48stateroadtrip.com

It turned out that my campsite was pretty close to Fresno Dome, which, turns out, isn’t a sports/concert venue in the Central Valley, but, rather, is this:

Like I said, Fresno Dome, which is impressive especially to those unfamiliar with granite domes.

Turns out you can hike to it and the trailhead was only three miles up the road from my campsite (3 miles on that road = 20 minutes driving time, unless you were that guy in the white Excursion who started fishtailing trying to slow down enough to get into his own lane and not hit me on his way down, in which case I’m guessing 15 minutes). People at the trailhead said it was only a half-mile to the top. They were off by a half-mile, but still: short hike. Thus:

The trail heading up to the dome.

The view from the top of the dome — which, unfortunately, does not include me for all visitors.

And I didn’t hike it at night. It was in the evening (note the shadows to self-verify).

Only three days behind on posting now!

bkd

PS, I stayed the night before and the morning of Day 7 in Stockton and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how cool it was (aside from being 126 degrees in the shade). Friendliest Dennys wait staff I’ve ever encountered. Plus, when I went to Target, I got apologized to twice for minor, unavoidable personal space violations. Twice! It was like not even being in California.

Check out the in-campground wildlife!

Good (we’re talking about the campground here):

• Only nine campsites.
• Pretty Good Privacy (although, honestly, encryption was lacking)
• A lot of shade and trees.
• Near at least one fun, short hike.

Bad (also the campground):

• No dog fights (I should probably do a write-up on my Big Sur campground…).
• No cops coming after drunks from Fontana.
• So much shade that my solar hot water heater had no chance.
• NOT VERY CLOSE TO YOSEMITE!!! — problematic in that I chose the site due to its (apparent) proximity to the park. Bad call. Hour and forty-five to the valley, including a half-hour drive to get to the campsite from Hwy. 49, a four-wheeled slog that I’ll be having nightmares about for weeks.

I probably won’t have nightmares about the drive. But it was a pain, especially when the sun was setting and therefore in your eyes. And the campground is way too far away from Yosemite to use it as a homebase for a park visit. It’d be a good place to stay if you’re from the Bay Area or something and just want an overnighter in a woodsy place near an easy hike, though. Which doesn’t describe my use of it: ah well.

bkd

Surprisingly hot, surprisingly long. On the other hand, during the six-hour trek up and down the green, green hills of Point Reyes — none of which offered views of anything other than green, green hills — Vince and I managed to solve a lot of the world’s problems, including:

• Improving the national transportation infrastructure.
• Political power-seeking.
• The publishing industry.
• IT-Business Unit relations.
• Everything that’s wrong with the Lord of the Rings movies.

Given another hour, we would’ve cured cancer, too. Or else died of over-exertion. We’ll never know. A couple photos just because that seems to be what I do with these posts.

In retrospect, I probably should’ve thought more about the location of the sun prior to handing the guy my camera. Oh well: Vince, me.

This was the best view of the whole 11-mile hike. Unfortunately, this was not a shady location, so we didn’t stick around long.

And with that, I’m only one full four-day location behind…

bkd

I’m three four days in arrears, but feel I’m coping well personally (although I’ve been told that these entries aren’t mean enough — I’ll work on it). Anyway, just a few more photos in case you can’t get enough SF photos.

Some bridge, fogged in.

View of Alcatraz from (near) the top of Presidio Hill. I’m not sure how to make this caption snarkier. Suggestions?

You know, one of the reasons why these posts may lack any “edge” is that I’m usually posting in a race against time, trying to finish before my laptop battery or wireless batter run out. (This is a flower.)

Fort Mason, the Port of Embarkation for US Army troops heading to the Pacific during World War II. SF really ought to get that Liberty Ship parked here instead of down the way. And they should probably put a little more signage up around here instead of leaving that up to the various acting troupes that apparently inhabit it now.

In South Lake Tahoe now. Maybe I’ll catch up while I’m here.

bkd

Note: This was started while eating in Carl’s Jr. in Oakhurst, Calif., 15 miles (= 35 min.) from my campsite, but not completed at that time due to my wireless running out of battery.

Knocked off another of The Great Burgers of the World yesterday, the “Hamburger and Fries” from “The Burger Joint” in SF, at the corner of “Haight” and “Pierce”. (Would’ve put SF in quotes, but it seemed too obvious.)

Here’s what it looked like part-way through:

The now-traditional bad cell phone hamburger photo.

You can check out other blog entries (of mine) regarding GQ Top 20 hamburgers on my other blog here, if you’re so inclined (and who wouldn’t be?). Plus you can encounter my raving narcisissm more clearly on display.

As for this burger — I don’t know any more whether any burger deserves to be in the Top 20 of anything. That said, it was a really good burger. Very straight-up, nothing fancy about it: burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle. Was fried-to-order, medium-rare (and a little on the rare side at that!). Cost like $11, which would be steep if it weren’t in “San Francisco”. Fries were big, but average. Only issue with the burger was a little bit of disintegrating bun syndrome, though not as bad as some I’ve had and probably hard to avoid given how much blood was still seeping out of the patty.

And I tried to get the #11 burger for dinner tonight in Napa, but was told that they “sold out of hamburgers at lunch”. I think that disqualifies that one from the list.

Having now showered for three nights in a row (!) and therefore going soft,

bkd

(Side note: very, very good-looking cashier — sorry, no photo. If it’d been LA, I’d have assumed she was an “actress”; not sure what the SF equivalent is.)

I never know what to do here, a fact exacerbated by Alcatraz tickets being sold out until next Tuesday. If only my lack of planning would have constituted an emergency on someone else’s part. Ah, well. I’ll always have this photo by which to remember not going to Alcatraz.

SF also has a lot of military history in it. The town seems like they want to do everything they can to preserve this, without actually telling anyone about it. We all got our reasons, I guess, but it would’ve been cool if there’d been some sort of museum or plaque tour around Fort Mason (the place where troops boarded ships heading to the Pacific theater of war in WWII). Went and saw an Liberty Ship-as-museum they had floating not too far away, though, which was an interesting historical artifact in itself.

Also, a big thanks out to Vince and Tammy for letting me stay at their place last night and to Shalini and Raj for tonight.

bkd

This was yesterday.

Drove out of Big Sur. Relieved to get cell reception. Relieved at gas prices below $3.70. Turned left onto 17-Mile Drive, which is mostly like a lightly-trafficked tour through beachside golf courses and houses. Continued for 17 miles. Exited. Went to the Carmel mission (that has a fancier name than that). Saw Junipero Serra’s grave. Exited. Drove through the maze of Carmel streets. Found Hwy. 1, went north. Stopped in Monterey. Parked in a garage. Walked to waterfront. It’s like a small-scale San Francisco (IMHO). Ate lunch. Walked to Cannery Row. No canneries in operation. Walked back to car. Pried bike out of back of cab. Re-attached front wheel. Tightened trip computer magnet. Changed into bike shorts. Rode up and down bike path from Pacific Grove to Seaside and back. Re-deposited bike in back of truck. Changed out of bike shorts. Went back to waterfront to verify. Still there. Returned to car. Packed an overnight bag. Drove up Hwy. 1 to the 101. Dropped in on friends in Sunnyvale. Ate dinner (very Italian, very awesome). Observed baby. Took walk toward downtown Sunnyvale. Returned. Showered (very nice). Went to bed.

One last look at Big Sur coastline. It was a foggy send-off, so I missed the lighthouse and the bridges. Next time.

There was some golf course right next to this spot, but it seemed only moderately famous.

The mission in Carmel(-by-the-Sea). Would probably be good to take the second pic again on a blue-sky day. And a day when I wasn’t so antsy to get going that I didn’t play with the composition. Ah well: regret is sweet.

Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, boasting the highest concentration of free clam chowder samples of any location in the lower 48.

Next up: SF and praying my car doesn’t get broken into…!

bkd

It’s a pretty waterfall and, I think, probably the most photographed thing in the whole of Big Sur. Here are a couple of my attempts:

There were others. I’ll spare you. It’s the same basic waterfall each time…

Was gonna post some other photos, but this internet connection’s a little iffy and I don’t like waiting for it, therefore signing off:

bkd

Haven’t been to the “good half” of Big Sur yet. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. The bad half is pretty cool, though.

Highway 1 and the shoreline just south of Jade Cove.

Trail heading down toward the beach, also around Jade Cove.

Because (I hear) some people consider seals photo-worthy. They just lay there, occasionally throwing sand on themselves. And if any of them were dead, I’m not sure how anyone would have known. Such indolence may cost them dearly when the killer whales come.

A big day like this deserves an evening encounter with the Jet-Boil. Maybe it’s time to break out the pouched chicken.

bkd

Ten Things About My Day at Hearst Castle:

• Definitely worth going to once — a great monument to wealth and questionable taste.
• $24 seems steep for a 75-minute tour (not including the 15-minutes-each-way bus ride from the visitors center).
• Especially given that, if you touch a tree, the assistant tour guide yells at you.
• The main house is actually a cathedral. If you ask the guide why William Randolph Hearst would want to live in a cathedral, she’ll tell you it’s because he had traveled Europe extensively and wanted “the ranch” to seem like a Mediterranean village. Yeah, but living in a cathedral?! Seems either misguided or sacrilegious. I mean, I’ve traveled a bit in Europe myself, but I don’t want to live in a cathedral. Maybe that’s why I’m not rich.
• And aside from the cathedral in the middle, I’m not sure how this is in any way similar to a Mediterranean village.
• Feels like the “Golden Age of Hollywood” in real-life form. Sunset Boulevard seems like it took some hints from here.
• I don’t actually know anything about architecture, just that it seems odd to have old choir seats that had been ripped out of a Gothic cathedral lining the walls of your dining room. Doesn’t the Gothic cathedral still need those?
• If I ever have a pool at my house, it should be like one of these (neither of which belonged in a Mediterranean village).
• The ceilings were all very, very fancy.
• And the tri-tip sandwich was pretty good.

Some photos:

Ah, cathedral-sweet-home. Nice flowers, though.

Plus, if you can get bored, you can play hitch-hiker’s chess on the bottom of it.

The view.

End of post.