Friday 6 July 2012
Aftter breakfast we had a small walk to the mall which turned out to be rather empty and sad, not the shopping experience of the lifetime, which was anticipated.
Lilian was booked on a flight to Seattle to stay with friends for a few days, and so we all drove out to the airport to wish a fond farewell and Y & A drove back to Old Sacramento and parked in the main sttreet which resembled an old wild-west town - board walks and all. We found a bar for lunch and after a couple of beers walked down to the river to catch a river boat trip, passing impressive houseboats and old steam engines and finally passing under a golden (Tower) bridge. That evening we headed ten blocks to a Lebanese restaurant, thinking it to be a tapas bar!
Saturday 7 July
Left Sacramento late morning en-route for the Napa Valley (Route 80). The temperature had risen to 98 F and after a brunch we set off. The roads were light of traffic and we were soon driving through acres of fruit/nut trees. We stopped at one of the many roadside fruit sellers and bought strawberries. We arrived at a small town named Winters, very neat and tidy with all the amenities. We found a lovely Diner and had coffee and milkshake. \Y was in 7th heaven as her mug was refilled!! We also found a drugstore for some other essentials. Leaving Winters we drove along very windy roads into the hills passing an increasing number of (vinarys) with impressive entrance gates. Our destination was Cottage Grove Inn, a collection of cute little chalets in woodland, very well appointed with rocking chairs on the porch!!
We drank a glass of complementary wine after sampling a few laid on by the host. Dinner was in the nearby mainstreet - typical American fare - with live music (very good jazz guitarist).
Sunday 8 July
Had amodest breakfast - just in time, then decided to investigate the Napa Valley ourselves rather than trying to organise a tour. We headed for Napa on highway 29, stopping in St Helena for coffee and iced tea. We eventually found Downtown Napa - terrible lack of signposts. We parked up and walked down the main street to the river (Napa Creek) where we found a Diner for lunch, watching the ducks. We returned to Calistoga via a winery where we sampled a few whites and reds. Had dinner in a very posh restaurant (they actually admitted that the meal sizes were smaller than usual!).
Monday 9 July
Had breakfast (waffles) and packed up car to head off to LakeTahoe. Managed to get as far as the high street where certain retail therapy took place, and we were eventually underway.
Joined Freeway 80 passed Sacramento and stopped for lunch at a town called Placerville, a real wild-west town famous for being the first place where gold was found in California in 1848. More retail therapy and chatted to an English woman who worked in one of the dress shops. The temp had climbed to 98F as we drove towards LakeTahoe, going through spectacular mountain roads with massive trees either side. We rounded a bend and saw the Lake - magnificent in the shimmering sunlight. Our bed for the night was at the Avalon Lodge, just a short walk from the Lake. We wandered down to the Lake and found a cafe on the shore where we stayed until sunset.
Tuesday 10 July
After a modest breakfast, set off to Emerald Bay on the west side of the Lake, accessed via dramatic winding roads with sheer drops on the edge. We reached the viewing spot which showed the whole Bay with spectacular scenery. We then said goodbye to Lake Tahoe and headed for Mammoth Lakes. This route took us into the Sierra Nevada with more spectacular mountains and glacial plains. We stopped for lunch at Hope Valley where we spent a relaxing hour in the sun - 98F.
Arrived at Mammoth Lakes around 4.30 pm after being delayed by roadworks in the mountains. Mammoth Creek Lodge was a very comfortable accommodation within easy walks of good restaurants and we had a very good meal to round off the day.
Wednesday 11 July
We decided to have a restful day in preparation of the long drive to San Francisco on Thursday. So after a late breakfast we set off for the Lakes and headed for the largest, Lake Mary, where we parked by a small marina full of people launching canoes and row boats in a very pretty setting. The coffee call encouraged us to follow the lake on to Lake George but there was no room to park so we went on to Twin Lakes (actually three lakes). We stopped for coffee at a general store full of all the essentials for camping and just round the corner found a lovely restaurant where we had a light lunch looking over the lake.
After lunch we went and sat by the water dipping our toes, and spend a peaceful afternoon watching birds and water activities with the mountains riising inthe distance. Another restaurant this evening, called 'The Restaurant at Convict Lake', in a very remote setting. We had an interesting chat to a couple at the next table. It was early(ish) to bed for an early start in the morning, driving to San Francisco..
Thursday 12 July
We maintained our early start and took a route through Yosemite National Park which was a very windy road rising to 9000 ft above sea level and an incredible landscape of forests and huge boulders - all for a fee of $20. The temp in the park had dropped to 61F. We emerged from the Park and headed West via Manteca where we stopped for a cold drink and light lunch. We then continued West into more crowded roads via The Oakland Bridge and into San Francisco. We were very pleased to be heading into SF around commuting time as the road out was very heavy with traffic. We relied heavily on Satty to find our hotel and were running late to return the car by 7.00 pm. However we successfully found the hotel, unloaded the car and drove a couple of blocks to return it. We were then reunited with Lilian and over dinner recounted our various experiences of the past six days.
(Hopefully photos will be posted, shortly)
