California dreamin' , and a visit to the mid west.

[Blackadder]

The time has come for my annual escape to the US.
First stop will be San Francisco for 3 nights , then a road trip down Highway 1 (except for the area around Big Sur, which is still blocked by landslips) via Napa Valley,Monterey,San Luis Obispo, then inland and up into the mountains at Tehachapi and down to Irvine for a couple of days.
Then it's a AA flight to the tourist mecca of (checks notes...) err Cleveland via Chicago for a touring production of Back to the future the Musical , a road trip down to Cincinnati and into Northern Kentucky, for the flight back to Santa Ana via Dallas/Fort Worth.

 

[Blackadder]

First stop the QF J lounge , the good thing about being on the last QF flight a near empty lounge.
Lounge attendant was questioning how I was entering being a lowly PS travelling whY, a quick explanation of a complementary pass linked to my boarding pass was met with a jokingly “you’ve done your homework, well done.”
Opted for a small portion of the Beef and Potato cheese pie, it might be just me but seemed rather devoid of flavour.
Very tempted by the Chocolate cake , looked sooo good but trying to lose weight so that was a pass.

 

[Blackadder]

No issues with boarding, everyone seemingly adhering to the group calls.
Paid for exit row seating, when crossing the Pacific in whY, take whatever comforts you can get.
Seemingly a very full flight , so unfortunately no shadow.

 

[Blackadder]

No issues on the flight across the Pacific, just water all the way from leaving the Coast in Sydney, to arriving on the California Coast.
Usual spots for turbulence across the tropics, but nothing untoward.
FA crew in economy, were professional without necessarily standing out. Regular rounds for water etc.
Meal service based on Sydney time , instead of California time , so a late supper which I passed on , and a “brunch” prior to an evening arrival into SFO.
Arrived into SFO around 20mins ahead of schedule, but any thoughts of a quick disembarkation went out the window due to Aerobridge issues, which required engineer attendance.
Immigration was busy, but the line moved at a reasonable pace.
Due to the aforementioned aerobridge issues, and queue at immigration bags were already on the luggage carousel.

 

[Blackadder]

Driving around San Francisco the hills are like a roller coaster ride, it really is a bit disconcerting at first seeing a very steep drive up in front of you, or being at the top and see the road just drop away in front of you down the other side.
Today was the hop on/off bus , no specific place in plan where to get off but my cough going to sleep on the seat dictated that it would be at North vista point, which just happens to be a great photography spot on the Northern side of the Golden Gate Bridge .

 

[Blackadder]

Forgot to mention, staying at the Hilton Union square.
It was around 9.30pm when we arrived, after a bit of driving along highway 1, and dinner at a nice restaurant on Miramar Beach.
On arrival only 1 lady on the reception desk for general bookings, 1 for HH members.
Being tired and just waiting to check in , tried to check in online except the system decided to just hang and not issue me with a digital key so resigned myself to queuing up to get things sorted.
Went to tap my credit card for the room charges, money came out of bank account but for reasons that became apparent later , no response from the computers on their end just an endless loop of authorizing on the terminal all the while the checkin line behind me was growing.
After about 20mins, and the lady at the front desk on 3 different computers seeing if any would respond to my checkin it was discovered that because I tried to check in online , and that hanging on me it threw their checkin desk system out trying to checkin there.
The lady was most apologetic for the problem, and then the magic words “free upgrade” to make up for the problems with check in, and she would also remove the service fee for the stay.
End result King Cityview room 34th floor Tower 1.

 

[Blackadder]

Well a bit of a delay in the next chapter due to reasons explained later.
Firstly a great 3 days in San Francisco, like any major city it has it’s homelessness issues but never felt unsafe either walking around, driving or on the muni.
Of course a trip to the Rock (and back), always worth a visit. Then a Baseball game at arguably the best stadium in the country.

 

[Blackadder]

Well a belated update to things.
Rule number 1 when travelling, always be flexible with plans. This proved to be the case after myself and then my partner tested positive to COVID, so that ruled out visiting her elderly mother.
Still in San Francisco with the car and needing to get back to So Cal , the new plan turned into a Hilton Mattress hop (positive side to everything I guess).
Leaving San Francisco, our first leg was to Cupertino, in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Unbeknownst at the time, the Hilton Garden Inn is directly opposite the Apple HQ.

 

[I love to travel]

Going to California next week, did you drive through Santa Barbara?

 

[Blackadder]

Going to California next week, did you drive through Santa Barbara?

Yes a lovely part of the coast. Worth a overnight or rest break stop depending on time availability.

 

[Blackadder]

Next stop on the now Hilton mattress hop down the California coast , was a relatively short trip to Marina,Ca.
This was probably the peak day of our Covid , so opted for a short 65mile hop down the coast for out next stop, approximately 10miles North of Monterey.
First stop was a visit to the Apple visitors centre.
At first appearance the visitor centre is rather nondescript with 3 ground floor sections , an model of the Apple compound , an Apple store (naturally), and a cafe , and a top floor an undercover outdoor seating terrace.
The first section is sparse in typical Apple minimalist style containing a model of the Apple compound , however you can get a tablet from the information desk in the room and point it at the model, and you will see a VR representation of the area you are looking at.

 

[Blackadder]

Next stop Pismo beach via the California central valley.
Highway 1 via Big Sur closed due to land slips in the area, so a diversion that takes you through the central valley , and into the California food bowl region.

 

[Blackadder]

Again a lesson in preparing to be flexible , original plan was to drive from Pismo Beach back into So Cal, but the lengthy diversion inland yesterday took it out of my partner.
The new plan an overnight stay in Camarillo, after going via the Danish town of Solvang, and the costal city of Santa Barbara.
One thing noticeable during the trip back to So Cal is how quickly the fog can move in, and how long it can stay around. Often at midday, the fog was still coming in and quite thick.

 

[Blackadder]

Our final leg of the journey took us from Camarillo back to Irvine, via Universal Studios and LA.
Something new at Universal Studios, you leave the tram on the backlot tour when you get to where the Bates Motel (complete with actor playing Norman Bates pacing up and down the porch, and periodically going inside then coming out with bloody sheets, and knife hidden which he brings out to “attack” unsuspecting people taking selfies etc) ,then you can walk around the area where you have some stage equipment , a couple of cars from Fast and Furious, plus a small scale model of the Hollywood sign for photo opportunities , before rejoining another tram to complete the tour.

 

[Blackadder]

4th July in LA , was celebrated with a trip to the Hollywood Bowl for Harry Connick Jnr , with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra.
Love going to shows at the Hollywood Bowl, a great outdoor venue in a natural setting.
If you ever go to a show there , try for tickets in the centre stage area , in the rear section. That will give you a great view across to the Hollywood sign, also to avoid the fight getting out of the car parks after the event , the park and ride buses are a great way to go.
We parked near the Chinese Theatre for $13 , and $6 return in the bus (which included a voucher for a free bag of popcorn )

 

[Blackadder]

Next was a 3 day trip to the Midwest to the tourist mecca of Cleveland.
As is the way with flying West to East, a early morning start out of Santa Ana , and me in my still half asleep state forgetting to take my belt off when going through the TSA checkpoint, resulting in a pat down.
Consistently inconsistent with what needs to come out of bags , depending on what scanning machine you end up going to.
First stop Chicago O’Hare , and the reminder never complain about food options on domestic services in Australia. Food in domestic Y in the US, just doesn’t exist for the most part.
About the only saving grace was the inflight wifi , operating at decent enough speeds for basic browsing.
Facing me in ORD was a half mile hike to the gate , and 52minute connecting time for my connection to CLE.
Fortunately some very generous timings from AA pushed that out to 1hr45mins.
Next was a 44min hop to Cleveland, via American Eagle Embraer ERJ145, a very snug fit with its 1-2 seating layout. Interestingly enough a better food service, at least we get a complimentary bag of pretzels.
Our accommodation for the night , was the latest in the Hilton Chain , Tru by Hilton Midtown.
Not sure what target market Hilton are after here , but it had a very much College room dorm vibe to the room.
Partner was meeting some cousins who had come up from Cincinnati, had planned to go out for Dinner with them , but either the after effects of Covid or 3hrs sleep the night before had me feeling like a walking zombie, so my apologies and I would catch up with them tomorrow.
Next day the sleep seemed to help, feeling a bit better after a limited free breakfast , it was off to check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

[Blackadder]

After a quick go through the main section of the Rock and Roll hall of fame, it was time to head downtown to the Fieldhouse theatre for the North American touring production of Back to the future the Musical.
A bit of a backstory here , my partner was an extra in Back to the future and got to meet Michael J Fox. Hence the decision to trek to the Midwest to see this production.
Well what can I say, I survived until intermission then informed my partner I’ll sit out the second half.
Reportedly it got better in the second half ( I guess it could only go one way), my partner enjoyed it so that was a positive.

 

[Deno]

Thanks for posting @Blackadder, enjoying the trip.

 

[Blackadder]

Next was a 6hr road trip southwest on the I-71 to Cincinnati.
The drive can best be described as spectacularly unspectacular. None of the mountains of the West Coast , just flat nothingness.
Home for tonight was the Hampton Inn & suites Springboro/Dayton South , while my partner stayed with her cousins.
On arrival I found about half a dozen people standing around the lobby, it turned out the computer system had crashed and they were unable to access their system.
At this time of the evening only 1 lady on the desk, so making various phone calls to managers , IT department etc .
After around 40mins in the lobby, the computer system was back on line, so those in front of me were gradually checked in and finally myself, while keeping my fingers crossed the system wouldn’t go down again.

 

[Blackadder]

Next day, first stop was the Cincinnati Zoo & botanical gardens.
My partner got to following this prematurely born Hippopotamus called Fiona who is now the main attraction of the Zoo, so that was the main reason for the visit.
Upon entering the Zoo, you are near an enclosure called Roo Valley, which as you may have guessed has Kangaroos. Entering the enclosure you are on a path around a central enclosure with around half a dozen Kangaroos, and then in one section an area set aside for little blue penguins (aka fairy penguins)
The usual assortment of Animals you would expect to find at a Zoo rounded off the collection.Also making its way through the Zoo a miniature train ride taking visitors on a loop ride through the park.
After the Zoo visit next stop was the Great American ballpark for some Baseball.
My partner cousin decided it would be best to park in a rather sketchy area near Findlay Market, which is a market area with a number of food stalls. Predictably we were set on by a couple of the locals providing directions for a few dollars.
The markets looked to have an interesting range of food stores , but as luck or otherwise would have it , the one day we are there is the one day they aren’t open.
We decided to hop on the free Connector tram service that basically does a loop around the downtown area, with a stop a couple of blocks from the ballpark.
About 15mins later we were at the stop for the Great American Ballpark.
We managed to get 5 tickets on level 5 above home plate for a total of US$38.