4th, 26th and 60th - A California Road Trip - Day 4

Day 4 – 6th July 2015 – Do you know the way to San…………………..Mateo? OR
What median?

Today we are moving on but not until late morning. Checkout here at the Argonaut is 12 noon. We head on down to breakfast in the Blue Mermaid. I go with corned beef hash. No mushy, stringy pink mush here. I have chunks of steak mixed with potatoes and peppers and topped with two fried eggs – sunny side up. An Earl Grey tea with 2% milk accompanies this.

Darrin’s breakfast today is the American, eggs over easy, bacon , sourdough bread and a bowl of fruit.

There is a shop Darrin has been meaning to visit. It’s called Jack’s Fisherman store.

If you have ever visited Devon or Cornwall it’s like a branch of Quba but with nautical artifacts thrown in. They have a matchstick model of a Mississippi riverboat at $16,500 if you are so inclined! Darrin gets a really nice shirt whilst I get a Tommy Bahama one (I’m not telling you the price!) We head over the road into a more souvenir type place and find an Oakley jacket which is ideal for the elder nephew. We combine it with a T shirt of the same ilk.
So, we have sorted suitcases and holdalls. You’d think we were on an around the world trip! Bell services are called and the valet goes off to get the car. We loved the Argonaut. It could not be better situated and its laid back style really helps you have a relaxing stay. We set the Sat Nav. Now rather than this thing starting where you start it has a weird method of “Proceed to the highlighted route where navigation will commence”. All fine and dandy but it misses out the first four blocks or so of where the route starts from where we are parked. Nor does it take into account one way streets and No Entry prior to reaching the navigated start. So ten minutes later we join the projected way on Columbus Avenue. This is a really good way to cross the city to the south and soon we are on the US 101 and heading out of the city. We coast along down through Daly City and South San Francisco (a separate city in its own right) and soon we are at San Mateo. The reason for calling here is that Darrin researched US travel kettles. The one we have has given us loyal service for ten years but it’s now reached the stage where it doesn’t switch off. If you forget the thing your room turns into a sauna and it merrily boils dry. Bodum do a lovely one but the only place around these parts that seems to have one is a store called Draegers’ in San Mateo. This place appears to be the Harrods of North California. With sandwiches at $9 a pop and bananas at $2 each you can see where I’m coming from. The eye watering section is the British Foods. When I tell you a small box of Quality Street is $20.95 plus tax. A small bottle of HP sauce was close on $6!



The strange thing is that the kettle we are after is only $25 (plus tax). (It boils in seconds!)

However, on leaving the store we discover we have been issued with a citation (penalty notice) which is stuck under the windscreen wiper. $40 !



When we turned into the Draeger’s car park we saw a sign that said: “Draeger’s Parking – Free - One hour”, so naturally we assumed we were OK. Not so. It would seem that one side of a tiddly, four inch wide median (dividing line) of concrete triangles was the store car park but the other side is regarded as “Street” and as we hadn’t paid and displayed. The sign to denote this was so was hidden about waist height and part covered by foliage. We did have 21 days to challenge the ticket but took the view we probably wouldn’t win. Where was when Bondylad we needed him? So what should have been a $25 kettle finishes up costing $65!



In this picture we are parked behind the miniscule median and thus "on the street"

We depart San Mateo vowing never to return and head on down Route 1 for Carmel by the Sea which is our destination for the next few days.



We stop at San Jose and pop into Walmart. More clothing – mainly socks and underwear are purchased. Darrin quite likes Haines’ products. We wander up and down the Aladdin’s cave of wonders and pick up other items. As I said previously, bags are 10 cents these days so no longer are you inundated in ten million plastic bags like the old days.
We pass by Monterey Bay and eventually turn right down into this delightful town. Last year when we visited we passed a place called the Lamplighter Inn. It is composed of cottages and small houses and is really quaint and quirky in a nautical kind of way.





One of its units is the Hansel and Gretel cottage which happened to have its split stable door open so we had a sneak view of the inside. We fell in love with the place there and then and on return from that holiday we immediately book this year’s stay.

We are in the Porpoise unit – really private and quiet around the back – with own outdoor seating area complete with trickling fountain. Inside it’s all white wood furniture with hints of the sea. It has a little kitchenette complete with fridge and microwave and we have a whirlpool hot tube in the bathroom.





I can’t get over how quiet it is here considering we are only a few yards from Ocean Avenue. The courtyard outside has plenty of places to sit with fire pits that come on at night. There is a resident cat and the place is pet friendly. Each property is designed so that you have a secure outside area where your doggy can run and play. I can thoroughly recommend staying here if you are in the area.



At 5p.m. every evening they have a wine and cheese hour in the outdoor seating area and we meet two couples from Canada who have just arrived and settled in. We chat for twenty minutes or so about all manner of things. We are going out to dinner so need to get ready. We enjoy a dip in the whirlpool tub and then dig out fresh outfits for the evening. Our restaurant is the Porta Bella. From the outside I think it looks like something Snow White would live in. It has an Italian influence and it’s a very popular place.



Tonight’s fare is scallops for Darrin (look at the size of those things) and crab and ginger cakes with aioli for me.





Our entrees are Monterey Bay Dabs. These are lightly flour coated and friend and they just melt in the mouth. They have the flavour of Dover Sole and I could eat then forever.



Darrin chooses a Roederer champagne to accompany them.

Neither of us want dessert.

One thing I should mention about California and restaurants is that tap water is not served automatically. Because of their drought situation of the past few years plain chilled water is only provided if you specifically ask for it. More of the drought later.

We saunter back to the “Porpoise” (our room)and it’s not long before we are tucked up in our beds. Darrin has lit the fire in the grate, not because it’s cold but more for atmosphere. They provide chopped logs for each unit. We fall blissfully asleep whist the flames flicker……………………………………….




INDEX: http://DIBB.in/10816800

Grrr at the parking ticket! How frustrating! $20 for QS! Crazy! Hotel looks lovely. The restaurant looks pretty too! Looking forward to reading more :-) Hope you're having an amazing time! Not long until you're at Disney 😄😄😄

Well apart from the ticket another lovely day. Such a beautiful area as well. Your latest accommodation looks lovely as well
Please stop posting pictures of fish! My weakness, I would be in heaven with those meals!
I did so laugh about the cheap kettle becoming so expensive though.
Keep having fun guys.

Lovely day apart from the parking ticket! Your hotel looks lovely too, as does the food, scallops are my favourites. You don't have to tell how expensive your Tommy Bahama shirt was, it's my hubby's favourite shop, he buys about 4 shirts at a time so you know how much that costs us! Pussycat

Food... drools!

Lovely apartment!

How annoying about the parking ticket.

I must ask...having lived in Devon for thirty odd years I've never heard of Quba! What is it?

Except for the parking ticket...another great day..

Thanks for sharing.

Glad you made it for the Wine & Cheese lol ... pity about the citation ( love that word ) but another good day and thanks for sharing...

So annoying for you about the parking ticket. It always amazes us the price of British items like HP Sauce etc.

Love your room.

Thanks for your reports

Melvin and Lesley

So annoying about the parking ticket, but other than that a lovely day the new accommodation looks fabulous and my mouth is watering at the sight of that yummy food! Those scallops!

They were sail makers but now do clothes. Originated in Salcombe:

quba/content/company-history