On the road: Day 7, 8, & 9

Day 7

We went to SeaWorld. It was hot so we immediately sought water (in the form of Shamu's splash zone). Once properly covered in whale water we made our way through the park. I remember little of it except the expensive food, the penguins, an aerial show that was okay but was definitely not "O", a long wait to ride the Journey to Atlantis (I screamed; I enjoyed), a seal show, a dog & cat show and oh, look! I'm sunburned!

We returned to Coronado to drop off Sid & Zoe and then headed back to the PB area to meet up with my friend Marc at Rocky's Crown Pub. Good burgers, pitchers of beer, and a good time catching up with a friend.

I like San Diego.

Day 7 photos (mouseover for titles, click to embiggen)
 
 

Day 8

We left the cute house in Coronado and San Diego's surfboards and fish tacos and headed north towards Torrance, CA.

Yes, Torrance. Tuh-tuh-tuh-torrance!

Torrance is the "lovely" city south of Los Angeles that houses the high school in which Buffy the Vampire Slayer was filmed in its first few seasons. (That was a mouthful!) Woo-hoo, Sunnydale High! We took photos. NikiZoe was overjoyed. Sid was a little tickled.

(We drove there via a toll road -- I think the 73 -- which cost us $4. Money well spent. The drive was fast and the freeway was wide open. Not the usual L.A. experience.)

Oh, but I spoke too soon. After leaving Torrance we got back on the non-toll freeway which was slow and depressing. We were meeting my cousin and her kids for a late, late lunch in Santa Monica and I was worried it was going to become a dinner. We had a room booked in San Luis Obispo so we still had a long drive ahead.

Once in Santa Monica we were pleasantly surprised by the ease of parking and the Santa Monica 3rd St. Promenade was just what we needed (it satisfied the "I'm-just-happy-to-find-food-and-get-out-of-this-car-and-the-teens-are-happy" need). We found a seat on the sidewalk at Barney's Beanery. A cool, old, pre-Promenade place. The menu is HUGE. The beer list is HUGER (yes, HUGER, as in GINORMOUS). We dined and drank and then visited with my cousin Loretta and her little boys who are really the cutest little boys in the whole wide world and they already have an agent so watch for them. They'll be on screen any day now.

After our quick visit with Loretta (who is one very cool chick) we hit the road. The drive out to the 101 was a struggle. Not only was traffic bad but the weather was wonky. Fog nearly all the way until we hit Santa Barbara. We drove on in the dark to San Luis Obispo and checked into the crazy and silly Madonna Inn. I'd made our reservations pretty late so all we could get was the Showboat Room. I loved it. Pink wrapped drinking glasses. A deep tub. Gold tassels on the curtains. Zoe and I walked up to the pool and found it completely empty. She ran back to report that SHE WAS GOING SWIMMING! She and Sid suited up and left again. 5 minutes later they returned and she reported that "other people are in the pool now...gross." The pool was open for another hour and she checked back a few more times. "Other people." "Gross."

Side note: Sideways isn't really a movie that I'd think teens would like but in the spirit of watching shows that take place in the area we're driving through, I suggested Sid and Zoe might like to watch it on this particular day. They put it in around Santa Barbara and they loved it. They actually ended up watching it 3 times, I think, on the drive home. Who wouldn't love a cuddly guy like Miles and his wacky friend Jack, huh?

Day 8 photos (mouseover for titles, click to embiggen)
  
 

Day 9

We ate breakfast at Madonna Inn's Copper Cafe. The sugar was PINK!

Okay, so moving on. We drove up the Pacific Coast Highway. Zoe spent most of the time with her head in her lap because she was so incredibly bored. It's too bad she sat on the side of the car w/ the view. Poor Sid. We zoomed past Hearst Castle (oh, looky there at that tiny thing up on the hill). We also zoomed through Big Sur, Monterey, and Carmel. Actually, we didn't really zoom because there were a lot of turns and it was quite frightening at times. We did manage to make a few stops along the way to take photos (and once to get gas that cost over $4/gallon!)

The drive, of course, WAS GORGEOUS.

As we drove along Zoe asked, "Does the hotel we're staying in have a pool?"

Us: "No."

We made a pit stop in Santa Cruz to use the bathroom and buy snacks and when we got out of the car we could barely breath due to a nearby forest fire. As we drove on along the coast we spotted several helicopters going out into the Pacific to fetch water. It was fun to watch but sad to know that such a big fire was burning.

We continued driving. Zoe: "Are you SURE they don't have a pool?"

Me: "I'm sure."

Zoe: "Will you ask them when we get there?"

Robert: "Yes. I will call. I'm going to call. I will ask them if they have a pool in which our daughter who loves pools can swim."

After our stay out in the "country" (San Luis Obispo) we were really looking forward to San Francisco. I'd booked us a room in the Omni Hotel. They have a nice select guest program you can sign-up for online (which I did) and when we walked in our room keys were already sitting there waiting for us. Sweet! I requested a cot and then went to help Robert park and fetch luggage. In the minutes it took to do that our cot had been delivered to our room. Sweet again! Anyway, it was a lovely hotel. The service is excellent and we had a great view of the Transamerica Pyramid.

As soon as we walked into our room Robert picked up the phone and called the front desk. "Do you have a pool? No? What about a pool nearby that guests can use? No? Okay, thanks."

Zoe: "This place sucks!"

We capped the evening off by walking around the corner to Chinatown and eating at R&G Lounge (we didn't even realize that the restaurant was featured on Anthony Bourdain's show just a few days earlier). The wait for a seat was long but the crowd waiting with us was exciting. The buzz of Cantonese and Vietnamese and Mandarin surrounded us -- I almost felt like I was in Hong Kong again. Sid was elated with the experience. He's definitely a city kid and I think he especially loved San Francisco of all the places we visited (perhaps because he'd recently read "Little Brother"). Oh, the food was yummy, too. I especially liked the fried rice I shared with Zoe. Salted fish and chicken fried rice. Salted fish yum.

Day 9 photos (mouseover for titles, click to embiggen)