California 2009

So in 2009, the year we celebrated our paper anniversary, we traveled to California. It was supposed to be our honeymoon, since we did not have a real honeymoon.

There was only one problem... It was not a honeymoon.  See, a honeymoon is supposed to be a time when you enjoy each other in a very married kind of way... let's say that does not happen when one of you is driving  for 6 hours a day and the other 18 hours that you spend awake is spent walking and making sure that you stay hydrated.  See, the time you spend in the bedroom is actually spent ... how can I say that ... sleeping...

Anyway, here goes the chart from our trip, with all the costs included. Sorry, no websites. I was not as careful about keeping records back then. But let's just say I did extensive website search of hotels, gas stations, maps, tolls, fees, parking lots, ticket websites, trolley stops and fees ...  ... Everything was printed about 2 months before the trip.

Unfortunately I forgot to take the print out for San Francisco, and we had no money for the toll booth on that day and missed the parking lot that would leae us closer to the dock for Alcatraz... as a result, we did not get to see Alcatraz, we missed the boat.

Moral lesson here - DO NOT forget your day itinerary after you do extensive research on the day, and buy tickets that can only be bought 6 months in advance to Alcatraz. If anything goes wrong, you'll be very disappointed, and Alcatraz will be nothing but a dream...

Do make time to go to Santa Cruz. There you will find this amazing place called THE MYSTERY SPOT! What the heck that is, I do not know. I know gravity's laws are simply broken with absolute impunity there and people's sizes change in very weird ways.

In Santa Cruz you can also enjoy a walk in the Oldest Beach Amusement Park in the country. That's the park they used for the fictitious town of the movie The Lost  Boys with then-smoking-hot Kiefer Sutherland.

If you stay in or near Fresno, where we stayed, do try to find a Brazilian Restaurant. The food there is absolutely awesome! It is all you can eat, as any traditional , authentic Brazilian Churrascaria (and I am Brazilian, so I know what I am talking about), and the service is impeccable.  Just make sure you have money in your credit card. Why? Brazilian Churrascarias are expensive, brosef.

This trip had the specific goal of seeing the sequoias, those amazing trees that grow so wide and so tall, we feel like we are little dwarfs in a land of giants. But LA, Frisco, and Santa Cruz ended up in the itinerary... How? Well, let's just say that when we comes to travelling, Dean and I are not looking for a fun relaxing time (well, some times we are, but things never turn out relaxing once the itinerary gets put together).

All I can tell you is, it was all worth it, and my only regret is that we missed Alcatraz due to my sheer incompetence. DO NOT DO WHAT I DID!