Back home

Been home now for almost two months so this blog is officially closed for further entries. What will probably happen is that I will leave it up for those who want to check in and read, but eventually I'll remove it.

I will save all the words and pictures, so nothing will be lost - and of course I have a vast collection of photos from the trip that I wasn't able to put up on the blog.

The USA, and California in particular, had long been a place I'd wanted to visit. Now I've done it, I'd like to see the East Coast, partiuclarly New England. Once upon a time Jacob and I talked about driving across the States on Route 50, the least travelled Highway in the US. Maybe that's still a possibliity. Who knows?

The pound will have to get better though!

31st May

ho ho we went to the Mystery spot this morning, where everything is out of kilter. Seems as if there's a serious gravity thing going on there. Explain about it later but for now we are at the airport hotel, waiting for our flight in the morning. So, this is Angela Elliott saying see you in England.

30th May

The holiday is almost over. Boo hoo. Had a blast but will be good to get back to my own bed and see Jacob again. Lots to tell and lots more photos to share with those who can bear it.

Today we back-tracked a bit and went to Monterey Aquarium. Christine and Ron are members and so gave us guest passes, and due to Santa Cruz's proximity to Monterey it was easy to drive down there and spend a day looking at fish. Fantastic afternoon, especially enjoyed the seahorses. Some are spectacular!Jellyfish
Amazing 'leafy' sea horses.

And these, looking like something out of AvatarWe are home now. Ron is cooking and the others are drinking Manhattan's. Joni Mitchell is on the hifi and we're very laid back and Californian!

Things are going to be different when I get back that's for sure. I need to get my 'shit together man' and sort the novels out. Wow, what an inspiration all this is! Too much lingering in the backwaters of your life is not good for you. Just Do It.

29th May

Santa Cruz man.... it's the most happening place on the planet.... we went to see Hair last night at the UCSC. It was a student production but it was good. The singing wasn't so hot but they put some energy into it and we had a blast - man.Santa Cruz has it all - wonderful inland scenery with the forest and hills. Fantastic oceanside action - surfing, views, a pier, tourist stuff and cool laid back surfer dude stuff on the cliff walk. Old 'Victorian' houses with lovely verandas and views of the sea. We even went to a Victorian barn sale.Late afternoon we took a picnic up to the University, which is on a hill overlooking the ocean and then went in to see the show after we'd eaten. We were accompanying by one of Christine's friends - she the very tiny one in the pic. Seems I've grown!

28th May

Bright and sunny outside, if a little chilly (not too chilly though!) and we went to the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park for a long, long walk up to Lookout Point, where, in the far distance we could see Monterey and the sea.
It has been decided that we aren't going to Yosemite, due to the length of drive and the time we have left, but the Redwood State Park is just magnificent and some of the trees are almost 2,000 years old.There is no end to the fabulous wilderness here. I'm just knocked out by it all. I can't say the same for the towns although we went into Santa Cruz in the afternoon and it is a lovely little town with a proper town feel to it. Unlike almost every other 'town' we've been too. It's also very 'hippy' still. More so I think that San Francisco, although I didn't really spend enought time there to tell for sure.

27th May

This morning we had the most torrential downpour, but inbetween cloudbursts I donned wet weather gear and went for a walk. I took photos of all the multimillion dollar houses and lots of gates because I became fascinated with the way in which people entice you in, or keep you out of their homes.Diablo is basically an estate of very individual, very exclusive homes that were mostly all built in the early years of the 20th century, save for a few such as Hap's brother's. There just used to be a country club here and people would drive their horse and buggy out from San Francisco for a nice trip, a day at the races and to rest up in the club house. Eventually these rich folks started to build in the environs and so Diablo was born at the foot of Mount Diablo (see earlier post, where we went up Mount Diablo).Christine came to pick us up in the afternoon and then drive us back to Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz, where we are going to spend the next few days. The house is beautiful in a different way to the Diablo houses, surrounded by redwood forest and with a lovely garden on which Christine is lavishing love and care. There are four Abyssinian cats here - all very beautiful and friendly. More tomorrow, when we've explored a bit.

25th and 26th May

Two days when we've chilled out. Even so we seem to have fitted in a lot of shopping, eating and walking. No photos from yesterday because we didn't do a whole lot other than go to this restaurant called the Cheesecake Factory. It looks like a huge Eygptian temple and apparently is part of a chain right across the country.

Today we drove around Danville and Walnut Creek, two 'exclusive' little towns just outside San Francisco and close to Diablo. Danville is very old and has some nice individual shops and a kind of 'stage coach' feel to it. Walnut Creek has a Macy's and every other shop you can imagine and we very carefully avoided spending any money.
It was also Erin's birthday today (Hap's niece). She is 12 today. We went out for pasta at her favourite Italian pasta house and then home for Lemon birthday cake and she opened her presents.We take off for Santa Cruz at lunchtime and then, hopefully, Yosemite over the weekend. We have tickets to a show on Friday night. Not sure what because Christine, our hostess in Santa Cruz, bought them but I will report accordingly when I know.


Love to all. Soon be home again - flying back next Tuesday, so not long now. Hoping Jacob has managed to do the washing up!

24th May

Drove into San Francisco today to see the sights. These derricks were the inspiration for George Lucas's monster walking robots things in Star Wars. As you can see the weather was ovecast on the drive in, but it cleared up over the course of the day and it ended up warm and sunny.

We headed straight for the Golden Gate Bridge and parked at Cressy field, the site of the old airport. It's right next to the bridge and there's a lovely walk through wild flowers planted here as representative of the wild flowers in the area.We walked up onto the bridge and absolutely everyone we encountered there was beaming big smiles. It is a magical bridge with fabulous views of the whole bay and Alcatraz.Afterwards we drove through the streets of San Francisco, up and down some seriously big hills, where you have to think whether the brakes will actually hold you or not, to Chinatown. Not that impressed with Chinatown. It's not as nice as London's Chinatown. But it is colourful.
We delivered the car back to the car hire company and then caught the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) out to Walnut Creek, where Hap's brother picked us up and drove us the few miles back to Diablo.

23rd May

Hap's mother, Jane, and her brother Kevin, who lives with Jane in Indiana flew up from San Diego, where they had been staying with Hap's brother Chris, to stay with her other brother David who lives in Diablo. So, having met with them in San Diego earlier in our holiday, we met up with them again and now we are all staying with Chris and Gail in Diablo, which is east of San Francisco by about an hour's drive.

The house is a beautiful 'upside down' house - with the bedrooms downstairs and the main rooms upstairs to take advantage of the views. It's built on a slope so upstairs isn't really upstairs but just the ground at a higher level.

They have two greyhounds, Andy and Pinky. Pinky broke her leg and so sometimes has to be confined for her own safety. But Andy is a huge, very good natured boy.
Today we took it slow, prepared sandwiches and took Jane and Kevin and Erin, Hap's twelve-year old niece up Mount Diablo. It's a windy road about ten miles long and by the time you've reached the top you're at 3,890 feet. There's a museum at the top and and the most fantastic view. It was very clear and we could see all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge in the far distance. The pictures don't really show you how clear it was and how fantastic because they're quite hazy.
We had a picnic half way up. The huge pine cone on the table is from one of the firs on Mount Diablo.When we got home we took Andy (the greyhound) for a walk and then ate and turned in. Tomorrow it's the streets of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Nightie Night.

22nd May

We are now in Diablo, just east of San Francisco, at the home of Hap's other brother, David. We had breakfast this morning back in a Denny's, mainly because it is cheap and you get a lot. Monterey is playing host to an F3 car race this weekend and the place was packed with people.

Around lunch time we headed up Highway 1 and then onto 101 arriving in Diablo about 3 in the afternoon. The drive took us through market gardening country - particularly garlic and artichokes, cherries and strawberries. They have the biggest strawberries I have ever seen here! All the vegetables and fruit in the shops is grown locally in California and it's big, and full of flavour. It really puts our vegetables to shame.

Once in Diablo we drove with Hap's sister in law, Gail, to the supermarket and shopped for food. Back home we cooked, ate and turned in. I'm writing this in bed. No pics today but tomorrow I'm sure we'll do something/go somewhere and then I'll have more for you.

20th and 21st May

This is the view from our room in Morro Bay. I didn't post yesterday because we stayed at a here and the internet connection was both slow and unsecured. Tonight we are in Monterey, having driven Big Sur and survived!

Yesterday, after arriving in Morro Bay, which is a one-horse town if ever there was one, with a big rock (like Gibraltar they like to say round these parts), we booked the tour round Hearst Castle and drove out there. You park at the bottom of the 'Enchanted Mountain' as Hearst called it, and then got in a bus to take the five miles winding road to the summit. En route fabulous views out to sea. The Hearst Castle is essentially a concrete building that he tarted up with lots of antiques. It is quite fabulous inside and the views are spectacular. It must have been an incredible place in its heyday.
San Simeon, by contrast is a nothing town of motels and not much else. We drove back towards Morro Bay, stopping in Cayucos for a fish and chip supper. Our Days Inn motel in Morro Bay was very comfortable and we woke very early and took a walk down to the harbour front. We were too early for any shops so we packed our bags and started the drive north on Highway 1. I drove this morning and it was a winding and windswept 115 miles along a road that literally hangs onto the cliff side at times.

We lunched at the Whale Watchers Restaurant about half way round the Big Sur coast and then continued on our way to Monterey.
You can just see the road we drove as it winds round the cliffs. In the distance the bridge across the ravine that goes down to the sea.

We bypassed Carmel, because it is down in a dip below Highway 1 but we wanted to get to Monterey and find our next motel. We have ended up in the El Dorado, which is very old (as in tired rather than picturesque) but cheap and clean.
After that fabulous coastline Monterey is a bit of a tourist trap, with everything named after Steinbeck and not a bookshop in sight! There are some lovely old houses here though and they are very proud of the fishing industry (sardines) that used to be here. There is an historic 'trail' with boards that tell you about the history and an aquarium (which is massive and very expensive to go in - so we didn't). We had the worst meal of the trip so far at a restaurant that had a great view of the sea but not much else. We imagined that Gordon Ramsey would have a thing or two to say about it and left most of the meal. Being hungry we then found a Denny's (like Little Chef) and had pancakes. Tomorrow we drive to San Francisco.

20th May - first thing in the morning

Yes, me and Marilyn are like this x (the cross is meant to be fingers crossed)
The sun is shining this morning and we're going to head up the coast to Morro Bay and San Simeon. More later.

19th May - Wednesday

Just driven from LA to Santa Barbara. We left the hotel this morning and headed up to Hollywood. Parked right next to Ella's star and walked down to Grauman's Chinese Theatre.


It really is a lovely place, full of old film world atmosphere. We photographed as many of the hand and footprints and signatures as we could. Here's just a couple of shots, but there are plenty more.



We walked back along the road to the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscar awards ceremony. It's very modern but has this incredible floor, with negative/positive images, depending on where you stand. I don't know that this picture shows it very well.


So next is a monster robot thing, and the railcare up to the Getty Center, where were drove to after we'd finished in Hollywood.


The Getty Center is the home of the Getty Collection of artworks - sadly, the art is not up to the standard of the architecture. The gardens and buildings were just spectacular and we had a lovely lunch sitting under olive trees overlooking the fabulous mountain view. Here are some pics.




Busy day this. We drove on to Santa Barbara and got lucky with a hotel right on the harbour front, which is very upmarket. We walked down to the harbour and along the harbour wall, watched dolphins taking fish of the fishermen's lines and I got completely satuarated when a wave came up unexpectedly and drenched me! We walked back to Brophys fish restaurant and had another fabulous evening meal. A real busy place and very good value for money.