These photos summarize our August 2004 vacation. I've added hyperlinks for more info on the sites.
We rented a Crown Victoria for the trip from Sacramento to San Diego. My real car, with the www.stoptheftaa.com bumper sticker, is at the right.
We arrived in Monterey about noon, visited Monterey Bay Aquarium, then had clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl for lunch.
A week after returning from the vacation I received CSAA magazine, with photos similar to what I had taken:
We got up close and personal with the stingrays. (I couldn't wait for one to come by since other kids were waiting their turn in the bubble.)
The jellyfish exhibit is amazing
Next we took the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach. Here are the kids next to some famous tree:
Then we proceeded down Highway one. (As the kids can attest, the Crown Victoria may look like a boat, but it handled the windy road pretty well....Stephen, do you see the car down there?)
We spent the first night at Morro Bay. Here is Morro Rock:
Monday morning we took the tour of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, which Stephanie is considering for a major in Architectural Engineering. (That's her to my right.) We saw the bathroom next to the campus radio station where Weird Al Yankovich recorded "My Balona"
At the motel we saw a flyer for ATV rentals at Pismo Beach. It was on the way, so we rented two ATVs for 2 hours. The dunes are an amazing place to ride - It's like this over 6 square miles, I believe:
While we were riding the tide came in - another hour and the car might have been under water - good it was a rental :-D
We spent the night in Anaheim. We found an old motel that offered a good rate on a two-room suite, and reserved 3 nights.
We spent Tuesday at Knotts Berry Farm. Their new coaster Xcelerator reaches 82 MPH in just 2.3 seconds. We rode it several times. It's a modern coaster, smooth ride. In contrast their GhostRider is an old-school wooden coaster that beats you up and you fear it will jump the tracks. It was also wild, seeming to continue forever.
Wednesday we drove to San Diego then walked into Tijuana. Stephanie purchased "something" from one of the many street vendors. And we had an authentic Mexican lunch before walking back to the U.S. (The temperature was low 80's with a cooling ocean breeze.)
Thursday we tours Sony Studios in Culver City. This was MGM Studios until the Japanese bought it. There is a lot of history here - see the website. We walked through the house-set of "Joan of Arcadia" (We saw that the outdoor from "Kevin's bedroom" is a poster about 5 feet from the window.) This is NOT like Universal Studios. Here you walk through the studio with a guide and small group. We were then able to get in to see Wheel of Fortune taped, getting lucky and proceeding though the confusion without holding tickets.
In the evening we went to Hollywood and visited the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum.
Friday we went up Mulholland Drive for the view, then drove home.
