Where Are We Sleeping Tonight: Econo Lodge, Castro Valley, California. After a quick photo in my new t-shir that I bought yesterday, it was time to leave Yreka and continue heading south. Motoring along the I-5, we couldn't help but notice a high mountain popping up out of nowhere. A quick look at the map revealed that the snow covered peak was the mammoth Mt Shasta. At twice the height of Mt Kosciusko, it makes anything in Australia look like a mole hill.
As we had been driving for half an hour, we decided to stop in the little town of Mount Shasta for breakfast. Randomly picking the Black Bear Diner based on the look of the building might not have been the best way to pick a restaurant, especially after we waited for what seemed like an eternity. When our food did arrive, Clare had a weird brown gravy on her eggs while I had a gluggy semi-radioactive hollandaise sauce with mine. At least they had a semi cute wooden bear in the carpark...
Back on the road, as we approached the town of Corning, we spotted a dust devil (aka a willy-willy) making its way through a field of what looked like gofer holes... it looks very dry out here. Bypassing Sacramento, we headed to the Napa Valley.
Considering that this is wine country, I was amazed at how dry everything looks around Napa. Granted it is summer here (although the snow covered mountain we saw earlier today could have fooled me) but everything looks so dry that I wonder how it affects the taste of their wines. Obviously we had to find out so we visited a random winery, namely Darioush. With bottles ranging in size from the average 750ml bottle all the way up to a mega 9 litre bottle ($1750.00 in case you wondering), we really hit the jackpot here! Clare wanted to try a tasting of their 2010 Chardonnay but their tasting fee of $35 was just ridiculous! We can buy an entire bottle of Brown Brothers for that!
As we were leaving Napa, we heard on the radio that there was a really bad traffic accident on I-80 where we about to go. After a quick look at the map, we found a different route which doubled the distance but based on the radio's estimates, would save us about an hour. Driving off around San Pablo Bay lead us to Highway 1 which leads through the hills. Driving through a tunnel, we were pleasantly surprised as we came out the other end to see the Golden Gate Bridge! The traffic was really bad leading up to the bridge as they had 3 lanes closed for some reason. We pulled off into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where we climbed a hill to get great views of the bridge and San Francisco beyond. I never realised that this used to be a military outpost here but it makes sense - this would be a great place to film. With the cold wind blowing so hard that we could nearly stand up, we got some great photos.
Heading off, we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco where we met up with our friends, James and Grace. I hadn't seen James in years, not since he left Australia to go work in Japan, so it was great to catch up with him in the States. Leaving our car parked in their building, James and Grace drove us into the Mission District where we enjoyed the heavenly vegan Mexican food that is Gracias Madre. Being a huge fan of meat and dairy products, and knowing how they make up the basis of Mexican food, I wasn't expecting much from them but the prickly pear that I had was amazing. I could easily become vegan if I had easy access to food like this!
After a wonderful dinner, Grace and James took us on a whirlwind tour of the sights of San Francisco. They told us of how lucky we were to get a clear view of the bridge today as it is quite regularly lost in fog, which we saw starting to rise above the city. After seeing a million and one different houses (including the one from Mrs Doubtfire and the 'Painted Ladies'), we headed up to the a lookout but by the time we got there, the lookout was nicely in the belt of fog and we could barely see beyond the car.
With a craving for desert, we headed to a grocery store on the hunt for Jimmy Dean's Pancake & Sausage on a Stick - it is literally a sausage wrapped in a blueberry pancake. Sadly the store we went to were sold out! Grace insisted that we had to try a real San Francisco desrt - namely an Its-It. It is in essence an ice-cream sandwich but oh so good :)
With another busy day planned for tomorrow, it was time to say goodnight and head on our way. It was so great to spend time with James and Grace, especially as I haven't seen James in years - who knows when we will see them again. As a parting gift, we gave James our huge tub of cheese balls that we barely made a dent in. James was so thrilled to get them - I wonder if they made it upstairs to their apartment or if he dumped them straight in the trash :)
Heading over to Castro Valley, we checked in to the Econo Lodge - it seems alright, but we are so tired we could sleep just about anywhere.
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