Day 9 - Los Angeles to Williams

Part of the series: Vancouver to the Grand Canyon and Back Again!

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Day 10 - The Grand Canyon     >>

Colorado River at the Arizona border

After meeting on Sunday morning and lunch with some more friends, we hit the road again, this time heading to Arizona, where we were spending the night in Williams before taking the train into the Grand Canyon on Monday.

Hot. Very, Very Hot.

It was a beautiful day to be driving, although it was VERY hot - 41°C (106°F)! We made sure we had lots of coffee, water, and gasoline, and then set ourselves to enjoying the scenery which was beautiful, as usual.

As an aside, I have never yet found nature anywhere to be absolutely ugly. There is always some beauty to be seen.

Part of our route was on Route 66, and at one point when I needed a bathroom stop, we chose the Roadkill Cafe, which had a few signs that I found amusing...

Evening temperature in the desert

Sun setting on the hills on the road to Williams

Roadkill Parking ONLY

Sunset reflection

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Day 8 - Getty Center

Part of the series: Vancouver to the Grand Canyon and Back Again!

<<     Day 7 - Los Angeles

Day 9 - Los Angeles to Williams >>

Sculpture of someone enjoying the view

Saturday morning Juanita left with Dale to spend the day together, and Angharad and I stayed with our hostess, who was taking us to the Getty Center for the day. The museum was very interesting; we all grabbed an event and exhibit guide, arranged to meet for lunch later, and then explored on our own. I took the architectural tour which was very interesting.

Another reminder of Paris - love these trees!

If you like art and architecture and landscaping and you have time, I would recommend spending a day at the Getty Center; admission is free (excepting food, drinks, and the gift shop) with the cost of parking, which is $15 for a day.


After exhausting ourselves with culture we headed back to the house, where we made Nanaimo bars for a potluck supper and sing later that evening.

All in all, it was another lovely day, spent learning new things (i.e. how to crack a macadamia nut - with a butter knife!!) and meeting new people.

Getty Center Gardens

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Day 9 - Los Angeles to Williams >>

Day 7 - Los Angeles

Part of the series: Vancouver to the Grand Canyon and Back Again!

<<     Hearst Castle

Day 8 - Getty Center     >>

The United States of America flag

On July 4th, we headed into Los Angeles from Santa Barbara. The plan, which worked out perfectly was that we would me up with Juanita's friend Dale, and he would take us to his friend's house where we would be staying until Sunday.

Los Angeles Times

Walt Disney Concert Hall

We arrived in LA on schedule for mid-morning, and got settled in at our host's before heading out on a guided tour by Dale. His mom, sister, and a friend came along, and we headed into downtown LA, where I was very happily surprised to find that there was basically no traffic on the streets. To the point where we barely had to look before crossing the street.

Rose Fountain

Walt Disney Hall Community Park

Union Station, Los Angeles

We wandered to Olvera Street for a late lunch, and then got on the subway for one stop to get back to downtown where we had parked. We wandered past the Walt Disney Concert Hall and admired the rose fountain there before heading out to Hollywood.

After supper, we met the rest of Dale's family and watched the Independence Day fireworks.

It was a fun, exhausting day, and being someone who doesn't like crowds of people, I highly recommend touring LA on a summer statutory holiday; it seems as though the locals abandon the city for the beach.

Rodeo Drive

Sunset Blvd

Tourist lookout for Hollywood sign 

Also, if at all possible, get someone local to take you around so that you don't get stuck looking at the Hollywood sign from miles away like the rest of the tourists who don't know any better than to follow the signs.

Hanging out at the entrance to the trail

...which we were absolutely supposed to be on...

Hollywood, Los Angeles

Sun setting behind palm trees

Happy Independence Day!

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Day 8 - Getty Center     >>

Hearst Castle

Part of the series: Vancouver to the Grand Canyon and Back Again!

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Day 7 - Los Angeles     >>

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is a big house on top of a big hill with beautiful grounds that include 4 4-bedroom cottages surrounding it. It was built by a very rich man and his family who liked to collect very old European things (like ceilings!!) that are still in the main building.

...Did you know that ceilings could be collected? I certainly didn't.

And although I looked, I did not see any zebras, which the family let go into the hills when they were forced to sell the property and shut down their private zoo.

If you have time, stop at Hearst Castle and take a tour of the house and grounds; even without the interesting background story, the view alone is worth it. But then again, I'm a sucker for a great view. And intricate tiles.

Main Building at Hearst Castle

Landscaping at Hearst Castle

Looking out across a terrace to the ocean

Private view to the ocean from one of the cottages

A fountain on the grounds

Birds circling along the coast

After leaving the castle, we stopped once more to try and get a picture of some California condors as they circled in the sky along the coast.

We spent the night in Santa Barbara, and drove into Los Angeles on the morning of Independence Day.

My best shot - is it even a California condor?

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Day 7 - Los Angeles     >>

Elephant Seals

Part of the series: Vancouver to the Grand Canyon and Back Again!

<<     Pelican

Hearst Castle     >>

Elephant seals play fighting in the surf

A few stops later, now starting to look for signs to Hearst Castle, we drove past a sign that we didn't quite understand - something about elephant seals, and then noticed what looked like rocks out in the surf.

Except if you watched them very closely, they were moving.

And then we turned a corner, and happened upon the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, with elephant seals in attendance.

Elephant seal taking a break from walking along the beach

There was a free parking lot and park staff available to answer any questions people had, and so we spent a while there watching the baby elephant seals playing in the surf. They stop there every year on their way up north for the summer to shed their outer skin/fur layer, and we happened along when the "babies" were still there.

If you ever get the chance to drive down the California Big Sur coast in mid- to late-May, I highly recommend stopping to see the big guys - on average about 5 m in length.

After watching them play for a while, we drove down the road to Hearst Castle.

... do elephant seals growl?

Apparently, squirrels are a problem for the elephant seals

Crow sitting on a post

Elephant seals molting before summer migration

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Pelican

Part of the series: Vancouver to the Grand Canyon and Back Again!

<<     Day 6 - The Big Sur

Elephant Seals     >>

Pelican turning

At another pullout along the road, we were breathing in the ocean air, absorbing as much as we could of the crashing waves, and admiring the hills covered in summer wildflowers when I noticed a pelican circling above us.

It did a lazy turn in the air, and then started drifting down to land. Which it did, about 6 feet from me.

And while I felt like it was gently coming in to land, Angharad and Juanita, who both missed the initial turn and the beginning of the descent, thought it was dive-bombing me.

Pelican beginning to descend

Pelican landing beside me

This was the beginning of our many imagined close encounters with large birds.

And caused us, yet again, belly-shaking laughter.

The pelican was decidedly unaffected by our presence, and waddled (do pelicans waddle?) over to the stones marking the edge of the cliff where he very kindly posed for pictures.

After admiring him for a while, we continued on our way. We stopped a few more times - having successfully gotten a picture of a pelican, I REALLY wanted a picture of a California condor.

Pelican posing for pictures

Pelican along the Big Sur coastline

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Elephant Seals     >>

Day 6 - The Big Sur

Part of the series: Vancouver to the Grand Canyon and Back Again!

<<     Day 5 - San Francisco

Pelican     >>

Half-way through the trip and we couldn't spend even a minute thinking about the wonders we had seen so far; we were on our way to the Big Sur coastline, and the Grand Canyon was still ahead after that!

Big Sur coastline

Driving down that coastal road was almost as curvy as the mountain roads we climbed in Italy, the biggest difference being that the road in California was a bit wider, and on the right-hand side, most of the time there was a drop-off to the ocean.

Juanita and Angharad

It was beautiful, and we took our time, stopping at whichever pullout caught our fancy.

The pullout immediately after Bixby Bridge was one that we explored at length - I should maybe point out that Angharad works for an engineering firm that specializes in bridges, and so we were all affected by her new-found interest in them.

Bixby Bridge, California

I was standing on the edge of that hill-cliff thing! 

Sitting on a tree stump on the edge of the continent

A little further down the road, we found a pullout that had a perfectly formed tree stump chair, which I thought would be great to climb up... and it was, right up until the minute I tried to get down and realized that a) I am very short, and b) I was VERY close to the edge of the cliff.

Yet again, we found ourselves laughing well past the point of tears.

And there was still more to come!!!

Now my fear of heights kicks in?!?!

View north...

... and south from the stump - Totally Worth It!!!

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Pelican     >>