You know it's a good trip when it takes me two weeks to recover enough to write the post for it! After our National Park Week, we were parked and canyoned out - and ready to get back to civilization. Good 'ole Cali was the perfect answer to those prayers. From LA to San Fran, we weaved our way up the coast and celebrated our grand finale in Napa and Sonoma Valleys. I have to say, I really like California!
Our drive from Vegas on July 5th over to Los Angeles saw a huge change in temperature - peaking at 116 in Death Valley and landing at a pleasant 65 degrees when we arrived at the Marriott in Marina del Rey, a beautiful hotel only a few blocks to Venice Beach. I have to say, it was a far cry from our "rustic" accommodations in Yellowstone only a week prior. We valeted the car ($26 a night -ugh), checked into our lovely room and quickly headed out the door to see the Pacific Ocean. There, we met my college sorority sister Marla Kornfeld Rothfarb and her family and enjoyed a delightful evening at C&O Trattoria on Venice Beach. The atmosphere was right up my Italian alley, with an outdoor courtyard lit up with strings of lights and an occasional group rendition of "When the Moon Hits Your Eye..."
The next day we hit all the hot spots - Rodeo Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard and saw all the iconic symbols of the entertainment industry - from the Hollywood sign to the Stars on the Walk of Fame. We were witness to a celebrity sighting at Tod's on Rodeo and a crowd of mourners surrounding Michael Jackson's Star on Hollywood Blvd. We had a great lunch with our friend and UCLA student David Chow and his beautiful girlfriend Katherine at Ketchup, a trendy restaurant in Beverly Hills owned by Ashton Kutcher. We did not see Ashton, but enjoyed 5 flavors of ketchup at his digs and a lovely view of the Hills. We totally avoided downtown LA, since rumors were spreading that the massive convergence for MJ's memorial the next day would be God-awful. Did I mention that there's a bit of traffic in and around LA? Still a totally cool place.
Our exodus out of LA began on the second morning of Week Two, where we headed north along the Pacific Coast Highway until we found Patrick's Roadhouse on Santa Monica Beach. The historic diner is a quaint little French inspired landmark, owned by our host and waiter Silvio. We dined outside on a very narrow porch at a rustic but oh so charming wood table. The rusty Mott Street sign behind me made me flash to my favorite Chinatown basement hideaway called WoHops in NYC. I ordered the Governator - as reviewed by Guy from Diners, Drive Inns and Dives. As a favorite of Governor Arnie, I thought it should be called the Terminator, since the scrambled egg concoction was chock full of the ultimate no no's, from bacon to ham to potatoes... everything but the kitchen sink. Gene had an incredible burger and Taryn had her favorite fall back BLT. Highly recommended to stop by and say hi to Silvio, who was kind enough to share with us his favorite places to go in San Francisco.
Venice, Santa Monica, Malibu... the scenery was spectacular with the speckling of hillside houses, the winding roads and the spattering of surfers. Gotta love Southern Cali! As we made it further north, the vistas changed and we spotted fields of grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and cows. The air got chillier, the water got deeper blue and the coast got rockier. A favorite stop was one of many lookouts, where we got surprisingly close to a smelly and loud group of elephant seals. So weird the way they pile on top of each other in rows on the beach. Approaching Monterey, it got crazy steep, crazy winding and crazy incredible with views around every sharp corner. At moments, the cliffy roads took our breath away. The bikers blew our minds, riding on the edge of these roads with no railings and up tremendous inclines. Not quite ready for THAT bike tour!
Monterey CA is home to another college sorority sister, Melanie Darling Scholl and her family, whom we truly enjoyed spending an evening with over some great burgers and a few tall cold ones on our only night in that town. I can see why Mel is hoping for a few more years there before her high ranking husband has to move them again. Beautiful town and a super family.
San Francisco was our final resting place before heading home to the heat of FL in July and we were grateful for the cooler climate. This is a city I could spend some time in. It's like my cherished NYC but with a touch of Boston waterfront. Uniquely though, it has the PACIFIC OCEAN... with stunning beaches and incredible redwood forests! We absolutely loved it -and if they could only move it closer to the east coast, we would probably become regular visitors. The Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams exhibit was great fun at SFMOMA, especially because we were joined by one of my favorite people to attend art museums with... my business partner and one of my BFF's, Kimberly and her family (who surprised us for the last leg of our trip)! I just loved watching my daughter and my 2 Godsons listening to their audio tours while they viewed fine art and photography together. One of those priceless moments when your worlds collide in all the right ways. I can go on and on about SF, from the street cars to the sourdough bread to the seals at the wharf to Alcatraz and even my daughter's insanely claustrophobic shopping escapade at the 3-story Forever 21. And, of course, I haven't yet been disappointed in a Kimpton Hotel - ours was the Serrano, where the complimentary wine hour at 5:30pm became a ritual for watching my daughter beat her father at Wii in the lobby.
Our last day took us over the Golden Gate Bridge in the morning, where we watched the fog roll in. It cleared up upon our arrival at the absolutely gorgeous Gargiulo Vineyards in Oakville, Napa Valley. A lovely, and now favorite, client of mine ;) arranged a private tasting and tour with Margaret Short, event planner extraordinaire. Margaret is a long-time resident and business owner in Naples, Florida, and she is spending the summer at Gargiulo planning their summer events. Our co-host and Margaret's beaux happened to be Trent Ryan, an old colleague of mine from BVK. Small world. The winery and vineyard was so beautiful and we loved every minute of our tour of the grounds. What a dream to spend a summer at a vineyard... I was jealous for sure. The wine was outstanding and we left with a couple bottles to head to Sonoma for our last evening of the trip. There, we joined Kimberly at her rented cottage for a sunset dinner. Joined by some SF friends of theirs and our employee and friend Lisa and her family, it was a beautiful evening of laughter, love and music. Kim's friend Dave brought his guitar and the kids played Frisbee in the yard, while we sat in Adirondack chairs and gazed at the wildflowers bordering the yard. Hello, I think I'm never going home!!! Alas, after a delicious meal on the porch by the talented Anthony, and a few glasses of Gargiulo wine, we headed back to the city for our final night of a long and memorable road trip with our daughter.
Simply unforgettable.
After a week traveling without me from Tulsa to South Dakota, my family picked me up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to begin the second week of the cross country trip (my first week). This trip was inspired by my husband many years ago, who dreamed of taking our daughter to see all the classic American sights before she heads off to college in another year. They picked me up at the Jackson Airport, which is small and rustic, with an elk horn arch greeting us as we deplaned on the tarmac and walked in the back door of the airport. The views of snow covered mountain tops from my window seat got me excited for this once in a lifetime adventure.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming (1 night)
Jackson is a wealthy city, with million dollar ranches built into mountain sides and a downtown filled with western shops, cafes and historic inns. Ours was the Wort Hotel, built in 1941, named one of America’s 54 Great Inns by National Geographic Traveler. A splurge, but worth every penny to kick off this week of spectacular scenery. While here, we took a 2 hour horseback ride at the Spring Creek Ranch and rode the aerial tram at Teton Village. Ward, the owner of 66 beautiful horses, has been running his stables for 24 years and rode up in his favorite office chair named “Rowdy” to welcome us. Maverick, our guide and a bit of a misfit, took the three of us on an incredible ride on the ranch’s 800 acres, where we saw Jackson from above. The aerial tram in the village took us up to over 10,000 feet, where Taryn threw snowballs at me for probably her third or fourth time ever. The views were breathtaking from the top. The 2 meals we had in Jackson were both noteworthy: lunch at Sweetwater Restaurant – in a 1915 log cabin; and dinner at Teton Thai – owned by a young American man and his wife, a Thai chef. Teton Thai is a bit of a local secret… and its BYOB, so stop at the package store on your way.
Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (2 nights)
You have to drive through GTNP to get to Yellowstone from the south. Although it’s only an hour or so north of Jackson, I didn’t realize how large Yellowstone really is once you get inside. The are 2 main loops in the Park, and the rangers recommend doing each loop on a different day. This is because it’s about 3 hours around the southern loop, and with all the geysers and falls and trails, it is a full day of driving and stopping. The stops we found worthy were: Old Faithful, Midway Geyser, Firehole Canyon Drive, the Brink of Upper Falls and Artist’s Point. The first three being between Grant Village and Madison on the west side and the second being between Canyon Village and Lake Village on the east side of the loop. The food was cafeteria quality at best, and many restaurants in the park require reservations, so plan ahead. For lunches, we found grabbing some premade sandwiches and fruit at one of the general stores is the best way to stay on the go and see the most sites. P.S. Grant Village Lodge was dorm roomish, we’d suggest trying another park lodge.
Salt Lake City, Utah (drive thru)
With a 9 hour drive from YSNP to Cedar City in Southern Utah, we planned a lunchtime stop in SLC to dine at the Red Iguana, a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive Inns and Dives. This is the second dive my family had tried so far, and we were starting to become true believers in Guy’s ability to judge good tasting food. The Red Iguana was, as expected, not in a great area, but it was out the door with SLC business suits waiting for tables. We knew immediately it would be good. The Killer Nachos were killer and received a rating of 9 from my nacho aficionado husband. The mole verde was very good, albeit different, and the margarita I had packed a punch. Following our truly spiritual experience with our Mexican food, we visited the Mormon Temple and the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the first being rather impressive with its 10 acres of gardens and buildings, and the latter having such pretty stained glass.
Cedar City, Utah (2 nights)
My attempt at booking a lodge inside Bryce Canyon failed, as they were sold out even though I planned our trip months in advance. Cedar City was the closest city I could find, and we went without knowing what to expect. It turned out to be one of our favorite stops, both because Cedar City is a pretty little town and the Hampton Inn was conveniently located next to many restaurants (including Ninja, a Japanese steakhouse we dined at – and Starbucks!). It also wasn’t far from Zion National Park, which we didn’t even plan to visit. Zion-Kolob Canyon was about 30 minutes south, a beautiful 5 miles scenic drive and very much worth the stop on the way to Zion. ZNP was another hours south and around, where we parked and rode the shuttle bus up to the very end trail called Riverwalk. Being a hot day, wading in the river at the end of the hike was soooooo enjoyable. We also drove the few miles to the scenic tunnel, called the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. A beautiful park, one worth seeing.
Bryce Canyon (drive thru)
About 2 hours east of Cedar City, we spent a few hours at Bryce on the way to Grand Canyon, as a result of the recommendation of my good friend Betty. The red spires, called hoodoos, were incredible to see and to photograph. The Navajo Loop Trail was among my favorites of the week, albeit very steep and strenuous! We did it in a hour and it was only 1.3 miles, but it felt much longer. I would do it again though, it was worth every step.
Grand Canyon (2 nights)
A little park weary, we were grateful to be at the grand finale of our National Park tour. Our daughter was jonesing for a real town and real shopping. She wouldn’t find any of that at Tusayan, Arizona. What she did enjoy (we all did) was the 25 minute helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. Priceless, but much too quick! In the afternoon, we did a few trail walks on the Hermit’s Nest shuttle loop, where we experienced a hail storm (yes, in July!) and a beautiful streaky sunset over the canyon. Our walk back to our car was accompanied by 4 humongous elk… a very Northern Exposure experience.
The Grand Hotel was very suitable, would recommend it. For food, we plan to recommend Sophie’s Mexican Kitchen to Guy on Diners, Drive Inns and Dives – which we found on our second day. We returned for dinner. You just can’t beat a $4.95 burrito with rice and beans, homemade guacamole, sour cream and 2 flavors of salsa – especially when it’s authentic and made in front of you by a Mexican cook who had been there all day.
Las Vegas (1 night)
Not exactly a National Park, but it has its share of wildlife (ba dump bump). Vegas was our transition night between our week of National Parks and our week in Coastal California. We were there on July 4th, and the sheer number of people combined with the lights and dazzle of the strip was a culture shock for Taryn, especially after a week in canyons and forests. The Flamingo was a great spot to be in the middle of the action and just across the street from both the Forum Mall (Taryn’s first order of business) and the Bellagio, where we saw Cirque du Soleil’s “O”. Our third row seats made it all the more awesome, since we could see every splash and even hear the performers talk to each other. We really enjoyed the show, and would recommend getting as close as you can. On our way out of town, we lunched at our third dive from Guy, the Four Kegs Pub. The stromboli he featured was great, but warning it is in a really seedy bar. Luckily, the dining room is separated by glass from the very smoky bar, where about a dozen regulars were belly up.
As I type, we are passing through the Mohave Desert on our way to Los Angeles to begin week two. Chow for now.
P.S. If you do a multiple NP trip, be sure to buy the annual pass for $80. It’ll get you into every NP – otherwise, it’s $25 per park.
