Day 27/28 - San Francisco (Final Blog)

Our USA road trip  finally comes to an end today. Although we are sad that it's over we are looking forward to getting home, as always. We feel like we've been here forever (in a good way) and when we think of all the things we've done,  places we've seen and people we've met we are feeling satisfied with what we've done and grateful for the ability to do it. The new memories we have made are priceless and it was a great way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Rachel's already planning our 30th!!

Yesterday we spent the day cycling. We hired bikes at Pier 39, just as we did 5 years ago, and headed off along the Embarcadero towards the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautifully sunny day but cool enough for cycling by the coast. It's a great cycle path along the coastline to the bridge,  mostly off road, the sea-facing houses are something to behold. We wondered if the people that live here know how lucky they are. The views as we approached the bridge were spectacular and the sheer size of the bridge just makes you want to stand and stare. I was stopping and getting the camera out every few minutes - Rachel was very patient! She'll thank me for it when we get home!

Last time we cycled the Golden Gate Bridge it was a very overcast day (mist off the sea is very common here) but this time it was a crystal clear day. It's a great feeling to cross the bridge. There's such a feeling of space and light and it takes a good few minutes to get to the other side. Once there we visited the visitor centre - how strange that a bridge can have its own visitor centre. From the other side you get a fantastic view of the city and a head-on view back across the bridge. There were hundreds of people just standing and staring at the scene but it didn't feel too busy even so.

Next, the long free-wheel down into Sausalito.This is one of our favourite places filled with quaint shops, bars, restaurants - all at the edge of the water. Boats of all  kinds bob about in the gentle water and a steady stream of cyclists pass by. For all the bikes there's no shortage of free bike parking along the front. We (Rachel) headed straight for the ice cream parlour we visited last time with the kids. I followed in Rachel's considerable wake and she forced me to consume a bucket-load of Vanilla and Caramel Fudge ice cream with fudgy bits and hot fudge sauce. I gave in far too easily!

We cycled on to the other end of town and found a nice little inlet populated with house boats - people actually live on the water and have their own little allotment or garden just onshore. Each house boat was different and usually brightly coloured. A little further around the bend was a pristine white beach with big expensive yachts moored up. By now the heat was draining our energy so we cycled back into town, parked up and dipped into a very nice Tequila bar and snacked on natchos and spicy dips. I, personally, could have stayed there all day.  It was so laid back and friendly with a very long menu of cocktails and Tequilas I had never heard of. Not sure Rachel could have carried me back to the hotel so, reluctantly, we joined the queue for the ferry back to San Francisco.

You get some amazing views from the bay and the sound of the sea and the wind in your hair makes you want the trip to never end but soon we were back onshore with our bikes and began the short ride back to Pier 39.

While we were in Sausalito we could see smoke on the horizon across in the city and when we arrived back we found out what it was - one of the warehouses around Pier 31 was on fire. The Embarcadero was cordoned off by the fire fighters and Police. We took a detour and eventually got back to the start. However, now with the trams not running along the Enbarcadero we had  to find another way back to the hotel. After a walk we hopped on a bus, which finally dropped us off at Union Square,  very near the hotel. We crashed out for a couple of hours, exhausted.

In the evening we took advice from the hotel front desk and went to Tad's Steakhouse - a fast food Diner that cooked high quality 14 oz steaks to order. It was  one of the best steaks we have had in our whole time in the USA,  and in a no-frills Diner. Only in America!

So that was the final full day of our road trip. Now it's the next morning and we are packed ready to leave the hotel for the last time. On reflection, we have had such a great time, seen so many great things and met so many really nice people along the way. We hope you have enjoyed reading our blog as much as we have enjoyed writing it. A month is a long time to be away  and we'll be glad to get home to our family and friends and bore them all over again with many more photos and tales of Andy and Rachel's Road Tip USA.

Here are some photos of our last full day in the USA:

Day 26 - Monterey to San Francisco

We are now in San Francisco and staying, by coincidence, very near to the hotel we stayed in last time we were here. We've had a great day driving up Highway 1 and stopping off at places along the way. In our last blog I said that our journey up the southern half of California Highway 1 was very much like Cornwall and we have to admit that it was not quite what we had expected. But today the northern section of Highway 1 was exactly what we had envisaged and was absolutely wonderful: clear blue skies, white beaches, endless coatal road and the top down, playing country music on the radio.

We stopped a number of times on the way up the coast, either at a little town we happened to come across or just to stand and gaze at the view. The smell of the sea was strong but welcome and we saw many pelicans flying low over the beaches. Everywhere was impecably clean, tidy and in good order, as has been the case for most of our USA road trip. We stopped at Half Moon Bay for lunch and had tea and cakes on Main Street before completing the last section of our journey to San Francisco.

We only hit busy traffic as we approached the City, but that didn't matter. We were happy to sit in the traffic and look at the city skyline set out before us - another great American city view. Once off the highway we weaved our way through the city streets until we found our hotel. We stopped at the curb and dropped our bags and cases off, checked in and then headed off again to return our car to the rental company. We were sorry to see the car go as we had enjoyed it so much. We took the bus back into the city and our hotel. After a rest we are now ready to head out into the city to soakup the atmosphere, of which there is plenty. We may even find a steakhouse and celebrate a great holiday. Who knows!

Anyway, here are a few photos from today's trip:

Day 24/25 - Solvang to Monterey

Having the whole day to travel to Monterey we decided to visit Santa Barbara, just across the mountains from Solvang, on the Pacific coast - approx 35 minutes away. We spent a few hours there, travelling around on the Downtown Trolley and walking down by the sea on the wharfe. Santa Barbara is a great place with a slightly Mexican feel to it. It has many nice bars and restaurants, and artists line the water front trying to sell their work. On the beach were  thousands of crosses, stuck into the sand and a man shouting out the names of all American soldiers that have died in wars around the world. It was a peace demonstration.

We found a nice little cafe and had tea and cake and surfed the internet for a while before setting off up Highway 1 for Monterey.

We had so much been looking forward to seeing the California coastline as we had heard so  much about it but the further north we got the cloudier and foggier it became until, approaching Monterey, we could not even see the sea or even the next bend in the road. The temperature had dropped 50 degress from Las Vegas and was now about a chilly 60 degrees. And we were pretty tired too as it had been a long drive again. One highlight of the journey, though, was that we stopped to see about 50 (at least) Elephant Seals on the beach. They were lying around and some where playing together in the surf. It was an amazing sight - something we had never seen before in the wild.

Once settled into our new hotel in Monterey we headed out to the Fishermans Wharfe to look for somewhere to eat. We ended up in the Fisherman's Grotto and had the best meal and service of the whole month's holiday - a nice end to a slightly frustrating day.

This morning (Day 25) we had breakfast down by the Wharfe in a little coffee shop and then found the Monterey Aquarium. We had heard a lot of good things about it in the past and were not disappointed. We saw some fantastic creatures there - a whole array of Sea Horses and Jellyfish. There were also some great feeding demonstrations in the massive tanks. This was by far the biggest and best aquarium we have ever seen.

We went on a short journey to Carmel By The Sea - a very upmarket town with expensive shops and restaurants. The beach was immaculate - beautiful blue surf and white sand with quaint little (sometimes big) timber-built houses with picket fences - just the sort of thing you might imagine. A little like Cape Cod. We had lunch there before setting out again along Highway 1 in the opposite direction from yesterday as we were determined to actually see the coastline this time.

The weather was picking up but was far from ideal. But at least the fog was mostly on higher ground. Luckily,  the area around the Big Sur mountains was blessed with sunny, clear weather so we had some great views of the mountains and the coast. The coastline was very much like in Cornwall. We enjoyed driving the twisty-turny coast road in our lovely car.

After a brief breather in the hotel later on, we walked into town and found an English-Style pub. It was pretty authentic and certainly smelled like an English pub. I had Pasty and mashed potato. They had an explanation on the menu of how to say "Pastie" (as they spelt it). It said you pronounce it 'Pah-stee'. Made us laugh. They didn't have Heinz Tomato Sauce or Sarsons Vinegar, but some othermake instead. And they served the Ale icy cold. Not very authentic but we didn't tell them. We've heardmany Americans criticise the British for serving warm beer. They just don't get it do they?

Anyway, tomorrow we head for our final destination - San Fransisco.

Day 23 - Las Vegas to Solvang

After a  quick breakfast at Starbucks, we left the hotel in a taxi and headed for the airport to pick up our car for the last leg of our  road trip.  To be honest we weren't sad to see the back of Las Vegas - far too many people and the heat was oppressive.

To Andy's delight, we were offered an upgrade from the convertible we had booked to a Ford Mustang which we snapped up at a bargain $10 extra per day!  There was a tense moment when we thought that our luggage wouldn't fit in but fortunately we managed to squeeze it all in and off we set - with  the roof down of course! 

We soon crossed the  border from Nevada into California and then had a long drive across the Mohave Desert, with not much in the way of scenery to look at.  And then we came across a 50's diner called Peggy Sue's that we visited 5 years ago when we were in California with Abi and Emily so we decided to pay another visit for old times sake.  It was exactly as we remembered it and we had a nice lunch before hitting the  road again. 

Eventually, we got our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean- we had travelled right across the USA from East to West coast.  We then headed up into the mountains into some beautiful countryside - fields full of fruit trees and vineyards and more greenery than we have seen for weeks - and finally  arrived at our destination of Solvang, a small picturesque town that was discovered by  Danish explorers and has the look and feel of a genuine Danish town with colourful buildings, Danish bakeries and breweries.  There is even a replica of "The Little Mermaid" statue!

After a stroll around the town, we  found a nice pub/restaurant and enjoyed some Danish fayre and a pint of locally brewed beer (that was Andy of course!) before heading back to our hotel for some well deserved sleep after a long day on the road.

Day 21/22 - Las Vegas

The journey from Zion to Las Vegas was uneventful and a little monotonous along Interstate 15, across unchanging desert for the most part. However, as we approached Las Vegas the increase in the number of electicity pylons was really noticeable. It was as if all the pylons led to Vegas. We actually dropped the RV off at Boulder, just on the outskirts of the city and it was quite sad seeing it go. We had grown attached to our RV over the past 2 weeks. We took a taxi into Vegas and the Monte Carlo Hotel on The Strip.

After checking in and unpacking we headed out into the heat (it had been 111 degrees in Boulder and it felt the same in Vegas). We wandered around for what seemed like hours popping in and out of the hotels and shops and watched the fountain display outside the Bellagio hotel. Before long the city's relentless in-your-face assault on the senses nearly sent us crazy so we went to the Rock Bar and had dinner. Later we headed to 'Toby Keith's I Love This Bar', where there was a  great County/Rock band playing. We ended up staying there and danced until nearly 3am before crashing into bed at about 3:30am.

We didn't set the alarm so woke up late this morning and eventually headed out to Denny's for breakfast - a very big one! By then it was almost lunch time. We picked up  some tickets for the Cirque du Soleil's Elvis. By then, the heat was getting to us so we sat around the hotel pool drinking cocktails until about 5pm, before getting ready to go out to the theatre.

The Cirque du Soleil production of Elvis was great: some amazing acrobatics and great Elvis music. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, which is just across the road from the hotel.

Now, back at the hotel, we have had just about as much of Las Vegas as we can stand. So it's off to bed. But not before I finish this blog. Tomorrow we have a six and a half hour drive into California. But this time it's in a car and not an RV.

Next blog will be from Solvang.

Day 21 - Some photos from our trip so far

Day 20 - Zion National Park

Springdale is a beautiful and pristine little town just outside Zion National Park. It's manuicured gardens and white picket fences, balconied houses and up-market boutiques betray its wealth. Now we are back in Utah after a short stint in Arizona. And we have come forward an hour again to be seven hours behind the UK. And it is extremely hot again, after a bit of a cold spell (relatively speaking) at the Grand Canyon. In mid summer the average temperature here is 100 degrees.

This is the last national park we will visit and we are beginning to feel a little tired after so much driving and walking. So the walk we did today was pretty arduous, the heat and altitude taking its toll. We walked the Emerald Pools Trail after taking the shuttle from outside our RV park to the park visitors centre and catching another up the Zion valley. Zion is very different again, as have all the parks we have seen. It feels small but every view has a very vertical feel to it. Every mountain towers over you and their sides are sheer cliffs. They seem to go from zero to thousands of feet immediately! You are hemmed in on all sides and at close quarters with each of the mountains all at the same time. There are signs everywhere warning you of your impending death if we do not take care. Indeed, there have been about ten fatalities since 2004. I let Rachel go first! I am a gentleman after all!

We have to admit to feeling sad that today marks the end of our RV tour in wonderful Colorado, Utah and Arizona. And, after an early afternoon break back at the RV park, we really wanted to get out there again and do somemore walking and make the most of being in Zion. But our flesh was weak and, after a nap (me) we went to laze by the pool before heading out for dinner at the Switchback Grille - a pretty posh but quite laid back restaurant. We celebrated our final night in Utah with a great fillet mignon (me) and enormous, stuffed chicken breast (Rachel) and finished the whole thing off with the best $5 shakes we've ever tasted. A fitting end to the middle section of our road trip.

I must tell you of the couple who are staying near us in the RV park - they have a dog that is wearing doggy walking boots so that it can go on walks with them on the sharp rocks. I kid you not! I have the photo to prove it. I saw the dog again this morning and, for some reason, it was only wearing one boot. Who goes walking with only one boot, even if you are a dog? Answers on a postcard please.

So this is our last night in our RV. We will be sad to see it go now that we are so used to it. I'll miss dumping the sewage every couple of days. But we will look forward to a proper American king size bed in Vegas tomorrow, although I think it will be a bit of a culture shock to be in amongst a mighty throng of people on the Las Vegas Strip. We have enjoyed the solitude and space in the desert.

So, every end is another beginning and we head for Vegas tomorrow morning and the start of the final section of our road trip and we are very much looking forward to seeing the sea again as we head up the California coastal highway at the weekend.