California Love

Kent gives me a hard time about taking so long to do our "vacation" posts, but when I uploaded the photos from the camera and realized we had over 200 pictures, I was a little intimidated. Despite that, I press on...

This was my first trip to the big C-A and I must say that I got to see quite a bit. The game plan was to first visit San Francisco, drive down the coast, and then visit San Diego. And we would only accept the most fabulous weather because California needed to make a good first impression on me, as does everyone.

We left Boston bright and early on a Friday morning, non-stop to L.A. The flight itself wasn't too bad - starting off on the right foot. Then we went to wait for our bus to the rental car office. We waited, and waited, and waited, all while we watched multiple (at least 5) buses for every other rental company pass us. Finally our bus pulled up, just after a fully packed one passed us, with another equally packed one right behind it. Now, if you do the math, that meant that 3 buses fully packed with equally tired and anxious travelers arrived at the rental office at the same time. Oh yeah, fun...but we got a sweet Mustang convertible out of the deal, so California managed to save some face there. Naturally we had to immediately shed our Boston-wear, and put on some more sunbathing-while-driving attire.

We made the 6 hour drive up to San Fran, shooting through Central Valley, which was beautiful in its own right. I had pictured California as all sunny, sandy beaches and here was a wide expanse of green fields, tractors, and pick up trucks. This side of California won my heart a little as I imagined all of the delicious, available produce just waiting for me on the side of the highway.

We made it to San Francisco in fairly good time and were treated to a nice BBQ rib dinner with Sam and Vanessa. Our hosts were kind enough to offer us our own private room and bathroom

which has since been occupied by their first baby girl, Leah May. I have to give credit where credit is due, and for being so pregnant, Vanessa was a good sport and still helped us find the sites. On Saturday we awoke to sunny skies and a cool breeze. The four of us started out with brunch at a local diner and moved on to the scenic Muir Woods and Sausalito. Naturally we drove up to see the view of the bridge and take our tourist photo. This would also be the day all of us got sunburned sitting in a convertible all day. Well, all of us except for Sam who was smart enough to wear the sunscreen.

On Sunday we traveled to Davis to visit Grandma and Grandpa Broadbent. This was my first time meeting my grandparents-in-law and it was a pleasure. Both of the them are amazing people and together they are quite the pair. Grandma showcased her prowess in keeping up with family affairs and caught Kent and me up on the recent births, break-ups, illnesses, and job changes within the family. They kept us laughing over the ham dinner Vanessa prepared, with the story of how they met, Grandpa's jokes, and Grandma's attempt at jokes. I think my favorite comment was when Vanessa and I were telling Grandma how sunburned we were and how not sunburned Sam was and she said, "Well, that wasn't very nice of him to not share the sunscreen with you." That's right Grandma...how selfish of Sam to not force us all to lather it on. It amazed me how active and involved they were with everything. I hope I get to see them again.

The next day, while Sam was responsible and went to work, Kent and I got to spend the day wandering around San Francisco. Again we were lucky to have a sunny day with no fog. It was nice not to have a set itinerary and just walk around at our leisure to see what we saw. We hit Fisherman's Wharf where we stocked up on cheap sunglasses and salt water taffy. Behind it we found this "Museum" that was filled with dusty, old, miscellaneous amusements, like Laughing Sally, who Kent stopped to share a laugh with. It was weird but interesting. We walked up and down hills and found the steepest road in the city.

At the end of the day we met up with our gracious hosts and caught a ball game. Kent almost caught a foul ball, but his mitt wasn't quite big enough. We rode the slides and the trolley, all within the ballpark...amazing! As always, there was the token crazy foreign guy who didn't fully understand the criticism he was receiving for his method of cheering. No offense, but maybe cultural groups should stick to their particular national pastimes.

Then it was time to head due south, following the twists and turns of Highway 1. We had a beautiful day for the drive, and I must admit that having a convertible really kicked the sight-seeing up a notch. You could see so much more than you normally would and it gave us time to work on our tans. We stopped in Monterey to have breakfast and tried to imagine what it looked like during Steinbeck's time. We also forked over the cash to drive along 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach. They had a map that outlined the important sites to notice. Although the coolest was probably Bird Rock - a huge rock sitting off the coastline that was covered in sea birds and barking seals. Near the end of the route we stopped to see the oldest Cypress tree still standing, over 200 years old. That's pretty impressive considering it's lofty perch on top of a rock along the coast.

After miles upon miles of coastline, it did start to look the same, but it was an enjoyable drive. We also stopped at the Hearst Castle in San Simione, upon the recommendation of our dear Bowling Buddy. This was one of the homes of William Randolph Hearst, the big newspaper guy. For a second or third home, that wasn't used a lot, it was pretty extravagant. Sometimes I wonder if people with multiple houses like that are really able to enjoy them. The guide told us that he was an only child, and nicknamed "Wasteful Willy" which makes sense when you see the size of his outdoor pool. After touring the estate we drove a little farther south to Morro Bay which was our stopping point for the day. We just vegged out in our motel room, enjoying the chance to stretch out and not be in a car driving.

The following day we continued our trek south spending some time in Los Angeles to fork over some decent cash for a studio tour and drive down Rodeo Drive to gawk at the Beverly Hills mansions. I have to admit, since I'm being honest, that L.A. didn't impress me. In fact, I could do without it. I can't figure out it's appeal...is it that it's supposed to be cool? I don't know...maybe I'm not trendy enough. The studio tour was a success in the sense that we saw Jimmy Fallon stroll by as we ate ice cream sitting along Main Street, USA. No pictures though, so you'll just have to take our word for it.

Afterwards, we drove down to Newport Beach to live it up MTV-style and pretend like we were cool enough to be a part of their world. Again, I will admit that the beach was really cool and HUGE. We got there as the sun was setting and Kent did his magic to capture a few good shots. Our main purpose for this stop was to meet up with The Fabulous Corey who left me here in Boston for the glittery appeal of Huntington Beach. She introduced us to Carnitas for some excellent mexican cuisine and as always we had an excellent visit. With all the extracurricular activities this girl does we were lucky to get a whole meal out of her. On full bellies, we headed down to San Diego for the next leg of our vacation.