California Vacation 2008: Days 7 and 8

We spent much of our morning on Tuesday sleeping in a bit, relaxing, and trying to repack for the flight home. As I said, after camping for three nights, it feels great to get into an air-conditioned room with a bed, and I know we all needed the sleep! Anyway, after a lazy morning we all took off for San Francisco. The plan was for Becki, Jacob, and I to return the rental car at the downtown location we rented from and meet Trevor, Heather, and the girls at Pier 39. On the map, this didn't look like too bad of a walk--maybe 1 or 2 miles at most. However, after dropping the car off, walking down the block, and turning the corner, we were met with 3 blocks of streets that had to be at least at 80-degree angles uphill! OK, I'm exaggerating about that last part, but not by much. We managed to claw our way to the top, though, and, thankfully, there was nothing but a gentle downward slope all the way to the Pier from there.

We saw quite a few interesting sights on our way. Seems we were making our way through Chinatown. Not the touristy Chinatown street, either, but a true Chinese neighborhood, complete with authentic sights, smells, and tastes. I think we were pretty pleased with ourselves for traveling "off the beaten path" and getting away from the tourist mindset. On a side note, I've never seen the words "Dim Sum" outside of so many shops in my life.

Anyway, we finally hooked up with the Peacocks and, after stopping by to visit the sea lions, had lunch at Boudin's Bakery, a famous sourdough bakery. After lunch we headed over to look at a couple of WWII ships--including the submarine, the USS Pamapnito, which Becki and I had toured previously--and then made our way into a huge hall full of old--and still working--amusement machines. Apparently this is some kind of exhibit they are showing off for a while, and you can play all of the old games. We had a lot of fun going up and down the aisles, stopping occasionally for a game of baseball or skeeball. All pretty interesting stuff. From there, we walked about a half mile to Ghiradelli Square and indulged ourselves in (what else?) plenty of chocolate.

At this point we were planning to visit Chinatown (the tourist version, anyway), but, being that it was already evening and we were pretty wiped out, we decided to head back to the hotel. This presented a slight challenge, though, as we were now car-free. So, while Trevor drove his family back to our hotel in Redwood City, we jumped on BART and took the train to San Francisco International Airport. Not more than 45 minutes later, Trevor very graciously picked us up and, after a late stop at the always delicious In 'n Out, we arrived back at our rooms, ready for bed.

Wednesday morning came pretty early, but thankfully we were completely packed up and ready to go, so we were able to grab a few minutes extra sleep before our 11am flight home. Our flights to Atlanta and then Orlando were pretty uneventful (yes, we had seat back entertainment for the long flight, but, alas, the live TV wasn't working. And, of course, they weren't about to offer us free movies!) except for early on, when we flew over Yosemite, which was suffering through a major forest fire just outside the park entrance. The rising smoke presented a stunning picture that Becki was able to snap, and it was really interesting to see this perspective from a place we had been in just a few days ago.

And that, as they say, is that. Our vacation is done for this year. We had a blast, as we always do in Northern California, and it was made all the more special by spending a lot more time with friends and family. Thanks for reading all about it. Hope I didn't bore you too much! Well, back to reality, I guess...

California Vacation 2008: Day 6

Monday was transition day, as we broke down our home (read: "tent") from the past three nights and made our way to the comfort of a hotel. Trevor and I jumped in the car and drove a few miles down to Santa Cruz to scope out on the internet a reasonably-priced hotel that would provide us with good accommodations and a fairly short drive to San Francisco International. This actually took longer than we thought, as we first had to find a wi-fi connection (apparently both McDonald's in town had never heard of the internet), and then pour through the many choices available. Finally we settled on a Days Inn in Redwood City. After heading back to the campsite and eating lunch, we drove the long, but scenic, way into town, got settled in and cleaned up (that first shower back always feels great!) and then turned right back around and headed back to Santa Cruz to meet the family for "Boardwalk Night".



The Santa Cruz Boardwalk is an amusement park built in the early 1900's. Of course, there have been lots of improvements made to it since then, but certain elements--like the carousel and the wooden roller coaster, for instance--still remain. It's really a pretty cool place, and Monday nights in summer are specially-priced events, where certain food items as well as attraction tickets can be bought for 75 cents. Because neither Becki or I wanted to ride the rides, we helped watch the kids, stuffed ourselves with boardwalk food, and tried to avoid the chilling winds off the ocean. Definitely a fun evening, but I had a bit of trouble staying awake on the drive back. The winding mountain roads didn't help that, either.


Final day of vacation coverage coming up soon...

California Vacation 2008: Days 3, 4, and 5

The middle part of our vacation represented the "meat" of why we came out here. Every year, Becki's family gathers together on the coast, just north of Santa Cruz (Swanton, CA, to be exact, although it's not really a town per se), for a family reunion. Outside of a potluck lunch on Saturday afternoon and a family church service on Sunday morning, there's no real schedule. Instead, we just hang out by the fire talking and visiting, or watch the kids try to catch crawdads in Big Creek, or munch on snacks, or catch up on reading, or...well, you get the picture. Pretty much just "hanging out". Of course, being in the beauty of a forest on the edge of the Pacific ocean helps give the "hanging out" part some real definition. Waking up each morning to the cool, brisk air, followed by the realization that there is no agenda except for being with family and friends is my idea of a great weekend.

As I said, there was actually not a lot to report from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A few random highlights, though:

- We detoured through Monterey on our way up the coast to the reunion. Not nearly as big of a deal as I thought it would be. I didn't get to see Pebble Beach golf course as I was hoping, and, to be honest, the whole place was a little too "touristy" for me. Still, I can cross it off my list now.

- The family had a blast meeting Jacob. That includes his younger-by-three-days cousin, Zachary. We had no shortage of babysitters for the weekend, either.

- Our friends Trevor and Heather Peacock and their two little girls, Hope and Gabriella, drove up from Los Angeles to hang out with us for a couple of days. We all camped out on Sunday night (and the Peacock's quickly made friends with the Voris clan) and then moved to a hotel in Redwood City for Monday and Tuesday nights. As I told Becki, I love camping out with her family. But that first night back in "civilization" (and particularly, that first shower) is great.

OK, here are a few pics:

California Vacation 2008: Day 2

When I planned today's visit to Yosemite National Park in my head, there were three things that I was anticipating that didn't actually happen:

1. An early start and a 10am or so entrance to the park.
2. Lots of hiking.
3. A sense of accomplishment, knowing that we had seen at least most of what we wanted to.

Because this is a vacation, we're not on a particular schedule for now, and, let's face it, these things happen, none of those things really happened. Oh, yeah, we were blown away with the awesome things we saw, but I definitely left the park this afternoon with a sense that there was much, much more to see. In fact, after only 5 minutes of driving through the front gate, I remarked to Becki that we needed to make plans to come back and stay for several days. The place is simply awe-inspiring and I have no idea how--or why--I didn't manage to see it up close and personal on so many trips out here. Rather than describe the awesome sights to you, I thought I'd share our views through the many pictures we took.

Special thanks go out to Jacob and Candace Tallmon, Becki's cousin and wife, who met us for lunch and proceeded to tour us around. Here are the highlights of what we saw:

1. Bridalveil Falls











2. El Capitan











3. Yosemite Falls











4. The Ahwanee Hotel








5. Half Dome









Our plans for Friday were to include getting up early and driving from Becki's aunt and uncle's house (where we bedded Thursday night), but, after the 2+ hour drive from the park to their house along winding mountain roads, we've rethought that plan and will instead head to the coast, where we'll do some sightseeing before gathering with Becki's family for their annual campout/reunion. Because we will most definitely be out of range of any kind of internet access until Monday, I will post then.

California Vacation 2008: Day 1

If I had room for a subtitle for this post, it would be: "You get what you pay for". Our vacation is not off to an incredibly rousing start thus far. Not that we're not enjoying being in California, mind you...it's just that, while this will be a great sightseeing and visiting trip, it will not really be a "relaxing and restful" time. As far as the subtitle goes, here it is, blow by blow:

4:00AM: As we're lugging suitcases, car seat, carry-ons, and baby to my parents car for the drive to the airport, we very quickly make the decision not to carry through with our afternoon plans of taking BART (San Francisco's version of the subway) from the airport downtown to pick up the rental car. We rented off site and saved $200...turned out to be a not-so-great move, as you'll see later.

5:23AM: After a short wait, we check in. Yep, as I feared, we're overweight on luggage. Luckily we're able to rearrange and avoid an $80 fee--just because we're a mere 4 pounds over.

7:00AM: The plane's supposed to be moving back from the gate now. No dice. Turns out it has a little something to do with the lightning and thunderstorms going on. We have to wait for the lightning to clear, another 35 minutes, before taking off. I officially start to worry about missing our connection in Atlanta.

9:30AM: My fears are confirmed. We run, but miss the plane by just a couple of minutes. Thankfully Delta does their best and re books us on a flight about two hours later. At least this gives us an opportunity to grab some breakfast and relax just a little.

1:15PM: We land in San Francisco. Given that we've nixed our previous transportation plans, we have to come up with new ones. Taxi? Limo? Hitching? We settle for one of the many "door-to-door shuttles", which encompasses $50 and a 45-minute ride. But it's pleasant enough and, in fact, we share the ride with a couple from Cocoa Beach.

2:12PM: We are dropped off at the Alamo office in downtown San Francisco. Here's where the fun begins. We walk in the office to find a line at least 30 deep, most of whom seem incapable of speaking English or--as it turns out--actually driving (I'm not kidding. I actually witnessed one of the attendants frantically teaching a French family how to put the car in gear and drive). After standing in this line for 30 minutes and not moving, I call the 1-800 number and complain. I'm told I should be able to use the "express counter" downstairs in the storage garage because I have a reservation. We trek down there (pulling luggage and Jacob with us) to find...uhhh, there is no "express counter". Nevertheless, the attendant working has pity on us and gets us set up in a Rav4 fairly quickly, which is a good thing, because Jacob's not happy, and letting everyone know it. After stealthily moving the SUV out of it's tightly packed parking space, we load up and head in the city. Where we realize we've forgotten a map. After a few turns, though, we find I80 West and head out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Lesson learned. After spending $50 on transportation, unnecessarily lugging all of our stuff, and wasting valuable time...well, I'll probably just go ahead and rent at the airport next time.

4:27PM: We make our first stop in Fairfield, where we zip into the Jelly Belly factory to load up on a few "Jelly Flops" for our eating pleasure.

5:08PM: Our first of what I hope will be a few stops at In and Out for delicious burgers and fries.

7:04PM: After a short stop for supplies at WalMart, we finally arrive at our destination for night one, Becki's friends Dave and Melanie Eastman. It feels great to finally stop moving for the day. We rest up for Yosemite tomorrow.

One rant for the day (besides the ones above): Because of the missed connection as outlined above, we got bumped to another flight later on. This meant we ended up being on a smaller plane, with far less amenities. Like leg room and entertainment. Keep in mind, from Orlando to Atlanta, we were on a newer plane with a bit more room and, more importantly, individual entertainment screens that included live TV. I have no idea why Delta decides to do this, but it makes no sense. Orlando to Atlanta: a mere 1 hour and 20 minute flight. Atlanta to San Francisco: almost 5 hours. Yeah, that's what we need on longer flights: less diversions from the fact we're crammed in like cattle for hours. And we pay for this privilege. Seriously, next time...we're driving.

mini-vacation

So, Becki and I took a couple of days off this week and had nice, long, four-day weekend! It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to get away—just the two of us—so we got a motel room in Orlando and did something we’ve always wanted to do—the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT.

Now, we’ve done this “casually” before, meaning that we’ve walked it and poked our heads into a couple of different seminars (this is where we were, with our friends, Paul & Becky Schryer, introduced to the joys of Chocolate Bock beer, but I digress). But we’ve always wanted to “eat our way around the world”, so to speak, and never had the cash or time to do it. This year was different, and we had a great couple of days doing just that.

So, without further comment, here is a list of where (and what) we ate, along with my scientifically precise rating (1 being gross, 10 being heavenly in all aspects):

- Italy: Pizza with Fennel Sausage, Bell Peppers, San Marzano Tomatoes and Mozzarella. This was a solid 4. Just OK. I liked the thick crust, but the rest tasted like something I could get anywhere—like Sbarros, for instance.

- Germany: Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout. I give it a 7. Loved the sauce and the ‘shrooms. The Spaetzle was a little dry, but I liked it. Also tried the Debriziner Sausage and Sauerkraut in a Pretzel Roll. This gets a 6. Really, it was just a sausage on a roll with Sauerkraut. Nothing special, although the meat was cooked perfectly for a sausage and I enjoyed the pretzel roll.

- China: Pork Pot Stickers. 8. We both liked these a lot. Not too tender, not too crisp, with a yummy sauce. Great stuff.

- India: India Rice and Coconut Pudding. I can’t rate this one as Becki tried it. It smelled OK, though. She seemed to like it, although she said it tasted like it had Sprite in it. I don’t believe that’s a staple of Indian cuisine.

- Spain: Papas con Chorizo (Potatoes and Spicy Sausage). 8. Not enough potatoes, but that’s my only complaint. They’re not kidding when they say spicy.

- Ireland: Broxty Potato Pancake with Bacon chips and Kerrygold garlic and herb butter. This one gets a high 9. Outstanding, innovative dish. I could have eaten lots more. But I had to save room…

- Mexico: Chilaquiles (Baked Tortillas with Chicken and Cheese). The only reason I give this a 6.5 is because they slathered it with a green chile sauce, which I generally don’t like. It was OK, as were the tortillas themselves.

- Dominican Republic: Dulce de Coco (Coconut Flan). This one is a 7.5. I actually don’t like Flan that much, but this was a very rich and sweet taste--it was hard to put down.

- Canada: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. Let’s put it this way…I had 3 separate helpings. One of which I walked all the way back through the park for. Easily the best food I had at the Festival. 10.

- France: Quiche au Fromage de Chevre (Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato quiche). I was really looking forward to this one, but it was a bit of a disappointment. Dry crust, and I had to search for the goat cheese. 5.5.

So, if you’re keeping count, that’s 10 different countries (not counting our normal Japanese lunch stop and a dinner of Fish and Chips in England). That sounds impressive until you realize there are 28 stations to try, each with at least 3 samplings. Looks like we’ve got more work to do…we’ll update with the new dishes...

For now, I guess it’s time to hit the gym again!