Around the USA in 80 motels and 123 days - 2015 - San Diego to Seattle

[AndyGB]

A reminder that this post is taken from a journal written by my DW (Laura) but entered here by me (Andy)

Written 5:00 pm Tuesday 26th May - Gas Lamp Plaza Suites - San Diego

On Sunday we drove from 29 Palms through Palm Springs and Desert Palms to San Diego.

In Palm Springs, the temperature rose up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (about 35 degrees centigrade), but within 30 minutes, as we drove up through the mountains, it had dropped to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (about 17 degrees centigrade).

We arrived at our motel in San Diego but had to queue quite a while to check in as it was very busy. I think this was partly because it was memorial weekend (a national holiday here commemorating the end of the Civil War) and partly because the rolling stones were playing a concert here, at least one couple checking in were going to see them as our motel was close to Petco Park where they were playing. We just walked to the Days Inn motel next door for dinner as it had a burger place called BUNZ which was surprisingly good.

On Monday we went to the USS Midway, which is an aircraft carrier that has been made into a museum and it was pretty good. Andy certainly enjoyed it, we were there for 5 1/2 hours in all. Andy bought a model kit (of the USS Midway) and a tee shirt and me a necklace before we left. We then walked along the sea front to a shopping village where Andy bought a Union Jack that he is threatening display on the 4th of July and we had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

This morning we checked out of the motel even though we have another night in San Diego and drove to Balboa Park where we first went to a free art museum and saw Vermeer's ‘woman in blue reading’, then had a coffee and went on a trolley ride

before visiting the San Diego Automotive Museum.

After that we had a bit of a picnic on a bench

and then drove out to Coronado Island for a walk along the promenade.


We have now just checked into the Gas Lamp Plaza Suites Hotel for little trip down memory lane as it is the same hotel we stayed in with the girls five years ago. The room I booked has been upgraded to a suite which is identical. (possibly even the same) to the suite we had with the girls. A two queen bed bedroom with en-suite bathroom and fridge and sink. A hallway with a kitchenette and living room with fold out sofa and another bathroom. Very fancy !

Written 3:00 pm Thursday 28th of May - The Queen Mary - Long Beach

Tuesday evening we had dinner. In the melting pot, which is attached to the gas Lamp Plaza Suites Hotel. And then across the street to a bar called the Gas Lamp Tavern, both of which we went to during our visit five years ago.

In the morning. Breakfast was served on the roof of the hotel overlooking San Diego.

We left San Diego Wednesday morning and found the Pacific Coast highway, the road we will mostly be travelling on for the next couple of weeks. We headed north towards Long Beach but as we were a bit early we stopped off in the pleasant resort of Huntington Beach where we walked along the pier and snacked on a hot dog and chilli cheese fries.

We arrived to check-in to the Queen Mary at about 4:00 PM. She is an ocean liner whose maiden voyage was in 1936 and was considered the most civilised way to cross the North Atlantic.

She was drafted into service during World War Two as a troop ship and returned to passenger service after the war. Her Final voyage was in 1967, when she was brought by the city of Long Beach and is now a floating hotel and tourist attraction. We found our cabin which contains many original items

and then had a little explore around the ship. Later we went to the observation bar, an Art Deco lounge, where we tried some authentic 1951 cocktails, I had a sidecar, and Andy had a Singapore sling and some appetisers (cheese platter and hot wings).

This morning I bought Andy's obligatory latte and croissant back to the cabin for him. We caught the complimentary shuttle bus to Shoreline Village where we had a nice walk in the sunshine around the Bay, up to the lighthouse and to the aquarium, where we had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. We then had a 30 minute trip back on the Aqua bus.

Written 09:15AM Sunday 31st May - Americas Best Value Inn - Salinas

Thursday evening we continued our tour of the Queen Mary, going down to look at the engine rooms. We then returned to the observation bar for more drinks and appetisers.

Friday morning we had a last little look around, then said goodbye to the Queen Mary and continued north on the Pacific Coast Highway. It took us a while to get passed Los Angeles with much traffic and roadworks (we did pass Santa Claus Lane).

We stopped for coffee and cake at Starbucks and got to the Madonna Inn at San Luis Obispo just before 5:00 PM.

We stayed in the gypsy rock room, which has a vivid multi colour painted ceiling to symbolise a bright gypsy scarf.

Several walls are made of rock and the bathroom has a rock waterfall shower and a cutaway rock framed doorway.

We had dinner in the fancy steakhouse, which is very kitsch, with pink tablecloths, golden cherubs, etc, but very nice food. We then had some brandies in the bar.

Saturday morning we went into San Luis Obispo town where Andy found a British sports car shop to look at

, We also got some cash, and ankle support and some coffee. We then rejoined the Pacific Coast Highway, which stayed pretty close to the shoreline this time and drove up the curvy roads through the Big Sur. The weather was quite changeable, sunshine sometimes, but with some low cloud and sea-mist, but we managed to keep the roof down.

]We stopped at the Riverside Inn in at Big Sur, which is a restaurant we stopped at five years ago with the girls, we even saw and photographed the blue bird we saw last time (Probably not the same ). We arrived in Salinas at about 5:30 PM.

This morning when we looked out, there has been a car accident right next to where we are parked, We thought we heard something in the night but both went back to sleep. Not quite sure what has happened, but luckily Andy went out to get pizza about 7:30 PM and had to change spaces when he came back, otherwise our car would have been involved.

On Sunday we went to Monterey, a 30 minute drive from Salinas. We parked up in town and then had a free trolley ride out to the aquarium. We used the coastal trail to walk back, going through the Old Canary District, which is now a tourist, shopping and dining area, past the harbour and back to the Fisherman's Wharf and pier.

We saw lots of seals basking in the sunshine on our way. After walking to the pier, we had lunch in an Italian cafe in town, then Andy bought some cotton candy before we headed back to the car. We drove back along the coast to Carmel, which was very busy and then were going to drive to Pebble Beach, But the only way of getting there was via an expensive toll road, so we didn't bother. We returned to the motel quite early, giving the chance to get the laundry done.

Monday morning we left Salinas and drove to Santa Cruz where we stopped at the boardwalk, a fun, fair and beach area which was lively without being overpowering and had an old fashioned charm. I rode on the carousel, which had been there since 1911 and Andy bought some more cotton candy.

We then continued our drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco. As it was a clear day, we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge viewing area to some photos on our way to the motel.

It took us a while to find the motel, but eventually did and then went to a nearby sushi restaurant for dinner which had some nice food but was quite expensive and the service incredibly quick, so we finished the meal and spent $80 within 30 minutes !

Yesterday we started our first day in San Francisco by driving up to the viewing area in the hills on the northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge (Malin Head)

and then drove to Lombard St, the famous crooked road which we went down twice, once taking photos and once recording. We then parked at the bottom to take photos.

We drove into the town centre and had to park in an expensive lot as most places were full. After a quick coffee we started to follow our walking tour which started us off in Chinatown

and ended at Coit Tower, a memorial to firefighters which is meant to represent a giant hose.

After a lot of walking we returned to Union Square and had a late lunch at The Cheesecake Factory which is on the 8th floor of Macy's overlooking the square.

We returned to our car and had a chat with the car park attendant about Alcatraz (where we going today), he was a very talkative fellow. We then drove to the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge and walked back to the Southside, whilst stopping to watch boats, take photos etc which took us about 45 minutes.

After a short break on the other side (eating some mushroom bread we bought in town earlier) we walked back and got back to the car around 7:00 PM.

Written 09:00 Friday 5th of June - The Surf and Gardens Motel - Fort Bragg

On Wednesday morning we left the motel at about 8:40 AM to leave plenty of time to park up and pick up our Alcatraz tickets in time, which we did.

Our boat sailed at 10:30 AM and it took about 20 minutes to get to the island. On arrival there was a short mandatory talk from the park Ranger about information and rules on the island, we then watched a short film about the history of Alcatraz before making the steep climb up to the cell house. There we were given a 45 minute audio tour to follow, which was really interesting. After buying some postcards and another hat for Hannibal, we caught the 12:55 PM boat back to the mainland.

We then walked along to Pier 39, which is the 'tourist' pier and had lunch at the Wipeout Cafe, Another place we'd been to with the girls. After lunch we walked the pier, watched the sea lions and did some souvenir shopping before returning to the motel.

Yesterday we continued our journey on a very curvy Pacific Coast highway. At about 1:30 PM we pulled over and found a steep path down to a lovely little Cove where we were the only people there. We had a picnic of some sandwiches that Andy bought the night before and some fruit and muffins that he had stolen from breakfast at the motel. Andy then climbed over the rocks to get to the sand, I didn't risk it as I was pretty sure I'd fall in the water.

We then returned to the car getting to this very pleasant motel, that as a little central garden area, around 4:00 PM.

At dinner time we found a nice wharfside restaurant with lovely views of the harbour, bridge and ocean and ate a delicious dinner as we watched the sun go down. We also saw a raccoon !

Written 10:00 AM Sunday 7th of June - Maverick Motel - Klamath Falls

We left Fort Bragg Friday morning and went to the apparently ‘world famous’ Drive Through Tree, where for $5 you get to drive through a tree. You can go through as many times as you like, so Andy went through once with me the other side, taking photos and again with me in the car videoing it. The Mustang is quite wide, so it only just fitted.

We then drove onto the avenue of the Giants, which is lined by some of the tallest Redwood trees in the world. It is part of the Humboldt State Park and we stopped for a picnic in one of the picnic areas and walked a 0.6 mile trail. We journeyed on and spent the night in Eureka.

Yesterday morning we made a quick stop at Walmart to top up on cakes and I needed a new watch as my strap was disintegrating. We then travelled our last bit of the Pacific Coast Highway before heading inland into Oregon and stopping at Klamath Falls, where we are staying two nights in a very nice motel, that even provides free snacks.

Last night we went to a brewery/pub next door for dinner where there was live music, and I tried a couple of their very nice beers.

We had the highest temperatures yesterday that we have had experience so far on our trip, 100 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately 38 degrees centigrade, which surprised us as we were now quite northerly.

Written 09:15 AM Wednesday 10th of June - Ramada - Portland Airport

Sunday morning/early afternoon Andy watched the Canadian Grand Prix and I got the laundry done. It was a lovely sunny afternoon so we then had a walk through Klamath Falls downtown to the shores of a nearby lake. It was very hot and Andy craved an ice cream so he went to a nearby Dairy Queen for tea.

On Monday we drove to Eugene via Crater Lake, An amazingly beautiful place. Created aeons ago when a volcano erupted and collapsed, forming the crater, which is now the deepest lake in the US. We walked a mile or so along the rim and back and then had lunch at the cafe. Unfortunately, my camera isn't charging properly at the moment, so I'm having to rely on Andy to take lots of photos.

We arrived at our motel in Eugene just after 4:00 PM. A very basic place, tiny room, no ice, no coffee, no hair dryer and the bed moves across the uncarpeted floor, but it was clean at least. We went to another microbrewery place for more beer and cider for tea.

In the morning I went across the road to 7-11 to get coffee and a donut for Andy. We then drove up to Portland, stopping in the downtown area, which has lots of cheap parking. We got some cash and then had lunch in a Buffalo Wings place. I then had to buy some more earrings as I had accidentally thrown the food bag away containing mine when we were in Klamath Falls. A good thing about Oregon is the price on the ticket is what you pay, which is unusual in the US as they usually add sales tax on at the till (which differs from state to state an item to item), so you're never quite sure what you're going to have to pay. Another unusual thing about Oregon is that it's illegal to pump your own gas, an attendant has to do it for you.

We left the city centre and found our motel which is near the airport and check-in was very busy. However the room is lovely, very spacious, with a kitchenette, proper mugs and glasses, the totally opposite to Eugene. Which exemplifies how we never quite know what we're going to get until we walked through the room door.

It is now exactly halfway through our trip; Two months down, two to go.

Written 09:00 AM Friday 12th of June - Days Inn - Seattle

On Wednesday we drove from Portland to Seattle. We did Part of the journey on the Interstate and part off, arriving at our hotel at the checking time of 3:00 PM. We had to wait for almost an hour for our room to be ready, but luckily the sun was shining and we could sit by the pool using the free Wi-Fi until it was ready. We drove to a brew pub at a nearby shopping mall for our tea

Yesterday we headed into Seattle City about 10:00 AM, but traffic was horrendous and it took a good 40 minutes to travel the 8 or so miles. We parked at Pike Place Market where we took some photos of the original Starbucks but didn't go in as there was a massive queue down the sidewalk.

We then looked around the market and Andy bought some cheese from a cheese shop where you could see them making their own curds. A couple of people in Seattle, commented on the Andy's Monty Python shirt.

We then walked the 20 minutes or so to the Space Needle and went in the EMP museum there, which has a science fiction / fantasy museum in it and was also hosting a Star Wars costume exhibit which was very good. We had some lunch there and later took some photos by the waterfront, as this is to be the most north-westerly part of our trip.

The traffic on the way back to the motel was again pretty bad. (as it still was for those heading into the city even at 3:30 PM). When we got back to the motel Andy took the car out for a wash as it gets pretty filthy with all the miles we are covering.

INDEX

[anji]

Such a wonderful trip! Did you take the car to the Pink Elephant car wash in Seattle?

[AndyGB]

Originally Posted by anji

Such a wonderful trip! Did you take the car to the Pink Elephant car wash in Seattle?

See more...

I don't believe so, but to be honest I can't remember where I took it.

[P&S]

Lovely to pick up on this again enjoying reading along