We started the day well – with a fantastic breakfast on top
of the Mark… One could choose from two types of omelettes, three types of
smoked fish, dim sum, waffles, French toast, curds, porridge, you name it! My
favorite is their fruit smoothie.
After breakfast we went on a city tour. Our guide, Malcolm,
spoke some Russian, and was very pleasant. He also spoke Italian, and the tour
was in two languages. Good for me – I suddenly remembered a lot of forgotten
Italian words… It was a very different tour from what we had with my parents –
the bus was small, there were only 5 of us, and we could go to less touristy
places. I was happy to see the house of Janice Joplin, for example. I really
enjoyed the Alamo square, and my husband loved the City hall square with it
majestic, imperial architecture and large open spaces.
We were also happy with the bay cruise – we passed under the Golden
Gates bridge and could see infamous Alcatraz from every angle. But the most
exciting part was to watch the show run of gigantic catamarans on the bay.
Later we walked through the America’s Cup grounds and took some photos of
yachts, boats and schooners.
We walked along Embarcadero, went through the
Fisherman’s Warf Market, crossed the business center and slowly made it back to
our hotel. As luck would have it, Lyuda twisted her ankle stepping out from the
bus – and walking was quite painful for her. We got elastic bandages in a
Walgreens next to the hotel and kept our fingers crossed that there was no
serious damage. Now she was awarded a title "Lamefoot Sibirian"... (Chromonozhka Sibirskaya).
Thursday, August 22, 2013. Crescent City - San Francisco
We got up early and ate our breakfast at the hotel’s
restaurant. When we were just checking in, they handed us a hotel card with the
number of persons eligible to eat at the hotel’s expense on it. Believe it or
not, but they did request that card – and actually took it from us… What if you
decide to stay longer? And then again, why would you decide to stay longer in
Crescent City?
The breakfast itself was plentiful. The only tricky part was
that the waitress was to bring you a big plate to be filled up at the smorges
bord…And our waitress gave us two plates for three people. Well, I had to
straighten that. The ambience is a surprising one: it feels like you are
permanently frozen in Christmas time: wood panels, Christmas lights – and even
fake Christmas garlands around the perimeter.
It took us about 15 minutes to get to The Trees of Mystery
in Clamath, California. Paul Bunyan was still greeting visitors like two years
ago. It was still cold and misty. The trees were still tall and mysterious,
like they were supposed to. We went up the sky trail just for the fun of it,
even though the view was concealed by the mist. It gives you the feel for the
height of the trees, though.
Next stop was in Trinidad. The wind was mercilessly cold. We
almost ran into the shelter of the seaside restaurant. It welcomed us with the
din of many voices, fire in the fireplace, and the aroma of home cooking. We ate clam chowder and
fried halibut… Hot tea and honey…
And then the sun came out! We went back to the pier and watched the
fishermen feeding gulls and sea lions with leftovers… The sun painted the bay
with deep green and blue; the fog burned off and suddenly we could see the
rocks jutting out in the bay – some shaped like fantastic animals… and dozens
of small fishing boats…
From Trinidad we drove about 40 miles to the entrance to the
Avenue of the Giants. The most exciting thing about it is that one can actually
walk in the forest. We ran about, climbed fallen trunks, measured gigantic
sequoias, took tons of pictures and had fun!
We passed Benbow Inn and got more gas in Garberville. Here
Ivan got behind the wheel. We still had about 200 miles to go. The road was not
very easy, it cut through the mountains, and had too many sharp turns to my
liking. Eventually we made it to Mendocino county, and drove among vineyards
and small sunny towns.
We crossed the Golden Gates Bridge already in the dark. The toll gates now use only electronic
tolling – we were a bit shocked, but hey – Seattle has “Good To Go” system on
520 bridge, too. Driving in the dark on a Friday night in San Francisco is an
adrenalin rush enough for anyone, and I would not call my husband an
adventurous person. And Mark Hopkins sits on top of the hill! We were very
happy to get rid of the car and collapsed on our beds.
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