18 March 2010 The morning was spent taking a tour of Hearst Castle, the unbelievably opulent house built in the 1920s by the newspaper magnet William Randolph Hearst in the hills of a huge ranch he inherited from his parents. For 20 years Hearst and his mistress Marion Davies entertained a constant string of guests here including many famous people of the age. A collection of over 2,000 works of art Hearst had previously bought from all corners of the world are housed in the house and grounds. After leaving the castle we called into Piedras Blancas to see another colony of elephant seals. We then continued 140 miles southward to Santa Barbara a pleasant town of tree lined wide boulevards, white Spanish style buildings with red roofs and an attractive beach and harbour area. ... read more

16 March 2010 A long and enjoyable day experiencing the highlights of Monterey in lovely clear spring weather. We took a morning whale watching boat trip when we met the Barrepps again and saw seals, dolphins, killer whales looking for prey and gray whales on their migration southwards. The captain of the boat thought we were lucky to see as much as we did. In the afternoon we visited the well known Monterey Aquarium which has some amazing sections including a kelp forest which grows close to the local shore, a representation of sea life outside Monterey Bay, tanks where visitors can touch star fish and other sea life (this was particularly good for Wendy) and displays holding jelly fish and sea horses. On our way back we followed a walking route past many houses called ... read more

14 March 2010 Following a pancake breakfast at a local restaurant famous for this food, we caught the train to the airport and despite a few problems getting what we expected, we picked up our 4x4, the transport for the remainder of the trip. Then guided by our American satnav we headed for the Pacific coast and had a picturesque drive to our stop for the night, a hostel located in lighthouse keepers cottages at Pigeon Point, a really delightful spot. At this time of the year Gray Whales are migrating northwards along the California coast and guided by a local ranger we were able to spot their spouts and backs as they swam past. This was followed by a magnificent sunset. We had our self catered supper with the Barripps, an Australian family who are ... read more

12 March 2010 (Roger’s 68th birthday) In a complete contrast to yesterday it was wet and cold today. However we took our pre-booked ferry and tour around Alcatraz. The bad weather showed us just how bleak a place the island is. It was originally a defensive location to guard the entrance to San Francisco Bay, served as a strict regime prison for hardened criminals between 1933 and 1963 and was subsequently taken over by American Indians protesting over the loss of their tribal lands before it became the popular tourist attraction it is now. On the way home we stopped at the fascinating cable car museum which is located in the hall containing the driving wheels for the cables which continuously run under the streets. The cars have no power, but get their traction by grabbing ... read more

10 March 2010 We had an uneventful 11 hour flight to San Francisco passing just south of Greenland and then across Canada and the USA. The weather was cloudy most of the time but we did have some spectacular views of the frozen Canadian wastes. Despite queues and a few problems with immigration when we landed, senior citizen train tickets were purchased as expected and we arrived at our hotel about 8.30. ... read more