Day 12: Art in the Streets at the MOCA

Woke up around 11 and took my sweet time getting going today, it was nice. I took the 45 min bus ride into downtown and went to the MOCA to see the Art in the Streets exhibit which is apparently the first of its kind (devoted exclusively to graffiti art).


There were a number of tagged vehicles parked outside the building like this one. There was quite a line, it took about 30 minutes to get in.


As I was walking past this piece, which was one of my favorites, I had my first star sighting (didn't get a photo): John Krasinski or Jim from The Office.


Most of the pieces were either installations done on site by the artist, like the one above, or photos of stuff that probably doesn't exist anymore. Except for Banksy and Shepard Fairey. They had several "proper" painting and sculptures.


The Banksys were my favorite because they were very sarcastic and often witty. The bit written below the red lettering says "to the nearest art dealer".


I especially enjoyed his artist statement and material description (click on the image to enlarge it so it's legible) for his painting "I Hate Mondays":


It took me about 2 hours go get home because the buses were running detour routes downtown so it was not easy to determine were to catch your bus. After an unintended walking tour of downtown I ended up in a pretty sketch area right after it got dark but managed to make it home in one piece. Brandi and Phillipe were kind enough to wait until I got back around 9 to get dinner so we all went to a place call Father's Office to get a delicious burger with a hefty side of pretension. But it was still tasty. They also offered beers that ranged in price from 8$ to 25$ a bottle. I passed but am still curious what was so special about them...

Tomorrow: Getty Center? -the Villa is sold out :(- and THOR at the Arclight theater!

Day 11: Santa Barbara

Awoke to -gasp!- gray skies in SoCal! It was a pleasant break from the heat but didn't stick around after noon.
I'm glad I looked at a tourist magazine at the hotel because it had a historical walking tour map that led to several interesting pieces of architecture such as the courthouse above.


I got a kick out of how these beautiful old buildings were being used. This one housed an especially ornate Old Navy.


I stopped by this chain jewelry store called 'So Good', whose rhinestone encrusted walls looked like they went on into infinity, and did my first bit of frivolous spending. I got a giant red rhinestone flower ring and sparkly headband for $15.

I didn't hit the road until late in the day so I had to abbreviate my foray onto the Mulholland Highway. It is indeed very steep and twisty but the views are almost worth it. I paid dearly for photos like this, as I was heading back to my car I randomly lost my footing and fell hard, camera flying through the air, onto my right side. I think I'll have some dramatic bruises tomorrow. At least my camera seems fine. I didn't stop to get any photos but the scenery on highway 1 from Ventura to Santa Monica is lovely.

Tomorrow: Taking it easy, getting my salty car washed, the MOCA and/or a walking tour of downtown LA.

Day 10: Hearst Castle and San Luis Obispo

I thought I did well this morning, I was only 5 minutes late for my tour. Unfortunately I missed the bus, but fortunately they just moved me to the 10:20 tour. So that was nice. It was a lovely tour, just way too quick and structured for my liking. I wish the antiquities that are built into the house had museum labels because without the tour guide you wouldn
't be able to tell the difference between the modern concrete and the 500 year old statues. I took a million photos while I was there, I'll put those up somewhere else eventually.


The Neptune Pool is probably the most photographed part of the castle. It actually looks a lot smaller in person for some reason. One of the real highlights for me was meeting a couple from Wales during the tour who are also driving their way through California but in the opposite direction. I have a feeling I'll run into them again as we'll be in Vegas and the Grand Canyon at the same time. They also told me I should visit them if I'm in the UK so that's awesome.


Just a couple miles north of the Hearst Castle is an Elephant Seal viewpoint. They were noisy and smelly but still cute.


I briefly visited the Mission in San Luis Obispo. It's not very ornate, just really old. From 1772 in fact (although not much is original anymore). I had a nice charmed visit in SLO, I found a meter with 2 hours still on it and stumbled upon a weekly evening farmers market:

I had my heart set on some fish tacos for my cinco de mayo dinner and found some terribly fancy ones at a place called Ciopinot (see what they did there?). Another place nearby had a 7 or 8 man mariachi band playing so I felt like I got the atomsphere I was looking for. I was too enticed by it all and ended up driving for a couple hours in the dark again. At least I don't know what I was missing.

Tomorrow: Taking it easy (hopefully) in Santa Barbara then onto LA through along Mulholland Highway (if time allows).

Day 9: Monterey Bay Aquarium and Big Sur

Due to a perfect storm of unsuitable sleeping temperature, snoring dorm-mates, and catching a cold I hardly slept a wink last night. One advantage to not being able to get to sleep is when 8am rolls around you are already up. I sought out a french bakery and treated myself to ham and cheese croissant and headed over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The main attraction- their gajillion gallon tank- was closed for renovations as well as the jellyfish exhibit so it didn't take long to see everything else. I happened to catch feeding time at the Kelp Forest in the photo above. I would have been ok with the brevity had I not paid $30 for admission. That seemed a little lame.
Since I had some time I decided to head down to Napenthe restaurant in Big Sur for lunch on Briana's recommendation. This would have been on my way if not for the fact that a landslide took out Hwy 1 about 20 miles ahead of my destination. So instead I ventured 35 miles down the coast and then backtracked to Salinas and down 101 to San Simeon. Lunch was nice, I was seated next to a couple from Connecticut who are roadtripping to many of the same places as me but just a few days off. We'll apparently be in Sarasota at the same time though. The photo is from one of the many turnouts along the highway. Oh and I got held up a bit for a film crew filming some vintage cars driving along the coast. Couldn't see if I recognized the actors....


On my way back up I stopped at Point Lobos to see the baby seal pups. They were totally cute although not quite close enough to get a great view.


I ended up hiking 3 of the park trails and took tons of pictures, the place is very photogenic. While I have sneezed more today than most of the last decade because of my cold, I'm actually not sneezing in this photo, just blinded by the sun.

It doesn't really come through in this photo but the rocks on this beach were cool mixtures of rounded river rock and sandstone, a bit like rock filled concrete. I also thought it was cool I could get my shadow in there. So by the time I closed out the state park and continued to backtracking to 101 it was dark. This was my first several hour stretch of night time driving this trip. I think I might want to avoid it in the future. I'm glad I got to do so much today but am a little bummed I didn't get to my hotel until after 11 because I sprung for a fancy schmancy place but will only experience it through closed eyes. I have a non-refundable tour at 10am tomorrow morning! It's been a long day....

Tommorrow: Hearst Castle, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, and Santa Barbara

Day 8: San Francisco to Monterey

Departed SF today from Briana's apartment (which, coincidentally, is also pink).



It was 45 minutes out of my way and $11 in tolls, but I just had to drive over the Golden Gate while in town. I really should walk it next time, the view was awesome but way too brief.


Stopped in Pacifica for lunch, it was a nice small beach town although a little depressed perhaps. I snapped this photo on my way to Santa Cruz at Pescadero State Beach.


I visited the Santa Cruz boardwalk but didn't stay long. The rides and games just didn't seem worth the cost. And I was just getting strange vibes from the place. So I continued on to Castroville to try the fried artichoke hearts at the Giant Artichoke Restaurant. They were underwhelming, all I could taste was the breading.


Got into Monterey earlier than expected to I checked into the youth hostel (which is in a great location) and wandered down to cannery row. There are a lot of informative plaques explaining the history of the place and its relationship to Steinbeck and other nice touches like the painting above. The tourist traps are cheesey for sure but feel less stupid than the ones at Fisherman's Wharf for some reason.

Tomorrow: Monterey Bay Aquarium, a little bit of Big Sur maybe, and San Simeon.

Day 7: San Francisco Part 2

First off was a business lunch with my Mr. Project Manager buddy Jim. It was too brief so we met up at the end of the day and had a real visit.


From his office building near the Montgomery Bart stop I walked through Chinatown all the way to Telegraph Hill and stumbled upon the Coit Tower. The interior is filled with WPA murals. The view was nice enough from outside that I didn't feel the need to pay to get to the top...



The bulk of the rest of my day was wandering around and marveling at the architecture and bat-shit insane parking situations. And getting another sunburn. Where were you bay area fog!


After I'd had my fill of the hustle and bustle of downtown I headed out to Hayes Valley neighborhood which was very charming. One of the parks had this massive statue which was originally constructed for Burning Man in 2007. The row houses were beautiful as well but surprisingly difficult to do them justice on film.


I decided to spring for a fancy dinner at Jardiniere. I saw on yelp that it has a special set 3-course menu on Mondays for $45 that included wine pairings. It was totally worth it (the normal chef's menu was $99). I've never enjoyed duck confit that much before. After dinner I Bart-ed back downtown and met up with Jim and Ali and got one final walking tour of Nob Hill and Russian Hill before heading back to Oakland.

Tomorrow: Golden Gate Bridge, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Giant Artichoke Restaurant, and Monterey!

Day 6: San Francisco Part 1

Briana joined me for my first stop today, the Legion of Honor art museum which had a pretty impressive smattering or ancient and classical European art. The temporary exhibition was called Pulp Fashion which was a collection by a modern day artist who recreates costumes from paintings in paper. You would hardly realize they weren't fabric from looking at them, they were very finely rendered. My favorite were the Botticelli dresses (very gauzy). No photos allowed for that exhibition :(.

The Legion of Honor Gallery is situated right next to Lincoln Park and Lands End Golden Gate Recreation area which had some nice ocean side trails and great view of the Bridge.


Next I headed to Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf which were tourist trap-tacular. I had dinner (sourdough bread bowl with crab bisque) at the Boudin Bistro above the bakery. It may be a massive operation but it really is great sourdough.
Rounded out the evening by dressing up and going out with Briana and Mark to her friend's Fancy 1960s party at Tosca Cafe. It was a nice and old hole in the wall with a salty bartender and everything. Briana Me Sally
Many darkly lit and hilarious photos were taken. Yes that is a fez on my head.

Tomorrow: Lunch with Jim and poking around some of the downtown neighborhoods. Also much use of public transportation.