California Road Trip, pt 1 - Yosemite and San Luis Obispo

---

Hello! we're back from our internet exile and can finally update you on what's been going on over the past 2 weeks (with photos as well hopefully!!)
Hope you're all well back in England and enjoying Wimbledon etc. Thank you for all your comments, it's nice to hear from everyone (although I should clear up something from the last blog....technically Clio locked herself out of the room....I just couldn't let her in because I was asleep ;-) )

The final few days in San Fransisco were good, but I think we were more than ready to move on to somewhere new. We haven't got a huge budget for nights out in USA so we've had to find cheap and cheerful things to do on an evening (mainly sitting in the pool room or watching movies in our room).

We booked a car months ago and because we picked the 'economy' model, were expecting it to be a tiny rusty mess of a vehicle. Imagine our surprise when we were handed the keys to a bright yellow, VW beetle!! It's brilliant!!

Driving on the right hand side took a bit of getting used to, and there was one scary moment when we were driving for a couple of minutes on the wrong side of the road...before I spotted a truck hurtling towards and had to screech onto the hard shoulder. Thankfully we got to Yosetmite Bug Ranch in one peice and booked into our new home. The Bug Ranch is a secluded hostel in Midpines, just outside of Yosetmite national park. It has a variety of lodgings, and we were staying in a tent cabin (like posh camping). After the bustle of the city it was strange to be somewhere so quiet. It was a beautiful place and we spent a couple of days driving into the park and checking out the views. Glacier Point in particular was amazing (not sure if I can do it justice in words). Back at the ranch on an evening, there was a cafe doing nice meals and even a spa which we took full advantage of! However we were always so knackered on an evening that we didn't do a lot of socialising.

After 2 days we set off for a coastal college town called San Luis Obispo, which was about a 5 hour drive. We had been looking forward to this destination because it looked really nice on the website. It even had a Forrest Gump style swing in the front yard. The town was really laid back and cool, but the hostel was VERY strict. HI Hostels in USA have a strict no alcohol policy which means there's NO atomosphere at all. Everyone sits quietly staring at their laptops (which we don't have!) and they all talk about very dull things. We sneaked some booze into our room and drank it in there like a couple of naughty teenagers. We managed to make an enemy of the lady who runs the hostel by turning up 2 minutes late for the breakfast and having the audacity to ask if there was anymore pancakes...she didn't like that at all.

So we didn't spend much time at the hostel after that...we made full use of Bob the Beetle (yeah, we had to name him) taking in a local Winery to do some tasting and a Drive In Movie. The drive in was cool and felt like a proper slice of American life. It's a real family event and they all turn up in their payjammas and sit on deck chairs in front of their cars. We stayed in the car and stuffed our faces with popcorn! The first film was Toy Story 3 and then you can watch the second film for free, which was the new Karate Kid Film...we left after 20 minutes! Not sure if this is good etiquette...but its definitley harder to sneak out of the cinema when you're in a car!

The next morning I got up at 6am to watch the England v Germany game in a local bar. Clio made the wise choice of staying in bed. Watching England get beaten in a bar full of yanks supporting Germany is an experience I wouldn't like to repeat. After a deflated work back to the hostel, we checked out and started the 8 hour journey to Vegas!

---

Comments

[Ann Pope]

Sounds like you're having an interesting time and look forward to seeing all the pics. Now you know why I made the decision to support Spain in the World Cup and Nadal for Wimbledon ( I am a sort of Spaniard these days!)

[anonymous]

Sounds like you are both having a fab time. Loving here the fun stories and seeing your pics. Put some more on pleaasssee, its a bit of escapism whilst Im in work. Miss u both loads. Write again soon. Lots of love Dan xx P.S Clio Ill send you a message on facebook over the next few days to update you with my exciting life, ha xxxxxx