Thursday 30 October
The Extraterrestial Highway actually exists and we took it by mistake - at midnight! We now know that this highway is famous for the proximity to the elusive Area 51, and the most UFO sightings in the country, while surrounding a military base.
After leaving Yosemite at around 5pm we penciled a route to get us on the way to Cedar City to see Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon. Our planned route took us north back through Yosemite then west to Benton Hot Springs, Tonopah and then thought we would stop at Warm Springs. There was nothing, nada, zip, at Warm Springs, and then thought we would just keep going on the 375 and surely we would find something soon. This road was dead! Oh accept for the cattle wandering the highway in the middle of the night, along with sign posts that we were now on the Extraterrestial Highway with Alien Sightings next 51 miles ahead, and to follow a speed of Mac 7. Did we just enter the twilight zone? Eventually we found the town of Rachel, at midnight, nothing open, and the only lights lit up were by the Little A'Le'Inn (i'm sure pronounced Little Alien) Cafe/Restaurant. It was closed, but we thought we might try and sleep in the car a while. We had parked beside a big ute, which ended up having a huge dog in it starring at Pete (obviously the dog is kept in the car to protect it from Aliens), along with the one light in town beaming down into the front of the car. 5 minutes passed, and as we pulled away we wondered what it was actually like during the day time. About another 40 minutes down the road there was finally a flat area on the side of the road to pull over, so thats where we stopped for a couple of hours and had some proper sleep. Only occassionly waking to red lights zooming past the window in the desert, heart skipping a beat, and realising it was the reflection of a truck driving down another road off in the distance. Finally made it into Cedar City unharmed and unabducted at 9am.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Yosemite Pete
Tuesday 28 October
Took us about 4 hours Mariposa where we checked in before heading off to Yosemite which was another hour down the road. Accommodation is hard to get, and pretty expensive in Yosemite so this was to get this accommodation here. We headed straight for Curry Village where there is a climbing school and Pete booked in for a personalised climb the next day at Yosemite Falls, on climbs called Commitment (5.9) at 350 feet with 3 pitches and Selaginella (5.8) at 550 feet and 4 pitches. Did a short walk to Bridal Veil Falls and watched the sun go down on El Capitan before heading back for the night.
Wednesday 29 October
Left Mariposa at 7am to get back to Curry Village where Pete was met with by Nat, a lead climber with some great experience where they talked about the climbs they were going to do during the day. By 9am they were off into the wilderness with Pete climbing into 7th heaven. I spent the day driving to different view points and doing short walks, and by 3pm I was back at the carpark waiting for Pete to come back, and cracked a bottle of champagne while sitting and watching the animals and the wildlife all around. The animals hunt in groups, manned with a camera in hand, hoping to spot some wildlife to capture on film. The wildlife on the other hand, wait until an animal has finally put down the camera, then they run out in front of them, do a little dance, then run away and laugh.
Took us about 4 hours Mariposa where we checked in before heading off to Yosemite which was another hour down the road. Accommodation is hard to get, and pretty expensive in Yosemite so this was to get this accommodation here. We headed straight for Curry Village where there is a climbing school and Pete booked in for a personalised climb the next day at Yosemite Falls, on climbs called Commitment (5.9) at 350 feet with 3 pitches and Selaginella (5.8) at 550 feet and 4 pitches. Did a short walk to Bridal Veil Falls and watched the sun go down on El Capitan before heading back for the night.
Wednesday 29 October
Left Mariposa at 7am to get back to Curry Village where Pete was met with by Nat, a lead climber with some great experience where they talked about the climbs they were going to do during the day. By 9am they were off into the wilderness with Pete climbing into 7th heaven. I spent the day driving to different view points and doing short walks, and by 3pm I was back at the carpark waiting for Pete to come back, and cracked a bottle of champagne while sitting and watching the animals and the wildlife all around. The animals hunt in groups, manned with a camera in hand, hoping to spot some wildlife to capture on film. The wildlife on the other hand, wait until an animal has finally put down the camera, then they run out in front of them, do a little dance, then run away and laugh.
"If you're going to San Francisco"
Sunday 26 October
No flowers were worn in the hair, but we had a wonderful time all the same. Sunday afternoon we took a Cable Car down to Fishermans Warf, and Pier 39 where all the shops were having a Halloween theme, and children were running around all dressed up and going from shop to shop to get candy. We reclused into a Wine Bar, already missing Napa, and sampled some more wines from Napa and Sonoma. Then on the way home we dropped into a little cafe just down from the hostel which had a Japanese/Chinese Blues Guitarist playing. He was great and we stayed there for ages listening to him get into his tunes.
Monday 27 October
Next day we got on a double decker bus and saw the sights of downtown and the golden gate from up top. Great views and the guides really know there stuff. We were really surprised at how many gum trees were in the area and found out that they were brought over from Australia with the belief that they were hard wood and they could use them for building materials ... but they brought over the wrong species - now they are everywhere, and can't be used to build anything.
Went back down to Pier 39 for dinner, where they were serving 'Oil Can Fosters' and refreshments. We have seen these around a few places, but still amazes us that Americans really love it. These are cans of Fosters that are 750ml. Its like having 3 beers in one. Tried to get a tour over to Alcatraz, but unfortunately tours were sold out for a couple of days. Would have loved to have done, particularly the night tour, but thats okay. Cable home, and early start off to Yosemite Tuesday morning.
No flowers were worn in the hair, but we had a wonderful time all the same. Sunday afternoon we took a Cable Car down to Fishermans Warf, and Pier 39 where all the shops were having a Halloween theme, and children were running around all dressed up and going from shop to shop to get candy. We reclused into a Wine Bar, already missing Napa, and sampled some more wines from Napa and Sonoma. Then on the way home we dropped into a little cafe just down from the hostel which had a Japanese/Chinese Blues Guitarist playing. He was great and we stayed there for ages listening to him get into his tunes.
Monday 27 October
Next day we got on a double decker bus and saw the sights of downtown and the golden gate from up top. Great views and the guides really know there stuff. We were really surprised at how many gum trees were in the area and found out that they were brought over from Australia with the belief that they were hard wood and they could use them for building materials ... but they brought over the wrong species - now they are everywhere, and can't be used to build anything.
Went back down to Pier 39 for dinner, where they were serving 'Oil Can Fosters' and refreshments. We have seen these around a few places, but still amazes us that Americans really love it. These are cans of Fosters that are 750ml. Its like having 3 beers in one. Tried to get a tour over to Alcatraz, but unfortunately tours were sold out for a couple of days. Would have loved to have done, particularly the night tour, but thats okay. Cable home, and early start off to Yosemite Tuesday morning.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Bottling Wine & Off to San Francisco
Saturday 25 October
On Saturday morning Peggy was saying that she was going to a friends house (Linda & Roger) to help her bottle some of her wine, and thought we may be able to go along with her. A quick call, and a quick driver later and we were at Linda & Rogers house in the middle of a vinyard, and setting up to bottle a couple of barrels of wine. Linda & Roger grow Pinot grapes and sell them to local wineries rather than having a winery themselves, but at the same time keep a little on the side for themselves. So there we were, bottling wine in Napa. There were about 10 of us, all lined up with different jobs, squirting nitrogen in the bottles, filling, corking, polishing, and stacking. Heaps of fun and had to pinch ourselves a few times. We were then offered a wonderful lunch, and given a couple of bottles to take with us. Very special day.We then followed Peggy to one of her and Adams favourite wineries Chateau St Jean http://www.chateaustjean.com/ and shared a lovely bottle Pinot. After a couple of hours it was time to hit the road driving through Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, to Bodega Bay. Beautiful drive, but unfortunately there was no accommodation and headed back to Santa Rosa for the night.
Sunday 26 October
Early start next morning to head back on the trail to head to San Fancisco. Once again and beautiful drive with a stop at Point Reyes for breakfast and then down the rest of Hwy 1 past Stinson Beach, and finally over the Golden Gate to San Francisco where the fog was rolling in over the bridge like a fog machine. Found our way to USA Hostel on Post Street. It was like the best hostel we've seen. Movie theatre downstairs, all you can eat pancakes for breafast, rooms were really clean with tele, mini fridge, microwave, great showers ... highly recommend a stay if you're looking for a place. Plan is to head off to Union Square, get a cable car down to Fishermans Warf and take it from there.
On Saturday morning Peggy was saying that she was going to a friends house (Linda & Roger) to help her bottle some of her wine, and thought we may be able to go along with her. A quick call, and a quick driver later and we were at Linda & Rogers house in the middle of a vinyard, and setting up to bottle a couple of barrels of wine. Linda & Roger grow Pinot grapes and sell them to local wineries rather than having a winery themselves, but at the same time keep a little on the side for themselves. So there we were, bottling wine in Napa. There were about 10 of us, all lined up with different jobs, squirting nitrogen in the bottles, filling, corking, polishing, and stacking. Heaps of fun and had to pinch ourselves a few times. We were then offered a wonderful lunch, and given a couple of bottles to take with us. Very special day.We then followed Peggy to one of her and Adams favourite wineries Chateau St Jean http://www.chateaustjean.com/ and shared a lovely bottle Pinot. After a couple of hours it was time to hit the road driving through Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, to Bodega Bay. Beautiful drive, but unfortunately there was no accommodation and headed back to Santa Rosa for the night.
Sunday 26 October
Early start next morning to head back on the trail to head to San Fancisco. Once again and beautiful drive with a stop at Point Reyes for breakfast and then down the rest of Hwy 1 past Stinson Beach, and finally over the Golden Gate to San Francisco where the fog was rolling in over the bridge like a fog machine. Found our way to USA Hostel on Post Street. It was like the best hostel we've seen. Movie theatre downstairs, all you can eat pancakes for breafast, rooms were really clean with tele, mini fridge, microwave, great showers ... highly recommend a stay if you're looking for a place. Plan is to head off to Union Square, get a cable car down to Fishermans Warf and take it from there.
Ho Hum, Lets Go To Napa For The Weekend
Thursday 23 OctoberSo our last post was coming into Monteray Bay. The next morning we went to the Aquarium and stared at the Jellies for ages, they look magnificient. So colourfull, so graceful, and they are set in front of a royal blue colour which makes them stand out even more.We then did a little wine tasting on the main street which set the scene for the next couple of days. The wine was good and we took some 'Gerty' and goats cheese on the road. We then contined along the #1 for a while, until we got some direction to Adam's house on the 280, 380, 101, 80, then 29 into Sonoma County into Napa ... anything make sense yet? Well we ended up at Adam's house (Pete & I have done some Kinesi studies with Adam, just your general legend! - aren't you Adam!) along with his beautiful partner Peggy. We arrived a late in the afternoon and were soon whisked off by Adam to go to a jam session with some guys he rehearses with. Adam plays keyboard, and the group has drums, 2 guitars, and bass. They sound great, sensing pink floyd and electric light orchestra, along with a jazz/blues feel ... sorry if I have offended you guys - trying very hard to articulate how great you are!
Friday 24 October
The next morning Adam pointed us towards a few of his favorite vineyards, stopping at a local deli for some cheese and crackers on the way up, we arrived at Pride Mountain where Tim showcased some beautiful wine. He then gave us some glasses, cutlery, plates, water, and chocolate to take up the hill to a picknick area where we drank our favourite bottle and nibbled on our recently acquired cheese. Oh this is the life. Some folk joined us close by, care of their chaffeur, dressed appropriately with white shorts and pastle polo shirts talking about how much weight 'jenny' had lost, but she was still looking fat . Of course we were probably not dressed appropriately with jeans and t's, but on another at another table was Lisa. Lisa was meant to be in Napa with a friend but all plans had changed and she decided to come up by herself (good for her). She was lovely, and it was refreshing to see someone enjoying a beautiful day just because they wanted to be there. They don't have gardens as such but Cheryl you would just love looking out over the mountain top!We eventually left and dropped into Naibam Coppola Winery, this is Frances Ford Coppola's winery. Absolutely beautiful gardens, and not bad wine either. And then after a wonderful day, Adam & Peggy took us to dinner for some Tapas. Magnifico.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Help Me Dr Phil
Yesterday morning we headed off to LA and ended up staying in a hostel right beside the Kodak Theatre, yes the one for the Academy Awards. Played tourist for the afternoon walking up and down Hollywood Blvd, to the Chinese Museum where stars put their foot and hand prints in cement, along with the avenue of stars. Then, last night we went to a live taping of 'Rules of Engagement' with David Spade, in Sony Studios. It was lots of fun, and I have a greater appreciation for David Spade now - he is really funny, and as the writers would re-write lines to make them even funnier, he would do them perfect on the spot. The studio also gives you Pizza while the taping is on, bonus! Cruised Sunset Blvd on the way home but didn't catch any celebs in any indecent acts :(. This morning we got a bit more of the the 'Hollywood' stuff in and went off to Paramount Studios for a live taping of Dr Phil - 'My child wont stop eating' episode. Who knows when it will be on in Australia, but it was all a bit of fun. Pete & I were in the tiered seating, 2nd row, 2nd bunch of people looking at the stage.
Drivers are absolutely crazy in LA, swerving in and out of lanes and going 20-30 mile over the speed limit, however, in general people seem to be a bit more laid back than in New York. All in all, 24 hours was enough for us though, and we were ready to move on.
By lunch time we were heading north on Highway 1. Bit slow out of LA, but after a while the houses disappear and its more open, beautiful scenery with the magnificent pacific ocean. At sunset we were about 1.5hr from Monteray Bay and stopped at the side of the road to watch the sun go down over the water, then noticed below us a colony of sea lions, amazing. An hour later and we were in the dark going around the tight hairpin bends, and stopped on the side of the road to look up at the stars - no moon, no lights, so a very bright glittering sky. One of the state forests we drove through was also on fire. We weren't in any danger, plenty of forest fire brigades going up and down the highway, but it too looked magnificent in its own way, this blazing red in the darkness of night.
For the night was have stopped in Monteray Bay, and will go down to the pier and maybe the aquarium in the morning. Then will be hitting the road again, heading through San Francisco to Sanoma near the Napa Valley to visit another friend, Adam.
B!
Drivers are absolutely crazy in LA, swerving in and out of lanes and going 20-30 mile over the speed limit, however, in general people seem to be a bit more laid back than in New York. All in all, 24 hours was enough for us though, and we were ready to move on.
By lunch time we were heading north on Highway 1. Bit slow out of LA, but after a while the houses disappear and its more open, beautiful scenery with the magnificent pacific ocean. At sunset we were about 1.5hr from Monteray Bay and stopped at the side of the road to watch the sun go down over the water, then noticed below us a colony of sea lions, amazing. An hour later and we were in the dark going around the tight hairpin bends, and stopped on the side of the road to look up at the stars - no moon, no lights, so a very bright glittering sky. One of the state forests we drove through was also on fire. We weren't in any danger, plenty of forest fire brigades going up and down the highway, but it too looked magnificent in its own way, this blazing red in the darkness of night.
For the night was have stopped in Monteray Bay, and will go down to the pier and maybe the aquarium in the morning. Then will be hitting the road again, heading through San Francisco to Sanoma near the Napa Valley to visit another friend, Adam.
B!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Travelling from Vegas heading toward the Canyon we hit the Route 66. Kept looking out for places to get some kicks but not much around in the desert. The road up to the Hoover Dam took forever to get through as traffic was stop start all the way - lots of tourists want to see a big dam. Unfortunately being on the dam, you can't actually see it in all its glory. Arrived into Williams about 7pm last night. Little town of about 200 people about 50mile from the Grand Canyon. Had a local dinner and early night, for an early 4am wake up, and off to the canyon for an early sunrise. Absolutely spectacular. Today was also our first McDonalds day, as we bit the bullet for a breakfast of scrambled eggs and hash browns. Very exciting. By lunch time we hit the road again, back onto Route 66, this time heading for LA. Again, the kicks must have all been happening on the other side of the road. We were however stopped at the border by police, don't know they were looking for weapons, drugs, or they too were looking for some kicks. We found a cheapish place about 60mile from LA, and have crashed for the night. Pete is saying hello everyone while snooring.
Bec x
Bec x
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)