The park where we stayed was a disappointment. Good Sam gives it a rating of 9 on a scale of 10. And the park reviewers on a website that we reference when searching for parks were much more forgiving of its shortfalls that we were. Bottom line is that it's an old park that may have once been a good one, but it's in dire need of updating, upgrading, and basic clean-up. Most of the park is filled with resident RV's and junk has begun to accumulate. There's a newer section in the back of the park, where we were, which is a bit better since the road is paved rather than stones and the sites are gravel rather than dirt. A few days before we left, we noticed that a species of roaches had discovered us, and were scouting our RV. We were able to fight them off, but it left a very bad impression. We would definitely find another park if we were to visit the area again.
Okay, on to more pleasant thoughts. Napa Valley. Having just come from Paso Robles, and already having as much wine as we can comfortably carry, we certainly didn't need any more wine. But neither of us had been to Napa, so we had to go see the area and certainly partake in some tastings--and if we tasted something that we really liked, surely we could find a spot for just a few more bottles. The wineries that we decided to visit were Markham, Grgich Hills (reference last posting regarding Mr. Grgich), and Hess Collection. We had also penciled in Heitz and Cakebread if we were able to get in, but they are so popular, you usually need a reservation--that, indeed, turned out to be the case the day we visited, so we didn't get in.
At Markham we were impressed enough with their wines that we've now joined their wine shipment club. (That makes three clubs now. Whatever will we do with all that wine? HeM may have to figure out where to put a wine cellar. Or we'll just have to drink it.) On the day we visited Grgich Hills, they were celebrating Mike Grgich's 90th birthday. He is quite short.
Hess Collection is quite a bit off the beaten path in Napa Valley, and we had almost decided that we taken a wrong turn looking for it. It has very nice grounds and an art museum. We didn't take the time to go through the museum as the day was growing late and we were ready to return home.
We drove into Sacramento mainly to visit the capitol building.
While we were there, we looked for prior governor's pictures. We found Jerry Brown and Ronald Reagan
but not 'the governator'. When we asked where Arnold's picture was we were told that he hasn't arranged to have one put up yet. But he did leave the bear he had bought in Colorado.
We spent a couple of nights in San Francisco in order to see as many of the highlights as we could. We started with a bus tour to get an overview. One of the first stops, of course, was Golden Gate Bridge. The fog had started to roll in, but we were able to catch a picture between the thicker banks.
We had time to walk on the bridge to the first tower.
The bus tour made a stop at the Sutro Baths ruins at Land's End Lookout.
These baths were opened in 1896 inside a huge glass and iron structure. They included 7 different swimming pools--1 with fresh water, and 6 with salt water. A fire in 1966 destroyed what was left of the structure, which had been closed and under demolition at the time.
The highest point in San Francisco is Twin Peaks. Here's a picture of the city from the overlook.
The bus drove through Golden Gate Park. If we had more time, we would spend a day there going through the museums, the Japanese Tea Garden, the botanical garden. We can see why residents here enjoy the park so much.
The driver pointed out various points of interest, such as Divisadero Street. All the high-speed car chases through San Francisco where the cars hit the rise and go airborne were filmed on this street.
The day after the bus tour, we ventured out on our own. We, of course, rode a cable car.
We walked down Lombard, the 'crookedest street'.
We went to China Town.
And had lunch there. The restaurant that we chose had poultry hanging in the window (all cooked, unlike what you would likely find in China).
The lunch menu was a bit different from what you may see at P.F.Chang's.
We like to order and then share, so we usually discuss what looks good. Hmmm, the assorted pork guts porridge sounds good, and we haven't had pork stomach for a while. Shall we? Nope. SheM had Vegetables With Fried Rice, and HeM had Cod With Vegetables. Cowards!!!!
We walked to San Francisco's iconic Transamerica Pyramid.
We explored some of the piers along The Embarcadero. Pier 1 is the Ferry Building.
Pier 39 is in Fisherman's Wharf, and is full of restaurants, wine bars, and entertainment.
As we left San Francisco, we made a stop on Treasure Island which is accessed from the Bay Bridge. This island was created in 1936 from fill dredged from the bay for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. During World War II, it was acquired by the US Navy, and has served as a naval base and training facility. Recently it's been sold back to the city of San Francisco as part of a redevelopment project. The views from the island are really nice, and we imagine that some pricey residences will be built here.
Yosemite Valley was the inspiration for the national park idea, so it has definitely been on our 'to visit' list. We took the Tioga Road through the park. It had just been opened for the season the day before we got there. There's still quite a bit of snow that hasn't melted yet. Here's a sampling of the many pictures we took. To get the full experience, turn your thermostat down to 55 degrees and 'scratch and sniff' here to smell the pines (you may have to use your imagination a little bit).
After leaving Yosemite, we drove to South Lake Tahoe and spent the night. The next morning we took some pictures of the area, including proof that we stepped into the lake. Yes, it was cold.
That wraps up our Vacaville stop. And as of the 'click' to publish, our blog has now caught up to us. Yea!! We've moved to Redding, but haven't seen anything yet. Stay tuned.
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