I'll bet Gilroy smells good. I'll read your answer tomorrow. I'm off to bed, an early rise tomorrow.
Goodnight.
Easy answer, I have a very diminished sense of smell. I leave that to others.
Driving around the city with stops or driving around California with stops, I understand both viscerally. But what about the rest a' you?
For the past few months, I have just started to hate driving - traffic in this country is so bad, that a drive is more stressful than relaxing.
I prefer to call a cab, and then sit back while someone else does the driving
So, yes, Gautam, what do you see from the cab window? Annoyances, I bet, and guess you're right. Any description to give us of lurching and stopping and sensate aggravation???
I took the family to California a couple of years ago to see S.F. and meet an old college buddy of mine who lives in Dublin.
We stayed in Femont and made several interesting drives. The kids were amazed by the hills -- very few trees and yellow-brown grass (now you know why they call it the Golden State).
My favorite ride was across the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and up to the Muir Woods. As you get closer to the Muir Woods, the scenery starts looking more like what a New Englander is used to. Then you get to the switchbacks that take up into the hills. The road is just about cut into the side of the hill, so you're always on the edge of a cliff and making a turn. The Lovely Bride (not a big fan of heights) spent most of the drive studying her knees. But the scenery is gorgeous! The Muir Woods is magnificent with all those huge trees creating a cathedral-like atmosphere.
Oh, George, I thought "the Golden State" referred to the banks of Beverly Hills.
i used to live in santa rosa, the rest of my family at the time lived in the salinas/monterey area, that was a nice drive down 101 except when the traffic was bad.
Sounds absolutely fabulous, drom-! I love your writing. You make me wish I was travelling as well!
The sucking sound of a2kers being drawn into a driving story...
I am confused though. The couple with the poxy car, when did you lose them, or have you yet?
Thanks, Dev! I only wish that I had had the Internet last week; then I could have written as things happened. You know that you, and nearly all of you on A2K, can come visit/ travel with me any time, with all sincerity. This is the only site on which I would think to offer such a thing.
Hey, Osso: I was left in San Sebastián on Sunday last by the couple, who absurdly were Holidaying together!! It was really lovely in San.S; the old town there, underneath the ashy Monte Urgull with its sea vistas, was fairly quiet, probably due to its being Sunday, but it was nonetheless buzzing. Anyway, they left me there; I got a lift from San Sebastien to Santillana by the owner of the camping/chalet site; then, due to weather, I stayed in and around Cantabria until Thursday. I went from Cantabria to Boulogne on that Thursday, stayed on my own in Boulogne from Friday until Saturday-- and then I travelled by train from Boulogne to Etaples, a lovely little fishing stop, full of Quais by the River... and then, tomorrow, I'm leaving to Paris-- probably. Someone from the far past is asking me to attend his wedding up in Prestatyn, somewhere in Wales, but I will probably turn the offer down, as I dislike weddings; well, I dislike wedding-parties.
Ah, damn, I loved that thread.
@edgarblythe,
Oh, thank you so much. I'll at least try to save this.
Don't know the whys, but I couldn't find it after several tries.
@ossobucotemp,
I do a google search when I can't find a thread. In this case, I searched the name of the thread and able2know.org. Took me right there.
@edgarblythe,
Thank you, that didn't occur to me.
Ok, pleased now.
I drove thru most of New Mexico some years ago. I rented a car with no miles limit and there we went visiting city after city.
Traveling thru the different routes one can see the long fence of the Indian reservations, miles and miles of fence, until finally you reach the entrance of the city, which looks like a town from a Western movie but without people around. Driving inside you are now in a tight route which takes you to their houses, but in the middle of the road it is a Toyota truck, old, big, parked in transverse with an Indian dressed as a farmer, who will indicate you with his hand that you must turn around and leave.
Yes, we went before the visit season starts. We should have waited two more weeks in California.
In other places, they can allow you to enter, and you can take pictures but not videos, because they think that spirits will get inside the film.
Hard to find real ceramic from the Indians, we traveled a lot looking for real antiques of this kind, but even the museums are full of "Indian art" made by "White"American and foreign artists.
What is beautiful, like driving in Colorado, is the view of the rock mountains, but we weren't use to the cold dry weather and with cracked lips I finally conceded to buy those petroleum jelly lip sticks.
The routes in New Mexico are easy to be followed, and no matter if hotels are not five stars, the environment is great and the people are nice... still be careful in cities like Albuquerque and others were crime has increased.
It was a great experience visiting New Mexico. We decided this trip right after traveling to California for a kind of business, and having lots of time to spend, going to New Mexico was a great adventure to our eyes.
Airplane from California to Santa Fe, renting a car in this city, and hundreds of miles driving here and there.
We weren't disappointed.
@cameronleon,
Really? I have driven hundreds of miles on reservations in New Mexico and Arizona and the only fences I've seen were livestock fences identical to those on any other ranches in the two states.