Day 26 Summer Vacation 2009

This morning we said our Goodbyes and Thank Yous to Patty. She is heading back South to San Francisco and we are heading North to Seaside Oregon.

It is very foggy as we leave Arcata CA and head North on The Pacific Coastal Highway US 101. This seems to be very typical as the winds blow ashore from the cool ocean onto the warmer land.

Between Orick & Klamath Oregon we noticed someone on the roadside taking photos so I slowed down to try and see what they were taking pictures of. Well there was a small herd of Elk resting behind a row of trees just off the highway. I thought that it was better that they were resting in that field rather than out wandering on the highway.

In Klamath we looked for and found the Paul Bunion Statue. Paul is 95 feet tall.

The fog was starting to dissipate as we were crossing over the border from California into Oregon. We get to add another State to our Visited States map.

US 101 along the Pacific Coast in Oregon is very similar to the Pacific Coast in California. It is all very scenic, but if we do this highway again, and I am sure we will, we will drive from North to South. All of the scenic pull offs are on the ocean side of the road. Most of our photos are shot through the car windshield because there are very few pull offs on the Northbound side.

We arrived in Seaside Oregon after a long day of driving. Tomorrow we will head for Federal Way Washington.

If you would like to see all of our photos from today you can click on this link to our FLICKR site.

Day 25 Summer Vacation 2009

Today we woke up bright and early and headed North out of San Francisco. We are driving as far North as Arcata CA, a distance of 555 KM ( 345 miles )

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge at 7:30am it was very foggy and rainy.

US 1 is the Pacific Coastal Highway and it winds and twist, rises and drops all along the sea shore as you head north. The views are spectacular and we pulled off several times to get photos.

We stopped for lunch in Fort Bragg CA and after lunch we went for a short walk to Glass Beach. This beach used to be the garbage dump for Fort Bragg, all the garbage was tossed down here and it would wash out to sea. What remains is the little bits and pieces of glass that have been worn and polished by the sea. Of course Fort Bragg does not dump their garbage into the ocean anymore.

North of Fort Bragg CA, the road continues to hug the coastline.


North of Garberville CA we entered a 30 mile stretch of road that is known as “The Avenue of the Giants” These are the famous giant redwood trees of California. Some of these trees are 1800 years old.

We actually drove the car through one of the trees. There was an inch to spare on each side of the mirrors.

More photos of The Avenue of the Giants.

We arrived in Arcata CA and tomorrow we will awake early and head for Seaside Oregon.
To see all of our photos from today, you can click on my FLICKR site.

Day 24 Summer Vacation 2009

A very quiet day today for Karen and I. We are in relaxation mode and getting re-organized for our trip North to Seattle. We repacked our suitcases so that they are ready to be loaded aboard our cruise ship to Alaska.
Patty came by for a short visit this afternoon, she is going to be following us up the coast in her car, as far as Arcata CA. She has never been that far North and is very interested in joining us that far.
I didn’t even take any photos today, although Karen and I did go to Baskin Robbins for one last taste of Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream after we had our dinner. There won’t be any Baskin Robbins stores till we get near Seattle WA.
It will be early to bed tonight for us because we have a long day of driving and sight seeing tomorrow as we drive North to Arcata CA.

Day 23 Summer Vacation 2009

Today we have 3 things that we want to do. Number 1 is to go to the Gift Shop at The Golden Gate Bridge to buy some T-Shirts and other souvenirs. Number 2 is to drive on Lombard Street, The "Crookedest" Street in America and Number 3 is to ride on a cable car.
After buying our T-Shirts we headed for Lombard Street. It really is a twisty turney road, and very steep as it winds down the hill. Traffic was lined up for several blocks because there was a film company who had the street blocked while they made a short film We eventually got our turn to drive down the road.

We were going to stop at the bottom and try to take a photo looking back up the street, but the traffic was ridiculous and there was not a safe place to stop. So although I did not take this next picture, it shows you a better view of Lombard Street and all the twists and turns.

Then we went for a ride on a cable car. The cable car is as much of an icon for San Francisco as The Golden Gate Bridge is. Cable cars have been running in San Francisco since 1873. Each cable car has a grip man and a brake man. The grip man uses a combination of levers and grips to grab onto the cable that runs under the street, and he uses his body strength to apply pressure to the levers and he grips that cable so that the cable pulls the heavy cable car loaded with people up and down the hills of San Francisco. The brake man is at the rear of the car and he applies the brakes as needed. At each end of the track there is a turn table to spin the cable car around to head it back in the opposite direction. This is a very labour intensive job and you need to have strong upper body strength to be able to grip onto the cable and drive the cable car and to then spin it around on its turntable. I have some photos and video on my FLICKR site, and here are a few photos for the blog.


After our cable car ride, we got off at Union Square in Downtown San Francisco and had a wonderful dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. This restaurant specializes in Cheesecake Desserts, so it is fitting that we stop here to sample what they have to offer.

Patty had the Key Lime Cheesecake, I had the Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake and Karen had the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake. Unfortunately the photo does not show you the true dimensions of these massive pieces of dessert. Believe me when I say that they are massive, especially the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake, layers and layers of fudge cake with chocolate truffle cream and chocolate mousse.
We all had a great laugh because there is no human on the planet who could tackle such a large slab of cake. We think that Karen has finally met her match and she will not be able to devour this piece of cake despite her love of dark rich chocloate. We brought most of it back to the hotel room to enjoy at a later time when we are not so stuffed. I have seen big slices of cake before, but this was the biggest ever.

To see all of our photos from today you can click on my FLICKR site.