Many words in this text are clickable links!
In April 1999 my friends Jutta und Christiane from Germany came to visit me. We used to be class mates at Ernst Reuter Schule in Sontra, Germany.
Photos here: Index. We felt we deserved something special for turning 50, that's how we came to meet in my (Renate's) chosen home,
California !
They arrived here the Monday after Easter at San Francisco International Airport. I picked them up in pouring rain, but fortunately we were able to laugh about this "reception with tears of joy" (per Jutta).
I live in the Central Valley of California, close to Merced, Gateway to Yosemite, along highway 99. We spent the second day of our visit close to home so my friends could get to get to know the area. Among the places visited were the ghost town Hornitos and San Luis Wildlife Refuge. Luckily the second day the weather God smiled upon us and let the sun shine, keeping the rain off our hides.:)
Christiane and Jutta were surprised to see so much wide open space. They could not believe they were seeing so many
cows! Well, close to here you will find the Hilmar cheese factory, largest of its kind in the world! The largest winery in the world Gallo, is in near-by Modesto. Talking about agricuture, also close by are Gilroy, garlic capital of the world; Patterson apricot capitol of the world, Lodi, Zinfandel capitol of the world.
We came to an intersection deep inside the back country, when a CHP (California Highway Patrol) stopped us. We kept seeing more and more CHP cars, and after a while there were so many that Jutta said, "this looks just like a state visit".... when I remembered that our Vice President Al Gore was visiting Merced that day... and, as I found out later, his route had been kept secret.
Why, wasn't that nice of ole Al to welcome my German visitors :) And then we saw the Al Gore's limousine, Amercian flag on the hood.
Wednesday we drove to the coast, one of my favorite travel destinations. Starting on highway one in Monterey, we drove along the 17 Mile Drive, visited the Aquarium, Cannery Row, and had breakfast and dinner at the Tinnery . We got to San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park on Friday. After a delicious lunch at the Cliff House on the ocean we made our way home.
After taking a short rest from traveling, we went on a day trip to Sacramento. Included in our visit was Sutter's Fort, homestead of early settlers; The California State Railroad Museum (Eisenbahnmuseum); had lunch at the Rio City Cafe overlooking the Sacramento River. We drove past the State Capitol.
Next day we were off to Jamestown, and Columbia, giving us an opportunity to look at the California goldrush history.
The Sierra foothills held gorgeous wildflowers, especially California poppies.
Afterward we went to Yosemite National Park. We spent 2 days visiting waterfalls, hiking to Mirror Lake, enjoying the fresh air among pines and redwoods. As we were walking to our hotel, a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle stopped us. He was taking a survey "if the recent Sund tragedy had impacted our travel plans". My comments were (mis)quoted in the Chronicle a few days later.
The Saturday before leaving, my sister-in-law invited us for lunch at her house. It was actually a surprise party for the 3 of us, helping us celebrate our 50th birthday! So we had lunch with 20 more people than anticipated. We were mightily surprised!
Sunday we went back to San Francisco. Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 , Cable Car, Lombard Street, Union Square, Market Street, dining at Alioto's und A. Sabella's... all of this was part of our day.
Saying goodbye on Monday, we once again went to the Moss Beach Distillery on the coast, North of Half Moon Bay. 2 wonderful weeks had come to an end.
Renate, April 1999
CALIFORNIA HISTORY LINKS:
California Home Page
California Historical Society
California State Parks
Sutter's Fort
Highway 49 re-visited
Gold Rush Women
Dogtown Territorial Articles
Route to Hell
Hier anclicken um diese Geschichte auf Deutsch zu lesen!
|
