West Coast with Yosemite and Las Vegas

A big hello from Oslo, Norway

First of all let just say what a great forum this is. Have been reading lots of good stuff the past week!

Myself and a friend is planning a roadtrip from Seattle to San Diego. Kind of spur of the moment thing, but it has always been a dream for the both of us.

As many others, I probably had a million questions starting out. Fortunately most of them have allready been answered in earlier threads.

We have not made much plans yet, and may keep it that way just to see where the road takes us. Besides from booking plane tickets, there is just one other thing we want to have bolted down before we leave:
The car

As we are both quite the car enthusiasts, we would like something a bit special when we set out on this epic journey :)
Now, a Dodge Challenger might not be that special over in the US, but that is the car that seems like the best option considering coolness, availability and prize. Here in Norway they don't even import it, so it would be a treat for us.

So here is my question:
How do we get us a Dodge Challenger or any other specific model? The problem sitting in Norway trying to use the web pages, is that they all come up with "or something similar". "Something similar" could be catastrophic for a cople of guys like us :)
And how about prize and availability? Is it the same for a region (i.e. Seattle) or do we have search down to the local dealerships to find the right car?

Any other hints or tips about car rental be greatly appriciated, even though I feel I am pretty much up to speed on taxes and one way fees etc from reading my way around this forum...

Thanks and best regards
Halvard

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A forums.

It appears to be standard practice for most companies to rent cars out in categories and as such don't offer guaranteed models.

I would have thought the best option is to find the rental company that suits you best for value and one way fees e.t.c. and contact them requesting a guarantee of that model, and work your way through a list untill you find someone that will accommodate your needs. Or just mail-shot various co's and see what comes back.

With a one way drop off you are likely to need one of the bigger companies but it doesn't hurt to search for 'car rental in Seattle' for instance and see if any local co's come up with good rates.

Good luck with your search and if you need further help with your trip planning be sure to ask.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The "or similar" is an unfortuant reality of the majority of the rental car market. The best way to increase your odds of something like this is to contact the rental agency office directly and see what their fleet typically consists of and what the odds of getting that specific model are. That wouldn't be a guarentee, but its probably your best bet with a standard rental.

Now there is one other option where you actually can reserve specific models. Some agencies have started specialty lines where you can reserve a specific make and model of car. Hertz, for example has "green," "fun," and "prestige" lines. If one specific car is important to you, then this would be the best way to ensure you get that model. The downside is that you will likely pay a higher rental rate, and one way rentals might not be allowed.

Hey,
that was quick response. Thanks a lot.
It looks like we just have to start sending mail out to all the larger companies and see of som of them bite. If not, I guess we can go for "or similar" and maybe shop around/upgrade when we get over there.

Unfortunatly, not many has as good setup as Hertz, but even more unfortunatly Hertz is either too expensive (Corvette/Prestige) or it is just not for us (Mustang). For some reason, not quite sure why, I don't want a Mustang. Would have made everything much easier though :)

And again, thanks

Halvard

Don't know whether you'll see this message in time, but you can always find out which national rental company carries most of the models you want, then if they don't have the right model when you arrive, you can switch your car later. Just call the nearby rental office in whatever city you're in later, and they will accommodate you if they have the model. If you want to do this, this might be a good way to try various models. If you do this without switching car class (depends on size / sportiness), you can keep paying the same rental rate.

Hi there.
Not a bad plan at all. But one question; Would I then get a one way drop off charge each time I swap the car?
We have allready made reservations for a Dodge Charger or similar trough Thrifty. As I understand it, these reservation can be canscelled at any time? The plan is that if Thrifty is not able to give us a good car, we will have a look around the rest of the rental companies at the airport, and see if any one can come up with something better...

Halvard

If a company will allow to swap your car, you shouldn't have to pay a drop fee. You wouldn't be changing the terms of your rental, so there wouldn't be an additional cost. The swapping idea isn't a bad one, but you'd probably want to check with the individual company to see what their policy would be for that, especially on a one way rental.

Reservations can usually be canceled without penalty, but again, you need to make sure that is the policy when you make your specific reservation. There may be companies that charge a cancellation fee, especially if you are booking through a third party or at a discounted rate.

Thanks for the advice.

Luckily no third party or discount. We may even end up in Seattle, as we have decided to skip San Diego, and break of at Sacramento, doing Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, LA and up to SF instead. Then we are just 2 days of I5 away from Seattle, if I have understood earlier threads correctly...

It's about 800 miles from San Francisco to Seattle. Easily done over 2 days.

I would suggest doing the bulk of your driving the first day and spending the night near Portland, OR. This leaves a short drive the second day and gives you time to stop at Mt. St. Helens...one of the most amazing places to visit. At Castle Rock, along I-5 go east about an hour to view the crater, volcanic dome, and the devastation from the 1980 blast. Well worth it.

Hello.
We are two frends who has come over from Oslo, Norway to take a trip down the West Coast starting in Seattle, with a detour to Yosemite and Las Vegas. We have a total of 3 weeks, and plan on ending up back in Seattle.

Our prelimenary plan is:
Cannon Beach
Portland
Newport
Port Orford
Berry Glenn
Sacramento
Yosemite
*somewhere on the other side
Las Vegas
*somewhere
LA
*somewhere
*somewhere
SF
Two days along the I5 ending up in Seattle, spending a couple of days there before heading home.

The list is open for changes, and any hints and tips are welcome. We plan on spending two days in LV, LA, SF and Seattle.

We have landed!

First stop was Thrifty car rental. We had been hoping to get a Dodge Charger. Actually getting that car has been the biggest part of the preparation for this trip… Instead we ended up with a Chrysler 300c. Cool, but not that cool…

Anywho, we headed out and turned south. The goal for the day was Cannon Beach. About 3 hours drive. We took the scenic route and used about 8. With no special plans or knowledge about the places along our route, we just decided to stop somewhere. We ended up taking a stroll in fishing village called South Beach. Everything was closed. Looks like they are only open on weekends in the off season, but we did get our first view of the Pacific ocean!

We headed out, with our B&B as the next goal, as we both was getting tired. Just north of Aberdeen we saw two cool cars in a garden. We turned around and asked the guy if we could take a couple of pictures. We ended up with a great tour and I trip back in time, as King (his actual first name) showed us around his house and garage, filled with classic cars, rods and memorabilia.

After an hour, we headed south again. It was getting dark and we where getting tired. We are just hoping there was not to much to see the last two hours on the road, as all we could see was the neon lights in the small towns we drove trough. 9 PM local time we came to Cannon Beach and The Blue Gull Inn. We headed into town (5 minute walk) and had dinner and a beer at Bills Tavern before going back and to sleep. It had been a long day: Oslo to Cannon Beach, 28 hours!

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Thanks for coming back to share how your trip is going. Looks like other than the difference in cars, that you're on your way of having a great trip.

Hi Halvard,

Good to hear from you, thanks for coming back and sharing.
Cool pictures and quite a bonus stumbling across "King" and his collections, priceless. Look forward to hearing more!

We are currently in Portland. Took us 1.5 hours to get here. Mostly highways, but very nice scenic drive over some mountains. Not much to say about today really. Best part of town have so far been 23rd Street with small shops, coffe shops and places to eat/drink. Not sure if we will do some sightseeing tomorrow or just continue south... Pictures will unfortunately not be updated before tomorow.

We have lots of more pictures than will be posted here though. They are at Picasa. Feel free to follow the link below to view them, at your own risk. We do not take responsibility if people find them strange, uninteresting or maybe even offending :)

Finally got net!
Pictures on the road to and in Portland:

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And the rest:

Some of the best bread in the world is produced in Portland -- check this out!

Say howdy to my cousins!

Mark

You were in Aberdeen and Westport? Gosh, the bridge you crossed into Aberdeen is about 10 minutes from my house. I would have loved to have met up and bought you a brew. I could have tried to snakke Norsk (my dad was born in Sandnes near Stavanger).

Well, I'll look forward to the rest of your reports but really sorry to have missed a chance to say hello.

Mark: Your tip came in just a few hours to late. Shame. Would be nice to have some good bread, as the Norwegian standard is quite high and we have been eating bagels for the last three days.

Judy: What a shame! That would have been some much fun. Know both Stavanger and Sandnes. Have been in Stavanger a few times and driven trough Sandnes even more. We have not decided on the route back to Seattle yet, so if we end up in your neighborhood we will take you up on that beer! Hadde vært hyggelig!

The day started early in Portland. The weather forecast was not good and unfortunately correct. Rain, rain and more rain. Since the States generally is half the price on clothes and Oregon doesn’t have sales tax, we started the day with some shopping. We thought the mall was a bit small, but after about 30 minutes, we discovered the we had only seen about 10%.... Suddenly our shopping tour took 3 hours.

That resulted in us hitting heavy traffic on the way out of Portland, and with the grey and rainy weather, not much to look at either.

Luckily the weather cleared up when we got closer to the coast, and shifted to scattered showers. Just enough time in between that we were able to get out of the car and take some pictures. We were so fed up with the weather that we started planning to drive into the night to get as close to California as possible  That changed after a few miles along the coast, when we realized the scenery we would be missing. We stopped in Newport as planned, got a room with ocean view and are hoping for better weather tomorrow. Not much to say about Newport… We came in late, it is dark and raining. But seeing the small towns a bit up the coast, this must be a great area for summer vacations!

Picture preview:

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We are enjoying your report -- soggy weather and all.

Mark

Those of us who live in the PNW say that "we don't tan, we rust". You learn to deal with it. Just put on your rain-jacket and enjoy those beaches. Dedicated storm-watchers make special trips to the coast just to see it in the winter. But hope you find a few sunny spots as well. Looking forward to more.

Judy. We are quite used to it to. Our saying is a bit different; There is no bad weather, just bad clothes... But since Norwegians only are able to tan a few weeks during the summer, we always hope for better weather when we go on vacation... :)

A new day, a new drive and a new state!

We started out leaving Newport around 10 AM. The weather has been a bit better today, but still scattered showers and LOTS of fog.

Also today we got to see beautiful and dramatic nature along the coast. Devils Churn stands out as the highlight of the day! Sea Lions Cave ends up in the other end of the scale… Typical tourist trap, and even if it is the worlds largest sea cave, you don’t really see too much. And the Sea Lions were not in today…

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Then the trip went on further down the Oregon coast. We were a bit fed up with the weather, and instead of being able to see the nature, we instead started to notice all the places named something with “Creek” and their belonging bridges.

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A good break from everything was when we came into the dunes area of Oregon, and stumbled on Steve’s ATV Rentals. One hour of racing trough the sand dunes on ATV’s gave us the some new energy, and we took to the road.

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Because of the weather, which is reported to be the same the whole weekend, we decided to skip our next planned layover (Port Orford) and head on to Berry Glenn. Berry Glenn is just a name I picked from Google maps back in Norway. By the time the GPS said we had reached our target, we had still not seen any road signs and we were probably past it. Is it even a town? Ole was not happy with my research… As we continued on it was dark, raining and we were on our 2 last gallons of petrol… Somehow we ended up in a slightly bigger place called Trinidad. We got gas, directions and started looking for motels. The second place we stopped had a vacancy. $105 for something decorated in the 70’s, with shag carpet. Great!

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Also, we have passed the Redwood parks, which is next on our To Do list. We didn’t know, as it was dark when we were driving trough… So tomorrow we backtrack about 10-15 miles to see some Redwoods. At least we think that is the distance…

Oh, and another thing. Isn’t California “The Sunshine State”. I think both Ole and myself had a notion that when we crossed the border, the weather would magically improve. No such luck. Time to realize that California and LA is not the same thing…

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Bummer on the weather. August and September are typically our best months with consistent sunshine and high temperatures. In the past, it was not uncommon for this weather to extend into mid- or late October. Some years, even into November. Not this year. The last couple of years our weather has been very bizarre so I'm hesitant to even suggest what time of year people should visit year. We've had cold, stormy days in August, and t-shirt/shorts weather in January. Go figure.

Up until the last couple of days, temperatures in Northern California were up around 100 degrees Fahrenheit and they just took a big drop with this storm. I'm sorry it's bumming out your trip. I, too, seek sunshine and warmth when I travel.

I'm also bummed you didn't enjoy the Sea Lion Caves. I have been there when there are hundreds of 'em. It's fun to watch them swimming in and out, laying on the rocks. We always look forward to stopping there. But the sand dunes are definitely one of the funnest spots.

Enjoy the Redwoods tomorrow. They are worth back-tracking for. You might look for the drive-thru trees. There are several along there. Just ask around and I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

Are you enjoying the coast in spite of the weather? If my memory of my long ago trip to Norway is accurate, you have a fabulously beautiful coast. So, does our coast compare well, in your opinion?

You will find the Southern California coast quite different, closer to LA....think bikinis and surfers. I hope the weather is good enough to bring them out when you're down that way.

Joda barna, vi følger med dere. Fikk også med meg hekken på en nydelig Taurus fra dag 1.

Jeg reiser til Stavanger i morgen tidlig på en ukes jobb. Skal lære H til å gå inn her, det kan bli vanskelig fra Stavanger. Femtende reiser jeg offshore og blir borte mer eller mindre en måndes tid.

Judy.
Please don't take my earlier posts as complaining. We have enjoyed our first days over here tremendously! We had actually excpected the weather and have little objection to it. Just means we will experience more different things as we now head on in to Nevada.
The coast can not be compared to Norway in any ways. We have some very beatuiful stretches of coastline, and our fjords are world known, but this is completly different, and very spectacular. Raging ocean, huge rocks and cliffs all over and half of Oregon probably has twice as much sandy beaches as all of Norway. Amazing stuff :)

Today’s adventure started at 9 AM, Trinidad.

We had been asking around, and it turns out there are much more Redwood country in the southern direction. No backtracking needed! We cruised down Redwood Highway for about 1.5 hours and took a left onto Avenue of the Giants.

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We were at the least amazed of what we saw. Not only are the trees spectacular in them self, but the feeling of driving trough the forest is pretty special.

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Me at end of log (I am 190cm short)
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We had not read too much beforehand about what was actually to see, so we just drove trough and looked for cool stuff. We found lots, and only fell for one tourist trap…

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It has been a long day, and we have covered lots of miles. We have seen lots of new stuff, especially as two Norwegians who have only visited the country one time each earlier on short business trips. It would be difficult to summarize, so I would instead urge everyone to have a look at the rest of the 354 pictures we took today in the link below (poorest quality already deleted…).

Besides the Redwood, what was most amazing was how the landscape suddenly changed as we reached the planes leading into Sacramento. Never seen anything like it.

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BTW, we passed a placed called Clear Lake. There was dead fish all along the beaches! It smelled pretty bad. Anyone know why?

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BTW2, we have reached sunny weather and T-shirt temperatures!

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We don't have the best weather up here so, when I'm traveling, I want sun and heat, too! And I'm disappointed when it doesn't happen. I can relate. Glad you finally found the sun!

Aren't the Redwoods amazing? I love the drive-thru trees. It's just a quirky thing that's fun to do.

Yikes on the dead fish. I have no idea what that's all about.

Hi Halvard,

Your report and pictures remain top notch, most enjoyable.

After Yosemite [you're going to love it] you will be amazed at the diversity when you hit Death valley, it's unbelievable. [ I presume that's the way you will head for Vegas].

Looking forward to updates.

Dave.

I guess an update is in order.
Unfortunately not that much to report today.
Started out in Sacramento. Since we want to have a full day in Yosemite, we planned to stay over night as close as possible and use today merely as a transport stage. Therefore we took the opportunity to do some shopping and sightseeing in Sacramento.

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Since none of us are especially into souveniors, I had something made to remember the trip
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Left the town around 3 PM. With just a couple of stops and detours to take in some scenery, the drive was actually 5 hours. Did not catch many names as we drove trough the small towns, and the only report/advise from today is to remember to stop and take in the scenery and smell the roses. Hope the sunset inspires to get people out on the road!

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Tomorrow we hit Yosemite!


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By the way. I have to give Ole all the credit for the pictures. We usually drive one day each. The one who is not driving is on camera duty, but when have a stop, and you guys get to see beautiful sunset pictures, thats Ole working the camera. We have found a good partnership. I stand for quantity and Ole for the quality.

Welcome to geek central.
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And yes, we are going trough Death Valley on our way to LV.
Our plan is to spend the night in Lee Vining. Will Lee Vining to LV via Death Valley be an OK day trip? Do we have to plan for a layover? We will not have internet between the time we leave here tomorrow and reach LV, so quick replies are highly appriciated. Don't wan't to be stranded in DV :)

It's a reasonable day trip. But, personally, I would prefer getting stranded in Death Valley any day of the year!

Mark

As Mark says, it's doable but a long day. I think you should be prepared to stop over so not to be rushed. Once you point that camera at the landscape [and there are lots of opportunitys] the time will soon pass by.

Furnace creek is a popular resort and close to Badwater, the lowest point in the U.S.A. [and western hemisphere I believe].

Look forward to your updates, and I am especially looking forward to your pics of Yosemite and D/V.

Howdy!
This report is coming in a bit late as we did not have internet access in Lee Vining.

Well, first things first. A happy birthday greeting to my kid sister!

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The day started at Best Western in Mariposa. After a filling up on gas we headed directly for Yosemite. The breakfast at the Best Western was probably the worst we have had so far this trip, so we went straight in to Yosemeti Village for an early lunch. The weather was exceptional, with a clear and sunny sky, so for the first time this trip we changed into to shorts and toured the valley. Great stuff!

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After a round trip of the valley floor, we headed for Glacier Point. A much longer drive than expected, especially since road works are going on at the moment. But we got there, and the view both on the way to and at Glacier Point is definitely worth the drive!

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Half way on the walk out to the viewing point I heard a loud thunder. Could not place or understand what it was, but it turned out that it had been a rock slide on the wall facing the valley!

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As we were leaving Glacier Point it was already 3 PM, so we headed straight for Tioga Pass, hoping to see everything before the sun went down. We just made it.

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I guess fall is here and winter is on the way. We actually found snow along the road, and could see even more along the mountain sides. Talking to a local cowboy, it had rained in the area last week, and in the highest areas it had come down as snow. And if we can trust the Scotsman (now living in BC) the highest point on our trip today was actually 9945 feet (3300m) above see level. That’s passenger planes flying altitude!!!

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Coming down from Tioga, we arrived at Mono Lake and Lee Vining were we are spending the night before taking on Death Valley on our way to Las Vegas.

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We did Yosemeti, well Mariposa to Lee Vining, in 8 hours today. We got to see lots of great stuff and took lots of pictures. But if I have any recommendations for people planning to go there, it is to make it a two day experience! We made it, but just barely. And we do feel that to get a better feeling of and have more impressions when you leave, you should take on at least a couple of hikes, to smell, see and feel the amazing environment just outside your car door!

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Drove 7 hours yesterday. Trough som high planes and Death Valley. What a total contrast to Yosemeti!!!

We are currently in Las Vegas, so no time for writing! Please enjoy the pictures instead.

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Vegas! Baby!

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Amazing pics, thanks so much.

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We did Yosemeti, well Mariposa to Lee Vining, in 8 hours today. We got to see lots of great stuff and took lots of pictures. But if I have any recommendations for people planning to go there, it is to make it a two day experience! We made it, but just barely. And we do feel that to get a better feeling of and have more impressions when you leave, you should take on at least a couple of hikes, to smell, see and feel the amazing environment just outside your car door!

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Great advice !!

Howdy!

We are back on line! Well the last reports have not been going out because we have been busy, to tired or without internet....

So, we had two days in Las Vegas. Which is not nearly enough, but we squeezed in as much as humanly possible… And feel we got a pretty good feeling that we came pretty close to getting the full Vegas experience… Surprised that the hotel price ($100 at the MGM Grand) was about the same as the other places we have been staying at, but it did not take us long to understand that this is not where Vegas pulls in the bucks…

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After Vegas, we headed for LA. The trip took about 4 hours. We kept to the highway and took the straight route to Santa Monica. No traffic problems on a Friday! Think we were pretty lucky. Stayed at the Holiday Inn just a couple of blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. Great location.

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As with Vegas, 2 days in LA is not nearly enough time to see the all the things we should have seen. But something has to go when you visit 4 states in 3 weeks…We did some mandatory trips.

Cruising Mullholland

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Checking out Melrose and doing some more shopping

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Cruising Sunset Blvd.

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Ole had his best burger ever at Mel’s Drive In. Order the Sunset Burger!!

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Later in the evening we came back and partied at the Viper Room. Good stuff. Great city. But 2 days for LA is not enough. Just enough that you know you have to come back…

The next day we checked out of the hotel and drove over to Venice Beach for some breakfast and sightseeing.

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After that we left LA and headed north along the coast, with Pismo Beach as the goal for the day.

Some more mostly non roadtroap related pictures

Up at 8 AM today. To early, but it turned out that the estimated 3 hours trip to Carmel actually took 10 hours... Lots to see.

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Our first goal for the day was the world famous Hearst Castle. We decided to be full on tourists, and took one of their may toured guides around the castle. If you don’t know it, google is your friend. Stay here for the pictures.

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For the rest of the day, the plan was just to see the nature in Big Sur. A picture says a thousand words. Check it out.

The Elephant Seals are in
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The whales are on the move
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Could see the smoke a couple of minutes later
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The weather was NICE
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The money shot (to bad about the low pressure)
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Making an effort
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With no definite plan for where to stop for the night, it was dark when we came to Carmel, so here we are. Found a best Western on the GPS, and they had vacancies. Pricey, but we were ready to just check in so that we could look for a place to eat.

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Keep 'em coming. I love Hearst Castle! Hope you enjoyed it, too.