After a short break, due to a very poor internet connection in Santa Cruz I'm blogging again...
First of all Santa Cruz was awesome and fun too! Watching the surfers in the swells of the Pacific off of the shore was great, the views were great. Meeting and acquaintance for lunch in Pacific Grove (she said she'd haunt me if I didn't call her when I was in California!) and drinking in the opulence of Pebble Beach was fantastic too. The fog and drizzle enshrouded the gigantic fields of strawberries, artichokes and brussel sprouts (now I know where they come from when they say "California" on the tag) were neat to see and the century old Boardwalk was so fun to walk on during a holiday weekend.
When planning a trip on the fly like this it's hard sometimes to figure out how long to stay in one place or another. Santa Cruz was a stopping place for other things that were out there to see. The hotel, though nice, was not as comfortable as I've been in other places. (Okay, a car alarm going off at 1:30 am today didn't help the overall experience, and it wasn't mine yay!)
Santa Cruz is not the most wealthy of towns and only a few miles away is one of the wealthiest, Pebble Beach. The difference is so vast, as is the terrain. To drive to the south means driving though fields and fields of crops. Then to huge sand dunes, then to lush treed and gated homes of Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach and the 17 mile drive. So beautiful. So manicured. So fancy.
Yeah, I went to Pebble Beach Golf Course (if you're a fan of golf you'll know that this is like going to a holy site, Mecca is Augusta National in Georgia, this is a close second to that).
A round of golf costs $495 a round and the caddie is expected to receive a significant gratuity and I didn't even ask what the cart would cost. There had been rain so carts weren't allowed when I was visiting. But there was no shortage of players lining up to be sent off.
Really something to see and just be part of. I sat quietly on a bench for a little while and watched a couple of groups tee off. Way out of my league. I took a score card for The Mother, she'll have to compare her distances with the one's at Pebble Beach. Good luck on that!
The fog here can be rather a challenge to drive in, or a pain, depending. Highway 1 along the western edge of California was lovely, I'm sure for part of the drive, as I didn't really get to see it I have no real clue. The traffic reports in the morning give a fog density rating for the bridges and highways. It's what can hold things up around here. Today the fog was to clear later in the afternoon on the highway but I didn't want to wait until later in the afternoon so I ventured out and other than a couple of spots of "where'd the road go?" I did just fine.
San Francisco roads reallly are steep. Very steep. Steeper than they should be for any safe driving. But I did it! Okay, I did catch myself saying "Wheeeee!" a couple of times and thanked God again for my nav system which guided me to the Best Western here down town. Driving here makes a roller coaster ride seem like a bunny hill. I can see why they shoot car chases for movies here. You could get airborne very, very easily.
There is so much to do here and I chose a place very close to Fisherman's Wharf and the downtown core. I'm 2 blocks from everything I want to do. I have already booked my ticket (no it's return) to Alcatraz and checked out the Trolley cars, acquarium, Chinatown and the rest of the sights I want to see. I missed the complimentary "Manager's Wine hour" here at the hotel because I was having way to much fun on the Piers having dinner and watching all the boats go back and forth. Maybe tomorrow.
Oh yeah, and the Golden Gate Bridge is RED not gold. Someone lied. Or picked the wrong colour. Maybe when the fog really goes away (right....it's San Francisco) I'll see it in a different light.
Better go charge up the camera!
Some sights for you.
First is a bronze statue at Pebble Beach Golf Club entitled "Just Like Dad".
Next is "lone cypress" from the 17 Mile drive between Monterey and Carmel, California
Then, "Alcatraz emerging" (I like that one).
Then my view from my sushi restaurant overlooking the bay. Alcatraz in the distance and just some of the boats whipping around. Busy place!
No comments:
Post a Comment