Even though it was just 7am, the sun was shining so brightly and I felt quite warm already. We had breakfast at hotel and set out on our epic road trip back to San Francisco! We planned to return our rental car at airport and catch an 11pm flight to Boston from SFO. I was quite worried though as Mister was gonna be the only driver for such a long journey. Hence, we incorporated pit stops along the way. We were on our way by 745am.
Byeeeee Palm Springs
This is like a postcard! I did not edit this photo at all and it was taken with iPhone 5!
Wind turbine generators to manufacture alternative source of energy
You can even tour these fantastic windmills at the San Gorgonio Pass, included in a helicopter chase scene from the Mission Impossible III movie.
http://windmilltours.com/
Moving House, literally
After filling gas tank in Palm Springs, we drove non-stop for 4 hours till we reached Santa Barbara, known for long stretches of pristine beaches along the Pacific Ocean. We only had enough time to stop by Butterfly Beach this time. However, I would love to explore downtown Santa Barbara with its historic architectural designs, try America's best ice-cream at McConnell's and enjoy relaxing visits to wineries.
Unfortunately for us, sunny skies of Palm Springs gave way to clouds as we approached Santa Barbara.
Cloudy sky didn't deter many locals enjoying their day out at the beach though.
After an half an hour break at the beach, we continued onto Solvang, just an hour drive away. Founded in 1911 by a group of Danes, Solvang (America's Danish Capital) is storybook beautiful.
A Parade was scheduled later in the afternoon for the Danish Day 2014 so we had quite a hard time looking for a car parking along the streets, but we managed to get one in the small parking lot, off the main road.
After walking around, getting fascinated by everything in this whimsical small town, we chanced upon this quaint German restaurant (Heidelberg Inn) for lunch.
Of course, we had German sausages and it was delectable!
Being in a Danish town, we snacked on Danish pastries too.
As I told Mister during our trip, if I had known Solvang was this charming, I would have spent a night here instead of in LA.
We only had 1 hour in this village, but I will be back Solvang!
http://cdn.solvangusa.com/digital_files/19/solvang-10-things-to-do_2.pdf
California Vineyards
Around 215pm, we left the village, filled gas and were on way to San Francisco. After more than 2 hours of driving along 101, we were forced to stop as the car was heated under the hot California sun. The phone reception was spotty at best, so we were relying on a physical map provided by my kind friends.
King City was printed in bold so we figured it should be quite a big town and we pulled over. Boy, it was deserted! At around 430pm! There was no eatery or mini mart either. We didn't dare venture further into the town, scared witless, thanks to all those Hollywood horror shows. So on the roadside of King City, we parked our car, locked and counted down the seconds, waiting for the car to cool down. 10 minutes was our limit and off we go, on our merry back to the bay area.
Hauntingly beautiful dusk
We had already driven for another 2 hours, when we spotted a bigger town with pit stop area, complete with MacDonald's, Best Buy and many stores. Mister remembered he needed to get a replacement cable for powerbank so we pulled over. Quick time check reassured us since we were only about an hour drive away from SFO while our Boston flight will depart only at 11pm.
Considering we had too many bags (thanks to shopping trips at Las Vegas, Ontario Mills & Palm Springs), Mister dropped me off at the airport with all our bags before he drove off to the rental office. By the time he reached the terminal (there was a shuttle bus from car rental office to airport terminal), Mister's dad also reached SFO. He had very kindly brought our new luggage with fresh clothes for our East Coast journey and took our shopping bags and old clothes back home. Being a thoughtful and considerate person, Uncle brought us freshly cut fruits and heated chicken sticky rice (Mister's favorite) for us!
We would be in East Coast for 11 days, with an outlet shopping day squeezed in. So we brought 2 cabin luggages and 1 checked bag. For domestic flight, you need to pay an extra US$ 25 per checked bag. And you can't pay with cash! They only accept credit card and if you say you didn't bring yours, they would make a card for you with value US$ 25. I just don't get why cash payment was not acceptable.
Another thing I don't get? US$ 5 fees for trolley usage! Freaking expensive! A huge airport like SFO should provide this facility for free. We are all travelers here and would have luggage. It was just a matter of how many. A complete rip off!
Anyway, we flew with United Airlines this time. Departure time from San Francisco was 11pm and arrival in Boston was 745am. Good night, everyone!
Adios!
xoxo
Miss N
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