Merry Christmas to all of our friend and family!!
Details on Klamath will be coming up shortly in a new post after Eureka's post..
Stay tuned :)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
I left my hair in San Francisco ♥♥
We are here in San Francisco!!
One of Jeff's oldest friends, Mike Stevens, was gracious enough to "reserve" a parking spot for the coach in front of his house. If you've been to SF then you would know that finding a parking spot in that city is like finding a needle in a haystack and not only is finding parking for a car difficult in the city, imagine finding a parking sport for a 35ft RV! So we were lucky enough to have Mike park his two cars in this spot right after the weekly street cleaning to ensure we'd have a safe place to park "el coacharino".
Mike and his roomies, Krupa and Maisa (hope I spelled that right!) also invited us to stay at their house while we were here so that was a nice change of pace from sleeping in the coach.
Of course what trip to SF wouldn't be complete without a walk down Haight Street. (yea..yea.. I know.. super tourist-y). It was my second (or third) time to this area of San Fran. The shops were so cool!! There were soo many vintage (like REAL vintage) clothes shops with dresses that were over 100 years old. I would have pictures of them but they didn't allow photography in the shop.
We stopped in this cute little kids shop called Kids Only to see if we could get some stuff for Cedar. Cedar ended up getting some new rainboots since he soaked his old ones in the Big Sur River.
Some yummy restaurants we hit up in the city were Zona Rosa's on Haight Street, Bean Bag Cafe on Hayes and Divisidero, Golden Era Vegetarian Restaurant in the Tenderloin and a pizza Joint off Haight Street. One of the most fantastic things about SF is that you can get almost ANYTHING delivered!! We got some great Japanese and Indian food delivered the last couple nights we were there. Usually at home we can only get Italian places to deliver!
Up the street from Mike's was a cool park called Alamo Square. This park was nice because it was a leash-free zone for Gia AND there was a playground for Cedar. I also found out it was the filming location for Full House!
Okay... so why the title...
We hit up Mike's salon Zip Zap Hair on Filmore and Haight where Mike offered to work his magic.
I've always known Mike owned a salon but never had the chance to visit. The ambiance was so cool and the energy was electric. I got that "family" feel between the employees which is always good for the aura. Anyway, I was due for a cut. If you know me, you know that I rarely get haircuts.. (probably once every 1-2 years). And when I do, I'm rarely ecstatic with them since I usually just tell the stylist to trim off the "bad stuff". Anyway, I told Mike the same thing I always tell stylists and he was like okay.. But let's do some layers too. I felt like I was in trusted hands so I went for it.... The result.... Shear Genius!!(pun intended) As stated before I've never been that stoked on a haircut but I got up and said, "I LOVE IT!" (and I didn't say it just cause.. I mean I really meant it.. I was almost surprised how much I loved it). Anyway, if you're in the city and in the need for a snip, I highly recommend going to Zip Zap... they know what they're doin'. I know that we're planning on an annual trip up here just so I can get my haircut! (haha) ;)
So, all in all, San Francisco was fabulous to us! We were sad to go, but were excited to get onto the next destination...... Eureka, CA. to see Mike's brother, Dave and his family, Courtney and 6 week-old Baby Estelle!!!
One of Jeff's oldest friends, Mike Stevens, was gracious enough to "reserve" a parking spot for the coach in front of his house. If you've been to SF then you would know that finding a parking spot in that city is like finding a needle in a haystack and not only is finding parking for a car difficult in the city, imagine finding a parking sport for a 35ft RV! So we were lucky enough to have Mike park his two cars in this spot right after the weekly street cleaning to ensure we'd have a safe place to park "el coacharino".
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| Parked in front of Mike's pink building |
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| Family Photo!! |
Mike and his roomies, Krupa and Maisa (hope I spelled that right!) also invited us to stay at their house while we were here so that was a nice change of pace from sleeping in the coach.
 |
| We made Cedar a "bed-fort"out of his Pack in Play.. he seemed to like it.. :) |
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| .... Gia also seemed to like it too since we kept finding her in his bed!! |
Of course what trip to SF wouldn't be complete without a walk down Haight Street. (yea..yea.. I know.. super tourist-y). It was my second (or third) time to this area of San Fran. The shops were so cool!! There were soo many vintage (like REAL vintage) clothes shops with dresses that were over 100 years old. I would have pictures of them but they didn't allow photography in the shop.
We stopped in this cute little kids shop called Kids Only to see if we could get some stuff for Cedar. Cedar ended up getting some new rainboots since he soaked his old ones in the Big Sur River.
 |
| Cedar's new rainboots hard at work... |
Some yummy restaurants we hit up in the city were Zona Rosa's on Haight Street, Bean Bag Cafe on Hayes and Divisidero, Golden Era Vegetarian Restaurant in the Tenderloin and a pizza Joint off Haight Street. One of the most fantastic things about SF is that you can get almost ANYTHING delivered!! We got some great Japanese and Indian food delivered the last couple nights we were there. Usually at home we can only get Italian places to deliver!
 |
| Zona Rosa's veggie burritos |
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| Last good burrito we will have before heading east |
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| Cedar and his beans rice and guac... |
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| Golden Era on O'Farrell... everyone seems to be liking lunch :) |
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| Golden Era's veggie "egg" noodle soup... yummy |
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| Bean Bag Cafe |
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| Cedar at the Bean Bag Cafe eating a soy-chorizo breakfast burrito..(not pictured) |
Up the street from Mike's was a cool park called Alamo Square. This park was nice because it was a leash-free zone for Gia AND there was a playground for Cedar. I also found out it was the filming location for Full House!
 |
| The Painted Ladies |
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| The Playground at Alamo Square |
 | |
| City view... you could see the coach like 3 blocks from the park... (if you see the lamp post.. it's at the corner where the vertical and horizonal pieces meet) |
We hit up Mike's salon Zip Zap Hair on Filmore and Haight where Mike offered to work his magic.
 |
| Mike (in black) and Toad in front of Mike's shop |
I've always known Mike owned a salon but never had the chance to visit. The ambiance was so cool and the energy was electric. I got that "family" feel between the employees which is always good for the aura. Anyway, I was due for a cut. If you know me, you know that I rarely get haircuts.. (probably once every 1-2 years). And when I do, I'm rarely ecstatic with them since I usually just tell the stylist to trim off the "bad stuff". Anyway, I told Mike the same thing I always tell stylists and he was like okay.. But let's do some layers too. I felt like I was in trusted hands so I went for it.... The result.... Shear Genius!!(pun intended) As stated before I've never been that stoked on a haircut but I got up and said, "I LOVE IT!" (and I didn't say it just cause.. I mean I really meant it.. I was almost surprised how much I loved it). Anyway, if you're in the city and in the need for a snip, I highly recommend going to Zip Zap... they know what they're doin'. I know that we're planning on an annual trip up here just so I can get my haircut! (haha) ;)
So, all in all, San Francisco was fabulous to us! We were sad to go, but were excited to get onto the next destination...... Eureka, CA. to see Mike's brother, Dave and his family, Courtney and 6 week-old Baby Estelle!!!
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| Leaving SF.. driving over the Golden Gate Bridge |
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| The Bridge from afar Down with DCS and BTF!!!! |
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Highway 1 and Big Sur
When we left Morro Bay, it was a gorgeous day... sunny, mildly warm (for the central coast), and the air was fresh since it had just rained a couple days back. So, we headed north on the 1 Freeway. If you are planning on doing a tour through California, taking the 1 is a MUST! It's SO beautiful!! There are just miles and miles of open air and road.
After we left Morro Bay, we decided to stop by this Elephant Seal viewing reserve a couple miles north of Hearst Castle. It was amazing how close you can get to the elephant seals and how enormous they were! For the most part, they were either napping or just lounging but once in a while, you could see one scratch or kick sand up on itself. The Elephant Seals' flippers are pretty amazing too! When they scratch, it looks like they have the bone structure of fingers like us but only webbed.
So, after seeing this cool wildlife, we decided to continue on our way.....only we parked on a dirt road that was too soft for us to drive out!! We ended up getting stuck for an hour while the tow man came and pulled us out. (Thank you, AAA!)
So, after we left the Elephant Seals, we continued our way up the coast. By the time we left the seals, the fog had rolled in, which was sort of disappointing since I've never been on the 1 before and I hear the views are spectacular. Driving the 1 is definitely a scary road to drive on!! I mean people with regular cars were telling us how scared they were driving on that road and here we are with a huge giant RV toting along on the 1. Pretty gnarly. If you haven't ever been on the 1 through the Central Coast, its a two-lane road that HUGS the coastline. Driving north isn't as scary since you are closer to land, but driving south is another thing because just outside the passenger's window are huge cliffs with straight drops to a rocky ocean! The drive is so worth it though. We stopped at an overpass and admired the expansive coastline.
After you go through the traditional ocean backdrop, you enter redwood country, where there are some of tallest trees I've ever seen in my life!! It was surreal to see these beautiful ancient trees all along the coast. It was such a dramatic change to Southern California's bustling and metropolitan coastline where the most common trees are Palms.
Our initial destination from Morro Bay was Santa Cruz or Half Moon Bay, but by the time we arrived in Big Sur, we were too exhausted to move forward so we decided to set up camp for the night. Driving down the 1, there is barely any cell service (for our map system on our phones) as well as a lack of street lights, so we just set up shop at the nearest campsite. Driving into the campsite it was pitch black so we couldn't really gauge where we were. So we parked in a designated spot and set up camp.
When we woke up, it was the most beautiful, organic place we have been to so far!! We were the only people in the campsite so it was like this whole oasis was just for us!! There was a river behind us and we were surrounded by towering Redwoods. The air was sweet and clean. This was more like it!! We were finally "out in the wild"..... well more so than the previous campsites we visited. :) So, we decided to stay for a couple more days to absorb our Redwood haven.
The campsite we stayed at was called Fernwood Resort in Big Sur, California. It was one of the best campsites we have been too (so far)... The campsite was secluded from the road (HWY 1) and just a short walk up some stairs, there was an adorable wood lodge where they held music shows and events for tourists and locals. There was also a small general store for camping needs and if you weren't in the mood for camping, they offered cute little cabins you could stay in. If you are looking to get away from city life for the weekend, this is the spot to go... just try and go during the summer months when it isn't 45 degrees out. ;)
After we left Morro Bay, we decided to stop by this Elephant Seal viewing reserve a couple miles north of Hearst Castle. It was amazing how close you can get to the elephant seals and how enormous they were! For the most part, they were either napping or just lounging but once in a while, you could see one scratch or kick sand up on itself. The Elephant Seals' flippers are pretty amazing too! When they scratch, it looks like they have the bone structure of fingers like us but only webbed.
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| Elephant Seals lounging in the sun.. |
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| Jeff and Gia exploring... |
 |
So, after seeing this cool wildlife, we decided to continue on our way.....only we parked on a dirt road that was too soft for us to drive out!! We ended up getting stuck for an hour while the tow man came and pulled us out. (Thank you, AAA!)
 |
| Trying to get us out of the dirt with a chainsaw... (yes...yes... we came equipped with chainsaws on our trip) |
So, after we left the Elephant Seals, we continued our way up the coast. By the time we left the seals, the fog had rolled in, which was sort of disappointing since I've never been on the 1 before and I hear the views are spectacular. Driving the 1 is definitely a scary road to drive on!! I mean people with regular cars were telling us how scared they were driving on that road and here we are with a huge giant RV toting along on the 1. Pretty gnarly. If you haven't ever been on the 1 through the Central Coast, its a two-lane road that HUGS the coastline. Driving north isn't as scary since you are closer to land, but driving south is another thing because just outside the passenger's window are huge cliffs with straight drops to a rocky ocean! The drive is so worth it though. We stopped at an overpass and admired the expansive coastline.
 |
| Cool silhouette of the boys and Gia looking in all directions.. (haha) |
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| Had to get a yoga photo in... |
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| Cedo and Mama |
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| Family Photo |
After you go through the traditional ocean backdrop, you enter redwood country, where there are some of tallest trees I've ever seen in my life!! It was surreal to see these beautiful ancient trees all along the coast. It was such a dramatic change to Southern California's bustling and metropolitan coastline where the most common trees are Palms.
 |
| HUGE Redwood trees!! |
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| Cool mushroom growing at the base of a tree.. |
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| Up close photo.. |
Our initial destination from Morro Bay was Santa Cruz or Half Moon Bay, but by the time we arrived in Big Sur, we were too exhausted to move forward so we decided to set up camp for the night. Driving down the 1, there is barely any cell service (for our map system on our phones) as well as a lack of street lights, so we just set up shop at the nearest campsite. Driving into the campsite it was pitch black so we couldn't really gauge where we were. So we parked in a designated spot and set up camp.
When we woke up, it was the most beautiful, organic place we have been to so far!! We were the only people in the campsite so it was like this whole oasis was just for us!! There was a river behind us and we were surrounded by towering Redwoods. The air was sweet and clean. This was more like it!! We were finally "out in the wild"..... well more so than the previous campsites we visited. :) So, we decided to stay for a couple more days to absorb our Redwood haven.
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| Our campsite |
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| Stairs leading to the general store and lodge they had up top |
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| More stairs |
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| A view of the river right out of our bedroom window :) |
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| Beautiful (but cold) river behind our campsite |
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| Gia was in heaven.. (haha) |
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| A secret hiking trail I wanted to walk, but passed because I didn't want to go by myself. Just over the hills was the ocean!! |
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| Gia waiting for me to go on the trail with her... |
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| Cedar in his warm winter gear. |
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| Cedar without his warm winter gear |
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| Another silly yoga shot |
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| Setting up a chill out spot on the river |
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| Campsite |
The campsite we stayed at was called Fernwood Resort in Big Sur, California. It was one of the best campsites we have been too (so far)... The campsite was secluded from the road (HWY 1) and just a short walk up some stairs, there was an adorable wood lodge where they held music shows and events for tourists and locals. There was also a small general store for camping needs and if you weren't in the mood for camping, they offered cute little cabins you could stay in. If you are looking to get away from city life for the weekend, this is the spot to go... just try and go during the summer months when it isn't 45 degrees out. ;)
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