to overflowing, apparently as a location for National and Alamo rental cars!  The line was literally out the door and around the street!  (We figure that if they ran out of cars, they might just possibly start renting out the parked cards, so we were glad to be able to rescue our little red Toyota!)  

Back to the Cornell Hotel, where we loaded everything back into the car, and we were off in just minutes!  Headed for the 101 freeway, and pointing south; haven’t made that trip in years and years!

We had thought about staying in Monterey, but decided that it is well and truly time to get HOME; we’re both homesick!!  So, instead, we drove through Monterey, and then directly down the coast road to Big Sur and one of our favorite restaurants, Nepenthe, right on the coast.

Got to Nepenthe about 2:30 and no problem being seated – inside, as it was fair to partly brisk outside! The view was just spectacular, and we also watched as acorn woodpeckers went about storing acorns in the beams outside the restaurant windows; they were quite a show!  We both ordered Ambrosiaburgers with cheese (Swiss for R; Cheddar for me) and green salads with their wonderful blue cheese dressing – it’s still wonderful!  Also, we split a basket of French fries – again, still yummy!  Fortunately the food came quickly, as we were really hungry by that time!  We did consider dessert, but honestly, we were full!  Walked around the Phoenix shop – didn’t look too hard, though, as we 1) don’t want any more STUFF as we’re afraid the car will EXPLODE, and 2) don’t NEED any more stuff, exploding car or not!!  Back on the around about 3:30 p.m.

Lovely drive down the coast, and traffic really wasn’t too bad!  Beautiful sunny and breezy day; white caps on the ocean, lots of surf breaking on the beaches. 

We did stop near San Simeon to see the elephant seals – and there they were, all over the beach! (Which fortunately has been blocked off to the public!)

 

Then on in to Morro Bay, where we are now at the Best Western Tradewinds – with a view of the ocean AND Morro Rock from our BATHROOM window!!  Who knew?!  So, will close now and get this posted!  Tomorrow takes us from here to Sierra Madre and a visit with the Vaughans; then, pushing home to Tucson bright and early Thursday morning!

Love,

m

xxx

A truly fabulous museum!

Monday – San Francisco!

Hello!

Today was our one full day in SF, and it was a great day!  Up at the usual time – 6-ish, and down for the hotel’s complimentary “American” breakfast in the basement.  Well, the basement is actually the Jeanne d’Arc restaurant that doubles as a breakfast room – and it is stunning!  Beautifully painted with flowers and chickens and different scenes all reminiscent of the Jeanne d’Arc era; quite lovely!  With fresh orange juice, we were offered our choice of eggs or French toast (appropriate, don’t you think?!)  We both chose scrambled eggs, which arrived shortly with toast, a strip of bacon and some wonderful hash browns; very good!

 

Out and looking for our first bus around 8:30 a.m. as we wanted to be at the California Academy of Science Museum in Golden Gate Park at their opening time of 9:30 a.m.  It took a couple of minutes to find the 5 bus line, but once we did, it was a fairly straight shot down Market Street and then up to Fulton and eventually along the Park.  We got off, and had an interesting walk (it would help if we were more familiar with the park, that’s for sure!) past the flower conservatory (which was lovely!) and then over to the Science Museum.  Got there just at 9:30; great timing!

I had read several years ago that the museum had been completely revamped and was wonderful, and we had wanted to see it!  So…while the Institute itself started in the 1880’s, the museum was completely revamped and reopened in 2008.  And our overall impression?  WOW; fabulous museum!

The building actually encompasses the city’s aquarium AND planetarium, but also has room for evolutionary subjects and special exhibits.  We first headed through the evolution section, which had some really fabulous touch-screen demonstrations and information. 

We then ran into “Claude” – who is a just turned 18-year-old albino alligator; he was great!  A very enthusiastic docent suggested that we head next through the Rainforests of the World.  This was basically life in an enclosed very humid globe, while we followed the ramp from the forest floor through the tree tops.  There were wonderful exhibits of frogs, amphibians and snakes (which I didn’t look at…) as well as birds and butterflies.  The butterflies were truly amazing – in fact, when we reached the top, one settled on me and didn’t want to move!  The man who runs the elevator at the top (which takes you down to the bottom) actually has his own butterfly net to keep everyone where they are supposed to be!  Quite fun! 

After this, we had passes to the geology show in the planetarium, called EARTHQUAKE.  It was really excellent, and their planetarium is very modern and actually comfortable!

Immediately after exiting from EARTHQUAKE, we had to line up again for the astronomy presentation at the planetarium, which was called Cosmic Collisions, and narrated by Robert Redford.  Fortunately, the museum wasn’t really crowded – there was plenty of room for everybody, and we were able to get comfortable seating, which was nice. 

After this second presentation, we decided that it was, indeed lunchtime.  And, not only does the Museum have a very nice looking cafeteria, they have a fine dining restaurant called “the Moss Room.” 

There were only a few other tables occupied, and we were able to have a very relaxing and delicious lunch!  We both started off with bowls of clam chowder – will this ever end, we ask ourselves?!  And then Robert had a lovely prawn salad, and I had their chicken wrapped in pancetta with polenta and vegetables – yummy!  For dessert, I had their chocolate torte (oh my…) and Robert had their strawberry pistachio tarte – also excellent!  So, all in all, we were two happy folks rolling out of the museum about 3 p.m.

It wasn’t far from the museum to Fulton Street, where we were able to pick up a returning #5 bus, taking us back to Union Square.  As we still had not paid our toll for the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday, we headed to 10 Geary Street, which turned out to be a wireless phone store.  Paid the $6 toll there, and have put the receipt in a very safe place to prove that we paid! 

From there, we walked back to the hotel, arriving about 4:30 p.m. – great time for a short nap!

About 5, I decided that I wanted some frozen yogurt – and found a place on Montgomery Street, about 4 blocks away.  As Robert says, walking downhill is WAY easier than walking UP hill!  So, downhill it was to Montgomery for my yogurt fix … then how to get home, as it was WAY uphill!!  R, ever terrific with a bus map, figured that if we walked two blocks up to California, we could get a cable car back to within a short walk of the hotel.  Had to wait a few minutes, but there was the cable car – and we got to ride OUTSIDE, which was GREAT fun!  Off at Powell, and then DOWN a couple of blocks, and voila!  Back to the hotel!

Now watching the Monday Night football game – Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati – and my Steelers are NOT doing well…more later!

m

xxx

Back to the big city!

Sunday – Calistoga to San Francisco!

Hello!

Whew!  What a change of scene – from bucolic Calistoga where we had our own little cabin in the woods overlooking a wash and set among huge oak trees, to busy, chaotic and NOISY downtown San Francisco!  Wow!

Up this morning about 6, and we decided to picnic for breakfast, to take care of some of our excess foodstuffs.  It was great – bread, salami, cheese and apples – who could ask for more?  Robert has done a fantastic job of getting things organized and loaded into the car; we are carrying a great deal of “stuff!” 

Out of Calistoga and on the road about 8 a.m., and decided to head due west until we ran out of road – i.e., Hit the coast and Highway 1!  We had a lovely drive – sometimes through fog, sometimes through blue sky, as we followed the Russian River as it meandered its way to the Pacific.  There are definitely some rather eclectic communities along the way – we even saw some tie-dye dresses and shirts for sale!  We always wondered where the hippies went – those who didn’t move to Bisbee AZ, I mean!

Turned south at Jenner in lovely sunshine; it was a beautiful Sunday morning!  We stopped at Point Reyes for lemonade and coffee – would have had sandwiches, but it was ‘breakfast only’ until 11:30 – and it was only 10:30…so, on we went!

Hit San Francisco a little after noon – and talk about traffic and congestion…one of the more interesting things that we’re dealing with is that while there is a toll taking the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County into San Francisco, there are no longer any toll takers – and you must somehow figure out how to pay the $6.00 toll.  Robert tried several times to pay on line (we have 48 hours to get this done…) but apparently it wasn’t working properly…so now I think we’re going to have to hunt down a physical “place” tomorrow and take care of it!  What do people with no computers who don’t speak English do here?  Amazing!

Got to our hotel – The Cornell Hotel de France, which was recommended by Anne Vaughan.  We found parking out front, and were able to (making multiple trips) divide our stuff into three piles – things that we wanted in our room; things that the hotel could store for us (cases of wine), and things we left in the parking garage across the street (dirty laundry; books, etc.).  Dropped the car off, and then decided it was past time for lunch (and check-in time at the hotel is 1 p.m.).

Just across the street from the hotel is a restaurant called Roxanne’s.  Robert had a bowl of New England clam chowder and a plate of marinated, grilled shrimp, which was wonderful!  I had their Cobb Western salad – served in a taco shell, it had organic greens (a great selection!), bacon, egg, turkey and avocado with a blue cheese dressing; it was excellent! 

Then back to the hotel for check-in, as it was now 1:30 p.m.  The Cornell is a lovely hotel – very French, and reminiscent of hotels we have stayed in in Paris!  We’re on the 5^th floor, room 502.  Great elevator!  Nice-sized room with claw-footed bathtub; very fun!  The ceilings are very high, and beautifully painted.  We got settled in, and I managed to take a short but nice nap on our very comfortable bed.  Then … out to see some San Francisco sights!

The hotel is located just two blocks from Union Square, and we headed in that direction.  At the Walgreen’s on the corner, we were able to get transit passes.  From there, we were actually able to hop on the passing cable car, as it was making its way down to Ghiradelli Square.  Very crowded, but we did find seats inside – would much prefer to hang on outside, but sitting was good at this point!  Rode all the way to the end of the line, then headed to Fisherman’s Wharf.  

We couldn’t even remember the last time we’ve stayed in San Francisco – it has definitely been years!  But not too much has changed on the Wharf – it was its normal zoo, especially as it was a Sunday, AND, Ghiradelli was celebrating their annual chocolate festival – but we MISSED it by getting there too late!  Oh well…We got sidewalk seafood cocktails – R getting crab; I got bay shrimp – YUM!  Fortunately, those haven’t changed at all!  We then walked over to Ghiradelli Square, but things there we closing up – we were a bit surprised, as it was just a little after 6 p.m. but it looked like things were really winding down.  So, decided to head back to the hotel.  However, the cable car line was, quite literally, around the BLOCK – unreal!  So, as I’m traveling with Mr. Bus-Line, we were able to find a municipal bus map, and made our way first up Van Ness on the 47, to Post Street.  Off there, and cross Van Ness to pick up the 2, which got us directly to Union Square!  Simple; you just gotta have the knowledge!

As Robert didn’t have a huge lunch, he decided to get some sushi, which, fortunately, was able to be boxed up for take-out!  Back to the hotel and we’re now in for the night!  Still need to figure out what we’re doing tomorrow!

Much love,

m

xxx