We drove through the Avenue of the Giants at Humboldt down Rt. 1 through the mountains to the coast and down the coast to San Francisco. Lots of Redwoods and while driving through stands of extremely big trees a spookiness arose in the brain as it attempted to adjust for the large and the tall.
As you are increasingly uncomfortable in the travel log aspects you were each surprised at o dramatic diversity of the scenery on the trip through northern California.
Mostly we were speechless beyond a Wow? Look at that! or Are you kidding me! Route 1 south is the best scenic drive I have ever driven in the United States. The camera cannot do justice. We stopped at a Travelodge on the north side of Fort Bragg for the night and the caretaker, Don, gave us lots of ‘local’ information for our stay and travels. Had a good supper of fish and chips and nearby Cap’n Flints’ on the harbor (Noyo Fishing Village). Just south of Fort Bragg (no military) after a breakfast at McD’s we stopped at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens for an hour or so. Beautiful landscapes with a mile or so walk to the coast and back.
Arrived at the wonderful Columbus Motor Inn on 1075 Columbus Avenue (Pier 39 is three blocks to the south and Chinatown five blocks to the north – in SF from the 9th through the 13th. The Inn has comfortable rooms, which are moderately priced with free parking and well as dollar canned drinks in the hallways. We ate a light supper of tasty sandwiches at the Columbus Cafe, a cool hangout for college students and their laptops. Sunday, the 49-mile SF road tour, eating an early supper at the nearby Irish pub, Fiddler’s Green, also on Columbus Avenue. We all had some variation of Sheppard’s Pie served by an authentic lassie from the Isle.
Monday. Mid-afternoon, and you were sitting in the Golden Gate Park waiting for Craig, Alta, and Carol to return from a visit to the Japanese Tea Garden. This morning was one of the purposes of the visit to San Francisco, to drive to the corner of Columbus and Broadway to visit Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Bookstore in Chinatown. You took headed upstairs to the poetry room to pick up a copy of Coney Island of the Mind (44th edition). You also bought a copy of Ferlinghetti’s “What is Poetry” – one for you and one for Bob. Alta remembered a new book she heard about on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and she and Carol discovered a new book on DeVere, which they discovered. It is written by an historian and a descendent of the Earl of Oxford, Charles Beauclerk (who is also “founder and president of the De Vere Society and serves as a trustee of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust”). He wrote this history of the times of the Earl of Oxford and Elizabeth. The title is. Afterwards you four had a good lunch at nearby Hang Hung’s.
Today, Tuesday we took a trip to The Rock in the Bay, Alcatraz. Most interesting ‘audio tour’ once inside. Brought up lots of existential concepts, which was a surprise at the time. Makes me think. A late lunch at a California institution, In and Out Burgers. Tonight we had an excellent dessert from Boudin Sourdough Bakery, an original bakery on Fisherman’s Wharf since 1849. Tomorrow, we get our boarding passes printed and head south on Route 1 to Monterey for one last road trip of about six hours and 220 miles. Hotel at the airport tomorrow night where I ought to get this on the blog before our trip home (Southwest to Chicago, then to Columbus) and the drive home to Mason, Thursday night. I hope to put parts of this multiversed Spring holiday trip to some use in future thought and words. Carol, Craig and Alta are wonderful traveling companions for adventures such as this.
During your bath and shower you remembered that while at the Rubicon Estate, the woman in charge came up to make sure you were not Francis Coppola in the flesh. She said you look much like him today in terms of face, beard, build and the black beret. The others in your group found this amusing, as did you. And, tonight you were reminded that you have also been mistaken for Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead twice, once with Kim while at a Jimmy Buffet concert at Riverfront in Cincinnati during her junior year at Miami, and in 2001 while hitting the bars in Key West with daughter Kim and niece Sharon after finishing your first published book, Stuck.
At least Mr. Coppola is still alive. Jerry was already dead when I was mistaken as him while with Kim. At the concert a few college fellows came running up saying, “Hey, Jerry!” and the like. The second time a singer at a local bar on Duval Street, left the stage as we came by and hauled me to the door in front of the crowd and said, “Here’s Jerry!” People clapped. Everyone was having a good time. Carol and her sister Mary Lou stayed back at the motel that evening. Bar hopping had been Kim and Sharon’s idea not mine.
An addendum. Wednesday.
You drove down Highway 1 to Monterey. Stopped for breakfast at the Ristorante Portofino overlooking the ocean at Pacifica then on to Monterey and the famous 17 Mile Drive clipping sections of the Pebble Beach Golf Club. High roller neighborhood no question about it. Pretty drive though. Stopped for an early supper at a Fire Station and Brewery in north San Jose after breezing through the Stanford University area. Relaxation at the Best Western Grosvenor for the rest of the evening, shuttle to the airport in the morning. A wonderful two week holiday with old friends Craig and Alta Brelsford of Tucson.
We will be happy to be home to reabsorb our trip. Beautiful days (partly cloudy or sunny) almost all the time we were away from Ohio. Knock on wood for the rest of the travel. My best to all, soon a return to the writing. rho
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