The Great American Southwest (Part 3): Santa Barbara (and Solvang), San Francisco, and the 17-Mile Drive

- Dec. 25-27, Friday to Sunday.

- The sun was shining on early Christmas morning in Fullerton, and I was glad that we wouldn't be seeing rain for the remainder of our trip (at least the weather forecast said.) We had some encounters with rain in California during our first few days (click here for part 1) - even almost ruining the firework display during our Disneyland visit, but thankfully, we remained dry for our second leg in Las Vegas and Arizona (click here for part 2.) It was a busy Christmas morning since we were going on our third leg, which meant that we would be joining another bus with another tour guide from the same travel/tour agency.

- Our third leg was a trip to the only city-county in California - San Francisco. However, before reaching "The City by the Bay," we passed by Santa Barbara, a Californian county known as the "American Riviera." Apart from its beaches, Santa Barbara is also known for its Spanish architecture from the Spanish and Mexican eras. I did not really see much of Santa Barbara's coastlines and architecture, since we only got to see the sea and a bit of the architecture during our restroom stopover for the morning. I knew that Santa Barbara had a lot of fantastic things in store for tourists, and it was a shame that I did not get to see almost all of them.

View from the beach.

Blue everything.

Nothing special in this part of Santa Barbara.

Oh look, a seagull.

Our tour bus is the red bus at the back.

Giant palm trees.

Lighthouse.

A common street sign in Santa Barbara.

- While still in Santa Barbara, we later visited a special city and a popular tourist destination in California - Solvang, or "Little Denmark." Solvang was once a prominent Danish enclave in the early 1900s; it was formed by the Danish who migrated to the USA to search for better opportunities. The Danish have since then integrated themselves to the American society, and now, Solvang has residents from different ethno-linguistic groups (ex. Latinos, Asians, etc..) Despite this evolution of resident demographics, Solvang has maintained its Danish ambiance by having Danish structures, Danish restaurants, Danish souvenir stores, and all things Danish.

- Since it was Christmas day, half of the stores and restaurants in Solvang were closed. We had lunch at The Viking Garden Restaurant, which seemed to be the only restaurant open (and fortunately a recommended restaurant too,) since everyone wanted to have lunch there. However, because of the short time given to us by the tour guide to spend in Solvang, we needed to have a hasty lunch so we could at least go around the small portion of the main street for photos and probably some souvenirs. Solvang is a big area with plenty of museums, Danish-style churches, and attractions, so a full day tour on a regular day (like, not during a major holiday like Christmas) is highly advised. In my case, it was a miracle that I was able to do some lightning-quick shopping and picture taking with less than an hour left to spare. I saw a Danish costume store along main street, and just when I was about to walk towards the door, I saw the "closed" sign on the door; it was closed for the holidays, and I was extreme frustrated since I badly wanted to buy myself an authentic Danish costume. Well, at the very least I was able to buy an Alpine hat from one of the few open souvenir stores.

Danish sausage with mashed potato and gravy, and Danish-style red sauerkraut.

One of the very few photos I have of Solvang; I want to go back to Solvang some day.

Those giant horses.

With my Alpine Hat (reminds me of the hats in The Sound of Music.)

- For the remainder of Christmas afternoon and early evening, my butt was glued to the bus seat since the drive to San Francisco from Santa Barbara took forever. We arrived at San Francisco around dinnertime, and arrived at the hotel after our dinner stopover. We stayed in Marriott for the night, and left early again the next day for a full-day tour of San Francisco .

Driving through the middle of nowhere.

- The first place we visited in for the morning was the Palace of Fine Arts. The Greco-Roman buildings that made me remember my holiday to Greece (click here, here, and here,) The Palace of Fine Arts today is a collection of the remaining buildings that were used for the Panama-Pacific Internatioanl Exposition in 1915. The Exposition in 1915 was done to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. Most of the buildings from the Exposition were demolished after the event, this tenth "palace" was saved from demolition, and renovated to become sturdier. Today, the palace has some exhibit halls and a theater, but the structures themselves are already impressive enough to behold.

Had to crouch down low for this shot.

Corinthian-style.

Really reminded me of Greece.

The original set of "palaces" were astounding; too bad they had to demolish them.

At least the government decided to leave at least one of the 10 palaces.

Sunrise.

The iconic dome. It looks like a small gazebo but it's a huge structure.

- A short drive away from the Palace of Fine Arts was none other than the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Although this dark-orange (not actually red) bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1964, it remains to be one of the most internationally-recognized bridges in the world. It was built by Joseph Strauss, an engineer, who is also well-known for drastically improving the drawbridge technology.

Postcard-worthy.

Joseph Strauss, the main engineer of the bridge.

- Apart from the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco is also known for its fogs that become frequent occurrences during summer and winter. Fortunately, it was a bright and clear day when we got to see the bridge. There is a certain spot where viewing the bridge is best, and it is around the visitor center of the bridge. However, I found a quieter spot in a parking lot farther away from the visitor center, and I was able to do a quick casual photoshoot.

-  After taking photos in the bridge, we headed to Saint Mary's Cathedral, near San Francisco's Little Tokyo. Saint Mary's Cathedral is the head church of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The current structure is not the original Saint Mary's Cathedral, but a newer one built in 1971 after the original church was burned by arson.

So there is a Laguna in San Francisco....interestinggg. (Laguna is a place in the Philippines as well.)

Inside the church.

Pipe organ.

Outside Saint Mary's Cathedral.

- The church might not be very "touristy" but going indoors to see the unique stained glasses that have a good play of colors will surely make one appreciate the church more regardless of the visitor's religion. Had history been altered, I would still prefer to see the original cathedral that was burned down in the 1960s.

- After visiting the church, we headed to Lombard Street, and is known for being the crookedest street in the world. Apparently, going to see Lombard Street was a big chore. The bus parked somewhere on flat ground, and we all had to climb a 37-degree sloped street just to see Russian Hill, where the crooked part of Lombard Street is located. By the way, many streets in San Francisco are sloped, and the more sloped ones have stairs at the side walk for easier walking.

Hello Lombard Street.

Saw this derpy dog wile walking uphill.

Lombard Street's Russian Hill.

From the middle of the street.

It has 8 hairpin turns.

View of San Francisco's streets.

- For lunch and the early afternoon, we headed to Fisherman's Wharf. In Fisherman's Wharf, there are certain things that people MUST eat: clam chowder, shrimp, lobster (and if you have more time and patience, crab.) Because I eat fast, and we had a more relaxed schedule before catching our early afternoon cruise of the bay, I was able to eat everything I wanted to. For me, I had tasted the best lobster and shrimp in Fisherman's Wharf, the best ones being those sold in cardboard trays at the sidewalks of the wharf. The shrimp and lobster were just steamed - nothing fancy, tasted fresh, and without a fishy smell; they don't cost too much too (around 13 USD for a shrimp and lobster combo, and that can already serve as a full meal.) They're usually served cold. People can eat them with cocktail sauce, melted butter, and/or squeezed lemon juice. I enjoyed the shrimp and the lobster without the sauces, though I also enjoyed them with the sauces as well. I honestly wanted a second tray (and a third and a fourth, and probably a fifth too,) but I had to constantly remind myself that I might get a heart attack if I eat those the whole day (because cholesterol.) The only hard part at the wharf was eating. Unless you're going to eat in a restaurant, there are only a few public benches where people can sit. Most of the time, you won't even think of sitting on them because of the crowds of seagulls soaring here and there; if there are seagulls, there will be seagull poop, and boy can these guys can poop. Luckily, I was able to enjoy my lobster and shrimp without the seagulls pestering me.

Alcatraz, the infamous former prison, from the pier.

Fisherman's Wharf!!

The rows of restaurants/stores at the wharf. 

After my clam chowder, this made the bulk of my glorious, glorious lunch - half a lobster and two kinds of shrimp.

- For those who do not like cruises, Fisherman's Wharf has a lot of things in store. People can shop for souvenirs and regular stuff (like clothes) at the nearby stores and shopping centers, visit the various museums around (like Ripley's Believe It or Not, Musee Mecanique (with old mechanical games,) and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park,) and of course, if all else fails, people can eat and eat and eat the day away. As for my family, we were schedule to have a cruise-cum-tour of the bay at 1pm. We got to Pier 43 on time, and dashed to the top deck for a better view. Multilingual audio guides are provided for each guest so the passengers can appreciate the view more. Also, quick eyes can spot some dark gray dolphins that occasionally grab some air at the surface.

- The whole cruise was about 30 minutes long. It went around the bay, passing by the underside of both the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay Bridge. Both bridges look almost alike, but the Golden Gate bridge is dark orange in color with 2 towers, while the Bay bridge is silver in color with 5 towers. They're located at opposite sides of the bay.

Hello San Francisco!!

Battleship.

The bigger square rig named Balclutha (behind) and the small steam tug named Hercules.

Former barracks.

See the fort under the bridge??

Golden Gate Bridge.

Under the bridge.

With a sailboat.

Can't get enough of these seagull shots.

You know they fly funny,

They seem like puppets when flying.

Alcatraz, the former prison; if only I had the time, I'd sign up for one of those Alcatraz tours. (That is possible, by the way.)

See the seagull on our cruise ship??

Closer look of the Alcatraz lighthouse and the burned-down Social Hall.

Bay Bridge.

With a sailboat.

- After getting off the nice cruise ship, we had a few minutes to shop for some souvenirs before hopping on the bus again to go to the Twin Peaks. The Twin Peaks are two mountains situated at the geographic center of the city; people just go up to either one or both of them to see the view of San Francisco.

Passed by the city hall on the way to the Twin Peaks.

Such a view this is.

On top of one of the peaks.

The Golden Gate Bridge from far away.

- Before our last stop for the day, we had a restroom break near the San Francisco City Hall. It was perhaps one of the most well-designed city halls that I've seen. It was made in the Beaux-Arts style architecture, and has tips made from real gold.

"Who's your master now??"

It doesn't look like a city hall, but something grander.

Close up of the gold-ornamented dome.

- For the late afternoon, headed for a stroll to University of California, Berkeley (aka "UC Berekeley.") The Berkeley campus of the University of California was established in 1866 and mainly offered science courses like agriculture and mechanical arts. Since then it has seen plenty of changes and development in education and society. Today, it offers a variety of courses beyond science-related ones.

UC Berkeley's Sather Tower (aka "The Campanile.")

School emblem.

Main library with the Sather Tower at the back.

- After visiting UC Berkeley, we headed to Clarion Inn, our last hotel in San Francisco. I was very satisfied about everything that happened that Saturday, because we were able to see a lot of San Francisco. At the very lease, I got a whiff of the San Francisco vibe - open, happy, and quirky.

- Our Sunday was another not-so-eventful day of our whole tour. For the morning, we went on the 17-Mile Drive instead of going to Yosemite National Park. Yosemite National Park is technically open all-year round, but it closes when the weather is not too fair, just like the heavy snow in the winter (it snows in the park since it's in a mountainous area.) Sometimes, tour groups also cancel their trips to Yosemite National Park because the sloped roads going to the park are too slippery from the snow, which could be dangerous even when the driver is too careful.

- The 17-Mile Drive is, as the name suggests, a 17-mile scenic route within the Monterey Peninsula area that runs from the Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach. There are many stops within the drive, most of which are small natural wonders. Our tour gave us some time to look around Bird Rock. Bird Rock is special because it is a small island just off the coast where seals and different sea birds cohabit.

Bird Rock.

Plenty of seagulls at one of the closer rocks. (Not Bird Rock.) 

Now, back t Bird Rock. (The rock itself does look like a bird with its dead bowed down, no??)

Birds and seals.

Look closer.

I hope you can differentiate the birds from the seals.

One of the nearby seabirds.

Are you lost little squirrel??

Look at its bushy tail.

- The most iconic of all the spots along the 17-mile drive was the Lone Cypress. The cypress tree, which stands on a granite rock, is possibly 250 years old and has gone through many natural calamities. It is said that this tree is the most photographed tree in the world. Despite the tree's credentials, we were not brought to see the cypress, which was a big bummer for me. It is situations like this one that makes me abhor package tours.

- After visiting Bird Rock and one restroom stop within the 17-Mile Drive, we spent the rest of the day with our butts stuck to our seats, with more restroom stops every few hours. Not even having dinner, we went straight to Los Angeles, and the bus dropped us off at Chinatown. From Chinatown, a car service provided by the agency dropped us off at our hotel in the downtown area instead of the airport; our tour was originally going to end on that day. My family decided before departing Manila that we wanted to have a three-day extension in Los Angeles, since the tour that we had did not cover much of Los Angeles apart from Disneyland and Universal Studios. Fortunately, we were still able to book our hotel rooms even if we had booked quite late; most of the other hotels in the downtown were already full because of the holiday peak season. We were to stay at the historic Mayfair Hotel for three nights as we discover our last leg of our American Southwest trip - Los Angeles City!! (Please don't forget to read part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 4 here.)