First, I want to thank Robyn and Ed Timmons (and Janey, their adorable six-month old...and Hogan, their four-year old German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix) for opening their home to me for a good portion of last week. They are dear friends from Richmond who recently relocated (at least temporarily) to the west coast, and were wonderful hosts. If they're reading, thank you so very much for your hospitality.
I arrived in the Newport Beach area (Corona del Mar, to be exact) on Sunday afternoon after a longer-than-anticipated drive from San Diego (common theme these days...). I spent Monday bouncing around points to the south, including Hyde Point and Laguna Beach (don't worry...my time in the latter spot was very tame and won't be profiled on MTV anytime soon). I headed north to LA on Tuesday for a quick tour of Hollywood and the surrounding neighborhoods. Wednesday, otherwise known as American Independence Day, was spent hanging with Robyn, Ed, Janey and Hogan in Corona del Mar. I headed north Thursday to Santa Monica before heading further north through Big Sur towards Carmel by the Sea and Monterey. I finally found my way to San Francisco on Friday afternoon after breezing through Palo Alto. Quite a week around the coast of southern and central California.
I'll rattle off some observations below for each of the various spots below, then delve a bit deeper into my thoughts on San Francisco. My hope is to use this post to get caught up on the "where" I've been and the "what" I've been doing (pictures below and on facebook and picasa), while later posts will **hopefully** cover those deep thoughts for which I know you've been patiently waiting...well, maybe not, but at least I've been looking for a forum in which to share them, and this might as well do.
Corona del Mar:
Charming little beach town with lots of interesting shops and restaurants along the way. Honestly, most of my time here was spent hanging out with Robyn and Ed (and Janey and Hogan), which was great. Lots of R&R and catching up, which was exactly what I needed after a month on the road. And laundry--which was crucial. :)
Laguna Beach:
Pretty cool spot. Lots of interesting (and, not surprisingly, upscale) shops and art galleries. I'm finding that the art galleries out here, particularly along the coastal areas, really play up the natural scenery, which I absolutely love. I generally motor through museums filled with sculptures and Renaissance-era artwork, but the nature scenes--particulalry of cliffs over the ocean or majestic peaks--capture my imagination and can keep me enthralled for hours. Needless to say, I spent a decent chunk of time transfixed by some beautiful artwork in Laguna Beach, which was great because it was a dreary, gray day.
Maybe it was the fact that it was a holiday week, but I was fairly surprised by the number of people laying on the beach. It really wasn't a great day for it, but folks came out in droves to soak up whatever rays found their way through the thick cloud cover.
I did drive around the neighborhoods a bit, and found the houses to be huge and beautiful. I can't imagine what the asking price is for some of them, but suffice it to say that the combination of the oceanside views and the magnitude of the properties themselves probably warrants a fairly high valuation...
Los Angeles:
Okay. So I only spent a total of about 8 hours in Los Angeles proper. That being said, it won't make my top 10 list of places to which I need to return. Hollywood, Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards were somewhat interesting, with the Walk of Fame and celebrity-worship, but it's really just not my scene.
I took a bus tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills--yea, I'm that guy--which was actually a pretty good, efficient way to take in all the sights I wanted to see. We drove up and down the various Boulevards and Rodeo Drive, took a road trip tour through Beverly Hills (the houses I remember...Denzel Washington, Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson--yes, where he died, Jennifer Lopez, Aaron Spelling--formerly, anyways, the Playboy Mansion--though you can't see it from the road, Jay Leno, Adam Sandler, and Tom Cruise--and no longer Katie Holmes, it seems). Honestly, you can't see many of them from the road, which makes it a very frustrating tour for those wanting to take pictures (like the woman seated next to me...). The nice thing about the tour was that you got the voice-over of the driver, who provided all of the interesting tidbits about the bars/restaurants/houses which were either owned by celebrities or served as the sight of a historic performance/event (like a performance by Led Zeppelin or The Doors).
I did eventually make it to the Getty Museum in West Hollywood, which was actually very cool. The artwork was very good--particularly the exhibition on Gustav Klimt...more here http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/klimt/index.html. I actually found the museum itself--meaning the buildings--to be equally impressive. The architectural design was great, and the location in the hills of west LA made for some spectacular views. I added some photos for evidence.
Santa Monica:
I only spent a bit of time driving around here, and maybe half an hour on the Pier, but found it to be very beautiful, and very tourist-driven. The beach was fairly nice, and the area in general was pretty cool. I don't want to go too far in my characterization, given that I didn't really spend much time here, but I thought it was fine overall.
Big Sur:
The highlight of my trip between LA and San Francisco was taking in the sunset over Big Sur. For ease of reference, Big Sur is in the central coastal region of California where the Santa Lucia mountains meet the Pacific Ocean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur). It offers stunning views of the Pacific, complete with high cliffs and roads that guide you along a path that is literally inches from the ocean at some points. The drive took a while--winding roads, RV traffic, and poor visibility were significant contributors--but was well worth it. I ended up getting into Monterey around 10 pm that evening, where I was able to find a cheap motel and crash for a while before continuing the trek northward.
Regardless, here's what you're really interested in...
San Francisco:
I have saved the best for last. I've been in San Francisco now for three days, and cannot say enough good things about the city. I've had a blast, met some really interesting people, seen some beautiful sights, walked A TON, and had a couple of great meals. I will not bore you with all of the details, but will give a quick summary of the visit thus far.
I'm staying in a charming little hotel (thank you, Priceline) a block and a half from Union Square. Here's what I've seen so far:
Coit Tower: great vantage point from which to take in panoramic views of the city, as I did on Friday afternoon. Great view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Financial District, and the Bay, generally.
Telegraph Hill: Surrounding Coit Tower, it has a collection of steps that jut out from a wide collection of points in the hill. Cool views of the city and great way to get down--and up--the hill.
Embarcadero: Beautiful, palm tree-lined district right along the many piers. Great people watching, and the various street vendors around the Ferry Building were cool. Had great sushi at Ozumo on Saturday night.
Union Square: Cool spot in the middle of downtown where artists and other street merchants set up shop on weekend mornings. Great place to grab a cup of coffee and just take in the sights, as I did on Saturday morning.
Ferry ride to Sausalito and Back: I hopped a ferry for the quick--30 minutes one way--ride across the bay and back to a point north of the Golden Gate called Sausalito, which looks like a little Mediterranean boating town. The views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate were fantastic, even though the latter was enveloped in fog for most of the trip.
Bike the Golden Gate: Once back on land, I rented a bike--great, albeit exhausting, idea--and headed northwest toward the Golden Gate. Along the way I took in a lot of the sights. Biking the Golden Gate itself was by far the coolest thing I've done here. While it was fairly warm in the rest of the city, it was a good 20 degrees colder on the bridge (logical, since it remained enveloped in fog). The wind was whipping, at times so hard it made it hard to balance on the bike, but the trip was well worth it. The fog rolling in under the bridge was really cool, and the views from the shore were spectacular. Photos below.
Trolley and Cable Cars: Thought it was cool, and a great way to navigate the many, many steep hills. Ultimately only worth it once or twice though.
Cliff House: Headed here for the views and dinner on Saturday night. Dinner delivered. The view...not so much. The fog rolled in off the ocean before I got there, completely clouding the area and limiting visibility to about 500 feet. Not so great.
Washington Square: Headed here for breakfast on Sunday morning. Was surprised to see about 100 people exercising and dancing--yes, dancing--at 8:00am. I mean, line dance style. Only in San Francisco?
Victorians: Didn't see too many, but saw the only one that mattered. That's right...below, you'll find a picture of 1709 Stockton Street...otherwise known as Danny Tanner's house in the show "Full House."
I visited a bunch of other places, including the Castro District, Mission District, Golden Gate Park, Candlestick Park, and the famous zig-zagging Lombard Street (picture below), but I'm sure you're bored by now, so I'll save you the details.
I really, really enjoyed my time in San Francisco. I loved the cosmopolitan feel of the city, as well as the broad diversity of cultures represented across the many different neighborhoods and districts. It felt very different to me than any other Californian city, and really most of the cities I've visited in the past few years. There was something about it that really reminded me of Europe--the aforementioned diverse cultural makeup; the variety of languages spoken throughout the city at any given moment; the ever-changing climate; the narrow streets; and the near ubiquity of public transportation. In addition, I found the city had a very heady feel, which I really appreciated. Not really a relaxing vacation-style town...but definitely a lovely city.
It's most definitely in my top 3 cities so far...
More to come...long drive to Portland, OR tomorrow...
DRB
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