We are REALLY tired

We have arrived in San Fransisco leaving Yosemite early this morning in an attempt to miss all the incoming traffic and the plan worked great.  By the time we stopped for breakfast and got hung in traffic going over the Bay Bridge we got here around 11:30am.  We spend the day at Pier 39, a boat ride under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz, and Fisherman's Wharf - way different from what I remembered.  Now we are working on the wash, just like I never left home.


Since we did not blog at all from Yosemite I will catch you up a little bit.  We stayed right on the floor of the valley with a view of the upper falls from our patio.  The boys and Dan really loved it so I was happy.  The first full day we were there we took an all day bus ride to Glacier Point and the BIG trees.  It was a great trip full of the history of the park.  We spend hours hiking around, the boys played in the pools below lower falls in the freezing water, Kyle and I took a photography class and we even rented bikes the last day.  The roads were not as bad as I remembered, Dan focused on the road while Colin was buried in his book - Kyle and I both loved it.

All said I think Yosemite has been a favorite by all of us.

Yosemite

Today we  started out our day with the long drive to Yosemite.  Once we got there we had to wait a while for our room to be ready so we went to some water falls (pictured above).  Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in the US and 5th highest in the world. Kyle and I climbed over the rocks while Mom and Dad watched.  After that we went back to the room and ate dinner in the cafeteria styled food court. Kyle and I went swimming by the water fall in freezing cold water.  Once we were done we went back to the room to watch more mob movies. Some of the pictures above show Half Dome.

The monterey bay aquirium

On Friday we went to the aquarium. We saw alot of marine life. Captive and wild. We even got to pet stingrays starfish, and flounder. After that we went to the fisherman's wharf in monterey bay. I had boiled octopus and clam chowder, mom had dungenesse crab and clam chowder, Colin had a shrimp and crab sandwich, and dad had... wait for it... a turkey sandwich(exciting right). Then we walked down to a beach.

Carmel Mission,17 Mile Drive, Monterrey

On Thursday we started our day by driving to the Carmel Mission and learning about the history of the area.  A nice woman from Texas gave us some history of the complex which is still used as an Elementary school and still holds a daily mass.  Pope John Paul II visited the mission on his 1987 US visit.  The first picture above is of the window at the entrance of the church.  On the summer solstice, the rising sun shines directly onto the altar through the light, however, rarely is the morning with clear skies, so this is a rare occurence.

The second picture shows some of the local plants that we saw at the mission while the third picture is Kyle and I in front of the Elementary School near where Father Serra said the first mass in 1771.

After our time at the mission was complete we took a spin around the 17 mile drive.  The homes were testaments to over indulgence, the golf courses breath taking in their natural beauty, and the ocean almost surreal with the subtle changes in the shades of blue and diversity of wildlife.

We stopped at several places along the way and the final five pictures are from this adventure.  The first picture shows what I believe is Spanish Bay golf course.  Note the way the trees bend against the constant west wind off the ocean!  The next picture shows the 3 Hayes men out on the rock outcropping overlooking the ocean.  While Kyle and Colin ran up and down it like a mountain goat, I had to take my time getting on and off it!  A bit further on we had another tourist click the picture of the four of us against the back drop of the Pacific.  Nearing the end of the trip, we stopped at the vista where the "Lone Cypress" the 250 year old tree that is the symbol of Pebble Beach stands alone.  The picture of Colin and Kyle shows a Cyress tree in the background, but this is not the "Lone Cypress".

Finishing our drive at Pebble Beach we browsed the shops, including the $189,000 diamond ring, on sale from $260,000, and ambled down to the 18th green which is a must for any golf fan with an apreciation for the history of the game.

Heading back to Monterrey we stopped for lunch at a recommended deli for gigantic sandwiches and wonderful peanut butter chocolate fudge cake!  We somehow managed to eat most of it before heading for Cannery Row and doing some window shopping.

Dinner was at Bahama Island restaurant tucked into a quaint little shopping mall.

Tomorrow we plan on hitting the Aquarium and Fishermans Wharf!

Leaving Santa Monica on the way to Monterey

The first half of the drive to Monterey was nice and peaceful. Then we hit the mountainside. That didn't strike Dad and Colin to comfortable. If the car fell... well lets just say you would have plenty of time to watch your life flash before your eyes. We stopped for almost every single vista point (not really a problem if you ask me but again Colin and dad, not fans of the sheer drop to inevitable doom). Then we saw the elephant seals who on the beach looked like logs, but more exiting as I described them. But in the water watching them roughhouse was quite a sight. However all-in-all it was a good day. 

La Brea, a new burger place, and the Ronald Reagan museum

    
                Tuesday we started our day by driving to the Page Museum at La Brea, home of what is commonly known as the La Brea Tar Pits.  The first picture is of Kyle outside an actual asphalt seep near the entrance of the museum.  The museum provided us with plenty of interesting fossils and facts.  Today, paleontalogists continue to explore the site and piece together the puzzle of the fossils to help them understand how the animals of the time lived.

                After we finished at La Brea, we took an unsucessful journey towards the Hollywood Reservoir to find the Hollywood sign.  Despite seeing it from afar, we were unable to see it close up, although we certainly got to see some lovely views and some interesting homes as we traversed the very narrow side streets of the Hollywood Hills.

                Heading towards the Ronald Reagan museum; we stopped for lunch at an In and Out Burger where you can get anything you want as long as it is a cheeseburger!  The food was actually very good and the prices, as we are pleasantly finding out, were quite reasonable.

               The first thing you notice upon parking at the Reagan museum is the breath taking view from atop the hill.  You see a couple examples of this in the pictures with this entry.  The boys enjoyed learning about our 40th President and one of the highlights was the tour of Air Force One, the actual plane that Reagan used for all eight years in office.  The museum is very thorough in showing all sides of Reagan as well as Nancy.   As you can see, you can also pay your respects to President Reagan, as he is interred on the grounds.

                Back at the hotel Karen got us ready for our drive to Monterrey on Wednesday.  The last picture is the view from our bedroom, just a few hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean.

Dodgers and Santa Monica

Well this is attempt two.  The boys did it the first go round but then forgot to save so I am just summarizing what they said.

Yesterday we started the day driving to LA.  We stopped at a couple of beaches along the way to look at tide pools then on to the Dodger game.  It was REALLY slow and hot.  It seemed to take forever.  According to Dan it is the third oldest park in existence and it showed.  Not real comfortable but the seats were okay.  We left in the top of the 7th and missed most of the traffic.



Today was Beach Day.  We got up and walked to the beach.  It is about a five minute walk from the hotel.  The boys played in the water all day.  We rented boggie boards and I even gave it a try.  We downed a packed lunch and then headed back to the hotel for showers and a walk to the pier.  We walked down to the small amusement park but skipped the rides.  We had our first real nice meal tonight.  I had the crab stuffed shrimp.  It was yummy.

Tomorrow is on to the tar pits and the Regan Museum.