So… I thought Golden Gate Park was a grassy area where you could view the Golden Gate Bridge. Boy was I wrong!!! My favorite was the Japanese Tea Garden, and I could’ve EASILY spent the entire day just mediating there, smelling the luscious plant and flower aromas, and listening to the waterfalls….
Then David & I went across to Sausalito, sat at a bay-front table at The Trident, and he ate “the best crab [he’s] ever had” while Diana & Bill went back to Fisherman’s Wharf.
Finally, we crossed the Golden Gate & were dropped off right in front of Ghiardelli Square, so we called Mom & she came to meet us for ice cream sundaes!
All in all, it was a magnificently peaceful, soul-reviving day after all the city time & Alcatraz yesterday!
David & I decided that since my parents had never been to Hawaii (& likely wouldn’t without lots of encouragement!), we should invite them to come with us when we came out again. To our surprise, not only did they say yes, they didn’t cancel! 😉
(A BIG shout out of thanks to our respective house/ dog-sitters, Colleen Gardner & Bill Powers! It’s great to know our beloved 4-leggeds are being loved & our homes cared for!)
To make the trip easier, we started off with 2.5 days in San Francisco, breaking up the 12-13 hours of flying into manageable chunks. After arriving and checking into our lovely Kimpton Hotel (The Argonaut) in the Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood, we had lunch at Scoma’s, in-room massages, and then watched a movie. (I’m counting this as day 0 since we were so tired!!)
For our first full day, we decided on Big Bus Tours as our hop on/ hop off bus service to learn about the city’s history and sights. It was a good tour, and we got a good feel for the city as a whole.
After doing the full tour loop, we got off at Pier 39 for an excellent lunch at the Pier Market and Restaurant where we had a lovely view of the sea lions sunbathing.
Then, David & I boarded the boat for Alcatraz and Mom & Dad went back to the hotel for a siesta. Alcatraz was a good tour (albeit somewhat morbid, except for the beautiful gardens, views, & sea birds) & even the cold didn’t keep us from learning. 😉
Once that was done, we met up with my parents to do the Big Bus night tour. It was icy cold, but had gorgeous views of the Presidio & the city lights.
We finished the evening with dinner at The Blue Mermaid (our hotel’s restaurant) & went to bed – exhausted from a full day (& maybe some jet lag)!
Filed under: California
We drove up to northern California to an area known as Avenue of the Giants . The area is named such because of the huge red wood trees contained within the vast forests. The red woods can grow to an impressive 20+ feet in diameter and can be as much as 2500 years old.
The area had a number tree related attractions such as the drive through tree, the immortal tree which has survived lighting strikes, flooding and logging attempts and the eternal tree house which is a 20 ft room inside a tree stump which is still alive.
Drive through tree
Ariana in a redwood
Eternal tree house
During our time in the area we stayed in the town of Miranda (population 350) which consisted of one street with a cafe, petrol station, grocery shop and a jewelery shop as well as the site containing the log cabins we stayed in.
The area had a a biker convention on so there were hundreds of bikers in the roads.
On our second night we had a camp fire and toasted marshmallows to make smores (marshmallows, chocolate and crackers).
We also made a trip to local town Eureka (pop 26,097) for dinner.
Filed under: California
After the scorching heat of New Mexico the slightly cooler weather of San Diego was welcomed.
During the first day we visited both the Wild Animal Park and Sandiego Zoo.
The Animal Park is there to help endangered species mainly from Africa.
The park had a tram tour which explores the expansive African exhibits. These free-range enclosures house such animals as cheetahs, antelopes, lions, giraffes, okapis, elephants, zebras, Przewalski’s horses, rhinos, and bonobos. The park is also noted for its California condor breeding program, the most successful such program in the country.
After spending the morning at the park we drove to the zoo.
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the largest and most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species. It is also one of the few zoos in the world that houses the giant panda. The zoo had a tour on a double decker bus giving an overview of the area.
The next day we went to Seaworldto watch a few shows.
Touching a stingray
Almost as cute as Iris
Sea lion show
shamu
Jumping whale
Moray eels
There were shows involving Shamu the killer whale, dolphins and sea lions. As well as exibits showing Moray eels and sharks.
Today we set of early but didn’t cover much space due to the heavy traffic around Los Angeles. We drove about 200 miles in 7.5 hours!
Tomorrow we have an 11 hour drive up to The Avenue Of The Giants in the north of California. The area is famous for its giant red woods including one which you can drive through.
P.s. From Ariana:
You can see our favourite moments & best photos were the same (lions, elephants, peafowl). 🙂 Tomorrow we head to Miranda Gardens Resort, which looks like it doesn’t have WiFi, so if you don’t hear from us for a few days, that’s why! We’re booked into cabin #9 for two nights, but it’s the Famous CA Redwoods & Avenue of the Giants, so we may want to stay a bit longer….
Filed under: California
David normally does the blogging, so I’m not sure why we’ve had no updates… 😉 LOL Okay, we’ve been tired and busy, but more info to come. Today we head up the Pacific Coast Highway, but here are a few choice photos from San Diego:
-
- David, Shamu, Ariana
-
- Perrrty
-
- Stop! In the Name of Peacock!
-
- Dusting Themselves to Prevent Sunburn
-
- Baby & Mama
-
- King of the Wild Animal Park
dANDaUSA's Blog 
