San FrancisCOLD been there, done that one

Unfortunately we did not have even decent weather for our visit to SF!!  We are glad we took a  lot of pictures because it is not really one of the places we would choose to revisit.
We managed to survive San Diego, drive through LA, without getting shot at :)  and knew enough to stay outside of San Francisco in "Los Gatos"  and make day trips throughout the area instead. Unfortunately for us, due to our schedule, our visit to SF fell on Sunday of the  Fourth of July weekend:  one of the busiest weekends of the year. Through it all Lady Luck still smiled on us.   When we arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge south side visitors' center there were so many people that I almost lost Jackie in the parking lot after she dropped me off because there was no a place to stop and the lot/lots were on two levels and separated by an overpass. Somehow out of maybe several hundred people and fewer than 100 parking spots we managed to fight off the competition and secure a spot in the 1st hour!!!!!! Now that we had a parking space for the day we began our exploration by hitting the porter potty; because it was so cold and windy nature called. There were so many tour buses at the visitors center that I remarked to Jackie why not do the "touristy" thing, which we don't do often.  It turned out that there was a tour bus dropping people off right in front of us and I asked if it was available and what was the cost:  FREE the driver said because he didn't have the mechanism to take money, yippee. The tour took us over the bridge to Sausalito where the houseboat community is.   It was sunny and warm on the "other" side so we decided to stay for lunch and ice cream before catching the return bus to the south side again.

Mood changes: it is amazing how quickly external factors can change my mood. Going from 80 to 60  cold, moist, over cast and windy weather was definitely a bummer.  Having said that, much to Jackie's chagrin,  I still wanted to experience more of the bridge thereby dragging my family back over it on foot.   Needless to say 5 minutes later Jackie wanted to turn back and Alexander was in a terrible funk. Mommy had a talk with him and he managed to scrape up a smile which I will show later on.   Please keep in mind that Molly, the dog, is being subjected to all of the above as well ;-).

We were cold and tired and decided to head on "home" for the rest of the afternoon.  We knew it was warm and sunny in Los Gatos and Alexander wanted to swim in the pool.  We decided to drive through SF on our way North on Tuesday to experience a cable car ride and go to the Cable Car Museum.

Life in Los Gatos:    Jackie had booked this motel several months earlier to avoid a chance encounter on short notice.   We were not disappointed.  True it was a motel, just a room, but we had a patio and 10 ' away a lovely grassy lawn where we threw around the football til dark.   The rate included a pretty healthy buffet breakfast, which we appreciated, as we were making due with take out and snacks at night to save a few $$ when the day's experiences were over the budget.  Also this spot was centrally located which allowed for short day trips.  SF, Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay.

On Monday, the 4th I took Alexander into Santa Cruz (coastal) for a steam train ride through a redwood forest.  It was a wonderful ride which Alexander enjoyed.   Jackie "rested".  Due to the dryness of the land there were only a few fireworks' displays, mostly on the Coast.   There was no noise in Los Gatos.

We wanted to book another night to explore the area some more but there was nothing available, so we headed to SF for another dose of pain on Tuesday morning.  We were pulling the trailer this time around as we were leaving the area for the Northern Coast.   The car "cried out" for help going up those hills.   Jackie was driving, per usual, and was getting quite nervous.   The plan was to park the trailer somewhere and then walk to take the cable car.   No garage would allow the trailer even though we were willing to pay for the extra space, so we put it at a meter on the street, took the car a bit further away to find another meter space so we could walk on.   There is only 2 hours max parking so we were under a time constraint.  We made it to the museum, which was interesting and free but didn't have time for the cable car.   Oh well, wish we could say "maybe next time"...........NOT.

We were due in Redwood Valley to stay with friends for Friday thru Sunday, but we encountered glitches on the way...............

Saying Goodbye San Diego

After 4 nights in San Diego we were so looking forward to spending the 5th night with  friends, an hour outside of San Diego, in the hills.   Our friends have managed to escape the rat race and are in the planning stages of building a home on a 30 acre piece of land in an area called Alpine.  They have been

 living there "off the grid" for some months with electricity produced only when they need it by a gas powered generator. They did invest in drilling, not one, but two wells so water was abundant. We got a chance to use our little generator for electricity and were thankful we did not have to run it through the night for the AC as the temperature dropped from 100 to the mid 70's overnight . We shared a wonderful evening cooking on the barbie and eating at a picnic table outside, sharing stories and drinking wine until late into the night.  Michelle and Will were truly wonderful hosts:   we did nothing and enjoyed a great meal.   Besides the red headed woodpecker, a blue jay,  and a little bunny rabbit, we had to watch out for rattle snakes and keep Molly close to us so she didn't discover one by herself.  At bedtime we slept in a pop up trailer, which is available for guests, with screens opened all around.  How wonderful it was that we were able to sleep under the stars, smell the fresh air and enjoy the sound of wild life in what felt like the frontier.  We had a great night's sleep. We made jokes in the dark and laughed many times before falling asleep.   It was magical.

Happy on the road.

the garden

not quite awake

where we sletp

Our time in San Diego felt rushed from the moment we arrived;  part of it was created by us but the traffic and the drivers will drive a NEnglander nuts!!!   Our true destination for this trip was to experience as much of the Pacific Coast as was possible within our time frame.   We wanted to begin in San Diego for a couple of reasons.   We wanted to visit friends whom we hadn't seen since 2003 and we wanted Alexander to have great fun with the many attractions that SD offers:  Lego Land, Sea World and SD Zoo's Safari land at the top of our list.  We learned very quickly:  If you're going to come to San Diego be prepared to feel the pain.......... in your wallet.

We had done some research about the SD Go Card and found a 4 day pass for the price of 3 at Costco.  This card saves about 40% overall if you score several attractions in the given time frame.  Well, with one thing and another (screw ups) we weren't able to obtain the card, which can only be purchased online, until Sunday.   That delay cost dearly as Sea World is an encounter of the most expensive kind!!  Widy received a 20% discount as a veteran and the (2) tickets still cha-chinged in at $137.00.   However having said that it was the very best "bang for the buck" out of the three parks.  Alexander had a great day (the roller coaster being his favorite ride) and they were able to return after supper to  enjoy some more action and the fireworks explosion at 10pm.  A full day was had by them while Jackie enjoyed a quiet day with Molly in San Diego.

On our first night in SD, Widy (the great researcher) was able to find a unique restaurant close by.  I do have to say that we've never seen so many restaurants anywhere in our travels before.  This one was a "from farm  to table" with exceptional food, both tasty and healthy.  We went all out and bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate the moment we arrived "cross-country".

  The following 3 days were spent like mucho mas dineros on attractions.
Sea world with Alexander and Daddy on Saturday (they didn't get home until 10pm) and as said above it was a great success.   Sunday was the day at Legoland (miserable for Widy and GREAT for Alexander).  Widy must have texted me a dozen times telling me what a  huge, expensive tourist trap it was!

Monday we all went to Safari Park, 35 miles outside of SD, in about 100 degree heat.  It was a big winner with great staff and accommodations.  We brought along our little trailer with the plan of running the generator for the AC for Molly.  We had called in advance to ask if there might be a 110 outlet available to no avail, but when we arrived at the park we found a grounds keeper who was able to find a electrical outlet for us which we felt was much safer and more reliable than the generator; and a security guard who promised to keep an eye out on it for us.
 This park was definitely the winner in my book,(Widy)   not just because they were so accommodating but also because the park itself is beautifully maintained and the 3 of us shared it together.  If you aren't familiar with this particular park it comprises 1800 acres and is a very open concept park, but of course it's still a zoo;  but it is a non profit organization and are very pro active in it's attempt to help promote the resurgence of endangered species.  

The other more expensive Safari tour

Alexander playing Bat

Cheeta run 

Gorilla family