2017 - California Summary

We were in California from Saturday, September 9, 2017 to Saturday, September 23, 2017. I decided to just write one post because we moved around so much instead of one for each place that we visited.

Duration: 15 days (Saturday, September 9, 2017 to Saturday, September 23, 2017)
Distance Travelled: 1,300 miles (from Los Angeles, Sequoia and King's Canyon, Yosemite, Monterey Bay, to finally San Francisco)

Highlights

Universal Studios Hollywood

Disneyland

Disneyland

Theme Parks (Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland) were something that were a bit of a mystery to me. I walked in without understanding the appeal and walked out with an appreciation of the end result, however, I think I only enjoyed it because it was a slow period. If there was lines to wait for, I'm not sure how I would have fared.

Yosemite National Park - Yosemite Falls in the background

Yosemite National Park - Nevada Falls in the background

Yosemite National Park - Glacier Point with Half Dome in the background

Yosemite National Park did not disappoint. One of my first big American National Park and it was outstanding beautiful, with well thought out signage and shuttle buses, however, the parking can be a bit difficult depending on the time of day that you go.

San Francisco - Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco - Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz

San Francisco - Crooked Street

San Francisco was a delight. The beautiful row houses, the nice wharf area, the Golden Gate Bridge, I can see why people love this place so much. Unfortunately, with nice places, come difficulties like driving in traffic is really bad, parking is even worse, and cost of living is absolutely insane.

Lowlights

Los Angeles was not as nice as I expected it to be. Or rather, Hollywood Blvd seemed very old and run down once you leave the main tourist attraction portion. Maybe it is because we didn't visit the touristy areas, but it left a sour taste with us.

Food Suggestions

Trestle - cauliflower soup on the left, pear salad on the right

Trestle - Salmon on top, lamb on the bottom

Trestle - chocolate cake on the left, toffee pudding on the right

Trestle was a lovely restaurant to eat at. Make reservations beforehand since it does get busy and it isn't a big restaurant, so it will likely fill up quickly. The menu consists of a 3 course fixed prix menu which has two items for each courses which makes trying out everything quite easy since you only need to come with one other person. As a bonus, it is fairly inexpensive! Only $35 per person and if you like, you can add a pasta course for an additional $10. Very good food and service.

1850 - Fry Bread

1850 - Tri-tip

1850 in Mariposa was a great restaurant to try. The portions are big and the food was very good.

Tips

Travelling within San Francisco is fairly difficult by car. Not only is it slow, but it also very costly to park. If you can, try to pick a place where you can leave your car and take local transit.

Final Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. There was a bit of driving compared to some other trips, but also less than some other ones. The sites overall were very interesting and it didn't get boring. It started with theme parks, followed by National Parks, then the beach and finally the city life again. The only change I think I have would be if we shorted San Francisco by one day since our last day, we didn't really know what to do. If you are into wine, I can see how Napa would be appealing, but it wasn't for us.

Until our next trip!

2017 - California Day 13 (San Francisco)

Thursday, September 21, 2017. Today, we visit Alcatraz, explore Fisherman's Wharf and explore before heading to Trestle for dinner.

Golden Gate Bridge on the left, Alcatraz on the right

We took the local bus to make it a bit closer to Alcatraz. The buses actually have coin and bill counters which I thought was very neat! They do have a tap-fare card, but it cost too much to us since we would use it too little. Our Alcatraz tour start time was 9:10am. There are various times for when you can start, but I am told that you should book your tickets beforehand because it does get sold out.

Alcatraz

We were there from 9:10am and made it back by 12:25pm. So, we spent roughly 3 hours there. Alcatraz is a self-guided tour where you are given a headset and you explore as the headset tells you about the history and you can control your pace. Note, the tour itself is not in a real logical path, so if you want to pause and return after some pictures, make sure that you remember where you stopped since you will get lost if you try to do this.

What's the TTC streetcar doing here?

Alcatraz was the first place that I learned about the Junior Ranger program. What is the Junior Ranger program? When you visit a US National Park, you can ask about it and it is essentially a way for you to learn more about the site. The booklet that they provide you with quizzes you on things at the site, such as history, landscape, and historic items. If you complete the booklet, you will be given a Junior Ranger badge for that site (which is unique to each site and is made out of wood).

Make sure to stop for sea lions at Pier 33!

Alcatraz is a neat sight. It isn't as big as the other prisons that we have been to, but it is unique since it is an island and for the history behind it. During the guided tour you will learn how the history, the escapes, and more. We did notice that since we were one of the earliest tours (there was only one tour before the 9:10am one), by the end of our tour, it got really busy. So, you may want to try to come early, or I read that you can try to come late to get some nice night shots of the skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Fog Harbour - Clam chowder and cioppino (they kindly split the serving in two, yes, that is originally one serving)

Fog Harbour - Cioppino close up

Fog Harbour - our free blue cheese garlic bread

Once we made it back on land, we went to Fog Harbour for lunch where we ordered the clam chowder, and lazy Cioppino (they debone everything for you). And we got a free blue cheese garlic cheese bread with a free coupon that Allison found. It came out to $55 and was very delicious.

We ended up exploring more of Fisherman's Wharf, saw Chinatown, Union Square, and then we made it to dinner at Trestle.

Trestle

Trestle - Cauliflower soup on the left, pear salad on the right

Trestle - Salmon on the top, lamb on the bottom

Trestle - Chocolate cake on the left, toffee pudding on the right

Trestle is a fixed-prix restaurant which only has 2 items for each course which is perfect for us since we would be able to order everything. And best of all, it is only $35! Food was very good, restaurant is a bit small though, so do make reservations ahead of time to ensure your spot.

We ended up wandering back to our hotel after dinner.

Tomorrow, we visit the Golden Gate Bridge.