August 13, 2008: Los Angeles - Hollywood

You cannot do Los Angeles without taking a "Homes of the Stars" tour. That's the rule. And apparently Starline are the pros at this kind of thing, so off we went in the comfy white van with the tinted windows. Our guide wasted no time in telling us that, like everyone else under 30 in this town, he was "trying to break into the business" and had an audition for Letterman in two days - as a "human beatbox", a talent he proceeded to demonstrate as he tore up Sunset Strip.

The whole thing is highly entertaining (provided your irony switch is fully in the "on" position) - even though all you get to see of most of the homes is a brief glimpse of a door through heavy security gates (as was the case with JLo's house in the pic). But what had Sarah and me in total stitches /shock was when our driver spotted a parade of expensive cars winding up the canyon ahead of us. In an attempt to impress the cute blonde teenage girls at the front of the van, he announced he was going to follow the cars, because "he had a sense for this kind of thing, and there was definitely someone famous in there." And thus we formed this bizarre, surreal little caravan: two black Escalades, a Jaguar, another two black Escalades and us (the white Econoline van)- racing up the twists and turns of Beverly Hills. Of course, they eventually disappeared through a large gate manned by burly security guards who made it clear with hand gestures that we were not welcome. I sense that the Human Beatbox has a future as a paparazzo. Dejected, he then returned to his regularly scheduled route.

Continuing the fully immersive Hollywood experience, we then walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard to look at the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's apparently not that hard to get one: you need to have been famous for at least five years; someone needs to submit a nomination letter on your behalf (probably your manager); you need to write the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce a cheque for $25,000. And voilà - you get a star.

Mann's Chinese Theatre is one of those tourist-mecca nodes on Hollywood Boulevard where the bodies are packed in like sardines. But really, how could we resist? Especially when the George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon hand and footprints had just recently gone on display. My favourite, though, were the Japanese school girls in full-on Harry Potter paraphernalia, posing next to the Daniel Radcliffe imprints.

It's the quintessential All-American pop culture experience. Equal parts commerce, fantasy and anticipation - with a dark undercurrent. Wandering amongst the throngs of tourists were costumed street entertainers trying to earn tips by posing for photos, street people selling maps to the stars' homes for one dollar, and the constant honking of horns from angry motorists trying to beat the traffic. And on every available flat surface, advertisements for the next big movie.

August 12, 2008: Los Angeles

The Ambrose hotel has really, really good croissants for breakfast. REALLY good. Just thought everyone should know that.

Then we headed off to check out Venice Beach. Depending on your perspective, it's either charmingly bohemian, or a total dump. I tend toward the latter. Lots of cheap T-shirts, knock-off sunglasses and rusted out, abandoned stalls.

Lots of people swimming and surfing, though. And the Venice "canals" were quite lovely. A few blocks away from the craziness of the boardwalk, these artificial waterways are fronted by million dollar homes with beautiful gardens. You can walk along the sides of the canals and cross over the water on a series of little bridges.

Thanks to Steve Karpik for his suggestion to visit the La Brea Tar Pits. Totally fascinating. Due to all the seismic activity in the Los Angeles area, deposits of oil deep underground have been bubbling to the surface and gelling into a thick, treacherous goo for over 42,000 years. Animals would enter the pits intending to drink the water on the surface, only to become trapped in the tar and die.

The first thing you see when you arrive at the museum is the charming tableau in the picture above. Near as Sarah and I could figure, "Daddy" mastodon has become ensnared while the "Mommy" and "Baby" mastodons (mastodii?) look on helplessly in sheer terror. Yikes. How many innocent school children have been traumatized by this little study in prehistoric mayhem? It was extremely disturbing. Or at least I thought so. Sarah was busy being fascinated by the way the Daddy Mastodon's motorized head was swiveling around.

The trauma continued in the Tar Pits welcome centre, where we were treated to an intro movie that featured an animated sequence in which a horse gets trapped in the tar, is set upon by a nasty sabre-tooth who also gets sucked in, at which point they're both attacked by a pack of snarling wolves who made the mistake of joining the party...well, before long the three-year-old sitting next to us started whimpering.

Awesome animatronic displays. Note the sabre-tooth taking on the ancient ground sloth in the pic at right. Lots of growly noises and head-swiveling. They also had a really fascinating viewing area where visitors can watch paleontologists working on "Pit 91", removing fossils from a still-active tar deposit. Plus they waived Sarah's entrance fee for being a teacher and I got in free for working for the Science Centre. This museum gets an A+ in my books. Fun all around :) Hate to say it, but the Los Angeles County Museum of Art right next door positively paled in comparison, despite the stunning collection of 17th century art glass.

Tomorrow we see the homes of the stars!

August 11, 2008: Palm Springs to L.A.

Date palms were introduced to the Palm Springs area in 1890 as an experiment.

Palm Springs provides 90% of all dates consumed by Americans.

A mature date palm can produce up to 135 kg of dates per year.

All this and more we learned from the very informative displays at Shields Date Farm, where they take their dates very, very seriously. I had no idea there were so many types: Deglets, Medjools, Honey, Abbada, Barhi, Halawi...they had them all.

I tried the date ice cream, which tasted remarkably like, well...vanilla ice cream with dates in it. I should have gone for the date milkshake, which I was told is "world famous". I suspect it tastes like dates, too. I couldn't resist buying some the Medjool dates stuffed with marzipan and pecans. Sarah, however, went for the really healthy grapefruit juice. What fun is that? She had to suffer through my ensuing sugar high and subsequent crash as punishment :P

We waved goodbye to Palm Springs and three hours of the I-10 West later, arrived in Santa Monica. We're staying at the Ambrose, a lovely hotel that evokes Frank Lloyd Wright and Art Deco. They get top marks for the Aveda bath products, too. After checking in, we had the free shuttle service drop us off at the pier, a Santa Monica landmark and tourist magnet.

Fantastic atmosphere - this is one of the images we had in our heads about what L.A. should be...beach, throngs of people and amazing sunsets. Sarah tells me this is where they filmed Baywatch. She should know, being a huge Hoff fan, and all.

We finished off our first day in L.A. with Mexican food on Main Street in Santa Monica. Fish tacos and guacamole. And some truly excellent home-made limeade.

August 10, 2008: Palm Canyon and Rancho Mirage

Palm Canyon is considered the world's largest native California Fan Palm oasis. It's located on land that belongs to the Agua Caliente band of the Cahuilla Indians, who have lived in the canyon for close to 2000 years.

Sarah and I went hiking in the canyon this morning. Although we tried to beat the heat by getting up early, it was close to 109 degrees by the time we reached the entrance of the canyon.

The oasis is an amazing swatch of green in an otherwise sparse desert landscape and stretches for miles into the mountains. All along the trail you can see spots where the hot springs bubble to the surface and form a marshy stream along which the palms grow. These specimens are the "California Redwoods" of palm trees. Huge...and incredibly hardy. Many of them have blackened trunks we thought were caused by lightening strikes, but it turns out the palms survived a massive fire in 1980, started by two boys with matches in a nearby field. The main trail runs for 17 miles, but we settled for a shorter 1.5 mile loop that pretty much did us in anyway...the climb up the final staircase to the visitors' centre bordered on tragic.

In the afternoon, we dropped by the Palm Springs Museum of Art (Admission: $12, unless it's August, in which case it's free! Because only crazy people go to Palm Springs in August!) and enjoyed the art and industrial strength air conditioning. This has to be the fourth museum we've encountered that's currently featuring a Frida Kahlo exhibit. She and Dale Chihuly seem to be the reigning California pop culture "it" artists of the moment.

The afternoon was spent poking around Rancho Mirage; we checked out the local shopping mall and stocked up on take-out from the Cheesecake Factory (third time this trip...white chocolate caramel macadamia nut has become a favourite, although Sarah is partial to the Oreo chocolate fudge slide :)

I love the way classic 1950s kitsch collides with ultra-money excess in Rancho Mirage. Next to the Rancho Super Wash was the River Mall, where we found a golf cart dealership that featured customized models in a whole variety of colours. Next door was the cosmetic surgery clinic (yup, in the mall) where no appointment was necessary for Restylane and Botox touch-ups. From a design stand-point, the mall was gorgeous. It did create the illusion of floating on a river...in the middle of a desert - which is pretty much what Palm Springs and the neighbouring desert cities are all about.

August 9, 2008: Palm Springs

Yup. It's an oven. Our rental car has an external temperature display, and today it read 98 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:30 am. So, of course, the logical thing would be to visit an outdoor botanical garden called "The Living Desert". Where you can wander for miles. On foot. With no shade. In 100+ degree heat. And look at exhibits containing desert animals who are being sensible and hiding from view in shady, cool burrows.

Actually, it was pretty cool...they had an impressive display in the cactus garden and we dropped by the rehabilitation centre for injured desert animals, where an abandoned desert fox pup was busy ignoring about 20 store-bought toys and chasing a piece of crumpled paper around his pen instead. The botanical garden also sells plants and trees to the locals and has an enormous selection of cactus species to choose from. The citizens of Palm Springs have obviously been taking advantage of the offerings. This entire area is a testament to the well-heeled residents' ongoing, obsessive struggle against nature and the elements. It's bizarre to see so many perfectly manicured green lawns and golf courses in the middle of the desert. And in Rancho Mirage (where our hotel is located), just outside of Palm Springs, the city has sunk a fortune into landscaping. They've even got floral displays on the highway medians. The stretch between Frank Sinatra Drive and Bob Hope Avenue is particularly impressive :)

The stretch of desert just to the west of Palm Springs is a complete contrast. No landscaping visible here, but you will find a seemingly endless sea of wind turbines. There are 3647 of them, to be exact. Back in the 1980s, the State of California offered tax incentives to local residents if they invested in wind-generated energy. For $25,000 you could "buy" a turbine and get a $50,000 tax credit. Pretty sweet. Apparently, the high income earners in Palm Springs were all over this idea and within 10 years, thousands of the 90 metre-high towers were erected. They've since halted any new tower additions, but the Palm Springs turbines currently provide 2% of all electricity on the south-west American grid.

To escape the heat, Sarah and I headed up the Aerial Tramway at Mount San Jacinto. From the base just outside of Palm Springs, the tram cars go up about 1800 metres to the summit, where the temperature drops about 30 degrees F. The trams cars are designed to rotate 360 degrees during the journey, which is somewhat disorienting, but gives you a spectacular view of the valley and surrounding mountains.

We were lucky to arrive just as a ranger-guided nature hike was starting. Lucky, because I'm convinced we would have been lost within minutes. The trails all criss-cross up there, and don't seem to be terribly well-marked. And "Ranger Art" did a really nice job of pointing out interesting info concerning the flora and fauna. The tree in the pic is a Jeffrey's Pine; he had us all sniff the bark, which smells like butterscotch.

It was a shock to the system back at the bottom of the mountain. Our car had been baking in the parking lot for three hours and required maximum application of air conditioning. We'd saved Joshua Tree National Monument for later in the day because I wanted to take photos when the light was better. It's about 90 minutes from Palm Springs to the park entrance and we arrived around 4:30. No crowds at all, which was really nice. Just us and a whole lot of Joshua Trees, which we learned are not trees at all, but a type of shrub.

We decided to try the "Hidden Valley" hike, a 1.5 mile loop that takes you through a box canyon used by cattle rustlers in the 1800s to hide stolen herds. The rock formations and vegetation are incredible, you feel like you're on the set of a classic Western. And the late afternoon sun gave everything a golden glow. In addition, the desert creatures were making an appearance as dusk approached - fortunately, we didn't spot any of the rattlesnakes the signs kept warning us about. But we did get to see lots of lizards and bunnies :)

Lots more pics of Joshua Tree on my Flickr page.

August 8, 2008: Santa Barbara

The old mission in Santa Barbara is known as the "Queen of California Missions" - founded in 1786 by Spanish Franciscans, it was part of Spain's plan to solidify control over this part of the North American continent. The church in the first photo is actually the third structure on the site, built after the previous two were destroyed by earthquakes.

We also toured the Santa Barbara city hall, which is beautifully decorated with Spanish tiles and ceramics. You can climb to the top of the clock tower and get a magnificent view of the the entire city, including the harbour and mission district. Lots more photos of both the Mission and City Hall on my Flickr page.

The most striking part of Santa Barbara is the abundance of beautiful gardens and elaborate streetscaping. There are tropical plants, flowers and trees everywhere. The city has also initiated a program to fill the streets with public art - an example in the pic below. We stopped at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and took in a wonderful special exhibition called "Made in Hollywood: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation". About 40 portraits and set shots from the 1940s and 50s were on display - some of the iconic photos depicted Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, and so on. Many of the negatives from the collection were re-printed as platinum prints just for this exhibition.

It was impossible to leave Santa Barbara without checking out State Street, the famous shopping and pedestrian district. Think Yorkville, only with better foliage. There are dozens of cafes and outdoor restaurants and endless little alleys filled with incredibly expensive shopping. I consumed what was probably one of the best cheese danishes I've ever had a little bakery and then we climbed into the car for our trek to Palm Springs.

The drive was supposed to take about 3 hours, but lasted about five, due to the INSANE traffic through L.A. We were both in cranky mode by the time we arrived in Palm Springs, but the hotel cheered us up. VERY nice. And swanky. And strangely cheap. We discovered why when the hotel clerk asked us what we were planning to do. When we answered "hiking", he just raised both eyebrows. It turns out it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. And my friends know how much I LOVE the heat. This is definitely the "low" season in Palm Springs. We seem to be two of about 10 people in the hotel. But we are determined to conquer the elements :P

August 6 and 7, 2008: San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara

First of all, thanks to Hunter and Nicole for their supportive comments on our blog...sadly, I did not buy any caramel in Carmel to bring back, but I'll think of something else :)

The photo at left is of William Randolph Hearst's private library and office at Hearst Castle. Sarah and I decided to do a second tour yesterday morning, which included Hearst's private quarters and the kitchen. Hearst would go to his office at 1:00 am each night after his guests had gone to bed and read every single one of his newspapers (brought in by private plane each day). He'd make notes for all his editors to read in the morning. Hearst was in heated competition with Joseph Pulitzer to sell the most newspapers, and as a result, the headlines became increasingly sensationalist. He and Pulitzer were blamed for the advent of "yellow journalism" during the 1930s.

After the tour, Sarah and I headed to Cambria, a small town just south of San Simeon. The guidebook raved about the French Corner Bakery. And they do indeed make really, really good Bearclaws. And lattes :)

In the afternoon, we continued driving south, with stops at Morro Rock - one in a chain of volcanic caps that run along the edge of Morro Bay - and Montana de Oro State Park, where we hiked along the cliff ridge and watched pelicans diving for fish. The weather was on the moody side (there was a persistent bank of fog hanging along the coast), but the views were still spectacular.

We stayed overnight in San Luis Obispo, an old mission town that is now home to the California Polytechnic Institute, and is therefore packed with college students. That means lots of all-night pizzerias and coffee shops. I felt right at home :)

This morning we had a look at the mission, which is currently undergoing renovations, but had some interesting pieces on display in the museum. They showed pieces of furniture and other household items brought by the missionaries from Spain.

Their goal was to convert the local Chumash natives and stake a political claim for the Spanish government, which was feeling threatened by Russian and English explorers in the area.

South of San Luis Obispo, we stopped at Pismo Beach, home of the Pismo clam and a favourite with surfers. Grey skies did not deter all the tourists who had signed up for surfing classes; there were about 50 people in the water with their boards, determined to conquer the waves. Most of the time, the waves conquered them. Frankly, it looked like an awful lot of hard work for what usually amounted to about 5 seconds of wave riding.

We continued our journey south for a hike at Guadalupe Nepimo State Park. Famous for its sand dunes, this park was the location where Cecil B. DeMille filmed his original "Ten Commandments" silent movie in 1923. After shooting was completed, the crew just abandoned the set, which was eventually covered by the sand dunes. Pieces of the set keep re-appearing as the sand shifts, and the park rangers have set up a sort of movie museum at the visitor centre with stuff they find. The park is also a nature preserve and large sections of the dunes are roped off to preserve the habitats of endangered birds like the California Tern.

By then, we both figured we'd burned enough calories to merit a nice lunch, so we stopped in Los Olivos, a small town along Highway 101 made famous by the movie "Sideways". Pretty much all you'll find in Los Olivos are wine-tasting shops representing all the local wineries. They line both sides of the incredibly picturesque main street and were kept busy with tourists being bused in on wine tours.

We had lunch at the Los Olivos Cafe where scenes from the movie were shot. Sorry, but here's another food shot. Fresh-baked jalapeno cornmeal bread with tapanade and rosemary olive oil. Followed by baked brie with a cranberry wine sauce and salad. Jealous yet? That pretty much put both of us in a food coma, but I managed to finish the drive to Santa Barbara, which we'll check out tomorrow.

August 5, 2008: Big Sur and San Simeon

In the late 18th century, Spanish colonists named this stretch of land El Pais Grande del Sur, meaning "the big country to the south". The length of Highway 1 running from Carmel to San Simeon is 160 km of breathtaking vistas: mountains, cliffs and surf. There are no large towns, and most of the shoreline is protected by a series of state parks, many established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s as Highway 1 was built.

Carmel was covered in a thick coastal fog when we left early on Tuesday morning, but in true California fashion, the sun came out the minute we hit Highway 1. We popped in the Beach Boys CD (cheesy, I know, but it had to be done) and proceeded to enjoy some of the most stunning views North America has to offer. This drive is not for the faint of stomach. The twists and turns along the coastal cliffs have nauseated lesser souls, but Sarah has a hearty constitution and has experienced/suffered through my driving before. We became compulsive "vista stoppers"; you get worried that by skipping one of the scenic lookouts, you'll miss out on one of the incredible views.

All the guide books recommended a stop at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, so we parked the car and went for a short hike to see the McWay Creek Waterfall (it's featured on just about every postcard and coffee table book on Big Sur out there). The waterfall is about 30 metres high and drops directly onto the sand, where the water seems to just disappear. This property was donated to the state of California in the 1930s and the remains of a private villa overlooking the waterfall are still visible. The owners had planted lots of non-indigenous fruit and palm trees near the edge of the cliff and the smell of eucalyptus and cedar was incredible. Unfortunately, the rest of the hiking trails had been closed due to damage by recent brush fires and floods, so we headed back on the road towards San Simeon.

It happens to be molting season for Elephant seals, so it made sense to check out the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, located about 5 km north of San Simeon. It's a stretch of rocky beach that is home to hundreds of Elephant Seals (the ones with the funny noses). Females arrive in December and the babies are born at the end of January (Fun Trivia Fact: baby Elephant seals are called "weaners" once they are left on their own at about four weeks of age). The seals return once or twice in the spring and summer to molt, and there were quite a few in desperate need of exfoliation when we stopped for a look. There was also lots of testosterone on display - I caught a good shot of two of the males barking and lunging at each other.

San Simeon is a tiny fishing village consisting of four motels, a dock and a general store. But it's also world famous as the home of Hearst Castle, the private playground and museum of media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. It was Hearst's lifelong dream to build a European-style castle on this site - the location of many happy childhood holidays. His father had bought 48,000 acres of land in the area in 1865 after making millions through prospecting. As an adult, William Randolph Hearst made his own fortune in magazine and newspaper publishing. When he inherited the land in 1919, he began plans for a magnificent castle in his mother's memory. Construction began in 1922, overseen by architect Julia Morgan, one of the first women to graduate with an engineering degree from Berkeley and the first woman to graduate in architecture from the Ecole Nationale et Speciale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She and Hearst shared a love of the creative process and collaborated on most of the design elements of the structure.

What boggles the mind is not only the incredible architecture of the complex itself, but the vast collection of European art and furnishings that it houses. Hearst purchased many of his treasures at auctions and designed several of the rooms around elements such as 16th century fireplace mantles, Renaissance paintings, and Belgian tapestries. The grounds are equally magnificent; Hearst had thousands of trees, flowering plants and sculptural elements imported. A big sports fan and avid swimmer, he also oversaw the construction (built and torn out three times until he felt the design was right) of the Neptune Pool, inspired by Greek and Roman architecture. The pool is 32 metres long and 10 feet deep, made out of white marble and has colonnades and a reproduction Greek temple containing actual columns from ancient Rome. Apparently Johnny Weissmuller enjoyed swimming here as a guest.

Hearst enjoyed entertaining and would organize weekend parties in which he brought together people from the worlds of politics, film, academia and grand society. Charlie Chaplin, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Bob and Dolores Hope, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Hedda Hopper and Amelia Earhart were all guests at one time. Hearst disliked the over-consumption of alcohol and insisted his guests mix and mingle, which is reflected in the design of the main building and adjacent bungalows. While accommodations were lavish, food and drink were not allowed in the guest rooms, and all meals had to be taken in the large refectory dining room. Staff were instructed never to serve more than two cocktails before dinner. "Sleeping-in" was actively discouraged.

Sarah and I enjoyed the "Part One" tour so much (ground floor and bungalows), we decided to return the next morning to take "Part Two", which includes the upstairs rooms, Hearst's private quarters and the kitchen. I can see why Hearst loved this part of California so much - the landscape is incredible and the sunsets aren't too shabby either :)

August 4, 2008: Monterey and Carmel

Getting up at an insanely early hour to beat the San Francisco rush hour was the plan, and it worked. We sailed over the Golden Gate bridge and made it to Monterey in a little over 3 hours. The weather was mostly cloudy, but whenever there was a bit of sunshine, we pulled over to take pics of the coast (that's me just north of Monterey above).

Monterey is, of course, famous for Steinbeck and Cannery Row. But what made me want to visit it again was the aquarium. I had a chance to tour it during a business trip a few years ago and always hoped I'd get a chance to see it again. Sarah has never been, so we decided to set aside about 3 hours to check it out. It didn't disappoint. The Monterey Aquarium is one of the best I've seen. They've done an incredible job of working with the natural surroundings and designed a space that not only showcases the animals and educates the public, but inspires visitors to think about marine life differently.

Sarah was enthralled by the sea otters, but my favourite display was the "Jellyfish as Art" exhibit. They are striking and the lighting/tanks do make them look like art installations. I took WAY too many photos - the shapes and colours are fascinating. The designers gave a lot of thought to usability and how to best display these types of creatures. One thing I noticed was that despite the large numbers of people in the space, the extended surface area of the displays meant it didn't take long to get to the front for a good view.

Just 5 minutes south of Monterey is the entrance to "17-mile Drive", a scenic route that loops around the peninsula located between Monterey and Carmel. This is also the home of the famous Pebble Beach Golf Club and some incredibly swanky houses. By this point, the weather had really clouded over, but the coastline is still striking, even under moody skies. There are several lookout points along the way and it's easy to spot cormorants, sea lions, pelicans and deer along the way. The exit gate for 17-mile Drive is at Carmel, so it didn't take us long to get to our hotel. This hotel was a trip "splurge"; the Pine Inn is the oldest hotel in Carmel. The inn is incredibly charming, as is the entire town, basically a seaside resort for the very well-heeled. Lots of tony boutiques and cafes (yay!) and pretty Victorian cottages. We filled up on post-dinner lattes and packed it in early for our big drive to Big Sur the next day. If you're interested, I've got lots more pics on Flickr. Click here to take a look.

August 3, 2008: Legion of Honor, Sausalito, Muir Woods

We started the day with a quick stop at the Legion of Honor - a fine art museum with a confusing name. Fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls were on display, thanks to a loan from the Israeli Antiquities division. That was very cool - the amount of scholarship involved in piecing together and interpreting the tiny remnants was impressive.

Most of the regular collection was donated by wealthy local patrons, so things were a bit uneven, but they had an excellent Rodin sculpture hall. Also, because of a partner relationship with the de Young, there were more Chihuly pieces. This is definitely Chihuly city.

Apparently Sunday brunch at the Cliff House is a San Francisco tradition, so that followed our museum visit. The restaurant is in the Presidio district, overlooking the Pacific. It's also the site of the old Sutro baths, used by the upper classes in the late 1800's as a weekend escape. There are lots of historical prints on display of the original bath-house structure and you can tour the ruins. Excellent food, btw :)

We then got in the newly acquired rental car and crossed the Golden Gate. By the time we reached Sausalito, the fog had lifted and the sun was shining. Sausalito features some of the most expensive real estate in the Bay Area and the place was packed with tourists. We didn't hang around very long - our goal was to do some hiking in Muir Woods before nightfall. Muir Woods is a national park just off Highway 1, north of San Francisco. It's famous for its California Redwoods and was dedicated by FDR as a national monument.

We got there late in the day, which actually worked to our advantage - most of the tourists were just leaving and that made wandering along the trails much easier. I've never seen redwoods before, and they really are impressive. I was fascinated by the "cathedral" section of the park. This is natural feature where a very old tree had been destroyed by lightning some time in the past, but the tree's root system survived to sprout new shoots. A ring of new trees forms around the burned-out trunk of the "parent" tree, creating a circular cathedral-like space. Really magnificent.

August 1 and 2, 2008: San Francisco

We're staying at the King George hotel near Union Square, which (along with being clean and small and charmingly decorated) has the advantage of being next door to a real, vintage Americana diner. And I LOVE diner breakfasts. The kind with enough artery-clogging cholesterol and fat to kill a horse. So that's how we started our day on Friday. In fact, that's how we started the day today, too. Pic at left.

After breakfast yesterday, we decided to explore the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Actually, I lie. First we had to head to Nordstroms and go shopping because I foolishly thought it would be blazing hot and left my sweater at home. And nobody can fault me for also trying on this really awesome skirt and jacket combo that Sarah had to coerce me into buying :P

On the way to the SFMOMA, we passed by the Contemporary Jewish Museum, which looks an awful lot like what I suspect the ROM's crystal was supposed to look like before they ran out of money and had to resort to using aluminum siding to finish the project. Similar contrast between the original, older structure and the new addition, but in this case, it really works - the building is part of the newly developed public space with fountains, outdoor cafes and gardens that flow into the Yerba Buena complex just to the south.


The Yerba Buena complex (across the street from SFMOMA) is beautiful, with theatres, recital halls, galleries, a convention centre and public recreation facilities. Lots of outdoor art as well (some of which Sarah is hugging on the left). Yerba Buena was created in part to revitalize an economically depressed part of San Francisco and it works really well. While we were there, the place was packed with people visiting the gardens and cafes during lunch hour. One really cool feature for the architecture buffs (Jesse, that would be you)...the gardens are actually on the roof of the huge underground convention hall. The hall has no columns, just eight steel arches that are linked by cables under the floor. By tightening the cables, the arches exert thrust upwards against the roof.

I won't go into huge detail about the SFMOMA, except to say that I really like their small but well-rounded collection of contemporary photography. And again, a wonderful cafe. With beautiful art. And really good pastries. And no school groups or camps (because they've got their own lunch facilities in the basement. Where they belong :P)

In the afternoon, we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf and had a look at Pier 39, which has been shaped into a huge entertainment complex of the tacky tourist sort. When it was refurbished in 1978, they added a closed-in harbour that proved very attractive to local sea lions who liked the fish drawn to the still water. And the sea lions proved very attractive to the tourists who were standing 10-deep taking photos. We also went on a harbour cruise that took us under the Golden Gate bridge and around Alcatraz. Very cool. Especially watching the sunset behind the bridge.

This morning the weather was too beautiful to spend indoors, so we decided to walk along the beach from the Golden Gate bridge to the Palace of Fine Arts (also the location of the Exploratorium, San Francisco's science centre). I have to say, this was my favorite part of our trip so far - being outdoors on such a gorgeous day with some really incredible scenery. Lots of folks were out and about. It became obvious that San Franciscans really, really, really like their dogs. God knows, there were enough of them. Wearing lots of cute outfits (the dogs AND the owners).

We talked to one older man who was taking part in a "Shiba Inu meet-up" that had no-doubt been organized through some Facebook group. He was looking for the other Shiba Inu owners (that's a type of very cute, miniature Husky-ish looking dog, by the way). The power of social media :)

Stopped for lunch at McCormick's on Ghiardelli Square. Yes, another food photo. I like taking pictures of food. And this one features attractively displayed seafood, too :) Which tasted incredibly good after walking for two hours.

This was followed by "the walk that will cause my knees to be in extreme pain tomorrow"- instead of taking the cable car, we decided to head up Hyde Street on foot (with its crazy steep incline) so we could see the famous Lombard Street drive that twists its way down the side of a hill. I couldn't get over how well flowers of all types do in this climate. And the city has certainly made a showpiece of Lombard Street. The neighbouring homes are pretty spectacular, and no doubt pricey, as well.

Finally, we managed to squeeze in a show at the Geary Theatre tonight. Roger Rees is doing a one-man show about Shakespeare, interweaving performances of various soliloquies with anecdotes from his theatre days and readings about Shakespeare. I really enjoyed it. He was energetic and fun, and it made for a great way to end this part of our trip. Tomorrow we're of to Point Reyes and San Rafael. If we can find our way out of San Francisco with the rental car.