(Fri 12th May)
So that's it. Friday morning dawned and it was time to pack up for the last time, eat as much of the remaining food as possible and then head for the airport.
Flight is at 5.30pm (US Time) so we're going to head off around 1.30pm we think..
Packing was done in no time as we've not really bothered to actually unpack. Well you get used to living out of a suitcase after a while! Plus Dan bought a new bag when we got to San Francisco so we have been putting all our dirty laundry in there already!
It's mainly packing up the new vinyl, the wine and the Laboutin's really. They really better not bloody lose my suitcase!
I did a great job of cooking up most of the food so that Chip (the guy who owns the studio) didn't have too much random bits to clear out. We very kindly left him some bread in the freezer, some tomatoes and some beer. So basically it was my ideal fridge ;-) hahaha
Chose to get an Uber as the company that we had originally been recommended had starting showing signs of being unreliable. It was outside our door within a minute... LITERALLY!
Journey was trouble free apart from at the turnoff for the airport when the driver seemed to either forget where he was going or had fell asleep. Anyway, we found ourselves screeching across the Interstate and sitting on that area that cars are no supposed to be on in an attempt to join the slip road for the airport!! Thankfully, we could join and the driver very sheepishly apologised.
Flight was on time and there was basically nothing to report. We (I) stuffed my face in the lounge and filled up on Champagne!
The plane wasn't very full at all which was good we thought as it meant a nice quiet flight. Which it was. Have to say, the meals are really good on Virgin Premium Economy...! As is the constant flow of drinks ;-)
I watched 2 films, a TV show and a documentary. Struggled to sleep as the guy in front chose to lay drop his seat back which put him more or less lying in my lap! Ordinarily I would have said something but it was the middle of the night and the person in front of him had done the same. It's really a design flaw to be fair...
I watched another film then and we only bloody landed with 10mins of the film left so I have no idea how it actually ended. It was quite good too.. (though I do appear to have forgotten what it was called).
Luggage collected, taxi's flagged and we were home. Aaron had gone out with Abby so it was just the pets left to great us. BeeBee was SUPER excited it was so funny and even Jesse came down the stairs to me-ow at me a while. Probably disgusted with me for leaving her more than anything.
And that was that. We were home and the holiday was well and truly over and there was no-one here to bloody tell about it!!!
As always, I got a wash on pretty quickly and started tidying/cleaning around. Aaron and Abby had done a decent job of things ( she had clearly moved in for the fortnight) but it wasn't like anything I could actually cope with! But it was pretty impressive for two 20 year old's, neither of which can keep a bedroom tidy or clean.
Eventually they came back so we had a lovely catch up with them for a couple of hours and then they went back off. Dan had a nap then and once he was up I 'encouraged' him to come for a walk with me and Bee especially as it was a lovely sunny evening.
Took her for a lovely long walk and then headed home.. I went to let us in whilst Dan was sorting out the bins at the back (this is way more exciting than being on holiday!) and the key only went and fooking snapped in the lock. .Seriously. WTF... errrrmmmm Dan, we have a bit of a problem........
So there we were, 8.30pm on a Saturday night,jet lagged to hell with no money, no other key and only Dan's phone on us, locked out of our house! All the keys being held by others are front door keys so are no use to us as the lock now contains half of another key.. aarrggghhhhh.. Thank GOD we did have Dan's phone as he found an emergency locksmith (after trying to wiggle the broken bit of the key out) who lived about 5 miles away. I gave him a call and he said he would be round ASAP... We then got hold of both of the other key holders (I knew that Aaron was out drinking so it was pointless trying him) to see if they could get their key to us so that once the locksmith had pulled out the snapped key - which is what he told me on the phone he was going to do - we had another key to get us in. Mum was also out on the piss but thankfully Jane was at home.. though the little bugger did wind me up that she was in Newcastle visiting her son so couldn't help.
Anyway, long story short, the locksmith was able to get us in without changing the lock and it only cost us £60 and Jane was able to drop the spare key round..
At least it didn't happen when we first got home from the airport. Could you imagine that?!!
A glass of wine and some beer was definitely needed after that palava and we settled down to watch the final episode of 'Line of Duty'.. which was brilliant...and then tootled off to our freshly made bed at actual proper bedtime hoping and praying that we had beaten the Jet lag....
Rock and roll hey.... rock and roll.
Monday, 15 May 2017
Friday, 12 May 2017
Shiiiiiiit.. its our last day already..
Can't believe it's our last day already. It all seems to have flown by yet when we think back to something in the early stages of the holiday it just seems like a lifetime ago.
This trip strangely has felt like this is our normal life in some ways, but then of course there is a great big gap which is my son and the girls (pets). Not missed not working of course and i'm even fine that i'm not at my house. But still, all that said, I am feeling ready to go back.. I think. Hmmmm maybe I could be persuaded to stay a little longer. Especially in this Studio. This has given us an at home feeling I think and has been a wonderful way to finish the holiday as we have been able to kick back now and relax after the constant travelling and finding our way around new towns.
So what will we do with our last day? F*ck all we have decided! Well, we have done all the main tourist things in San Francisco before and we can just read back about it (https://daynesroadtrip.blogspot.com/2015/09/san-francisco-baby.html) if we need to. We chose to stay in Haight because we wanted to see of the place and SF was always meant to be our place to relax.
Turns out that neither one of us is actually bothered about doing the bike ride either. Think we've both felt we should rather than that we want to.. but I have seen the bridge more than once, I have driven over it, we have been in Sausalito, we have done a boat ride around the bay and have previously seen (and disliked) the Fisherman's Wharf area....So WHY are we making ourselves do this?!
Happy with our decision, I made a marvellously large brunch and then we headed out. We spent time wandering around the other end of Haight that we haven't seen previously and found some great shops to peruse (and Dan more bloody records to buy). There was one shop that sold vintage clothing from 1900 - 1990 and they had some absolute crackers in there. I was so tempted to get some 80's stuff ready for J's summer party but on the flip side, these were not cheap and it was a bit much just for dressing up... though one top Dan and I thought I could probably rock it at anytime not just the party. Still tempted tbh!!
We had worked up quite a thirst so stopped for a couple of beers in this little bar called Murio's, bumping into two lovely dogs and a 30-yr expat from West Bromwich, who Dan was pleased to talk football with (both having a healthy dislike of Man U).
We meandered down to Golden Gate park as we have never seen that either. It is a lovely park..3 miles long and 1/2 mile wide so isn't small! We stopped partway through to watch a game of rounders... oops sorry I mean BASEBALL! These were teenagers that were playing so we got to see all that wonderful teenage boy awkwardness whilst the girls looked on from 'the bleachers'!!
It was quite an interesting game to be honest.. weird though that the team members never shout each other on by their name, only there number. So like 'Come on number 17' rather than 'Come on JohnBarryJunior'!!~. Hahah maybe that right there is the reason why..
It had started getting a bit windy & chilly so we pushed on as we were also getting hungry. The food trucks were due to be in Haight and we fancied getting some food from there so we wandered over. There was a great selection and I went for Garlic infused giant shrimps, covered in a lobster saffron gravy on rice.. What about that then? God it was good.. Dan went for a Matter paneer combo from a different truck and then we shared a frozen custard dessert that was served with caramel sauce, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.. It was seriously good.
We pushed on from there back down Haight and via ANOTHER record store, Amoeba (I actually bought some myself), and then into a nice little cocktail bar.. Alambec. Liked it in there but there were 2 women in there (separate) who had that really bloody annoying screechy American voice/accent that some females have and after a bit I just couldn't cope with how loud and insincere they were so we left!! I'm sure they were devastated!
Moved on and found a great little bar, Club Deluxe, with a live band playing jazz so we shot in there. It was in there that, as much as we liked the place, we realised that we were done. Just completely done and had basically had enough of sitting in bars and.. get this.. Dan was now sick of beer! SICK OF BEER... amazing! Note - not sick of drinking though.. just sick of beer. So I suggested we just went back to the Studio as we have a couple of bottles of wine in the fridge, some cheeses that need to be eaten before we leave and comfy pants...
So that is exactly what we did and it was brilliant. Not what we would expect ourselves to do on our last night but just what we needed.. (I watched Antman too which I loved!).....
This trip strangely has felt like this is our normal life in some ways, but then of course there is a great big gap which is my son and the girls (pets). Not missed not working of course and i'm even fine that i'm not at my house. But still, all that said, I am feeling ready to go back.. I think. Hmmmm maybe I could be persuaded to stay a little longer. Especially in this Studio. This has given us an at home feeling I think and has been a wonderful way to finish the holiday as we have been able to kick back now and relax after the constant travelling and finding our way around new towns.
So what will we do with our last day? F*ck all we have decided! Well, we have done all the main tourist things in San Francisco before and we can just read back about it (https://daynesroadtrip.blogspot.com/2015/09/san-francisco-baby.html) if we need to. We chose to stay in Haight because we wanted to see of the place and SF was always meant to be our place to relax.
Turns out that neither one of us is actually bothered about doing the bike ride either. Think we've both felt we should rather than that we want to.. but I have seen the bridge more than once, I have driven over it, we have been in Sausalito, we have done a boat ride around the bay and have previously seen (and disliked) the Fisherman's Wharf area....So WHY are we making ourselves do this?!
Happy with our decision, I made a marvellously large brunch and then we headed out. We spent time wandering around the other end of Haight that we haven't seen previously and found some great shops to peruse (and Dan more bloody records to buy). There was one shop that sold vintage clothing from 1900 - 1990 and they had some absolute crackers in there. I was so tempted to get some 80's stuff ready for J's summer party but on the flip side, these were not cheap and it was a bit much just for dressing up... though one top Dan and I thought I could probably rock it at anytime not just the party. Still tempted tbh!!
We had worked up quite a thirst so stopped for a couple of beers in this little bar called Murio's, bumping into two lovely dogs and a 30-yr expat from West Bromwich, who Dan was pleased to talk football with (both having a healthy dislike of Man U).
We meandered down to Golden Gate park as we have never seen that either. It is a lovely park..3 miles long and 1/2 mile wide so isn't small! We stopped partway through to watch a game of rounders... oops sorry I mean BASEBALL! These were teenagers that were playing so we got to see all that wonderful teenage boy awkwardness whilst the girls looked on from 'the bleachers'!!
It was quite an interesting game to be honest.. weird though that the team members never shout each other on by their name, only there number. So like 'Come on number 17' rather than 'Come on JohnBarryJunior'!!~. Hahah maybe that right there is the reason why..
We pushed on from there back down Haight and via ANOTHER record store, Amoeba (I actually bought some myself), and then into a nice little cocktail bar.. Alambec. Liked it in there but there were 2 women in there (separate) who had that really bloody annoying screechy American voice/accent that some females have and after a bit I just couldn't cope with how loud and insincere they were so we left!! I'm sure they were devastated!
Moved on and found a great little bar, Club Deluxe, with a live band playing jazz so we shot in there. It was in there that, as much as we liked the place, we realised that we were done. Just completely done and had basically had enough of sitting in bars and.. get this.. Dan was now sick of beer! SICK OF BEER... amazing! Note - not sick of drinking though.. just sick of beer. So I suggested we just went back to the Studio as we have a couple of bottles of wine in the fridge, some cheeses that need to be eaten before we leave and comfy pants...
So that is exactly what we did and it was brilliant. Not what we would expect ourselves to do on our last night but just what we needed.. (I watched Antman too which I loved!).....
Thursday, 11 May 2017
(Wednesday) A hard life in Haight...
Wow we woke up late! Well, late in comparison to the rest of the holiday but it felt good! Extra good to know that we didn't actually have anything to do..! Weirdly good...
So we basically just pootled around the studio, making coffee & breakfast and getting my blog up to date.
Originally we'd said that we would do the bike ride today but to be honest we could not be arsed at all once we were up and about. It felt like it needed to be a day of no plans and nothingness really.
So that is what we did.
We headed out around midday and just mooched along around Haight, flitting in and out of the shops - well one shop mainly which was a record shop! Dan was in his element and bought up a stack of vinyl.
I actually bought one myself so I can't say much!
We wandered on down Haight into Lower Haight and decided it was time for a beer! We found Black Sands Beer and went in there, realising then that we had actually been in there before! I had a rather strong cocktail which seemed to be the scene setter for the day..
After a couple of beers in there we mooched on and got some sandwiches in a fab little Vegetarian Cafe called Love N Haight. And then on to Toronadoes - again somewhere we have been before. This is a great little bar but it is a bit smelly. Farts and stale sick really.. hahahaha!
From there we went into a place called Noc Noc which at first glance seemed a bit of a dive but was actually really good. We sat in the window and got to do a great bit of people watching over our beers! Think we were starting to get a bit tipsy by now but it was just good fun. I didn't have to hold off because of driving and we knew we had a nice studio to head back to rather than a small room..
Whilst in Noc Noc I got involved in someone's picture sharing at the bar. I just basically stuck my head over so I could see them and started asking him about it! Hahaha.. bet he thought i was a right cheeky cow.
From there we went in 'The Page' which was a great little very American bar. I say very American becuase it was so reminiscent of the ones you see in movies and TV series, more so than any others we had been in. There was a great group of people in there and everyone just seemed happy and ha in fun including the bar staff. They played a great mix of soul, funk and Prince on the jukebox!
There was also a man in there that didn't appear to have left the late 80's/early 90's with his middle parting floppy hairstyle and blouson leather jacket but boy he did his best to seem cool to his female friends!
Decided then that we were hungry but rather than go for a meal somewhere we really fancied a takeaway back at the studio. So as we were deciding on what takeaway, we bobbed into Magnolia for one last one (as we had started making our way back now) and just agreed to wander down the road and see what we found.
They were filming something around Haight - had been all day as we had seen them earlier - but it was really heavy filming action going on now with hoards of bystanders everywhere.. We fought through them and found a Chinese so shot in there. It wasn't the most wonderful looking place but that was good as we knew it would be good food as it was clearly about the food and not some posh restaurant.
I sent Dan off to the studio to get the plates & wine ready and waited there watching the filming action. Apparently, unless you specifically asked not to be in the film, the assumption was that you were ok for your image to be used with no expectations or rights to it.. guess that is why everyone was hanging around so they could get in it!
So yeah, I could actually be in it myself, leaving a takeaway on Haight on my own, looking slightly tipsy/haggard, maybe a bit lost and with a takeaway for two in my hand!! Keep your eyes peeled folks you won't want to miss that!! Hahahaha.. (no idea what it was they were actually filming though.......)
Chinese was amazing too.. really fresh, hot, tasty and clean tasting. YUM..
So we basically just pootled around the studio, making coffee & breakfast and getting my blog up to date.
Originally we'd said that we would do the bike ride today but to be honest we could not be arsed at all once we were up and about. It felt like it needed to be a day of no plans and nothingness really.
So that is what we did.
We headed out around midday and just mooched along around Haight, flitting in and out of the shops - well one shop mainly which was a record shop! Dan was in his element and bought up a stack of vinyl.
I actually bought one myself so I can't say much!
We wandered on down Haight into Lower Haight and decided it was time for a beer! We found Black Sands Beer and went in there, realising then that we had actually been in there before! I had a rather strong cocktail which seemed to be the scene setter for the day..
After a couple of beers in there we mooched on and got some sandwiches in a fab little Vegetarian Cafe called Love N Haight. And then on to Toronadoes - again somewhere we have been before. This is a great little bar but it is a bit smelly. Farts and stale sick really.. hahahaha!
From there we went into a place called Noc Noc which at first glance seemed a bit of a dive but was actually really good. We sat in the window and got to do a great bit of people watching over our beers! Think we were starting to get a bit tipsy by now but it was just good fun. I didn't have to hold off because of driving and we knew we had a nice studio to head back to rather than a small room..
Whilst in Noc Noc I got involved in someone's picture sharing at the bar. I just basically stuck my head over so I could see them and started asking him about it! Hahaha.. bet he thought i was a right cheeky cow.
From there we went in 'The Page' which was a great little very American bar. I say very American becuase it was so reminiscent of the ones you see in movies and TV series, more so than any others we had been in. There was a great group of people in there and everyone just seemed happy and ha in fun including the bar staff. They played a great mix of soul, funk and Prince on the jukebox!
There was also a man in there that didn't appear to have left the late 80's/early 90's with his middle parting floppy hairstyle and blouson leather jacket but boy he did his best to seem cool to his female friends!
Decided then that we were hungry but rather than go for a meal somewhere we really fancied a takeaway back at the studio. So as we were deciding on what takeaway, we bobbed into Magnolia for one last one (as we had started making our way back now) and just agreed to wander down the road and see what we found.
They were filming something around Haight - had been all day as we had seen them earlier - but it was really heavy filming action going on now with hoards of bystanders everywhere.. We fought through them and found a Chinese so shot in there. It wasn't the most wonderful looking place but that was good as we knew it would be good food as it was clearly about the food and not some posh restaurant.
I sent Dan off to the studio to get the plates & wine ready and waited there watching the filming action. Apparently, unless you specifically asked not to be in the film, the assumption was that you were ok for your image to be used with no expectations or rights to it.. guess that is why everyone was hanging around so they could get in it!
So yeah, I could actually be in it myself, leaving a takeaway on Haight on my own, looking slightly tipsy/haggard, maybe a bit lost and with a takeaway for two in my hand!! Keep your eyes peeled folks you won't want to miss that!! Hahahaha.. (no idea what it was they were actually filming though.......)
Chinese was amazing too.. really fresh, hot, tasty and clean tasting. YUM..
Wednesday, 10 May 2017
(Tuesday) Just don't scratch the car Sarah.....
What an amazing nights sleep. I could happily pack this bed up and take it home with me! Love, love, love this hotel in Healdsburg.. (Grape Leaf Inn)..
Also woke up to a text from Chip (our Air BnB host in SF) saying we could check in whenever we wanted rather than wait until 3pm which was great news.
Breakfast was provided by the hotel so we made the most of that, with Dan very kindly offering me his leftover leaves much to my amusement. Which then led to dirty looks off one of the other residents because I was laughing heartily. Jeez, I thought that only happened on the London tube (especially when you make your child look like he has no head like me and J did!) ...
So we packed the car up for the final time and set off for San Francisco. We needed petrol first though so went to the gas station first.. and once again, my frigging cards were declined causing much awkwardness and embarrassment on my behalf. I start off on this diatribe about my card company protecting me from fraud and I thought it was sorted and blah blah blah. Like the woman gave a shit. She just wanted me to pay! So I got cash out and as I did, I got the text messages again asking me to confirm it was me making the payments! FFS... shouldn't complain really. It is me they are trying to protect at the end of the day.
It was a really easy, pleasant journey to SF which also involved driving over the Golden Gate Bridge.. how exciting!! Though we did a slight detour via Sausalito to top up the petrol and nearly took out a number of idiot cyclists! Its a popular route to cycle over the GG bridge into Sausalito and then get the Ferry back. We intend on doing it ourselves to be honest but not like this dickheads who were wobbling all over the road! (You know I am now going to be one of those dickhead cyclists don't you in some sort of divine retribution for saying that!)
We found our studio really easily and as we got out of the car I realised I couldn't find the car key.
Cue fits of total panic as the last time I remember having it in my hand was when I used the toilet in the garage at Sausalito! Logic went out of my head entirely as how would the bloody engine be on if we didn't have the key (it was a keyless ignition type car). All I could think about was giving the car back without a key and how I daren't turn the engine off now as I might not be able to get it back to the car hire place!! I tore that car and my handbag apart whilst Dan just casually unloaded the boot. Eventually I decided to check on Dan's side and there it bloody was under his seat.. aarrggghhhhhh.. If I had just calmed down for 2 seconds I could have worked it out and known it was deffo in the car somewhere. That's why Dan just got on with it as he had already worked that out but couldn't get it through to me at all!!! Not that I am a drama queen from time to time at all. Honest ;-)
Our studio is soooooooo lovely. We are so happy with it and it is the best way to finish this trip off. Oh the joy of having space to put your bags in and to be able to unpack. To be able to get your own drink and make some toast! And comfy seats. Actual comfy seats that we can relax in... amazing how you miss these things.
We're right in the heart of Haight which is a place we liked best on our last trip. We just want to be able to potter about now and enjoy where we are so we have no major plans...aside from the bike ride.
But first, we needed to get the car back and (sadly) do some shopping. Dan needs some stuff, plus we want to get another bag so we can take back the shopping more easily!
And so we found the car hire place and after a very tight turn in where I reallly thought I was going to scrape the entire side of it, we handed back our car and all of my driving was over. Done and dusted.. It's kind of a relief in some ways to not have to live out of a car and every single day get up and back on the road but sad in others as it means this trip is coming to an end. We've been adding up the miles covered as we go and with the little detours we have been taking here and there it comes to around 1573miles driven. All by me! Dan has been a great navigator though (99% of the time anyway ;-) ) and hey, we have made it with no accidents, issues or even wrong turnings!
We went for a bite to eat and some celebratory beers before shopping and in there I made up my mind that I HAD to go and find the Christian Laboutin shop and with any luck, leave with a pair :-)
And I had that luck too. I am now the proud and slightly poorer owner of a pair of Laboutin's.. So excited to wear them. Dan got what he needed and then we grabbed a cab and headed back.
Shot out then for some provisions for the studio at the local market/deli. It was excellent but a bit pretentious and crazy busy. A bit like the Unicorn in Chorlton!
And then we wandered around the corner to Magnolia - a place we had been last time and loved - for a couple of drinks and maybe a bite to eat.. (I had the Mussels as recommended by the very gorgeous barman!) .
A lovely night re-discussing the places we'd seen and been and then a stroll back to the apartment.. where we were greeeted by a raccoon having a wee outside our building & then just casually walked down the street towards us...
Also woke up to a text from Chip (our Air BnB host in SF) saying we could check in whenever we wanted rather than wait until 3pm which was great news.
Breakfast was provided by the hotel so we made the most of that, with Dan very kindly offering me his leftover leaves much to my amusement. Which then led to dirty looks off one of the other residents because I was laughing heartily. Jeez, I thought that only happened on the London tube (especially when you make your child look like he has no head like me and J did!) ...
So we packed the car up for the final time and set off for San Francisco. We needed petrol first though so went to the gas station first.. and once again, my frigging cards were declined causing much awkwardness and embarrassment on my behalf. I start off on this diatribe about my card company protecting me from fraud and I thought it was sorted and blah blah blah. Like the woman gave a shit. She just wanted me to pay! So I got cash out and as I did, I got the text messages again asking me to confirm it was me making the payments! FFS... shouldn't complain really. It is me they are trying to protect at the end of the day.
It was a really easy, pleasant journey to SF which also involved driving over the Golden Gate Bridge.. how exciting!! Though we did a slight detour via Sausalito to top up the petrol and nearly took out a number of idiot cyclists! Its a popular route to cycle over the GG bridge into Sausalito and then get the Ferry back. We intend on doing it ourselves to be honest but not like this dickheads who were wobbling all over the road! (You know I am now going to be one of those dickhead cyclists don't you in some sort of divine retribution for saying that!)
We found our studio really easily and as we got out of the car I realised I couldn't find the car key.
Cue fits of total panic as the last time I remember having it in my hand was when I used the toilet in the garage at Sausalito! Logic went out of my head entirely as how would the bloody engine be on if we didn't have the key (it was a keyless ignition type car). All I could think about was giving the car back without a key and how I daren't turn the engine off now as I might not be able to get it back to the car hire place!! I tore that car and my handbag apart whilst Dan just casually unloaded the boot. Eventually I decided to check on Dan's side and there it bloody was under his seat.. aarrggghhhhhh.. If I had just calmed down for 2 seconds I could have worked it out and known it was deffo in the car somewhere. That's why Dan just got on with it as he had already worked that out but couldn't get it through to me at all!!! Not that I am a drama queen from time to time at all. Honest ;-)
Our studio is soooooooo lovely. We are so happy with it and it is the best way to finish this trip off. Oh the joy of having space to put your bags in and to be able to unpack. To be able to get your own drink and make some toast! And comfy seats. Actual comfy seats that we can relax in... amazing how you miss these things.
We're right in the heart of Haight which is a place we liked best on our last trip. We just want to be able to potter about now and enjoy where we are so we have no major plans...aside from the bike ride.
But first, we needed to get the car back and (sadly) do some shopping. Dan needs some stuff, plus we want to get another bag so we can take back the shopping more easily!
And so we found the car hire place and after a very tight turn in where I reallly thought I was going to scrape the entire side of it, we handed back our car and all of my driving was over. Done and dusted.. It's kind of a relief in some ways to not have to live out of a car and every single day get up and back on the road but sad in others as it means this trip is coming to an end. We've been adding up the miles covered as we go and with the little detours we have been taking here and there it comes to around 1573miles driven. All by me! Dan has been a great navigator though (99% of the time anyway ;-) ) and hey, we have made it with no accidents, issues or even wrong turnings!
We went for a bite to eat and some celebratory beers before shopping and in there I made up my mind that I HAD to go and find the Christian Laboutin shop and with any luck, leave with a pair :-)
And I had that luck too. I am now the proud and slightly poorer owner of a pair of Laboutin's.. So excited to wear them. Dan got what he needed and then we grabbed a cab and headed back.
Shot out then for some provisions for the studio at the local market/deli. It was excellent but a bit pretentious and crazy busy. A bit like the Unicorn in Chorlton!
And then we wandered around the corner to Magnolia - a place we had been last time and loved - for a couple of drinks and maybe a bite to eat.. (I had the Mussels as recommended by the very gorgeous barman!) .
A lovely night re-discussing the places we'd seen and been and then a stroll back to the apartment.. where we were greeeted by a raccoon having a wee outside our building & then just casually walked down the street towards us...
(Monday) It's a race to get the wine....
Mendocino is approximately 85 miles from Healdsburg which is where we are headed next and booked onto a wine tour from 12pm..
Meaning we should be fine as that is about 1.5 hours driving so no worries, leave by 10am to give time to spare.
So we get up leisurely and faff about. I spend ages trying to get my hands on an iron and we just generally mooch. Hadto get a different top because they sent me a childs ironing board to work with. In fact, I think Aaron had a bigger/better one when he was 4! We've actually done really well with living out of suitcases as we worked out some time back that the easiest way was to have the vital stuff - eg toiletries -- permanently in our rucksack & satchel and then as we arrive at each hotel we pull out the next set of clothes/underwear etc and pack it in our other bag. We've also got a set of dirty laundry bags in a separate section of the car! Haha.. never thought I would take to 'living' out of a car so easily but it's not been a problem. And this way, we don't have to drag our cases in and out of each hotel. Much better since we haven't stayed anywhere for more than one night since Portland....
Anyway, I digress.. so we packed up and drove around to find a little cafe/bakery to get a take out breakfast. Found a lovely one. Organic, gluten free, homemade, none offensive, vegan friendly, dog friendly etc etc type of californian cafe! All the women were dressed in the same type of clothes ie yoga outfits or running outfits with perfect hair and make up! Ha..
Mendocino is a very cute little place by the way. At first I thought it was a bit contrived as this is, by all accounts, the trendy beachside place for Northern Californians.. but it really is like that.Very chocolate box pretty and really quite small too. Lots of bakeries & cafe's though!
We stopped off oceanside at a picnic table to enjoy our breakfast which was stunning. I could eat breakfast like that everyday...
And then we pushed on. This was now 9.45pm so we had LOADS of time right. No, our Sat Nav
declared we wouldn't get there until 12.00.. brilliant. But of course, Sat Nav doesn't know that it's me driving and I will not accept her timings!! Hahah.. Made it there for 11.36am thank you very much. Whilst its not that far away, it's all very windy, narrow roads so you do have to keep your speed limit down but I did OK.. and it was fun really especially with the wine tour on the end of it.
Parked our car at our hotel, quick freshen up and then Sid, our private wine tour guide arrived in a massive car to take us out for the afternoon.
His company foster relationships with a lot of the smaller bespoke wineries as well as the large ones so that their customers can get a more informal, intimate tasting session but also, they are helping to support the smaller outfits.
The first place we went was quite high up in the mountains. They were a winery but mainly winery consultants. A family run set up but Dad was away in India so their son Drew was going to look after us.. at the family house!! He greeted us at the front with such a lovely warm welcome and then took us into his kitchen.. he had it all set up with a little cheeseboard on the table too!
He was ACE. Loved him instantly and we sat with him for over an hour and a half... we were only supposed to be there for hmmm about 45-60 mins! He did talk to us about his company and what winery consulting actually was. He explained about the geology of the area, the soil requirements for growing grapes (vines prefer shit soil amazingly!) the difference when growing high up like where we were now and also how he got involved in the wine business. He was very honest and super informal. It really was like we were sat with a mate.. We had a great laugh with him and also ended up talking about England and Marmite! (Bizarrre how Marmite keeps coming up in these conversations with Americans). He had spent time in Scotland and a flat mate offered him some Vegemite which he spread on his toast like Nutella! He was still stressed by that experience!!
We talked about beer and he even opened up a bottle he had been storing for over 2 years when he realised how into beer Dan is. Oh we covered so many topics and were all getting slightly merry as his tasters were pretty large. His mum then joined us - I think she thought we had gone - as Drew had just had approval on his house purchase so she was a bit excited. He then told us all about it, the price, how he found it and showed us pictures.. well we're family now!
His Mum is a huge Anglophile she told us, so was super excited that we were in her house. She said that going to Liberty's in London was like others visiting St Paul's Cathedral!!
We bought some wine from him as it was seriously good stuff and he actually wrote on our bottle 'God save the Queen' - with love Drew! Nutter. We had to tear ourselves away then as we were conscious of the time ......
So we finally moved on from there as also poor Sid was still waiting for us. He took us on to pick up food that we had pre-ordered from this amazing deli. At the next winery (Lambert Bridge) there were beautiful gardens that you were encouraged to picnic in so we sat there and tried to sober up a little!!
This place was a little more formal but not too much. We had a table set out for us with a little card with our names on and details of the wine were were going to be tasting..
Here we were given proper tasting measures and after JP had told us about the wine, he would move away to leave us to it more often than not. Though in the end, he did start staying and properly chatting to us. Just like Drew did, he gave us some recommendations for places to eat in Healdsburg - which bizarrely was the same as Drew had suggested.
We had some different wines here which was great as we were now starting to feel quite the experts! Ha. I still cannot get pick up the tobacco leaf undertones highlighted by the 28 year old oak of the barrel with just a soupçon of mulched coffee grindings ;-) Nope.. but I know if I want to quaff it or not!
Again we purchased a bottle here as these are wines we're not going to get hold of at home. (Though we still need to check on how much we can actually bring home).
Anyway, after here Sid suggested we try one of the much larger wineries so we can see how they operate and see the difference in wines. So these are the ones most people head to and you stand at the wine tasting bar amongst lots of others etc etc. Wine is much cheaper to buy too...
Yep, we were happy to do that (it was actually nearly 3.30pm now and we had only booked the tour until 4pm!)
This place Ferrari Carano was really lovely but yes, much bigger. We pulled up at the bar and requested our tasters. Turns out the lady doing the session was from London so she loved hearing our English accents. We had a great time chatting to Judith, especially about Trump and Brexit. She was explaining her move over here 26 years ago and how she had nearly gone straight back to London. She had originally gone to Omaha with her husband and hated it!!! Ahh we have friends there but as we haven't visited couldn't really comment.
Judith had always lived in lovely areas around London so it had been a shock to here but when she came to California she realised all was OK. She now lived in a place called Windsor! Yep honestly, there is a place called Windsor just outside of Healdsburg.
We chose more wine to buy here and bless her she knocked money off for us as we were fellow Englishmen! Said it was on her.....
Back out to Sid and he offered to take us to one more place if we wanted as it was rather special - errr OK then!
And it was a lovely place - Dutcher Crossing... Much smaller again and set in the most stunning area. Again we had a lovely chat with the man pouring the wine for us and he even tried to take off our accent.. but ended up sounding like the character Simon out of Frasier who's English accent is shocking!!
More wine purchased and we were off back to our hotel. What a bloody fabulous day and thankfully, we weren't too smashed either as we now had to try and sensibly check in!
Our hotel in Healdsburg was gorgeous. I completely loved it and they also provided wine and cheese for the guests to help themselves too! So whilst Dan freshened up I went downstairs to take advantage of their generosity and enjoy their beautiful garden.
Sid had given us a recommendation for dinner and as Dan had found that the previously recommended place was closed on Monday's we decided to try it out. Especially as it was a tapas place and that would be a welcome change.
So as we were wandering along trying to spot it, guess who we bumped into.. only bloody Sally and Tom!! They 'didn't know this was where we were heading...'. Ahem, yeah OK!! They were also looking for Bravas the tapas restaurant... hmm awwwwkwaaard! Anyway they were eating now and we were just looking to reserve a table as Dan had a brewery that he REALLY wanted to visit so we went our separate ways. Found Bear Republic and had a couple in there and then tootled back to Bravas to get a table. Sam and Tolly (as I have now tipsily renamed them!) were still there finishing their meal and we were only bloody seated next to them!! Ahh well, lets embrace the situation.. so we chatted but they really were finishing up and soon moved on.
The food here was magnificent. Some of the best tapas I have had in a long time I have to say. And the setting was fab... we took our time over the food and some lovely wine and just enjoyed being there. This was a really wonderful way to (almost) end all the travelling and road tripping as next stop is San Francisco which is about 65 miles away and then the car goes back :-(............
Meaning we should be fine as that is about 1.5 hours driving so no worries, leave by 10am to give time to spare.
So we get up leisurely and faff about. I spend ages trying to get my hands on an iron and we just generally mooch. Hadto get a different top because they sent me a childs ironing board to work with. In fact, I think Aaron had a bigger/better one when he was 4! We've actually done really well with living out of suitcases as we worked out some time back that the easiest way was to have the vital stuff - eg toiletries -- permanently in our rucksack & satchel and then as we arrive at each hotel we pull out the next set of clothes/underwear etc and pack it in our other bag. We've also got a set of dirty laundry bags in a separate section of the car! Haha.. never thought I would take to 'living' out of a car so easily but it's not been a problem. And this way, we don't have to drag our cases in and out of each hotel. Much better since we haven't stayed anywhere for more than one night since Portland....
Anyway, I digress.. so we packed up and drove around to find a little cafe/bakery to get a take out breakfast. Found a lovely one. Organic, gluten free, homemade, none offensive, vegan friendly, dog friendly etc etc type of californian cafe! All the women were dressed in the same type of clothes ie yoga outfits or running outfits with perfect hair and make up! Ha..
Mendocino is a very cute little place by the way. At first I thought it was a bit contrived as this is, by all accounts, the trendy beachside place for Northern Californians.. but it really is like that.Very chocolate box pretty and really quite small too. Lots of bakeries & cafe's though!
We stopped off oceanside at a picnic table to enjoy our breakfast which was stunning. I could eat breakfast like that everyday...
And then we pushed on. This was now 9.45pm so we had LOADS of time right. No, our Sat Nav
declared we wouldn't get there until 12.00.. brilliant. But of course, Sat Nav doesn't know that it's me driving and I will not accept her timings!! Hahah.. Made it there for 11.36am thank you very much. Whilst its not that far away, it's all very windy, narrow roads so you do have to keep your speed limit down but I did OK.. and it was fun really especially with the wine tour on the end of it.
Parked our car at our hotel, quick freshen up and then Sid, our private wine tour guide arrived in a massive car to take us out for the afternoon.
His company foster relationships with a lot of the smaller bespoke wineries as well as the large ones so that their customers can get a more informal, intimate tasting session but also, they are helping to support the smaller outfits.
The first place we went was quite high up in the mountains. They were a winery but mainly winery consultants. A family run set up but Dad was away in India so their son Drew was going to look after us.. at the family house!! He greeted us at the front with such a lovely warm welcome and then took us into his kitchen.. he had it all set up with a little cheeseboard on the table too!
He was ACE. Loved him instantly and we sat with him for over an hour and a half... we were only supposed to be there for hmmm about 45-60 mins! He did talk to us about his company and what winery consulting actually was. He explained about the geology of the area, the soil requirements for growing grapes (vines prefer shit soil amazingly!) the difference when growing high up like where we were now and also how he got involved in the wine business. He was very honest and super informal. It really was like we were sat with a mate.. We had a great laugh with him and also ended up talking about England and Marmite! (Bizarrre how Marmite keeps coming up in these conversations with Americans). He had spent time in Scotland and a flat mate offered him some Vegemite which he spread on his toast like Nutella! He was still stressed by that experience!!
We talked about beer and he even opened up a bottle he had been storing for over 2 years when he realised how into beer Dan is. Oh we covered so many topics and were all getting slightly merry as his tasters were pretty large. His mum then joined us - I think she thought we had gone - as Drew had just had approval on his house purchase so she was a bit excited. He then told us all about it, the price, how he found it and showed us pictures.. well we're family now!
His Mum is a huge Anglophile she told us, so was super excited that we were in her house. She said that going to Liberty's in London was like others visiting St Paul's Cathedral!!
We bought some wine from him as it was seriously good stuff and he actually wrote on our bottle 'God save the Queen' - with love Drew! Nutter. We had to tear ourselves away then as we were conscious of the time ......
So we finally moved on from there as also poor Sid was still waiting for us. He took us on to pick up food that we had pre-ordered from this amazing deli. At the next winery (Lambert Bridge) there were beautiful gardens that you were encouraged to picnic in so we sat there and tried to sober up a little!!
Here we were given proper tasting measures and after JP had told us about the wine, he would move away to leave us to it more often than not. Though in the end, he did start staying and properly chatting to us. Just like Drew did, he gave us some recommendations for places to eat in Healdsburg - which bizarrely was the same as Drew had suggested.
We had some different wines here which was great as we were now starting to feel quite the experts! Ha. I still cannot get pick up the tobacco leaf undertones highlighted by the 28 year old oak of the barrel with just a soupçon of mulched coffee grindings ;-) Nope.. but I know if I want to quaff it or not!
Again we purchased a bottle here as these are wines we're not going to get hold of at home. (Though we still need to check on how much we can actually bring home).
Anyway, after here Sid suggested we try one of the much larger wineries so we can see how they operate and see the difference in wines. So these are the ones most people head to and you stand at the wine tasting bar amongst lots of others etc etc. Wine is much cheaper to buy too...
Yep, we were happy to do that (it was actually nearly 3.30pm now and we had only booked the tour until 4pm!)
This place Ferrari Carano was really lovely but yes, much bigger. We pulled up at the bar and requested our tasters. Turns out the lady doing the session was from London so she loved hearing our English accents. We had a great time chatting to Judith, especially about Trump and Brexit. She was explaining her move over here 26 years ago and how she had nearly gone straight back to London. She had originally gone to Omaha with her husband and hated it!!! Ahh we have friends there but as we haven't visited couldn't really comment.
Cork tree!
Judith had always lived in lovely areas around London so it had been a shock to here but when she came to California she realised all was OK. She now lived in a place called Windsor! Yep honestly, there is a place called Windsor just outside of Healdsburg.
We chose more wine to buy here and bless her she knocked money off for us as we were fellow Englishmen! Said it was on her.....
Back out to Sid and he offered to take us to one more place if we wanted as it was rather special - errr OK then!
And it was a lovely place - Dutcher Crossing... Much smaller again and set in the most stunning area. Again we had a lovely chat with the man pouring the wine for us and he even tried to take off our accent.. but ended up sounding like the character Simon out of Frasier who's English accent is shocking!!
More wine purchased and we were off back to our hotel. What a bloody fabulous day and thankfully, we weren't too smashed either as we now had to try and sensibly check in!
Our hotel in Healdsburg was gorgeous. I completely loved it and they also provided wine and cheese for the guests to help themselves too! So whilst Dan freshened up I went downstairs to take advantage of their generosity and enjoy their beautiful garden.
Sid had given us a recommendation for dinner and as Dan had found that the previously recommended place was closed on Monday's we decided to try it out. Especially as it was a tapas place and that would be a welcome change.
So as we were wandering along trying to spot it, guess who we bumped into.. only bloody Sally and Tom!! They 'didn't know this was where we were heading...'. Ahem, yeah OK!! They were also looking for Bravas the tapas restaurant... hmm awwwwkwaaard! Anyway they were eating now and we were just looking to reserve a table as Dan had a brewery that he REALLY wanted to visit so we went our separate ways. Found Bear Republic and had a couple in there and then tootled back to Bravas to get a table. Sam and Tolly (as I have now tipsily renamed them!) were still there finishing their meal and we were only bloody seated next to them!! Ahh well, lets embrace the situation.. so we chatted but they really were finishing up and soon moved on.
The food here was magnificent. Some of the best tapas I have had in a long time I have to say. And the setting was fab... we took our time over the food and some lovely wine and just enjoyed being there. This was a really wonderful way to (almost) end all the travelling and road tripping as next stop is San Francisco which is about 65 miles away and then the car goes back :-(............
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
(Sunday) Giants, dragons and English people
After dragging our backsides out of bed and into the shower we were ready to leave. Dan had found a little place for us to go for brunch (it was now gone 10.30am so it was deffo brunch!) so we headed there. Fabulous place called Cafe Waterfront. Just about managed to get a table and we perused the very good menu.
I spotted on the specials that they did a chicken steak with gravy, potatoes and eggs. I have been eyeing this up previously (I think though it has been actual steak before) and have been very tempted as it seems to be a proper American style brunch option. So Dan persuaded me into it and I ordered biscuits with it too... I felt like a local ;-)
It was huge.. but bloody good and I actually managed to finish it all. Dan had a shrimp omelette which he said was delish. .
With very full tummies we headed off, with not a little trepidation, towards Mendocino via the Avenue of the Giants. We were feeling a little more positive about it given the time it was now after a leisurely brunch but still......
Anyway, there was a complete lack of road signs saying that it was closed so when we got to the actual exit we were thinking we had a bloody good chance here of seeing it - and we were right. WOO HOO.... we joined the Avenue with no issue and there we were, right in the middle of some of the largest Redwoods in the world. Stunning. Absolutely breathtaking and mindblowing and overwhelming all at the same time.
We picked up all the little guides we could (paper ones not like actual little girl or tour guides!) and cracked on. We parked up in various spots and got right into the forest following the trails here and there wowing and 'shit look at that'ing all the time!
It is so serene in there with just the gentle cracks of the twigs that you are tromping all over and then the kind of spooky sounds of the trees creaking and moaning as the very tops of them sway in the wind. I felt privileged in totally mushy, over the top way to be in there amongst these hundreds and hundreds of years old trees.
Just missed this scout trooper whizz past
It is so serene in there with just the gentle cracks of the twigs that you are tromping all over and then the kind of spooky sounds of the trees creaking and moaning as the very tops of them sway in the wind. I felt privileged in totally mushy, over the top way to be in there amongst these hundreds and hundreds of years old trees.
I did also drive off the Avenue over to the area known as 'The Giant Trees' but to get there we did have to enter the marathon area where I was stopped by an officer of the law! Told him where we wanted to go and he said we were fine and should be good to get back on the Avenue afterwards. YESSS!!
So.. an area called 'The Giant Trees...' How much bigger can they actually bloody get I asked Dan! Well we found out via a very rough, potholed windy roadway! Along this path I spotted a tree that had what looked like a dragon's head on the side of it.. Seriously it DID! Dan thought I'd gone bonkers...!
When we got to the area where the Avenue's largest actual tree is we found a river with no bridge to cross it aside from a pretty big overturned tree! Ah well then, that is our way across clearly.. so we clambered up - I got hooked by my camera strap and had a bit of a panicked fight for a minute or two - and we wandered across. I felt safer on that than some bridges to be honest!
Anyway we found the tree and yeah, they can get seriously bigger. This was 53 foot wide! It was jaw dropping - just absolutely crazy!
Anyway we found the tree and yeah, they can get seriously bigger. This was 53 foot wide! It was jaw dropping - just absolutely crazy!
We wandered around there for a while and then headed back. It was pushing on time wise now and we still had around 20miles of the Avenue still to cover plus at least 2hours to get to Mendocino after that..
We re-joined the Avenue and tootled along but sadly, just after the Visitor Centre the road was closed. Not for the marathon either.. looked like some sort of incident and it was completely blocked off.. Ahh well. A real shame but hey, we managed to see quite a lot and we were really happy with that. Especially as the night before we didn't think we were seeing anything!!
We re-joined the Avenue and tootled along but sadly, just after the Visitor Centre the road was closed. Not for the marathon either.. looked like some sort of incident and it was completely blocked off.. Ahh well. A real shame but hey, we managed to see quite a lot and we were really happy with that. Especially as the night before we didn't think we were seeing anything!!
Turned back then and headed back on to the Highway and did manage to still find the place with the drive through tree!! I know it's cheesy but I wanted to do it!! By god it was tight! Dan got out to help guide me through as I had to fold in the wing mirrors so couldn't see anything.
I LITERALLY had millimetres either side of me! Got all the expected pics and squeezed my way out!! And that was it...$5 for 5 minutes of panic that I'm about to destroy our hire car, a dozen pics and we're on our way again!! But I loved it!
Now our next challenge was the road closures on the Highway caused by landslides earlier in the month. I had been told in the restrooms the night before that it was definitely open again and a girl has to believe what she is told in the restrooms right?!!
I LITERALLY had millimetres either side of me! Got all the expected pics and squeezed my way out!! And that was it...$5 for 5 minutes of panic that I'm about to destroy our hire car, a dozen pics and we're on our way again!! But I loved it!
Now our next challenge was the road closures on the Highway caused by landslides earlier in the month. I had been told in the restrooms the night before that it was definitely open again and a girl has to believe what she is told in the restrooms right?!!
The Sat Nav was desperately trying to take us on a 3 hour detour to avoid the area but I stood firm and said (both to the woman on the Sat Nav and Dan) I was staying on the 101! And I was right to thankfully... One lane was closed but it was fine to pass through.
We stopped in Fort Bragg on the way as we were so hungry and thirsty now - it was nearly 6pm..! We got chatting in there to a lovely couple from Cincinnati who were also travellling around however they were fully without plans and just turned up in towns and endeavoured to find somewhere to stay! Said they always headed to the bar or coffee shop and asked for suggestions / recommendations and had found some amazing little places doing it that way. They had done a touch of research here and there to look at the towns in the area they were heading to check nowhere was just totally booked up but that was about it.
From there it was only about another 30mins to Mendocino and our hotel. It was very strange, but lovely, little hotel. Very old building with strange little corridors and stairways!
Within minutes of checking in we were en route to the pub! Well it was nearly 9pm now! There are 2 bars here one is next to our hotel but it is not where we were EVER going to have a drink. It was a bit of a dive to say the least! This other bar was really nice and we were quite happy there.. it was like 5 minutes walk away.
And then I heard it.. the English accent next to me! Normally we're not bothered about finding other English people as we like to get stuck into where we are but I was actually sat next to her so couldn't be rude. I'm English!! Hahahaha. They were from Dorset - Sally and Tom - and had also started in Seattle around the same time as us but had hugged the coast all the way. They were also completely unplanned just like the other couple in Fort Bragg so were just tipping up and hoping to find somewhere.
They were incredibly proud of this you could tell but then, they were older than us so I guess it really does feel a bit daring! We swapped stories about places we'd been and it did feel like it was starting to get a bit competitive to be honest so I backed off a bit. They were intending to head to Napa Valley next and then finish in Sausalito as they'd been there before so wanted to see it again. They they are leaving on Wednesday from SF. I promised Sally that whilst we were imbibing wine on our wine tour in Healdsburg that I would have one for her as she wasn't sure they would get to enjoy a tour in Napa..! That is a promise I can easily keep Sally , don't you worry.
And then I heard it.. the English accent next to me! Normally we're not bothered about finding other English people as we like to get stuck into where we are but I was actually sat next to her so couldn't be rude. I'm English!! Hahahaha. They were from Dorset - Sally and Tom - and had also started in Seattle around the same time as us but had hugged the coast all the way. They were also completely unplanned just like the other couple in Fort Bragg so were just tipping up and hoping to find somewhere.
They were incredibly proud of this you could tell but then, they were older than us so I guess it really does feel a bit daring! We swapped stories about places we'd been and it did feel like it was starting to get a bit competitive to be honest so I backed off a bit. They were intending to head to Napa Valley next and then finish in Sausalito as they'd been there before so wanted to see it again. They they are leaving on Wednesday from SF. I promised Sally that whilst we were imbibing wine on our wine tour in Healdsburg that I would have one for her as she wasn't sure they would get to enjoy a tour in Napa..! That is a promise I can easily keep Sally , don't you worry.
They pushed on then. I think, like us, they didn't want to get all 'oooh we must stay and talk to our fellow Englishman for the night as that is the polite thing to do'!! So they finished their drinks and moved on.. We had a couple more in there and then merrily tootled back to our hotel passing by the pond full of very noisy Bullfrogs - who actually go quiet as you pass.. except for the really old deaf ones who just carried on regardless ;-). Ha, well that's what Dan and I said was happening!!
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