Next it was on to Nevada! We spent the night in Las Vegas, not in some expensive casino hotel, but rather in a nice little place off the strip that I found using an app while Joe drove. Of course, it had a casino, just nothing like the big ones.
3 Sept Our next stop was to be San Diego, so I put La Jolla Cove into GPS so I could visit the Pacific for the first time. By this time my ankle was good and swollen, as I had neglected to ice it the day before and with the walking at the Canyon, it caught up to me. It was pretty bad leading up to this trip as I overused it getting my rental ready to go on the market, changing doorknobs and hinges on every door in the house, and going up and down the steps a hundred times identifying which breaker every outlet, light and appliance was on. So there I was sitting in the passenger seat icing, and trying to achieve some measure of elevation with my right angle on my left knee. And that's when we had some excitement. A female biker laid her bike down on the interstate right in front of us. And I mean RIGHT in front! Luckily (for her, because Joe does tend to follow too closely), Joe had slowed down as we were getting close to an exit ramp. He was looking at the GPS trying to figure out what it was telling him, and I was looking at it trying to help him, then suddenly there's a person laying in the road! Joe begins to go around her to the left and I said "what are you doing" while he said at the same time, sounding panicked "I don't know what to do!". I grabbed the wheel with my left hand, let my ice bag drop, and pointed with my right saying "just pull sideways and block the lane!", which he did. Just as he turned the car back to the right, I looked out my side window in time to see a semi stopping. Not to sound too dramatic, it's not like it was screeching to a halt, but I heard those air brakes, then I heard myself exhale.
By this time the first of the woman's motorcycle friends had doubled back and was at her side with his phone at his ear. Her helmet was on, and she was conscious but scared. She was moving her arms and legs a bit so that was good. Her bike was two lanes to the right of her. Neither of us saw the moment she went down so I don't know what happened. One of the guy's jacket said "Bakersfield" across the shoulders. After several minutes, EMS arrived and police had the lanes blocked further, so I told Joe to ask if they wanted us to move. When the cop asked if we were involved and Joe told him no, he said we could go. Joe says I saved a life. I'd like to think the next car would have done the same but just glad it wasn't worse.
We made it to San Diego a few hours later and I hobbled to the ocean. I was surprised to see the waves were so tiny. Yet people were still trying to surf them. They were really small! Smaller than Ocean City Md EVER is. So maybe this just was not a place for the bigger waves. Maybe the people were beginner surfers.
Awesome.
I was hoping to check out Tijuana since we were so close but that will have to be another adventure for another time. After my quick Pacific visit, we set off for Los Angeles. We stayed in a HOSTEL (ew) but not by design. I'm actually pissed at Booking.com for including those in the search results. I want more filters! : ) The place was called Banana Bungalow in West Hollywood. Now....when I booked it, first of all, it would be nice if they would have put the word Hostel in the name like most hostels that I saw did. Secondly, I know only what I see in movies about Hollywood. So when I saw a Hollywood address I figured it had to be nice. Nope...West Hollywood is California's Harlem!! As we were getting close according to the GPS, I began thinking, "uh oh". But although our room had 4 beds, it was only me and Joe in there, so we survived. The place was hideous, and in desperate need of a complete renovation, but the sheets were clean and they had hot water. Could have been worse.
4 Sept FOOD TRUCK DAY!!! Well, our breakfast place (planned) Eggslut was closed. So we found this super expensive place with a line to be seated LOL. But breakfast was very good. Coffee was good. The day was starting out good!
We drove up to Muholland Drive to see how close we could get to the famous Hollywood sign. The reservoir is about the best place by car. You can go on hikes that bring you up behind the letters (I've seen that in movies) but this was good enough for us.
Looks like a ball.
From breakfast, were parked in a garage so we walked the famous "walk of fame". I took a few shots of the stars. The Disney stuff for my mom who is still a fan, unlike me, then a couple of my personal favorites
The part with the hand and footprints was closed : (
Then I saw this dude wearing a mickey costume.....well, actually the Sorcerer's Apprentice costume from Fantasia. Just before I got the pic he saw me and turned his back!!! Really? Obviously I was not in Disneyland but what the hell? Well I took that as a challenge.
Fire torpedo 2
BOOM!!
We went into a shop selling everything for $5 (normally $10) and I grabbed a couple of the one thing I figured was a bargain, CALIFORNIA hoodies! I was talking to the guy inside and told him about the Sorcerer. He said they dress in those costumes to make money taking photos with people. THAT'S why he turned his back!! I just figure someone in a costume is working for someplace either trying to bring in business or as part of the experience. Too many trips to WDW as a kid. Sorry dude! Hope I didn't steal your soul or anything like that. Sheesh.
So fun!!!! That video/commercial was hysterical!!!!! 😂😂😂
@Sideon if you glamp through then littermate and I will ABSOLUTELY HITCHHIKE and join you for some miles. 😊♥️💕
psst... @Sideon me too!!! 🛣👍
Yes @sillysassy! We can have a @Sideon sandwich with @sillysassy/littermate bread!
Oh, covid.
@littermate what about a double decker sandwich with me somewhere in the mix 😋
Ok where was I?
Next was driving up to Mulholland to try to get close to the Hollywood sign. One option is to hike through a park and come up behind it, but we decided to just get the frontal view and the reservoir was a good spot.
Next up was Venice Beach. This was one of my favorite places. There was just so much going on. The little girl doing karaoke, the vendors, the bikers, joggers, dog walkers, beginner skateboarders working in a flat area, the advance ones in the challenging area, and the beach right there behind it all. I just loved the vibe. And I don't use that word. IDK, just seems like the right one to describe this area
As we were leaving, I stopped for an empanada. It was fresh and delicious. Then I saw this adorable dog walking into a store. I had never seen a dog quite like him so I followed him inside. Also, he was not on a leash so I was concerned. As I walked in, I said to the lady behind the counter "was that your dog?" and a voice replied from the other side of the store "he's mine". As I rounded the corner it was a guy getting a drink from the fridge and there was this awesome looking dog next to him. He let me pet him and he was sweet. He's a mix between a Pomeranian and a Japanese dog. So cute!!
Before heading north to Joe's cousin(by marriage), we hit the Filipino part of town to try the "dollar hits", skewers of various meats for, you guessed it, $1 each. Those squiggly things are some kind of intestine. Normally not my thing, and I'd have certainly skipped them if I had not seen 3 Filipino's in a row in line ahead of me ALL choose that. Well, they are all $1, and everyone is picking it, so I'm going to have one. EW!!!! I finished it, so I can say I had the experience. I won't say I'll try anything once, but I'll try a lot of things. There won't be a second time for intestines as long as there are other viable options.
Joe's cousin and her family (husband, teen daughter) live in San Luis Obispo. Nope, I had never heard of it. Not an easy place to get to. That was not an interstate drive. It was a drive through a park with mountains for hours! But it was scenic until it got dark. No pics from here, well, except for the ones I took at breakfast for my mom, who LOVES these things.....
Fires would pop up on the gps, so we never did see one, just smoke. That's probably why we took a scenic route. We also wanted to drive the coastal highway but was advised by our hosts to skip it so we did. Next up was San Francisco. Definitely want to go back here and spend more time. We kind of rushed through it. Made reservations at Sotto Mare, then, while waiting for a table text, we walked through Chinatown. Then after dinner, it was dark but we walked all the way to Fisherman's Wharf (our parking was expensive but was unlimited) and back. Yes, ankle was still swollen but I was icing every evening and taking ibuprofen every second day. It was still awful.
IDK I just loved this sign so....
6 Sept
I wanted to see Yosemite, and specifically, the Giant Sequoias, but they wanted appointments, so I found Calaveras Big Trees State Park, which was wonderful! Some pics from the drive to get there....
Have to take a break as the server doesn't seem to like any pictures right now
So I just got an "advisory" from the mods something about spamming the forum with topics. Anyway, I'm done. Just wanted to share with those who wanted to know what we did.
Believe me, I was going for just one thread!!! Why so many? Maybe the "you can't upload any more photos" limitation???