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Old 5 Nov 12, 09:07 PM  
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Mickeyetta
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Mickeyetta’s Californian Adventure – Day 3, 23 Sept 2012. Cambria to San Francisco.

Mickeyetta’s Californian Adventure – Day 3, 23 Sept 2012. Cambria to San Francisco.

Again we both wake at the right time! Where are you Mr. jetlag?

I get up and shower and get ready for the day. Whilst I’m in the shower breakfast arrives.

Whilst eating our breakfast I have a chat with Lou on the instant messenger finding out how they have enjoyed their weekend…and maybe rubbing it in a bit with some pictures of our tasty picnic brekkie!

Actually breakfast was really nice! We had both chosen the pastry as our main; it was filled with scrambled egg and bacon. We both then had fresh fruit, and for our other “side” Si went for a scone, and I had sourdough toast. Orange juice was included as well, and there were tea and coffee making facilities in the room.



Breakfast over we packed the cases and put them back in the car. Then we headed to the beach to take some more pictures in the daylight, however what greeted us was a really foggy morning.

Pictures done we checkout of the inn and pay our bill, before hitting the road up highway 1.

About 45mins into our drive there was a sign at the side of the road saying “Best place to see seals today”, so we pull in to see the seals.

I was expecting one or two…. I was not expecting this!



About a hundred or so seals all over the beach and in the shallows “fighting” with each other.





We stay for about 15mins taking it all in and having a chat with one of the volunteers who talks about the seals and why they stop here and what they get up to.

Pictures taken we hit the road again and head back up route 1. Soon the scenery gets very rocky and then we are driving along a cliff edge. I’m sure if the fog wasn’t around the views would have been spectacular! Unfortunately the fog stayed with us pretty much all the way to Monterey. There were however pockets of clarity that allowed us to get one or two good pictures.





We arrived in Monterey at about 1pm and managed to find a hotel that had parking for $10 near the aquarium. Parked up we walk into the town and down to the aquarium.



We pay our entrance fee and spend about an hour and a half wandering round the exhibits. We see all kinds of things, Kelp Forests, sea anomies, jellyfish and sea turtles. My personal favorite were the jelly fish that look like they have led lights in them…they don’t photograph too well, but they are out of this world and very unbelievable till you see them with your own eyes.







Impressive as it was, I think the aquarium was the least value for money of all the exhibitions/museums we went to on this trip, $69.90 for two adults.

At 2:30 we left the aquarium and found a Starbucks for a snack and a drink. Si has a latte and a muffin; I go for a tea and a cheese box.





Refueled we drive the last 2hrs to SFO airport where we return the car to Hertz. We then walk through the airport, stopping for cash on route, before jumping in a cab to take us to our next stop.
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Old 5 Nov 12, 09:09 PM  
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Mickeyetta
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Our home in San Francisco will be the Fairmont Ghirardelli Square, and we will be staying here for four nights. After our cab had dropped us off we checked in to the lovely apart-otel. We had booked a one-bedroom suite here, but were surprised at check-in to be upgraded for no extra cost to a two-bedroom suite!

With check-in formalities completed the staff member showed us the communal lounge (with pool table) where complementary afternoon wine and cheese was served, and also a complementary continental breakfast.



He then continued to walk us to our room and show us how all the bits and bobs worked. The apartment was massive! We worked out that it had more square footage than our own 3-bed semi home back in the UK…. the master bathroom was probably as big as our living room!

And just in case anyone came to visit we now had a spare bedroom! In fact I think I messaged Lou, to forget Texas and hop on a flight to SFO and come stay with us!

Kitchen and Dining


Living


Second Bedroom


Second Bathroom


Master Bathroom


Our Balcony


And the view from it!


We then unpacked completely for the first time this holiday, seen as we were here for four nights.

For dinner tonight we didn’t want to stray too far, and so we headed to the pub on the other side of Ghirardelli Square. Here the menu is predominantly BBQ, not something necessarily associated with the west coast, but it was really good.

To drink I had lemonade, Si tried a local Sierra draught beer. We had been given a coupon by the hotel reception for a free appetizer, so we shared some Chicken Tacos. For mains I had St Louis Ribs, which came with two sides, so I chose Mac ’n’ cheese and bacon laced corn (‘cause bacon makes everything better).



Si went with a duo plate, pulled pork and brisket, again with two sides, so he chose the corn and BBQ Beans.



I think we ended up with two empty plates so it cant of been that bad! However this meant no room for dessert.

We settled the bill ($60 inc tip) and took a stroll back though the square and back to our room. I think I crashed out at about 9:30.

Total miles for the day = 210
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Old 5 Nov 12, 09:23 PM  
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roonlou
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Bacon corn! With a photo like that we'll forgive you the gloaty breakfast comment!

Love the seal pictures, so very lucky to see that many in the wild!
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Old 5 Nov 12, 11:04 PM  
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Pussycat Doll
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Lovely day. That coast road can be very foggy, I think we got hardly any photos when we drove it! Loving the seals, Pussycat
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Old 5 Nov 12, 11:18 PM  
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hross42877
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What a great suite! Excellent day!
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Old 6 Nov 12, 09:12 PM  
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Glee Fan
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Wow, what an upgrade! How lovely to see the seals as well. Again, dinner looks great.
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Old 7 Nov 12, 06:47 PM  
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orlandosgr8
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Wow, what an amazing place to stay, love the balcony and the view.
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Old 7 Nov 12, 08:13 PM  
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How lovely to see all those seals! Nice suite at the Fairmont!
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Old 9 Nov 12, 10:21 PM  
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Bacon makes everything better! nice room upgrade
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Old 10 Nov 12, 12:24 PM  
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KarenG
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How funny! We saw your balcony from the Square and remarked upon how marvellous it would be to stay there - lucky you

Love all the seal photos
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