Memorial Day here in the States, so a national holiday. We're moving on, up the Pacific Coastal Highway, to Morro Bay. We set off along the coast, happy to be moving on to a smaller hotel, & stopped off in Santa Barbara for something to eat. What a lovely, seaside place. It seems very up market but in a nice way. The beach is beautiful, as is the Wharf (pier to us) & everywhere looks well cared for.
After having fish & chips sitting outside on the wharf - very nice they were to - we returned to the car which we'd managed to park in a side street with 90 minutes free parking. However, we found a parking ticket on the windscreen telling us we were facing the wrong way & had to pay the fine. After asking 2 men where the Police Station was we managed to find it &, although the Police Officer was very nice, were told it would be best to pay it as to contest it on the grounds we were from another country could take time & correspondence, which we would be unable to do as we are travelling. So, the fish & chips cost us an extra $48! One lesson learned - don't park facing the opposite way on any street in America!
Anyway, after that we carried on our journey to Morro Bay & checked into the Morro Shores Inn & Suites. Sounds posh doesn't it? Think again. The guy on the desk couldn't be bothered with us, Roy had to go back to find out the wi fi code & he didn't mention breakfast or anything else either. Luckily we've stayed at a few hotels now & know what to look for. The room was dark & in need of an update, but we could cope for 1 night.We went for a walk to the sea & it was so windy but we braved it & walked along the beach for about 3 minutes!
A bit later we drove down to see the rock, which is a lava plug & very big & we saw about 8 or 9 sea otters playing about in the sea, which was great.
Day 45 Monterey 29.05.12
Breakfast was as bad as expected, very basic, in a souless room with no staff involvement whatsoever!
When we checked out he just told us to leave the room cards on the desk, didn't say that he hoped we'd had a good stay or anything. Methinks he needs the push!!!!!!!!!
We've only got 120 miles to go today so are planning several stops along the way - always parking correctly, of course! First stop at a view point & it feels like the middle of winter with the wind blowing but we did see a dozen seals on a rock. Roy changed into long trousers & a jumper but I refuse to, the sun is still shining so I'll make do with popping my coat on. I am from Rugeley after all!
A bit further along the road we stopped at Elephant Seal Vista Point & were not ready for the sight of about 200 to 300 female & young seals on the sand. The males were all about 3,000 miles away for a few months at sea. It was great watching them, they weren't doing much, throwing sand over themselves, a few of the young males having a bit of an argument with each other & a few in the sea but it was fascinating. A volunteer called George Larson came to talk to us & told us all about them. Thanks George!
Next stop was Ragged Point as there might be a chance to view some Whales. No chance as it was very choppy out to sea but we had a nice walk around & the weakest cup of tea in the history of the world. I'll stick to coffee from now on! The Americans CANNOT make a cup of tea & have no concept of the fact we want milk in it!!!!
We drove through Carmel but, again, didn't see Clint Eastwood! Then to Monterey Super 8. At least we know what to expect here & it can't be as bad as yesterday. The girl who checked us in was very welcoming & the room was brighter too.
After we unpacked we drove to find a Ford dealer to buy an oil filter as the oil will need changing in the next few hundred miles as it was a new car. Notice I say 'was?' Roy was amazed that he got the filter & the oil for about the same cost as the filter on it's own would be at home.
Then we carried on into Monterey to Fisherman's Wharf (again a pier.) Had a walk around, still freezing, & happened upon a street market selling all sorts of food, fresh fruit & veg & crafts. It was lovely & the food looked tempting but we were too cold to eat outside. Lo & behold there was an English Pub slap bang in the middle of it all so we had to go in. Had a beer, sausage & mash & chicken pie, yummy! Then as we walked back through the market we couldn't resist $5 worth of hot mini donuts just cooked. Well I have got to do the ironing when I get back so deserve a little treat.
Day 46 Bootjack 30.05.12
Officially starting the second half of our trip today.
Had breakfast & for the first time so far discovered watered down orange juice - yuk!
Packed & set off through flat farmland growing all sorts of fruit & veg & many, many vineyards & pistachio trees. Made a nice change from mountains & scrub land. We stopped by a reservoir to stretch our legs & carried on into Mariposa & then to our first Bed & Breakfast at 'Inn the Country.' A lovely house down a dirt track run by Judy, who was very welcoming. Our room is the 'deer room' & clean, bright & cosy with our own balcony to sit on if we want to. A change from hotels.
We got ready & drove to Yosemite National Park to see the giant sequoia trees & they are truly massive. $20 for a weeks pass to get in. Saw a tree called 'the big grizzly' & one with a hole you can walk through big enough for a bus to get through, also some deer, chipmunks & squirrels. it was a good taster for tomorrows trip.
Went back to our room, had some tea & marvelled at how very quiet it is, not a sound.
Day 47 - Bootjack 31.05.12
Possibly because it was so quiet I didn't sleep as well as before - kept waking up.
Got ready & went down for our continental breakfast. Like the UK, people running guest houses here have to do courses to allow them to prepare food & Judy hasn't done hers yet. We did have a very acceptable continental breakfast though to send us on our way to Yosemite.
We entered by a different gate today as it's so big you couldn't see everything in one visit. Today it's the waterfalls & the scenery is magnificent. Pine trees, steep sided hills with trees growing up them, rivers & waterfalls. It makes you feel very small! We drove around & had a few stop offs to take photos & film then parked at Curry Village to begin our trek. There are loads of camp sites in the park & plastic huts for people to stay in as well as proper hotels. It caters for all budgets. It's very hot today so we're armed with drinks & hats & ate a banana each before we set off, making sure we used the bear safe trash can to put our skins in. There are signs all over the place about bears & making sure your food is safe from them, what to do if you see one or a mountain lion! I doubt we'll see anything but squirrels & lizards!
Anyway, off we set towards the 'mist trail' to Vernal Fall. 3 miles round trip. OMG, the first bit was bad enough as you go up so fast that you have to keep stopping to rest, at least we did. Roy said we had to be tortoises & not hares & he was spot on!
The falls were gorgeous & didn't look that far away. THINK AGAIN! The 'steps' were lumps of rock of all shapes & sizes, some 3 feet high, others 6 inches high, some missing, all uneven & they got worse & worse as we got higher & higher. Then we came to the mist bit which was very welcome at this point as I was boiling! We were soaked within seconds & the 'steps' were so slippery. Also imagine that people were coming down as we were going up & sometimes there was only room for 1 at a time. Terrifying!!! I had to sit down after the wet bit as my knees were so wobbly & I was worried I couldn't carry on but I was determined to & the thought of going straight back down was more terrifying than carrying on up!
There were some lovely views on the way up but I could only look when we stopped not while we were climbing. The last bit actually had a handrail but it was practically vertical! Was I glad when we got to the top? THE VIEW WAS AMAZING! Looking over the waterfall & all the way down was worth it but then I started to think about the descent.
Have I told you I'm terrified of heights? I even had vertigo when we went to the O2 to see Barry Manilow!!!
Coming down was much worse than going up although it was a bit faster. I only got down with Roy's help as he held my hand all the way as I focussed on each step, not looking beyond 2 or 3 steps in front. When we got to the bottom my legs were so wobbly I didn't think they would ever recover. It took us over 3 hours in all.
I bet Jennie thinks I'm a wimp but I feel very pleased that we made it all the way up & back & we have the fridge magnet to prove it!!
We started walking back to Curry Village & with a mile to go the shuttle bus stopped & we hopped on. Phew, that was a lucky break. When we got back the first thing we did was look for an icecream & had a double scoop of the most delicious icecream in the world.
After that we drove back through the park & to Mariposa where we stopped at Burger King for some food. There was another couple in there who looked as shattered as we did so they must have been to the Park too! What a day, but we wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Elephant seals on the beach on the Pacific Coastal Highway
Some of the coast we drove along to Monterey
At the top of Vernal Falls - can you see my knees knocking?
Gorgeous scenes! I love the photo of the elephant seals. What an amazing thing to see xxx
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