oliviatamccue

Fall foliage has always been a sight high on my travel wishlist.  Last year, we almost went to Vermont for that, if not that Californians needed to be quarantined for a week or two.  The Vermont airbnb host even offered to buy us groceries so we could stay inside the airbnb to quarantine.  What was the point of visiting without the ability to go out?  

This October, we combined the desire for road trip and fall foliage into one, visiting three National Parks across three states (Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee).  It has been a road trip of over 1800 miles of scenic drive with fall colors in abundance.  There has been so much to see along the way.  We have allocated more time than many, but still felt quite rushed.  Appreciating beautiful things takes some slow down.   We were so lucky to witness the beauty and diversity of fall colors.  

To many, fall colour is about the beautiful bright red maple leaves. It is so untrue.  Autumn is so much more diverse with the many shades of yellow, orange, red and even purple.  When the altitude goes above 6000 feet, most colours yield to the evergreen trees such as fir, pines and oak.   Every year, the fall colour is also different depending on the temperature, the rains, and many other factors.   Within one season, everyday the colour is different.   In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it is estimated that 13 trillion leaves will fall during autumn. The grandness of nature is beyond words.    We run out of superlatives to describe the beauty of the fall colour.  

Itinerary

Read more: Shenandoah National Park (NP)

With all the travel restrictions, we watched YouTube videos about staycation.  We developed a staycation itch, and we did just that during the labor day weekend.

Californians are blessed with the scenic Pacific coastline, which is within driving distances from the Bay Area.   The wildfire situation has complicated outdoor activities.  A few weeks ago, we cancelled a fishing class in Oakland due to the air quality becoming unhealthy to sensitive groups.   Over the Labor day weekend, the weather and the air quality at airnow.gov were reasonably good. We chose Pismo Beach among a few other choices of staycation off the Pacific Ocean coastline.   

We left home on Monday morning, and arrived at San Luis Obispo for lunch at Bon Temps Creole Cafe.  We ordered Po-Boy and Muffalettas; the sandwich portions were good, the outdoor seating was comfortable, and most outdoor tables were occupied.   After lunch, we swung by CalPoly.  CalPoly has this “learning by doing” approach.  It has developed a good reputation of churning out good computer science students to meet the insatiable job demands of many Bay Area companies.  As much as I have heard good things and have positive working experiences with the graduates, the same cannot be said about its campus which is unimpressive, and disappointing. 

Pismo beach is about a 10 minutes drive from San Luis Obispo.   The Inn at the Cove offers good rates during the weekdays, has spacious rooms with clean hardwood floor and a balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  At the balcony, we enjoyed the peaceful ocean view, interleaved with an almost non-stop gliding of seagulls and pelicans; and hundreds of birds resting on a few big rocks off the Pacific Ocean.  The rocks are far enough, so the brown pelicans show up as many black spots on the rocks.  Bird lovers should bring their binoculars to observe them.  The outdoor swimming pool is right downstairs.  We had the swimming pool just for ourselves for a while and it felt great. The pool was small but still good enough to get some exercise.  We felt refreshed and took our time on the pool chaise doing nothing but reading some books.

Pismo Beach Pier Plaza (downtown) is less than 2 miles away.  The downtown is lined with restaurants and shops.  There are a continuous rows of hotels, inns and cottages overlooking the Pismo Beach. It is very lively and quite touristy. The beach is long and scenic. The intermittent ocean waves add to its charm.   Even in this pandemic time, there were a good number of people on the beaches enjoying themselves. The family, the couple, the groups looked happy and relaxed.   We went to the pier area to watch the beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean.   Many seagulls and pelicans flew “in front of” the sun, but we were not able to freeze the scene with our camera.   Pismo Beach seems a good place for beginner surfers, and there were a few of them on their surfboard waiting for the right waves to come.    It was a nice walk to the end of the pier, which left us ready for dinner.  We had a good dinner deal at a BBQ place afterwards.  

Our hotel rates include breakfast in the morning.  The breakfast is nothing extraordinary, but  has a good variety and everything one would expect for breakfast.  It gave us a good level of energy to stroll along the Pacific coastline, visiting Shell Beach, Dinosaur Caves Park and Pismo Beach.   We saw more pelicans, there were so many of them that it actually smelled when we got too close to those rocks. 

Watching the few travellers strolling on the soft sand along the beach, hearing the ocean waves, and appreciating the clams, oysters, mussels that get washed ashore, Pismo Beach is a beautiful place to be.    We make a mental note that if we return for another staycation, we will pick a place with a balcony facing the ocean, and we can easily walk to the beach. 

We took another dip at the hotel swimming pool before checking out.  We stopped by at San Luis Obispo one more time and had lunch at Novo on Higuera Street, the busiest street in the town.  The chicken satay and the wrap were pretty good; what we enjoyed the most was the spicy margarita with jalapeno and pear; we will be ready to return just for the drink.  The waitress was very friendly and recommended us to visit the nearby Morro rock, formed 23 million years ago. Morro rock is quiet with fewer people, but does not leave a strong impression. 

Pismo Beach is a great choice of staycation and a place to enjoy the ocean, the beach, the hotel and the food.

The town of Homer is an unparalleled beauty, so under-mentioned in travel books or magazines.  It is the capital of Halibut. 

If you like fishing, it is the place to be.  If you don’t like fishing, it is a great town to stop by to enjoy its beauty, its restaurants, and its ambience.  Driving along the Homer spit is a treat to the eyes.  I rate it as the most beautiful town on our itinerary.   

We spent the morning exploring the beach, the shops and what we could do if we returned.

We stopped by the Potter Marsh, a bit like the Wetlands in Hong Kong but so much grander.  The bald eagle gliding right above was pretty unforgettable, so smooth, so powerful and so graceful.  

We already missed Alaska and would love to go back one day.

Our children awaited us at home!

We checked out Alyeska resort in the morning, to drive to Kasilof river for fishing.  Oh Alyeska, we did not give you the time you deserved.  If we ever come back, we will plan no activity on our itinerary to enjoy your beauty and your offerings. 

Along the highway to Kasilof river of the Kenai Peninsula, we drove by a pair of moose, and one other that had the look of the king moose with a large number of horns and beautiful fur.  So magnificent!  

Our fishing guide was a strong man.  He came and picked us up in a black truck and a trailer carrying the fishing boat.  It was a cool day, with intermittent showers.  We were in our T-shirts when we hiked up the glaciers of Harding Icefield, so we felt that a few layers of clothing should be more than enough for the fishing outings.   The guide pretty much asked us to put on everything we had.  As such, I had my sport pants then ski pants on top before adding the fishing pants that the guide provided .  The fishing pants came with a boot, a bit like a wetsuit, and on top of that, we put on the water-resistant hiking boots.  Then two layers of Uniqlo down jackets before adding the rain gear.  I thought that would have been enough even to watch Aurora!  It was until we were on the fishing boat, drifting through the fast-moving Kasilof river with the rain on our face, to fully appreciate the protection of layers and layers of clothing. 

My husband and I had zero experience in sockeye salmon fishing, nor much knowledge of the fishing tools.  Our fishing guide picked a spot to park the boat.  We got out and walked at the knee-deep flowing river on a cloudy day.  The guide gave us some fishing tools and a quick lesson.  For the first hour and a half, we casted hundreds, if not thousands of times.  Our fishing rod caught some rocks but no salmon.  Our fishing guide got 100% hit instead –  two salmon with two casts!    The flow of the river, the legs standing in the river, the cloudy sky, the seagull, the other fishermen, and the repeated motions all resonated.  It was serene, hopeful, peaceful, and of course tiring.  We slowly got the handle of the fishing motion.  Simply put, the weight at the end of the fishing rod keeps the rod down, the river flow moves the fishing rod, the hook along the rod can get to the salmon as they swim upstream, and our fast flip on the rod helps to strengthen the hold of the hook in the salmon.   Once that idea sunk in, we did our casting more intentionally and had more success in the second half.  My husband and I each caught one and let one escape.  My catch got me sitting in the river, I was soaked but well protected with the heavy layers of clothing. My pixel 3a cell phone was not as protected, and it took a few weeks to finally recover.   Our fishing guide filleted our catches, put them in bags.  The salmon heads and bones belong to the river and made meals for the seagulls.  

On our way back, we saw a bunch of beautiful bald eagles to bring another crescendo to a perfect day.  

We drove straight to Homer, to get the salmon fillets to the specialty shop to bag, freeze and UPS the fish home.  It probably cost a lot more to ship them, than to buy the same amount from Costco.  The joy of getting 24 bags of our own Alaskan Sockeye catch arriving at our home, a couple of days later, was priceless.  The fish was so fresh that it tasted so different. Not only did the family enjoy them, we gave them as souvenirs to our neighbors and our friends to share the experience.

After a hearty halibut and salmon meal at the fresh catch cafe, we checked in at the Lands’ end hotel.  Its facilities were nothing compared to Alyeska resort in Girdwood.  Being at the land’s end, it has among the best views in any accommodations I have stayed in – its unparallelled view of coastline, and the long stretches of snow-capped mountain ranges were simply eye-catching.   

We were almost at the end of our Alaskan itinerary. Coming up Homer and Lands’ End.

Many explore Alaska glaciers and its wildlife in the comfort of a cruise ship, often with a bowl of hot soup and good food.  That was exactly what we planned for the day.

Whittier is the port of embarkation.  There was a 10-minute Whittier tunnel that connected Girdwood and Whittier.   It is among the longest highway tunnels serving both rail cars and all kinds of automobiles.  Its traffic is controlled by a set of traffic lights and is operated on a strict schedule.  If we missed our tunnel schedule, we would also miss the cruise ship schedule.  We were the first in the queue with more than half an hour to spare.  Driving through the long and dark tunnel for minutes and minutes raised some uneasiness close to a sense of anxiety.  Our relief was apparent when we  literally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.  Whittier is a small town with eateries and shops along the pier; and there is one apartment building that houses the majority of the locals in the town. It was relaxing to stroll from one side to the other of the town; 

We had a great seat at the cruise ship, and were soon served with a bowl of hot chowder.  Just as the tour was named for, 26 glaciers awaited us.   These glaciers were often a stretch of whites that looked grander than the Aialik glacier of our kayaking tour a few days ago.  The wildlife added to the wonder.  We saw whales (again), tons of happy sea otters, and some families of seals, plus some more that I no longer could remember.  

The Harvard glacier is probably the biggest of the 26 glaciers.  We stopped to observe the waterfall, the glacier calving and its thundering sound while the cruise officer fished up some ice cubes.  This one-day 26-glacier tour was a perfect setup to appreciate glaciers and wildlife, no more, no less. 

We had our second day of comfort food for our dinner, and quite enjoyed the salt-and-vinegar flavor of the cheap chicken nuggets from the local grocery store.  

Coming up Catching Salmon at Kasilof River.

It was a morning of shopping activities, from the shops near the Anchorage port to the open markets over the weekend.  The suspension of cruise business has taken its toll on the local shops, the streets were pretty quiet and most shops did not have much going on.  From very expensive musk ox yarn, to eating reindeer tacos, to checking out the local artswork, it was an easy and enjoyable stroll, perfectly setting us up for a more relaxing tempo at our next resort at Girdwood.  

Girdwood is less than an hour of drive from Anchorage.  We have been up and down this highway a few times. It was such a scenic drive and at different times of the day, it shows a different version of beauty.  We often stopped for picture moments.

Alyeska Resort, at Girdwood, is among the best resorts we have been to. Its daily rate matches its beauty.   At the entrance, a pair of totem poles reminded us of the indigneous history, a polar bear statue overlooked the lobby area from the second floor and the leather sofa at the lobby added further the sense of luxury.  During these summer months, the Gondola ski lift and winter activities were mostly replaced with other outdoor activities.  We tried to check out the bike rental, only to be told that it was sold out.  Our hotel room gave a view of meticulously manicured gardens, stretches of the refreshingly green forests, as well as the quiet gondola stations.  

We went to enjoy the indoor rustic swimming pool, where a few families were having a good time.   Good restaurants in Alaska equal more than an hour of waiting time.  The nearby Jack Sprat restaurant is a hip place.  When we arrived, it had a live band playing music at the rooftop and gathered an audience who was enjoying the music while waiting.  The restaurant could no longer take any more diners, nor take-out.  The other restaurants also had tons of diners waiting – another evidence of more tourists this summer than usual.  We ended up getting chicken nuggets,  pistachio muffins and other comfort food from a local grocery store and consumed our meal on a bench enjoying the beautiful garden at our resort.   

Next day was the 26-glaciers cruise ship day. 

We had the most expensive and most expected tour coming up.  On the itinerary, we were to fly a couple of hours to the world famous Katmai National Park to watch grizzly bears catching salmon jumping up the waterfall to spawn.   

The day started with some light showers and the sky was cloudy.  The young driver, picking us up from the hotel, gave us no indicator of what was about to come.   After everyone checked in, we were informed that the flight to Katmai needed to be cancelled due to unstable weather.  That dashed our hope of watching grizzly bears feeding themselves salmon over the waterfall.  No-one complained much as safety is millions times more important.  We were disappointed and wondered when we could come back in future years to try again. 

Instead, we spent the day visiting Alaska Heritage Center and gained a new level of respect for the indigenous tribes, their dwelling, their respects, their culture and their way of living.  We learned that they had the habit of backing in a homestead to show their friendliness; we learned that they used the soft squirrel skins as diapers for babies and that many of their homesteads were underground.  We enjoyed the performance of their games to spare the winter, and to train the children’s fitness.  It was not hard to see that much has been taken away from them from the caucacians.  It was both their land, their culture and their abode.  Natives have been given free medical service within Alaska and probably other benefits, yet this gives little comfort compared to what has been taken away from them.  

The heritage center was a place to remember in Anchorage, and that sense of resentment, from the native of having their land taken from them, was a strong reminder of the many exploitations of colonization.  
The Wild scoop ice cream was a more pleasant place to remember.  I tried the Spruce Tip flavor.  That tree fragrance, along with the tint of bitterness at the end, was among the most special ice cream I have ever tried.  If you ever plan to visit Anchorage, don’t miss your chance of trying the ice cream.

Coming up next the luxurious Alyeska Resort at Girdwood.