Memories of California

This time last year, I was rattling the jail bars of winter eager for escape, and our trip to California couldn't come fast enough.  Erin and I were planning the details of a visit San Francisco and Los Angeles, thinking of the beach in Santa Monica.

We flew into San Francisco with the time difference in our favour, having left our houses around 2 EST and landing early enough to go to the diner for much needed fries.  The next morning we packed our snacks and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge.  We took the city bus down to the bay and chatted with the locals at the bus stop.  It was a brilliant blue day - not as warm as we had pictured, but much warmer than the Canadian spring we had left behind.  The bridge was busy with runners and wanderers, and there was much to see along the way.

Alcatraz under fog, as seen from the bridge

Kayakers below the bridge

We went out of our way to take the cable car down Market Street and rode all the way to the end of the line to see what was there.  By the piers, there was a festival of activity, with interesting street vendors and artists.

Love this Californian glamour shot

We basked in the warmth by the Bay Bridge and watched more runners and their dogs go by.  My cousin Christopher later told me that there are more dogs than children in San Francisco, which completely validated our observations.

The less appreciated but structurally more impressive Bay Bridge

The next day we took a long walk to the Alamo Square area, admiring the architecture and local life.  We tracked down the house from the exterior shots on Full House, then had a picnic in front of the Painted Ladies in the square, which was a popular place to be lounging on a Sunday afternoon.

Next on the list was Alcatraz!  It was fascinating getting a feel for how isolated the island was for the most hardened criminals.

Spent some time in a cell

On our last day in San Francisco, I met up with my cousin Christopher, who lives in the city with his partner and their two dogs.  He took me to see some of his favourite spots, such as their front yard, Golden Gate Park.

We got a different view of the bridge from Baker Beach.  Christopher is a photographer who has been working on these incredible layered impressionist pieces that end up looking like paintings - check him out here!  He took a few shots of the bridge from this angle, and I sent him a few of my pictures of him working.

The view from his condo.  He can see the bridge from the other direction.

After a frightening drive up steep inclines (with me clutching my seat, convinced we couldn't make it), we arrived at the Twin Peaks, the highest elevation in San Francisco.  

Twin Peaks

Saying goodbye to sunny San Francisco and leaving our hearts behind, we flew to Los Angeles.  Our first stop was Santa Monica and the beach!  It was a little windy and cool to hang out too long by the water, but we had a great evening on the pier, especially seeing the city from the ferris wheel.

Day two in LA brought us to Warner Bros Studio, where the highlight was Central Perk.  Everything was set up for Pretty Little Liars filming, but the porch from Gilmore Girls was still recognizable.

Hollywood was a sketchy and unattractive place, but we had fun seeing the Walk of Fame.  We took a hop-on-hop-off tour and got to see much of LA this way.  Stopping on Rodeo Drive, I felt uncomfortable with how much wealth was in Beverly Hills compared to the large homeless population in Hollywood a few minutes away.  I was also way too unfashionable in my hiking shoes and windbreaker!

Erin and I parted ways after Hollywood, and I went to visit my cousins Carolyn and Barry, who live just outside of LA in Thousand Oaks.  Now THIS was the southern California I imagined.  Suburban streets lined with palm trees, Tuscan clay architecture, mountains and desert.  It was wonderful getting to know my cousins, who I hadn't seen in at least ten years.  We had a picnic by the ocean, went to the mission in Santa Barbara, and did a lot of hiking and geocaching in the mountains.  Spotting a roadrunner and a rattlesnake, I was thrilled to see the two species I'd been hoping to find.

Santa Monica Mountains

Geocaching in the mountains

Santa Barbara Mission

Carolyn and Barry and their lemon tree

Wishing I could go pick a lemon of that tree right now.  As it has been minus-something-ridiculous for the last few months here, the California Dreamin' has been strong lately.  After my first West Coast adventure, I would gladly go back.

Previous

Next