The coastal drive between Los Angeles and San Francisco

The drive along the Californian coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco is a long winding, spectacular, scary and magnificent road.  It is not unlike the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.

It is beautiful and rugged and in places high above the sea.

The foggy haze can be a nuisance.

 

 

Always stunning and beautiful.

Hearst Castle - the ranch at San Simeon

The home of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper tycoon.  It has been a working family ranch since 1865 and is the second biggest American country estate, after the Vanderbilt family estate.

The Meditarranean Revival Style estate was designed by Julia Morgan, a Californian architect over 28 years from 1919-1947.  The hilltop La Cuesta Encantada - the Enchanted Hill was a showcase for Hearst's incomparable art collection.  He also used to come here with his mistress, Marion Davies and entertained the many famous people they invited.  His wife and 5 sons lived in New York.  It was a suitable arrangement for all.

The dining room where many many famous people sat.

One of the drawing rooms where drinks were served but never more than two per person.  Hearst did not approve of large alcohol consumption.

The Neptune Pool.

 

A terrace.

One of the three guesthouses.

The Roman pool, below the tennis courts.

The Roman Pool was relatively little used.  The Neptune Pool was the favoured swimming spot.

Madonna Inn, Central Coast, California

We were recommended to visit this amazing hotel just near downtown San Luis Obispo.

Its fame lies in each bedroom suite being furnished along a certain theme.

The most famous is the Caveman Room.  We were very fortunate in that the room was being cleaned and open so we took a quick snapshot.

One of the dining areas.

Another shot.

And a last look from the outside.  There were many guests staying there.  The place has its charm.

Santa Barbara, California and meeting up with old friends

The courthouse in Santa Barbara.  We were unfortunately too late in the day to go up in the tower of the courthouse - a beautiful fully functioning building in the heart of this charming town.

Our friend Karina from way way back when our children were small in Canberra.  Karina went to live in the US many years ago with her husband Jacob and their two children.  They are no longer together but we caught up with both of them.

Alisdair is Karina's small Yorkie, one of the smallest and most charming dogs of my acquintaince.  Alisdair is a tiny fellow who packs a punch.

He is an excellent hiker.  We went on a 2 mile hike up a steep cliff and Alisdair was there the whole way.  What a dog!

A small reservoir in the distance the name of which has not been recorded.

A cave with some Chumash native Indian paintings - some 300 years old and very well preserved.

We also caught up with Jacob at Fresco, a charming Santa Barbara eatery.

The Grand Canyon - southern rim

The view from the south rim.

 

A Californian condor sitting on the cliff edge.  With its 8ft wingspan, it is the largest bird in existence in North America.  It was in danger of extinction, and it it still threatened.  Being a vulture and feeding on carrion, when hunters leave the carcasses full of lead pellets, these birds, along with the turkey vultures are slowly dying of lead poisoning.  There is a condor preservation program in full swing whereby they are all caught and marked and bred in captivity and then released in the wild.  We did see a couple in full flight but our camera is not sophisticated enough to capture that.

The mules on the south rim.  See those cliff edges?????????? 

 

Because the south rim is lower and the river is closer than to the north side, the mighty Colorado River is more easily viewed from here.

We planned to take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon but we ran out of time so unfortunately, did not get a chance to do that.  That would be the only way one could see and appreciate the vastness of this wonderful place.  We did buy a dvd of Zion, Bryce and the north rim of the Grand Canyon and we foresee that we will watch it again and again to remind ourselves of this tremendous experience. 

The Grand Canyon - northern rim

At last the Grand Canyon! 

It is not possible to adequately capture the grandeur of this sight.  An immense gorge a mile deep and up to 18 miles wide opens up.  The scale is so vast that even from the best vantage point only a fraction of the canyon's 277 miles (446 km) can be seen.  The canyon is a mile (1.6 km) deep.



This photo is taken at Point Imperial on the northern rim on the canyon.  The northern and southern rims are only about 10 miles apart as the crow (the raven here) flies but to drive from one side to the other by road is about 200 miles of driving.

This is the natural arch on the northern rim.

One canyon - two rims.  We went to both the northern and the southern rims.  The southern rim is the one closest to the Nevada side and it attracts twice as many tourists as the northern rim which is approached from the Utah side.  The two parts of the canyon are both spectacular.  The northern rim is about 1,000ft higher and about 10 degrees cooler than the south rim.  The southern rim is open all the year around but winter snow closes the northen rim and often briefly blankets the south rim.

In common with Zion and Bryce canyons, the Grand Canyon has a free shuttle service at both rims, allowing tourists to leave their cars and travel around the canyon roads free, getting on and off and seeing all the sights.  In fact, at the northern rim this is not strictly true as many parts of the canyon can only be reached by car.  It is however possible to see all of the spectacular viewing spots at the southern rim by using the shuttle buses.

This is at one of the many lookouts.  This one at least has a metal barrier so it is far less scary for a height-fearing person like Nikki but nevertheless the exposure to the very high cliffs is challenging.

 

 

 

A wonderful terrace at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the northern rim where one can sit and have a cup of coffee and admire the view.