After yesterday’s mammoth California post, I figured it may be handy to write a shorter post with only my highlights from California – just in case you don’t want to wade through 4,200 words about the places I went shopping and where I ate lunch. Continue reading “17 Highlights From California”
Get ready for a pretty hefty post (there is a shorter alternative here). I wanted to do a city guide for the places I stayed in California but I realised that I didn’t explore any of them fully enough to write a good guide. Well maybe I did but it was a while ago so I don’t remember all the details. Instead, I thought I’d put together a guide for anyone planning a road trip through California, with a brief outline of where I went, ate and stayed. Continue reading “A Road-Trippers Guide to California”
April 2010
In the morning, it was time for us to leave San Diego and drive back up to San Jose. This meant an early start. The Gap Year Buddy began the drive and we were relatively lucky with the traffic, especially in LA. After a few hours we found ourselves driving through the grapevine – a mountainous area. The scenery really was something, even though it was drizzling. The mountains were snow capped and the tips were surrounded in cloud. As we finally made it through this stretch of road, we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere, however this time we were meant to be there and were not lost. Continue reading “California Part Eight: San Jose and Lake Tahoe”
April 2010
The next day was our day at the famous San Diego zoo and it was my turn behind the wheel of our truck. The Gap Year Buddy and I managed to get to Balboa Park fairly easily and were able to park free of charge. However, as we didn’t know exactly where in the big park the zoo was, I decided just to follow the car in front and we ended up miles away from where we wanted to be.
Continue reading “California Part Seven: San Diego (Balboa Park and Beaches)”
April 2010
The next day felt very long, mainly because I discovered a new time in the morning called 7am. We did not get on. It takes a lot to get me up and out before 8am, but the prospect of the Huckleberry Bakery with the Gap Year Buddy’s family did the trick. By 8.30am the place had started to fill up so the early start turned out to be necessary. Continue reading “California Part Six: Los Angeles, Santa Monica and San Diego”
April 2010
After our stay in Monterey Bay, the Gap Year Buddy and I woke up early, made some pancakes and hit the road in the Californian sunshine. Our route was taking us through the Big Sur, alongside the coast. It was amazing; roads cutting through big red rock, big green, rolling hills, clear blue sky and the turquoise ocean hitting huge rocks that were rearing out of the sea. We even saw a pelican. We then found stretches of beach where masses of seals were sunbathing. Continue reading “California Part Five: Big Sur, Pismo Beach and Los Angeles”
April 2010
After acclimatising to both America and travelling, it was time for the Gap Year Buddy and I to break away from our cosy stay in San Jose and hit the road in our truck. Continue reading “California Part Four: Road Trip Begins (Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay)”
April 2010
Following our trip to San Francisco, the Gap Year Buddy and I decided to take a shorter trip to the nice little town of Los Gatos. It turned out it was easy to get to from San Jose but somehow we still managed to get lost coming back. That was probably because I was driving. Thankfully, we were saved by our sat nav. Continue reading “California Part Three: Los Gatos, Monterey Bay and Berkeley”
April 2010
As a backpacker, I had expected to be roughing it a lot on my gap year travels. However, my trip to San Francisco was pretty much the opposite. The Gap Year Buddy and I forwent a hostel and instead ended up in a lovely hotel on Union Square with her family: the Westin St. Francis.
Continue reading “California Part Two: Trip to San Francisco”
April 2010
As my 10-hour flight touched down in California, my gap year adventure officially began. The Gap Year Buddy and I were greeted by the friendliest guy at passport control. He asked if we were sisters or BFFs before taking our pictures. He then told me I wasn’t smiling enough so I pulled a ridiculous smiley face and he took another picture. It was a good welcome. Continue reading “California Part One: Journey Begins in San Jose”
Ellis Goes On Holiday 