massively late post: San Francisco!
So I meant to post about this a long time ago. But my film wasn't developed yet, so I kept putting it off. Now I have no excuse. So here it is.
Aude (iamfreak) and I left my apartment the morning of December 26, headed to the rental car place to pick up Max, the Pontiac of Awesome. (Had to have the worker boy activate my credit card because Bank of America = fail.) Then we were off up the coast! Stopped in Ventura briefly for provisions, then headed up PCH. Stopped around Santa Cruz San Luis Obispo for a picnic lunch, gas, and to switch drivers. A few miles up the road, we found banana elephant seals!
We'd planned to stop in Big Sur, but by the time we got there, it was decidedly dark, and the roads were very windy, so we just went straight to our hotel in Monterey. We discovered that Monterey is dead on a Friday night, but had dinner at a cute, empty little diner, and spent the night watching Torchwood on Aude's laptop. (We watched a lot of Torchwood.)
The next morning we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was made of geeky win. Mainly because of the jellies. And the penguins. And the cuttlefish. No nautilus though. Found awesome crepes, but, sadly, lost Viggo the Pirate.
That afternoon we headed to San Francisco, where we got mildly lost (the first of many times), but eventually found our hotel, where we were checked in by a surly gay boy. Didn't do much that night but watch more Torchwood. The next day was spent shopping for yarn and Lush, general sightseeing (like Coit Tower and the Crookedest Street and the Painted Ladies), and more crepes. Also went to Amoeba. (LA's Amoeba is superior, but it was still pretty cool.) Aude spent twenty minutes trying to find the Fillmore for me. It's dumb.
The next day was Alcatraz! It wasn't at all what I expected, but it was awesome. Creepy, but awesome. Like, I had no idea that Native Americans had taken it over for awhile. No one ever explained why it's in the crumpled state it's in. Earthquake, I'm guessing? Also went to Ghirardelli square - I've still got buckets of chocolate left.
Our last day, we headed to San Jose to see the Winchester Mystery House. It was ridiculous. For starters: next door is a strip mall. For serious. We didn't get any photos of anything ghostly, which is a bit sad, but I was convinced I was going to die when we were standing in the basement and the tour guide lady goes, "Oh, and this is where a lot of ghost sightings are!" Yay?
On the way home, we found the single greatest pizza ever, and that night, Aude ordered in Chinese food for the first time ever, and it was amazingly beautiful Chinese food. Dear Chinatown: I love you. We also went to the Japan Center - specifically Kinokuniya bookstore, where I bought a Japanese knitting book that I still haven't figured out how to operate.
The next morning - New Year's Eve - we gathered our things and prepared to leave town. After a slightly unfortunate breakfast, we made our way across the Golden Gate Bridge, because that's what you do when you're in San Francisco. There was Fog of Doom in San Francisco, but the Marin side was clear and beautiful.
Then we started the trek back down the coast. We stopped in Big Sur, and just about every turnout on the highway to take pictures.
Hit bad fog on the way back to LA, which poor Aude got stuck driving in. And even though it was only about ten o'clock when we found my apartment, we were both exhausted, so Aude went home, and I celebrated the New Year with Judy, Kitten of Doom and leftover apple juice.
It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and the first time I'd had a legitimate, go-somewhere-and-do-stuff vacation in ages. And that is how I spent my Christmas vacation.
Michelle Brady, 2/8/09, period 2, English
Aude (iamfreak) and I left my apartment the morning of December 26, headed to the rental car place to pick up Max, the Pontiac of Awesome. (Had to have the worker boy activate my credit card because Bank of America = fail.) Then we were off up the coast! Stopped in Ventura briefly for provisions, then headed up PCH. Stopped around Santa Cruz San Luis Obispo for a picnic lunch, gas, and to switch drivers. A few miles up the road, we found banana elephant seals!
We'd planned to stop in Big Sur, but by the time we got there, it was decidedly dark, and the roads were very windy, so we just went straight to our hotel in Monterey. We discovered that Monterey is dead on a Friday night, but had dinner at a cute, empty little diner, and spent the night watching Torchwood on Aude's laptop. (We watched a lot of Torchwood.)
The next morning we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was made of geeky win. Mainly because of the jellies. And the penguins. And the cuttlefish. No nautilus though. Found awesome crepes, but, sadly, lost Viggo the Pirate.
That afternoon we headed to San Francisco, where we got mildly lost (the first of many times), but eventually found our hotel, where we were checked in by a surly gay boy. Didn't do much that night but watch more Torchwood. The next day was spent shopping for yarn and Lush, general sightseeing (like Coit Tower and the Crookedest Street and the Painted Ladies), and more crepes. Also went to Amoeba. (LA's Amoeba is superior, but it was still pretty cool.) Aude spent twenty minutes trying to find the Fillmore for me. It's dumb.
The next day was Alcatraz! It wasn't at all what I expected, but it was awesome. Creepy, but awesome. Like, I had no idea that Native Americans had taken it over for awhile. No one ever explained why it's in the crumpled state it's in. Earthquake, I'm guessing? Also went to Ghirardelli square - I've still got buckets of chocolate left.
Our last day, we headed to San Jose to see the Winchester Mystery House. It was ridiculous. For starters: next door is a strip mall. For serious. We didn't get any photos of anything ghostly, which is a bit sad, but I was convinced I was going to die when we were standing in the basement and the tour guide lady goes, "Oh, and this is where a lot of ghost sightings are!" Yay?
On the way home, we found the single greatest pizza ever, and that night, Aude ordered in Chinese food for the first time ever, and it was amazingly beautiful Chinese food. Dear Chinatown: I love you. We also went to the Japan Center - specifically Kinokuniya bookstore, where I bought a Japanese knitting book that I still haven't figured out how to operate.
The next morning - New Year's Eve - we gathered our things and prepared to leave town. After a slightly unfortunate breakfast, we made our way across the Golden Gate Bridge, because that's what you do when you're in San Francisco. There was Fog of Doom in San Francisco, but the Marin side was clear and beautiful.
Then we started the trek back down the coast. We stopped in Big Sur, and just about every turnout on the highway to take pictures.
Hit bad fog on the way back to LA, which poor Aude got stuck driving in. And even though it was only about ten o'clock when we found my apartment, we were both exhausted, so Aude went home, and I celebrated the New Year with Judy, Kitten of Doom and leftover apple juice.
It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and the first time I'd had a legitimate, go-somewhere-and-do-stuff vacation in ages. And that is how I spent my Christmas vacation.
Michelle Brady, 2/8/09, period 2, English