Last hurrah

My last full day in California started with me waking up early and deciding to shower so I could beat everyone else into the hostel bathroom. Got to love sharing with a million people. After that I checked out, got my car (which I hadn't seen for three days, but it was just fine), and grabbed some breakfast in Pacific Heights before hitting the road. San Francisco is a fantastic city and I plan to be back soon.

For my drive back down to LA I wanted to take the Pacific Coast Highway for at least some of the journey instead of the desert route I took to get up to San Fran. My first step was taking a winding "highway" with a 35 mph speed limit through the Redwood forest at the coastline. They weren't old growth Redwood trees, but they were still pretty cool. I'll have to make sure I see an old growth Redwood on my return to CA. After I drove through the forest I found myself on Highway 1, and it was immediately beautiful.

I pulled over a good twenty times to take pictures on a route that found me winding through Big Sur and along the coastline through the mountains. At times I felt slightly carsick, which is something I usually never experience as the driver. I've also never driven on a road which is winding back and forth as fast as I can turn the wheel while simultaneously winding up and down. I traveled about 100 miles on the Pacific Coast Highway before it met up with the 101, which I took for the remaining 280 miles to LA in order to get here before the middle of the night.

The rest of the day was spent driving, so after departing San Fran around 9 this morning I reached my airport hotel at 7:30 this evening. That's certainly enough driving for one day. Now I just have to rest up and be ready to catch my flight tomorrow morning at 9:30. Back to reality, and I'm not so sure I'm ready for it.

Now I just need to find some money and someone who wants to come back and play in California some more :)

Below are some pictures from today. It was breathtakingly gorgeous and I would love to go back and hike or bike through some of the wilderness.

Early on in the drive. The weather changed throughout the morning from foggy to sunny, but I don't think it rose above 70 degrees along the coast.

I'm really terrible at self shots, but here I am with my Prius on the Pacific Coast Highway. A hybrid and scenery. Pretty sweet.

Sunny coastline. Breathtaking.

The fog just rolls in and looks awesome. The light line you see running through this picture is the road.

Man, it was just so cool. The Pacific.

Watch for flying cardboard

My second full day in San Francisco was just as packed as the first, but with a very different feeling. Today was COLD and foggy. I had been warned that it would be cool here, but I was downright chilly in jeans and a sweatshirt all day. I even started off the morning in shorts and a light sweater, but had to return to my hostel for a change of clothing after breakfast. Thinking that my breakfast location was fairly close I headed out to walk there. Not so much. Just a few blocks from my apartment a homeless man who hadn't even asked me for anything told me to go f*** myself and threw a pizza box at my head. Seriously--and the pizza box had be flattened down so it flew pretty well in a frisbee-like fashion and I actually had to duck. Good morning to you, too, dude!

After that eventful start and my hilly multiple mile walk to breakfast I was ready for some food. I also tried to West Coast chain Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (which I think is quite a stupid name). I was not impressed to find they use powder for their flavorings and still think Starbucks in the corporate-chain taste winner. I was able to figure out the bus to get back to the hotel, so I missed any more incidents with homeless people chucking random items at my head.

Next up it was time to meet a friend of a friend who lives out here for a mural tour she suggested. I headed to the part of town inhabited by mostly Mexican immigrants and was transported back to a place that I spent a month in during May and June (except cleaner and with safer tap water). Everything was similar to Mexico right down to the men making kissy noises on the street. The murals we toured were pretty cool and it was interesting to see the way they have transformed some neighborhoods. After the mural tour there was time for lunch at (where else?) a Mexican restaurant before using the BART train system (if we're counting it's mode of transportation number four for SF) to head out to the Embarcadero. From there I caught a street car (number 5) to Pier 33 and loaded up for my bay cruise.

The only photo from this trip with my not doing a terrible self-shot with a weird look on my face. Thanks Alex!

I decided not to go to Alcatraz for the reasons of 1. It's creepy, 2. It takes most of a day, and 3. It was sold out by the time I got around to checking into it. Okay, so it was mostly reason number 3, but in any case I didn't actually land on the island. I did take a cruise that took me under the Golden Gate Bridge and around the Alcatraz (three times, and I could have done without the third trip around). Yesterday this cruise was probably lovely and relaxed, but today it was damn cold. I chose to sit in the very first row on the second (open air) deck, but I was also worried about seasickness and figured this might help. I am, after all, the person who threw up on the Circle Line ferry to the Statue of Liberty in New York. However, the fierce freezing wind took my mind of all matters of seasickness. I would have given a lot of money for a pair of close-toed shoes, but who brings close-toed shoes on a trip to California? Not me.

The bridge was a little fogged in, but I still took a million pictures. I reminded myself of the time my family went to New York and my sister took about 45,000 pictures of the Statue of Liberty from the ferry, 44,999 which looked exactly the same. Oh well, have to take the pictures when you're there, right?

The Golden Gate Bridge with some fog right before we pass below it.

Alcatraz. I still think it's a creepy place.

After the cruise I got some coffee to warm up, as I was so cold I couldn't use my fingers properly. I then went on my own picture-taking tour of the house where they filmed Mrs. Doubtfire, the Full House opening shot (again), and Haight-Ashbury. I did it all on the public bus and was pretty proud of myself. On the last leg of my journey a man got on the bus, stared at me, and then asked if I was Russian. I said no, but he was obviously Russian, so I didn't want to insult him. He commented that Minnesota was cold (although Russia is probably colder) and then told me to enjoy visiting my boyfriend in San Francisco. Got to say that I've met my share of weirdos, from the lady who took off all her clothes on the street yesterday to the pizza box thrower to my Russian friend, San Francisco has not disappointed.

What ever happened to predictibility? The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV? You miss your old familiar friends, but they're waiting just around the bend. Everywhere you look (everywhere) there's a heart (there's a heart) I'm here to hold on to... I can pretty much see the picnic scene from the opening credits right now.

I saw an old hippie with a peace sign around his neck and a guy trying really, really hard to look like John Lennon during the 5 minutes I was in this neighborhood. Apparently the 60s live forever in San Francisco.

That was pretty much it for me. I'm going to bed so I can get up early tomorrow and start my drive back down to coastline to LA. I can't believe how fast the time has gone up here. San Francisco is pretty happening.

San Fran whirlwind

Oh man, I toured the crap out of San Francisco today. Considering this morning I had seen nothing of the city and I have now used various forms of transportation, from taxi to electric-powered bus, I feel pretty accomplished.

The first thing on my agenda this morning was ponying up some cash at the parking garage to make sure they didn't steal my rental, or something like that. Too bad I could remember where the garage was exactly and ended up traipsing through what is apparently the not-so-great part of town (otherwise known as the Tenderloin. I KNEW anything named after a cut of meat had to be bad news). As soon as I stepped into the sketchy blocks I got a feeling something was up (maybe it was the prostitute applying makeup in the reflection of a store window. Who knows?) I thought to myself "How funny. The hostel recommends a parking garage in this neighborhood? Well, it IS a hostel.) Yeah, so I was two blocks off, which I found out after 30 minutes of wandering and finally returning to the hostel to get directions from them (what a concept!) By wandering I mean walking with what my guidebook would describe as a "purposeful" step, all the time being "aware of my surroundings." It was before 8 a.m., so, needless to say, I made it out unscathed. I even found my parking garage and paid. Ah, all in a day's work.

After some breakfast at Noah's Bagels (which I've come to know and love on this trip) I decided what I needed was a tour bus. I did wander around the (mostly closed because it was Saturday) financial district, which I took advantage of in the form of using a cash machine, but I had no clue to my orientation on this peninsula.

I went back to the hostel and the very kind desk worker helped me book a trip which departed in 20 minutes. I took a cab to the bus company and I was off. The tour was great and took us to many high points that I might not have been able to reach on my own. We saw the Fisherman's Wharf/dock area, went out to Golden Gate Park, had a photo stop at the bridge, hit up Twin Peaks (which offers great views of the city and the bay), saw the houses from the opening shot of Full House (otherwise known as beautiful Victorian homes--I just love Full House), went to the Civic Center/City Hall area, went past Union Square, learned about the cable cars, and saw a million places in between that I already can't recall. It was a great way to be introduced to the orientation of the city and get a feel for what's out there.

My best shot of the Golden Gate...

View of the city from Twin Peaks.

After the tour I headed up to Pier 39 for a view of what I was promised would include sea lions. I was not disappointed as a dozen or so were sunning themselves on the docks. They even made some noise, which was adorable. It made me miss my cat for some odd reason (or maybe it isn't so odd).

Sea lions!

Then it was cable car time. I bought a one-day pass and took the Powell-Mason line from Fisherman's Wharf down to my hostel area in Union Square. Pretty sweet. I got to sit on one of the outside benches because a sweaty German woman decided she didn't want it at the last minute. Danke schon!

The cable car was pretty much the most fun I've ever had while connected to a cable and I am counting the rope pull at the bunny hill on Spirit Mountain. After I got back I decided I wanted a look at Lombard, otherwise known as the "Crookedest Street." I took the public bus system back to Lombard (go me! I love figuring out public transportation) and got a look at the street from both sides. Insane. Pictures are the only thing that can do it justice.

So here you go...the "Crookedest Street."

After I caught a different bus home (which is where the all-electric bus comes into play. I heart no emissions!) I decided I wanted to see The Dark Knight at the theater near my hostel. I was not the only person with this idea, as several showings were already sold out. I got a ticket for 6:30, which meant there was no time for dinner, and was totally impressed. Honestly, if Heath Ledger hadn't been in the movie I likely wouldn't have gone (I turned off the Batman before this--the one with Katie Holmes and Christian Bale halfway through because I was bored) but it was fantastic. The hype worked for me.

So far only one hostel roomie tonight, which would be nice and restful. The 14-year-old French boys with whom I share a bathroom love to blast hip hop while they shower (walking it out in the tub can be dangerous--watch out!), so I'm sure I'll be up early tomorrow. Things to do, things to do.

One long drive

So yesterday I embarked on the car trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I began the day with my long run by the beach, so I knew I'd be ready to sit for a while. I left my LA hotel around 11 and immediately got into traffic on the freeway. I sat in traffic for the first hour or so, and then finally got free of it and really began my trip.

I was surprised by how fast the surrounding landscape turned into really dry desert, complete with signs warning drivers to turn off their air conditioners for certain stretches of the freeway to avoid overheating engines. There was also several places to stop for radiator water. I started to get a little nervous because I couldn't see myself wandering around on the side of the freeway trying to figure out how to put water in my rental car radiator, but the Prius and I made it through without any problems.

I did stop at the first place I saw to get gas (I think I paid $4.59--a record as far as being the most I've ever paid per gallon). This was my first stop with with hybrid to fill it up and embarrassingly I couldn't find how to open the tank. Luckily it only took a few minutes of searching before I figured it out and I don't think the other drivers knew what an idiot I was, but it was a little stupid of me. Oh well.

After the gas station I went down a hill where the posted signs said the grade was 6% for 5 miles. All the semis had to slow down to 35 mph and it was pretty extreme. There were runaway truck ramps on the side of the road and one of them actually contained a semi that had been required to use it to stop and was being towed out. Exciting for me, probably more exciting for the truck driver.

After the hill I hit flat farmland for the remaining 5 hours of the drive. Incredibly unexciting with very few diversions or even places to stop. I saw orange groves, a cattle area, a million tomato trucks, corn, and many other crops I couldn't identify when driving by. I noticed that I kept seeing the same people on the freeway, so I think almost everyone was going to either San Francisco or Sacramento.

I arrived in San Francisco around 7 p.m. and immediately found it is not a city to drive in. I found my hostel, checked in, and then took my car to their recommended garage. At $17 a night it's supposed to be a "bargain." I can see why I couldn't afford a hotel in this city. Man.

The hostel is okay, but a little too hostely for me. I forgot how much I dislike having random roommates and everyone being on different schedules. The light was turned on three times in the night (once for each roommate who came in after me) and this morning one girl's alarm clock went off four times between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Finally I just got up to use the shower because she'd woken me up and apparently I held her up from using the bathroom before she had to catch her flight. I say if she'd gotten up the first time the alarm went off there wouldn't have been a problem. Another roommate left around 6 a.m. and didn't bother to close the door after herself. Only two more nights of sleeping in a hostel...two more nights...

I'm thinking of taking the more scenic, but slower 101 back to LA on Monday to get a picture of the other side of the mountain range I drove up on. And now, to explore San Francisco.

Yay for the Hollywood sign

Note: I had this blog entry mostly written on Thursday, but was so tired I just went to bed without posting it. I know I'm behind on here.

I find the sunrises in SoCal slightly disturbing. Well, maybe it's not the sunrises so much as the time before the sun comes up with it's foggy/smoggy because everything has a slightly greenish tinge to it. Apparently that's what life is like when you live just below the emissions limits, eh?

I started this morning with a quick run and it's refreshing to be so close to a sea breeze. Got to love being out of the Midwestern humidity for a few days. I knew I had a Hollywood walking tour booked for later in the afternoon, so I planned out a day where I would see Beverly Hills in the morning and Hollywood in the afternoon.

I have to say that I'm loving the GPS unit in my car and I'm pretty sure I would have been completely lost without it. I don't have the mad map skills to read and negotiate busy seven lane freeways. If someone does have that ability I'd love to see it in action.

Anyway, when I got on the road at 10 a.m. I did not expect to hit full-on traffic, but it turns out I have a lot to learn about LA driving. A 10-mile journey took the better part of 45 minutes, but every mile stuck in traffic makes me exponentially happier that I ponied up the extra cash for a hybrid. It's definitely worth it, especially when I'm just sitting among cars and it can actually switch over to just running on electric. I feel like this town was built for hybrid cars, or at least it should be. Sadly, I also noticed today that there are a number of signs on the side of the freeway talking about electric car recharging stations. No, that's not the sad part. The sad part is that these signs are mention in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car" when the steps California had taken to incorporate this technology were discussed and now these stations sit mostly unused. All right, I'm off my soapbox.

So when I finally made it up to Beverly Hills I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to find reasonably priced (read: free!) parking. I hit up Rodeo Drive first and found girls with small dogs and large purses. Really, I wouldn't lie about this. I also saw some terribly inappropriate Ugg boots (it was in the 90s today), but at least I think she was a tourist. Again, I was pretty much the only American tourist around, but it makes me feel special :)

I walked around Beverly Hills a bit, took some pictures, drove up to Graystone Mansion, which is owned by the city of Beverly Hills and has been the site of filming for The Bodyguard and Indecent Proposal. I also saw the Beverly Hills Hotel before heading off to my tour.

I did overhear a woman on the street in the residential area of Beverly Hills telling someone that "That's my mom. She always wants me to show more boob." Believe me, this woman was showing plenty.

GPS took me right down Sunset, so I got to see all the billboards and sites the the Chateau Marmont, which I won't have time to get back to on this trip. I was one of the more exciting drives I've done for a while.

I don't know why, but I was surprised when I parked at Hollywood and Highland and came out into a massive, massive crowd of tourists. I was able to locate my tour HQ and get my headphones to hear the guide. I enjoyed the tour and found that by using my own two legs (that is, booking a walking tour instead of a bus tour) I was able to save over half. Bus tours are expensive! We hit up the major points around Hollywood and Highland and I was satisfied.

After the tour I walked down to Hollywood and Vine to take a picture of Capitol Records. They're right when they say that Hollywood Blvd gets sketchy fast after you leave the major two tourist blocks. Although there were other tourists wandering around looking at the stars on the ground I found that each block I walked was starting to look a little more grimy and a little less like I wanted to be wandering around there. I did get all the way down to Vine and back without any problems and I saw no less than three separate Scientology stops along the way. Apparently the Scientologists are going to save the neighborhood. Odd.

After I left Hollywood it took we almost two hours to get back to El Segundo (15 miles or so) in LA rush hour traffic. Yeah, got to love it. I've found that no matter what time I get on the freeway, even if it's 11 in the morning, there's always stop and go traffic. Not sure how the people who live here deal with it.

Tomorrow I make the 6-7 hour drive to San Francisco and I'm excited to go see NoCal (do they call it that? Well, I do now.) I'll also be in a hostel which I'm sure won't be as nice as having my own room, but the summer hotel prices in San Fran are beyond ridiculous.

Also, I finally figured out that the reason I couldn't get a place to stay in San Diego this past weekend is because it's Comic-Con. Probably better I'm not in that city, anyway :)

I'm still here...

I am wiped out and have half an entry written, so will plan on posting it when I can re-read and make sure it's not complete crap. Touristing is hard work :)

Touchdown in LA LA Land

Things I learned today:

1. When someone wants to change seats with you on a place, make sure the seat they're offering you is actually their assigned seat and not just a random seat. It will save embarrassment when the proper owner of the seat comes along and asks why you're sitting in it. Also, you will likely not get stuck with a middle seat when you went online and specifically reserved an aisle seat to combat feelings of claustrophobia.

2. Alamo car rental company is actually helpful. What a concept!

3. Running by the ocean rules when the wind is coming off the water and making the air lovely and cool.

4. I have OCD when it comes to thinking that I've either locked my keys in the car, forgotten my room key, or both. I actually think I already knew this one, but it kicks into high gear when I'm in an unfamiliar state alone.

5. People talking on cell phones on the beach in Santa Monica are hilarious. Arranging blind dates with some third party while saying they might possibly show up really late and talking about how hard they work while showing off a pair of Under Armor briefs below some running shorts are good ways to make me think you're a major douchebag. Also, I actually saw an old dude with a metal detector and a guy calling himself Mr. Bubbleman who had an automated bubble machine set up, as well as a sign asking for tips, but who was just reading a book and sitting there. He actually chased away a small boy popping the bubbles. I don't think Mr. Bubbleman deserves any tips.

6. LA drivers really are insane. I've never been passed so much, had people turn from non-turning lanes, or blatantly run lights as I've seen in my eleven hours here.

7. Also, I might be one of the only American tourists around. I've seen (heard) a ridiculous amount of people from one of the British Isles and/or Australia. Since everything is half price for them right now, I'm sure they're not suffering quite so much from the mere parking prices ($7 to park at the beach!).

8. No matter how smart I think I might be, the GPS device is smarter than me. Oops.


Landing on the plane brought us through the LA smog, but after seeing the smog in Mexico City I'm not too concerned. One can't see the mountains that aren't too far out the door, but at least I don't feel like I may possibly keel over when I walk up a flight of stairs.

So far I'm enjoying my Cali experience. A decent, quiet hotel, a beautiful nearby beach and running path, and my awesome Prius rental are making me a happy camper. Traveling alone has meant I'm doing whatever the heck I want to do and I'm liking that. After I picked up my rental car (which was a minor debacle after they gave me the keys to a pre-reserved and unavailable Prius, then had no more Priuses on the lot, but did find one for me) I headed toward my hotel, which is extremely close to LAX in El Segundo (and was extremely on sale on hotels.com). Since it was too early to check in I headed for the beach, which I knew was close. Upon arrival I spotted a running path, so decided to run right then and there.

After changing in a port-a-john (which was a little gross; I'm choosing not to think about it) I hit up the trail. It really is much cooler by the beach, with a nice little breeze to keep me happy. Nothing beats a run where, at the end, you get to go dip your feet in the Pacific Ocean. Sweetness.

After the run I had little choice but to check into the hotel because a shower was desperately needed. Luckily they had a room for me even before check-in time, so I was set. A nice British couple did come and try to open my door with their key, but I stopped them and told them it was already occupied. A little unsettling, but there's a deadbolt on the door. Plus the key wasn't working, so I'm figuring it was user error.

I spent the afternoon in Santa Monica, which was beautiful. Gorgeous beach, boardwalk, and the Third Street Promenade was a decent way to spend two lovely hours. On the way home I got a sampling of LA freeway traffic and I can't say it was a delight. A seven mile journey took me over 45 minutes, but I may have deviated from the GPS path, driven in a circle, and found myself back on the freeway because I thought I was pretty smart. Yeah, there's a reason I'm paying for GPS, huh?

I'm thinking tonight I'm going to journey out for some Pinkberry, since I'm a massive fan of frozen yogurt, and then probably go to bed early since I got up at 2 am Pacific time. I'm in the processing of booking a kitschy Hollywood tour tomorrow, which should satisfy my inner Hollywood gossip.

Me at the beach in Santa Monica. I'm concentrating on the self shot and can't smile :)

LAX sign.

LAX sign again. I feel like it's cool. I'm probably alone in this.

A bunch of shots of the beach at Santa Monica to follow.

So pretty.

Boardwalk at Santa Monica.

Walking path full of British tourists and crazies.

Boardwalk from a distance.

The beach. I can't get over how cool it is.

The edge of the businesses in Santa Monica.

Beach again. Awesomeness.

Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

Crazy dinosaur fountain in Santa Monica.

Gas prices in LA. Yuck.