Hotels California

This final update comes from LAX. We have spent the last three days driving down the slow coast road from San Francisco to Los Angeles, along the Big Sur, and through many small coastal towns. I tried to update the blog on the way but discovered it contained no more room for photos, which threw a spanner in the works. Up until now, our blog has always acted as a journal explaining our photos for future reference.  So how to finish this blog without pictures? Do I try to explain the last few days, of staying at hotels in Santa Cruz, Morro Bay and Santa Barbara? Do I try to explain where we ate or what we saw? Do I try to describe watching the sun disappear behind the coast in the middle of nowhere or walking down the track at Rincon to watch perfect small waves break along the coast? If I were to try, it would not do our memories justice.

So how to finish?

We began three weeks ago and have only tasted the edges of a huge continent. We missed a 'Super-Storm' by a few days but still managed to watch a president get re-elected. We had snowball fights in November and visited some of the most amazing art galleries in the world. We explored the boundaries of the city that never sleeps, but saw many who try, in doorways and under makeshift shelters. We saw a leg-less man crawl though a subway train on his ass, using his hands as feet. We meet a beautiful old women who took an interest in us in a place we least expected. In short, we experienced things we never have before, and been reminded of how lucky we are, which is of course the point.

Beatniks and Hippies

For our last full day in San Francisco, we began by stepping back in time to explore the North Beach area. Apparently, this place was the epicentre of the Beat Generation in the 50’s when Kerouac and his buddies arrived from New York.  They are now remembered for;

‘developing a reputation as new bohemian hedonists, who celebrated non-conformity, spontaneous creativity, experimentation with drugs, alternative forms of sexuality and a rejection of materialism’

We parked at Washington Square and walked down Columbus Avenue to visit City Lights Bookstore before a coffee in the nearby Caffe Trieste.  These places were the meeting points for the Beatniks in an era of otherwise conservatism. We soaked up the atmosphere at both places, along with some caffeine, before moving forward a decade into the Haight Ashbury district for a taste of the 60’s hippie movement and its Summer of Love climax in 1967.

It was obviously all too much for Kerouac who died two years later. But what a way to go!



 

 

The Streets of San Francisco

On leaving LA, we changed our plans at little and decided to drive straight to San Francisco. We arrived at our apartment at 161 Lower Terrace in Buena Vista Heights at about 1pm, after a seven-hour drive. The apartment turned out to be very spacious with fantastic views downtown. We have spent the last two days exploring the compact city in our car and getting a feel for its bohemian vibe. We started with a drive to Fishermans Wharf to put the city in context. With more tourists than seagulls, we quickly escaped to the outlying suburbs in search of sustenance. We started with large bowls of wonton noodle soup at Hai Ky Mi Gia on Ellis St. With our bellies full, we jumped back in the car and drove to Fort Point, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. We arrived just before sunset to watch a handful of surfers chasing waves at the same location Alfred Hitchcock used to film a famous scene in Vertigo. We then drove back to Union Square for a walk around the busy streets before returning to our own neighbourhood to shop for supplies.

Early the next day, we set out for Ocean Beach. Following a light breakfast at the Trouble Coffee Co cafe we checked out the Mollusk Surf Shop before finding a park near Cliff House to get a better view of the pounding surf. A small group of surfers lined up on a wedgy bank way out next to the rocky islands as we enjoyed the warm sunshine. We then drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito to find the best view we could before heading back for a late lunch at San Tung Chinese Restaurant on Irving Street. After relaxing at home for a while, we set out again in the early evening to explore The Castro neighbourhood which is right below us. Our guide books informed us it is currently the “best-known gay neighbourhood in the USA”. A drive past the Squat & Gobble, the Endup and the Stud Bar seemed to confirm the fact. While researching where to eat, we came across the following review of the Eagle Tavern:

Seriously, hipsters, don't even bother. It's going to be hard putting the Chrome bag and ironic t-shirt to work scoring your indie chicks when you can't walk 5 feet at the Eagle without a penis with what looks like a Hell's Angel from Alabama attached to the other end of it practically falling into your mouth. There are mirrors on the urinal positioned so your neighbors can check out your dangling sea otter! Stay away, it's better for everyone involved.

So we took the advice, and without any double entendres intended, went home to eat.

 

 

San Francisco Apartment

One California Day

For our final day in LA, we decided to rent pushbikes and cruise the touristy boardwalk. We picked up our bikes at Venice and rode up to Santa Monica Pier. On the way back, we stopped for lunch at Dogtown Coffee at 2003 Main Street. Back in the day, this place was home to the Zephyr Surf Shop and the Dogtown skate crew. After lunch, the girls strolled along Abbott Kinney for a final time while Ollie and I again gorged on super-fresh prawn and beef tacos from our local street vending truck. We then drove down to check out Tyler Surfboards in El Segundo. We had originally seen Tyler on the One California Day surf video which had in some way inspired our Californian road-trip. The shop was located miles from anywhere, in a small industrial estate, south of LAX. Fortunately, the shop was staffed by a cool young guy named Josh who made us feel welcome and showed us around. Later in the afternoon, we met up with Ando and Jude at the Venice Beach Wine Bar on Rose Street. They are due to head back to Australia tomorrow while we head north to San Francisco. We all chilled out for a while during happy hour, sharing stories, before heading on our separate ways.