United States
Leimert

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 6

      Die Golden Coast

      May 31, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

      Die nächsten 100 km auf unserem Weg gen Süden sollen die schönsten auf dem Highway 1 sein....und ja, ist schon nett hier. Über alte Brücken und entlang unzähliger Aussichtspunkte schlengelt sich der Highway über ewige Serpentinen zwischen Küste und Gebirge entlang. Ein besonders Highlight war die Kolonie der See-Elefanten. Die lagen zu hunderten faul in der Sonne..... wir waren etwas neidisch 🙈 Weitere wunderschöne Aussichten konnten wir bewundern bis wir dann am Nachmittag in unserem nächsten Motel ankamen. Noch kurz den heimischen Supermarkt geplündert, lecker Essen gegangen und dann ordnungsgemäß zum Sonnenuntergang am Strand erschienen. Das Motel hatte wirklich eine optimale Lage direkt am Meer und auch die Zimmer waren grandios. Es gab keine Heizung... nur einen offenen Kamin...ja so ein Ärger... 😀Read more

    • Day 75

      Camp #34 - Hearst San Simeon

      November 12, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

      We got to our camp spot, went to the camp host to buy some fire wood, turns out they shut at 5:30 and we got there at 5:27. Just in time.

      Bought a bundle of wet wood. It really didn't burn well.

      Cleaned seagull poop off the solar panels in the morning.

      It was a really cold night. It got down to 1c, we didn't expect this from California!
      Read more

    • Day 20

      The Big Sur

      September 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Our day started in Carmel, just down the road from Monterey, before we tackled our long drive. It is heavily talked up as a beautiful unspoiled town, that had the temerity to elect Clint Eastwood as its Mayor some years ago. Like a lot of the Monterey area, it has some lovely properties (at a price of course) and upmarket shops galore, which probably reflect its inhabitants. We walked down to the beach which is truly glorious; white, white sand, blue, blue sea, vegetation to the beach edge and not a hint of commercialism in sight. That has been left for downtown, cleverly and artfully done, but somehow soul less. We were disappointed and didn’t stay long.

      The Big Sur is the regional name for the spectacular ninety miles of cliffs and crashing seas along the California coast between Monterey and San Simeon in the south. The coastline is jagged and dramatic and either collected into States parks of one form or another or in private hands. Yet again it is a drive to savour. The sea is blue and sparkling in the sunshine, mountains flow down to the sea, redwoods tower above you in the southern most groves of the trees long coastal chain and the Rte 1 road hugs the shoreline with gritty determination, sometimes at sea level, other times clinging to the rock face several hundred feet high. All the books tell you to take your time and spend days exploring, hiking, nude sunbathing(well of course!), swimming in rivers and the rest of it. All very well if you have days to spare and can yomp for California, some of us have to be more circumspect and a day is all you have. We had to avoid the hikes, both on the time front and the risk of further damage to my knee, but decided we would use the many Vista pull offs to good effect. Travelling north to south, made it easy as we were on the correct side of the road to facilitate this and the views just opened up in front of us all the way down. It was absolutely stunning.
      Yet another drive of your life!
      The road was completed in 1937 and took eighteen years to build. Prior to this, the inhabitants of the Big Sur had to be almost entirely self sufficient, by farming, raising cattle and trapping sea otters for their fur. The only connection with the outside world was the occasional call of the steamship line to Monterey, or a nearly impassable trail over the mountains to the Salinas Valley. This was spectacular wilderness country and in truth still is. Despite the improved transport links, fewer people live here today (approximately 1000), than in 1900. Most of the ranches remain the the hands of the original pioneer homestead families and they have successfully fought off obtrusive development and government plans to allow offshore drilling. Climatic conditions are harsh, hot, cold, windy and the Flora colonising the cliff tops and mountain sides have to be tough and well adapted to survive. Growing wild was pampas grass and fennel, erica ceanothus and mesembryanthemum flowering bright pink all over the salt sprayed cliff tops. I gather in the spring there are wildflowers everywhere, but the fog which drifts on to the coast is more prevalent. You can’t have everything!
      As you reach San Simeon the mountains retreat and the road flattens out. Our final stop was at the Elephant Seal Colony at Piedras Blancas.
      The boardwalk overlooks the beach and there spreadeagled on the sand are these huge torpedo like creatures snoozing. Every now and then, one of them flips sand over its skin ( think sunscreen for the uninitiated!). We watched them for a couple of minutes and then Peter said “is this it - all they do”. ‘Well yes, at the moment’. I replied. “Ok, we’re off”, came the retort. I get it, they’re probably an acquired taste.
      We arrived here in Cambria around 4pm. The Fog Catcher (yep, unusual name for a hotel) is right on the beach and our room overlooks it.
      The sunset over the ocean was breathtaking. This small town is as genuine as Carmel was not. It is quiet and completely different from anywhere else we have been, but then they have all been different! We are booked to visit Hearst Castle tomorrow, but otherwise I sense chill time is coming. Not before time do I hear you say?

      I’m going to upload this footprint without photos, as the internet is weak here - must be the sea breezes!
      I’ll try to add some pics later.
      Read more

    • Day 3

      Cambria

      November 29, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      Los ging unser Roadtrip, der eigentlich zu den Nationalparks hätte gehen sollen. Aber aufgrund der nicht so tollen Wettervorhersage haben wir spontan die Route geändert und fahren als erste Etappe dem Highway 1 entlang nach Cambria. Der Zwischenstopp für das Mittagessen in Santa Barbara war nicht so erfolgreich. Umso schöner war aber die Landschaft. Es war ein langer Tag im Auto (insgesamt 4h), der mit einem weiteren wunderschönen Sonnenuntergang am Meer beendet wurde. Das Essen im Moonstone Beach Bar&Grill war sehr fein und die Portionen dank Sharingoption für unsere Verhältnisse passend. Leider wollte uns aber der Kellner schnell wieder los werden, in dem er uns ununterbrochen gefragt hat, ob wir noch etwas wollen und dann nach einigen nein danke entschieden hat uns die Rechnung zu bringen. Obwohl wir noch halbvolle Getränke hatten und die Sweet potato pommes noch am essen waren.Read more

    • Day 8

      Cambria

      November 29, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Mercredi, 29 novembre 2017
      Le réveil est frisquet à Mariposa, aujourd'hui nous allons retrouver la côte californienne (325km) et des températures plus agréables. Nous longeons d'abord le Yosemite Park jusqu'à son entrée sud et passons par Fresno. 200km de steppes avec qq troupeaux de vaches, c'est comme le désert sauf que l'herbe séchée remplace le sable. Faudrait pas vouloir vite faire des courses, pendant 60km aucune commodité, seulement des fermes isolées. Après le Cottonwood Pass (700m) nous approchons Paso Robles et ses vignobles à perte de vue. Un dernier petit col et nous avons une vue plongeante sur l'océan pacifique tout scintillant. Eric a réservé une chambre au Castle Inn, un motel "les pieds dans l'eau" sur la Moonstone Beach à Cambria. Un lunch pris sur la terrasse à côté et notre première bouteille de vin californien, imposent une sieste sur les transats de l'hôtel. Les otaries se prélassent sur les Moonstones et nous ne nous lassons pas de les observer pendant le coucher du soleil. Quel coin paradisiaque!Read more

    • Day 7

      Ventura to Solvang

      February 10, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

      From Ventura we headed north and pass through the town of Santa Barbara, although we didn't actually stop. Just after that we turned off the interstate and onto a road that took us way up into the hills and over San Marcos pass. The pass is over 700 m above sea level. So coming immediately from the coast we seem to be going up forever.

      The views were stunning and completely different to those of the coast with rolling mountains. The reason for leaving the main interstate was to visit the Danish town of Solvang. We pulled into the town and were amazed too see that the buildings were all built in a Danish style and there was even a windmill!

      We pop the car and had a wander around the town and a quick drink before getting back on the road knowing that we still had around 100 miles to go to our hotel.

      We continue to descend back towards the interstate and yet again the scenery changed and we found ourselves driving along a tree lined main road.
      Read more

    • Day 8

      Morro Bay to Cambria

      February 11, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

      The final leg of our trip today was the short journey from Morro bay to Cambria where we were staying. The sun had now set and the light was just amazing. We arrived at our hotel just after 6:00 p.m. and found that it is a gorgeous lodge right on the front. On arrival the remnants of the sunset were still visible giving an amazing site.

      The Cambria beach lodge is a lovely motel style hotel and the rooms were perfect. All tastily decorated and with all of the amenities that you could possibly need. The town itself closes relatively early and so we were advised to head out for food pretty quickly. In the end we decided on a short walk along the seafront to the sister restaurant of the hotel that we were staying in. Having been used to the relatively high prices of Los Angeles, we were pleasantly surprised by how relatively cheap the restaurant was. To say that the food was of a poor quality and we had a lovely meal with more coconut shrimp to start and some sweet potato fries and then fish tacos for me and a crab sandwich for mum.

      We wandered back to the hotel and then had a night cap in the lounge area at the front of the hotel before calling it a night.
      Read more

    • Day 36

      Westküste von CA

      June 26, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Nach so einem anstrengenden Tag ist erst mal ausschlafen angesagt und dann gemüüütlich frühstücken... immerhin sind wir im Urlaub und nicht auf der Flucht! Also Picknickdecke im Schatten ausgebreitet und Frühstück gibt's im Freien... Tabea sieht ihre Chance zur Sedimentkontrolle und nimmt fleißig Bodenproben. Ein Gläschen Früchtebrei ist dann aber doch interessanter... 😁.
      Allzu lange können wir das Frühstück dann doch nicht genießen da es einerseits schon wieder wohlig warm wird und andererseits haben wir noch ein gutes Stück Weg vor uns bis wir an der Westküste ankommen... unser Ziel: San Simeon. Kurz nach Mittag haben wir den Campimgplatz erreicht und zum Glück sind noch einige Plätze frei...😅. Auf einer kleinen Anhöhe, mit Blick aufs Meer, haben wir unser Plätzchen dann gefunden... ein "one million doller view" ...
      Jetzt wird es aber mal Zeit ans Meer zu fahren... ein paar Minuten später sind wir dort angekommen, ausgestiegen... und sofort wieder eingestiegen... der Wind bläst uns dort heftig um die Ohren und es ist Arschkalt!!! Ein kurzer Blick auf's Handy... es hat 19 Grad! Endlich können wir die warmen Sachen anziehen... dachte schon, ich hab die umsonst mitgebracht 😆.
      Neu adjustiert geht's dann los... den Strand entlang. Nachdem Paula die vielen bunten Steine und die Muscheln endeckt hat, wurde das Kriegsbeil gegen den böse Wind wieder eingegraben. Je länger der Spaziergang gedauert hat, desto mehr entwickelte sich dann auch Paulas Sammelleidenschaft... vom Eichkätzchen zum Super Hamster! Wir durften auch teilhaben und hatten eine nennenswerte tragende Rolle...😁.
      Zurück am Campimgplatz war es dann Zeit den Griller wieder einmal zu starten... wir haben ja noch ribs im Kühlschrank! So ein Spaziergang macht auch richtig hungrig! Leider auch müde und daher ließ sich Paula am Schluss schon füttern...😂😂. "Paula, willst du in's Bett gehen? Na, geht eh nu... kannst schon noch ein Feuer zum Marshmallows grillen machen..." So kam es dann, dass wir bei Sonnenschein am Lagerfeuer saßen, unsere Nachspeise grillten und uns über den Tag und unsere Mädls freuten... tapfer waren's heute 👏
      Read more

    • Day 210

      Kuriositäten

      May 7, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

      Wir sind gerade erst ein paar Tage in den USA, aber uns sind schon einige Kuriositäten aufgefallen.

      *Es gibt Drive-Thru-Pharmacy’s, in denen es nicht nur Medikamente und Drogerieartikel gibt, sondern auch jede Menge Alkohol.
      *Warum ist dieser Strommast übersät mit Nägeln und verrosteten Tackernadeln? Das haben wir uns öfter gefragt und schließlich jemanden gefragt. Das sind scheinbar alles Überbleibsel von Zetteln, die irgendwann einmal an den Mast getackert wurden.
      *Auf fast allen Toiletten von Imbissen oder Restaurants steht auf einem Schild, dass sich die Angestellten die Hände waschen müssen. Ist das nicht selbstverständlich??
      *Gefühlt mitten im Nirgendwo auf einem Parkplatz eines Nationalparks steht eine Telefonzelle mit einer Liste von Nummern, die man umsonst anrufen kann. Man kann zum Beispiel eine Nummer anrufen, wenn man eine Kreditkarte braucht, einen Job sucht oder göttlichen Segen haben möchte.
      *Shoplifter: In einem Geschäft hängen mehrere Fotos von Frauen, die in dem Geschäft geklaut haben und vor denen gewarnt wird.
      *Am Strand ist ein riesiges „Spielfeld“ aufgebaut, in das Passanten Kleingeld vom Steg aus werfen können, um zu versuchen den richtigen Becher zu treffen, um die jeweilige Aussage zu unterstützen. Es scheint zu funktionieren, denn viele werfen ihre Münzen und auch wir unterstützen so hoffentlich einen Bedürftigen.
      Read more

    • Day 21

      Hearst Castle

      September 19, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      William Randolph Hearst, the media magnate, was born into money. His senator father George had made a fortune in mining and he bought the property that the family always knew as ‘the ranch’ in 1865. They glamped on the hilltop every summer for many years and adored the ranch, gradually increasing it’s size to 250,000 acres. Willie’s mother Phoebe, was a strong and influential figure on her son and society in general, being an educator and strong believer in women’s rights. She took her young son on two Grand Tours to Europe, which had a lasting effect on him and kick started the collecting bug, something that never left him. Hearst was 56 when his mother died and he inherited the ranch, along with the family businesses and fortune, which he had added to considerably with his media empire. By then he was married and had five sons and decided that he would employ his mother’s favourite architect Julia Morgan to build a ‘simple holiday home’ in his favourite spot in the world, high on the hill outside San Simeon. This collaboration continued for 28 years, until Williams’s death and that holiday home evolved into a four storey opulent retreat, one of the most extravagant homes in the world. The main house, or Casa Grande, is based on a Rhonda cathedral and consists of over a hundred rooms, There are three guest ‘cottages’, an incredible ‘Neptune’ pool, indoor Roman pool tiled with over 3million blue and 24 carat gold Murano mosaics, specially commissioned. Italianate gardens, a mile long pergola covered in vines, fruit trees and last but not least the largest private zoo in the world. The access road twists and turns as it climbs towards the castle giving tantalising glimpses of what is to come. Julia Morgan was Hearst’s Svengali, designing this Mediterranean Revival estate and filling it with art and antiques from Hearst’s vast collection. There are beautiful medieval Spanish and Italian ceilings bought, dismantled and incorporated into every room in the house. Tapestries and art work of incredible provenance decorate the walls. Persian carpets are laid on sprung wooden floors. The furniture is a mix of the ancient and modern comfort. Beds are exquisite examples of antiquity with modern springing and mattresses. Doors are carved, painted and studded and in the magnificent library, almost incidentally, there are 450 superb examples of Greek urns, painted to depict the everyday life of Ancient Greece. There are Egyptian statues of the Gods, Italian statuary, alabaster and jade statuettes converted into lamps, Gregorian chants on vellum made into lampshades and I could go on and on. When William Hearst died at 88 years old, only 10% of his vast collection had been incorporated into the ranch. He had seven other homes and there is a huge repository in New York a block long and 4 storeys high filled with artefacts of all types. Collecting on this scale is almost impossible to comprehend, although wealthy individuals have embarked on such schemes before and since.
      We were not sure quite what to expect when we arrived at the visitor centre today. We had a tour of the Grand Rooms booked for the morning and the Upstairs Suites this afternoon. In between we admired the gardens and grabbed some lunch. I knew this was an extraordinary estate, but in truth had not fully comprehended the scale of it. The great, the good and the not so good were invited and entertained lavishly, the heydays being the 20s and 30s. You are conducted on a tour by very knowledgeable guides and room after fabulous room unfolds before your eyes. Bearing in mind prohibition, the drinks cellar and butlers pantry are locked away behind bank vault doors!
      I am sorry if this dialogue is somewhat muddled, but my mind is still in a whirl, full of gorgeous vistas and impressions and I cannot begin to try and explain the overall effect, except to say it is quite unbelievable. I think one of the most interesting aspects is that Hearst and Morgan took artefacts from all over the Mediterranean and of differing periods, plus huge pieces of architecture and blended it so superbly into a homogenous whole. This really should not be the case, but somehow it works and it has been a real lesson in creativity and the power of what unlimited funds can do.
      The ranch is still a working ranch owned by the Hearst Corporation. The house and gardens and tracts of coast have been donated to the State of California for public access, because it was latterly seen as a white elephant in business terms, without the driving force of its creator. William Randolph Hearst and Julia Morgan always felt they were creating a museum of Renaissance and Gothic treasures and would no doubt be delighted that over a million visitors a year now enter its portals. Hearst felt that as many Americans would never be able to visit Europe for themselves to see such magnificence, he would bring it to them and boy has he ever! Hearst worked and played hard all his life, existing on little sleep and his ‘simple ranch holiday home’ must surely be the legacy to end all legacies.

      Hopefully some photos to follow when possible!
      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Leimert

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android