California- February, 2007

Big Sur

The Golden Gate Bridge February 2007 was my tour of California. It started by going to San Francisco. The bay area is an excellent holiday destination on it own. I stayed at the hostel located at Ft. Mason. It was the perfect location for me. The fort is located right on the Bay. There is a great view of The Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Mason. A short distance west of the fort you are in the Marina district. It is one of the high end areas to live in San Francisco. From there it is all beautiful park land that leads to you to The Golden Gate Bridge. I did this bike ride several times on my folding Dahon bike. It was the first trip that I took my folding bike with me on a trip. I had a lot of fun with it. In fact it was one of the highlights of this trip. I can’t put into words what a joy it was to ride my bike over the Golden Gate Bridge. I did it 3 times. If you make it to Frisco. I highly recommend riding a bike or hiking across that great bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the engineering wonders of the world. The views from it, will take your breath away! San Francisco is a fantastic city to get out in and explore. The public transit system is very good. You can ride a classic streetcar, an electric bus, Bart, or one of the historic cable cars. I did it all. There are 3 cable car lines left in the city. Make sure and ride them as much as you can when you are there. Buy a transit pass. That way you can use the cable cars, buses, and street cars unlimited. It doesn’t include Bart. Bart is the bay area subway or underground. I did ride Bart to Berkley. Doing so, the trip takes you underwater. That’s right there is a tunnel that runs along the bottom of the bay. It is called the Trans Bay Tube. It is also an engineering wonder of the world. A budget traveler will also do well eating in San Francisco. There are a lot of restaurants of all different descriptions. Serving every kind of food you could think of. Also don’t miss out going to the Ferry Terminal Building, and having lunch there. You won’t be sorry you did. Other great memories of being in the Bay area. I spent a very nice afternoon on Alcataz. I did the self guided tour in the prison, and a tour conducted by a park ranger that was very interesting. I did a day trip to wine country. I also did the trip to see the Muir Woods. It is a protected forest of California Red Woods. Don’t miss out on seeing them. It is a very special place. I then traveled on to see Yosemite National Park. I stayed in a hostel about 20 miles from the park. I was there for 3 days. The drive from the hostel was difficult, and can be dangerous. You are driving mountain pass roads. If they are snow covered or icy. Beware. Don’t end your life, or ruin your vacation. Yosemite is a fantastic place to visit. I brought home many excellent memories from being at Yosemite. From Yosemite it was time to get back to the coast of California. I drove to Monterey. It is an excellent place to stay. Excellent hostel there. Very well run by nice people. I also had a very special day in Carmel. I ate lunch is a very nice restaurant there. The food was great! Plus it wasn’t that expensive. Also I have to mention. What I believe was the best meal I ate on this trip. It was an Italian restaurant in Monterey. The food and service were excellent. It only cost me less then $20 for the meal. Next was the best part of the drive south on the Pacific Coast Highway. The drive from Monterey along Big Sur all the way to San Simeon. The coastal beauty is outstanding. One of the most scenic drives you can do in the U.S.A. I stopped at San Simeon. The William Randolph Hurst Mansion can be found there. I did take 2 of the tours there. It is a fantastic place. Very much worth the visit. However it is staggering how rich William Randolph Hurst was. My journey down the California coast took to me stops in Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and to my final stop in San Diego. I do love the city of San Diego very much. It was my second time there. San Diego has a great atmosphere and almost always perfect weather. My highlight being there was my bike ride on Coronado, and down the silver strand. I almost rode all the way to Mexico. What an outstanding day!

Yosemsite National Park

Biking on Coronado

San Diego

Point Loma