California trip

[Dan Barlow]

It was . I even enjoyed the long , long return where the road was closed and back down to the part where the road was closed last year . I heard more land slides caused more closure this year .

[danielsk]

Sounds like a great trip!

[Dan Barlow]

I like California outside of the big cities . Personally wouldn't want to live there . But hey , there are plenty of people that wouldn't want to live in Indiana .

[DanStokes]

My oldest daughter lives there (Sacramento area) and while it's great to visit California it really isn't my cup of tea.

[cstmwgn]

Coast Highway is CLOSED at (or around) Big Sur so you will need to go on 101 from SLO to Monterey

[Dan Barlow]

Trip was a year ago and I have been recently been thinking back about the trip . Best part form me was running up the Pacific Coast highway. In a mustang convertible and then in a camaro convertible from L.A to San Francisco. I would like to complete the trip sometime.

[Loren]

I haven't been to Griffith Park for decades but most such places you hope to find a shuttle bus service. Chrissy Field (at the south end) is where to park for the Golden Gate but I can't say how it is on a given day. The short section of Mulholland Drive that everybody used to hang out at, long ago, was from Coldwater Canyon to half-way to Laurel Canyon, another place I haven't been for years, it looks like they realigned the road and made Deadman's a parking area since I wrecked a car there in '81. Google Maps The Pacific Ocean current runs clockwise a about a mile-an-hour, the water is coming from Alaska and is still dang cold, nothing like the East.

[DanStokes]

I really don't want to say anything about California is terrible except for.........how the state is ran . It and me are at opposites . The making you pay 10 bucks an hour for parking a mile down the mountain for Griffith Park Observatory then a premium for the actual park parking lot and 18 to 30 everywhere else except the grocery store and CVS ( pharmacy ) I get it. It's a matter of supply and demand ( the supply being the parking spots ). And maybe they don't always close the car parking of at the Golden Gate bridge scenic overlooks (where you would park to pedal or walk across the bridge )on the weekend. Maybe just holidays. It did blow me away when I found out the if you were making under $100,000 a year they consider you slipping into the poverty level in San Francisco. Probably LA too , not sure . But it was fun . I'd say at this day and age Mullholand drive was the biggest let down to a middle east car guy . It's still cool but I'd hope the road racing days are over. Way too much houses and traffic. It has nothing on Tail of the Dragon. Probably the funniest things were flying all the way out there . ( When I wasn't thinking about the plane breaking apart a 6.8 miles up ) , and going up the Pacific Coast Highway. And those California mountains. How the go almost straight up. The beaches are cool and man the color of the Pacific just blows away the Atlantic. But man , that far south and the water is that cold ! ( around LA even ) makes Florida water feel like bath water in the gulf and at least warm in the Atlantic. Well that's all for now. Youngest kid wants me to go on a 62 mile ride tomorrow. Gotta get some rest .

Good that you had the experience. When I go there (most recently this Spring to work on the oldest daughter's house) I find it interesting but I'm happy to get home. Not where I want to live even though I have good friends there.

[Dan Barlow]

I really don't want to say anything about California is terrible except for.........how the state is ran . It and me are at opposites . The making you pay 10 bucks an hour for parking a mile down the mountain for Griffith Park Observatory then a premium for the actual park parking lot and 18 to 30 everywhere else except the grocery store and CVS ( pharmacy ) I get it. It's a matter of supply and demand ( the supply being the parking spots ). And maybe they don't always close the car parking of at the Golden Gate bridge scenic overlooks (where you would park to pedal or walk across the bridge )on the weekend. Maybe just holidays. It did blow me away when I found out the if you were making under $100,000 a year they consider you slipping into the poverty level in San Francisco. Probably LA too , not sure . But it was fun . I'd say at this day and age Mullholand drive was the biggest let down to a middle east car guy . It's still cool but I'd hope the road racing days are over. Way too much houses and traffic. It has nothing on Tail of the Dragon. Probably the funniest things were flying all the way out there . ( When I wasn't thinking about the plane breaking apart a 6.8 miles up ) , and going up the Pacific Coast Highway. And those California mountains. How the go almost straight up. The beaches are cool and man the color of the Pacific just blows away the Atlantic. But man , that far south and the water is that cold ! ( around LA even ) makes Florida water feel like bath water in the gulf and at least warm in the Atlantic. Well that's all for now. Youngest kid wants me to go on a 62 mile ride tomorrow. Gotta get some rest .

[SuperBuickGuy]

THAT SUCKS, Last time I walked across it was with my daughter on her first trip there since being five, the wind blew and it rained and fortunately we had an umbrella, it was awesome. I'm glad you got to take the bay cruise anyhow.

I spent a few days in S.F. the week they first shut the place down for covid, it was utterly ridiculous what they did and everybody had to know the disruption was going to be harmful. It's a shame how the city has gone downhill after that but you got to see some good points.

it wasn't terribly great before. I seriously considered going to USF for law school. Glad I didn't but even then (2000) it was pretty terrible.

[Dan Barlow]

Landed in Indy safe and sound. The flight was an an A321 Airbus . Not a bad plan and basically in the same class. Although I liked the 737 a little better. Now to find my old Yukon that I had completely forgot about for a week and a half .

[Dan Barlow]

Yeah , no real regrets. Just landed in Minneapolis . Nice to have my feet back on the ground . But we'll be going up again in about 30 minutes. We road 737s on the way out and back to here. I really am clueless on flying and airports so I just go where my wife points me . It'd be nice to be on a smaller plane . But the 737 seems quite abit smaller than the 747s and L1011s I've flown in the passed so we probably won't get smaller.

[Loren]

Yesterday was a bust. Wanted to walk across the Golden Gate bridge but the parks or rest stop parking lots were closed off to everything but busses.

THAT SUCKS, Last time I walked across it was with my daughter on her first trip there since being five, the wind blew and it rained and fortunately we had an umbrella, it was awesome. I'm glad you got to take the bay cruise anyhow.

I spent a few days in S.F. the week they first shut the place down for covid, it was utterly ridiculous what they did and everybody had to know the disruption was going to be harmful. It's a shame how the city has gone downhill after that but you got to see some good points.

[Dan Barlow]

Yesterday was a bust. Wanted to walk across the Golden Gate bridge but the parks or rest stop parking lots were closed off to everything but busses. So on to our second planned activity Mir Woods to see some big trees ,denied again . Had to have a parking reservation. Bummed we get got a hotel room near to airport and crash early for getting up at 3:15 am. Ready to be home to spacious Indiana . It was fun though.

[Dan Barlow]

Spent most the day at Alcatraz and on a cruise around the bay. I would put up some pics but on my new phone it just takes so much time unless I do like I did the last few times and post a page of photos at a time. And you could just search for Alcatraz pics on the Internet and probably see better pics than I got . If I get a big enough complaint I'll do it .