Santa Cruz > Monterey > Big Sur > Pismo Beach > LA

November 16 (continued - Santa Cruz) - After getting unpacked at our hotel, we walked around the seriously cute downtown for a while and contemplated what to do that night. We decided to hit up the bowling alley, which was apparently the hot spot in Santa Cruz. It was packed. We had a great game of bowling then headed to 711 for some trusty nachos and "self serve" (aka load it on) nacho cheese then wandered back to the hotel to park it in.

November 17 (Santa Cruz > Monterey) - We woke up to a gorgeous day and decided that the perfect way to spend this beautiful day was at the beach. We lay down and got our tan on. We then went downtown and wandered around and checked out the cute stores before heading off to Monterey. We were informed that Monterey was the Seal lion capital so we went to the pier to check them out. Well, they were not lying. There were literally thousands just laying there on the rocks. SOOO CUTE! But there were equally as many jelly fish. It was NUTS! There were thousands and thousands of jelly fish all over. Some were as big as a foot! GROSS! We stayed at the trusty Best Western again that night. 20 bucks a person... Gotta love it!

November 18 (Monterey > Big Sur) - We began our drive to Big Sur. This was one of the nicest parts of the coastal drive. We were literally on the side of a cliff with the ocean just feet away from us! When we got to Big Sur, we checked into the "Esalen Institute." Which is a spiritual getaway kind of place (which by the way, is absolutely STUNNINGGGG). Most people go there to do workshops but we just did a "personal retreat." We had lunch there which was by far one of the best meals we have had. Sooo delish! We then went to a workshop called "Gestalt Constellations" which we thought had something to do with astrology. Boy were we wrong. Way too complicated to explain... look it up if your interested. But essentially, it was pure craziness. I couldn't look at Jenna or Eric for the whole 2 hours cuz I knew id break out into laughter and everyone around us seemed to be taking it so seriously. I guess we were missing something LOL. After this workshop, we decided to head to the hot springs, which were quite interesting. Lets just say there was minimal clothing worn by all the "spiritualists" there. Quite the experience.

November 19 (Big Sur) - We woke up and did a yoga class which was really relaxing. We then headed for our massages on the beach... mmmm. It was by far the most amazing, most relaxing massage I have ever had. It was 75 minutes of amazingness. We then headed into the hot springs one last time before induling in an incredible lunch at Esalen and then sadly, we had to leave. We drove to San Luis Obispo and looked around for a little. We then proceeded to Pismo Beach (only about a 20 min drive from San Luis Obisbo). We stayed at the Quality Inn which was shockingly nice and had a nice hot tub in their gorgeous tub. mmmm so relaxing... much needed before the day to follow...

November 20 (Pismo Beach) - We woke up and were sooo excited to go ATV'ing at the massive sand dunes in Pismo Beach. We each rented our own ATV and were driving around like crazy people. We drove down hills that literally just dropped off then drove back up really steep hills all around the dunes. Eric went up 1 hill that was sooo steep. He made it up so I thought, hey how hard can this be? Well, needless to say, I learned that I do not know how gears work on an ATV cuz I made it about half way up the hill before starting to roll back down. Given how steep it was, I was rolling pretty fast and I must have hit the break cuz I went flying off my ATV then my ATV flipped and fell ontop of me. IIKES. Thank god all I have to show for it is a bruised tail bone and a scratch on my knee. WOO HOO for helmets! Other than my "overstimulated ATV experience" in the wise words of Vince Vaughn, it was sooo much fun!! We picked up some ice packs for me and headed to LA. We got ready and headed out for the night. We started off at Skybar. When we got there the bouncer said we couldn't get in unless we either had a reservation or were staying at the hotel attached. I convinced him that we "could" be staying at the hotel and that it was all technicalities, so he let us in. Then we headed to the Whiskey a Go Go where many famous people have performed. It was heavy metal night so we didn't stay for too long. We ended the night with some good old sushi then packed it in for the night.

November 21 (LA > San Diego) - We drove around LA and checked out all the touristy sites before heading on our drive to San Diego.... you'll have to wait for the next post to find out all about that :)

San Francisco & Yosemite

November 10 (San Francisco) - We woke up to a stunning day of 21 degrees and a perfect sun with not one cloud in the sky. I decided to go for a run. Little did I know that San Francisco consists of hills and ONLY hills. Oy. After my run we met up with Erics brother and mom who just arrived. We hung out, went for a walk around the city then went for an amazing Italian dinner. We finished our night at the hotel bar and STAR SIGHTING - Wentworth Miller (from Prison Break). I got my picture with him. WOO HOO. I went to bed a happy lady.

November 11 (San Francisco) - Eric and I decided we wanted to go on the "hop on, hop off" bus to get a tour around town. The first one we looked at was $35 for the day. We hunted down the sketchiest looking bus, which only cost $20 for 2 days and took that one! We did a tour of the downtown which was just beautiful then another tour of the random, sketchy areas of San Fran. The second "tour guide" (and I use that term loosely) had no idea what he was talking about but atleast admitted it as we hopped on he said, "Well I don't know much about this tour so it's going to be more of a scenic tour." haha. After our tour, we attemped to go to a restaurant for dinner and ended up spending 3 hours walking through sketchville before realizing it was closed. We headed over to the first sandwhich place in San Fran. mmm good! On our walk home we went to the Cheesecake Factory which is on the top level of Macy's and has an absolutely stunning view of the city. I picked up a piece of chocolate moose cheese cake and we headed back to the hotel.

November 12 (San Francisco) - We walked to the wharf and hopped on a ferry boat to Alcatraz (it used to be a prison that housed some of the worst criminals in history. ie: Al Capone). It was so cool and very eary to see it. It has the most outstanding view of San Fran from the island. After we returned from the island, we walked the half hour (only uphill) walk back to the hotel to grab the car to drive the windiest street in the world. It is just a gaint zig zag back and forth for the entire street.

November 13 (San Francisco) - We woke up and headed down to the pier to meet Eric's mom and brother for an amazing lunch at the best seafood restaurant in San Fran. It was DELISH! Just outside of the restaurant there were sea lions in the San Francisco Bay. They were sooo cute! Right after lunch, JENNA ARRIVED!!!!! (my friend who is traveling with Eric and I for just under 2 weeks). Jenna and I took the tram where you hang off the sides (very cool) to Union Square while Eric and Mark went to the aquarium and walked around columbus street, china town and the tranamerica building. Jenna and I then headed to Height Ashbury which is the area that started the hippy movement. We came back to the hotel, got ready and headed out for the night to a bar called Green & Grand in the North Beach area.

November 14 (San Francisco --> Yosemite) - We woke up and headed over to the Fishermans Wharf for some deep fried fresh seafood. mmm mmm. After the nausea started to kick in from all the fried-ness, we decided it was time to head to Yosemite (but of course, we stopped at the Golden Gate bridge on our way).

November 15 (Yosemite) - We went for an absolutely stunning hike to Vernan Falls & Emerald Pool. After our hike, we decided we would find a camp site before it got dark. We headed over to the $5 camp site and figured Eric and I would take the tent, and Jenna would take the car. As we were about to get it all set up, we looked at the registration office and were frightened at the following sign: "There have been 487 bear incidents so far this year and over $100,000.00 worth of damage from those incidents." There were also multiple pictures of bears climbing into cars to try to get food. Although we contemplated still camping there, we decided that we didn't want to wake up to the site of Jenna cuddling with a bear in the car full of food. We dished out 15 bucks each for the "canvas tarp" (saved an extra 3 bucks each by not getting the heated tent... big regrets). We then headed over to the local sports bar to hang out before heading to bed.

November 16 (Yosemite --> Santa Cruz) We woke up in a pretty wet "tarp" in 1 degree weather. eeek. We went to check out and the guy at the front desk said, "Did you hear about the bear incident last night? A bear tore off a persons window frame and climbed into their car and tore it apart." Good thing we decided to stay in the tarp haha. We went to check out the Yosemite Falls & the tunnel view which were both crazy beautiful. We then headed on our drive to Santa Cruz. Within 3 hours it had made its way from 1 degree to 24 degrees. WOO HOO. Were home! Laying on the beach with the gorgeous sun beating on us. Now this is something I could get used to. We then went to the Best Western to see what their rates are. He said 76.00 plus tax... so I said what about 75 including tax? Done and Done. 25 bucks a person for a suite with a king size bed and a pull out couch... perfection!

Portland & Seattle

November 5 (Seattle) - We woke up in the lovely city of Seattle at Patt's beautiful house (a friend of my father). We checked out the newspaper for some free excitement. We then headed over to the area of Fremont Ave to a wine tasting and looked at the infamous sculptures of the artsy city of Seattle. It is just the prettiest place. We then headed back to Patt's for some dinner before taking off to the Paramount Theatre to see a comedy show. The show headlined Norm McDonald and had 3 other comedians. The first 3 were pretty funny but Norm came on and sounded like he was definitely on something because every word was slurred and half his jokes made no sense. But it was still funny to laugh at his craziness which made it a great night. Not to mention the delicious buttery popcorn I got. mmm mmm mmm. We then attempted to learn the bus system of Seattle and about an hour later (it should be a 15 minute drive), we were back at Patt's.

November 6 (Seattle) - We went to Pike Market which is the COOLEST place I have ever been. Its a huge market where the first Starbucks originated - which, by the way, they have not changed one bit since its opening. I knew I liked this place but it really hit me when I saw the "HAND MADE CHEESE STORE" OMG, what could be better? For those of you who know of my love for cheese, I was in heaven. We got the "worlds best" Mac & Cheese which really was the worlds best. We then walked past a bakery with the best smell and the biggest line I have ever seen. We waited for about 30 minutes for these delicious pasteries. This market had the coolest little vendors and it is where the famous video of those men throwing the fish around was created. Definitely giving this place a 10/10.

November 7 (Seattle) - We decided to "ride the duck." It is one of those tour buses that turns into a boat and takes you around the city. I actually learned so much about Seattle. I sadly think I know more about Seattle than Toronto. Did you know that the average Seattleite (yes that is what they call themselves) buys 3.5 cups of coffee a day AKA spends $3,000 a year on coffee? NUTS. Did you know that Seattle has 412 Starbucks. WOW. It was a really cool tour that taught me a lot of things about this awesome city that I would have never known. After the tour, Eric and I decided we were starved. We headed over to the port to get some fresh fish. We went to a restaurant called the Crab Pot. Everyone MUST eat here! Let me give you a visual. They cover your table with paper and give you a bib and a hammer. Your seafood comes in a bucket and they dumb it on your table with some corn and potatoes and a bowl is put on the floor for all the shells and you just go for it. We orded king crab legs and they were to die for!! We left at about 4:30 and the line to this place was out the door. Sooo amazing!! Id have to say it was probably the best restaurant I have ever been to.

November 8 (Portland) - We woke up and packed up our stuff to continue on our journey. Our first stop was Mount Saint Helens. It is a volcanoe that erupted in 1980 and left a HUGE crater in the mountain. We then drove on to Portland and ate our good ol' tuna sandwhiches we had packed ourselves then continued to Washington Park. It is a stunning park in Portland that has so many things in it. We went for a little walk and visited the holocaust memorial which was a really sad but amazing site. After the park we decided that in the pouring rain, we were over Portland so we headed over to the tax-free outlet malls for a little brousing then went to Newport, Oregon and set up camp in the parking lot of our good old friend Wal Mart for another great sleep in the car.

November 9 (Portland --> San Francisco) - We woke up at 7 am, went to Wal Mart to wash up then started the long drive to San Fran. We got lost a few times, took a few detours and drove through miniscule roads in the rain, dark and fog but after about 13 hours, we finally made it! Phew. We checked into our STUNNING hotel - The Fairmont. It is without a doubt the most stunning hotel I have ever seen. WOO HOO. Off to bed in our awesome king size luxury bed. Nighty night!

Happy Birthday Joy!

Happy Birthday Joy. We hope you have an absolutely amazing day because you deserve it :)

Lots of love,
Eric and me!

British Columbia (Continued... again)

Nov 1 (Vancouver) - We had our last day of volunteering which was surprisingly kind of sad. They really appreciated our help and it felt like we really made a difference there. A bunch of customers came up to us and were telling us how much they appreciate us being there... it was really nice. It's awesome to see that just by donating a few hours, you're able to make such a difference.

Nov 2 (Victoria) - We took the ferry over to Victoria which is a STUNNING ride. Something everyone has to do for sure! Eric and I were insistent on eating fish out there cuz how could we not be literally on the water and not eat fish? So we hunted for the cheapest fish and chips we could find and VOI LA (however that saying is spelled), we found it! Every bite was a treat to our mouths. mmm mmm mmm. DELISH! We then went to maket square which is a really cute area with a bunch of shops. We walked around for a while and checked out all the cool stores. We checked into our hotel and yet again, things went our way and we somehow got an upgrade at the Quality Inn. We had a king size bed, full kitchen, and a jacuzzi. Ammmazing! We then (of course) went to watch the leafs game. They sadly lost yet again. We decided we were SO not over the greatness of the fish out here so we went to the grocery store to buy salmon and cooked it up. At the store I kept saying that I needed samples of different kinds of (precooked) fish. About 7 samples later and a promise not to tell my friends to come around and do this, my taste buds were in heaven. We hung out for a bit then hit up a pizza place later to grab a slice. For those of you who know about my LOVE for dipping sauce, I had really died and gone to heaven! They had a sauce called "garlic, peppercorn, ranch"... what could be better? NOTHING!

Nov 3 (Victoria) - We woke up and headed to Beacon Hill Park which is a massive, stunning park. We walked around for a bit before heading over to Buchart Gardens. Its a massive gardens with many beautiful sites. The japanese gardens were both of our favorites. We then headed back to Vancouver to meet my cousine Beth and her boyfriend for a delish dinner of fresh fish. We definitely got our fair share of fish over these past few days.

Nov 4 (Vancouver) - We woke up so SADLY our last day in Vancouver. We decided to do the "grind" its a hike up a Grouse Mountain aka "Canada's stair master" as they call it. I literally thought I was going to die. It made me realize that I am in the worst shape ever. oy. Needa start workin those quads! After a huge sense of relief of making it to the top without having a heart attack and a much needed shower, we headed on our journey to Americaaaaaa (Seattle, Washington).

BYE BYE CANADA!