It's been a crazy two weeks since we returned from Cal-ee-for-nee-ya, so
here is the report. A good time was had by both of us. Alas, I was
recovering from a nasty cold and I was off feed for most of the trip.
The SO will undoubtedly chime in for areas I can't remember.

We landed in Oakland, rented a car (humungous Chevy Impala, identical to
the one we rented in NY last fall), and drove to the Radisson near
Fishermans' Wharf. The first night we had dinner at a little Istrian
restaurant on the fringe of North Beach called Albona. Istria has
alternated between Italian and Croatian rule for centuries, so the food
is Italian with an Eastern European accent. The venison was excellent.

The next day we headed to the Ferry Building in the hopes of catching up
with Charlotte. Unfortunately, she'd come down with a bad cold and
couldn't meet us. We had breakfast tacos for lunch at the building,
then had dinner at the Slanted Door. The latter is overhyped. SO had
shaking beef, and he thought Saigon Cuisine in Greensboro made a better
version.

Sunday we had drinks at the Zoetrope Cafe, owned by Francis Ford
Coppola. His film editing facility is above the cafe. The building
housing the cafe is one of the few that survived the 1906 earthquake and
fire, and is near the Transamerica Building. That night we had dinner
at another Italian place near the Cable Car Museum. Monday we headed
across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods and Sausalito. Dinner was
at a seafood place in Sausalito.

Tuesday through Thursday was spent in Carmel at the Tickle Pink Inn (I'm
NOT making the name up), an upscale hotel with fantastic views of the
coast. On the way there we had lunch at a fine Brazilian place in Santa
Cruz. The feijoada (black beans and rice) was the real deal. We had
dinner at two places in Carmel that were somewhat underwhelming. Other
than the Tickle Pink, I was not impressed by Carmel the town. Way too
chichi for this duo. (For example, it took us hours to find a
laundromat.) However, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Pigeon Point
Lighthouse, and Point Lobos State Park were amazing. We saw more
wildlife at Point Lobos in one hour than we've seen in Washington
national parks.

The last 3 days was spent at Yosemite. The park was the attraction more
than the food. We had a good dinner at the Yosemite Park Lodge and
lunch the next day at the Ahwahnee; however, the rest of the time we ate
at the restaurant adjacent to our hotel just outside of the park.

For those who want to see pictures of our exploits (but not plates), you
can go to the SO's website: julianv.zenfolio.com.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

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