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| Melanie had another presentation in San Fransisco, so I got to tag along for the ride. We made it a five-day weekend and headed down the coast to San Simeon after her speech. |
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Pac Bell Park
We pulled into SFO around 12:30 - there's an awful lot of construction going on, and now the rental car garage is pretty much inaccessible to anyone. Okay we just have to get on the highway for a little bit... but come on. The highway? I think we rented from Alamo, whose cars are on the fouth level of the garage - the line for the elevators wrapped around the corner, so we humped the bags up the stairs just to be clear of the place. Renting a car has become my least favorite aspect of travel. I managed to scam two single seats over the internet for the afternoon Giants game at the new Pac Bell Park on Third Street downtown. Nice venue sitting out over the water with Oakland in the distance. We even had a rainbow stretch across to the ship cranes on the other side of the bay. Bonds almost hit his 40th that afternoon, but it choked on the warning track. There's an interesting garlic odor in the upper deck thanks to the generous helpings of Gilroy Garlic fries everywhere. This is a new concept to us eastern tenderfoots. |
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Around San Fran
While Melaine gave her presentation I picked up a one-day transit pass (six bucks down at the transit center near Union Square) and hopped the bus to the Haight. Good thing - glancing at the the map it looks like you could walk across town from Nob Hill, but it's a pretty long stretch. Folks talk to themselves in your general direction on mass transit here, so stare straight ahead and call it a draw. |
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Working the Angle
I got cold feet for the first time driving to the hotel. The Mark Hopkins is at the top of Nob Hill, with those steep streets that the cars in all those cop movies barrel down to such heart-stopping effect. Tell you what - it's a whole lot worse going up the damn things. I chose Taylor, and there was a green Acura about halfway up the hill as I made that last push. The angle is so sharp that you see nothing but sky at the end of the block and it feels like the car may flip over backwards. As the Acura approached the top of the hill it started to slow down. Like maybe it wouldn't make it. Like maybe then I wouldn't make it either. I felt the blood drain from my feet. I pictured the transmission stripping its gears and having to fishtail my way back to sea level. At the last moment the Acura crept around the corner and I raced around it, sort of cutting another guy off. Sorry. Then the blood drained from my forearms... your guess is as good as mine. Shaken, I squeezed into the little corner lot in front of the Mark and handed my keys to the valet, vowing not to drive in this town again until it was time to leave for good. |
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Garlic Town
More garlic, this time down in the Italian section of town. Compare to the garlic pushers at the ballpark. |
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South to San Simeon
Our route took us South down 101 through Gilroy (garlic capital of the planet, you guessed it) and over to Monterey for lunch - I guess it took us about an hour and a half to get to that point. We crept along the coast through Carmel and Big Sur - winding roads, pretty and dangerous. Plenty of stops for photos. A good three hours or so until things flattened out under the watchful eye of the Hearst Castle above San Simeon. Near San Simeon proper we found a knot of elephant seals sunning themselves and belching on the beach. |
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Cambria for the Night
Cambria is the closest real town to the castle and we trolled the motel row along the beach road until we found a place to stay. Pricy ($200) but with a nice view of the ocean. |
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Hearst Castle - San Simeon
The Hearst Castle is worth a visit, and surprisingly they let you take pictures. It's quite an operation, with an airport-sized visitor center by the highway and buses departing every fifteen minutes for the castle itself. We took the "Experience" tour - there are four different tours, and this one is the overview for newcomers. Tons of stuff - too much, but what the heck. The guy imported his ceilings from Spain - 400-year-old wood. This kind of heavy business makes the castle the second-biggest tourist draw in california after Disneyland. |
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We took 101 North to Santa Cruz for the night, and apparently we missed the nice parts of the town. Downtown SC is a little on the seedy side after dark. Word is it's pretty over where the surfers hang out. About an hour and a half to SFO, then a five-hour equipment delay before we could get in the air. Yow. |
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