Our 2009 road trip around California with Adam and Veronika
NB, under ‘Activity’ for each day, the bare-bones plan is shown at the top in grey, and what actually happened is shown in blue.
Date
Activity
Miles
Fri Sept 4th
Charles de Gaul airport, Paris. Flight AF0084 10:30 (check-in 9:30) to San Francisco (SFO).
Lin and I were now living in Limousin in France. We’d planned a US holiday with our son Adam and his wife, Veronika, but they were coming from Edinburgh so we were travelling separately, and would meet up in San Francisco. Lin and I spent a night at the St Exupery Hotel north of Paris, then next morning took a taxi to Charles de Gaul Airport.
0
Sat Sept 5th
Arrive SFO (around 12:40)… pickup rental car (Budget Rent-a-Car, Voucher 1076577), then drive to hotel (Travelodge Mill Valley/Sausalito, 707 Redwood Highway, Confirmation # 71407845)
Air France/KLM made a mess of our booking, and coming back, we had to leave Houston a day later than we’d planned. As a result, Lin and I got bumped up to business class! Fantastic seats, and two glasses of quality bubbly before we’d left the tarmac! Then the best airline food I’ve ever had, all served with an excellent claret.
We landed around lunch time, and about ten hours ahead of Adam and Veronika. We were knackered after a nine hour flight, but we then had to join a queue of a hundred or so people at San Francisco airport’s Alamo Car Hire, and then shuffle along for three hours(!) because of understaffed desks.
We eventually picked-up the car, and took the 101 North through San Francisco, and across the Golden Gate Bridge to Tiburon. We checked-in at the Travelodge, and chilled for a couple of hours before driving to an old lunchtime haunt, Marvin Gardens in Belmont for a beer. Then drove up the Camino Real to Chili’s Grill in Millbrae for a meal. We were just finishing our Fajitas when Adam rang (around 11:15pm) to say they’d arrived. We picked them up at the airport, and drove back to the hotel.
It turned out they’d had a stressful time at immigration because Adam’s passport was old and wasn’t an e-passport. Potentially, he could have been refused entry, but he pointed out that he was an American citizen, and he was entitled by birthright to be there… that seemed to do the trick!
96
Sun Sept 6th
Chill… lunch in Tiburon?
Had a nice brunch and beers at the Dipsea restaurant in Mill Valley, then drove to Mt Tamalpais, and spent an hour or so walking around the top.
Drove into Tiburon, and wandered around for an hour or two, then relaxed at the Servino bar/restaurant with beers watching a seemingly endless carnival parade.
Drove to Mill Valley in the evening looking for a restaurant. We totally failed, but did find a cheap Mexican takeaway where we ate tacos and burritos, and they let us drink our own beers.
33
Mon Sept 7th
SF and other stuff around Bay Area
Took the Tiburon to San Francisco ferry… a beautiful day for crossing the bay (whereas the previous day, it was foggy across the bay). Took loads of photos before we even got to SF.
Had a wander around Pier 39, and resisted buying anything from the many tourist shops. We then watched the antics of the harbour seals for half hour or so.
We started up Fisherman’s Warf, and watched a steel drum band for a while. We were looking for lunch, but unimpressed with all the fast food franchises. Then we came across the up-market looking Tarantino’s and we were surprised that the prices were not outrageous. We went in and had a very good seafood lunch.
We continued over to Hyde Street Pier, with it’s historic ships and boats, and then queued for an age to have a ride on a cable car.
Took late afternoon ferry back to Tiburon.
In the evening, we walked 400 yards down to the Shelter Bay Cafe for good (but noisy!) meal.
0
Tue Sept 8th
Leisurely drive down Highway 1 to Santa Cruz (or Monterey)
Checked-out of the Travelodge, and drove to the San Mateo Mall for some clothes shopping. Stopped for lunch at Moss Beach Distillery, and then continued down Highway 1 to Monterey and checked into the Monterey Bay Lodge motel.
Had an excellent seafood dinner at Abalonetti Seafood Trattoria on the pier. Saw a family of raccoons beneath the pier on the way back to the motel.
75
Wed Sept 9th
Santa Cruz to San Simeon area, via the Big Sur.
A beautiful day. We had a nice gentle drive down Highway 1, drove through Carmel, and stopped at Point Lobos Sate Park. Had a nice walk from car park to beaches, being careful not to touch the Poison Oak which seemed to be everywhere.
Continued on to the Big Sur. Many photo stops en route, such as Bixby Creek Bridge and the Little Sur River where it meanders across the beach.
Stopped at Nepenthe for lunch and beers (Sierra Nevada Pale and Coronas). Later we checked-out the gift shop, where Adam and Veronika bought a dragon for Lin’s birthday.
Stopped again at Julia Pfeiffer-Burns SP and walked down to McWay Falls.
Booked to stay the night in Gorda General Store cabins, and had meal in the nearby Whale Watcher’s Cafe.
Lin and I spent the night about 12”, and separated by about 1/4” of plywood, from someone in the next room with a chronic cough!
141
Thu Sept 10th
Hearst Castle in morning, then drive to Hollywood (Universal Studios)
We’d hoped to visit Hearst Castle in the morning, but we decided that it would take too much out of the day, so we gave it a miss. Drove in cool air and heavy fog down Highway 1 towards LA, stopped briefly to see the elephant seals (the rest of my lazy crew stayed in the car!). Continuing south, the temperature rose steadily and ended up at 101 degrees F!
Checked into the ‘Hollywood Celebrity hotel’, Orchid Ave, Hollywood, then walked along Hollywood Boulevard people watching, and checked out the the celebrity foot and/or hand prints outside the Chinese Theater.
Had a drink in the Highland Mall, followed by a good Italian meal in Miceli’s.
236
Fri Sept 11th
Universal Studios
Adam’s birthday and another very hot day! Had a great day at Universal Studios, doing the Backlot Tram tour, Backdraft, Jurassic Park, The Simpsons.
Had burger lunch with very welcome beers. Managed to get ourselves passes to the front of the queue, which really helped when we came to Waterworld. It also meant we could sit where we were not going to get wet during the fight sequences!
Afterwards, we had a wander round Universal City, and a meal in the Hard Rock Cafe (where someone stole my hat!).
11
Sat Sept 12th
Hollywood to Death Valley.
Spent morning at the beach at Santa Monica watching Adam & Veronika ‘body surf’, then drove for an hour and had lunch at a diner in a shopping mall.
Drove for a couple more hours, and stopped off at the ghost town of Calico.
Finally ended up in the aptly named Baker (with the biggest thermometer in the world), and stayed at the Santa Fe Motel, where we had a surreal evening, drinking beers by (and in) the pool, in the pitch dark, with a very strong hundred-degree wind.
297
Sun Sept 13th
All day in Death Valley
Entered Death Valley via Death Valley Junction. Stopped at Zabriskie Point for pics, then drove to Furnace Creek to buy snacky things for lunch.
Drove to Devil’s Golf Course, and then Badwater (-282 ft).
Did the Artists Drive and then walked some way into Golden Canyon. Then drove out of the park watching the petrol gauge heading towards zero.
Went via Stovepipe Wells, Towne Pass (4956 ft) and Panamint Springs. We arrived in Lone Pine running on fumes! Stayed at the Trails Motel. Had good burger & chips for dinner.
217
Mon Sept 14th
Lone Pine to Lee Vining
My birthday! Spent a bumpy hour or two driving along the Alabama Hills Movie Road near Lone Pine, then onwards to Convict Lake (for lunch of beer and crisps).
Finally arrived in Lee Vining, and spent an hour or two wandering around the surreal landscape and Tufa formations at Mono Lake.
Stayed at Murphy’s Lodging, celebrated my birthday at Bodie Mike’s BBQ (sat outside with our drinks, but it got cool and Adam and I only had tee-shirts, so we went inside to eat).
140
Tue Sept 15th
Lee Vining to Yosemite (plenty of time). Staying at ‘Redwoods in Yosemite’ Cabin 28. Confirmation number: 157213
Drove to Lundy Lake, had a wander around. Then onwards towards Yosemite. Stopped at Tioga Lake and Tenaya Lake.
Evidence of recent fires as we got closer to the park. Stopped at Tunnel View for pics, and slightly disappointed to see that Bridalveil Falls was dry.
Drove to our nice log house at ‘Redwoods in Yosemite’ near Wawona.
87
Wed Sept 16th
All day in Yosemite:
We all did the Mist Trail (according to the guide books – 3 miles, and around 1,000 ft elevation gain, so around 3 hours).
This was the third time I’d done it, and it was much harder than I remember! I was seeing flashing lights about three-quarters of the way up and had to sit down for a few minutes, but Lin made it without trauma. Adam and Veronika virtually jogged up!
Sadly, Vernal Falls was almost dry. Lin and I returned to the Valley for beers and A & V carried on up to Nevada Falls, then joined us for beers at Yosemite Lodge. Had salad and ravioli back at the cabin.
56
Thu Sept 17th
Another day in Yosemite….
Drove to Glacier Point, then A & V decided to walk down to the valley floor (about 3,500 ft lower).
Lin and I parked and walked to Taft Point overlooking the Valley.
Then drove down and met A & V at the Lodge for more beers. Had a drive around the Valley, then a mediocre self service dinner at the lodge, before driving back to the cabin.
104
Fri Sept 18th
Yosemite to San Francisco, Sofitel (Reservation # D5M-0JQE – I’d quoted an old Oracle concession code, and we got 25% of the rooms!)
Dropped A & V off at Mariposa Grove (for the giant redwoods) but hung around in case there was a problem. And there was… they’d just missed the shuttle bus, and the whole thing was going to take too long, so we drove down to Yosemite Valley and did the tourist shops in the Ahwahnee Hotel.
I went outside and took some last pics of Yosemite. Then we drove to San Francisco, checked out our old house in Foster City, and then the Oracle campus at Redwood Shores. Checked into the Sofitel, and had a posh meal in the evening.
216
Sat Sept 19th
SF Airport, return car, A & V fly to Edinburgh, Lin and I to Las Vegas.
Lin and I had a 7 day extension.
11
Leave SFO at 11:55 (VA 260), arrive Las Vegas 1:35pm, pickup car (Dollar rent-a-car ref 148389517)… then 3½ hour drive to Williams.
Again, another long wait to pickup a car at Dollar car rental at Las Vegas airport. Why do they have one person on duty when they are expecting so many customers? Sheesh.
It was interesting passing the Hoover Dam, and seeing the work for the new I-93 viaduct. It actually rained during part of the drive to Williams!
224
Sun Sept 20th
60 mile drive from Williams to Grand Canyon South Rim.
Grand Canyon car parks very busy, and viewpoints swarming with people more interested in taking selfies and yakking about what they had for breakfast, than enjoying the views! The canyon was spectacular, but because of the numbers of tourists, there was little in the way of ambiance. In general, we preferred the much less crowded North Rim in 1997.
Spent a couple of hours walking along the South Rim, then had lunch and beer in the Lodge, then a 2½ hour drive to Page.
284
Mon Sept 21st
Drive from Page to Springdale (via Glen Canyon Dam), leaving plenty of time to checkout Zion Canyon
Glen Canyon and the Dam was pretty spectacular. Had lunch in Kaneb, then drove into Zion NP.
We decided to do the Canyon View Trail – about a two hour walk.
We then parked the car and took the shuttle into the Zion Canyon. Zion is an awesome place; like a pink Yosemite, but with fewer waterfalls!
Accommodation in Springdale was outrageously expensive, so we carried on driving and stayed at a motel in the aptly named Hurricane… found a restaurant with great steaks.
139
Tue Sept 22nd
3 hour drive from Hurricane to Las Vegas
What a complete and utter dump… Vegas is noisy, hot and trashy. We had a good look round, but it was difficult getting away from the ever-present cacophony of slot machines, muzak and multiple TV screens for a quiet beer and lunch.
A bit more interesting at night, so I took some good pics, while Lin stayed in the Motel. We had a very ordinary meal in a nearby diner.
171
Wed Sept 23rd
Drop-off car at 8:00 am, for the flight to Houston (9:30 Continental (CO 296), arriving IAH at 2:35pm)
Picked up from the airport by our friends Tony and Barbara, and it was raining in Houston! Drove to their 17th floor apartment and had lunch and dinner at home.
10
Thu Sept 24th
Leisurely day in Houston with Tony and Barbara…
Went to local bar for drinks, back to T & B for lunch. Had an excellent Mexican meal in the evening.
22
Fri Sept 25th
Houston with Tony and Barbara…
Shopping trips, and visited a nature reserve to see the turtles.
33
Sat Sept 26th
Houston and Galveston with Tony and Barbara…
Drove down to Galveston for lunch, and saw damage from Hurricane Ike.
Had a paddle in the sea – the Gulf of Mexico was like a warm bath! Checked out a Crocodile reserve on the way back, but not much activity. Special meal for our last night? Actually, a bit of a disaster… everything that could go wrong, did go wrong!
10
Sun Sept 27th
IAH to Paris CDG (flight AF0033 leaving at 16:00 (15:00) arriving CDG at 08:35 Monday morning)
Picked up car from hotel, and they tried to charge us for parking, when we’d already arranged free parking. Then a four hour drive home to Correze – not recommended for anyone with serious jet lag!
10
