It was so much easier to journal in Australia. We had a computer handy daily, and down time to funnel our thoughts. The West Coast Tour 2k8, awesome as it was, went 90 mph!!! So I'm not promising my best journal entries from this trip, due to the recapping I'm undergoing in my own head. Apologies.
To pick up where we left off. I came home from Alaska on a Monday, worked 2 shifts at the Blue Goose, and left Wednesday night for San Diego. Probably not one of my better ideas, I was exhausted. But worth every minute in order to complete both trips. We flew into San Diego on July 16th, where we stayed with my old friend, Paul. This guy is wonderful. He shares an apartment downtown and gave us girls a key to his place AND his room! He slept on the couch and we took over his room for 2 nights/2 days. What a sweetheart! In that time span we went to the San Diego zoo...(and while great, doesn't compare to the interactive Steve Irwin, you don't need to try any other zoo's after the Steve Irwin)...went for a walk past the Padres stadium and down to the water with Paul, and had a night walk down the pier of Ocean Beach.
We got breakfast everyday at this great little fair-trade coffee shop called Java Jones. Prices were great, people were great, food was great. I try to go to the mom and pop stores when possible since it was Starbucks who put my high school job out of business. I should tell you about my $10/day plan. I would try to spend no more than $10/day on food on this trip, just to see if it would be possible. Now, the rules are: 1. This only applies to food/drink. 2. This does not include tips (hard-working waiters should not be submitted to my sick game) 3. Overflows are allowed--ex. I only spend $6 one day, then I may spend $14 the next. You'd be surprised. And something that was blatantly obvious to me for the first time...America's portions are OUTRAGEOUS. PLEEEEASE America. I would much rather have a smaller portion and be able to clean my plate than you giving me "All I can eat" for $7.99. They need to change it to "All I SHOULD eat" and lower the price a little. And you waiters out there...don't get annoyed when Shasta and I want to split something. You'll still get your tip because YES I realize that even though we only got one meal...we are taking up TWO seats. Don't you worry. I feel the need to clean my plate. Its how I was raised. And its a great practice since we are such a wasteful, obese, gluttonous nation. The only problem comes when Im sick of pizza and want some vegetables, therefore have to order my own portion.
From S.D. we drove to Hermosa beach and stayed with TOBY AND JANE!!! I can't express my love for this couple. Jane is one of my best friends in the whole world and Toby is always entertaining. They even talked us into staying an extra night or two. Hermosa was still probably my favorite part of the trip. We grilled burgers, played volleyball, mastered rockband, splashed in the frigid ocean...(forced by toby)...it was all just so relaxed. Oh and mom!...Kellie Decker and her mom came over for dinner on our last night so I got to catch up with them!
Jane let us borrow their 4 person tent, so we packed it up and were on our way after a few days. We drove up the 1, which is beautiful and the best way to see the West Coast. Stopped at the Hearst Castle...you know, the newspaperman?...it was very big and would have loved to take a tour...but that would have been $75 and half/day and we had a hostel reservation in Pescadero that night. A co-worker had told me the tale of how her and her husband actually stayed INSIDE the lighthouse. And i know i didn't hear her wrong because I thought was the coolest thing and even asked, "So your bunk is INSIDE the lighthouse?". This was not the case when we got there. It was just a cabin next door. But no big deal, only $20/night and they had a much needed hot tub. It gets very cold on the coast at night you see. This was also one of my favorite nights. The girls and i went and got some coffee that night and sat outside with our blankets, drinking and talking...which eventually led to more spiritual conversation...which eventually led to shasta's interesting thought. As we watched the waves roll in and out, she noted how they never stop moving, even when the sea is calm, and how it could be compared to God's breathing...all over the Earth...outstretched to every land...constant and present.
He made something else beautiful too that everyone should see. BIG SUR (as seen above). It felt like I was driving through another country and at one point while driving, there was an eagle that soared alongside us for a few seconds...literally about 5 feet from our car. Coolest thing ever!
No segway appropriate here because the next day was San Francisco and we did NOT like it. To me, after a while, a big city is just a city. They all have Gaps, and wallgreens, and traffic and hubub. Everyone I know loves San Francisco but here is what I discovered. To love San Francisco you either need to know a local, or have money. We had neither so this is how our day went. We drove in, got some breakfast, everything going good.Then we try to find the visitors center, which is located in the heart of down town. It costs at least $20 to park anywhere, food was expensive, there are NO left turns, and nobody could tell me where to park if we wanted to use the buses for the day. We finally drove over to the bridge and walked it. You can see how windy it was (above). Drove to an overlook where we saw signs for another visitors center that soon became a joke when the signs disappeared after a while. Finally found some free parking in a residential area and walked to the Fishermans Wharf, saw the sea lions on Pier 39, the Ghiradelli shop where they make chocolate. We stopped in an Irish pub to have a beer because tensions were high, it was evening by this time and we were all frustrated. Call it pms if you will, but it was not our best day.
That night we were supposed to stay with a couch surfer, which we met at a coffee place at 10pm. This guy and a zillion references so I thought he'd be ok for one night. When we met him he was completely uninterested in us and a little bit rude. So we told him we were going to get dinner and we'd be back later. We drove around, decided not to spend another cent in that city and parked for some pb sandwiches from our snack bag. At one point Shasta says, "Can I be honest? Im just ready to get out of San Fran."...she meant the next morning, but I said..."ya me too, lets go!"...and Alayna said, "I'm totally awake to drive, lets get outta here!". So just like that, we drove to Napa Valley and actually spent money on a hotel. Ironic because the whole couch surfing thing was supposed to save us from spending ANYthing. But it was worth it to listen to our intuition that night. The date at this point is July 23rd.
...to be continued...
