Life, the universe and FFC

Cheers!

Been offline for a couple of days and it's great to see a few 'welcomes' following my post the other night.

Like you guys, I'm itching for the new season to start. What price 3 points at the 'Theatre Of Dreams'? Who knows. Remember our first season in The Premiership? Game 1. Old Trafford. we may not have come away with points, but we announced our prescence. Big time.

Off on a tangent, Mrs BGW & I are planning one of our 'road trips' for next year. We've driven from San Francisco to LA on Highway 1, but we wanted to expand that and go from Seattle through San Diego over a couple of weeks. Apart from the obvious, has anyone got any suggestions for stop-offs en route?

Still hoping to drop into Vegas for a few nights before Christmas, so if there are any 'FFC friendly' bars, let me know!

Love the US, love FFC.

Your friend, Bucks Green White

 

Mr. Bucks,

No shortage of things to do on the Left Coast. I realized after typing that my directions were north and you will be heading south. So start at the end and work your way back up.

If you dare, jump across the southern border while in San Diego and see what TJ (Tijuana) has to offer, it is not pretty, but quite an experience. Stay away from the Donkey show if you are with Mrs. Bucks.

Heading north on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, a.k.a. Hwy. 1) stop at Laguna Beach for a coffee or lunch and enjoy one of the most fantatsic little seaside towns in the U.S.

Keep heading north until you have left Smell-A (Los Angeles) in the distance and stop in Santa Barbara (again, a beautiful seaside town) for a glass of Southern California's best local wine offerings.

If you can make it, try to reach Big Sur before you bed down for the night. In what is a fairly remote area, you can stay at cottages with spectacular views of the Pacific.

Wake up and head for Monterey Bay, home to Cannery Row and author Robert Louis Stevenson. If you have the time and money, also book a tee time at Pebble Beach Golf Club, while the Missus shops in beautiful downtown Carmel.

After seeing how the rich half live, keep heading north until you get to Santa Cruz and its Americana boardwalk of rides and entertainment. Don't forget to check out some of the U.S.'s most daring surfers.

Still heading north, you will have reached San Francisco. This is where you should at least three-four days if possible. Lots of attractions, lots of restaurants, lots of bars, lots of nationalities, lots of beauty. I won't get into specifics, but it truly is one of the best places this country has to offer. Make sure you do not visit during earthquake season!

Make sure you give yourself one night in the Napa Valley, you will need that night to sleep off the effects of wine and champagne tasting in the best vineyards the Yanks have to offer.

Any further north than that, I will leave the specifics to someone else. Oregon is beautiful and green, and Washington state seemed nice enough, when not rainy.

Note: If you decide to go inland from PCH, a great place to visit is Yosemite National Park. Waterfalls, mountains, and, oh yeah, bears! Give yourself a day to hike Half Dome. Eat lots of carbs the night before and bring plenty of water.

Enjoy, I'm sure you and Mrs. Bucks will have a great time.

 

Nice one!
We've touched on a couple of areas you've mentioned - we found Ragged Point on Big Sur last time around, which was top drawer, but your post is a great help.

Forgive my ignorance, but where is 'PCB'?

Love the reference to the 'Left Coast'!

Peace, BGW.

 

Panama City Beach, Florida, a/k/a The Redneck Riviera.

We are on the Gulf Coast (Gulf of Mexico), which contrary to our moniker, has some of the nicest beaches in the U.S. There is a really fine, light colored "sugar sand" that covers the coast and makes for very beautiful days at the beach and sunsets. While very much a forgotten area of the U.S., this coast offers its own treasures in way of some of the sleepy little fishing, shrimping, and oystering towns that dot Highway 98. Also, there is a huge movement in this area to create fairly high end planned urban communities, that are nearly self contained villages with all the amenities. It is actually a neat place to be right now, as people discover its offerings more and more. But the last place we want to be like is Miami Beach with all of the high rises and terrible drivers, so there seems to be an effort to have very carefully planned zoning and ordinances that help protect the environment and natural beauty.

I know, I sound like a promotional insert. Sorry.

 

Don't be sorry. Keep it quiet!
We've been to Miami, and headed on down to The Keys. A stack of fun, but busy and overdone (hey, that rhymes!). When we next head Florida way we will check out the Gulf Coast.

Bucks Green White

 

Very good. Let me know and we can plan a meeting. Spring and late Fall are the best times in my opinion, because unlike earthquakes, there really is a hurricane season! (summer to early fall)