Ben Lomond to Pismo Beach

After our excursion to Santa Cruz we crashed out back at the Fairmont Manor Bed and Breakfast for a solid nights sleep and arose at about 0800 in time to have a nice cup of tea before breakfast.

The landlady, Gail, had done a really tasty Artichoke Frittata with mushrooms and side orders of blueberry bread and cantaloupe melon. It was delicious and we scoffed it while chatting to the other guests, all eight of them attending a family wedding.

We packed our bags and loaded up the car, stopping for Victoria to put some postcards in the mailbox. We picked up Hwy 9 and were soon on Hwy 1 the California Coastal Route.

Bugger, just outside Carmel the tyre pressure warning light went off. We pulled over and checked and did not seem to have a flat, so we pulled into the next gas station (see I am going native) and checked the pressures. All seemed ok but the warning light stayed on.

The weather was rather overcast and misty at first, as you can see in the photographs. There are many places you can pull in along the highway to take in the sights, both out over the Pacific Ocean and inland over the Big Sur range. Some fantastic rugged terrain.

We eventually arrived at The Big Sur Bakery and Resturant, one of Victorias targetted stopping places and shared a rather delicious Apricot Strudel. They have a recipe book available and if they turn out half as nice; Victoria is having a copy.

The weather was now getting a lot clearer And we made several more sightseeing stops along the way including one to take our ubiquitous 'here are our feet' shots.

We eventually arrived at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery where dozens of Elephant Seals can be found basking on the beach.

Back on the highway, we missed the Hwy 1 turn in San Luis Obispo but after a short detour around town we were back on the highway and were soon in Pismo Beach after about 200 miles of travelling. Google maps had a bit of a brainfart on final but we eventually found the Best Western Shelter Cove and were checked into our room.

The hotel is a wonderful location and the rooms look out over the Pacific Ocean. We planned to spend the evening on the balcony enjoying the sights. Popping into town we picked up pizza, olives and snacks for our evening fare. We also had the bottle of Piedra Sassi 2013 Central Coast that we had picked up at the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco - this was very nice, I suppose it should be at $18.00/bottle. I also grabbed one of those monster 25oz tins of Budweiser they have here.

We had a wonderful evening watching the whales and the sun going down over the Pacific Ocean and getting a bit tipsy for the first time of the trip - probably not the last.

What a wonderful evening, how romantic. To top it off, the hotel maids make towel sculptures.

San Francisco and the Redwoods.

I think I am pretty much over the jet-lag by now and am starting to wake up a a semi-reasonable time, if 0500 can be considered reasonable, but it matches my sleep patterns at home.

Today was our last day at Hotel Boheme and we were leaving S.F. We breakfasted at Cafe Puccini which is on Columbus directly opposite Hotel Boheme. Victoria having eggs over hard while I had a mushroom and Swiss cheese omelette, both served with fried potatoes and French bread.

We checked out of the Hotel Boheme and hailed a cab for the Hertz pickup on Beech Street where we rented our Ford Focus (bargain at £150 for 6 days). I'm not keen on automatic cars but have so far only brak-celerated the once.

From here we drove out to Fort Point, an American Civil War era battery built to protect Golden Gate Bay with excellent views of the Golden Gate Bridge. I'll blog more about that on Scrivsland.

From Fort Point we picked up Highway 101 and were on the way to our next destination. After stopping for fuel at Palo Alto and some pretty bad traffic on Highway 17 we eventually reached the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad just outside Felton.

We had originally planned to take the 14:00 Bear Mountain service but had missed that so instead purchased tiuckets for the 15:30. The place was rammed with parents and young children as they were having a 'Meet Thomas the Tank Engine' day, I iud not realise that Thomas was so big in the U.S.A.

Waiting for the train Victoria and I shared a veggie burger and fries and also had our first Root Beer of the trip. It was really hot again, the car was reading 34C so we also picked up a couple of bottles of water to take with us on the train.

We also got to try an "It's It" Icecream, inagine a giant Tunnocks Teacake with the marshmallow replaced by icecream. Very tasty, but like most American 'snack' food, I could not manage a whole one.

We soon had boardered the train and after raising steam were off. The journey only covers about eight miles but is a fantastic experience as the 100 year old wood burning steam train with the strange bevel geared drive arrangement of a Shay locomotive (I has to Wiki that) climbs up Bear Mountain through sone fantastic scenery in the Redwood Forests. The journey passes over a wooden trestle bridge and negotiates a pair of switchbacks before reaching the summit and you are allowed out to stretch your legs. At the top the track loops and then you are heading back down the way you came one again enjoying the fantastic Redwood forest. On the way down you are on the other side of the track so get the opportunity to catch anything you may have missed on the way up.

This is a great experience that I would highly recommend if you are near the area. On the walk back to the car we had another first while we shared a 'snow cone'. Imagine a 'jubblie' being made in front of you with the same 'no flavour after a few sucks icy-ness'.

We then completed our journey at the Fairview Manor Guest House in Ben Lomond, a wonderful place with a really friendly and helpful owners.

Thay evening we set out on our final adventure of the day and fulfilled one of Victorias ambitions of vsisting the Boardwalk at Santa Cruz, scene of the Lost Boys.

Taking Gail, the landladies advice we palked up on West Cliff and walked past the wharf and down onto the Boardwalk. We took in the sights,sounds and smells as we meandered among the stalls and hoardes of people there on a Saturday evening. We had hoped to ride the Giant Dipper but the queue was horrendous so we instead fulfilled another one of Victorias dreams and queued fifteen minutes for a Funnel Cake. Imagine a cake batter deep frieed like a doughnut about 7' in diameter, very tasty, but you could not manage a whole one.

We managed to avoid any Vampire encounters although one young girl did tell her parents "they are here"

I think my diet today has been sadly lacking in nutrients.

Walking back up the West Cliff we picked up the car and after a slight diversion onto Highway 17 - whoops - we were back at Ben Lomond and crashed out after another day of adventures.