USA West Coast
We're back from a three week vacation on the US west coast and this is the usual pic dump. This time we rented an RV again and had a long road trip seeing California and bits of Nevada and Arizona.
pics and diary after the jump
Gallery Pages: 1 2 3 4
Below is our diary we took to remember what we saw. It's just a rough outline but together with the pics it should give you a good idea of what we saw.
Monday
got up super early and took a taxi to the airport
flew Turkish Airlines to SFO via Istanbul
Susi and K. picked us up at the airport
had dinner and beer with Frank, Susi and the Kids
Tuesday
breakfast with Susi and K.
tried to create an Uber account, failed
registered at Lyft and got driven by Julio to El Monte
got the RV
drove to Walmart and bought some food and camping chairs
visited the Winchester Mystery House $90
drove to Santa Cruz and saw the Natural Bridges State Park
drove to one state park but it was full
stayed at the next state park $55 right at the beach
Wednesday
eggs and bacon for breakfast
paid the ranger (ex military stationed in Berlin)
took a walk along the beach, saw pelicans and seals
drove to Monterey
woman at a parking lot shouted at us
parked at the wharf $14
visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium $100
saw sea otters, jelly fish, kelp forest. touched a bat ray
bought cups and a T-shirt
had clam chowder
drove along the 17mile drive $10
in Carmel tried to get money, bank said no
asked tourist info for rv park
stayed at Carmel by the River $75 with full hookups and wifi
sandwiches and wine for dinner
podcast before bed
Thursday
showered
eggs and bacon for breakfast
phoned the bank via Skype (no success)
emptied the black and gray water tanks
saw a colibri
filled up gas
drove along highway 1 via big sur
saw lots of water, rocks and beaches
stopped at one beach and saw dolphins
saw a deer jump across the road in front of us
had a bit of a shock when the display said Tow/Haul googled and figured out its a mode of the Ford engine
stopped and saw elephant seals
visited Hearst Castle $50
bought spaghetti sauce at a mini mart
stayed at San Simeon state park for $25
had spaghetti, beer and podcast for dinner
went to the beach
saw a skunk at night
Friday
started early to enjoy the fog
had breakfast in Cambria (excellent Sandwiches)
drove the 101 to Santa Barbara
visited the old mission $16
went shopping at Ralph's
drove to the beach, walked a bit and went for a short swim (saw a seal)
drove on til oxnam and visited Walmart and staples (no Wipebook)
tried an RV park but noone was at the office and we didn't like it there so we drove on
tried one state park but it was full
were lucky and got a place at the Sycamore Canyon state park $45
fired up the BBQ and noticed someone had stolen our potatoes (terrible firestarter)
had steaks and salad (with too cold red wine)
walked a bit for better cell phone reception and booked a place at KOA in LA for the next night $75
Saturday
rose early again to have enough time for the day
emptied the tanks at the dump station before leaving the campground
saw a bike race in preparation on our way to Malibu
filled up $100
bought Tickets for Universal Studios online on the way there $210
had to pay extra for parking $25
spent the whole day at Universal: Studio Tour, Waterworld, Food, frozen Butterbeer, Flight of the Hippogriff, got annoyed with the locker situation at the Forbidden Journey and skipped it, Shrek, Special Effects, Transformers, Jurassic Park, Minions
briefly saw the Hollywood sign from the freeway
drove through LA rush hour traffic jam (on a Saturday!)
self checked in at the campground (county fair right across the street - noisy)
had sandwiches and fruits for dinner
went to the pool but only Andi went in
Sunday
got up, showered, emptied and filled the tanks
drove the I-15 towards Las Vegas
stopped at Barstow to fill up
drove through the whole town til we found a Denny's diner
had breakfast
drove through the desert
saw a solar plant
arrived in Vegas and decided to spend the night at hotel
parking attendant at one hotel was rude so we picked a different one - Hilton Vacations at the Flamingo
walked down the strip
tried to check in at the Flamingo which was wrong got directed to the right Hotel behind the Flamingo
drove to the marriage bureau and got a license $80
stopped at a chapel and got married $290
walked the strip by night
got pizza at food court in one of the casinos
Monday
woke up early
told our parents and friends what we did last night
bought tickets for the neon museum $39
had “breakfast” consisting of a toasty with ham and some egglike substance
drove to the neon museum and had a tour
drove over to the “Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas” sign and took a picture
next we were on route to the Hoover Dam with a stop for gas and water in Boulder City
went swimming at Lake Mead
saw the Hoover Dam
from there we drove towards the Grand Canyon and saw a coyote and a few cows
we stopped for the night at Mead View RV park $27
after bacon cheese sausage for dinner we saw a bunny and some bats on our evening walk
when trying to plan the next day, we read the really bad reviews of the Grand Canyon Skywalk and knew we didn't want to do that. however the next access to the Grand Canyon would have set us back a few days in our plan so after a long discussion we decided to go back towards Vegas
Tuesday
we were kept awake for long parts of the night by a storm shaking our RV
in the morning we emptied and filled up the tanks and set off north
we had one idea of still being able to see the Grand Canyon and went to Boulder City airport trying to get on a helicopter flight. Unfortunately all were booked out already
we drove very far around Death Valley and back to California with a tank stop in Indian Springs
We stopped in Beatty for Subway sandwiches and bought some beef Jerky
in Big Pine we got some noodles and cheese sauce as well as some beer and checked into a simple campground for the night $14
early bed after dinner and a short walk
Wednesday
again a stormy night but I slept much better, Kaddi not so much
we had bacon and eggs for breakfast and started the day slow
we drove up the 395 north and made stops for gas and food on the way
next stop was the Mammoth Lakes visitors center where we got some flyers and directions
hiked to Devils Postpile (basalt columns)
saw lots of squirrels
it began to rain
we hiked to the Rainbow Falls
the rain stopped
we hiked to the Lower Falls
we hiked back to car
drove to the Mammoth Mountain RV park $51
the rain started again
had Tacos and beer for dinner
temperature dropped a lot and we turned on the heater
Thursday
woke up and turned on the heat again
emptied the tanks
went to the nearby bakery for coffee and baked goods
drove to the various mammoth lakes. only got out for short times. freezing cold
saw a guy fly his drone
drove the mammoth scenic loop
visited the Mono Lake visitor center
visited the South Tufa at Mono Lake
drove to Bodie. the Las three miles of the road are unpaved. horrible drive. we parked after two and walked the last mile
visited Bodie Ghost town $18 (with guide book)
got cloudy and cold again
an elderly couple picked us up and drove us the last quarter of a mile back to our RV
we were super hungry. no food except some cookies and beef jerky since breakfast
stopped for huge burgers and fries in Bridgeport
drove further north and it started to snow!
we decided to use the passes while still possible and drove for Lake Tahoe
self checked-in at KOA Lake Tahoe $71
ran the heater again, had beer
Friday
woke up to 2°C outside
turned on the heater and hot showered
had scrambled eggs for breakfast
went grocery shopping
got gas
got beer
drove to South Lake Tahoe
road to Emerald Bay was closed
we got off the road at Valhalla and had a look at the lake
Kaddi got her feet wet
had the idea to rent bikes to see Emerald Bay
bike guy told us that the road is closed for bikes as well
drove west
had ice cream on the way
visited Sutter Creek
stupid foody restaurant had closed the kitchen and had no burgers for us
Andi was hungry and grumpy
swam in the pool
checked in at Gold Strike Village RV park
they had no BBQs!
Andi was more grumpy
had noodles and beer
took a small walk to the local gold mine entrance. saw a bat
had another beer
Saturday
woke up and it was cold again (not as much as yesterday though)
we paid the RV park $38 (cash only)
had very good breakfast (meat lovers omelet and French toast with strawberries) in Angel Camp
visited Columbia Historic State Park, saw all the different stores there. beautiful
bought sweets at Nelson's Columbia Candy Kitchen
had fried noodles with eggs and sausage
drove back north to see Calaveras Big Tree State Park $11
Saw huge beautiful Giant Sequoias. stupid people with misbehaving kids. had to shout at the kids when they started to hurt trees. little dipshits.
Kaddi bought a t-shirt
drove back to Columbia. checked into Marble Quarry RV Park.
no barbecues! God dammit.
Kaddi washed some clothes and set up a cloth line
made potato and steak on the propane hearth. bit of a waste, but what can you do. had beer
Sunday
it was still relatively cold in the morning so we used the heater again
had left over steak on toast and boiled eggs for breakfast
we paid the RV Park $49 and left for Yosemite
near Big Oak Flat the “check gas cap” light came on. the cap was properly fixed so we called the road side assist. they say we can safely ignore it and that the “check engine” light will come on next. we should ignore that too but make sure the fluids are properly topped up
we checked the oil and decided to fill in a bit more.
we also filled up the gas
at Yosemite we visited the restaurant first and got cheese burgers, fries and fruit punch Gatorade (yuck)
we then walked to the Yosemite falls which were totally dry
we hiked a bit more but Kaddi didn't feel too well and we aborted that
got ice cream
tried to stay at Wawona camp ground but it was full. the Ranger recommended a different place but we couldn't find it
bought Kraft Mac'n'Cheese and beer
looked at the camp ground of an Elk's Lodge but didn't really like it
finally self checked in at High Sierra RV & Mobile Park in Oakhurst
Had Mac'n'Cheese and Beer
Monday
took a bit to get started (heater again)
paid for the RV park $45 and bought some ice cream
had breakfast at Danny's
went on the road again
on the way our “check gas cap” light went out again. nice.
stopped at Target in Fresno to buy food, CaH extensions and a present for P.
saw deer next to the road
arrived at Kings Canyon National Park
asked for camping at the Visitor Center
self-checked in at Azalea campground $18
saw deer very close right on the camp ground
hiked to the General Grant Grove and did the self-guided tour $1
left our chairs at the campground and drove half way to Cedar Grove to see the canyon
drove back to the camp ground and walked over to the general store. bought fire wood and beer
made fire (we tried with Kaddi's fire starter first but got impatient and used a lighter)
grilled steak, vegetables in bacon and potatoes. had beer.
watched the stars
Tuesday
woke up early
saw no bears
drove to Stump Grove and walked the trail. no bears
bought gas at Stony Creek Village
got mediocre breakfast at Lodgepole Market
saw the General Sherman tree. no bears
saw the Giant Tree Museum (it's not very giant)
hiked the Moro Trail
climbed the Moro Rock
hiked the Soldier Trail back
had Beef Jerky and cookies during the hike
saw a stag right next to us
no bears
made a coffee break at Stump Grove. no bears
bought groceries at a tank stop. they had no single beers (WTF is wrong with this country?)
checked into River Bend & Kings Canyon RV Park $35
ran the AC (it's so unbelievable hot once you leave the mountains)
showered (we were super dirty from all the hiking)
made Mac'n'Cheese with bacon (delicious)
Wednesday
woke up late after a good night's sleep
had small breakfast with bread, cheese and jam
drove all the way to Mountain View
visited the Computer History Museum $26
had sandwiches at the Museum Bistro
saw a Google self-driving car in real life
drove over to Half Moon Bay
checked in at Pelican Point RV Park $84
walked to the beach
saw a seal
bought beer at the RV Park shop
had bread and egg for dinner
Thursday
had some bread and eggs for breakfast
drove north
stopped for gas
bought a pumpkin as a gift for Susi
drove to the Golden Gate Bridge $1.50 (parking)
saw Hummingbirds
took lots of pictures of the bridge in the fog
visitor center was closed
bought coffee and bakeries at the Bridge Café
drove across the bridge
stopped at the north Vista point and took more pictures
drove to Sausalito through very narrow steep streets with low hanging trees
took a while to find a parking spot $12
Kaddi bought a hoodie
walked through Sausalito and enjoyed the little shops
had tacos and chips with salsa for lunch
first RV park we tried was full
checked into the Alameda County Fair Ground RV Park $40
packed our stuff
made Mac'n'Cheese again
Friday
we woke up early at the alarm
after a quick coffee we packed our remaining stuff, emptied the tank and went off
after a stop at the gas station we returned the car. no new damages.
after some little trouble with the network connection we ordered a Lyft and got driven to Susi and Frank
we spent some time having breakfast and talking
Susi made an awesome wedding cake
Susi went to her ceramics course and we explored San Mateo downtown and sat in the sun
in the evening we went to a fund raiser at Devil's Canyon Brewery. drinking for education. Lyft for transport
some cards against humanity afterwards
Saturday
had breakfast with Frank, Susi and the kids
borrowed Susi's car and drove to Milbrae station
took the BART to Embarcadero $20
walked along the pier
ate corn dogs
walked up the hill to Lombard street
took the cable car to China Town $14
visited the Fortune Cookie Factory
bought adult themed fortune cookies
took the BART and car back to Frank and Susi's
took lyft to The Refuge. had glorious food and beer
played some Cards Against Humanity
Sunday
had coffee and watched some Futurama
borrowed Susi's car again and drove to the De Young museum
realized that I've seen it already
went to the Japanese Garden instead $12
had Miso Soup in the garden
bought clam chowder and fried calamari at a food truck
ate while listening to the Golden Gate Park Band
went to the California Academy of Science $70
saw an awesome rain forest with lots of butterflies
had coffee at the cafeteria
visited the earthquake simulation
drove back and filled up Susi's car
had dinner and beer, played Cards against Humanity
Monday
packed our stuff
relaxed
drove to the Cheesecake Factory with Susi and had too much food. yummy
took a Lyft to the Airport
flew Turkish airlines back to Berlin via Istanbul
took a taxi home
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