January 28, 2007

  • Travels To Northern & Central California

    Travels to Northern and Central California

     

    July 24, 2004 – SEQUOIA

     

    My mom, aunt who is visiting from Thailand, and I arrived at Konie’s (my brother’s girlfriend) place at 6:30 AM.  That’s where we rendezvous with her and my brother.  We then took off in our rented minivan en route to Sequoia National Park.

     

    After breakfast at Iron Skillet, we drove on and finally arrived at Sequoia National Park at 11:20 AM.  We purchased tickets to tour Crystal Cave.  It then took us about an hour to get there.

     

    My mom deferred the Crystal Cave excursion.  She has seen it before and the walk can be physically demanding.  Instead she’ll be waiting for us by ticketing area.  Walking down to the cave is not the problem.  Coming back is because it is a 300 foot descent/ascent depending on which way you’re going.  The day was sunny and warm (low to mid 80’s).  At last we got to Crystal Cave where we saw other people who will be in our little tour group waited.  There were still a few more following us.  Our guide’s name is Jimmy.  He could definitely qualify to be a member of ZZ Top due to his long red beard.

     

    Jimmy explained to us how important it is not to touch anything.  He then took us into Crystal Cave through the spider web gate that closes it from outer creatures including humans.  Inside we saw neat cave structures from stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and some that looked like curtains.  There was also running water in the cave.  There were metal handrails and a paved path.  Those are the only things we are allowed to touch.  It was so nice and cool in there.  Compared to the warm exterior inside the cave felt like being in an air-conditioned room.  It was pretty neat, yet freaky once Jimmy turned out the lights to let us realize that it is pitch black in the cave if it were not for the lights that people installed to allow visitors to enjoy the natural wonders of the cave. 

     

    The tour took only about 20 minutes.  Then it was facing the reality of the warm day.  What was worse was the climb back to our car.  I did have an ominous feeling on the way down to the cave by the look on people’s faces that were coming up.  They all looked winded.  I was like “Uh oh!”  My brother is a strong buck so he calmly scaled up the path to the vehicle.  Konie fared quite well.  My aunt and I slowly trudged our way up and up and up.  On the way I exchanged some conversation with my brother stating “Man, this is a good workout!”  Finally we got there.  My mom was there ready to offer towels to dry ourselves off.  I just sat as I watched my sweat roll off my face one by one.

     

    Sweat drops keep falling off my head

    But that doesn’t mean my eyes will soon be turning red

    Crying’s not for me…’cause

    I’m never gonna stop the sweat by complaining

    Because I’m free…

    Not a worry in me

     

    OK.  Enough of that brief musical interlude.  We then headed on to the Giant Forest.  Some of the Park’s most famous trees are here.  Due to our schedule, we had time to see only one tree.  If there is a tree to see, it’s General Sherman.  This is the largest tree in the world; thus, making it the largest living thing on the planet.  There are trees in the park that are wider and some are taller.  However none have the combination of both width and height as this giant sequoia.  It was breathtaking just to see this creation of nature.  Things like this make me grateful this country has national parks so such natural wonders can be enjoyed and appreciated by later generations like myself.  I suggested to my brother that we should take the Congress Trail.  However he told me that due to time constraints, we had to move on.  I concurred.

     

    We headed about two miles to Moro Rock.  It is a huge rock atop a peak that we all saw on the way up to the Visitor Center as we snaked our way into the park.  Here once again it’s Konie, my brother, my aunt, and I who will attempt to scale to the top and garner ourselves a magnificent view of the Middle Fork Canyon and the mountains across the way.  Once again my mother will sit this one out.  She’s been there, done that and it’s another demanding climb.  There are stairs and handrails etched and mounted into the rock to allow easy ascent.  After about a third of the way, Konie called it quits and returned to the bottom.  Being worn by the climb from Crystal Cave, my aunt and I stopped several times.  That caused my brother to wait up on us.  About 7/10th of the way up, my aunt told us to go ahead.  My brother forged on ahead and got to the top first.  Admittedly I was quite leg-weary.  I also thought “How the heck did Frodo and Sam do it?  Yikes!”  I gradually but eventually joined him on top.  I was like “Man, what a view!” through my heavy breathing.  We soaked it in and then discussed the next course of action for this day.  Upon agreement to head out for Pleasanton, we started to descend.  As we were about to take our first step down, we saw our aunt.  I thought she turned back but she continued.  We decided to stay a bit longer so our aunt can check this out since she came all this way.

     

    We returned to the minivan and off to Pleasanton we went.  Man, it was a long drive.  We stopped in Livermore to eat at Chili’s.  Finally we made it to the Summerfield Suites in Pleasanton where we enjoyed a good night’s rest. 

     

    July 25, 2004 – SAN FRANCISCO & MONTEREY

     

    We took off from Pleasanton a little after 9 AM and headed out for San Francisco.  We crossed the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and proceeded to the Golden Gate Bridge.  Unfortunately it was still very foggy so we could barely see the bridge.

     

    We stopped at Chinatown and had dim sum at Grand Palace.  They advertise themselves as being voted best dim sum in San Francisco.  When I eat dim sum, I like to pour some soy sauce in my plate.  Then whatever I want to eat I would roll it around in my soy sauce puddle until it is covered in it and then I’ll eat it.  I grabbed a har gow with my chopsticks.  I rudely discovered how slippery the food here is as it dropped into the soy sauce puddle causing splatter, some of which wound up on my white long sleeve T-shirt.  Later on I tried to get some beef spareribs.  That thing was covered in oil and it slipped, landed in the soy sauce, and further decorated by white shirt.  My brother laughed each time it happened.  Admittedly I’m not the greatest chopstick handler but usually I’m adept enough to manage.  I even went without incident when I traveled to China for a week.  He did concur that the food was pretty slippery.  After about the fourth time creating abstract soy sauce art on my shirt, he told me I need to see Mr. Miyagi for some chopstick lessons.  I was like “This isn’t my day.”  Little did I know at the time how prophetic these words would become.

     

    The others decided to do some shopping.  I just stood outside admiring the atmosphere of Chinatown.  Konie got some new earrings.  My mom got shoes.  Konie asked me “So, is that the new fragrance you are wearing…Hint of Soy?”  We had a good laugh with that one.  We agreed that all you had to do was spray in the air and then run into the mist.

     

    My mom had talked my aunt into wanting to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Due to the time, my brother felt that we had to take off from San Francisco immediately.  That concludes San Francisco for this time.  One day we’ll see more of this city.

     

    At a Chevron near Morgan Hill, I discovered myself having a loose stool.  I was puzzled at what I could have possibly eaten.   I hoped that this would be the start and end right here.  Unfortunately this would haunt me the rest of my day.  To quote Mark Hamill, “That’s not true!  That’s impossible!  NO!!!!!!!!!!!!”

     

    We arrived at Monterey.  I had never been here before.  We walked to Cannery Row where nowadays there a lots of shops and eateries.  We joined the line outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium.   I had my brother lead the way for it’s his 4th time here.  We went to a giant tank where they kept hammerheads, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, barracudas, a giant sea turtle, and sunfish.  There were other fish there, too but I do not recall what they were.  It’s something to behold how big tuna is.  My brother told me to check out the sunfish but I could not find it.  Neither could he.  We then went to the jellyfish exhibition.  It was neat to see the various sorts of jellyfish.  Next was the shark exhibits.  We then walked over to a penguin exhibit.  Other creatures we got to see included wolf eels, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish, cuttlefish, octopus, crabs, sea otters, and shellfish.  It’s quite an impressive aquarium in that they have extensive exhibits on sharks, jellyfish, and being able to see big fish.  We could have spent more time but we had to make time.

     

    On the 101 South, we passed by towns like Bradley and arrived at Paso Robles.  This brought back some fond memories.  Some of you may have known that before I came to work at NGI, I was an ordained Buddhist monk for 15 months (1996-1997).  I spent most of my time at a temple located in Bryson-Hesperia which is 30 minutes away from Paso Robles into these mountains to the northwest.  To see the yellow grass on these rolling hills reminded me of those days.  I was also reminded of how simple life was and the kind neighbor we had befriended.  I have not spoken to him in years.  I should give him a ring to see how things are going. 

     

    We stopped in Paso Robles for dinner at McDonald’s.  Several fast food chains and a mall had popped up since I left here.  Most of it was still the same as when I left.  It’s nice to see it grow. 

     

    We then drove into the darkness en route to San Simeon.  It was eerie seeing a cloud of fog in the short distance away from us in the night.  At last we got to the Silver Surf Motel where we spent the night.

     

    July 26, 2004 – SAN SIMEON

     

    We left the Silver Surf Motel a little after 9AM and headed out for Hearst Castle.  There we booked the earliest tour which began at 11:50 AM. 

     

    With so much time to kill, my brother decided to drive us to the nearby beaches where we might see some elephant seals.  I was actually quite excited.  I had never seen them with my own eyes so this will be a first.  Finally we got there.  The fences installed kept us at a safe distance from these primal pinnipeds.   My aunt found them disgusting and at the same time felt pity for them.  I thought they looked funny.  Most of them just lay around in the sand.  Others dueled in battles.  A couple swam.

     

    We returned to Hearst Castle at around 10 AM.  We looked at some of the exhibits on display at the Visitor Center.  This was all new to my aunt and me because this is our first time here.  It’s not the case for everyone else.  We then killed some more time at the gift shop and observation area where there are some telescopes one can use to view castle atop the hill.  A sandwich would have been nice but seeing how one costs $9, I decided to just sate myself with a bag of chips instead.

     

    Finally the tour began.  Once again my mom deferred.  Once again for her it’s been here, done that.  We took the Experience Tour or Tour 1.  It’s recommended for those who have not been here before so I thought it was perfect.

     

    A bus took us from the Visitor Center to Hearst Castle which is 5 miles.  There we met our tour guide who told us to touch nothing except the tour rug and a few handrails.  We were also told not to use flash photography.  For those who don’t know, Hearst Castle was an estate formerly owned by newspaper man William Randolph Hearst.  For accounts of his life, just watch Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane”.  The life of Charles Foster Kane pretty much mirrors that of Hearst, with the possible exception of “Rosebud”.

     

    First the guide took us up some stairs to see a rather lavish guest house.  It was white with some sculpted architecture around windows, corners, and eaves.  I noticed that the outdoor floors were all neatly arranged tiles.

     

    Then we came to the outdoor pool called the Neptune Pool.  It was surrounded by two duel rows of Greco-Roman columns topped with a roof.  One side of the pool was something that was similar to a Greco-Roman temple.  Opposed to this side were white marble statues in front of some stairs.  This pool looks fitting for the emperors of yore.

     

    We scaled the stairs and came across a colorful garden.  Nearby was a guesthouse which we walked through.  I noticed that each room is ornately decorated with artwork like paintings and tapestries.  The walls, ceilings, and floors were all decorated in some form or another whether they were painted with designs, figures, or carvings.  Each room either had a magnificent view of the ocean or the Neptune Pool.

     

    We then came across the main house, the Casa Grande.  It is white and topped with two bell towers adorned with blue tiles similar to what you would find in Arabic architecture.  We then stepped inside.

     

    There was a living room, one of several here.  The ceiling was carved into statues and images.  There was artwork on every wall.  The fireplace was large and artfully sculpted.  All the furniture was colorful.  Tapestries still lined the walls.  The guide explained that Hearst was an art collector and was not specific to any culture so there were pieces from all sorts from Greco-Roman to Arabic to Catholic, et al.

     

    Next room was the dining room.  It was lined atop with flags similar to where kings, queens, and royals dined in ye olde world.

     

    I liked the billiards room.  Admittedly I wanted to play a rack but they’d kill me if I did.  One of the tables had no holes.  I guess it’s a different kind of billiards or something.  This room was no less lavishly adorned than the other rooms.

     

    Lastly we came to the indoor pool called the Roman Pool.  It was blue tiled adorned with gold.  It’s like something from an old world bath for royals.  The ladders leading into the pools were marble.

     

    That concludes our tour.  The bus took us back to the Visitor Center where we reconvened with my mom.  My take on things is that obviously Hearst was a wealthy man.  It’s like with so much money, there just wasn’t any way to use it up so this castle is unfinished and would never be finished while he was alive.  There would be continuous additions, extensions, and new works of art to display.

     

    We drove to San Luis Obispo for lunch.  My brother took us to the Firestone Grill.  I had the Pig Sandwich which is a barbecue shredded pork sandwich.  I had pondered about a pork sandwich for a couple days for no particular reason so I figured might as well have one.  My brother feasted on his tri tip sandwich.

     

    Finally it’s the long drive home.  It was nice to drive next to the ocean and see the view as we passed by Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, and Carpinteria.  We stopped at the Camarillo Outlet as our final rest area.  Others did some shopping as I coped with my not-so-well stomach.

     

    At last we were home.  I’m so glad to be home.  My stomach is perhaps telling me it’s time to take a break from breaks for a little while.  As long as my aunt had a good time then it was all worthwhile.  We had dinner at home and I retired for the night beginning to write this tale which you are about to finish in a few lines.  I’d like to thank my brother and Konie for steering us safely from one place to another.  They planned a good trip and were flexible to account for variables.

     

    Next time my aunt visits; we’ll see where we’ll go next.  One thing for sure…I’m wearing a black shirt next time I have dim sum.