But first San Francisco remains a beautiful and I am reminded a hilly city! It does wonders to one's calorie burn, not to mention negating the need for warm winter wear.
Speaking of winter, the weather here is unpredictable. Almost a microclimate with microseasons within a day! We were lucky sunny days followed rainy cloudy ones, enabling us to "literally" peel away the fog to reveal the sights underneath.
And in the rain, in Muir Woods, D slipped and landed on her derrière.... And her ego was bruised way more than her butt and as luck would have it, it happened seconds after I asked if she was fine. Talk about jinxing it!
The mother has been central in this trip, including playing a starring role (not!) in knocking over a spider web as J was about to attempt his umpteenth (unsuccessful) snapshot of the glistening arachnid creation.
The glitter (and I mean, money literally) of San Francisco I felt had moved south, to Palo Alto and Silicon Valley: home to HP, Apple and Google. And of course Stanford University. We drove out in the rain but it stopped just as we arrived and serendipitously just in time for the next guided tour. Unpredictable as the weather is, it's been kind to us. The locals are well accustomed to this weather changes, like Nathan the student guide at Stanford University who could wear a thin cotton tee in 10'c
What also really struck me is the ferocity of the restless sea, juxtaposed against the famous mild temperate climes of the California
The winds cause the seas to roar, but what courage the trees show against them, especially the lone Cypress Tree along the scenic 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach
Ah yes, the famous Pebble Beach golf club: a truly beautiful enclave for the Rich and famous. I never thought about it but totally got it when I saw what they had on the beach: yes, you guessed it - pebbles!!!
The Pacific Coast Highway is indeed one of the best driving roads in the world. Every turn set us upon breathtaking vistas of ocean on one side and mountainous cliff on the other. M commented that's it's like being on Top Gear
It helped that they were cool cars along the way. Like the time I tailed a Mercedes SLS "gull wing" and almost could imagine being in one :-)
We got to traverse concrete freeways and windy roads, passing big towns and small villages, through mountains and plains, and even vineyards. And some rather iconic places.
For one, Bixby Bridge which according to M is the Golden Gate's little brother. So true! It's less well known but just as breathtaking. Almost unimaginable, right?
Or stopping by a quaint little town called Carmel by the Sea, where we had lunch at a great restaurant with a window by the table. This and other meals (notably Toma in Santa Barbara and Bouche in San Francisco) are together moments to be remembered.
Indeed, this has been our first family trip together to USA. And we are so fortunate it's not just America we saw but Americana! The quiet charm in small towns as well as the loud garish ambitious ones.
Cambria, for instance, is an old and gentle place where the pace is slow, and the people all friendly (taking the time to treat tourists like their own friends), the food is homemade but everything is vintage because the locals buy each other's used things in antique malls with quaint names like "Love Me 2 Times". The lack of youngsters - esp. teenagers - are sadly felt though in the church, where we had the good fortune to attend a catholic Sunday morning mass. There were no altar servers in this small community. While this town is still pretty and obviously had been successful once, now all I can think of is succession, or the lack thereof. Quite a few shops have signs that say they want to sell-out, not for lack of business but after 29 years, they want to pass it on to someone else.
Even more dramatically, nearby Harmony with its population of 18 and a few shops and houses sited on a large diary acreage surely point to a possible future.
Other towns, especially those with a younger population pyramid, like San Luis Obispo (where California State Poly is sited on) seem more vibrant and nothing says that more than Alex and Phyllis Madonna and their outlandish pink fairy tale castle of an inn. Everything here is over the top, from the colors to the architecture to the food.
Then there are college towns. I had mentioned SLO but nothing is quite built around the college community like Claremont, which is home to 5,500 (mostly undergrad) students and a thousand faculty and their families. So, the population here are either teenagers or seniors :-)
Whether young or old, they all do take care of themselves and the number of joggers I have encountered in my two sunrise runs (in Monterey Bay towards Lovers Point and Santa Barbara Beach towards Stearns Wharf) really attest to this fact!
Having started with a song, it would be remiss of me not to note that songs aren't written about places for nothing. San Francisco is indeed a charming place and so is Ventura Highway which America (who else?!) wrote and sang about. It's not easy to top the experiences of the Pacific Coast Highway but The Ventura Highway with its multiple lanes, high speed and mountain backdrop shining golden in the setting sun is indeed a drive worth making.
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