Good Vibrations - Santa Barbara/ Santa Monica

Feeling rested we exited our motel in search of food. We didn't have to look far as we were near the downtown area and had already spotted a coffee shop the night before which tickled ur fancy. It's called Kreuzberg California, a place with mismatched seats, tables and author inspired sandwiches. I went for the burger, which hit the spot!

After that it was a quick bout of shopping as Labor Day weekend was starting and there were sales everywhere. Higuera Street, its main street had lots of little individual shops to see. We also spotted a wall literally covered in gum. Parking there is same as every main town, 2 hours minimum, so we had to be quick about our shopping.

As it was Labor Day weekend everybody was out early to start celebrating the three day weekend. As such we anticipated the traffic to be horrifying but it actually was fine and even made it to detour to drive through Santa Barbara and the pacific coast, which is a great drive, as well as by more farms. Although on the Pacific Highway, it was lined with RVs, readying for the weekend, so the views of the sea was limited.

We stayed at the Viceroy in Santa Monica, to treat ourselves and was joined by Grace to party the night away. The hotel was lovely, it felt like it was no frills- no breakfast or wi-fi etc. It did have a nice outdoors with two small plunge pools. As we were sitting, I noticed a woman in a siut (I surmised was hotel uniform) who looked like she was loitering with a camera. Suddenly there a gasp behind me and turned out she was waiting for the man to propose to his girlfriend (I assume). It felt contrived, but a little LA (?) 

After a little research, and guidance by Mark Gonzalez, we discovered a club- Zanzibar, which holds monthly hip hop/ afro beats nights, sponsored by a radio station. It was a fun night, everything low key and not LA glam at all and a really great mix of songs and mixed well.

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From here to Eternity- Monetrey/Carmel/Big Sur

The following day we were taken to the 17 mile drive agian, but this time we went in a fast BMW, and an abbreviated one which eneded at the Pebble beach 18th hole for a spot of lunch. This time around the sun was out, and I can appreciate the beauty of the place. Apparently, we were told later, it was Jack Nicholson's favourite hole.

Carmel beach was also entirely different and with lovely soft sand on our feet finally, I felt my heart melting towards the town.







After a quick goodbye, we headed for the past I was looking forward- the Big Sur. This road was caved around the hill by convicts in the 30s. Again the roads are very twisty turny, going up and down, with the sun setting to our right, I was having a great time. Unfortunately, it was not a fun time for Zenobia as a passenger, who ended up suffering from motion sickness. I'd like to think it was the turns and not my driving.

We ended our night in San Luis Obispo, a town recommended by someone on our trip. We arrived on a Thursday night, which I think was when they have a farmers market. Well, it was buzzing with young students and older people all out drinking, partying and eating food. We grabbed a quick pizza slice at a New York style pizza joint before getting into a motel and sleeping.



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Are you feeling lucky? -Monetrey, Carmel

We headed up to Monterey Bay after our adventures in Yosemite. We left Los Banos in a jiffy and headed to Hollister for breakfast, just because we liked and recognised the sound of the name. It's a cute little town, which highway 156 runs through. Everyone smiles and nods as they walk past. We tried the main coffee shop- full of people on their computers surrounded by big art posters and paintings. Unfortunately they had no more than a few bagels and cake slices. We turned to a diner accross the road, which turned out to be retro inspired diner.

The staff were welcoming and ready to break out a joke or a roast, and the service was great.

Head straight for route 1/101, don't try driving through town. We ended up circumventing all the farms around the town, before reaching route 1.

We headed for Monterey and after driving around in circles we found the tourist informaton centre, which, it turns out, is the only place locals don't know the location of. We were joined by a friend, who kindly let us stay in his house, which looked like a mansion for London's standard- right by dunes and a stone's throw from the beach.

We were warned about the weather being unpredictable up here, but we didn't believe it until we reached the 17 mile drive. It was recommended in the guide books and we thought why not, as it linked us to Carmel-by -sea. Unfortunately the views were so limited, I wanted to throw the guide book out for lying. It was a slow twisty turny drive taking us past many golf courses and the shore.

We made it to Carmel, a town with a previous Dirty Harry mayor, but it was after 6 pm, so a lot of the shops were closing. Although it had a reputation for being one of the nicest towns on the pacific close, I was bored to be honest. It had a few nice places, but a lot of the shops and sections were pseudo European/English, and it felt insincere. There was even a Xmas shop- 24/7, it was selling Xmas merchandise. There were a few designer shops, so if it's your thing, it's pleasant to visit. I had my first authentic pecan pie and it was so sticky, I couldn't open my jaw. Not sure if that is a sign of a good pie (?)

To end our night we were taken to an "authentic" English var in Monterey, where all the Naval college were at and everybody signed up for karaoke. It was fun, but it didn't make me feel homesick somehow.



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A Colossal Climb- Yosemite

We had a rude awakening in the morning at the Best western at quarter to seven by someone banging and hammering on the pavement. Zenobia promptly got out of bed and I, in my half asleep state, watched as she opened the door and very firmly asked whether it needed to be done now. All I heard was a "huh" and an image of a poor moose like man, caught in headlights, came to mind. She rephrased her request, to which I heard a "no", and she went straight back to bed.

One of our discoveries was 90s on 9 fm- perfect for our road trip. So armed with great music, out of tune singing by both of us, forgotten songs and lyrics, we headed out to Yosemite.

It was a relatively easy ride, distracting only because of the farms, rail tracks and a small closed old west pub surrounded by old broken down farming equipments and cars.









As we headed further into Yosemite we were driving round, up and down hills. It was one of the most fun drives I had, even if I had to force myself to drive slower.

The fun continued once we made it in the park. Luckily the fire didn't affect most of the park and most passes were open.





There were many stop off points, just taking in the immense rocks and trees. One of the best spots was a picnic spot in the beach- essentially next to a river. Sun shone down on cool, crystal clear water.







We headed for the centre and walked to the lower falls. Because of the heat, the falls were all dried up. It did, however, mean that the basins were dry and we were able to climb around rocks and boulders. The views were spectacular.





We decided to climb quite late and if it wasn't for the timing we could've gone on for longer. When we did decide to go back, we suddenly realised we were practically on our own and there certainly weren't anyone climbing anywhere. The way back was a little more treacherous. We tried many routes and had to back on ourselves frequently. Proudly, I found a way forward which involved sliding down a big boulder, through a narrow gap. I looked back to find that Zenobia got stuck in the most unexpected way, but eventually extricated herself and onwards we went!

We headed out, not before catching dinner in Mariposa, a small pretty town, with a few lovely looking restaurants. We went to Charles's, served by women, a mother and daughter team as well as other women. The portions were massive and very tasty. We finished out meal with an apple pie.



We tried to cover as much ground as we could and ended our night in Los Banos in Vagabond Inn Executive. A bigger version of Best Western, with organic soap and shampoo, and more comfortable beds.


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Vertigo

After organising a few things, such as car rentals and check outs, we decided to enjoy San Francisco a for a little bit longer and explore our surroundings. We stayed in Mission district- a mixed bag of characters.There were many affluent families, as well artists, painters and performers, all surrounded by hard on their luck drug addicts.

Everywhere we went there were graffiti arts- on the walls and pavement. There was particulr alley- Carrion alley, which is a commissioned space for official graffiti.

The thing I noticed most was the contrast a block across and parallel to Valencia Street is the difference in communities. O Valencia Street there many cute, fashionable shops, cocktail bars and cafes, filled with students, young people out to take over the world. The parallel block consisted of Latino families all milling about, chatting and hanging out in street corners. It is obvious the two don't mix and all next to each other.

We met Mark Gonzalez, a poet, a lyricist, a social warrior, who hails from Mission and took us to his favourite Tacqueira. We had interesting discussions about the changes in communities that are mirrored here and all over the Western countries and also about his project in trying to help communities with scars of displacement, intergenerational misunderstandings and pains. It's a big topic and I don't feel we truly delved into it, but it was moving to know that someone is thinking about it and trying to do open dialogue with people.

The next leg of our journey was to get out of San Francisco and head to Yosemite. Through various friends and families we were told about the fire, which didn't completely close the park down, so we had to take a longer route, which led us to Modesto for a good nights sleep. The route, I'm sure would've been pretty in daylight, surrounded by fruit trees, but in night it was all a blur, made worse by accidentally driving a truck stop bay. It felt like we were the only human beings in the world and the transformers were coming, or was it more like the Autobots?



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Sitting on the dock of the bay

We enjoyed a chilled Sunday, with a late brunch by the wharf. The sun came out and we had some wonderful views of the bay bridge. As the weather was so good, we strolled the pier and watched the yachts sail by as part of the international tournament.

We decided to do some much needed shopping for essentials- i.e. make up, and met the most cutest, enthusiastic sales assistant/ personal shopper, Winnie Chang. She told us about all the secret sales for designers etc. She also reocmmended the bars in the Sir Francis Drake hotel, one for the view, the other for the drinks. Her enthusiasm was infectious and it was really heartwarming to meet someone so upbeat and passionate. If you're ever in SF, go to Saks in Union square, although your purse may not survive!

We said goodbye to Grace to return to her day job and we wandered Velnecia street in Mission. There are many coffee shops around.

 For dinner we wanted to go to Foreign cinema, but they were booked up. Another lesson learned- always book ahead for dinner anywhere for anything worthwhile. Anything popular is always busy. Luckily we heard of a steakhouse called Lolinda- recommended by our new friend, Winnie. It had a small choice, but all very tasty and the decor seemed quite New York/New Mexico chic (if that is a term).