Bakersfield and Las Vegas

July 28, 2009, Bakersfield CA

After leaving Neil and Linda’s and on the way to Las Vegas, we made a quick stopover in Bakersfield, CA to visit our friend, Lynne Schneider. Unfortunately her husband Dan wasn’t home but Lynne and Tina show off his fabulous Harley in a picture.

July 28-August 1, 2009

We arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada, stayed at the MGM Grand for 4 nights and relaxed by the pool daily, consumed a number of frozen drinks (you must stay hydrated when the temperature reaches 115 degrees daily). Our best meal in Vega s was at an excellent Italian restaurant which we frequent whenever we’re in Vegas—Battista’s Hole in the Wall Restaurant near the Flamingo Hotel. http://www.battistaslasvegas.com/ It was fabulous as usual. We also sat in and rated a new show that aired Sunday, August 9, called “There Goes the Neighborhood.” Yes, it’s another reality show but we all enjoyed the viewing—even Bryant who claims not to like trash. We were disappointed when the clip stopped because we wanted to see which family was to be eliminated. We’ll have to catch the clip on CBS.com to see which family was voted off. They stopped the clip just before the revelation. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/there_goes_the_neighborhood/

August 1, 2009, Off to the Grand Canyon

We drove by Lake Mead, which is beautiful but very low, then to the Hoover Damn. After that we were off to the ever Grand, Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It will never cease to amaze us of its awesome and breathtaking beauty. We spent the night at one of the Grand Canyon lodges—the Maswik Lodge, got up and took a helicopter tour of the Canyon, where Hazel was the co-pilot. No meals worth mentioning here, just the awesome sights! (We were going to camp one night, but the facilities, a hole in the ground, were just to primitive.)

The Redwoods and San Bruno

\

July 25, 2009, San Francisco Down
We are now going through the Redwood Forest, driving the northern coastal highway 101. While an exciting drive with some of the most dangerous curves and drops we’ve ever seen, the scenery was not nearly as beautiful as the southern 101 route. The Redwood Forest was beautiful but now we are ready to make a great pit stop at Neil and Linda’s (Tina and Hazel’s brother and girlfriend’s) place in San Bruno, CA, just south of San Francisco.
July 25-28, 2009, San Bruno, CA
Arrived at Neil and Linda’s place where we spent 3 days having a ball. They feed us as if we were dining at the finest restaurants. (Hazel didn’t know what a great cook Neil is!) We were treated like two Queens and a King. As many times that we’ve been to SF we’ve never walked the Golden Gate Bridge over and back. But we did this time and we had a great day to do it. It was beautiful and windy but warm. We had a fabulous time.

Seattle-- Back in the USA

July 21, 2009, Seattle Bound and Down

We took the ferry from Vancouver Island back to Vancouver BC. We spent the night in Bellingham, Washington, got up and the next day made our way to the Boeing Factory for a tour of the factory, which was a phenomenal experience. (No pics allowed)Then we went to Seattle to Pike’s Market where the employees of the fish market put on quite a show for us tourists, throwing fish around left and right and scaring the unwary with the ugliest fish in the ocean, a whole Monk fish. The Pike Market has some great looking fish but without a kitchen all we could do was dream. So , we made our way to the Brooklyn Restaurant for happy hour which included 6 dozen oysters for us, clam chowder for Bryant and who knows how many beers!

July 22, 2009, in where? Chehalis, Washington

We spent the night in Chehalis, WA, got up and made our way to Mt. St. Helens—another awesome sight. We had dinner at Norma’s Ocean Diner in Seaside, OR based on a Road Food recommendation but this one was not one of our favorites.
July 24, 2009, Route 101 from North to South We then drove Rt. 101 south to Otis, Oregon, and had breakfast at the Otis Cafe, where they sold “Marion Berry” pie (not to be confused with the Mayor, however). SEE PIC OF MENU. The waitress looked a little quizzical when Bryant asked if the pie was name for the DC Mayor Marion Barry. She responded, “No, the Marion is a berry grown in Oregon. Mayor who? We spent the night in DePoe Bay, Oregon across from the Pacific Ocean. It was nice. We ate a delicious seafood dinner at the Seascape Restaurant and Pie in Trinidad, CA. We must say, that when we first saw this restaurant it looked a little scary. It was a foggy, misty night and the GPS took us on a dark curvy road and delivered us to a dank building, next to a boat yard and a marina. It may have been dark and dank outside but inside was bright and warm with wonderful food. After we ate, we drove for an hour or so and spent the night in Fortuna, CA (don’t ask about Fortuna).