California Archive

Did I Touch The Hollywood Sign?

As I mentioned in my first post about going to California, one thing I wanted to do was try and touch the Hollywood sign. I knew going into it that they had a lot of security around it and that it was going to be difficult.

So did I do it? Unfortunately no I did not. I decided that it wasn’t worth getting arrested or falling down the side of the hill to my death. Here is an overview of the different approach options and why I decided again doing …

Venice Beach, California

As I mentioned yesterday, my girlfriend and I decided to stay at a Venice Beach Hostel. Today I wanted to do a post about Venice Beach itself and what it’s all about.

The beach is pretty popular and is located just south of Santa Monica. It’s about 30 minutes from Los Angeles on a good driving day (do they really exists?).

Venice Beach Hostel

It’s time for the last hostel review of the trip. This time it’s the Venice Beach Cotel, which is located right on the beach in Venice, California.

What is a cotel you ask? That’s a good question. I stayed there for two nights and still have no idea. My only guess is that it is some sort of cross between a condo and a hotel. However, this place describes itself as a youth hostel according to the flyer so that doesn’t make sense.

The Gaslamp Quarter

When hanging out in San Diego, I manged to check out the historic Gaslamp Disctrict. It’s located downtown and wasn’t hard to find since the hostel was actually located in it.

The Gaslamp Quarter had a lot of bars scattered around it. It reminded me of 6th Street in Austin only smaller (in terms of the amount of bars). The bars varied in stlye from tequilla bars to wine bars.

Saturday afternoon, my girlfriend and I ended up going to the Gaslamp Bar and Grill for …

San Diego Hostel Review

As promised in my last post, I am going to do a few reviews of the hostels I stayed at while out here in California. They are a great way to stay in expensive cities and locations while on a budget. Plus they are a lot of fun!

The first one up is the San Diego hostel, which is ran by USA Hostels.

Location

The best part of all about the San Diego hostel was the location. It’s located in the heart of the …

Headin’ Out Californee Way…

Might be some internet out there…

Haha one of my favorite episodes of South Park (preview). Anyways, I decided it’s time to take advantage of the digital nomad lifestyle and head somewhere else for a bit.

So myself, along with my partner in crime (girlfriend) are packing up ours bags today to head off to California. We figured we might as well head out there one last time before we move to Austin in May. It’s a lot shorter of a …

Death Valley is Hot…I Guess

The Last Leg of the Road Trip

After hanging out in Reno for a good hour and a half, it was time to get out and continue driving. I was pretty happy to get out of Reno since traffic was a little bad and the sun was starting to set. Carson City was not far from Reno, and did not look that great when driving through it.

The Quest For A Buffet in Reno

After checking out the Avenue of the Giants, it was time to setup camp in Eureka, California. Before going to Eureka, I had never heard of it before. It is located in the northern coast section of California. The city itself sits on the Humboldt Bay which is pretty cool to see. What I definitely did not know, was that the city is known for Tsunamis.

It is a great place to camp when checking out the coastal redwoods. If you ever make it to Eureka, make sure to check out the Lost Coast Brewery, it is a very cool place to hang out and grab some food and beer.

The Drive Across California

After waking up relatively early, it was time to once again hop in the car and start driving. This drive would take us all the way across California into Nevada. It was a long drive, but offered some nice scenery near the Lassen Volcanic Park.

Along the way, a town called Whiskeytown was on the map, which sounded promising. I pictured kegs of whiskey and tons of cool bars. What I got, was a town that doesn’t exactly exist anymore. There was one building left, which is an old post office. According to this article, the town itself is now under water. Ha, the things maps forget to tell you…

Avenue of the Giants

After leaving San Francisco and heading north, it was time to go check out the Coastal Redwoods. I have heard of the Redwood National Park a few times, and have seen it in a few books as being one of the places to see before you die. It is one of the biggest attractions Northern California is known for.

The Avenue of the Giants

When heading north on highway 101, you eventually come to a point where the Avenue of Giants begins. This is a 31 mile stretch of the old highway 101, which runs parallel with the new highway. The sign, which can be seen here:

shows the two routes that run through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The Avenue of the Giants is much more scenic and allows you to see the Redwoods up close.

Sightseeing in San Francisco

“Full House”, Golden Gate Bridge, and Much More…

After waking up early to check out of the motel, it was time to figure out where to sleep on Sunday night. I did not want to spend another 175 dollars to sleep in some crappy hotel, so the next best thing came to mind…the hostel.

We ended up choosing the Adelaide Hostel because it had rooms available for a decent price. It was $31 a person, which ended up being much cheaper than the night before. I really liked this hostel because it was huge and located right by Union Square in downtown San Francisco. The Adelaide Hostel also provides free wi-fi and breakfast in the morning which is always nice. When first arriving, it does look a little sketch since it is found down a dark alley off the main street. This is the view of the hostel from the main road:

The one thing that was a little awkward, was our bunk mates. I swear they had more stuff in their hostel room than I own. I have no idea how someone can pack so much crap. They had 10 different kinds of shampoo, clothes everywhere, and more luggage than I have in my apartment at home.