Home again, home again, jiggity jig...
Although it appears we had a few more skeptics than we realized, Mom and I successfully finished our trip and returned home, on time, still speaking, and with a million good memories. It was sad to part with Angie, say goodbye to ST and Tammy, and end such a wonderful adventure; however, we returned home to happily awaiting Northeasterners who were delighted we came back and brought the sunshine. Now back to our daily routine, although that is a rather loose phrase at the moment since both Mom and I will have to sort out what our next steps will be. Thanks so much to all of you for following our travels. We have a plethora of stories that never made it to the blog so feel free to email, call, or come by and see photos depending on where you are. If you have no idea how to do any of these things, comment on the blog with a way for us be in touch with you and we promise to respond. We hope you use this as inspiration for an adventure of your own.
Happy trails, Maggie and Naomi (mom)

Well, Maggie and Mom made it back to San Francisco, but not without one last adventure on the way. We just had to stop in Castroville, the artichoke capital of the world and have their famous, deep-fried artichoke hearts for lunch. They actually ARE as good as their hype, and Maggie and I left feeling quite satisfied. The two-hour trip to San Francisco was basically uneventful after that (just lots of traffic) and now I'm at ST and Tammy's home while Maggie and ST attend a lecture (good for Maggie for having the energy to go!). The former mayor of Bogota, Columbia is speaking about how to use urban planning to create healthy outdoor spaces. I'll be all ears when they get back, but for now I'm trying to organize the mountain of 'stuff' we have before returning dear Angie in the morning...

The last leg of our trip has included three nights and two and a half days in the Carmel/Monterey area. The idea was to 'chill' a bit after all that driving, and staying here was just the salve we thought it would be! This picture of us was taken at the end of our afternoon at the beach in Carmel (a real beauty). The area also provided us with lots of company, brunch with Asa Kesner, the world-famous aquarium with Emma and Pam Richter, and a fantastic dinner at the local Monterey Fish House with newly-married Tim and Syrah McGivern (thanks everyone, we really enjoyed visiting with you!). One photo is of seahorses, the aquarium's special exhibit right now, and the other is of the extraordinary jellies on permanent display. Maggie and I spent our last night in Angie and are now preparing for our final drive to San Francisco where we will connect with family and friends for several days before heading home. Still hope to post a couple more entries...

San Simeon (Hearst's Castle) is a remarkable feat of architecture, building and sheer determination. Based on a Mediterranean villa, the "ranch," as it was called, defies description. Maggie and I basically spent the entire tour with our mouths open. But the 'piece de resistance' was when we were driving down highway 1, having just left the complex, and we spotted some of the zebra herd descendants that the Hearst's set free when the state came to confiscate them! There are five tours in all (some people try to take all five in one day)! We felt lucky to get on the tour we did, which included Hearst's private quarters, some of the upper floor guest rooms, his private library (4000 volumes or something like that), the kitchen (which was every bit as big as some of the institutional kitchens we've seen) and of course the two pools (the indoor pool is the most photographed pool in the world). Well, maybe we don't have all our facts exactly right, but suffice to say we were WAY impressed! Though a little confused what anyone 'needed' that size house for!

Old picture (a few days ago, Grand Canyon, Desert View campground) new story...got a later start than we'd hoped this morning, then hit a detour (don't you love detours when you have no idea where you are to begin with?). Got to Paso Robles where we came to understand that you DON'T travel (even in state parks) on July 4 weekend without a reservation. We persevered, nonetheless, just hoping something would work out. Felt like 'luck' was with us when we got to Hearst Castle, found out all the tours for the day were booked, and then through a little miracle got tickets anyway! (Pics of that unbelievable place soon.) Decided to try our luck at San Simeon State Park even though they had already informed us via phone that they were full up. Got there only to have them reiterate said fact. Drove a couple miles up Rte 1 (on the beautiful ocean coast) and after just one other stop found a kind lodge owner who let us park in his lot for the night (ocean view, free wifi!, restaurant and mini-mart) all for 20 dollars! Just as we're getting settled in, the state park called us with a spot from a cancellation! Have decided to stay put since our sunset-perfect, oceanview couldn't get any better, but are feeling greatly encouraged for tomorrow's trek further up this Big Sur coastline. Maggie is reading beside me, the sun is getting ready for its big splash of the day, and life is good...

Yesterday was a travel day as we try to work our way back over to the California coast. We were able to leave Las Vegas by noon and by some miracle had no problem getting on Rte. 15w. We DID, however, run into some fierce weather! Maggie captured the storm clouds moving in, but we had to sit out the major thunder and lightning storm for over an hour on a little construction road off the highway. Of course we were travelling over a narrow mountain pass at the time the heavens opened up! When the storm subsided, we travelled through Barstow (the only major population center in about 100 miles and 'major' is using the term loosely) and determined we'd attempt to make it to Bakersfield for the night. We hadn't planned on the fact that rte. 58 (which we picked up in Barstow) was completely flat for many miles and the wind was a lot for our dear Angie (and me!) to handle! Keeping her on the road with the big trucks that utilize that road was a major feat! Maggie is a trooper even though I'm sure she saw her life flash before her several times! We did make it safely to Bakersfield, but encountered our first mishap with the campground we thought we'd stay in--it wasn't there! (I'm sure it's still somewhere, but it certainly isn't where our guide said it was!) So we had to book our first unplanned hotel stay which with the temps reaching111 degrees was probably not the worst choice. Today we'll make it to the coast and try to book one of the first-come, first-served campsites (again)--wish us luck! Ps. The storm did make way for this gorgeous, end-of-our-day sunset...

Las Vegas! ONCE is great!! We packed quite a bit in, considering we were there for just under 24 hours! Stayed at the pyramid at left (the Luxor), caught the new Cirque de Soleil show with Criss Angel (Believe), and got out in time for Maggie to catch this beautiful shot of the fountains in front of the Bellagio (where Oceans 11 was filmed). Ate some great food, saw Dale Chihuly's glass flower ceiling, walked around in some real heat (nearly 100 degrees) and all-in-all had a whopping good time. Maggie and I went to sleep sometime after 2 a.m. and still managed to get up and ready by checkout time! (11 a.m.) Oh, did I mention we won thirty dollars at the slot machines?

Elk seems to be our wildlife of choice this trip! This one stopped traffic in Canyon Village for literally hours! Eventually several rangers came and shooed him away...we regretfully said goodbye to the Grand Canyon yesterday afternoon, after an invigorating hike around a portion of the 12-mile rim trail, followed by a scrumptious lunch (prickly pear quesadillas) at El Tovar, the oldest canyon hotel (as opposed to lodge, not that we ever found out the difference) built in 1905. Didn't make it too far--about 60 miles to Williams, AZ where we set up temporary residence on Cataract Lake in the Kaibab National Forest. Have also made two visits to a great coffee shop in town, where we brushed our teeth, and had coffee (naturally) and Lil' Orbit donuts. Don't laugh, they're the only donuts we've ever had that don't land like lead in your stomach! Now we're on to Las Vegas where we've booked our first hotel of the trip (come on, it's Maggie's first time in Las Vegas!)--we're staying at the Luxor, right on the Strip, should be a riot! We're also going to try to pick up some same day Cirque de Soleil tickets--wish us luck!