Time to start heading back

Well our time in California was over and we started heading home, via Phoenix to help Kyle and Tiffany pack up, clean the house and move to MN with us for awhile.  This means that the Over The Back Roads Cross Country Trip was over. Interstates all the way, except for traveling through LA on 101.

We wanted to see the Hollywood sign on our way out and stopped at the Griffith Park observatory for some pictures.

Hollywood

Smoggy downtown LA from the observatory.

We drove right through the middle of Hollywood, thinking that the time we arrived there would not be very many people (tourists) there. WRONG!!!  It was a nightmare, traffic at a standstill. We drove past the Stars of Hollywood and saw Darth Vader, Ironman and others.  They were each asking $10 for a picture.  We did not stop, because the closest parking spot was probably ten miles away.  Total chaos.

On the way out of Hollywood, we followed Sunset Blvd.. The Hollywood sign from Sunset

Entering Beverly Hills on Santa Monica Blvd.

The LA Temple

Over the back roads cross country trip Part 4

Well when we got to our room at the famous Pierpont Hotel, we needed to stock our fridge with water and this is what we found.  Five inches of ice surrounding the freezer.  I was kind of upset and turned it off and started defrosting it.

This is before.

And this is after. Finally we could use it.  We used our electric cooler in the mean time.

We headed to the beach in the morning to start our sightseeing before the Thompson Reunion festivities got under way.

We were notified that we were in a tsunami hazard zone

There was plenty of beach but since the forecast high temperatures were only going to be in the mid to upper 60s, they were bare, except for the birds.

There was one paddle boarder that braved the cold water.

Then we saw a few others that were braving the coolness, probably tourists who wanted to swim in the Pacific Ocean

 The Pierpont Hotel from the pier.

Vineyards on the hills of Ventura.

Me on the end of the Ventura Pier.

That afternoon was a family gathering at a park for a picnic lunch and photos.  I made everyone stand behind the figures.  This is Marit and Olav from Norway.

And this is Vilda and Nils Magnar, also from Norway.

Vilda and some of her California cousins.

Olav tried his hand at ladder golf.

So did Marit...

As well as Nils Magnar

The coals were hot and the cooks started cooking the burgers and hot dogs.

Here we have Kurt, Jack, Shirley and Grace.

Another table of relatives.

And still more relatives.

Oh did you think we were finished?

Judy decided to sit down and visit with the hunters in the family.

Vilda and her dad Nils Magnar

 Vilda needed to try ladder golf.

The next day we wondered the beaches again and found a few more people at Ventura Harbor. Several of the relatives wanted to learn to paddle board, so we tried to find them. We headed off one direction and didn't see any one we knew, or any paddle boarders.

Vilda soaking up the California sun. She goes swimming in the ice cold waters of the Sogna Fjord in Balestrand, Norway without a wet suit. Tough girl!

Crashing waves.

 Vilda now standing in the cold Pacific Ocean, probably warmer than the Sogna Fjord.

 We headed back to where we started and then continued on about a quarter mile and found them.

That evening was the dinner and the awards. What is a Viking without a viking hat? This is Olav

 Nils Magnar, Marit, Olav and Vilda came all the way form Gode Gamle Norge (good old Norway) to visit us. Each received Olympic Medals and gifts to remember us by.

 Even Judy got an Olympic medal and a Thompson Reunion apron

This is the whole gang at the formal dinner.

And all the Norwegians.

We got a picture of all the Hunters in the family.  Plenty of game taken over the years.

Over the back roads cross country trip Part 3

Continuing on our trip from Eureka, we were still on narrow winding tree lined roads for a bit. For the most part we stayed on Hwy 101 but cut over to the interstate in the afternoon in order to get to our next destination  - the suburbs of Sacramento.

Don't take these turns too fast or else.....

The rivers were low due to the lack of precipitation. But still pretty.

Our first stop was to visit with Anna, Kyle's mother-in-law in El Dorado Hills.  We had a great visit but had to move on.  We also tried to meet up with Alicia, former missionary in Brooklyn Center, who lives a couple of blocks away but with our estimated arrival time and her schedule we were not able to meet, except by phone. Next time.

This is the Crown of the King of Norway Flag (Royal Coat of Arms) and it was given to my paternal grandmother, Gunda, by the King of Norway for the government work that she did.  It is hanging on my brother Norm's wall.

We spent the night with my brother Norm and his wife Jill. Jill is an excellent Rosemaler (traditional Norwegian painting).

This is the marina at Half Moon Bay, south of San Fransisco (out of picture order).

The Princeton Seafood Company.

 And the Harbormaster.

We came across the Golden Gate Bridge. As usual it was foggy, but it was still exciting to see this American icon.  So be amazed.

We are on the toll bridge.  They get a lot of money every day at $6 a car.

Surfer on the coast.

Some of the streets of San Francisco

Notice the price of gas. We were prepared to pay $4.50 per gallon so this was a relief. But gas was about ten cents higher in Brooklyn Center, MN when we got back home. What gives?

The coast highway.  All along the coast, every few miles, there was a beach and a place to park. Each one of them was pay $10 to park.  All I wanted was five minutes to take some pictures, but I wasn't going to spend that kind of money for five minutes. So everyone of them was a drive by. Even though they were all pay on the honor roll system, I didn't stop; I just pulled off on the side of the road.

Here's another one.

Vineyards. We passed dozens of them in the California wine country.

No we didn't stop. Probably costs to get in anyway.

This is the small Scandinavian community of Solvang, a tourist trap.  We stopped to look around and see what they had as far as souvenirs.  It is a totally Danish town - everything was Danish, including Hans Christian Anderson Park.

I stopped in at an information place and I asked this guy, "I don't mean to disrespect any of you Danes, but is there anything Norwegian in this town?" He said, "No".  I saw an accordion on the table and asked him if he knew how to play it.  Of course he did and he played me a song, Waltzing Matilda.  It was great fun.

The clock bell tower in Solvang, that played songs on the hour of every hour.

 We finally made it to the Pierpont Hotel in Ventura, CA and this is what greeted up as we entered to register.  There was a wedding going on so that meant that the parking lot was full and I had to double park just to unload our luggage and then find a place down the hill to park.

Sunset at the Pierpont with the Ventura Pier in the background.