Reminders of our trip to the west coast

One of the 10 waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon.

At the beginning of this year, when I took down the mini-calendar we had on the fridge, I noticed that the photo for Dec. was one of the waterfalls in Silver Falls State Park. The photo on the calendar was the same waterfall as the photo I took this summer when we were at Silver Falls State Park, although the photo on the calendar was taken during the winter.

I flipped to the front of the calendar and it's titled "Scenic Landscapes." As I looked through it, three of the other months used photos of places we were at this summer! There were photos from Crater Lake, Cannon Beach and the coast of northern California. When I picked the calendar last year I had no idea that we'd be going to California and Oregon that summer.

The calendar for 2011 has roosters on it...I wonder if that means something?

CALIFORNIA / OREGON RECAP

Pam and Scott with a redwood tree in "Avenue of the Giants" in nothern California

If you’ve been reading the posts as I’ve posted them, then consider this the epilogue. If you’re just now finding this blog and plan to read the entries below, consider this the prologue.

Winery in Napa Valley

We went to the west coast back in July. We flew from Dayton to Chicago to San Francisco, rented a car and drove north to Seattle, and almost three weeks after we left, we got on the plane in Seattle and our first layover was back in…San Francisco.

Here are some random notes and photos that didn’t really fit in the other posts.

Public artwork in downtown Seattle

Airplanes and Horoscopes : I’m not a big fan of flying, and the last time we’d flown was before 9/11, so taking off our shoes and opening up the carry-on with the laptop was new for us. While sitting in the Dayton airport waiting for the first leg of our trip, I was trying to distract myself by doing the crossword puzzle. Scott pointed out that my horoscope read “Get out of town with a favorite person. You both need time off to rejuvenate and refresh. Spending time outdoors replenishes your spirit.”

My ginger ale can on the flight to San Francisco. At least I hope it's ginger ale.

Local Pronunciation : Apparently we’ve been mispronouncing “Oregon” all of our lives. People who live there pronounce it “OreyGun.” I was corrected by Oregonians more than once. (And for those of you who live in the Dayton area, how do you pronounce the historic area downtown near 5th Street? Say it without thinking and you probably call it the "OreyGun" District.)

Also the river that runs through Portland is “Willamette” and rhymes with dammit, and the nice little park on the west side of Portland is “Couch” and rhymes with “pooch.”

View of the Columbia River at Bridal Veil Falls in Oregon, looking across to Washington.

Gasoline : Oregon is one of two states (that I know of) that don’t allow you to pump your own gas. The other state is New Jersey. Scott really prefers to pump his own gas, so when we visited the Columbia River Gorge area and crossed over to Washington to see Beacon Rock, we made sure to fill up the gas tank before returning to Oregon.

Does anyone know what time is it? I don't...the motel in Portland didn't have a clock.

Clocks : Maybe we’re just not that hip and maybe most travelers have cell phones or other devices that they use as alarm clocks. Two of the motels we stayed at (both in Oregon) didn’t have clocks in the room.

A few of the thousands of windmills we saw driving from
San Francisco to Yosemite.

GPS : When we reserved the rental car, there was an option to also rent a GPS unit. Since we were going to be gone for almost 3 weeks, it was cheaper to just buy a GPS unit, which I wanted anyway. We got it before we left on our trip, took it out for some test drives, and then programmed the locations of the motels we were staying in.

When we got off the plane in San Francisco and turned it on, it took about 15 minutes before it finally realized that we weren’t in Ohio anymore. I had expected this since other people have mentioned it. What I didn’t expect was that it was speaking in another language! Something screwy in the programming, or some baggage handler playing a joke?

Overall we were really glad to have the GPS, although I did still pack some state maps, which we used on occasion. The GPS had some trouble knowing exactly where we were when we were in downtown in San Francisco and when we were outside of Silver Falls she wanted us to turn on a road that was market “No Outlet.”

And as much as we loved Portland, I do wonder about the bridges. There are several bridges that cross the Willamette River which runs through downtown Portland, but there are only TWO bridges that cross the Columbia River which separates Oregon from Washington. When we were driving north to Seattle, there was an accident and traffic was backed up at one of the bridges. The GPS suggested an alternate route crossing the other bridge, but everyone else was doing that also, so that bridge was also backed up. I pulled out the state maps and the next closest bridges are 30 miles east or 30 miles northwest.

All in all it was a good trip, but it's always good to be home again.

CALIFORNIA COAST : JULY 2010 & 2017 : ATTRACTIONS

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pigeon Point : Pigeon Point is about an hour south of San Francisco along CA-1.

The beach at Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pigeon Point is home to a 115-foot lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America. The lighthouse is currently closed to the public, but the grounds are open. There are also several beaches to explore in the area.

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Shops in Sausalito

Sausalito : Sausalito is a quaint little town on the other side of the Golden Gate bridge. It has art shops and cafes and a nice view of San Francisco, unless there’s a lot of fog.

San Francisco is barely visible in the upper left of this photo

You can easily drive there from San Francisco, or if you’re adventurous you can bike across the Golden Gate Bridge and then coast downhill. There is also a ferry that goes to Sausalito.

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The California coast north of San Francisco

CA-1 : Driving from San Francisco to Ferndale should only take 5 hours if you take US-101 N, but I didn’t want to drive up US-101 N, I wanted to drive along CA-1, which would take about 6.5 hours, not including time to stop and admire the amazing views or stop at the many state beaches and state parks. The GPS wanted us to drive US-101 N, but we were able to convince her it was our way or the highway.

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Redwoods : Shortly after CA-1 joins OH-101 N is the beginning of the redwoods. Some of the redwoods have been turned into kitchy road-side attractions, but I like kitchy road-side attractions.

The Chandelier Drive-thru Tree

Chandelier Drive-thru Tree : Located in Leggett, there is a redwood tree that you can actually drive through. There was a modest admission fee, which isn’t mentioned on their website.

Inside the One Log House

One Log House : located in Garberville, this is a house made using just one really big log.

Our rental car looks like a toy next to these trees

Avenue of the Giants : A 31-mile portion of the original Hwy 101, which now parallels the new US-101 N and goes through 50,000 acres of redwood groves. The south entrance is near Phillipsville and the north entrance is near Pepperwood. This is probably one of the most scenic drives I’ve ever been on. (CA-1 would also be in this list.)

Me in the doorway of one of the playhouses made from a single tree

Shrine Drive-Thru tree : This drive-thru tree (not pictured) is less impressive than the other one, but it does have some playhouses made from a single tree that are big enough for adults to go in and one even has a second floor.

Scott on a burl on the Giant Tree

To get to the Giant Tree (and also the FlatironTree), you turn off the Avenue of the Giants on to Mattole Road, which is a paved road but when we were there in July, 2017, had a lot of pot holes. And because of the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, the potholes were hard to see. The road is narrow so if you meet someone coming the other way, one of you will have to pull over. But it's only a few miles down this road even though it seems longer, and it's worth it to see the Giant Tree shown above.

Scott at Wedding Rock in Patrick's Point State Park

Patrick's Point State Park - has several hiking paths that lead to great views of the ocean, including Wedding Rock pictured above. They also have a reconstructed Yurok plank-house village.

Can you see the tiny people in Fern Canyon?

Fern Canyon : this is exactly what it sounds like. A gorge with ferns growing on both sides. It's located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, 3 miles north of Orick off Highway 101. Turn on Davidson Road and drive through Elk Meadow along a 6-mile dirt road to Gold Bluffs Beach. Follow the beach for 3 more miles to the parking lot. This road is narrow and it's slow going and a few times we had to drive the car through some small streams, but once we got the parking lot, the entry to the canyon was close by, and you can walk about a mile through the canyon. Parts on Jurassic Park were filmed here.

The view from the top at Trees of Mystery

Trees of Mystery : Sky Trail! Cathedral Trees! Elephant Trees! A Giant Talking Paul Bunyan! Plus Some Really Big Trees! This is one of my favorite places. There is a little bit of walking, and some slight inclines. We rode the sky trail (tram) up to the top and decided to walk down the 1-mile Wilderness Trail, which was really steep going down and then at some point actually started going uphill again.

You can get married at these catherdral trees

Cathedral Trees are when several trees have grown up along the perimeter of the living remains of the stump of a fallen redwood.

Scott and another really big tree

To read more interesting information about the redwoods, click on the “Redwood Trees!” tab on the Trees of Mystery web site.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

The 49' 2" tall Paul Bunyan and his 35' tall friend, Babe the Blue Ox, wave and greet visitors. Paul can actually talk and interact with the kids who sit on his foot. The day we were there, his favorite expressions were “All right!” and “Right on,” so we think Paul might be an old hippy. And considering that we’ve been quoting him almost every day since we visited, I think he was one of the unexpected highlights of our trip.

The $14 admission includes the Sky Trail and I think it's worth every penny.

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Interesting towns in Northern California

The hotel across the street from the one we stayed in

Ferndale : 21 miles north of the “Avenue of the Giants” is the Victorian Village of Ferndale. There are some hotels located in historic buildings and several gift and art shops. Of personal interest to me was the Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop, and yes, I did buy some fabric there.

A UFO at the Kinetic Sculpture Museum

There is also a Kinetic Sculpture Museum, for sculptures created to compete in the Kinetic Sculpture Race. (You can read more about Kinetic Sculptures once I get the Corvallis post up.) There were several places along the west coast that advertised, but Ferndale claims to have held the first Kinetic Sculpture Race in 1969. (Sadly, this is now closed).

The folk art of Romano Gabriel in a shop window in the historic district of Eureka, CA

Eureka : 34 miles north of the “Avenue of the Giants” is the town of Eureka. As in "Eureka, we have cell service here!" It's a decent-sized town (about 34,000) with an interesting historic district. They have an arts night the first Saturday of the month, unfortunately we were there on the second Saturday.

Lighthouse Monument in Trinidad

Trinidad : 58 miles north of the “Avenue of the Giants” is the small town of Trinidad (less than 400 permanent residents). We opted to stay close to Trinidad because the images on Google maps looked interesting. It has a spectacular coastline with many public beaches and offshore rocks and sits on a bluff above the ocean. It's a little fishing town and the fog often rolls in giving it a mysterious, moody feel. Plus it's very close to Patrick's Point and close to Trees of Mystery.

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If you want to see more photos of the California coast, go to: California Coast photos on Flickr

Want to sleep and eat? Here's my post on lodging and dining along the California coast.

CALIFORNIA COAST : JULY 2010 & 2017 : LODGING + DINING

California Coast Accomodations :

Pigeon Point : Pigeon Point is about an hour south of San Francisco along CA-1.

The Pigeon Point Lighthouse

We stayed at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel. We didn’t actually stay in the lighthouse, which was closed to the public because of the condition it is in, but we did stay in what used to be the lighthouse keeper’s homes. We had a private room in what was more like a three-bedroom house, and we shared the living, kitchen and bath with two sisters and their kids. The hostel is part of Hostelling International, and the California website has a lot of information about the hostels and what to expect.

There are also lighthouse hostels at Point Montara, between San Francisco and Piegeon Point, and at Point Reyes National Seashore, north of San Francisco.

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The Hotel Ivanhoe

This entry will cover both lodging and dining as the Hotel Ivanhoe, a beautiful Victorian hotel also has a restaurant and a saloon. The restaurant serves dinner on Wed. through Sun. and I can highly recommend the Ravioli Pesto. Seriously. I didn’t even have to read any further on their menu. Scott was able to take a beer from the saloon and drink it on the front balcony located outside our room.

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Our cottage at the View Crest Lodge

We stayed at the View Crest Lodge which was a few miles north of Trinidad, CA. It was clean, comfortable, and large, with a covered spacious deck. This was one of the ones that share a wall with another unit and while their website claimed the shared walls were sound proof, I had my doubts until we got there. There was another couple with a child staying in the other unit and we didn't hear a thing from them the whole time. I really enjoyed staying here.

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Cafe Nooner, Eureka - Funky little restaurant with vegetarian options in the historic district in Eureka.

Seascape Restaurant, Trinidad - Located on the pier with great views of the water.

The Lighthouse, Trinidad - Has savory, mashed potato waffle cones and you can get beef or vegetarian gravy.

Beachcomber Cafe, Trinidad - Funky little coffee shop with breakfast and sandwiches.

California Coast Pies : The morning after our stay at Pigeon Point we had breakfast at Duarte’s. I really enjoyed the eggs and potatoes, but it was the fresh olallieberry jam on sourdough toast that I really enjoyed. They also have olallieberry pie, which is why we went there in the first place. Since it was breakfast, we got a slice to go and enjoyed it later after lunch. An olallieberry is a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry.

Looking for something fun to do? Here’s my post on attractions along the California coast.

YOSEMITE, CALIFORNIA : JULY 2010 : ATTRACTIONS

The view driving in to Yosemite

Yosemite : Just the drive in to Yosemite offers beautiful vistas as you drive along the very curvy and hilly road. There is a $20 vehicle fee, good for 7 consecutive days.

Half Dome

Many of the famous Yosemite sights such as Half Dome and El Capitan can be seen from the roads in the Yosemite Valley area.

Us in the Tunnel Tree

Tuolumne Grove : Since we entered the park from CA-120, the ranger at the entrance suggested we stop at Tuolumne Grove on our way in to Curry Village, where we were staying. This proved to be good advice since the parking lot there filled up quickly. The trail is 1-mile one way and is downhill to the grove and uphill back to the trailhead.

The trail took us to a beautiful sequoia grove including the “Dead Giant,” the first tree to be tunneled in the park. In 1878, a tunnel was cut through the already dead tree stump so that wagons could pass through it. The tree is approximately thirty feet in diameter at the base, and it has been dead for over 100 years!

Mariposa Grove and Merced Groves are also sequoia groves located in Yosemite.

Bridalveil Fall is easy .5 mile round trip, paved trail

Lower Yosemite Fall an easy 1.1 mile loop trail with views of both Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls

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Jamestown : Jamestown is about an hour and a half from the main part of Yosemite.

View from the porch off our hotel room.

We decided to stay in Jamestown the night before we went in to Yosemite, rather than driving from Pigeon Point to Yosemite. Jamestown is a cute little western-style town. It has several shops that close at 5 pm, so we didn’t get to go in them.

To see more photos of Yosemite and Jamestown, go to: Yosemite photos on Flickr.

Want to sleep and eat? Here's my post on lodging and dining in Yosemite and Jamestown.

YOSEMITE, CALIFORNIA : JULY 2010 : LODGING + DINING

Yosemite : There a plenty of lodging options inside the park, most of it pricey and booked far in advance. We were lucky to get a canvas tent cabin (wood floor, canvas sides and top) in Curry Village on short notice (7 weeks before).

The downside was that there are several hundred of these cabins in close proximity to each other, and unless you are staying in one of the motels or lodges, you have to keep all of your food and toiletry items in a bear-proof container located outside of the cabin. During the night we were awoken by the sound of a bear attempting to get in to one of the containers, luckily it wasn’t the one outside of our cabin.

There are many food options in Yosemite, ranging from snack shops to fancy restaurants. We ate at a breakfast buffet at the dining pavilion in Curry Village.

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The hotel we stayed at in Jamestown

Jamestown : Jamestown is about an hour and a half from the main part of Yosemite.
We stayed at the Americas Best Value Inn & Suites Royal Carriage Inn. It was a cute, Victorian-styled hotel, and we had access to the second-floor balcony that looked out over the main street.
Unlike the shops, most of the restaurants are open past 5 pm. We didn’t eat at any of them, but did sit on the hotel balcony and listened to the live music playing at the restaurant across the street.

Looking for something fun to do? Here’s my post on attractions in Yosemite and Jamestown.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA : JULY 2010 : ATTRACTIONS

The Painted Ladies with the San Francisco skyline behind them

Before we even left for our trip, I ordered the “Visitors Planning Guide,” and while the guide was free, I did have to pay for shipping to have it sent to me, and it was well worth the price. There was a lot of information in the guide and some very nice maps, also.

The double-decker, hop-on, hop-off tours are always a good bet, and they also give you an overview of the city so you can decide what you want to spend more time at. They also offer other packages, so it’s worth a look before you go. (There are some other companies that offer double-decker, hop-on, hop-off.)

Mission District Mural

Mission District Mural

Mission District : The Mission District is full of fabulous murals. With help from the Visitor’s Center, we found a bus route to take us there, then spent part of the afternoon wandering around and looking at the murals.

Chinatown

Chinatown : the oldest Chinatown and one of the largest Chinese communities in North America, it's a fun shopping and dining area.

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park : The park stretches for three miles and is larger than Central Park in New York City. It has more than 1 million trees, nine lakes, gardens, two major museums and a herd of bison. Yes, bison, although they weren’t as interesting to look at as I thought they would be.

The De Young Fine Art Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, the Conservatory of Flowers and the Japanese Tea Garden are all located in the park, although we didn’t stop at any of them.

Scott enjoying the view at one of the Presidio Overlooks

The Presidio : This former military base is now an area with expansive parks and hilltop homes. Because we were on a tandem bike, we entered at Arguello Blvd., turned on Washington and then on Lincoln, stopping at 4 scenic overlooks. It was mostly downhill here. There are great views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge in the fog

Golden Gate Bridge : We biked across the 1.7 mile bridge. It was pretty windy but the views were spectacular, even with the fog. On a side note for graphic designers, the paint color on the bridge is PMS 173.

Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world.

At Lombard Street looking east, the Coit Tower is in the upper right.

Coit Tower : Since I like to go up towers and look at the views, this might be my favorite place in San Francisco.

The view of San Francisco from the Coit Tower

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Getting Around : If we hadn’t needed our rental car to drive to Pigeon Point and Yosemite before we got to San Francisco, we would have waited to get it when we left. It’s not easy getting around the city by car, and the parking is expensive and sometimes tricky on the hills. As it was, we had to pay for it to sit for the four days we were in San Francisco.

MUNI: There are many different modes of public transportation. The first four listed are operated by the MUNI (San Francisco Municipal Railway) system. There’s a lot of info, so you might want to do some research before your trip, so you don’t spend time figuring this out.

Turning the cable car around so it can head the other direction.

The cable cars run on a cable under the street and have one north/south route and one east/west route. There can sometimes be a long wait to get on the cable car, and the cost is $5 per ride.

The historic street cars run on rails and also have a trolley pole connected to an overhead wire.

Street cars have rubber tires and don’t run on a rail, but still have a trolley pole connected to an overhead wire.

The buses have rubber tires, don’t run on a rail and don’t have a trolley pole connected to an overhead wire.

The best bet is the MUNI passport. We got a 3-day pass for $20 that offered us unlimited rides on the historic street cars, street cars, buses and most importantly, the cable cars. We bought ours at the Visitor’s Center.

BART : The Bay Area Rapid Transit is more like a subway/elevated train. These go to areas outside of the city such as Berkley or the San Francisco airport.

There are also taxis and ferries.

Scott with the tandem bike

We rented a tandem bike (no way I could have kept up on my own bike) at Union Square then biked, uphill, to Golden Gate Park. Then we biked through the park, over to the Presido, then across the Golden Gate Bridge, which was exhilarating but also a little bit scary. We coasted down to Sausalito then took the ferry back to San Francisco and returned the bike.

If you’re not as adventurous as we are (OK, as Scott is), you can rent a bike at Fisherman’s Wharf, bike to and across the Golden Gate Bridge, coast down to Sausalito and then take a ferry back, and it’s about 8 miles mostly flat or downhill.

There are several companies that offer bike rental and have “Bike Across the Bridge” options.

Someone driving a GoCar down Lombard Street.

Go Cars : We didn’t do this, but it looked like a lot of fun. Rent a little “car” which uses GPS to navigate and also to narrate your tour.

Weather : Sure, everyone told us to wear layers and expect it to be cold in San Francisco, even in July. I even packed long johns, although I didn't really expect to wear them. Only I did. And I also bought a fleece jacket. On the 4th of July. So trust me, it can get pretty chilly in San Francisco, and other places that are along the coast in both northern California and also Oregon. I got a lot of use out of that fleece jacket!

To see more photos of San Francisco, go here: San Francisco photos on Flickr

Want to sleep and eat? Here's my post on lodging and dining in San Francisco.