Rhonda made part of this trip with her family when she was growing up. We are going to make this an adult journey though. We plan on hitting some of the wineries and locations seen in the movie Sideways. We will also be finishing the trip with a turn inland to Las Vegas. Our plans are flexible and this should be a fun trip. Why don’t we get going?
Day 1 – September 21st
The day starts early with the limo picking us up at 6:30am. We have a quick trip down to the airport and get to the gate in good order. We have not flown Virgin America before, so this will be a new experience for us. The airline seems to have fun attitude which we enjoy. They try to interject something fun in boarding by take the boarding group letter assignments and using that. When boarding group “B” they announce that “The Brilliant group may board.” Group “C” was “The clever people may now board.” Once we are seated Rhonda begins flipping through the menus on the in seat TV to see what is available. When it comes time for the safety announcements a video comes on the TVs. This is not unusual, but the video is. It is like a rock music video, and it is very amusing. To top it off one of the flight attendants, Mikey, begins dancing through the routine along with the video. He is very energetic and entertaining. When the announcements finish he is given a rousing ovation. It is a great way to start the trip.
We have a two hour layover in Los Angeles where we will switch plane for the leg to San Francisco. Traveling between the terminals in LAX is not easy and we decide to stay in terminal three and eat lunch at the one sit down restaurant there. During the meal Rhonda is keeping tabs on the Packer game on her phone. The meal is adequate, but uninspired. Airport prices make it rather expensive to boot. The Packers put in a poor showing and lose the game. Our layover takes one last downturn when our flight is delayed an hour due to weather related ground traffic delays in San Francisco. We eventually put LAX behind us and are on the short hop up to the bay area.
Things go well in the San Francisco airport and we are soon in our rental car and on the way to our B&B for the next two nights. We are staying at Gigi’s Bed and Breakfast in the Richmond District. It is located a couple of blocks north of the Golden Gate Park and a few blocks from the ocean, not far from where Playland amusement park used to be. The B&B is on 43rd Street on the side of a steep hill. Parking is either non-existent or very tricky. We pull up in front of Gigi’s abbreviated driveway to unload. The room looks like an 800 square foot apartment on the lower level of the house. It even has a garden out back. Gigi hears us arrive and comes downstairs after a bit. We have a nice chat and she gives us a couple of dinner recommendations.
Our first stop is a local grocery to see if we can find some champagne for tomorrow morning. We buy some bubbly and then head off to find a restaurant called Outerland on Judah Street. The restaurant proves difficult to find due to a lack of signage. When we do find it there is no parking to be founds for blocks around. We abandon the attempt and start driving east on Judah. When we get to 8th Street we see and Indian/Pakistani restaurant and impulsively decide on it. We drive around a bit in order to find a place to park. This is a reoccurring theme in San Francisco. The restaurant seats a total of 24 people. The chef is cooking in an area within the main room behind a counter. You order first, then take a seat at an available table. It is now 8pm and the place is fairly full. The food is not fabulous, but it is good and inexpensive. By the time we are done it is getting rather late and we decide to head back to the B&B. Gigi has told us where we can find a spot to park by the nearby Walgreen’s and we turn in for the night.
Day 2 – September 22nd
The morning starts early for us both since we are still on Midwest time. We knock around the apartment browsing books for a bit. I walk out back to look around the small garden that takes the place of the back yard. I see Gigi at the top of the steps leading to her quarters and greet her in French. She returns the salutation and comes down to chat. We discuss the garden and compare some notes. She has some corn growing and I tell the story of how the raccoons ate all of ours. She is keeping bees and even has some hops growing. The contents of the garden are definitely diverse. After a while we part ways and Rhonda and I go in to breakfast.
Gigi has prepared a simple breakfast of a croissant, a small bowl of fruit, some yoghurt and fresh squeezed juice. It is all very tasty. The honey is raw and thick and not overly sweet. It may even be from her bees. Best of all is the coffee she provides. It is wonderful. Gigi is very much the old hippy and we can tell by the items around the apartment, the garden, the breakfast and her car that she still lives a very environmentally conscious life style. We have no complaints and her accommodations are quirky, cozy and comfortable. We take our time with breakfast but then finally decide to get moving.
The morning has dawned clear and warm. The Muir Woods is on the agenda for this morning. We drive through the Presidio and over the Golden Gate Bridge. We make a short stop at the lookout on the north side for some pictures and to enjoy the view. The way to the woods diverts from the freeway right after the bridge and we are soon driving a very windy two lane road. There seems to be a small caravan headed to the same place. I know that parking at the park can be a problem because of the small lot. Sure enough, when we get there the lot is full and people are beginning to park along the road in designated areas. Our spot is not too far away from the entrance, maybe a quarter of a mile at most.
Once in the park we start up the main walk. There are quite a few people, but it is not crowded. As we stroll along we come to a trail branching off to the right. It is Ocean View Trail and the map shows that it heads up to the top of the ridge and then hooks up with another trail before looping back. The distance is less than three miles, so we decide to leave the main trail and get away from everyone else. The trail does start gaining altitude pretty quickly, then intersperses climbs and level places. Overall we will gain about 800 feet. The trail is small and we run into only a few people along the way. As we gain altitude the views of the valley and canopy of the trees below is lovely. After more than a mile we finally start catching a breeze as we reach where the trail peaks on a ridge and meets up with the Lost Trail, which is what we want. The breeze is nice and we cool ourselves for a while in the shade. Eventually we start down and are soon glad we walked the loop in the direction we did. The way down is very steep and probably eighty percent steps. We feel for the folks coming up this way, though coming down is just as hard on the legs. The walk back down the valley floor is pleasant even though the number of people increases the closer we get to the visitors center. The Muir Woods are just as majestic and primeval as we remember them. Our hike has been a great experience.
Once back at the car we drive out the opposite way we came in. We pass cars parked along the side of the road for almost a mile. We finally come out on Highway 1 near the ocean. We ride this all the way back across the Golden Gate and into San Francisco. I steer towards Fisherman’s Wharf where we plan on having lunch. We park in a ramp attached to Ghirardelli Square and walk down to the Wharf. Once there we find a restaurant, Alioto’s, with an outside table for two available along the rail, next to the sidewalk.
We take our seats and begin to people watch. There are lots of people out on this beautiful day and we have a great view. There is some live music playing back near the Fisherman’s Wharf sign about fifty yards away. It provides a nice soundtrack to lunch. Rhonda has some mussels and clams and I enjoy a crab sandwich. The mussels are the star of the meal. They are large and probably the most tender of any mussels we have had anywhere. We take our time with our bottle of wine, just watching the world go by. Finally we finish the wine, pay up and move on.
I take us over to the Mechanical Amusement Museum, which is here on the wharf. I want to say high to Laughing Sal. She is an old mechanical amusement saved from the Playland amusement park. She is a large woman that towers over you with a wide, open mouthed grin. She verges on creepy, which is part of the attraction. I get some quarters and drop one in. She begins to rock back and forth and a laugh. This ups the creep factor quite a bit. I can see how she would be downright scary to young kids. We spend some time in the museum dropping quarters in various amusements. Thinking about the arcades of today and what is on display here makes you wonder about the changes a culture goes through over a century. There are many amusements that are displays of a scene that become animated when you drop in your money. These vary from a barn dance or a monkey band all the way to an execution complete with last rites. We both subject ourselves to the old “Love-O-Meter” that you sit in and get your butt vibrated. The results were less that amorous. There is an old photo booth here too. Given that Rhonda and I have never taken our picture in one, we decide to give it a try. The strip of four black and white photos makes for a nice souvenir.
We continue to walk down the Embarcadero to Pier 39. That is where the seals used to hang out and we want to see if they have returned. We don’t hear anything as we get closer, so we fear they haven’t returned. Our fears are met when we see that the dozens of floating docks they used to occupy are now reclaimed by boats and only a handful of seals are left. This is unfortunate. We stop in at Mangos for a margarita and a view of the harbor. Mangos is up on the second level and looks to the east, across the bay. We enjoy the sun and the vista and rest our feet before the walk back to the car. While strolling back we come to Cioppino’s on Jefferson. We stop in for a glass of wine and a crab cake. Afterwards we finally make it back to Ghirardelli Square and promptly buy too much chocolate. We buy for the kids and ourselves and will travel a long way with this chocolate.
We want to find a liquor store in order to stock up on the champagne we will need for the trip. We drive back along Nob Hill, following the cable car line. We finally locate Blackwell’s, which is close to where we are staying, but it is closed. We still have half a bottle left over from this morning, so we are good for tomorrow. We decide to make our way back to the B&B and try to find something tomorrow. We park next to the Walgreen’s again. We stop in the Walgreen’s and pick up a bottle of wine and some popcorn. Only in California would you find a big wine selection with some pretty good labels in a drug store. We finish off the night with the wine as we rest our feet. We both accumulated over 20,000 steps today. We have some sore toes, but it has been a great day.
Day 3 – September 23rd
The breakfast this morning is similar to the one yesterday. Gigi noticed we didn’t eat the melon yesterday and our fruit bowls are nothing but berries today. The pastries are different, but again freshly baked and delectable. After getting cleaned up and packed up we hit the road. We drive east through the city until we hit Highway 1 and take that south. The morning is overcast and a little cool. The highway veers west through the city of Pacifica. South of the city we pass through a tunnel. As we emerge on the other side of the mountain the sun breaks out. It will stay with us down the coast to Monterey.
The Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco does not run at sea level. It courses along above the water at heights that vary between ten and a hundred feet. It does follow the line of the coast though, and is very windy. Many times only the guardrail is between you and a fall into the Pacific. This serves to keep Rhonda’s heart rate up as I am driving. When originally planning this trip Rhonda mentioned that we should travel southward in order to be on the ocean side of the road. This was a brilliant idea as the view is less obstructed in the southbound lane and all of the turnouts are on your side of the road. The number of bicyclists that we will encounter along the PCH will surprise both Rhonda and I. The winding road climbs and drops as frequently as it turns left and right, which is to say almost all the time. Bicycling such a road in close quarters with cars whose drivers may be watching the scenery would be physically challenging and well as risky.
A while down the road we take a short break at small state park between the road and the water. We walk out through the low shrubs to the edge of the cliff that separates a mile long strip of beach with the plateau of the land. The wide expanse offers a wonderful view up and down the coast for a distance. The jutting of land out into the ocean frequently limits how much of the coast you can see at one time along the PCH. The breeze from the west is steady and pleasant. The sun is warm and full above us. We are tempted to walk down to the water level, but the stairs leading down from the height are in a ravine end in a pool of tidal waters. We have no desire to get our feet wet with more driving to do, so we enjoy the view from on high. As the morning ages we make another similar stop further down the coast.
We begin to notice crops in the tables of land that are becoming more frequent as we travel south. They are small, but we see fields of produce that are dominated by Brussels sprouts and artichokes. The artichoke plants look particularly wicked with their similarity to large thistles. There will be a group of fields on either side of the road in the short space of land available. It seems odd along the coast. Something else we encounter are infrequent stands of eucalyptus trees along the highway. I savor the smell of them as we pass by. The warm sun bakes the heady scent out of the trees.
Later in the morning we stop in the town of Davenport. It is a small collection of buildings that used to be home to whaling ships. The sign says the population is 375.We have a seat in a small diner that is right on the highway. Rhonda orders a burger and I a fried artichoke appetizer. I have seen enough of them along the road that I am curious what they can do with the fresh fruit of the plants. The restaurant has its own bakery, the product of which is displayed not far from us in a couple of display cases. It looks good, but a shared meal is enough for lunch. I am not disappointed in the fried artichoke which is lightly breaded and really tender.
Back out on the road we continue south towards Monterey. The road heads inland a bit has we make our way around Santa Cruz. The coast between here and Monterey is flat and dominated by crops of all sorts. We see more of the Brussels sprouts and artichokes, but also lots of strawberries and lettuce of all varieties. The road returns to the water near Moss Landing, but then dips back inland as we get close to Monterey. Rhonda is driving now and I direct her around Monterey Bay and up to Cannery Row and the Aquarium. Signs lead us to a parking ramp a few blocks up from the water. There we give the car a rest and walk to the acclaimed aquarium.
The Monterey Aquarium is on the north end of Cannery Row. In fact part of some of its building used to be the Hovden Cannery. Inside they have built an exhibit around the original boilers that shows the rise and fall of the Monterey fish canning industry. The aquarium itself is marvelous. They have numerous displays with all manner of jelly fish. They range from the large hypnotically slow variety to the small frenetic kinds. The music the aquarium provides next to each display seems to match the movement of the jellyfish. The male octopus is highly active and quite fun to watch. Another display that captures our interest is the eels. The reef represented there is quite colorful, as are all of the varied eel residents. There are tunnels and holes that the multicolored eels use to hide in and grin out at the world from. A remarkable exhibit I have not seen anywhere else is a shoreline aviary. In an enclosed space a section of sandy shoreline has been recreated like it was sliced off the coast and in dropped here. A wave machine keeps the water that is occupied by flounder, shark and other fish lapping the sand. There are shore birds living in the grassy sand, and thus the aviary nature of the exhibit. There are some touching tanks that are manned by aquarium staff where you are welcome to touch the variety of sea life on display.
Where we spend most of our time, apart from the jellies, is at two particularly large tanks in the museum. Both are over two stories tall. One represents the open sea and has a large school of sardines, a couple varieties of tuna, hammerhead sharks and a few others. It is fun watching the school of sardines split and reform as it keeps its distance from the shark that seems to be just be having fun swimming through them. The other enormous tank houses a kelp forest. The aquarium has managed to grow kelp in a controlled environment, which is apparently not an easy thing to do. The tank is populated with all manner of fish found in the bay just outside, including a big school of anchovies. Once again the school of fish is mesmerizing in its motions and movements as it separates and reforms. The anchovies look like a sparkling tornado in the water when clustered tightly. While we are watching the kelp forest a diver enters the tank and proceeds to feed the fish and talk about the inhabitants. We have spent the whole afternoon in the aquarium and I am pleased to say it exceeded my expectations of it.
Back out on the street we stroll up Cannery Row. I stop and read a large plaque showing the locations of the places and events described in the two Steinbeck novels I read that were the basis for the movie Cannery Row. We stop in a place called Sly McFly’s for a late afternoon drink. The street and establishments both seem pretty quiet, but it is a weekday late in the season. After our refreshment we decide to make our way over the peninsula to Carmel. I had originally intended to drive the Seventeen Mile Road around the peninsula, but it is getting late so we cut overland.
Carmel by the Sea is a small, affluent community where Clint Eastwood was once mayor. We are staying at the Sandpiper Bed and Breakfast located a street away from the beach. The streets in the town are all narrow and have no street lights. Luckily the daylight holds as we try to find our lodgings so we can read the street signs. The whole town is populated by cute little houses of varying designs and decorations. No one style dominates, which makes it all quite charming. The Bed and Breakfast is inviting, with a large common room complete with a fireplace. We lug in our bags and head back out to shop for champagne for the week and find something for dinner.
The lady watching the desk at the Sandpiper told us of a grocery downtown on the main business strip. We find it without much issue and park on the street nearby. There is a light mist in the air, like a heavy fog. The store is a quaint little affair with a large wine section. This is near to wine country, after all. We find several half bottles which will suit us just fine. We get a few different brands to try them out. We also pick up a bottle of local red for later this evening. The only other item we pickup is some Day-Quil. Unfortunately Rhonda is beginning to get sick. It will stay with her for nearly the rest of the trip, augmenting from sniffles to a chest cough. I take the wine to the car and then we turn our attention to dinner.
Outside of the store we find a guide to the downtown area. We notice an Italian restaurant listed and try to find it. We walk the few blocks to get there and notice that it looks decidedly empty. That is not a good sign. Given that we passed some other establishments in full swing, we change our minds. Recalling a tapas restaurant listed on the street back close to where we started, we head back. We have a devil of a time finding the place as it is set off the street with poor signage out on the street. The name of the place is Manduka and it is decorated in an eclectic, recovered goods mode. The dinner is expensive and unsatisfying. After ordering two different small plates and being disappointed with both we decide to finish our wine and leave. We drive back to the bed and breakfast, which is its own challenge. As I mentioned earlier, there are no street lights. If you don’t know where the street you are looking for is located, you will miss it. I do. We wander a bit but eventually make our way back to the Sandpiper. Cribbage and wine in the common room next to the fire finishes out the evening.
Day 4 – September 24th
I am up too early this morning. I decide to grab my laptop and head out into the common room. I catch up on work e-mail and take notes for this journal. While I work the innkeeper shows up to get things ready for breakfast. She begins bustling around the room, fretting about lights being turned off that shouldn’t be. After a while guests begin to filter in for breakfast. I return to the room to get ready for the day and see if Rhonda is up. We pass a pleasant breakfast at a table for two next to the window. The west side of the common room is all windows with a view of the outside. While eating a nice ham and cheese quiche a hummingbird comes by, feeding on the flowering tree outside our window. There is a couple from England in the dining room that are very excited about the hummingbird after we point it out. The morning is overcast. I take the bags out to the car and stroll down to take a look at Carmel Bay. Shortly we are on the road again with the car pointed south. The sun breaks out as we begin our journey.
The coastline south of Carmel and north of San Simeon is beautiful. This is the Big Sur area which is dominated by the Los Padres National Forest. The mountains are large and run right into the sea. There are no periodic flat tables of land like yesterday. The coastline is rugged and the road especially windy. There are frequent turnouts along the way. We stop at a few just to take in the view. At one, which is probably a couple hundred feet above the water, we hear barking. We look over the precipice and see seals playing in the water below. They are small in the distance, but their motion and the sounds we hear confirm it. This stretch of the PCH turns out to be my favorite. Just south of the edge of the National Forest we come to Ragged Point. There is a resort situated here and we pull in to use the restroom and get a soda at the small general store. We walk out to the edge of the cliff to enjoy the views once more and exchange picture taking with another couple also enjoying the views.
As we continue south the mountains start to pull back from the water. There are sloping plains and we begin to see cultivated fields and fenced pasture again. We pass a couple of long beaches that are filled with hundreds of elephant seals. A little further south I spot a structure up on a hill a few miles off the road. I speculate that it may be the Hearst Castle, and it turns out I am right. We see a sign and make our way to the Visitor Center. There are several tours offered and we opt for the Grand Rooms tours, as it is recommended for first time visitors. We stroll about as we wait for our 1:20 tour time. There is a large gift shop that we browse and read through, a theater, and restaurant. Soon we are boarding a bus for the trip up to the castle.
The bus ride up to the castle is five miles long. The road winds 1500 feet up the hills catching glimpses of the castle as you ascend. The road was laid out in this fashion in an intentional attempt to heighten anticipation. There is an informational recording playing during the trip that talks about the original ranch on this site and the concept that became the castle. When we arrive at the top our smallish group gets out and is met by our guide, Michael. Michael is an energetic man that seems to like his job. His mannerisms and looks remind me of Steve Martin. I don’t want to go through a blow by blow account of what we saw. That could fill a journal by itself. I had read some accounts of the castle in Harpo Marx’s autobiography. Other than that, I didn’t know a whole lot about the place other than it existed and was a popular getaway spot for golden age Hollywood. Rhonda had I have visited the “cottages” in Newport, Rhode Island, so I was thinking of it on those terms. The reality was something different.
The whole of the Enchanted Hill, as Hearst himself called it, is beautiful and situated in a remarkable spot. The grounds that surround the main house and guest cottages are lovely. From every spot you have spectacular views of the ocean and surrounding mountains. The 350,000 gallon Neptune Pool is placed on the shoulder of the hilltop and has magnificent views for you to take in while you swim or lounge. Hearst was an avid art collector and there are historic and masterful works throughout the castle and grounds. I was very impressed by the experience and the place. While the house is opulent, it is has a comfortable feel to it. The houses in Newport seem cold by comparison. Each of the rooms we visited was inviting while being regal. It was quite a feat to blend the two things together, but here it works.
The Hearst Castle sits amid scores of square miles of property that the Hearst family owned as a ranch. Back in the day there were several exotic animals kept on the grounds as well. As we make our way back down the hill on the bus we are on the lookout for zebras. They are the only remaining remnant of the menagerie, and we do spot them grazing amongst the cattle still kept on the ranch. Once back at the Visitor Center we pause to share a BBQ sandwich made with the beef from the ranch. While eating outside we are stalked by big black birds hoping for a snack. As they gather and close in it feels like a scene from “The Birds.” The restrooms in the Visitor Center are not open because of the drought. They use too much water. In fact the Neptune pool is empty so leaks can be fixed and because of the drought. Guests have to use the chemical toilets located in the parking lot instead of the normal restrooms. We will see some more of this phenomenon further south.
It is now four in the afternoon and Rhonda resumes driving, which she has been since Ragged Point. The scenery varies and the road takes many more trips inland. Crops of mostly strawberries and leafy vegetables have become more numerous and in the area around Guadalupe, west of Santa Maria. Crops are all you can see except for the mountains which have receded to the horizon. As we pass along the edge of Vandenberg Air Force Base and approach Lompoc things get more mountainous again. We have been far from the ocean since Pismo Beach, and won’t see it again until we leave wine country in a couple of days. Just south of Lompoc we leave Highway 1 and turn east on Santa Rosa Road. We are now in wine country and begin to see scattered vineyards amongst crops and pastures in the valleys between the low mountains.
Our destination is the Mirabelle Inn in the town of Solvang. Solvang is cute little Danish town nestled in the Santa Ynez valley. We arrive after dark and get checked in. We find the community refrigerator and put a couple of half bottles in to chill for the next couple of breakfasts. The Inn is lovely and comfortable. There is a European flair to it which is very nice. We ask the hostess to direct us to a good representation of Danish food for diner. Without hesitation she sends us to the Red Viking. It is a few blocks walk and we are grateful to stretch our legs. The restaurant is unassuming and welcoming. The food is very good and of a wholesome variety. We dine on plain Danish fair like meatballs, potatoes, salads and bread. Also, it is very affordable. This meal is far cry better than our presumptuous meal in Carmel the previous evening. After dinner we make a trip to a nearby CVS to pickup some more medicine for Rhonda. The illness is still there, only changing in character.
Day 5 – September 25th
We both sleep until 8am, which is a new thing for this trip. Maybe we are finally getting on west coast time. There is a small dining room off of the entrance hall where breakfast is served. There is some granola and a large pastry set out along with some milk and juices. Once we take some seats a girl approaches and asks if we would like something from the kitchen. There are only a couple of choices, but the food is good. Breakfast was served at the Sandpiper in the same way with a few items set out and a hot dish delivered from the kitchen. Each table in the dining area has a tiny, metal salt and pepper shaker set. Each set is different and they must be something the owner of the inn collects. The coffee pots also seem to be part of a collection. After we eat we explore the other rooms in the Inn. There are only three rooms occupied on this weekday and the other doors of the vacant rooms are left open. We walk up all three floors and find that our room is no anomaly. Everything is tastefully decorated and comfortable. All in all we are very impressed with the Mirabelle Inn.
Today is wine tasting day. Both Rhonda and I like the movie Sideways, which was filmed in this area. In fact we passed a few of the shooting locations from the movie on our way into town yesterday. Namely their hotel, the bar they frequented, the first winery they visited and the bowling alley that appeared in the movie. There are a couple of wineries that we plan on visiting today whose tasting rooms were the location of significant scenes in the movie. The first place we plan to stop is Kalyra. It is a little east and south of Solvang. We pull up the drive to the tasting room only to find that it doesn’t open until eleven, and we are half an hour early. There is a flatbed truck sitting close at hand loaded with aging casks. When we first pulled up a fellow is in the process of pumping wine out of the fermentation vats into the casks. As we sit and decide where to drive next we here a splashing sound. The man filling the casks has ignored his task and the cask he is filling is overflowing. He winds up dumping quite a bit of wine onto the dusty ground before he stops the flow and switches casks. Definitely a case of alcohol abuse.
We decide to drive up Foxen Canyon Road. The view and countryside are supposed to be picturesque and three wineries I want to stop at are located on it. The country side is very brown. Trees and tall shrubs seem to have the roots to get to water, but everything else that is not cultivated is suffering because of the drought. Our first stop is Andrew Murray. We are the only folks in the tasting room and our pourer looks like a tech at the hospital Rhonda works at named Crystal. The wines are wonderful with a couple that stand out above the others. It has been a long time since we have tasted at a serious winery and I can see I am going to spend a bunch of money today. The pours are generous and the hostess brings out some special selections. This region grows some of the Rhone varietals very well, which happen to be among our more favored wines. Unfortunately for Rhonda, the cold has her sinuses plugged up. She can taste the wine, but the nose is not there and she is unable to get the full experience and pleasure of it. She is going to have to trust me today. We buy some bottles of a Rhone blend and a fabulous Syrah and have them shipped home.
The drive continues north along Foxen Canyon Road. We enjoy the scenery and eventually wind up at Zaca Mesa. Their tasting room is on an old barn with huge, heavy doors. We are again the only patrons. We get into a discussion with the pourer regarding his hair care regimen. We taste some different wine all from the same year that seem uninspired. The only standout is a white with a surprisingly good price. A few of those are sent home for next summer and we continue back down Foxen Canyon to Fess Parker. This is one of those tasting rooms that played a role in the movie Sideways. It is the place where Miles gets the bad news about his book and defiantly drinks from the spit bucket. There are other people here this time and we are taken care of by a very large, energetic man. We had only had one wine from Fess Parker previously, so I had no idea what to expect. I am impressed by their Pinot Noir, Syrah and a red blend. Once again purchases are made and sent home. By this time we have tasted at three different wineries and we each are starting to feel the effects of the wine. It is time to take a break.
Los Olivos is a smaller town that Solvang that is just down the road a piece from Fess Parker. It is where I had planned to have lunch. We make the short drive and are soon in the town. It is very small, a cross roads really. The town is dominated by tasting rooms from the area wineries. One could come here and taste a lot of wine without leaving a four block area. That would be no fun, though, because actually seeing the grapes, the vines and the winery itself is part of the experience. We are lunching at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Café. It is another Sideways location, and the place where Miles, Jack, Maya and Stephanie have dinner together. Outside of the restaurant is where Jack talks to Miles before going in and Miles famously declares, “I’m not drinking any f***ing merlot!” The restaurant is inviting and airy. We share Neapolitan style pizza, which is very good, and wash it down with iced tea. After lunch we stroll around the town for a bit just to walk and look around. We stop in the J. Ludlow Vineyard tasting room on a whim. The wines are all unremarkable and unworthy of purchase by us. We do have a nice long conversation with the lady manning the store front, though.
It is time to try Kalyra again. Tasting rooms start closing between four and five in the afternoon and we want to make it there. This time they are open and we make our way inside. It is another Sideways tasting room and the one in which Miles and Jack meet Stephanie. As we find out while conversing with the pourer, the tasting bar we are sitting at was built specifically for the movie. Nice for the winery I guess. There are a couple of wines here that we purchase. We decide to stay on a Sideways theme and drive over to Buellton to visit the Hitching Post II.
The Hitching Post II is the restaurant and bar close to Miles and Jack’s hotel room that they frequent in the movie. The restaurant is fairly empty, but the bar is full. There is actually a waiting list for the bar. We put our name in and order a couple of glasses on wine. Before we can take our second sips a couple has left and we are called up to the bar to have a seat. We are placed in the very seats that Miles and Jack occupy when they first visit the place. We order a quail appetizer to have with our wine. The bartender is fun and engaging. He makes a game of tossing away the half limes after he has extracted the juice from them. He takes shots from the length of the bar like a crazy basketball player. We enjoy our drink, but move on after the one glass. Returning to Solvang we park for the evening. We take a long walk around the downtown area. Our nightcap is another glass of wine at a charming little wine bar called The Good Life. After that is it back to the Mirabelle and bed.
Day 6 – September 26th
We both sleep well, as would be expected after our wine splurge of yesterday. Breakfast is very nice once again. Afterwards we get checked out and load up the car. I want to take some pictures of downtown Solvang in the daylight, so we don’t leave town just yet. Crossing the street in front of the Mirabelle we finally formally meet and get a chance to talk to Karen, the owner. We tell her how impressed we are with her inn and how much we enjoyed our stay. Parting ways we stroll downtown. During our walk we stop in a Danish Bakery. There is no way we can visit Solvang and not get a Danish. We bag the three pastries for later as breakfast was not long ago. Then it is time to get on the road again.
We take highway 101 west out of Buellton, directly towards the ocean. It is there that we pickup Highway 1, the official Pacific Coast Highway again. The coast along this stretch of the PCH is not as majestic as up by Big Sur. There are still small mountains creeping down to the water, with some rugged shoreline. There are more flat areas, though, and much more human presence. As expected, the closer we get to Los Angeles, the more populous it becomes, and the more congested the traffic gets. From Malibu on down it is almost all houses and development. I didn’t realize there were oil rigs off the California coast, but we spot several. Highway 1 runs together with the 101 for most of the way, so the road is mostly divided four lane instead of just two lane. Where there are beaches there are always cars parked along the shoulder of the road. The drive still present a more pleasant scene than many I have been on, but it doesn’t compare to the drive further up the coast, north of San Simeon.
As we get closer to the city I begin to get a hankering for guacamole. We continue on Highway 1 until we get to Venice, then we leave it for the remainder of the trip. We wind our way down to the beach and find a place to park. We only have the coins for an hour, so we plug the meter and begin to walk. Venice Beach is lined with a broad walkway that is in turn lined with shops and stalls of all kinds. Street performers also frequent the walk trying to make a buck. Not far down the walk we come to the Sidewalk Café. We get a table on the outside edge, where people watching will be good. Margaritas and guacamole are ordered and we settle in for a period of people watching. We notice one kid working the street while his Dad loiters. The Dad is trying to act like an observer to start a crowd, but we see them together as they work up and down the walk. After a while we notice the time and realize our meter has run out. We return to the car stopping only to get some kettle corn for later.
We have dinner reservations this evening for 7:30. It is early afternoon now, but we decide to make the drive to Hollywood and find the B&B. It is a good thing we left when we did. The drive will take us 90 minutes to complete. We notice a lot of helicopters flying over the Beverly Hills area and chalk it up to traffic watching. We are staying at the Hollywood Bed and Breakfast. It is located on the north side of Hollywood Boulevard a few blocks east of Laurel Canyon. There is nobody at the house so we have to let ourselves in. We were e-mailed the security code to get in the house with our reservation, so that is not a problem. We worry about the traffic noise from Hollywood Boulevard, but it is very quiet in the house and our room. The house itself is a wild, whimsical affair. I have never seen its like. From the outside to the inside the house is painted in a bright, colorful fashion with no wall is only one color. The house is decorated in a fanciful manner with an eclectic collection of items of all types. I could spend pages and pages describing the different items from flying mythical creatures suspended from the living room ceiling to a huge stuffed python winding in and out of the railing at the top of the stairs. You would think that such diversity would create just a cluttered mess, but it doesn’t. It all has an order of its own and never seems to cross over into the ridiculous. Rhonda and I make a game of trying to think of some object and then seeing how many we can find in the house.
The guacamole wasn’t much of a lunch and we turn to the pastries that we bought in Solvang. They are fantastic. The macaroon has an amazing amount of coconut in it, the Danish is moist and light, and the apple tart delicious. It is a good thing that bakery isn’t close to home. We want to get a bottle or two of wine for the next couple of days. We locate a liquor store a few blocks away and have a pleasant walk through the Hollywood neighborhood to get there. While in the store a patron begins talking to the clerk about the traffic problems due to a water main break. We make inquiries and find out that a water main on Sunset Boulevard broke and flooded the Beverly Hills Hilton. That explains all of the helicopters. We make a call to the restaurant to find out if they are affected by the problems. They inform us that they are open and make some alternate route recommendations for getting there. Upon returning to the B&B we see an old gentleman watering the shrubs out front of the house along the wall. We assume this is William, our host. We introduce ourselves and find that we are correct about his identity. We chat for a bit, commenting on the irony of a water main break in the middle of a drought. We return to our room to drink a little wine while we get ready for dinner.
Dinner tonight is at Koi. Koi is a fancy sushi restaurant in Beverly Hills that is sometimes frequented by the movie star set. Traffic is not as bad as anticipated and we arrive about twenty minutes early for our 7:30 reservation. There is a table available so we take it. It is a big, classic “U” shaped booth. Getting here early was nice because the table we get is along the back wall facing the traffic lane into the main dining room. It is a perfect people watching spot. The restaurant features some very unusual mixed drinks. One has chartreuse in it and I choose that for the novelty of it. It turns out to be quite good. We take dinner at a very slow pace, one dish at a time. Everything we try is excellent. The salmon Carpaccio is sliced thin and accompanied by black truffles. Rhonda usually doesn’t like raw fish, but this version she enjoys. The rolls are very light as compared to what we are used to in sushi restaurants. We have a wonderful, languorous meal.
Getting back to the Hollywood B&B is a bit of a challenge. We try going back on Sunset, but find it is still closed. We wind around and make our way back. We finish off the bottle of wine we started earlier while getting ready as we sit on the couch and peruse a picture book titled Then and Now: Hollwood. After a while we finally wind down and call it a night.
Day 7 – September 27th
We awake with creepy cow skull “art” looking down at us from the walls of our room. One of the skulls is definitely decorated in a feminine manner with frills and jewels. We get ourselves together and head down to breakfast. It is a self service affair with the usual suspects. William is sitting and reading the morning paper. I presume so he is on hand to help anyone that has questions. We get some breakfast together, put it on trays and walk out to the back yard to eat outdoors. There is a pool, and few tables and the same wild and whimsical decorating sense that adorns every free space. We decide to sit under and arbor with potted plants growing up the structure and blooming. As we eat one of us comments on the flowers being favorable for hummingbirds. No sooner are the words in the air than a hummingbird arrives and begins to feed. Breakfast itself is pleasant, but unremarkable. The locale is the star of the show.
We have a tour booked at Paramount studios this morning. Not knowing what traffic is going to be like on a Saturday morning with the water main break possibly still closing streets, we decide to leave somewhat early. The traffic lights speed us right through and we arrive at the gates of the studio too far ahead of our tour time to be allowed in. We park in the lot across the street and decide to walk down to the corner. We saw a picture of the old RKO radio tower on a globe in the book we were looking at last night. While the tower is gone, the globe still exists is on a corner of the Paramount property. We walk that way and cross paths with an odd looking woman who seems to be inspecting the gutters very seriously. We see her again when walking back to the gates and notice her Jack Sparrow like eyes. Now she is peeking under the hedges that front the fence. As we wait at the gate to gain entrance she is now inspecting the earth in the large planters just outside the gate. She is earnestly looking for something that seems to just be in her head. Once inside we overhear the guards talking about her digging in the planters. Very odd.
Our tour group is seven people plus our tour guide, Aliana. Just enough to fit in a large electric cart which we will drive around the studio grounds in. Aliana is fun and enthusiastic. We start with a large room that several props and costumes gathered in it. The only prop that is of interest to Rhonda and I is the unfinished terminal clock from the movie Benjamin Button. There are a couple of racks of costume in the room that can be tried one, one of which is a Pink Lady costume from Grease. Rhonda declines to try the jacket on though. Before we leave the building Aliana takes some time to engage everybody. She asks us all to reveal our favorite movie or TV show. It is a nice ice breaker for the group and helps to get everyone talking.
We make a brief stop at the front office to view some of the Oscars on display and take the opportunity to hold one. It is very heavy. The tour moves on and we find ourselves at the old front gate on the Paramount studios. The street that used to run in front of the gate has been closed to traffic and is now wholly a part of the studio lot. Nearby is one of the four benches constructed for the movie Forrest Gump. We take turns sitting on the bench and having our pictures made by Aliana. As this is going on she tells a couple of Tom Hanks stories, one of which involves this bench. Apparently one day he donned his Forrest Gump costume and sat on the bench passing out chocolates to the tour groups. That would have been a fun day to have come on a tour.
The group winds its way through the backlot that serves as New York, Chicago and other cities, making several stop along the way to explore. Out front of different facades Aliana shows us clips from movies and TV shows on her tablet that show the set we are looking at in use. It is a nice way to connect the experience. Further along we visit some of the soundstages and get to walk around the sets of Instant Mom, which is a show on Nickelodeon. The tour is very interesting and very well run by Aliana. Rhonda and I both enjoy it very much as we both are very much into movies and like to see where the magic is made.
After our couple of hours at Paramount is complete we decide to make a stop at a drug store. I am beginning to get sick now and we are looking for something to help prevent it from latching onto me too badly. We continue on our way to Sunset Boulevard and to Mel’s Diner for lunch. We sit outside along the sidewalk so we can partake in people watching during lunch. I have to get a milkshake and burger, the classic for the 50s diner meal. The added benefit is that the milkshake feels really good on my throat that is starting to get sore. Lunch is otherwise unremarkable, but still good. We take our time and enjoy the weather before moving on.
Next we proceed down to Hollywood Boulevard and park near Grauman’s in an underground ramp. Our intent is to see a movie in the theater, as I have never been inside. The street is packed with Saturday tourists and costumed people trying to make a buck. We get our tickets. The movie is The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington. Now we just have some time to kill before going in. We spend that time looking at the foot and hand prints in the theater forecourt. The Marx brothers are there and I am interested to see that Harpo made his footprints while barefoot. I then take note of who else also went barefoot. There are only a couple, one of which is Sean Connery. I take off my sandal and compare my foot to Mr. Connery’s. It matches very well, as do my hands. Maybe I have more in common with him that the coloration of our beards.
Once inside the theater we spend some time in the lobby. There are a few props and costumes on display. The highlights are the Scarlet’s curtain dress from Gone with the Wind, one of Dorothy’s costumes from the Wizard of Oz, and the stone tablets with the namesake ten commandments from the movie of the same name. The lobby is opulent and impressive. The theater itself even more so. The theater is an IMAX now, so that will give you some idea of the scale of the place. One idiot who is there to watch the movie goes behind the curtain, which is massive. He stays behind there with maybe the intention of popping out when things start. He is promptly ejected by the ushers. The movie itself is better than I expected and we pass a fine couple of hours with a unique movie experience. Once the show is done we promptly leave the area as it is a Saturday evening and the crowds are getting much too large for our tastes.
Instead we drive out to Santa Monica. We know Seis Querdas plays on the Third Street Promenade and we hope to catch their show. The sun is setting below the waterline as we finally arrive at this ocean-side community and get parked. We begin to stroll the Promenade and view the talent on display. We decide on dinner at George’s Bistro because they have some nice outside seating available and the menu looks good. We sit outside where we can view the parade of people and order some wine. Dinner is a Penne Bolognese for me and Rhonda has a Jambalaya without rice or pasta. Both dishes are wonderful. Our random choice of restaurant turns out very fortuitous as Seis Cuerdas sets up to play just across the street from where we are sitting. The second half of our meal is accompanied by their excellent music. After the meal we stand and watch the rest of their set. I purchase their latest album and Rhonda asks them to sign it. We continue to stroll up and down the Promenade, but Seis Cuerdas has spoiled us and we find nothing else worthy of our attention. The evening is capped off with a drink at Trastevere Trattoria, with a table facing the street. The crowds begin to slack off a bit and the street performers are finishing up, so we decide to call it an evening and take the long drive back to Hollywood.
Day 8 – September 28th
Breakfast this morning is much the same as yesterday except that no hummingbird made an appearance. We eat rather quickly because it is Sunday and the Packers are playing the Bears today. Given that we are on the west coast that means that the game will kickoff at 10am. I found a Packers bar in Burbank on-line before the trip, but we are not sure how long it will take us to get there. We wrap things up at the Hollywood B&B and leave about 9am. The drive over the mountains on Laurel Canyon goes well and we find the bar in Burbank well before kickoff. The bar isn’t too crowded, but since the game is being televised on the local stations today most people are probably staying home to watch. The crowd picks up throughout the game. The game is back and forth through the first half, but then the Packers roll in the second half for a convincing win. The patrons in the bar are very energetic. High fives are passed around with every score and interception. We have a lot of fun and make the acquaintance of a fellow named Dan who we will see again when we attend a game in Green Bay in October. After the game some of the patrons decide to go have a victory drink at the Bear bar a couple of miles away. We go along, but the crowd in the Bears bar is rather belligerent and nobody stays long.
Now we have a four hour drive through the desert to Las Vegas ahead of us. Rhonda stays awake long enough to help me negotiate the metropolitan area highways until I get on Interstate 15 north. The drive through the mountainous desert is uneventful. It is fun to watch the thermometer in the car rise and fall as I climb over the passes and cruise down through the valley. I make a couple of quick stops along the way, but we roll into the rental agency at the airport in time to get the car in without any additional charges. From the airport we catch a taxi to Harrah’s on the strip, which is where we are staying for the next two nights. The last couple of times we stayed in Las Vegas we were on the far west end of the strip at the Excalibur. This time we are choosing to stay closer to the middle.
We get settled in our room and head out to walk the strip and find some dinner. It is Sunday night and the strip is packed. We decide on sushi tonight at a place in the Caesar’s Forum Shops. The sushi is good, but not up to Koi’s standards. We are still wearing our Packers gear and we get plenty of high fives as we wander the strip and the casinos. The fountain shows at the Bellagio are enchanting as always and we stay for a few. We spend a little time playing slots, but more time strolling and people watching. Eventually we realize it is after one in the morning and we decide that explains our tiredness and walk back to Harrah’s to go to bed.
Day 9 – September 29th
We sleep until about 9am. We have a bottle of champagne left that I put on ice last night before turning in. We really don’t want to go out for breakfast so we order in some room service. Breakfast arrives in short order consisting of a cinnamon roll, a muffin and a bagel with lox, cream cheese, onion, tomato and capers. It makes for a wonderful meal with the champagne. The baked goods are moist and delicious. The whole thing was much better than we expected from room service. During the easily paced morning I flip through a magazine full of ads and coupons. I see an advertisement for Zombie Burlesque. It sounds just goofy enough to be funny. We start the walking portion of our day with a trip to Planet Hollywood. That is where “Z Theater” is that is hosting Zombie Burlesque. We get tickets for a couple of seats in the middle of the third row.
Then we keep walking on down to New York, New York. The slushy drinks at Coyote Ugly were always a favorite when visiting here before, but we find that the establishment is gone. Instead there is another bar serving the same sort of frozen drinks. We chat up the bartender and sample a couple of different flavors before settling on one to share. We spend the afternoon playing slots and sharing frozen drinks. At one point I apparently break the Monkees slot machine as it starts a reboot cycle. The attendant can’t get it fixed and has to cold boot the machine losing the money we had in it. She makes sure I get my money and we continue our flitting from machine to machine. We have an early dinner tonight at Gallagher’s here in New York, New York. We share a porterhouse, some garlic mushrooms and a bottle of Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvingon. The wine is wonderful and complements the steak perfectly. The steak itself is dry aged on premises and has an intense and fabulous flavor. The dinner here is another success.
We walk back to Planet Hollywood where the show will be. We sit and people watch for quite a while as we wait for the 7pm show time. When the time comes we make our way to the theater. The show is fun, even if some of the girlie stuff is old hat. They make good use of the zombie spin on the show. At one point there is a dancing bottle of vodka and box of Jello. After some romance and high jinx Jello shots are born and served to the whole audience. The biggest downfall of the show was the over amplified voice of the MC. We spend the rest of the evening strolling and people watching. When we are walking by the Venetian we are amused by the big white boys trying to pick up the small black hookers. Overhearing their small talk leading into negotiations is entertaining. Eventually we begin to wear out and call it a night. We pick up a bottle of champagne on the way back to the room for breakfast tomorrow.
Day 10 – September 30th
This morning is pretty much a repeat of yesterday. We are up around nine and order some room service. We vary the menu and things are just as good. There is not much left to look forward to except for the flight home. We toast a successful trip and compare notes over breakfast. The trip has been very eventful and we have covered a lot of ground. The pace and variety of the trip were pluses. We really didn’t have many things that dictated that we had to be in a certain place at a certain time. That let us be very spontaneous and flexible, which was another plus. All in all our trip to California has been a resounding success.
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