Pictures of 2 Mama Sea Lions, the Fat Tuesday Band & the streets of San Fran.
Sat. Jan 13 - moved up the road a ways to Stockton Lodi RV Park for a few days, to do some serious wine tasting. Arnold declared California in a state of emergency due to freezing temps at night, very damaging to the oranges being harvested now. Also the artichokes are going to be ready to harvest soon, not good for them either....:-(
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so we tasted wine & went to a chocolate factory! MMMMmmmmm. Drove into Lodi to go to the Lodi Wine & Visitor Centre where you can taste wines from several wineries. Excellent selections, but nothing we loved enough to buy. Next out to Vino Piazza Wineries, another complex with several wineries with tasting rooms. Now we had some fun here, but the wines are closer to 20., above our tastes! Good olive oil & cheese, though!
Sun. Jan 14 - went for a long bike ride into Lodi, 25 km or so, beautiful sunny day, found lunch in the very quaint downtown at Feed & Fuel, what a great name for a restaurant! All movie memorabilia from a previous owner, apparently. We like this small town feel, so glad we stayed an extra day in the area. Central Cal, cool at night, still some freezing water, so we don't hook up at all, just stay cozy inside.
Mon - make the drive to San Francisco, only 140 kms away. Before going to our park we drove around the shoreline, beautiful beaches at the state park, awesome views from up on the cliffs. Park downtown & go to Fishermans Wharf for lunch, it is Martin Luther King day, so is busy on the streets. Walk thru Pier 39, look in shops & go to Vistor Info to find out what we should do here. We were here 20 some years ago, don't remember much. Stay at Candlestick RV Park, directly across the street from the park which is now called Monster Park. All locked up, can't get in to see anything, & the 49ers are out, so no more games (so I am told).
Tues - there is a downtown shuttle from the RV park, but we are the only passengers at 11, so driver takes us in his car. He drops us at the end of the Cable car line, we walk around this area for awhile & then go to Chinatown, have lunch there at the Floating Boat Sushi Restaurant, but we don't have sushi. Then take the cable car down/up/down to the waterfront, wahoo! Walk to Pier 33, but the last boat to Alcatraz has left, so can't do that. Have a drink on the waterfront, then walk back to the Cable car, back uptown. Shop around Macy's & Westfield Mall abit, nice & quiet today. Then off to Biscuits & Blues, a destination Lisa & Bob were at in the fall & recommended. We order their Yam Fries & Catfish for appetizers & sip our drinks, we are the first patrons at 6:30, Blues act starts at 8. Our waitress Marie Claire's Father is from Montreal, though she was raised in Minnesota, but she knows where PEI is! She is finishing her Masters in Human Sexuality, unfortunately she gets busy & we can't chat anymore, I am so curious, :c) !
Our shared dinner of Southern Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Caesar Salad (uncut romaine hearts) arrives, very yummy. The band starts to set up, Fat Tuesday Band with Edna Love (singing), 7 piece band! The leader plays the bass guitar & tuba, there are 2 sax's, a guitar picker, drummer, piano & trumpet player, plus Edna, who is just as you imagine! The band starts out playing several instumental pieces, showcasing each musician in turn with a solo, awesome! Then Edna (who is at the next table to us) comes up & belts out many familiar tunes with her fantastic, large voice! It is a small venue & is not full, but the audience is into the music. Some people get up & dance, everyone is moving! At the end of the set, the band (those that are portable) play & march thru the crowd "New Orleans style" & the audience turns & waves their white napkins as they pass, such FUN!! They continue around the room & up the stairs, the whole brass section & the drummer on tamborine, what a sound! I am giving you this detail, as I was instructed by Lisa to TAKE NOTES, so you got it all, except the names of the songs, which I don't have with me, as I had to bike to a coffee shop to use the wireless! She'll get those, but let me know if anyone else wants them too!! It was a great night & we are so glad we went there!
We took a cab back to the RV & apparently it had poured rain while we were in there, a good sign of warmer weather we hope!
Wed Jan 17th - we sleep in, I have a few "skull cramps", hmmm. Clean things up & head back south, as we want to spend some time along the shore before we head north & well there is no rush to get anywhere.... The route south has some amazing sights. We stop for lunch & look up in a great book we picked up at home "Road Trip USA", it has 12 detailed road trips & we are on one from south to north along the shore. Has great info & this is where we read about the sea lions birthing at Ano Neuvo State Reserve, only about 15 miles from where we are. You have to do a guided tour with a Docent Ranger (volunteer) for 5. each, so that is what we did. It was such a fantastic sight, just a 3 mile hike round trip to see the hundreds of males, females & pup Elephant Sea Lions. The males are 20+ feet long & can weigh 5000 pounds, or the same as a whole defensive team of football players! They can move surprisingly fast, so we had to learn the safety lessons/rules first, as we could be walking among them. As it turned out our viewing was from up on a sand dune, but that was good as we could see the whole herd & many harems! We even witnessed 3 births, which of course resulted in another 100 or so pictures!! This event was really a highlight, so glad the timing was right.
We then drove a little further south just past Santa Cruz to New Brighton State Park, overlooking a long sandy beach.
Thurs. Jan 18 - awesome sunny morning, just right for my first run on a California Beach. Even found some sea glass & a really nice oyster shell intact. OK, so I didn't run the whole time, but it was certainly a good workout in the sand...
There is another park almost next to this one down the beach, which we investigated this am, no spaces with hookups, but we check back after lunch & there is an opening, so that is where we are now. There is no wireless in any of the state parks & that is where we plan to camp on our way up the coast, as they are usually in very nice places. This one is called Seacliffe, & we are right on the beach with the cliff behind us. It's a long, long beach, so there will be a few walks & we might stay a few days, it is a small park, and people are friendly. The weather is warm enough to sit on the beach & read, did that today. Have to get back on my bike & to the park before dark. If the weather is warming up in Vancouver, we'll be there very early in Feb.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so we tasted wine & went to a chocolate factory! MMMMmmmmm. Drove into Lodi to go to the Lodi Wine & Visitor Centre where you can taste wines from several wineries. Excellent selections, but nothing we loved enough to buy. Next out to Vino Piazza Wineries, another complex with several wineries with tasting rooms. Now we had some fun here, but the wines are closer to 20., above our tastes! Good olive oil & cheese, though!
Sun. Jan 14 - went for a long bike ride into Lodi, 25 km or so, beautiful sunny day, found lunch in the very quaint downtown at Feed & Fuel, what a great name for a restaurant! All movie memorabilia from a previous owner, apparently. We like this small town feel, so glad we stayed an extra day in the area. Central Cal, cool at night, still some freezing water, so we don't hook up at all, just stay cozy inside.
Mon - make the drive to San Francisco, only 140 kms away. Before going to our park we drove around the shoreline, beautiful beaches at the state park, awesome views from up on the cliffs. Park downtown & go to Fishermans Wharf for lunch, it is Martin Luther King day, so is busy on the streets. Walk thru Pier 39, look in shops & go to Vistor Info to find out what we should do here. We were here 20 some years ago, don't remember much. Stay at Candlestick RV Park, directly across the street from the park which is now called Monster Park. All locked up, can't get in to see anything, & the 49ers are out, so no more games (so I am told).
Tues - there is a downtown shuttle from the RV park, but we are the only passengers at 11, so driver takes us in his car. He drops us at the end of the Cable car line, we walk around this area for awhile & then go to Chinatown, have lunch there at the Floating Boat Sushi Restaurant, but we don't have sushi. Then take the cable car down/up/down to the waterfront, wahoo! Walk to Pier 33, but the last boat to Alcatraz has left, so can't do that. Have a drink on the waterfront, then walk back to the Cable car, back uptown. Shop around Macy's & Westfield Mall abit, nice & quiet today. Then off to Biscuits & Blues, a destination Lisa & Bob were at in the fall & recommended. We order their Yam Fries & Catfish for appetizers & sip our drinks, we are the first patrons at 6:30, Blues act starts at 8. Our waitress Marie Claire's Father is from Montreal, though she was raised in Minnesota, but she knows where PEI is! She is finishing her Masters in Human Sexuality, unfortunately she gets busy & we can't chat anymore, I am so curious, :c) !
Our shared dinner of Southern Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Caesar Salad (uncut romaine hearts) arrives, very yummy. The band starts to set up, Fat Tuesday Band with Edna Love (singing), 7 piece band! The leader plays the bass guitar & tuba, there are 2 sax's, a guitar picker, drummer, piano & trumpet player, plus Edna, who is just as you imagine! The band starts out playing several instumental pieces, showcasing each musician in turn with a solo, awesome! Then Edna (who is at the next table to us) comes up & belts out many familiar tunes with her fantastic, large voice! It is a small venue & is not full, but the audience is into the music. Some people get up & dance, everyone is moving! At the end of the set, the band (those that are portable) play & march thru the crowd "New Orleans style" & the audience turns & waves their white napkins as they pass, such FUN!! They continue around the room & up the stairs, the whole brass section & the drummer on tamborine, what a sound! I am giving you this detail, as I was instructed by Lisa to TAKE NOTES, so you got it all, except the names of the songs, which I don't have with me, as I had to bike to a coffee shop to use the wireless! She'll get those, but let me know if anyone else wants them too!! It was a great night & we are so glad we went there!
We took a cab back to the RV & apparently it had poured rain while we were in there, a good sign of warmer weather we hope!
Wed Jan 17th - we sleep in, I have a few "skull cramps", hmmm. Clean things up & head back south, as we want to spend some time along the shore before we head north & well there is no rush to get anywhere.... The route south has some amazing sights. We stop for lunch & look up in a great book we picked up at home "Road Trip USA", it has 12 detailed road trips & we are on one from south to north along the shore. Has great info & this is where we read about the sea lions birthing at Ano Neuvo State Reserve, only about 15 miles from where we are. You have to do a guided tour with a Docent Ranger (volunteer) for 5. each, so that is what we did. It was such a fantastic sight, just a 3 mile hike round trip to see the hundreds of males, females & pup Elephant Sea Lions. The males are 20+ feet long & can weigh 5000 pounds, or the same as a whole defensive team of football players! They can move surprisingly fast, so we had to learn the safety lessons/rules first, as we could be walking among them. As it turned out our viewing was from up on a sand dune, but that was good as we could see the whole herd & many harems! We even witnessed 3 births, which of course resulted in another 100 or so pictures!! This event was really a highlight, so glad the timing was right.
We then drove a little further south just past Santa Cruz to New Brighton State Park, overlooking a long sandy beach.
Thurs. Jan 18 - awesome sunny morning, just right for my first run on a California Beach. Even found some sea glass & a really nice oyster shell intact. OK, so I didn't run the whole time, but it was certainly a good workout in the sand...
There is another park almost next to this one down the beach, which we investigated this am, no spaces with hookups, but we check back after lunch & there is an opening, so that is where we are now. There is no wireless in any of the state parks & that is where we plan to camp on our way up the coast, as they are usually in very nice places. This one is called Seacliffe, & we are right on the beach with the cliff behind us. It's a long, long beach, so there will be a few walks & we might stay a few days, it is a small park, and people are friendly. The weather is warm enough to sit on the beach & read, did that today. Have to get back on my bike & to the park before dark. If the weather is warming up in Vancouver, we'll be there very early in Feb.
posted by Sherri, Gerry @ 2:42 PM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home