Day 81 - SAN FRANCISCO

I enjoyed just writing those words...SF...we've already seen the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoyed a spectacular drive up the west coast of California after we arrived in LA on Tuesday (our second go at Tuesday 12th after the date line shenanigans)! It takes ages to get anywhere thanks to the ludicrously low speed limits (55 most of the way) but we were rewarded with some of the best scenery I've ever seen - even NZ starts to pale in comparison.

After staying the night in Santa Monica, we headed up the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Barbara - call me stupid but I really didn't have any idea how much California has been moulded by the influence of Spain and Mexico - it only became part of the USA in 1848 and that's pretty much when everything went downhill. We visited one of the original Missions in SB - really good to learn about the history of California and not just lump it in with the rest of the country.

Bizarrely, we stumbled on a Danish village in the mountains, Solvang. All very christmassy and warming - Emma couldn't resist buying some Monterey Jack cheese. The prescience of this purchase became obvious when we found ourselves staying in Monterey the next night. I even bought 'The Grapes of Wrath' (but not the more appropriate 'Cannery Row') to celebrate our arrival (John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, about 20 miles outside Monterey). It's been more hostels for us (not cheap here tho') but that's fine - only problem is that they are completely dry places and not what you want to hear after a 4 hour drive.

We watched the sun go down yesterday, overlooking the Pacific and watching hundreds of elephant seals bask and snort on the beach - amazing creatures but very stinky. The sun goes down at around 4.45 here so getting up early is the key to doing anything worthwhile - sleep in and you miss it. We also tried to visit Hearst Castle but were caught out by the early sunset...

Anyway, we're off to explore SF, hopefully buy some ski gear and head off to Sacramento tomorrow before our early morning dash to Lake Tahoe on Sunday.



The fact we're coming to the end of the tour is starting to sink in and I'm not happy about it - we're going to make the most of the last few days we have (Em is looking forward to showing me how to ski properly).

J and E x