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| Trip Length: |
6 Days |
| Pickup Date:
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August 13th |
| Drop-off Date: |
August 18th |
| Rough Distance Traveled:
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988 Miles |
| Pickup Location: |
Ritz Carlton, San Francisco (Nob Hill)
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| Drop-off Location: |
Hotel del Coronado, San Diego (Coronado
Island) |
| Overnights: |
Yosemite, Monterey, San Simeon, Los Angeles
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| Group Size: |
4 adults, 3 children |
| Vehicle: |
Passenger Van |
| Guide: |
Bob Cunningham |
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| San Francisco |
4 nights on their
own before pickup |
| We picked the Jenkins up in
San Francisco early in the morning, after
they had spent several days touring on their
own. The early departure enabled them to
get the most out of their next stop, with
only one overnight. |
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| Yosemite National
Park |
1 night (2 days) |
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The Jenkins had limited time, but wanted
to see as much as they could in that time.
So, we employed a little creativity and
knowledge, and designed their itinerary
to enjoy just about two full days in Yosemite
with only one overnight. We did this,
by taking advantage of the fact that the
drive through the Central Valley between
the Sierras and the coast is not a California
highlight, and drove it early in the morning
on the day of arrival and late in the
evening on the day of departure.
While in Yosemite, the Jenkins got to
see just about all of the park that is
accessible by road, enjoying the first
day in the high country, spending the
night in Yosemite Valley, and visiting
Glacier Point and the Mariposa Grove of
Giant Sequoias before leaving the park.
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| Yosemite Highlights
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Had a picnic lunch on
Tenaya Lake in Yosemite's High Country. |
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Took a stroll around Tuolumne Meadows. |
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Stayed at the Yosemite's landmark
Ahwahnee Lodge and had dinner in their
historic dining hall. |
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Watched climbers on El Capitan. |
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Searched (in vain) for a bear. As
with many of my clients, seeing a
bear is high on the list of desires.
Unfortunately, we always seemed to
be just seconds late on this trip,
including walking through a meadow
where a hiker had seen a mother and
cubs less than 90 seconds earlier,
and their guide spotting a cub at
Glacier Point, but finding the family
just a few seconds too late to see
him before he meandered over a hill.
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Walked among the Giant Sequoias. |
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| Monterey
Peninsula |
2 nights |
| After pushing the pace a little
bit to see Yosemite right, we knew the Jenkins'
young girls would be ready for a bit of
a slow-down once we hit the coast. So, we
allowed for 2 nights on the Monterey Peninsula,
and took the full day in between them at
a leisurely pace. |
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| Monterey Peninsula
Highlights |
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Visited the Monterey
Bay Aquarium and strolled Cannery
Row. |
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Saw flocks of brown pelicans and
played "spot the camouflaged
harbor seal" on 17-mile Drive. |
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Shopped the upscale stores in Carmel-by-the-Sea. |
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Went tide-pool hunting
in Point Lobos State Park. The girls
were delighted with a hands-on demonstration
of the habits of the hermit crab. |
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Had a wonderful dinner at a seaside
restaurant in Cannery Row. |
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| Big Sur |
1/2 day, driving through
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| We took our time, driving
through Big Sur, allowing for some stops
to enjoy this peaceful and expansive stretch
of coastline. |
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| Big Sur Highlights
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Visited a waterfall that falls onto
a secluded beach. |
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Had coffee high above the Pacific
Ocean at Big Sur's famous Nepenthe
restaurant. |
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Simply enjoyed the drive. |
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| San Simeon Coast |
1 night |
| We rolled into San Simeon
with plenty of time to enjoy a stop at the
Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery, where
the seals were hauled out for the summer
molt before heading to Hearst Castle. |
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| San Simeon Highlights
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Saw Elephant Seals up
close and personal |
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Visited Hearst Castle. This was
a favorite for Gary and Stella, who
plan to return one day to see the
parts of the castle they missed. |
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Had a lovely meal at the Brambles
Dinner House with their intrepid guide,
Bob :-) |
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| Solvang |
2 hours |
| The Jenkins had a hankering
for pancakes after an early start from San
Simeon, and the Danish town of Solvang was
only too happy to oblige. |
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| Los Angeles |
1 night |
| The Jenkins didn't want to
focus too heavily on Los Angeles, figuring
to save it for a future sojourn. Nevertheless,
we did manage enough time to get in some
of the requisite highlights, of which staying
at the foot of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills
was the group's favorite. |
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| L.A. Highlights |
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Drove the Malibu Coastline. |
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Visited famous Hollywood landmarks. |
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Made a quick stop at the Santa Monica
Pier. |
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Went to Venice Beach where they
saw street performers, artisans and
"Muscle Beach" |
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Stayed in the hotel where Julia
Roberts and Richard Gere fell in love
in "Pretty Woman." |
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Shopped Rodeo Drive. |
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| San Diego |
5 nights on their
own after drop-off |
| The goal in San Diego was
to spend several days relaxing on the beach,
so we recommended the Hotel del Coronado
as the perfect place at which to soak up
5 days of gorgeous California sunshine.
We said "see you later" to the
Jenkins family at the "Hotel Del"
already starting to make plans for a future
tour of the Southwest national parks. |
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| Fun San Diego Story:
The McDonald's Void |
| The Jenkins' very well-behaved
girls waited patiently for the entire trip
for a visit to McDonald's. When the time
finally came, and Gary announced that the
long wait was over, we found ourselves in
what must have been one of the few places
in the US where McDonald's are scarce. Despite
being in a population-dense area of San
Diego, we searched for 45 minutes before
Brian finally spotted the fast food Mecca,
much to everyone's relief. It was this experience
that led to our decision to never conduct
another trip without a GPS unit. |
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One of many enduring memories of my trip with
the Jenkins was the iPod playlist of California-themed
music that Gary prepared for the trip. Essentially,
if the song had "California" or a California
place-name in the lyrics, it was fair game. Some of
them were pretty obscure.
The one that stands out was one that was particularly
popular with Gary's and Stella's young daughters,
and hence got a lot of air time during the trip. It
was a song by Julian Daze and the Photon Karma called
"Carmel by the Sea." The catchy chorus begins,
"I fell in love in California." By the end
of the trip, it had really become the trip anthem.
Not to be outdone -- I'm a California Boy after
all -- I stayed up late one night during the trip,
and compiled my own set of California tunes, which
I played for the group between San Simeon and Los
Angeles. We exchanged CD's at the end of the trip,
and I still like to play both on tours to this day.
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