California Road Trip!

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By Monday our time was up in San Fran & we needed to hit the road to make it to LA for the theme parks and our flight to Fiji. Although we had a 5 day road trip down the California coast ahead of us, we didn't want to leave San Francisco! The plan was to spend 5 days on a road trip to LA with Mitch driving while I could chill out & admire the view while Mitch could enjoy the drive as he loves driving. But our car rental place would not let him drive as just before we left the UK he lost his drivers licence...so step up Anna, aka Maureen from driving school - as I have been known as I am equally as bad!! I was very excited and scared at the same time and also gutted for Mitch but I think he'll get a lot of driving in the campers in N.Zealand, Australia and our second road trip! The car rental worked out at a great price for us even though I had to pay the excess for being under 25 which was a bit of a killer, although if they saw me drive it I think they would have bumped that up a little bit more!

We headed up to the car park (me slightly shaky!) and soon found our new addition for the next few days, a Toyota I christened Timmy - it kept me amused at least! We also recieved a free upgrade which was good as we were opting for your budget basic car! I practised driving around on the rooftop at about 2mph and all I can say is thank you to whoever invented automatics because those hills in San Francisco would be killer on a manual!! That made me feel slightly better but soon it was time to drive down the 20 floors of the windy car park, with Mitch telling me to 'Mind my side!!' all the way down as i was veering to the right (whoopsie!) taking us right in the centre of the busy streets of San Francisco! So picture petrified me & probably equally as petrified Mitch when he found out I didnt know my left from my right (Yes it's true!) navigating our way around the city! After my first hill (it was actually Everest sized!) and feeling a bit overwhelemed I had a momentary I cant do this moment with a few tears!! Looking back i feel like a bit of a wally and writing this a few days later, once I'd driven from San Francisco to LA, I am also very proud (& maybe greatful!) to have made it and would do it all again in a heartbeat. I can imagine for anyone reading this you're thinking, so what, you drove in America big deal and to them I will say get in a car with me and you will see what I'm talking about!!

As we'd missed Sausolito & the Muir Woods on our bike trip we took a trip over there for a while. This involved crossing the Golden Gate bridge which was fantastic as I've now biked and driven it although I didn't do much looking I swear I didn't look away from the road once & most probably screamed the entire tine! I do remember seeing the fog covering the bridge though which was good too, as it had been glorious the few days before and we hadnt seen the famous San Fran fog! We did a good job working our way round Sausilto to the Muir Woods (Well we think they were the Muir Woods!) and the drive was brilliant! Off the beaten track I felt much better and drove the windy roads up the hill with fantastic views! Mitch grabbed the wheel a few times for me to see & he was loving it not having to think about driving, although maybe on high 'Anna' alert! We arrived at the woods and started walking & 10 minutes in and halfway up a steep muddy hill, with flip flops & neckscarves & a distinct lack of these legendary tallest trees in the world, we felt out of place and we decided to leave! It was great knowing we'd be back to do everything we didnt manage to fit in though so we didnt feel 'left out'! I think we'll dress apropriately next time!

Crossing the bridge for the second time (ooh get me!) was much better as i'd had a few more hours to play and get used to my little Toyota from Illionois! So i could appreciate the view and also I wasnt veering into other peoples lanes as much by this point which is always a bonus!! Mitch was brilliant at navigating...if he drove and it would have been up to me we'd still be there now!

Soon we were on highway one on the route down to LA with the sun going down creating a pink sky. The sun set and soon we were on a night drive which was very chilled and we whacked the radio on for some standard road trip songs to sing along to. We decided on Santa Cruz as our first stop and found a cute motel for the night. We toyed with the jacuzzi but being Halloween we didnt want to risk it, as that is usually the standard stabbing spot in slasher films! So we grabbed dinner and stayed in the room watching scary films instead! We had planned on doing something big to celebrate on the day, but we'd crammed a lot in and so soon into the trip we hadn't managed to find anything around that area, but it was cool all the same!

Waking up in Santa Cruz we didnt know what to expect as we'd got there at night so couldnt really get a feel for the it. Once in the glorious daylight we saw Santa Cruz did not disappoint! We'd read that highway one had some great views but we were not expecting it to be so stunning, everywhere! We kept having to stop to get out and go on the beach, or climb on the rocks or look at the seals! It was amazing! We thought it'd stop and we'd veer off onto the main roads but it carried on and got better and better! At midday we stopped on the pier to see what was going on in Santa Cruz. The famous fair was opposite and the weather was amaze again. Halfway up the pier we heard the sound of a seal and were frantically looking for him! As we walked further and further we heard more and looked over the side and the were literally hundreds of seals playing, swimming and lots had joined together to make a 'seal raft' and were chilling in the sun!! It was so cute! We noticed that we were the only people out of many looking at the seals and everyone else had binoculas so we asked two ladies what was going on, so they gave us their boniculas & we watched four whales breaching and playing in the distance!! It was amazing!! They were really happy and kept flapping their tails out of the water and blowing out water, we'd never seen anything like it, it was amazing to watch and we stayed for hours! The two ladies were also so lovely & we talked forever!

Monterey was our destination for the day, so after a morning David Attenborough would have been proud of, we jumped in the car again! After a short drive we were in Monterey and once again it was just idyllic. The beachfront was beautiful and littered with shops, nice restaurants and bars, so after checking into a motel we headed out to play! Although quite a sleepy town with nothing epic,it was just a beautiful quaint town and it was just what we were looking for at that point. We wandered the shops and sat on the jettys out to the water looking out to the ocean and trying to spot the otters which it is famous for. I was dying to see one, especially after the morning events.

We had dinner in a lovely seafood restaurant which jutted out far into the sea with panoramic views. And with one of the best seafood pastas and bottles of wine ever to exist we spotted the otters hiding in the algae just below us! It was such a great day and we'll remember the whales, seals and otters forever!

The rest of the journey down to LA was simply stunning. We headed out of Monterey into a college town which was very surfy (that is a word!) and it was a very young crowd. We stopped in the local donut shop wich sold the most random combinations! There was peanut butter filled which Mitch opted for and even a Maple Syrup and bacon flavour...i didnt go for that one! It doubled up as an internet cafe which was good for the students...i guess that would encourage anyone to study!

We continued our route down highway one and it was stunning, it really was. Writing about it just doesnt convey how breathtaking it was and also, i guess, as we had expected freeways all the way, autumn weather and i had anticipated being a passenger. But for me to be driving on such a beautiful drive, in summer worthy weather was amazing, it surpassed all my expectations. Our route hugged the coast and we found ourselves snaking up the hills, all the while with the ocean just at a drop to our right. Everyone drove so slowly along the way as it was famous for the views and you'd be silly to get your foot down and miss it in all honesty. Our last major stop was The Big Sur which was accessable after a beautiful drive through the woods and literally in the middle of nowhere! We stopped at a petrol station and there was literally not a sole in sight, one of those pay at the pump deals and we were off again!

We soon came to a large log cabin on the side of the road, so we pulled in for a drink. We wandered outside and found a large stream with random wooden furniture actually in the stream. You could wade out a little (the water was freeeeezing!!) and sit on the wooden seats right in the middle of the stream, witht the water running between your legs! It was great fun sitting out in the lake, watching everyone else and having competitions as to who can keep their legs in the ice cold water the longest (i won!!) it was beautiful and there were wooden lodges you can stay in which we toyed with but wanted to get to LA asap. After we'd had our fun we set off again, scouting for the best road trip songs on the radio and having a singalong! We admired and crossed the famous bridge at The Bug Sur and stopped at the many Vista Points & beaches along the way. I'd wanted to take a travel mascot along the journey and take a photo of it in every destination...very long story short, I'd bought Mitch a toy Flamingo when we first got together, so we decided he would be our travel companion! We did look a bit silly posing on the side of the road with a pink flamingo on our shoulders but the shame soon passed and Gen (that's his name!) was soon being photographed everywhere! Another motel stay later and we were on the final leg to LA! At this point our trip turned into the highway but this was equally as exciting as this was how I saw America and it also meant I could turn off my brain slightly and just drive straight without being distracted by the view (i'm probably coming off as the worst driver ever here, i'm ok but no Schumacher, although Mitch said I did good...!)

We had a brief stop in Santa Barbara and visited a mall & then soon enough we were in LA. We just hit rush hour but it was still quite fun to sit in the queues with the music going and the sun shining (as you can tell by this point we are loving every second of everything!)

So soon into the trip and we were motel veterans and found a really nice one 15 minutes from Universal and 40 minutes from Disney which was perfect. The motel rooms are massive and most have king beds and flatscreen TVs as standard! Taking advantage of the cheaper-than-the-uk-so-best-buy-it-now Abercrombie and American Eagle gear, we hit another mall, loaded up and headed back to the motel to watch a film and get an earlyish night for our Disney affair the following day! I could not wait!!

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Comments

[Mummy Kuske]

WOW !
Helloooooooooo my little Nougats ! What a lovely start to your blogging ! ( About time, though ). Cannot wait to see the rest ; what a wonderful adventure you are both having ! All my love and more, stay safe and look out for each other, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx