Santa Barbara and the Valley

The first photo today (with the windmill) is our hotel. Very quirky, but lovely large clean room and good enough for what we want. On top of that we are opposite "The World Famous" Andersens Split Pea Soup Restaurant. Not heard of it? No - neither had we; but it is a good old fashioned place that serves decent food (and we went twice as it was only across the road). Another film link - our hotel was featured in the film "Sideways".




Our first visit was to the very odd town set up in the early 1900s by three Danish men to keep alive Danish customs (they obviously had not though of going back to Denmark!!). It is an unusual town that to us seemed a little confused with Swiss clocks and Delft china (made in Taiwan!) as well as Danish pastry shops. Highlight was a fabulous antique shop. No excuses about being such a new country just loads of top class stuff. Mentally spent a fortune.

From there we went to the Mission of Santa Ynes (Saint Agnes to you and I) which was a pretty adobe style church complex. That is where the picture of the humming bird comes from. We then drove through rising temperatures and hilly roads to some caves with paintings by local Chumash Indians. Little is known about their origin and meaning, but very impressive. We ended the day with a mooch round Downtown Santa Barbara and the pier. Like Monterey, very familiar and few photos. We have put up one of the coast line and one of a very cheeky pelican who was too lazy to fish for itself.

Our second day started in a fantastic Carriage Museum full of saddles, art by a local artist / cowboy and (as the name suggests) lots of beautifully preserved carriages, stage coaches, covered wagons of various types but all made and used in the USA as well as a fire engine and a Paddy Wagon / Black Maria.

From there we went to El Presidio which is the earliest fortress in Santa Barbara. Some was original some reconstructed and the brightly decorated chapel and the kitchen stood out. After lunch in a posh department store we went back to the hotel via a paddle in the sea before our last night on the coast. Inland to Barstow tomorrow.

Answer from last blog - Beach Master Brian is from Happy Feet 2.

Highway 1 South

Our first stop of the day was only a few miles south of Monterey, but we could have spent all day there. Point Lobos State Natural Reserve began with Whalers Cove and a delightful museum which is the oldest remaining building on the site. The area was used for a variety of functions - whaling; granite quarrying; coal shipping and abalone shell farming.
Then we went to Hidden Beach which was a geological marvel.The shells and pebbles were varied and fascinating and the rock formations showed a sudden change from sandstone to a succession of volcanic events. There were hollows filled with natural salt and pieces of jade.

We then set off properly down the Highway 1 making a variety of photo stops as we did the last time. We had lunch at Gorda - see Gordon by the sign! The next picture is the view we had to put up with whist we ate accompanied by a hummingbird.

 Fear not - all these bones are washed up old age pensioners - naturally deceased!

Our last main stop before we got to Beulton and the Windmill Inn was the Elephant Seal Rookery in the shadow of Hearst Castle near San Simeon. They were amazingly big and very interesting to watch, especially when they started a bit of a punch up - Beachmaster Brian was victorious (bit of a film link there).

Monterey Peninsular

A lovely quiet day mooching around Monterey. It was as Rachel remembered it; Gordon wasn't as sure!!
Our first stop was the cathedral which was the start of the Historic Walk. We didn't take many photos as we already have so many (sorry folks!)

We walked along Fisherman's Wharf in the wind and admired the views then went back into town had a fab coffee and cake in an Italian Cafe. From there we finished the walk. (I put Gordon in jail at one point!).

Later on we got in the car and drove to Pacific Grove to (re) admire the lovely architecture and play on the sand. At Port Pinos the lighthouse "does what it says on the tin"! It is a house that has a light for the ships on top. From there we drove to Carmel down a winding road that we both remembered driving UP last time. We had a walk around town and then a "Dirty Harry" burger at "The Hog's Breath" cafe - owned by one Clint Eastwood. He wasn't there to greet us this time either!

Yosemite to Monterey

We set off fairly early to drive back into Yosemite. We decided to go into the park and out the south entrance for a bit of variety. The views of the various mountains we had seen in the valley all in a row were fantastic.....and we got to see a proper (though small in comparison to winter) waterfall called Bridalveil Falls.

Then a long and rather complicated trip to Monterey as we got a little bit lost - a combination of not big enough scale maps and appaling signs on the roads! Never mind - we got there. What a hot journey. Temperatures reaching 100!

We went to Moss Landing before we got to the hotel in Monterey. What an amazing place - more Sea Otters in one location than we had ever seen; and close up too. What with the seals; plover; godwits; pelicans and seals it was a twitchers paradise! And I have to say, a much lower temperature.

Yosmeite National Park

As we left San Francisco in our hire car, the mist and the temperature rose. Gordon drove really well considering it is a while since we did a left hand drive in the US. An easy route on well sign-posted main roads took us on our way. We had a break at Merced where we had a fabulous sandwich and cookie with “The Cookie Lady”. Everyone should go and eat there and have a chat with the wonderful owner.(Cookie Lady's bakery & Cafe. Necola Adams. 709 W. Main Street, Merced CA 95340) Follow signs to California Welcome Centre and she is on the other side of the road back one block.

We continued onto El Portal where we checked in to a good spacious room in a fairly large complex – shop; swimming pools; restaurant and bar grill. A river runs by and we went for a paddle after eating. The most beautiful view from our room reminded us we were already in Yosemite country.

The next 2 days were taken with driving into and walking around some of the most fantastic countryside. The mountains are made of a pale and glittery granite; the trees smell fragrant; and the rivers are bliss to paddle in. We saw a selection of wildlife – but no bears! Amazingly, the first thing we did see was a Bobcat racing across the footpath (see picture below). The photos are a small selection; but none really do the area justice.