Disney Feast West&East Day 4: Not Muir Woods or Sausalito

[WileyCoyote]

Subtitled : the Sat Nav Strikes Back

It’s the 30 July today and apparently national cheesecake day- and we have failed miserably to have a single dessert thus far- total lightweights. Must try harder !


We are awake again at 4.30 as we just cant seem to get onto West Coast time. No wonder we feel so knackered by tea time. Around 6am Andy nips out the hotel back entrance to get a Starbucks coffee. We only discovered the back entrance yesterday – a tip though , unless you are in one of the rooms that are in that rear block, don’t go up past the lobby floor – you will just be greeted by rooms and no way across the hotel as we discovered going up 7 floors and coming down again. You have to get out at lobby level and walk across to the elevators in reception to access the other room areas of the building. Or of course you could just read the signs in the elevator.

Our last day in SF , we ponder if we have done it justice – we have seen a lot, but not as much as hoped and there is a vague feeling of disappointment but also now a desire to move on – surely we will get some sun in the next few days so we even break out the shorts.

We finish up the packing and although the plan says breakfast is in Dottie’s True Blue Café, we concede that our navigational skills thus far have been utterly rubbish so opt to go just next door to Lefty O Doul’s.



Even we cant get lost going there, its only 3 doors away




Its ok in there , a bit matter of fact and a bit rushed with the service . The day doesn’t get off to a great start when Jamie tips warm maple syrup all over himself. Its just evil stuff to try and wipe up. Breakfast comes in at $55 which is not bad – there was plenty of it ( although I wanted fresh fruit and they had run out – really ? )



reservoir dogs photo number 2



Connor concedes to a rare photo with Mum









We have a final wander around Union Square – this has been a great location to base ourselves in so big thumbs up to the Dibb , without which we wouldn’t have found it. Jamie is dissuaded from buying an over priced Angry Birds hat that we know he will never wear and Andy is dissuaded from buying anything in the Levi store by the price tag ! We enjoy looking in Nike at all the American sports wear and Connor wonders if the American football shirts will make him look more manly with all the padding ( no, they just make him look faintly ridiculous hence no pics)



Back to check out and take some final pics of the hotel







We wait outside while Andy nips round to O Farrell Street to get the car and pick us up.



And we wait a bit more and he appears again, disturbingly on foot. Apparently the queue is horrendous and some kindly lady is holding his place in the queue for him to come and get us. So off we trundle with all the luggage round to Alamo ( passing the Honey Honey Cafe which we walked straight past on our first morning, doh) and to sit outside there for a bit longer. I wander down to Starbucks to get some fresh fruit cups for the boys ( 4 solid days with no fruit or veg cant be healthy) and a wrap for Andy . Comes to $23. It is of course now really HOT because we are leaving and sitting about on the sidewalk feeling a bit peed off with waiting. Finally we get the keys and then trundle off again to the car park down the road to locate the big beast of a Jeep that is to be our carriage for the next week.



Mighty fine it is too and we can fit everything in without too much of a struggle. Enter the SatNav and all its magic delights

[WileyCoyote]

We want to go to Muir Woods so that’s where we set off, high hopes . There is a lot of traffic and it takes Andy a while to get his confidence. We are soon going over the Golden Gate Bridge where it is sadly even more foggy than last time.





You can see the way the fog hangs in a band over the bay



Never mind, it will be better on the way back we are sure. The journey to Muir is uneventful, the scenery gets more beautiful and is very reminiscent of the Italian Lakes.








It seems everyone else decided to come to Muir today, only they got here much earlier. After several circuits of the car park and driving several miles along the road, with not a spare parking spot to be had, we give up. Its just not worth the hassle. Never mind, we saw the sign !



So, undeterred by this set back we decide lunch in Sausalito will be just the ticket.



Except the satnav has other ideas and we take a wrong exit. We are not seeing the funny side so far and the day is turning out to be a total write off so we take the pragmatic decision to stop for food at the next available place – which is here and even here, with just us and the tumbleweed for customers, they still get the order wrong and service is slower than a sloth on its tea break.



Its about 3pm now and its pretty crummy, There is only one thing for it but to head back to SF and on to Monterey in the hope we will get there early evening to enjoy some late sunshine.





Of course, when we get back to SF the satnav has a sulk and seems to be permanently “re-calculating” which means basically going round in circles.

Impressive as the city skyline is, by now , we are now thoroughly cheesed off by the same sights – “oh look, the Transamerica Pyramid”,



“ oh look , there it is again”,



“oh look “ – you get the picture.

It was like our own private HoHo Tour . Its 5pm now and we are STILL in the blinking city – will we ever get out ! Now its really busy, wall to wall cars but finally we see the signs for the 101 and we are released onto the freeway. So much for early evening in Monterey – this side of sunset will be good at this rate.

[WileyCoyote]

Its all highway sights untl 6.30 when we have to make a bathroom stop and have a snigger at Nick who tries to get back into the wrong car – they all look the same he says – yes, except ours is black and that one isn’t ! ( hmmm, speak to soon we do as someone else does the same thing tomorrow)





We are about 30 miles out from Monterey and foolishly congratulating ourselves on seeing the sun when we hit a bank of fog – really ? Give us a break. It’s a weird place though and must get foggy all the time with the permanent roadside signs to have headlights on for the next 22 miles or so. Eventually we clear this area and yay, Monterey is in sight ( with the slightly disturbing “Tsunami Evacuation Zone” signs to welcome you but best of all there is some SUN and people with NO hoodies





by the time we find the hotel ( two circuits, SatNav induced) , its now nearly sunset ( about 7.15pm). It’s the Holiday Inn Express , the guy at reception is super helpful and we are very impressed with the spacious room. We take just one case into the room, leaving the rest in the car after asking whether they will be ok overnight – the guy looks at us and says “ this is Monterey – what do you think might happen, nothing happens here”.









The plan says dinner is at the Hula Island Grill ( courtesy of Trip Advisor) so we set off confidently along the sea front , passing by some nice posh hotels and after 30 minutes consulting the map realising we are going in the WRONG direction – I know, uncanny isn’t it.











Yes that black blob is a seal








So , we turn around and after previously telling everyone about how buzzing Cannery Row will be, we turn away from that area and end up two blocks over in the town centre ( i.e the main road) where it is its quite simply deserted and we expected tourist eating zombies like something from Shaun of the Dead to start hunting us down. We are, quite literally, the only people on the streets and it’s a bit unnerving. We are on the verge of defeat when we spot the said Hula Island bar which is busy – the whole town must be in here as they stop when we come in ( think Slaughtered Lamb moment in the film American Werewolf in London).

[WileyCoyote]

He looks like I feel after today



Anyway we get seated, its very dark so reading the menu is a challenge. Jamie chooses a root beer, which we all agree actually tastes like Corsodyl Mouth Wash and generally rather unpleasant.



But the food is delicious . The boys choose burgers or chicken skewers, Andy has ribs and I have a pulled pork and rice dish which is really tasty. Its not cheap at $115 but definitely tasty.









We walk back in the pitch black and realise that away from the tourist strip of Cannery Row, some parts are really quite run down. It is indeed very “Steinbeck-esque” in its feel and we are pleased to get back to the hotel for some warmth and civilisation in the shape of the TV.

So today was not a sightseeing high, but definitely been interesting

SatNav Sabotage count - at least 2 and possibly more but we stopped counting for fear of an in car riot.
Shopping count - still exceptionally poor - must try harder !

[SammyScotland]

Your Andy must have the patience of a saint, my DH would have had a fit and just abandoned the car - driving is not his favourite pastime and we always end up getting lost.

[TinkTatoo]

I discovered that back door Starbucks on our 2nd day, it was really handy for us as we were staying at the back of the hotel, up until then I'd been walking through to the front (via the lobby ) and then up the street. We also went into the Dugout store in the hunt for Niamh's baseball jacket but didn't manage to find one.

It wasn't the best of days but hopefully things will start to get better

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by SammyScotland

Your Andy must have the patience of a saint, my DH would have had a fit and just abandoned the car - driving is not his favourite pastime and we always end up getting lost.

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I dont know if we were unlucky, impatient or just incompetent with the Satnav on this holiday Sammy , we had more mishaps than we have had in lifetime of travels - maybe the map wasnt up to date ? It was certainly the source of some heated discussions !

Originally Posted by TinkTatoo

I discovered that back door Starbucks on our 2nd day, it was really handy for us as we were staying at the back of the hotel, up until then I'd been walking through to the front (via the lobby ) and then up the street. We also went into the Dugout store in the hunt for Niamh's baseball jacket but didn't manage to find one.

It wasn't the best of days but hopefully things will start to get better

See more...

In some ways it was so bad, it was funny and we did then see alot more of the city before we finally left so it had its merits. Just disappointed not to see the Redwoods or Sausalito as we had been looking forward to them ( Andy and I , not the boys)

[Guest]

Well you can't say you haven't seen plenty of SF! Hotel looks good! Really enjoying your report

[Milner]

Another good read Amanda.

[Gill635]

Is that a dead raccoon by the roadside on your picture ?

You have the same sense of direction as my Dad gets in Orlando - despite the fact that he's been about 30 times ha ha!


xxx