Being the first time in a state more than one time zone from Illinois, I had no idea how the time change would effect me. When I arose at 4:30 a.m. Friday morning, I realized I was still on Illinois time. I layed in bed, trying to go back to sleep, but it was limited shut eye.
Finally, about 7:30 a.m. I began planning what I should do. No, this wasn't in-depth scheduling of my day, just what I needed to do. First things first, I needed to get some toothpaste. After logging on the computer and listening to the online broadcast of the United/Cobden softball semifinal, I threw on yesterday's clothes and went seeking a Walgreen's. It seems there is a Walgreen's on every corner, no matter where you go. In a city, you can find Walgreens like you can find a Casey's in every small town in the midwest.
First, I headed down to my car to grab the Garmin, and after doing a search, found out the Walgreen's was only a couple blocks from my hotel. At this point, the Cobden Appleknockers had taken a, 8-0, lead over United, so I probably wouldn't be missing much.
Walking down Van Ness, a guy walked up to me and asked me for a cigarette. He was polite, but I don't smoke. I walked in the wrong direction, turning north, when I should have went south. It wasn't too far out of my way, maybe a couple blocks. I walked into Walgreen's and had trouble finding the toothpaste aisle. It was on the far side of the store. I found some Crest with whitening in a small tube for $1.29, and picked it up. I also grabbed some gum and Carmex.
Since it had been two days since my last cup of joe, I was in dire need of some pick-me-up coffee. I didn't care what kind, Starbucks, McDonalds, or a small coffee shop, I just needed some. I walked about two or three blocks more to the south, in a section I hadn't walked the day before, and found a McDonald's.
What a zoo McDonald's was. There were three registers open, and people standing everywhere, in no formed line whatsoever. I stood behind two girls, and a register opened up to the left. Apparently, three out of the five standing around weren't even in line. Next to me, was a woman in her 30's absolutely screaming at the attendant. The woman looked normal, besides the very rude behavior. She kept belittling the McDonald's employee, asking if she would get it right this time. I wanted to yell back, give her a break, but she had that look of crazy in her eyes. You know, the look that she would grab the coffee out of my hand and pour it over my head. I tried my best not to make eye contact. A very boisterous and outlandish man had walked in, and was witnessing the same incident I was. He chose to do what everybody else was thinking, and began to mock her. He was quite a ways back in line, and she whipped around like she was in kill mode. He took the cue, and shut his mouth. She got her order, the correct one this time, and even said thanks....but still in a rude way. I grabbed my vanilla latte with a Sausage Burrito and Egg McMuffin, and headed back to my hotel.
One thing that mesmerized me about San Francisco was the amount of bicycles on the streets. In fact, in most places they have the right-of-way. San Francisco is a very pedestrian-friendly city.
Another fact about the city, was how it was exactly how I had envisioned it. Maybe watching Full House as a kid, set that stage for me. I looked all over for Aunt Becky, but couldn't find her.
When I got back to my hotel, I opened up the blinds to peer out over the view of my street. It was very commercial, and not very eye-pleasing. My view consisted of Allied Engine, Zen Yai restaurant, a barber shop, and Project Open-Hand.
After typing up my previous blog, and taking in some of the baseball and softball finals on IHSA.tv, I started to get ready, and pack up my things for the next round of my trip. Today was a bit different, since I did have a schedule to keep, needing to be in Carmel by 3:00. That gave me plenty of time to catch some sights I wanted to see.
I am not much of a sightseer, and rarely take vacations. Okay, rarely is an understatement....I never take vacations. A vacation to me is spending a weekend broadcasting a sporting event, lol. On my list of sights I wanted to see were the Golden Gate bridge, Lombard Street, and Haight-Ashbury.
After checking out of the hotel, I typed in Garmin to take me to Lombard Street. I got there, but I ended up on the wrong side, but it ended up taking me right to the Golden Gate bridge. It was extremely foggy, and on the way over the bridge I could see nothing. About a quarter of the way across, the only thought going through my mind was....earthquake....a morbid thought. I crossed, earthquake free.
I really didn't know what to do on the other side. I saw a sign that read, Stinson Beach. Since one of my best friends has that last name, I thought I should head to the beach and snap a picture and send him. The beach ended up being much further than I anticipated, but the road took me on the windy roads overlooking the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean. I stopped a couple of times and took some video, though with it being so foggy, not much could be seen.
There were many bicyclists riding these curves. It looked fun, going downhill, however, it would be a death wish to attempt to climb them, well for me anyway. Coming around one curve, there was a small doe in the road. There was a spot to pull over, so I did. As I was opening my door, a truck came around the bend and scared the deer into the brush.
The twists and turns of this road started to lose the early appeal. I pictured myself driving a sporty red Ferrari racing around the curves, not a Toyota Corolla. A sign read, Muir Beach Overlook, so that looked interesting. I was tired of driving.
Speaking of signs, California has it right. There are signs everywhere, reading, "Speed Limit XX, Radar Enforced." Just that, "radar enforced", makes me slow down. It's a head game. In most spots, radar is not enforced, unless a cop is sitting there. Still, it gives me that thought that they are watching my every move. It slowed me down!
I pulled up to the Muir Beach Overlook. It overlooked fog, a lot of fog. It was very chilly. A breeze blowing about 10-15 miles/hour, foggy conditions, and my car read 59 degrees. I thought, this is California, not London.
It was still a sight to behold, even though not much could be seen. I knew the Pacific Ocean was out there somewhere, as I could hear the waves rushing the rocks below. The only other sound that could be heard were birds chirping.
Back on the road, I wanted to catch my next sights before heading south to Carmel-by-the-Sea. I stopped at a 7-11, picked up a liter of water, a vitamin water, and some pistacchios. Since I knew where Lombard Street was, that was my first venture.
Another thing I wanted to see were the trolley's. I think I had caught one somewhere, but not sure where. That was one thing that caught me off-guard. I thought many of the streets had the trolleys, but I only saw a couple. Hyde Street and Market Street has them. I saw a trolley traveling Hyde Street in the distance.
When I reached Lombard Street, I came in from the west (on Lombard). The street was at, what seemed like a 90 degree incline. In fact, they had a mirror like you would see in department stores that looks around corners. This was to use to see if there was any oncoming traffic. There were tourists everywhere around, checking out the windy roads.
There are eight switchbacks with the street, paved in brick, and lined on each side with landscaping. Also, houses line each side, and residents use the crookedest street in the world to pull into their driveways. According to Wikipedia, it was instituted in 1922 to reduce the hill's natural 27% grade. At first, I wanted to walk around Lombard, but thought it would be much neater to actually drive the street.
I drove a few blocks down, and parked, and headed back to Lombard to get a pedestrian view of the street. I now understand why there is hardly any obese people in San Francisco. It is a small city that can be walked fairly easy. There are hills that make even an in-shape person huff and puff one block of climbing.
There was a school about one block to the east of the famed crooked stretch of road. It was recess, or P.E. for the young children. They were playing kick ball, and many people stopped along the sidewalk and peered in through the fence to watch.
Looking at the time, I had just enough time to head over to the Haight-Ashbury district and zoom down to Carmel. I drove through Japantown on my way, which I didn't know existed. I reached Haight-Ashbury, and it was a little different than I had expected. It seems as though it is much more commercialized now, which should be expected. It was very eclectic, something that didn't surprise me in the least.
Once I drove through, I typed in Carmel, California to head down to for the rehearsal dinner. Garmin told me that my time of arrival would be 2:56, so I figured maybe a few minutes after three, or right at 3:00. Boy, was I wrong.
I took Parassus Street right through the UCSF campus, and then over to the Claremont Circle. The circle reminded me of the Jim Carrey movie, Truman Show. There is a scene where they come to a circle, and the cars don't allow him to escape. The surrounding neighborhood and the circle itself was very similar.
It is amazing how much the temperature changes in the bay area. As I left San Francisco at 1:00, it was 65 degrees. 45 minutes later, near San Jose, the temperature was 80 degrees, and then in Los Gatos, about an hour away it had soared to 86 degrees.
Traveling down Interstate-280, I had reached speeds of 80 miles/hour. I wasn't taking the signs advice, that radar was enforced. I should have set my cruise, but just drove on. Looking in my rearview mirror, I saw a motorcycle coming up on me. My first thought, it was CHiPS, and Erik Estrada was going to ticket me. It wasn't CHiPS, and I slowed down. It was good, because not 10 miles further, there was a big speed trap set up. There was one police car on the shoulder, and just ahead two CHiPS cars had vehicles pulled over. I saw signs that read airplanes were overhead, but didn't see any in the skies. Then, after a few more miles, I discovered their trick. Overlooking the interstate on a bluff, was a squad car, and I am sure he was enforcing radar.
I was running about 10 minutes behind, after getting slowed down in the San Francisco traffic. I also had to take a bathroom break, after drinking both the Liter of water, and the Vitamin Water. I pulled into Los Gatos, and found a gas station just off the exit, named "Rotten Robbies". A peculiar name, and probably not one that would drive in customers, but I was intrigued. It was just a small little station, and the bathrooms were outside.
This set me back a few more minutes, and then my Garmin started to mess with me. Getting back on the freeway, it took me through some neighborhood, and set me back a few more minutes. Later, talking to my friend Quincy, the groom-to-be, he said the same thing happened with them in Los Gatos the last time they were out here.
Just outside of Los Gatos, I passed an old blue Volkswagon Bug, complete with the retro California blue plates. I took Highway 1 down, and it was very scenic. A lot of trees, and great views of both the ocean and the bluffs.
Upon reaching Capitola, I encountered a minor traffic jam, slowing my speeds down to 20-30 miles/hour. I phoned Quincy and informed him I was running 30 to 45 minutes late. He said traffic would probably be bad since it was Friday afternoon. Woops, didn't take that into account of my travel plans!
I drove through the Salinas area, and there were workers in the fields. It reminded me of the Grapes of Wrath. There were also produce stands all throughout, it looked like the midwest in the summer, only this was avocado's and other California produce, not sweet corn and tomatos, like Illinois.
Driving through Marina, the 2Pac song, "All About You" popped on the radio. Everytime I cruised the freeways in California, another 2Pac song was in my head, "California". One song that was pretty popular on the airwaves, as expected it would be, before the trip, was Katy Perry's "California Girls".
Getting closer to my destination, I drove through Sand City. There were signs that read, "Sand Drifting Across Highway". The breeze was gentle, so now drifting sand. I guess Sand City isn't just a name.
I pulled into Carmel-by-the-Sea at 3:45, and had some troubles locating the hotel we were staying at, the Hofsas House. After driving around and eventually finding the parking lot, I checked in. The lady at the desk said that a lot of people get lost trying to find both the hotel, and the parking lot, which is accessed through a road that you enter through a garage-looking structure.
The Hofsas House was a very quaint looking hotel. I would compare it to a bed & breakfast, in the form of a hotel. Not only was it hard to find, it is hard to manuever throughout the building, almost a maze with steps and hallways going every which way.
Coming Up: Every Which Way But Loose
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