Today was our last day and all travel. We left our hotel for LAX at 6:30, the plane was an hour and a half late, then a four hour flight, and now we're back home. We arrived around 9:00 Georgia time. We did finish off the good deeds with one at the airport in LA. We were sitting next to a couple and their two small girls while the flight kept getting pushed back. One of the girls was a real cute toddler - maybe a year and a half. As the time dragged on she became more and more upset. I remembered I have some tunes for toddlers on my finger rubbin' phone I play for my granddaughter, so I knelt down and started playing Sesame Street to try to calm her down. She smiled immediately as did her sister and her parents. There were even a few other people looking in on the action and enjoying themselves. When I played "I've Got Joy Joy Joy Down in My Heart," the little girl really started moving and clapping with the music. She even raised the roof once.
But our trip is finished and as usual we had a great time. Below is the list of good deeds we were able to do. Please consider helping the Lawrenceville Co-op out by donating any amount you would like to give per good deed. As you can see, our final total is 16. Click on the links on the side of the page to donate. Tell your friends too - it's a great cause!
1. Pee Wee catches suitcase on MARTA train.
2. Took plane passenger ten miles to his rental car place.
3. Helped hiker out at breakfast.
4. Drove two Israeli hikers 30 miles in Yosemite.
5. Gave food and drink to the hikers.
6. Watered plants at Best Western.
7. Milkshakes for hotel manager brothers (thanks guys for the comment on Day 5!)
8. Pruned plants at drive-through Redwood.
9. Helped grocery store employee round up numerous shopping carts in parking lot.
10. Helped lady with cab fare to San Francisco.
11. Helped a family needing a place to eat at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
12. Gave fruit and drink to homesick highway worker.
13. Handed off a cold bottle of water to biker on Pacific Coast Highway.
14. Pee Wee cooks breakfast for little girl.
15. Helped Hollywood tour bus salesman make a sale.
16. Calmed little girl in airport with Sesame Street and Joy Joy Joy.
Carlsbad, NM
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Day 10
We spent the day in and around Hollywood, but we stayed at a Best Western fairly near the airport. I'm not sure exactly where we are - all I know is that there are bars on all of the store windows and doors for as far as the eye can see from our hotel. Before we left, Pee Wee accomplished a good deed at the continental breakfast. He had just made himself a waffle and was getting ready to sit down when he saw a little girl attempting to cook her own. The girl's dad was busy trying to work with his other two kids, so Pee Wee sized up the situation and handed his waffle over to the little girl. The father was relieved and grateful at the same time.
Then on to Hollywood. And I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last trip to Hollyweird. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we came but I don't think the urbaness and the craziness is for me. We went to the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum - my first ever wax museum. It was fun, we learned some neat things about some famous people, and we took some "interesting" pictures.
After getting waxed, we spent an hour at the Hollywood Bowl, which was a good move. The place is huge and has a lot of history. It seats I think 18,000 on the famous hillside that has been home to concerts for many many years. The public is welcome to tour the place, but not today - there is a concert tonight and there was a rehearsal going on when we arrived. But one thing we've learned on our trips is that if you act like you belong somewhere then there's a good chance you will get in. And that's just what happened - we walked up the hill toward the seats past a couple of checkpoints, then we nodded to a couple of young ladies with badges on, and then we were in. We sat down and listened for a while to the rehearsal for tonight's concert which is a tribute to Ray Charles. But after ten minutes or so, we looked like tourists again so we were asked to leave. But we accomplished what we came for.
Then we made it back to Hollywood Blvd in time to start our bus tour - the TMZ tour. I think we both felt out of place during the two hour tour - I know I did. I mean the historical things we learned - they don't really matter - at least not to me. Like this star being arrested at this bar, or that star got in a fight in this intersection, or these reality stars like to dine at some particular restaurant. Now what we learned and saw this year at Yosemite and Death Valley, and other years in places like Gettysburg, The Field of Dreams, the Grand Canyon, etc. - now those places matter! The one picture I took on the tour was this car - I don't know what it is but it supposedly goes for about a million $.
But there were times when we had a lot of fun today. Probably the most fun I had was with a new friend by the name of Tony Torres. We saw him on the corner last night selling bus tours - he saw Pee Wee's Grayson wrestling shirt which started a conversation because he was a wrestler in California. We passed by him on his corner 6 or 7 times and even bought our tour tickets from him. By the 4th or 5th meeting we had become friends. I even helped him out on a sale and I'm counting it as a good deed. I walked up when he was making his sales pitch with two guys and I ranted and raved about how good the tour was (even though we hadn't been on it yet). Tony winked at me because it pretty much sealed the deal for him.
We saw more wackos than we did last night - I guess they come out a little early in the day. Like one guy dressed only in gold underwear who laid down on the sidewalk and sang songs with terrible background music and an even worse voice.
The last event today happened tonight back at our hotel. Pee Wee met up with one of his old wrestlers by the name of Rusty Joiner. Rusty was a great wrestler on Pee Wee's Shiloh team around 1990 and now lives in LA where he's an actor - you may have seen him in Dodgeball. He was "Blaze" on Ben Stiller's team. Rusty came to the hotel with his wife - it was great listening to Pee Wee and him reminisce.
Tonight is the last day of our 2012 adventure - that is if we make it to the plane in time in the morning. It's been great - we'll still be looking out for good deeds, but landing in Atlanta is going to be nice.
Then on to Hollywood. And I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last trip to Hollyweird. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we came but I don't think the urbaness and the craziness is for me. We went to the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum - my first ever wax museum. It was fun, we learned some neat things about some famous people, and we took some "interesting" pictures.
After getting waxed, we spent an hour at the Hollywood Bowl, which was a good move. The place is huge and has a lot of history. It seats I think 18,000 on the famous hillside that has been home to concerts for many many years. The public is welcome to tour the place, but not today - there is a concert tonight and there was a rehearsal going on when we arrived. But one thing we've learned on our trips is that if you act like you belong somewhere then there's a good chance you will get in. And that's just what happened - we walked up the hill toward the seats past a couple of checkpoints, then we nodded to a couple of young ladies with badges on, and then we were in. We sat down and listened for a while to the rehearsal for tonight's concert which is a tribute to Ray Charles. But after ten minutes or so, we looked like tourists again so we were asked to leave. But we accomplished what we came for.
Then we made it back to Hollywood Blvd in time to start our bus tour - the TMZ tour. I think we both felt out of place during the two hour tour - I know I did. I mean the historical things we learned - they don't really matter - at least not to me. Like this star being arrested at this bar, or that star got in a fight in this intersection, or these reality stars like to dine at some particular restaurant. Now what we learned and saw this year at Yosemite and Death Valley, and other years in places like Gettysburg, The Field of Dreams, the Grand Canyon, etc. - now those places matter! The one picture I took on the tour was this car - I don't know what it is but it supposedly goes for about a million $.
We saw more wackos than we did last night - I guess they come out a little early in the day. Like one guy dressed only in gold underwear who laid down on the sidewalk and sang songs with terrible background music and an even worse voice.
The last event today happened tonight back at our hotel. Pee Wee met up with one of his old wrestlers by the name of Rusty Joiner. Rusty was a great wrestler on Pee Wee's Shiloh team around 1990 and now lives in LA where he's an actor - you may have seen him in Dodgeball. He was "Blaze" on Ben Stiller's team. Rusty came to the hotel with his wife - it was great listening to Pee Wee and him reminisce.
Tonight is the last day of our 2012 adventure - that is if we make it to the plane in time in the morning. It's been great - we'll still be looking out for good deeds, but landing in Atlanta is going to be nice.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Day 9
My day began with a 3 1/2 mile run in ideal conditions - 55 degrees, low humidity, slight breeze, and a beautiful view of the ocean for most of the run. And then some quiet time with God on the beach - it doesn't get much better than that.
Then came our trip to the Hearst Castle - or what William R. Hurst called his casa grande. The place is Biltmorelike: a gazillion acres, a bazillion rooms, two huge swimming pools, tennis courts, and on and on and on. But no cable TV, so not interested in buying it. It took 28 years to complete and most of it was built during the first half of last century. Mr. Hurst even collected all kinds of exotic animals and put them on the mountains surrounding casa grande. Some are still around - we took a picture of some zebras after we turned back out on Highway 1 and headed south.
Shortly after we started the last 40 miles of the Pacific Coast Highway, we carried out our lone good deed of the day - I believe that makes a total of 13. We've probably seen close to 100 bikers along the PCH and most of them are working hard because the highway is so mountainous. We saw one biker ahead of us who we could tell was really struggling. We pulled over to the side of the road, matched his speed, and then Pee Wee rolled down the passenger window and handed him a cold water bottle. At first he was hesitant, then he laughed, reached out and grabbed the water, and then thanked us as we sped away.
Then on to Hollywood. Yes - we've been kind of bumping around the state with no clear plan, but we do have a plan for the last day and a half. We are entering the insanity of Hollyood, CA, and we've already experienced some of the craziness this evening. Our first stop was Grauman's Chinese Theater and the walk of stars and handprints of stars. Then we took a long walk to the famous Hollywood and Vine corner, and then made the dumbest decision in the 4 years we've been travelling. We thought we would walk to the Paramount Studios. We didn't really know how far it was, so we headed off kind of blindly and ended up wasting an hour and wearing ourselves out. The stars have their walk and we have our own, but ours is based on no talent and stupidity. At least on our return to Hollywood Blvd. we did get to meet Batman, Jimmy Hendrix, The Joker, Don King, Michael Jackson times 3, Charlie Chaplin, and a few others. I even got off a good single leg attack on an action figure - maybe a transformer?
Before our walk of stupidity we were walking along Hollywood Blvd, and were asked if we wanted to be asked a couple of street questions by a couple of assistants for the Jimmy Kimmel show. We're not sure but we think we may have reached a greater level of stupidity by agreeing to and answering the question. We'll see in about an hour - they say it's going to be on TV tonight.
As we approached the area where our car was parked, we as everyone else were attacked by the various tour salesman, but we stood our ground and turned them down. But tomorrow we're going to take the plunge and see what Hollywood has to offer to two middle aged men from Georgia who have their own brand of insanity.
Then came our trip to the Hearst Castle - or what William R. Hurst called his casa grande. The place is Biltmorelike: a gazillion acres, a bazillion rooms, two huge swimming pools, tennis courts, and on and on and on. But no cable TV, so not interested in buying it. It took 28 years to complete and most of it was built during the first half of last century. Mr. Hurst even collected all kinds of exotic animals and put them on the mountains surrounding casa grande. Some are still around - we took a picture of some zebras after we turned back out on Highway 1 and headed south.
Shortly after we started the last 40 miles of the Pacific Coast Highway, we carried out our lone good deed of the day - I believe that makes a total of 13. We've probably seen close to 100 bikers along the PCH and most of them are working hard because the highway is so mountainous. We saw one biker ahead of us who we could tell was really struggling. We pulled over to the side of the road, matched his speed, and then Pee Wee rolled down the passenger window and handed him a cold water bottle. At first he was hesitant, then he laughed, reached out and grabbed the water, and then thanked us as we sped away.
Then on to Hollywood. Yes - we've been kind of bumping around the state with no clear plan, but we do have a plan for the last day and a half. We are entering the insanity of Hollyood, CA, and we've already experienced some of the craziness this evening. Our first stop was Grauman's Chinese Theater and the walk of stars and handprints of stars. Then we took a long walk to the famous Hollywood and Vine corner, and then made the dumbest decision in the 4 years we've been travelling. We thought we would walk to the Paramount Studios. We didn't really know how far it was, so we headed off kind of blindly and ended up wasting an hour and wearing ourselves out. The stars have their walk and we have our own, but ours is based on no talent and stupidity. At least on our return to Hollywood Blvd. we did get to meet Batman, Jimmy Hendrix, The Joker, Don King, Michael Jackson times 3, Charlie Chaplin, and a few others. I even got off a good single leg attack on an action figure - maybe a transformer?
Before our walk of stupidity we were walking along Hollywood Blvd, and were asked if we wanted to be asked a couple of street questions by a couple of assistants for the Jimmy Kimmel show. We're not sure but we think we may have reached a greater level of stupidity by agreeing to and answering the question. We'll see in about an hour - they say it's going to be on TV tonight.
As we approached the area where our car was parked, we as everyone else were attacked by the various tour salesman, but we stood our ground and turned them down. But tomorrow we're going to take the plunge and see what Hollywood has to offer to two middle aged men from Georgia who have their own brand of insanity.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Day 8
The day started with a continuation of an almost from yesterday. Pee Wee was in the room and I was at the continental breakfast when he got through to Alcatraz and they said they had two cancellations for this morning. He rushed down to see if I wanted to take them but by the time he got to me the tickets had been sold. So another near miss on Alcatraz.
We left the San Francisco area and drove down to the scenic Pacific Coast Highway at Monterey. We drove a big chunk of the 17 mile stretch and it really is a great drive. Monterey and Cannery Row was first, then later we stopped at the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course and had lunch at a cafe they have looking out over the first hole. The four or five foursomes we watched tee-off were loaded with golfers no better than us, and that's not saying much - I was expecting more. But when we went in the pro-shop it was what I was expecting; men and women from Monterey or Carmel or some other well to do place doing some shopping and never once looking at a price tag. The woman in front of me at the counter spent over $300 on a couple of items and answered yes when she was asked if she wanted it on her account. When it was my turn I told the cashier I would just pay cash for the one golf ball I bought. It's a cool golf ball though - it says Pebble Beach on it.
When we got to Carmel - the town Clint Eastwood was the mayor of at one time - we toured the town and had some fun getting some brochures from some of the houses that are for sale. Kathy - I hope we sell our house soon because I've picked out a good one for us. It's a three bedroom and a little smaller than what we have now, and it is a few blocks off the beach, but it's a steal at 1.7 million.
Then we drove approximately two hours more on the PCH, and it really is an amazing ride. Just when you think you've seen an overlook that could not possibly be topped, God sends you around another curve loaded with his handiwork. I wish we had the time to ride, put out some lawn chairs at a spectacular spot for a few minutes, fold them up and go to the next great panorama, bring the lawn chairs back out, and so on. Maybe some day.
We tried to get to San Simeon in time to tour the Hurst Mansion or Castle or whatever it's called, but we didn't make it. So Sir William Randolph Hurst is going to have to wait until tomorrow while we stay in a cheap hotel in San Simeon. But it's not that bad and we can look out the window and see a full Pacific Ocean view. But we did make it in time to see the elephant seals just a few miles from our hotel which is near Cambria, CA. There was a volunteer guide present by the name of Otis (from Columbus, GA) who educated us about the monster creatures. There had to be 60 or 70 young adult males laying and resting on the beach. The females and older males are out feeding near Alaska and then they all come back to this very area in November and December. The young adults are molting which means shedding their skin. It looked to me like they've got it all figured out. They put in some work, and now they just lie around while they wait for the teenage females to come home. I went back by myself after we had checked in and saw a few of them becoming a bit more active as they bellowed and sparred with each other.
Just one good deed today - we were the first car stopped at a dangerous area on the PCH by a highway worker having to control traffic that needed to be slimmed down to one lane. While he held up his stop sign I got out and asked him how long the wait would be. When he told me it would be 10 to 15 minutes I started to have a conversation with him. He told me he works on a road striping crew and he had been away from home for a few weeks. It was near the end of the day and when I found out he was hungry I gave him some fruit and some water. But I think he liked the conversation the most because he's alone a lot on his job and I could tell he was a little homesick. And guess what - he's not alone. Like always, this trip has been great; we've learned a lot more about our country and have seen some amazing things. But nothing is as amazing as your home and your loved ones and we'll both be glad to be home with loved ones in a few days.
We left the San Francisco area and drove down to the scenic Pacific Coast Highway at Monterey. We drove a big chunk of the 17 mile stretch and it really is a great drive. Monterey and Cannery Row was first, then later we stopped at the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course and had lunch at a cafe they have looking out over the first hole. The four or five foursomes we watched tee-off were loaded with golfers no better than us, and that's not saying much - I was expecting more. But when we went in the pro-shop it was what I was expecting; men and women from Monterey or Carmel or some other well to do place doing some shopping and never once looking at a price tag. The woman in front of me at the counter spent over $300 on a couple of items and answered yes when she was asked if she wanted it on her account. When it was my turn I told the cashier I would just pay cash for the one golf ball I bought. It's a cool golf ball though - it says Pebble Beach on it.
Then we drove approximately two hours more on the PCH, and it really is an amazing ride. Just when you think you've seen an overlook that could not possibly be topped, God sends you around another curve loaded with his handiwork. I wish we had the time to ride, put out some lawn chairs at a spectacular spot for a few minutes, fold them up and go to the next great panorama, bring the lawn chairs back out, and so on. Maybe some day.
We tried to get to San Simeon in time to tour the Hurst Mansion or Castle or whatever it's called, but we didn't make it. So Sir William Randolph Hurst is going to have to wait until tomorrow while we stay in a cheap hotel in San Simeon. But it's not that bad and we can look out the window and see a full Pacific Ocean view. But we did make it in time to see the elephant seals just a few miles from our hotel which is near Cambria, CA. There was a volunteer guide present by the name of Otis (from Columbus, GA) who educated us about the monster creatures. There had to be 60 or 70 young adult males laying and resting on the beach. The females and older males are out feeding near Alaska and then they all come back to this very area in November and December. The young adults are molting which means shedding their skin. It looked to me like they've got it all figured out. They put in some work, and now they just lie around while they wait for the teenage females to come home. I went back by myself after we had checked in and saw a few of them becoming a bit more active as they bellowed and sparred with each other.
Just one good deed today - we were the first car stopped at a dangerous area on the PCH by a highway worker having to control traffic that needed to be slimmed down to one lane. While he held up his stop sign I got out and asked him how long the wait would be. When he told me it would be 10 to 15 minutes I started to have a conversation with him. He told me he works on a road striping crew and he had been away from home for a few weeks. It was near the end of the day and when I found out he was hungry I gave him some fruit and some water. But I think he liked the conversation the most because he's alone a lot on his job and I could tell he was a little homesick. And guess what - he's not alone. Like always, this trip has been great; we've learned a lot more about our country and have seen some amazing things. But nothing is as amazing as your home and your loved ones and we'll both be glad to be home with loved ones in a few days.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Day 7
We had another early wake up alarm this morning in Concord - the fire alarm for the entire hotel went off a little after 6:00 a.m. due to someone who didn't know to remove toast from a toaster. The alarm stayed on for a good 15 minutes so any chance of going back to sleep went up in almost flames.
Speaking of almost, today was the day of almosts. We tried our best to persuade the ticket booth people to sell us two extra tickets, but there were none available - if anyone wants to try the Alcatraz tour in the future get tickets a few weeks early. But we did get a one hour cruise tour which went under the Golden Gate Bridge and then around Alcatraz Island along with commentary, so we almost got in Alcatraz (years ago they were trying to get out). Then in the late afternoon we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, walked to the midway point, and then returned to the car to leave the area. But we didn't drive over the bridge because it would have taken us north and we're not going north anymore. So we almost drove over the Golden Gate Bridge.
In between those two almosts we had a great time at Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and surrounding areas. It was a day of weirdos, photos, videos, outstanding street performers, winos, and more weirdos at the Port of San Francisco. We saw human statues painted in all gold and all silver, break dancers, drummers, and we watched Superman do superhuman acts (I think he was the real one). But the best act was the family of acrobats consisting of two brothers and their sister - all from England. They really put on a show - a lot of talent and humor mixed together. Go to You Tube and put in San Francisco acrobats and you'll see what I mean.
After a lunch eaten among thousands of others along the piers we drove to China Town. It's amazing how crowded those streets are with Chinese people and tourists - hundreds of shops selling anything from trinkets to produce to meat and I think vegetables I've never seen before and definitely never smelled before.
Going back to the almosts, Pee Wee was almost arrested for manslaughter a couple of times today. When we were nearing the dock at the finish of our Alcatraz cruise, the very unpredictable Pee Wee screamed to the men on the deck at the top of his voice from the bow of the ship: "AHOY - GRAB THE LINE!!" They didn't hear him, but the people standing right to next him certainly did - I was a little worried they would fall overboard but they didn't. Then when we were on the Golden Gate Bridge where you're allowed to walk, he again penetrated the air with his loud voice. His "HEY!!!" was screamed to simply see if those on the ground at the base of the bridge could hear him. They couldn't hear him but those nearby on the bridge kind of grabbed at each other for safety - I guess they thought Pee Wee was sending a warning that the bridge was about to collapse.
Also today we enjoyed driving on Lombard Street and the other super hilly San Francisco streets that have been the scenes for numerous movie chase scenes. We thought about trying to get some air time like in the movies but chickened out.
I almost forgot - the first thing we did this morning near Pier 39 was to take an audio tour of Pampanito - a WWII submarine which had a very successful and heroic record. We toured the entire length of the sub, both above and below. Whenever I visit anything from WWII I'm reminded of how those people back then really are the greatest generation.
Then there are times on this trip when I'm really saddened. Up in the mountains of NW California near Star's house we saw several homeless people who sleep in the forests by night and scour the towns by day. Then today we saw numerous homeless people who scavenge the city looking for handouts and for scraps of food or anything of value. I just imagine them as infants and know that their parents certainly had higher aspirations for them for when they would become adults. I don't know the answer, I just know it hurts to see them and causes some moments where conversation ceases. We've helped out a few of them, but I don't even classify most of those times as good deeds - is giving scraps or spare change to homeless people really a good deed?
But we did do one good deed today, which makes our total now 11 with 4 days left. When we were eating at Fisherman's Wharf, there were hundreds of people around the multitude of restaurants and shops, and seats were very hard to find. We did find a spot on a bench which we shared with a couple and their two children. There were several couples standing nearby eyeing our spot as we neared the completion of our meal. But rather than just getting up and letting the vultures compete for our vacated spot, we sought out a family with kids. When Pee Wee spotted a couple with two small children all with hands full of food and exasperated looks on their faces, he yelled out to them and motioned for them to take our seats. We held our ground until they got there - much to the dismay of the closer vultures who had been eyeing our spot. Those vultures wouldn't think our act was a good deed, but in our minds it was, so it is.
Now we're on The 580 (that's how they term the highways around here - The 5 or The 101, etc.) and we're heading toward Pleasanton, CA and another Best Western. This is the third Best Western of the trip and now we're supposed to get a free night. We just hope that will work out and not be another almost.
Speaking of almost, today was the day of almosts. We tried our best to persuade the ticket booth people to sell us two extra tickets, but there were none available - if anyone wants to try the Alcatraz tour in the future get tickets a few weeks early. But we did get a one hour cruise tour which went under the Golden Gate Bridge and then around Alcatraz Island along with commentary, so we almost got in Alcatraz (years ago they were trying to get out). Then in the late afternoon we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, walked to the midway point, and then returned to the car to leave the area. But we didn't drive over the bridge because it would have taken us north and we're not going north anymore. So we almost drove over the Golden Gate Bridge.
In between those two almosts we had a great time at Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and surrounding areas. It was a day of weirdos, photos, videos, outstanding street performers, winos, and more weirdos at the Port of San Francisco. We saw human statues painted in all gold and all silver, break dancers, drummers, and we watched Superman do superhuman acts (I think he was the real one). But the best act was the family of acrobats consisting of two brothers and their sister - all from England. They really put on a show - a lot of talent and humor mixed together. Go to You Tube and put in San Francisco acrobats and you'll see what I mean.
After a lunch eaten among thousands of others along the piers we drove to China Town. It's amazing how crowded those streets are with Chinese people and tourists - hundreds of shops selling anything from trinkets to produce to meat and I think vegetables I've never seen before and definitely never smelled before.
Going back to the almosts, Pee Wee was almost arrested for manslaughter a couple of times today. When we were nearing the dock at the finish of our Alcatraz cruise, the very unpredictable Pee Wee screamed to the men on the deck at the top of his voice from the bow of the ship: "AHOY - GRAB THE LINE!!" They didn't hear him, but the people standing right to next him certainly did - I was a little worried they would fall overboard but they didn't. Then when we were on the Golden Gate Bridge where you're allowed to walk, he again penetrated the air with his loud voice. His "HEY!!!" was screamed to simply see if those on the ground at the base of the bridge could hear him. They couldn't hear him but those nearby on the bridge kind of grabbed at each other for safety - I guess they thought Pee Wee was sending a warning that the bridge was about to collapse.
Also today we enjoyed driving on Lombard Street and the other super hilly San Francisco streets that have been the scenes for numerous movie chase scenes. We thought about trying to get some air time like in the movies but chickened out.
I almost forgot - the first thing we did this morning near Pier 39 was to take an audio tour of Pampanito - a WWII submarine which had a very successful and heroic record. We toured the entire length of the sub, both above and below. Whenever I visit anything from WWII I'm reminded of how those people back then really are the greatest generation.
Then there are times on this trip when I'm really saddened. Up in the mountains of NW California near Star's house we saw several homeless people who sleep in the forests by night and scour the towns by day. Then today we saw numerous homeless people who scavenge the city looking for handouts and for scraps of food or anything of value. I just imagine them as infants and know that their parents certainly had higher aspirations for them for when they would become adults. I don't know the answer, I just know it hurts to see them and causes some moments where conversation ceases. We've helped out a few of them, but I don't even classify most of those times as good deeds - is giving scraps or spare change to homeless people really a good deed?
But we did do one good deed today, which makes our total now 11 with 4 days left. When we were eating at Fisherman's Wharf, there were hundreds of people around the multitude of restaurants and shops, and seats were very hard to find. We did find a spot on a bench which we shared with a couple and their two children. There were several couples standing nearby eyeing our spot as we neared the completion of our meal. But rather than just getting up and letting the vultures compete for our vacated spot, we sought out a family with kids. When Pee Wee spotted a couple with two small children all with hands full of food and exasperated looks on their faces, he yelled out to them and motioned for them to take our seats. We held our ground until they got there - much to the dismay of the closer vultures who had been eyeing our spot. Those vultures wouldn't think our act was a good deed, but in our minds it was, so it is.
Now we're on The 580 (that's how they term the highways around here - The 5 or The 101, etc.) and we're heading toward Pleasanton, CA and another Best Western. This is the third Best Western of the trip and now we're supposed to get a free night. We just hope that will work out and not be another almost.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Day 6
Then we travelled about an hour south on the Pacific Coast Highway - it really is a magnificent drive. The thing that surprised both of us is how much the mist and the clouds envelope you as the water filled air streams in from the ocean. We had driven a long time when we both had to go to the bathroom, but there was nowhere to stop. All of a sudden Pee Wee pulled off the road and lo and behold we were in a very old and very secluded cemetery looking out over the ocean. We were careful to be respectful of those in the graves as we did our business out of site of all of the graves ... except for a man who died in the 1880s, may he rest in peace.
Then back over the mountains again on a long and windy steep drive to wine country. On one of the roads we ran over a snake, but as you can see from the picture I took it didn't die. How does that happen? We stopped in Calistoga which is at the north end of Napa Valley. We don't drink wine, we don't like wine, heck, between the two of us we might consume a total of 6 alcoholic drinks per year, but we're trying to experience America and Napa Valley is part of America so we went to a winery and tasted some wine. The elegant and attractive lady behind the counter seemed to pick up right away that we were novices, but she was very helpful. She asked what type of wine we would like to try and we had no idea - so we told her to pick for us. She smiled but was very patient. By the time we were done we had told her about our trip and the good deeds and she had given up on even trying to sell us any wine. In fact she even good deeded us by not charging the $5 sampling fee.
The wine lady suggested the local museum for an interesting place to see, but when we got there it had just closed. We met a man who had just toured the place - he told us how Calistoga got its name. It seems that the founder of the area was talking one night with his drinking buddies and he said that the area was the Saratoga of California, except it didn't come out that way. Since he was sloshed he announced that it was the "Calistoga of Salifornia." And so the town is and will always be Calistoga.
We did no more wine tasting which prevented us from saying we were heading to Fran Sancisco. We're staying in Concord which is just north of San Francisco. We think we're going to try a tour of Alcatraz first thing in the morning, but we're going to have to do some sweet talking because reservations have to be made weeks in advance.
Two good deeds today - actually tonight. After dropping our bags off in the Best Western where we're staying we walked across the street to a grocery store. We saw a young employee walking to all parts of the parking lot in order to collect grocery carts. Pee Wee took off in one direction and I went in another. We ran around and collected many carts - more than the guy did, and we pushed them all in the line he was making to get them to the front of the store. We didn't even explain anything - just handed him a card and told him to have a good night. That was a fun one.
Then on the way back we walked past a woman who asked for money so she could get a cab to San Francisco. We helped her out, and yes, we know the money may have gone to something other than her transportation, but we couldn't pass her up. Even if she didn't use the money wisely, she at least read our card and the verse from Collossians, so it's our hope that we helped her in some way.
Also, we want to say thanks to Ross and others who are supporting us by supporting the Co-op!
That's it for today. Wish us luck for getting into Alcatraz, and if we do, getting out too.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Day 5
The day started with a 4:30 wake up call from my son Trevor - he was calling from Atlanta on the way to work and forgot about the time change. Thanks Trev. A couple hours later I noticed how much better you feel when running in 50 degree temperature with no humidity compared to 90 degree heat with Atlanta humidity.
We set a destination today - a little against our trip rules but it was important that we travelled another couple of hours to northwest California so I could see two of my nieces - Star and Rebecca.
On the way we stopped at Chandelier's Tree in Leggett, CA. This was one of the many giant redwoods we would see today - this one was so big we could drive through it. It was funny how every single car did the same thing: the man would drive up fairly near the tree, then he would get out and instruct the wife to drive up to the tree so he could take pictures. Then when it was time to actually drive through the tight opening he would tell the wife to get back in the passenger seat so he could maneuver the car. I guess we don't trust their driving skills do we guys. But Kathy and Teresa - we trust you, really we do.
Then we stopped at the Log House. Years ago a man hollowed out the center of a giant redwood and made it into his home - living room, kitchen, two beds and even a place for a one holer. I bet his family was well rooted.
Then we found our way to Star's house. She's getting married to Ian in September and I won't be able to go, so it was great to see her, Ian, and her sister Rebecca who was visiting. When being tourists it really is advantageous if you can get a local to be your tour guide and Starr was a wonderful tour guide. She and Rebecca took us to the Avenue of Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park just a few miles from where she lives. The place is absolutely amazing - when driving through you really feel like you're on a different planet. In fact The Return of the Jedi and other movies have had scenes filmed there. I think they're even more impressive than the giant Sequoias we saw. Pee Wee and I had a great time with the girls taking pictures and running and hiding in and around the mammoths.
Then Star drove 45 minutes to Shelter Cove for our first view of the Pacific. It's really almost a secret cove where a few hundred people live and tourists rarely visit. The coast was nothing like beaches we had seen - the mountains go right up to the shore, the waves form large breakers that slap the rocks and boulders at the shore. We saw so many critters in the water and above the water today. In the little channels of water swerving in and out of the boulders at the shore we found starfish, anemones, crabs, mussels, and a couple other examples of marine life only Star could pronounce. Nearby fishermen were cleaning ten to 15 pound salmon with pelicans flying and walking right up to them. Star actually caught one of the pelicans - when she was holding the long nosed bird it reached out once with it's long beak and almost caught Pee Wee in the Cho Cho. Later we saw deer and a wild turkey on the side of the road, but missed out on the bear that has been terrorizing Star's chickens and goats the past few nights.
Tonight we're experiencing a first for all of our journeys; we're staying in the same hotel we stayed in last night. We're pretty sure we're going to take the advice of several friends and head south to the Pacific Coast Highway. The only way we could get there was to backtrack so backtrack we did. And it set up one of our two good deeds for the day. The hotel managers are brothers somewhere around 30 years of age. They are both very kind and took an interest in our trip. When I called them on the way back to the Old West Inn the brother I was talking to remembered us and said he would take care of us. They gave us their best room and went out of his way to be helpful. We try not to show favoritism with the good deeds but it's hard not to repay kindness. So when we finished our meal tonight we picked up a couple of milkshakes and presented them to the brothers along with a good deed doers card.
The other good deed today we carried out at Chandelier's Tree. There was a neat large plaque near the tree with a poem explaining how God had his hand in the formation of these magnificent trees. But there were some plants weaving their way up the plaque which made it difficult to read. We figured it was important for future visitors to be lifted spiritually so we made like gardeners and cleaned the place up.
That's it for Day 5 and Trev - I'm turning my phone off!
We set a destination today - a little against our trip rules but it was important that we travelled another couple of hours to northwest California so I could see two of my nieces - Star and Rebecca.
On the way we stopped at Chandelier's Tree in Leggett, CA. This was one of the many giant redwoods we would see today - this one was so big we could drive through it. It was funny how every single car did the same thing: the man would drive up fairly near the tree, then he would get out and instruct the wife to drive up to the tree so he could take pictures. Then when it was time to actually drive through the tight opening he would tell the wife to get back in the passenger seat so he could maneuver the car. I guess we don't trust their driving skills do we guys. But Kathy and Teresa - we trust you, really we do.
Then we stopped at the Log House. Years ago a man hollowed out the center of a giant redwood and made it into his home - living room, kitchen, two beds and even a place for a one holer. I bet his family was well rooted.
Then we found our way to Star's house. She's getting married to Ian in September and I won't be able to go, so it was great to see her, Ian, and her sister Rebecca who was visiting. When being tourists it really is advantageous if you can get a local to be your tour guide and Starr was a wonderful tour guide. She and Rebecca took us to the Avenue of Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park just a few miles from where she lives. The place is absolutely amazing - when driving through you really feel like you're on a different planet. In fact The Return of the Jedi and other movies have had scenes filmed there. I think they're even more impressive than the giant Sequoias we saw. Pee Wee and I had a great time with the girls taking pictures and running and hiding in and around the mammoths.
Then Star drove 45 minutes to Shelter Cove for our first view of the Pacific. It's really almost a secret cove where a few hundred people live and tourists rarely visit. The coast was nothing like beaches we had seen - the mountains go right up to the shore, the waves form large breakers that slap the rocks and boulders at the shore. We saw so many critters in the water and above the water today. In the little channels of water swerving in and out of the boulders at the shore we found starfish, anemones, crabs, mussels, and a couple other examples of marine life only Star could pronounce. Nearby fishermen were cleaning ten to 15 pound salmon with pelicans flying and walking right up to them. Star actually caught one of the pelicans - when she was holding the long nosed bird it reached out once with it's long beak and almost caught Pee Wee in the Cho Cho. Later we saw deer and a wild turkey on the side of the road, but missed out on the bear that has been terrorizing Star's chickens and goats the past few nights.
Tonight we're experiencing a first for all of our journeys; we're staying in the same hotel we stayed in last night. We're pretty sure we're going to take the advice of several friends and head south to the Pacific Coast Highway. The only way we could get there was to backtrack so backtrack we did. And it set up one of our two good deeds for the day. The hotel managers are brothers somewhere around 30 years of age. They are both very kind and took an interest in our trip. When I called them on the way back to the Old West Inn the brother I was talking to remembered us and said he would take care of us. They gave us their best room and went out of his way to be helpful. We try not to show favoritism with the good deeds but it's hard not to repay kindness. So when we finished our meal tonight we picked up a couple of milkshakes and presented them to the brothers along with a good deed doers card.
The other good deed today we carried out at Chandelier's Tree. There was a neat large plaque near the tree with a poem explaining how God had his hand in the formation of these magnificent trees. But there were some plants weaving their way up the plaque which made it difficult to read. We figured it was important for future visitors to be lifted spiritually so we made like gardeners and cleaned the place up.
That's it for Day 5 and Trev - I'm turning my phone off!
Day Four
It's starting to look like we might not get out of California on this trip. I guess that's kind of understandable given the size of the state and how much there is to see and do here. We left the Merced Best Western (which happened to be the site of our lone good deed of the day) and landed in Sacramento at the Blue Diamond Growers complex. They are known for being the world's largest producers of almonds. They had a good video to watch about their almonds and had plenty of free samples. We like free samples. By the time we left I wasn't much interested in lunch. I think the mounds of almonds were just appetizers for Pee Wee though.
Next we drove a few miles to the California Aerospace Museum. They had planes from WWII times to the space age. The highlight there was the "Skytrooper" they had on display. This plane actually flew into Normandy on D-Day in 1944 loaded with paratroopers and with a glider in tow. We were allowed to sit on the same seats where U.S. paratroopers sat 68 years ago. It was quite a feeling sitting on the same seats where our heroes sat on that fateful day as they prepared to jump and then land and then battle the Germans. We even sat in the cockpit and pretended to fly the plane - I'm not real sure if we were allowed to do that but at the time there was nobody around to tell us no which meant yes to us.
We left the museum and stumbled into a Jack in the Box. We both grew up with those tacos - there was a Jack in the Box right next to my high school in St. Louis and there aren't any tacos like those tacos. Since we hadn't seen one in many years we made up for lost time and loaded up. Which brings up the one negative about these trips; before we left Atlanta I had gotten myself in pretty good shape - I had been working out at the gym four days per week, running 5 Ks with my sons, doing wrestling camps, and eating right. And Pee Wee paints so much that he was in pretty good shape too. But now we sit a lot during the day and eat way too much restaurant food. I hope eleven unhealthy days in July won't be noticeable when we return.
Today was a day of stumbling into things and did we ever stumble into something for our last stop of the day. We somehow found "Rieff's Gas Station" in Woodland, CA. This is a house in a typical American neighborhood, but there's nothing typical about the house. There is a Cessna plane impaled into the roof of one of the two garages and a 1950s Chevy stuck into the side of the garage. Mark Rieff is the owner and sole resident of the house and he took us on a tour. The entire house has hundreds if not thousands of machines, appliances, and many other items from the 1950s and earlier. Then outside and in another garage are many old time gas pumps, beautifully restored cars, a replica of a steak and shake style restaurant, and many other items that made us feel like we were back in high school in the 1970s. He told us he's been on some TV shows, he has tour buses come by frequently - and it's really his house where he lives. His website is www.reiffsgasstation.com/ It's one of those places you need to see to really appreciate, but it will go down as one of our all time favorite stops.
Shortly after leaving Mark's house we stopped along the road we were on somewhere in north central California and took the following picture at a sunflower garden. I've heard how fertile parts of California can be and we have definitely seen that - groves of appricots, almonds, peaches, plums, grapes, strawberries and the list goes on and on.
We're spending the night at the Old West Inn in Willits, CA. The rooms have names like Sheriff, Jail, Post Office, etc. and we're staying in the "Livery Stable," which is kind of appropriate considering the smell emanating from the front seat of our car. I asked for a discount because Pee Wee's last name is West and he's old, but it didn't fly. We're in the mountains and the temperature in the mornings have been in the 40s - that's 80 degrees cooler than where we were less three days ago.
Going back to the one good deed - at the Best Western this morning we noticed several large flower pots holding various kinds of plants in the parking lot. Most of them were very dry, but after we were through watering them they weren't thirsty any more.
Time to get to bed. I think I'm going to get up early and go for a run - there's some tacos I need to run off.
Next we drove a few miles to the California Aerospace Museum. They had planes from WWII times to the space age. The highlight there was the "Skytrooper" they had on display. This plane actually flew into Normandy on D-Day in 1944 loaded with paratroopers and with a glider in tow. We were allowed to sit on the same seats where U.S. paratroopers sat 68 years ago. It was quite a feeling sitting on the same seats where our heroes sat on that fateful day as they prepared to jump and then land and then battle the Germans. We even sat in the cockpit and pretended to fly the plane - I'm not real sure if we were allowed to do that but at the time there was nobody around to tell us no which meant yes to us.
We left the museum and stumbled into a Jack in the Box. We both grew up with those tacos - there was a Jack in the Box right next to my high school in St. Louis and there aren't any tacos like those tacos. Since we hadn't seen one in many years we made up for lost time and loaded up. Which brings up the one negative about these trips; before we left Atlanta I had gotten myself in pretty good shape - I had been working out at the gym four days per week, running 5 Ks with my sons, doing wrestling camps, and eating right. And Pee Wee paints so much that he was in pretty good shape too. But now we sit a lot during the day and eat way too much restaurant food. I hope eleven unhealthy days in July won't be noticeable when we return.
Today was a day of stumbling into things and did we ever stumble into something for our last stop of the day. We somehow found "Rieff's Gas Station" in Woodland, CA. This is a house in a typical American neighborhood, but there's nothing typical about the house. There is a Cessna plane impaled into the roof of one of the two garages and a 1950s Chevy stuck into the side of the garage. Mark Rieff is the owner and sole resident of the house and he took us on a tour. The entire house has hundreds if not thousands of machines, appliances, and many other items from the 1950s and earlier. Then outside and in another garage are many old time gas pumps, beautifully restored cars, a replica of a steak and shake style restaurant, and many other items that made us feel like we were back in high school in the 1970s. He told us he's been on some TV shows, he has tour buses come by frequently - and it's really his house where he lives. His website is www.reiffsgasstation.com/ It's one of those places you need to see to really appreciate, but it will go down as one of our all time favorite stops.
Shortly after leaving Mark's house we stopped along the road we were on somewhere in north central California and took the following picture at a sunflower garden. I've heard how fertile parts of California can be and we have definitely seen that - groves of appricots, almonds, peaches, plums, grapes, strawberries and the list goes on and on.
We're spending the night at the Old West Inn in Willits, CA. The rooms have names like Sheriff, Jail, Post Office, etc. and we're staying in the "Livery Stable," which is kind of appropriate considering the smell emanating from the front seat of our car. I asked for a discount because Pee Wee's last name is West and he's old, but it didn't fly. We're in the mountains and the temperature in the mornings have been in the 40s - that's 80 degrees cooler than where we were less three days ago.
Going back to the one good deed - at the Best Western this morning we noticed several large flower pots holding various kinds of plants in the parking lot. Most of them were very dry, but after we were through watering them they weren't thirsty any more.
Time to get to bed. I think I'm going to get up early and go for a run - there's some tacos I need to run off.
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