the honeymoon pt 3
On the last leg of our journey we were really going for the ultimate high-brow/low-brow experience. Camping in the Redwoods and a night at The Fairmont in San Francisco.
We left Timber Cove (sadly) and hashed out our Thanksgiving shopping list. We were on our way to Samuel P. Taylor Campground, just a touch southeast from Timber Cove. We stopped at the market in Guerneville and successfully cobbled together a camping feast. The menu included: roasted chicken, acorn squash, instant mashed potatoes, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce (obviously), instant gravy, Flowers Pinot Noir, and a pretty solid collection of cheese. 5 star meal, if I do say so myself.
Honestly, I was really nervous about trying to cook an entire chicken over a campfire. BUT, when you slather anything with butter - can you go wrong? As we waited for dinner, we chugged a bunch of beer while playing a bit of cards. I was trying to pretend it wasn't as cold as it was, but it was and I piled on the layers. And, finally, dinner was done!
Samuel P. Taylor State Park There was a very quaint babbling brook right next to our campsite (Site # 17) along with magical towering redwoods. PRO TIP: the campground had firewood available for purchase and had reasonably clean bathrooms. Not sure of the shower situation seeing as we only stayed one night (but really, I kind of never shower while camping...fyi).
MPH rating: 5/5!!
After a pretty restful sleep, we slowly packed up. We had leftovers and roasted marshmallows for breakfast and I downed another package of TheraFlu (savior). Our next quick little journey over to The Fairmont in The City was well deserved.
We arrived at The Fairmont (fancy!) in our camping clothes smelling of campfire...etc. And unfortunately had to wait in the bar/lobby for almost two hours for our room. We were tired and our trip was coming to a close. All I wanted to do was lay down. But no! The Universe had a few things planned before I was allowed to crawl into bed. I was primed for an unfortunately timed blackout....
We knew we had to visit the Tonga Room (when in Rome, right?). I had no idea what a scene this place was! I mean, it was the Friday after Thanksgiving, we were bound to encounter a few crowds. I called down to the restaurant before just to get the low down, and she suggested getting down there to wait in line at 4:30 - the place opened at 5pm. So nuts! To preface this whole thing: we hadn't really eaten much all day, I had some form of a cold, and we were TIRED - Ok - So! We poured ourselves a little wine into some paper cups and made our way down to the Tonga Room. There was already a line about 80 feet long out the door. We had this sinking feeling that it was like Disneyland - where you wait in line to get into a different area to wait in line some more...However! We made it into the bar area where you kind of have to hustle for a drink and then cross your fingers to find a seat or even a little table to set your fruity beverage. It was crowded and we were only allowed in the bar area. They had a buffet spread of fried tropical snacks available for $12 (not sure if this was because of the holiday...), but we weren't particularly excited about balancing a plate atop our cocktails. But it did rain, which was cheesy and exciting! At this point nothing else was really keeping us there, so we drained our beverages (the 1944 Mai Tai & The Jungle Bird, fyi) and decided to go to back to The Fairmont's bar/lounge area. The Tonga Room cocktails had not yet stricken us....
And there you have it. We drank tequila, met some really nice people at the bar, and still ate no food. I'm pretty sure Brian herded me back to the room and I demanded Fettuccini Alfredo and then passed out. The room service arrived and Brian proceeded to eat a fair amount of both dinners. We even ordered champagne (cause you know we needed THAT), which thankfully was still frosty and full of bubbles in the morning....and so was I. My stomach was not excited about what I had done the night before, but we forged ahead.
Before check out we took a walk down to Union Square to see the Christmas Tree and maybe shop a little (dumb idea the Saturday after Thanksgiving). We were starting to get grouchy and I was finally ready to eat. We stumbled upon Sears Fine Food (A San Francisco Institution) and I finally got my Fettuccini Alfredo. This place was pretty great and we found out later that Brian's parents had gone there for something years ago.
The Fairmont Despite the blackout situation, our stay at the fairmont was just ok. I'm sure they were overloaded with holiday crowds which lead to a bit of a bummer in the customer service department. But really, can you go wrong with a classic room with a view at an iconic place lice this?
MPH rating: 3.9999/5
At this point we were wiped and decided to just drive to Monterey to stay the night at Brian's parents' house. It also happened to be his sister's birthday so we did some celebrating and I'm pretty sure I wen't narcoleptic sitting upright on the couch.
We did a quick pack-up, had breakfast burritos from Papa Chevo's, and went on our merry way. The drive was leisurely and we planned to stop in Santa Barbara for a bite. The Palace Grille is one of our favorite places to visit on our way home from Monterey. It never fails us, if we can get in! I like to get the cup of Gumbo Ya Ya and if I'm not driving, the Cajun Martini (jalapeno infused vodka "a touch of vermouth, served in a mason jar, over ice, with a martini glass and cherry peppers"). Which brought us to the end of our epic honeymoon adventure! We're looking forward to spending a little more time in each of the places we visited, maybe for future anniversaries - our honeymoon felt a little like an epic scouting mission!
