Winona and Collingwood

Left Niagara and drove to Winona to meet up with Ted and Sharon. I know Ted from way back in the 70s when I lived in Collingwood, Ontario and we met Sharon, a lovely lady, for the first time. We had a great night, and it was fabulous to be able to catch up with Ted after so long, and I am sorry that it was only for one night. Now we have to work on getting them to come to Australia.

We said goodbye and moved on to Collingwood to see how much it has changed and grown. The main street looks much the same, the surrounding area has exploded. The ship yards have gone, there are shopping malls, big chain hotels, fast food, etc. Out at the ski mountain, Big Blue, where I lived and worked, it is near unrecognisable. Golf courses, massive residential and holiday development, it is an all year round resort.

Drove past all the places we lived in over the four years we were there, and the hospital where Vanessa was born. Quite nostalgic.

One of the houses I lived in, in Collingwoo

Collingwood Main Street 

Niagara Falls 3

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Niagara Falls 2

Before Maid of the Most tour

After Maid of the Mist tour

Back in the car, we joined the queue to get across the border. Fortunately, no problems. 

Bridge to Canada

We parked the car and walked back to see the Falls from every vantage point we could before leaving. It's an amazing place. I think I could sit and watch for hours as the water flows down river before going over the Falls.

Heading to Canada - Niagara

So now we are on our way to Canada. We followed George who was going to Buffalo
through the back roads then left him and continued on to Niagara Falls. Stayed on the American side and walked around, took lots of photos then took a Maid of the Mist tour.

Fantastic. We wore ponchos to stay dry but as we were up the front of the boat, our face, feet and sleeves still got wet. The boat goes so close and the amount of water rushing over the Falls is awesome.



Up river, US side

Ithaca

Our next problem was finding a campsite as there weren't many around but we found a great state park near Woodstock. Went into the town for supplies - would have loved to spend time there. Dinner and lovely campfire and a good night's sleep.

The drive to Ithaca is really scenic. we passed through some really pretty areas, although it was a fairly long trip as we were on minor roads doing 45 mph or less. Arrived in Ithaca just as the graduation at Ithaca College had finished, so quite a traffic jam. Found our way to George Mann's house, a lovely cottage on a large property. We went for a walk at Taughannock Falls State Park which has the longest waterfall drop in the country. Very scenic. Had very nice dinner at Moosewood Restaurant in town. Enjoyed some music and a movie before bed.

Next morning, fiddled around trying to load a Canadian map onto our Garmin with no luck. Gave up and went to see another local falls with has a beautiful gorge walk but we were too early in the season and most was closed. Story of our trip. Never mind. We had a wonderful visit with George. Thanks again George.

Barry and George at Taughannock Falls State Park

George and Pam at Taughannock Falls State Park

Clearwater

Headed north west and spent a fair bit of the day buying basic camping gear - tent, stove, air bed, towels, pillows, utensils etc. Got them all for a really good price. Drove as far as possible to find a campground. Got to a Jellystone one at Sturbridge which charged us $50 to pitch a little tent. The site is nowhere near the standard which others have been at a lesser price but we had no choice. We shared a campfire with the people next to us, and our tent and bed were great, but it was soooo cold.

Left early and bought some supplies and drove to Beacon where we thought the sloop 'Clearwater' was kept. It wasn't there but we were told where it actually was, and about a music festival that was happening right then t which Pete Seeger, who is now 94, might make an appearance. We found the site and discovered we had missed him by about half an hour. What a disappointment.

However, we moved on to Kingston where the 'Clearwater' was on dry dock being restored. Barry spoke to a guy working on it, and told him we had come from Australia hoping to see it and he took us on the dock to see it close up. Barry was very happy.

Clearwater in dry dock under restoration

Plymouth

 

Got to Boston, picked up our little black number, a Ford Focus, and headed south to Plymouth. Delighted that we did as it is such a pretty place. It is also very historic as it is where the Pilgrim Fathers first set foot in America. Drove around, had dinner on the pier. Very nice too.

Next morning, went for a walk to see Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims are said to have first set foot, although this is probably not the case, then went to see the oldest house in America. Also saw a fabulous old mill with pub attached. It is such a pretty place.

More LA photos

Los Angeles

Decided to do a Grand Tour today. Bus picked us up at 9 am. Went to Marina del Key (largest marina, 5000 boats), Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Stars Walk of Fame, Farmer's Market, Chinatown, and more. Back at 4 pm - great trip - it was well worth the money. Here are some photos you may not ordinarily see.

To LA

Last leg before LA, again stuck to coast road. Passed through Malibu and Santa Barbara - amazed at how people have been allowed to build houses literally on the sand. They are practically in the water. Not necessarily very big, but some mansions up on the hill.

At one stop Barry found a camera on the ground. There was a card inside the case so Barry rang the lady who was close by so we waited and three very happy people arrived. Turned out these people had recently returned from a month in Australia and loved Aussies, even more now. We were invited to visit them if ever we get to Cincinnati or Las Vegas.

Arrived in Los Angeles early afternoon, booked into the Golden Shore RV Park right at Long Beach. It was hot so had a lovely swim and just relaxed. 15 min walk to restaurants area. Had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Very nice too. Went for a long walk after dinner.

Tue, 14th

Spent morning packing, gave our last two folding chairs and most of the left over food to 3 young Danish students nearby. They were delighted. Drove RV to car wash where Barry and David washed the outside while Jan and I did inside. The boys dropped Jan and I at Airport Travelodge Motel while they took the RV back. A day early, but at least we have a free day tomorrow. 

San Simeon

Found a great spot to camp in the state park and had a lovely campfire. 

Next morning, Barry rose at dawn (I stayed in bed) and took some photos. 

San Francisco to San Simeon

Left San Francisco and travelled along lots of freeways with lots of other people and headed for the scenic coast road. Drove through Gilroy and Marina to Monterey but too hard to park the RV so moved on. 

The coast road, Highway 1, is amazing. Although it was very foggy out over the water, the land was quite clear and made for some stunning photos. The road is narrow and winding, not ideal for a 30' RV, with lots of pullouts to stop to take photos. We did this often and at one stop, were gobsmacked to see (and smell) hundreds of elephant seals, as far as the eye could see, just lying on the beach.

San Francisco 3

 

Next morning we went back into the city on the Vallejo ferry this time continuing on to Fisherman's Wharf. Great atmosphere, souvenir shops, people and clam chowder everywhere.

Cable car at terminus

Caught cable car up Powell Street. So many people hanging on, standing on the running boards we couldn't see a lot. Wandered around a bit then had clam chowder in a sourdough bowl for lunch. Yum! It was good.

San Francisco 2

At the end of Pier 39 a crowd was gathered. What they were looking at was scores of elephant seals which have made the rafts at K Dock their home. 

They started arriving after the 1989 earthquake, and kept on coming. One year 1700 were crammed onto the rafts.

The smell is not nice, but the constant barking of individuals trying for dominance and forcing others back into the water while hundreds of others just lie there, is something to see.

Had a seafood dinner at a restaurant on the pier, then caught bus back as ferries had stopped.

Barry and Pam at Pier 39 with Alcatraz in background

San Francisco 1

Noisy night between horn-blowing,long freight trains and the dumpster being ever so quietly emptied only meters away. Left for San Francisco and booked in at a recommended RV park at Vallejo, north of the city. Thanks Larry and Nancy. It is close to the ferry terminal which takes you direct to the city, so we went in that afternoon, caught a trolley to Pier 39 and had a lovely afternoon wandering through the pier. It was bitterly cold, but sunny.

On the Vallejo ferry

From the ferry

Strolling along Pier 39

A little bit of advice. If a security guy is holding you and says 'get down', do it quickly. Within minutes of arriving at Pier 39, four security guards ran through the crowd, grabbed a guy and were struggling with him, and shouted 'get down'. A moment's hesitation, and wham, with a little help he was down. One guard took off another guy, who came quietly and they were handcuffed and taken away.  After that, the pier was very quiet.

More big trees

Biggest tree on the world

This tree has been cut down and is across the path, hence the hole cut out.

Decided to head for San Francisco and stayed overnight at Chowchilla, where we met some more lovely people, this time Canadian, who joined us for an extended happy hour.

Sequoia National Park

As we drove into the Sequoia National Park, the ranger advised that it was not recommended that vehicles over 22ft continue as it is narrow and winding, we are 30ft but chose to continue, and although it was OK it was slow and difficult at times to pull off and take photos.

 
The trees there are big, and in the giant Forest, we saw the largest tree in the world (not by height or width, but by volume). It is really high especially around the base.

Las Vegas to Visalia CA

As we left Las Vegas I realised we were going to go through the little town of Baker. This town, at the gateway to Death Valley, is significant for me as it is where our VW Kombi died in 1975, when I was travelling across the USA with Maurice and Vanessa was only 3 months old. We spent 2 weeks there and at that time, I think there was only one store, a motel (which we lived in and in which Vanessa had her first swim) and a service station. Now it has all kinds of fast food stores there, but it is still a small town, convenient for travellers to stop and eat or refuel, and it is the tie. At the entrance to Death Valley. It was quite strange seeing it again, albeit from a moving car.
There's not much to see out there in any direction.

Continued on through Barstow and on through Bakersfield to a little town called Visalia where we spent a very pleasant evening with some fellow campers and new friends around their campfire.

Baker

Turnoff to Baker CA

Main Street through Baker