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A Valley
I guess you had to be there... I'm condensing a few different places into one blog as it'd take weeks to update you otherwise.
The first stop after San Francisco was Yosemite National Park. We got up to about 6,500 feet above sea level (although some of the mountain peaks rose to 13k) and the weather changed as we approached. The blue skies and warm sunshine that we'd become used to were replaced by grey clouds and cold rain. It was like being back in blighty.
I found the scenery quite spectacular and although we only spent a few hours there we got to see a lot of the central area. Trivia fans: the waterfall (photo below) is North America's tallest at 2,425 feet. It's the world's fifth tallest - there is one in Venezuela that is over 3k feet. So now you know.
We nearly ran out of petrol on the drive out of the national park, but fortunately our reserve tank did its job and we managed to refuel in time. The drive back was quite a costly one for Arthur as we got stopped by the police for speeding. There was an external speaker on their car so when they pulled in
behind us with their sirens going they started barking instructions as to where we should pull over. It felt like a scene from America's Dumbest Criminals; I half expected to be dragged out of the car at gunpoint, but fortunately the copper was a bit more normal than that. He gave the impression that he might have let us off, but he said that the speed was clocked on his radar (88mph in a 55mph zone) and therefore he had to issue a ticket. The cost is somewhere in the region of 180GBP. Ouch!
We got to Sanata Cruz quite late that night so we went into town and found the ubiquitous Irish bar, but the whole place was deserted really. We got up early the next day and went down to the beachfront, but 7am on a Monday morning in spring is hardly peak season and we weren't suprised to find nobody there. From there, it was a six hour drive down the Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1) to Santa Barbara, which is north of LA. We took a slight detour to drive around the Monterey Peninsular, home to the Pebble Beach Links golf course as well as
The Yosemite Falls
There were different levels which made it hard to get a good top to bottom photo from the ground a few others that people with too much time and money might have heard of. The Peninsular is also home to the Lone Cypress tree which, I'm told, is a famous symbol of California. The photo doesn't show it, but it's being held up by all manner of wires and supports. The route south of this takes you along the Big Sur coastline, which is a succession of cliffs and headlands. Once again, very scenic.
Santa Barbara is a nice place and we had most of the afternoon and evening to explore. The beach itself was nice from a distance, but a bit ropy when you got up close. The locals seemed really proud of it though. Maybe I've just been spoilt with nicer beaches before this one, or maybe I missed something, I don't know. We went out that night for some overpriced drinks and got talking to some yanks who were pretty friendly. Howie and I played them at pool and despite their stoopid rules we kicked some US butt, beating them 4-0. Nice.
We drove through LA to San Diego the next day, arriving at about 2:30. It was straight to the zoo, which I
can understand why it's considered to be one of the world's best. Monkeys have now replaced penguins as my favourite animal! San Diego is a nice place and the Gaslamp District is the heart of their entertainment district. We had a wander around it that night, but we turned in at a reasonable time because we knew we had all of the following day there.
First stop on our second day was Coronado Island, linked by a bridge to San Diego. It seemed to be the more affluent neighbour and the beach there was really nice, although the Pacific was really cold. We had a huge lunch in a bar there and I had the biggest (and best) salad that I've ever tasted. As a sidenote, I only ordered the salad because I needed something healthy. Just to clear that up! We played some 9-ball in the afternoon and went out for some beers in the Gaslamp District that night. I wasn't too well that night, but more on that next time...
So, now that's the first week of our California stay covered. Next blog will be Nevada, Arizona and LA.
PS - Congratulations to the scousers
(my head still hurts!) and COME ON YOU IRONS.
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anonymous
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The Valley
I guess you had to be there..... I have been there and I guess you had to have been there. I took almost the exact same photo. Its a beautiful area. I loved it. - Angel