Day 26 - Rollerblading on Venice Beach

Day 26

It was an ideal sounding setting. Waves crashing down on an empty beach, soft sand underneath us cradling our sleeping bodies. In actuality, the cove we were in seemed to channel wind into the air vents of the tent. It also channelled the sound of the waves, which seemed to increase in frequency and got louder and louder as well. While I slept soundly through it, happy with the knowledge the water wouldn't come up to the tent - Clare was a different matter. With her nerves on end, every hour she needed to check that the water wasn't too close, and that there were no creatures out there. By the time the sun started to rise, she was exhausted. We packed up the essentials and abandoned the tent for the car. Parking on the road was now legal again, so while Clare caught up on some sleep - I watched the sunrise.

Despite the early hour there was plenty to watch. The layby we were in had had a table set up at some point in the night, with crates of water placed nearby.  Soon a car came and parked up behind us. Other than using the portaloo, the occupants just sat in the car and talked, watching the sea and sunrise like I was. Or so I thought. Over the next hour, more and more people pulled up, some stopping for the toilet, others parked up.  By 7am, 1 lane of the road was closed off with orange cones. The cars that had parked started manoeuvring around until they were all taking up very little space. Banners and other promotional material came out of the boots and they started setting up. I decided this probably wasn't a good place to stay for breakfast and headed down to the beach to pack up and leave. The waves were still a good 5 meters from the tent, it was still fine and dry.

I set about packing it up and getting everything ready to go. Most important was the stove and cooking equipment for breakfast, this would be the last use of the tent so it was just going to be thrown away. While packing up, a freak wave rushed up the shore, just to the porch area of where the tent had been. High tide must be here, but it was time to have left anyway so we would have been fine. Packing up had taken 30 minutes, and the volunteers had been busy during this time there was even a band set up now with drums and guitar. The event was the Malibu marathon - what timing! I was worried now, if they were running a marathon around here, it was highly likely the entire road would be closed for some distance. Someone recently had told me a horror story about how they had been arrested after having parked and gone for a walk. By the time they got back the road was closed but there were no signs as far in as they were. They drive off thinking nothing of it, and end up getting a police escort off the road to get a good talking to in a safe areas. Not wanting to take this chance, I wake Clare enough for her to put a seat belt on, and hightail it out the area. When the cones stop, I figure we're probably clear, and we stop to take stock.

The plan for the day was to head down to Santa Monica, to Venice Beach after breakfast. Instead we opted to go to Venice beach for breakfast, giving Clare a little more time to wake up. The coastal drive was beautiful, and after a few wrong turns looking for the visitor information centre we pushed up and walked down to the beach with what we'd need for bacon sandwiches.

The beach was exactly as we'd been looking for since we arrived here. A Wide expanse of glorious golden sand, a cycling track/walkway winding along the shore front. Exercise equipment all around, tennis courts which at 8.30am were busy, and a boxing area - also packed out.

We set up on the beach, hoping there was no strange bylaws prohibiting us from doing this, especially as there was a lifeguard land rover driving up and down the beach close by. We weren't stopped though, and the greatest interest in what we were doing came not from the authorities, but from the seagulls. The bacon didn't cook quickly, the wind kept blowing at the gas flame and much of the heat was dispersed. The longer we sat there, the larger the circle of seagulls got, and it seemed like they were plotting. The bold ones would circle around, probing for weaknesses in our defence. Eventually the bacon was ready, the bread had been seasoned with sand - making it a real bacon SANDwhich. As we ate, we watched the tourists come and go. We watched locals out for a run, and surfers practising the basics on the small waves. We'd hoped to get a chance to surf, but it had fallen into a small list of things to do that we never got a chance to. It got me to thinking, about all the things we'd done since leaving Banff 4 weeks ago. We'd seen all sorts of weather from driving rain, to baking sun. We'd travelled along coast line, over mountains and through deserts.

After breakfast, we had no further need of the camp stove - we'd managed the perfect amount of gas as it had run out as we finished cooking the bacon. The stove and empty gas cylinder went in the beach bins, and we headed back to the car. On our way down to the beach, we'd spotted a rental shop, and having found the quintessential Californian beach, decided to give rollerblading a go. Clare was over the moon to see this, having experienced my attempts at ice skating back in Banff during the winter. For a skier, my balance leaves much to be desired when I'm on ice, and I spent a large amount of time on my backside. I was better when playing Ice Hockey - being able to use the stick to form a tripod gave me stability that I lacked naturally - so roller blades would hopefully be a similar laugh for her.

As we got kitted up, the popular item to rent seemed to be bikes - and when we finally got out onto the track it would be clear why. The first challenge was getting to the track - skating through the car park was easy but the track did not intersect. After some initial wobbly steps I walked through the sand to reach the track. Clare went around, hoping that somewhere in the outdoor gym area there was a cut through. As I skated along waiting for her, I'd just picked up a little speed when the obstacle appeared. Sand had drifted over the path, which didn't bother the bike in the slightest, but played havoc with roller blades. The sand acted as a unreliable brake, slowing you unevenly and causing all sorts of twisting. Just another challenge to overcome, and eventually Clare came out to join me on the track, having given up and walking over the sand.

As we headed down the beach, it was great to see that despite the early hour there was plenty of people out and about making the most of this amazing playground. All the other skaters flew by with no hassles, and I started imitating their technique - Check out the video! Clare was highly disappointed I was better at this than ice skating, falling over would have been far more entertaining for her.

Soon, our hour was up and we returned to the rental shop. There was an easy entry from the track right behind the hut - we'd just missed it when setting off! As we'd skated we had spotted a market of sorts setting up and wandered along to check it out. The shops along the front here were clearly aimed at tourists, and were making the most of the local laws. The most frequent shop was a "green" doctor - about 4 or 5 of these shops were dotted along the 300m stretch. The fee for a consultation varied, but marijuana was legal with a medical prescription and they were capitalising on the tourists up for experimenting. The real doctors may have been hidden inside the building, but by the looks of the visible staff they all had a regular prescription!

The market we'd seen being set up was barley a market, more a collection of homeless people selling what ever they could, rubbish paintings and tacky name stencils seemed to be the most common. We gave up and wandered back to the car. Our plan for the rest of the day was to relax. It would be our last day on the trip, and we'd managed to get a good deal on a upper class hotel. Despite being barely check out time, we were able to check in and went up to our 10th story room - offering fantastic views of the downtown Hollywood area. Despite the great view, the tiny Hollywood sign was barely visible - what was the fuss with this thing!

After exploring, we headed down to the car to unload all our possessions and pack everything up for the flights home. This required a very delicately balanced and loaded porters trolley and by the time we'd unloaded it into the room it was definitely time to hit the pool. Before we did we checked out the high room levels only lounge, which had some massage chairs in. These pummelled and pinched and gave a fairly similar impression of a bad Chinese massage, giving me more aches than I'd started with! Down at the pool, there were plenty of seating options and we chose a very laid back lounger to catch the rays. I'd planned on catching up with some blog writing and maybe read my book for a bit, but the soothing sun soon had us both napping and before we realised, it was 3pm and the sun was starting to dip.

We headed back up to the room for a light lunch. We relaxed in the hotel for the rest of the afternoon. Eventually it was time for dinner and we wandered down the street to a small Italian restaurant. The service was slow, but we were in no rush - the family at the table next to us was far too entertaining to worry about the food arriving. Dinner was delicious and combined with some good Californian wine we were very relaxed. We headed back to the hotel to pack, Clare would be on the 11am shuttle to the airport in the morning, marking the end of of our Californian road trip.

We'd travelled approximately 3778 miles, using 3 different cars. We'd hit up 4 of the states and 2 provinces of Canada, and still hadn't seen everything there was to see in our 4 weeks of travelling. We've overcome challenges, and have skirted the edges of luck. Despite the close proximity and lack of breathing space, we were both still alive too! It's been an experience, one I would gladly do again.

I hope you've enjoyed reading the adventures we've had, spelling mistakes and predictive text wording and all!

Day 25

We woke this morning to a ringing telephone. My phone battery had died during the night, so no alarm clock this morning and heavy blackout curtains meant no natural light in the room. It was 11.05 of an 11am checkout, and we had to rush to gather everything together and leave. Fortunately, there had been no free breakfast at this motel, so we had to eat breakfast bars on the go. We were headed for Walmart, to pick up some shopping and food for the night. Like Asda, only much bigger, food was the smallest department at Walmart. Cheap US prices for things made it a good place to shop for small items, but the meat selection was rubbish, and if we didn't find another supermarket in the afternoon we'd be having a vegetarian dinner.
Shopping done, we hit the road again, headed for Malibu.

Not only are the roads around LA busy and hectic at the best of times, but they are also hideously badly signposted. Our journey to Malibu should be pretty straightforward by the map, so we dont watch the gps dot on the phone. This is a mistake, as about 30 minutes later we worry about the road number changing, and find we are correct to be worrying, we have gone far past the turn off to Santa Monica (our gateway to Malibu). We come off the highway at the next available exit, and loop around to head back. This doesn't help at all, as there most of the overhead roadsigns are covered over and we quickly find ourselves stuck in a lane taking us completely the wrong direction with too much traffic to pull over. We stop, tensions are running high and time is ticking on. A few loops around, and we are back onto the road we need. We'll now be approaching Malibu from a different direction and find ourselves back on Highway 101, which we'd followed for so much of the northern west coast. Obviously aimed at tourists, this is much better signed, but Malibu doesn't even get a mention and we have to cross a range of hills before dropping back onto the coast road and seeing the first signs of the rich Malibu shoreline.

When we finally arrive in Malibu, its not what we expected. The main road runs through, with a few small shopping complexes off to the sides. WE park up in Malibu State Beach car park, and I head to the closest shopping area to buy meat for the night. After 30 minutes of walking around designer shops and car parks, i realise there is no supermarket here either. I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for finding one further down the road. Back at the car, the walk to the beach from the car park takes you around the perimeter of a fenced and covered area - what seems like a building site. Its a long walk and takes 10 minutes to get down to a small wind swept bluff. There is a small lagoon, and locks of rocks - but still no beachside boulevard or chicks in bikinis playing beach volleyball. A few surfers out in the waves prove that there is local life here, and the grumpy looking lifeguard looms over the beach from a tower on the far end.Its a big disappointment, and we head on. We have a campsite chosen for the night, close enough to the beach that we'll be able to chill out with a glass of wine as the sun sets. Its only a few miles down the road, and as we go we come across another area of Malibu, more along the lines of what we were expecting but still not there. There is a car park to the side of the highway, with a paved walking path and a wall, before a short strip of beach leading out to the sea. The large waves and empty beach told the tale - November was in full flow even don South.

We carried on, and spotted a sign for a supermarket. Having parked up, there was more covered fences between the carpark and the building with a sign indicating it is a supermarket - bad sign! I walk around, and discover - the supermarket is still being rebuilt. Do people here eat anything?!? We carry on the road, and its looking less likely than ever that we'll get meat for dinner. Soon - that becomes a distant concern.

We arrive at the State campground, and find out they are full. Its a public holiday weekend, Veterans Day is coming up on Monday so people are out for the weekend. The kind of camping we are doing is rare (almost unheard of out here) because we are actually camping in a tent. Most of the campsites are just large car parks because camping here means driving in a coach sized RV or camper van.Cheats. Even for our small required footprint, there isnt any room for us here, and we're directed down the road to another state campground. Arriving here, the story is the same again. Luckily there is another campsite just up the road, but now the fuel light has come on. Our extended journey out here has used up more fuel than anticipated and we dont know if we carry on whether there will be a petrol station - after all they dont eat so why would they use petrol either.

Risking it, we carry on. This final campground looks promising. Its all beachside, and there is acres of room, There are even empty car park spaces for the coaches to camp up. However, the state employee at the gate dashes our hopes. They are also fully booked for the night, the empty spaces are for 5 reservations which haven't yet arrived. A small army could have actually camped on the unused area here, but this atendant has a proper attitude and we leave. We park at the side of the road to consider our options. Looking at where the sea level is and where the state campground goes to, we figure we can just find a nice spot on the beach to set up camp but will have to find somewhere to park the car as there is no parking near the beach on the main road from sunset till sunrise.

We head back towards Malibu, and eventually find a spot. We're able to park the car on a side road, and there are even portaloos set up on the roadside parking spots for any calls of nature in the night. We head down to the beach, as the sun is getting perilously close to the horizon.

Sitting in the fading light, drinking wine, we are able to forget about the stress of the afternoon. We've had such terrible luck today its been tough. Sunset on the beach makes up for it though, and we could be in the middle of nowhere. The pounding waves drown out the sound of the road, directly above us and although there is a small group of people 100m down the beach from us, we;re sat in a little rock alcove and can see just sea the sea and the horizon in front of us. Perfect.

Once the sun has set, we have to get back up and on with things. We know we don't have a lot of daylight left, so head back to the car to get the tent, firewood and dinner stuff for the night. We've come up with a compromise on dinner, and are adding bacon bits into our vegetable and noodle dish. With the hunt for a campsite, there was no way to find where the hidden supermarket might be, and although catching a fish straight from the water was a tempting idea, it would take far too long! While Clare cooks up dinner, somehow keeping the sand out of the pan - I try and light the fire with the gusting wind not helping at all. Eventually, the fire is crackling away, dinner is nearly ready and its fully dark out. We sit and eat, and listen to the waves. They are only about 10m away from us, further than they appeared to be from the state campsite we saw earlier, but we do start to wonder when high tide was/will be?

After dinner we start getting the tent set up, tucked as far back against the rock as possible to avoid any stray waves that might pop up. We have an evacuation plan in place incase the tide rises in the night, and I'm fully satisfied we'll be fine. With all the wood burnt the fire dies down and we head into the tent for a game of cards. Its pretty awkward to get sit up and play and there is a lot of shuffling around to stay comfortable in the cosy little tent. Finally its time for sleep and we settle down for the night, sleeping to the sound of crashing waves and nothing else.

Day 24

With no easy shuttle access to downtown, we had to find another way to travel around this morning. The metro, to cover the 11 miles to Hollywood, would take over an hour and that didn't include walking to the nearest station. Instead we found a 'mall' which was recommended for parking access, so bright and early (10am), we drove to find it and parked up. It was a typical multistory shopping center car park, but as soon as you walked out onto the street you could see why it was recommended. We literally walked out onto the famous stars in the pavement of Hollywood Boulevard. Even famous pavement gets boring after a while, so after about 10 minutes of walking along we stopped and walked north the the Hollywood bowl. A natural amphitheatre, loads of famous bands had played here over the years. Apparently it was also good for some views of the Hollywood sign, but the place was teeming with people getting ready for tonights performance so we were unable to walk to up anywhere. It was an interesting walk none the less and we were plenty happy watching the locals going about their stressful days getting angry at all the other car drivers. In the driving rain last night, we had noticed there weren't as many Prius' as we were expecting. Perhaps it was just because their dodgy batteries dont work in the rain, as today there were hundreds of them. Different models and colours, but about 1 in 5 cars was a prius.

We eventually walked back to the shopping centre where we'd left the car, and wandered around for a while. From one of the catwalks we could finally see the Hollywood sign. It was surprisingly small considering the amount of fuss that is made about it - but we had it ticked off the bucket list. Soon, we were back in the car, and heading south to what we had guessed from google maps to be a beach area - to soak up some of the californian sun while watching people exercising by the sea and eating fruit. Long Beach should probably be renamed, as it was more urban than most cities in the rest of the world, and while we saw the water frequently there was no sign of even a shingle beach, let alone the sprawling sandy haven that has been so firmly planted in our minds by the media. Instead we drove right through, and came out the other side heading towards Seal Beach to see if there was anything in its name related to the place. Along the way, we saw a sign for a public library - another free internet opportunity! This would give us the chance to look into campsites and also to checkout the weather. For the first time, we had to register to use the antiquated computers - there was no wifi signal so I couldn't download a map of the area. This would prove to be disastrous later in the day.

As we researched, we discovered the weather was against us camping AGAIN - we really weren't having much luck with this cheaper accommodation option. Based on what we'd found, we decided on a different plan for the night. The new Bond film, Skyfall was out for the first time today and so being in Hollywood we wanted to stick it to the American film industry and watch a British film instead. We looked out where an IMAX cinema was (being LA they had loads of cinemas available to choose from) and chose a hotel nearby. We then wandered along the highstreet of Belmont to buy some lunch. Belmont doesn't have beach in its name, so of course it had one, tucked away at the bottom of a peninsula protecting the harbour. The wind had picked up, and locals were our making full use of the gusts as they kitesurfed across the Pacific waves. We keep coming back to this ocean, but out just seems so powerful - nothing like the waves of the solent, our the north sea our the Mediterranean. Nothing matches it for sheer domineering power. The sandy expanse of beach got too windy for is to continue rearing, so we packed up and say in the car at the mouth of the harbour. It was amazing how calm the water was inside when it was so choppy out. After lunch, we drove of to find the imax cinema to buy our tickets your the evenings show. E headed up onto the highway as the sun was setting, and everyone was leaving work - rush hour. As we drove up the highway, we knew we should be looking out for signs for the shopping centre, or retail park but there was nothing. Eventually we spotted the cinema as we went over it on the highway. By the time we exited, and looked for a parallel road to access it, we had no idea where our was, and over the next hour proceeded to drive blindly up and down, quartering the area. We pulled into a petrol station to ask directions but the attendant had no idea where it was. Finally, tired and frustrated with the city, we found a McDonalds to leach the internet. How we'd missed the cinema and retail park it was in I don't know, it was so close to where we'd been driving, and just round the corner from the petrol station. We bought our tickets, then drove to the motel we'd found. What looked close on the map was actually a 15 minute drive but we were set for the night. We had a few hours until the cinema, do got on with some washing. Unlike everywhere rise we'd stayed and done washing at, this time we needed to use a laundromat just next to the motel. It was everything it seemed to be from the movies. Rows of machines, really cheap to use, and normal people washing here. Sheets and towels being put in by one guy, someone elses kids running around paying hide and seek while the father hung up work shirts. This was working class America. With an hour to spare before the film started we turned up at the cinema to get in line. Lucky we did really as the line was large already. This surprised us, there was about 20 films to choose from at any 1 time, and each film had multiple showings throughout the evening. Cinema is big business here. It was a late finishing film, but well worth it. We slept, ready to face the next day of our Californian road trip adventure.

Day 23

After last nights drinking and gambling, all we wanted this morning was to stay in bed. No such luck, we had to check out by 11am. Dreary eyed and slightly delicate, the place not to be was a casino. The bells and whistles of gambling occurring was a cacophony of sound, and the ever lingering stench of tobacco hung in a permanent cloud. With a cup of tea, and a Krispy Kreme doughnut we battled on through. Before heading back to the car, we had a stop to make on the strip. Despite the relatively early hour, the street was still swarming with people and their flyers - presiding you to come to this club tonight, or that show. Also out, people dressed as super heros. A guide is read had told me if you get a photography of these guys its considered expected to tip, as this its their livelihood. Standing in the streets off Vegas in costume and hoping to get paid for it.

Luckily, M&M world was close to the hotel and while it didn't offer the whole tour desk we got at the Jelly Belly factory, they did have every flavour and colour m&m under the sun, and a 3 story shop to sell them out of. Soon, it was time to leave. Vegas is definitely a night city. Just like a cheap actress wearing to much make up, it looks flashy and pretty under the neon lights but when the sun comes out it looks cheap and abused. No wonder the casinos do their best to keep you inside and the entertainment outdoors is limited mainly to the evening and nights.

Back in the car, we set of. Having driven 500 miles to get out here yesterday, today we were driving 300 miles onwards to LA. We'd originally hoped to get out to Malibu and camp down on the beach, but a weather warning of severe thunderstorms made us re plan. Instead, we'd head in and stay closer to the city, and go to see Hollywood in the morning. The hotel we'd looked at was fairly cheap, and offered a free shuttle downtown where it would be easy to make our way around.

It was a long drive, and after the might we'd had we found ourselves needing to stop. Fed up of the McDonalds junk, we mannered to find a 50's style diner on the roadside. Looking everything like a diner should from the film representations, they made the most amazing milkshakes! Definitely with stopping for. Continuing on, the predicted storm could be seen building in the distance. By the time we reached the outskirts of LA, the rain was nearly torrential and visibility was next to non existent. This foul weather apparently did nothing to effect the driving habits of the locals, and the 5 lanes in 1 direction of the highways soon became a mass of dancing red lights - with no discernable distance between each car, and so many of then zigging and zagging around, it was dangerous to try and manoeuvre. Not that this stopped anyone. The last 20 miles of our journey took nearly 2 hours, so by the time we reached the road the hotel was on, we were ready to stop. The car park out front was full so Clare went on in to deal with the paperwork. It wasn't long before she came back out. They didn't do a shuttle to town, the rooms were twice as expensive as advertised and it looked like a dump. There was a possibility this wasn't the right place - the name on the sign didn't quite match up with what we were expecting, so we carried on down the road, finally spotting a McDonalds. There had been no sign of any other possibility of our hotel.

Jacking into the wifi from the car park, we quickly confirmed we had been at the right place and set about searching for an alternative bed for the night. We came up with one, and keeping the page loaded on my phone in case of dispute on price we drove to it. There was a difference in price to what was advertised, it was cheaper. We'd have to work out getting to the sights we wanted, but here at least was a cheap, decent bed. We'd set aside the night thought for repacking and preparing for the end of our travels. All going well, we'd be camping for the next 2 nights, and wouldn't want to spend our final night in the country packing. It was a long and bring task, and the hotel probably hated the bin bags of discarded food and clothes, but we were at least sorted!

Day 22

Even lying and listening to the wildlife last night, it was still early to sleep, so when the sun hit the tent at 7am I woke up ready to get going. We had a big day planned, and the earlier we got started the more pay time we'd have later. Clare was a little more difficult to get going, but soon we were sitting at a picnic take eating scrambled egg sandwiches looking over the park we'd stumbled on last night. It was a shame we'd arrived so late, the surroundings were beautiful and it would have been great to walk around a bit, but we had places to be.

Back on the road, the scenery got better and better. The road was winding around the sides of hills - even stuck behind slow mixing vehicles just have us more chance to look around. It was an hour or so into the drive that we spotted the first altitude sign. Somehow, since being at sea level yesterday afternoon, we'd managed to climb over 7000ft. We didn't believe it when we saw the first sign, but couldn't check because there was no GPS signal, but soon the views opened up and the mountains in the distance behind us confirmed what the sign was saying. No wonder the sky view had been so spectacular last night, and no wonder it got so chilly during the night!

Soon, we were entering the Yosemite national park. After paying the steep entrance fee, we stopped to look at the information they had given us, including a more detailed map of the park. It was looking at the map that gave us a scare, the road we were taking through the park wasn't just about seeing Yosemite... it was also taking us out the other side in the most direct fashion. The map showed the road was closed from November to March - we were stuck!

Clare went to ask the park wardens about it. Walking back over with the answer, dressed it shorts, tshirt and flip flops it seemed silly that the road closure was due to weather conditions. The road was open currently, but they were expecting snow over night! As little as we believed them, the evidence was soon visible, as we passed snow piles to the sides of the road. These tiny piles of snow (small enough Heathrow airport might have been able to deal with them) gave an indication to just how high we were. The amazing vistas that opened up soon after were another clue, as we climbed higher than the Mt Norquay summit - just driving on a regular road.

We stopped every now and again to take it all in, but ever mindful of the distance we still had to cover we kept pushing on and soon started descending again. By now it was lunch time and we tried to find a picturesque spot to take a break and eat. Having descended from the mountains, there were still done lakes along the road, even after having joined a main interstate. Finally, we turned of the interstate to a beautiful parkland area. Picnic tables, some shaded from the pounding sun, a toilet block and a very natural looking pond to swim in all added to the convenience of this place and as we set up to cook our soup, the serenity of the place was put on hold as cars arrived. Clearly a large local family, mothers had brought children, and dressed up smart to a professional photographer set up not far away from us. As car load after car load arrived, the kids waiting for pictures and their cousins who's photos had already been taken did as kids so - they ran around and played with sticks, getting leaves in their hair and muddy marks on their clothes. The lone girl of the bunch took charge of the unruly boys whenever the opportunity arose, while the sun sunk in the sky and the autumn leaves glowed with colour.

It was hard to drag ourselves away, but with tine ticking on we had to be off. A quick stop at MacDonalds to Skype a happy birthday to my dad and soon we were turning of the main road again. We'd thought last night the road was deserted and fairly minor, todays contender showed it up right away. The road wound its way round rocks and shrubs. Hidden dips and sudden humps threatened to destroy any car taking them too fast. Steep climbs came next, followed by the road narrowing to a single lane round a corner between 2 rock outcrops. At every turn I expected to see road runner dashing past saying "Meep meep". After the twisty climb, we had the descent. As we descended we were able top see the road ahead for miles and its stretched straight out over the flats, not a bend in sight. This process repeated numerous times, climbing hills, viewing the flats as you descend, racing along the flat straight roads then windy up again.

By now, we were at the Californian border. With the Sierra Nevada mountains behind is, this must be the Nevada desert starting. The cross over between states was glaringly obvious. The tarmac in Nevada was in much better condition, and much darker, the lines more clearly painted and suddenly there were cactuses growing beside the road. Quite how these plants know not to grow past the border confuses me.

For me, it was comparable to driving the red centre of Australia. Here though, it seemed more remote, with fewer people and better quality roads! As we completed our crossing and approached the main interstate south, the fuel light came on. By our calculations, it was 70 miles to the next town and normally we guess there's 40 miles with of fuel left when the light comes on. The main interstate was a lane in each direction, the hard shoulder was a steep slope into the desert, and car headlights were visible for about 10 miles before you reached the car. It would not be a great place to run out of petrol. With everything crossed we pushed on, trying every trick in the book to eek out our remaining fuel till the next town. Every time we saw
streetlights on the horizon we got hopeful, we knew there would be a petrol station here soon. We were coasting the engine wherever possible - and
then like an oasis in the desert it appeared. A petrol station. We
needn't have worried, once we filled up the tank we were brave enough to
check out the handbook. While it didn't specify how far you could go,
or even how big the reserve was - it did mention that when it got really
low another light would come on and that's when you should refill
immediately to avoid engine damage. With the tank refilled, we could
carry on into the night. It was only about 6pm, and we still had a
little further to go. The single lane road stretched and stretched.
Headlights appeared and yet the cars didn't show up for minutes they
were so far away, but with how unwaveringly straight the car was you
couldn't tell how far away they actually were.

An hour later, we arrived at the intense light we'd seen since darkness fell (over 100 miles) - Las Vegas!

Bright lights, massive signs and heaps of people in the streets - Vegas was everything I'd expected it to be. We'd searched the internet a few days before, and had found that some of the major hotels on the strip had
ridiculously cheap priced rooms. We had 2 options, the first was Stratosphere. This tall tower was visable for some distance away, and have fairground rides taking you over the edge if the building. Its been featured in all sorts of photo steps of insane places and would be great to stay at. This is actually the building we used to navigate to the strip, having not seen any signs rich writhe hero we just sunned for the big tower. While it was technically in the strip, it was do far removed from anything else we decided to check out option 2. The Luxor is a Egyptian themed pyramid with a huge beam of light emitted from the top. It has lifts which go diagonally up the corners and plenty of Egyptian art dotted around. The Luxor is the opposite end of the strip to Stratosphere, so we have to drive along slowly taking in as many of the sights as possible. By the time we've made it up to the Luxor its after 8pm, and we ready to stop and get out the car - we've travelled 500 miles in the last day so we're very ready for a break. Clare jumps out the car to go and get a room, while I circle the block. Eventually, the attendant takes pity on me - we've come to the tour bus drop off, reception is a fair distance away and will take a while to get to. He directs me to park on the fire lane and wait. Clare eventually comes out, and we go to park round the back. Since checking online 2 days ago, the deals have ended and the rooms are normal price. Add in the multitude of taxes they get to add on and the room price is suddenly quite a lot more expensive than anticipated - but this is Vegas and unlikely to happen again. Once we've checked in we freshen up and head off to explore. Dinner is a hit dog on the go and we get outside to see the sights and sounds as it was designed. Evening here is focused on bringing you indoors. All the bright lights attracts you  and there Ste people on the street handing out flyers. Free alcohol is offered pretty much everywhere as an enticement but we are more interested I'm seeing the outsides for a bit. The famous sights, like the fountain at the Bellagio impress us and Oceans 11 has taught us much about the different casinos. We focally get down to Treasure Island, which had the best free live show outdoors, only to find the last show was at 10pm and its now 11.30. With blisters starting to form, we hoop in a taco for the ride back to our hotel - and to start the betting for the night.

We'd managed to save some money from the last weeks budget, and combined with the leftovers from our Canadian savings we had a small pile of money to spend. Drinks are free while your gambling  you just have to wait for the waitress to cone round and serve you - this takes a while! We alternate between the slots and roulette, winning some money here and losing it there. The while time it feels like we've travelled back in time. Smoking indoors is still legal here, which pleases the smokers immensely but only serves to remind the rest of us how much better it is to have fresh air to breathe. The smoke filled room is disgusting, the smell lingers on everything nearby. As the night turns to morning, were ready to call it quits, and all winnings are now put aside for next week. We haven't broken even for the night, but it was with every penny for the experience.

Its been a long day, starting early in the morning after camping, travelling so far, the stresses of running low on petrol and the free drinks - bed is a welcome relief as the sun starts to think about popping over the horizon.

Day 21

With such a busy day panned, we started early this morning and were checked out and on the bus before 9am. We had sweet talked the hotel into letting us leave the car in their car park, instead off paying the predicted $30 parking rates closer to the wharf. Instead, we paid much less for the bus - unfortunately the travel pass had expired at midnight so we weren't able to us that anymore. First port of call was the sea lions, who were awake now but still not very playful. Only a few of them were in the water, the rest were lying on exactly the same wooden platform as last night, occasionally screaming out as the brave few that went swimming climbed over the top of them to get back into water.

We carried on around the dock area, taking in sights of the bay that had been hidden last night. Although we had spotted the outline of an island  it was good to see we were right - Alcatraz was visible from the shore. We didn't really know much about the rock, but as a prison that was supposedly difficult to escape from, it was very close to shore - easily swimmable. Hopefully, the tour would explain to us why the prisoners didn't just jump off and swim to shore.

Arriving back at Pier 33, it was frustrating to see that same day tours were available today. We started getting ready, while Clare stood in the line for the toilets, I tried to find a water fountain to full up our water bottle before we got out there. Having no luck finding one on my own, I spotted 2 burred looking security guards and went over for a chat. There was no public water fountains around, but they were bored so one went to fill it up from their staff fountain the other talked about the dangers of providing anything to people because if the danger if being sued. Welcome to America!

Eventually, we were on the ferry and it departed only 5 minutes late. This company was the only one able to land on the island, having the monopoly on it and being run by the government national parks service explained entirely why it was so poorly organised on the shore and why the ticket staff who's job it was to deal with customers were so rude. When we landed, the mandatory talk to attend that was run for the guests on our boat had already started - hopefully we didn't miss anything to important. First thing was a Discovery channel film about the history of Alcatraz which was really interesting and finally explained why they didn't all jump and swim to shore. The water was frigid all year round  and the currents around the island were impossible to predict - to swim unaided without a wetsuit would take it out of you very quickly. 3 escapees had last been seen trying to escape this way on a rain coat raft and never heard of again. After a year of planning, and digging out of their cell with a metal soup spoon no one knows what happened to them.

After the video, we walked up to the prison block for the free audio tour. There is so much more to the island than just the prison, but with our already limited timeframe we just didn't have time to explore it all. The audio tour was fascinating, and time just disappeared on us. It was certainly funny watching everyone listening in silence to their headphones, walking when instructed to walk, stopping when instructed, and even looking only at the things the audio tour instructed them to look at. The few disobedient black sheep wandering around of their own accord definitely stood out, and even then conformed by speaking in whispers as of they were in a library! Soon our time was up, 2 hours had flown by and we hadn't even reached the end of the audio tour, let alone explored the rest of the island. We headed back to the ferry, ready to continue with the rest of the day.

Back in the city, we walked up towards our bus stop, just off course slightly was a chocoholics heaven. This chocolate shop had been recommended to us twice, here it was famous for sundaes, which of course we had to stop and try! They also had a chocolate factory set up to show how the chocolate was made. After our delicious break we got back on the bus and headed to the hotel. Shortly after 2 we were back on the road, heading North out the city (driving north over the golden gate bridge was free!). We were off to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, but taking a more scenic route despite the time constraints.

As we headed out the city we were able to appreciate the scale and colour of the bridge, even thigh wine other other bridges in the city look more fancy, its easy to see why this is an iconic bridge.
We missed the turn for our scenic drive, realising when we arrived in the next town along, 20 miles too far. Instead of just turning around and getting back on the highway, we decided to take the smaller roads, with no map with enough detail to navigate by and limited GPS signal. What could go wrong?
By sheer determination we navigated our way through the back streets of Petaluma, eventually hitting some 'main' roads outin the right direction. This route took us along some brilliant countryside, passing Sonoma and Napa - both small towns with big names and important stature for the area. The biggest problem we faced was that the factory brochure that we had said the tours closed at 4pm. It didn't elaborate whether the last tour finished at 4pm or started then. We were very much hoping that it started at 4pm, as we dashed our way across the countryside. The first delay had been the missed turning, but quickly the delay's stacked up as slow moving vehicles and road works alternated in keeping us moving slowly. We battled on, and soon reached the main highway. Foot to the floor, we cut across the lanes, joining the fastest moving vehicles while Clare checked out the brochure for the more detailed directions that would surely be on there. The factory was on Jelly Belly lane so they must have been fairly established there when the roads where being built/named, leading us to believe they would have got around to signposting from the highway. With little warning, the upcoming junction sign matched with what we were expecting to turn off - our cut through had brought us up much higher than we thought. With only a few hundred meters to the turnoff we had 5 lanes of traffic to work through, but managed to cut through. The turnoff led us onto another road, and immediately there was an exit - too late! We'd missed the turnoff and it was 3.55pm As we raced down to the next junction, we spotted the factory off to the side of the road. Turning off quickly, we made turn after turn through an industrial estate, eventually spotted some tiny signs in the setting sunlight pointing us to the parking. It was 4.01pm but we'd made it, and raced to catch onto the tour which had just started to leave!

40 minutes later, we'd tasted Jelly bean in different stages of production and were fully corporate inducted into why Jelly Belly are the best candy makers in the world.... We had 20 minutes to browse the shop, and discovered that there were no flavours available that couldn't be found in the UK. The UK even had MORE flavours than produced for the American markets. Purchases made as they closed up the shop, we were the last customers to leave. Sat in the carpark we had to replan our evening. Originally, we had been hoping to head east to the Yosemite national park to camp for the night, but with darkness quickly approaching we wouldn't be able to see the park. Our budget was being tightly controlled, so we wanted to avoid another costly motel if possible. Our revised plan, was to drive on as intended for the national park, stop for lunch when we got hungry and then when we found a campsite on the outskirts of the park we could just pitch tent and sleep for the night, able to continue on in the daylight to appreciate the scenery.

Plan decided, we headed onwards. We had no internet on my phone, but Google maps showed very different roads to what we could see on the large scale map. Google must be wrong we decided and planned our route accordingly. Eventually we needed fuel and ended up having dinner at a Macdonalds next to the petrol station. The only advantage of Macdonalds was cheap food and free internet. If other fast food chains ever catch on and advertise that they offer an alternative sales in MacDonalds around the world would be nearly extinguished. Sat eating dinner, we were able to navigate our route. We still didn't agree with what Google maps was planning for us, and largely struck out on our own. 20 minutes later, we could see why google hadn't advertised this route. We were driving on endlessly straight roads, with occasional 5 building villages dotted along and were constantly overtaken by (probably drunk) locals, angered by a car keeping to the speed limit (mostly) when all they wanted was to get home to their farms before the cops could spot them. The sky was so clear and unobstructed we could see for miles ahead and the stars surrounded us. With no light pollution we could see the stars clearer than even Banff night skies.

A few wrong turns kept us on our toes, but by 9pm we were ready to stop - the only problem was there were no services along this route. No motels, or shop car parks. Even the tourist information centres doubled up as a Fire Station and we didn't want to risk a farm burning down because we were parked up in front of the horse and water cart shed.

Eventually, we found a Recreational Park and Lake, with a self registration camping. It was really dark, but the toilet block within 50meters of every (empty) site lit us up well enough to put the tent up and make the bed. Soon we were tucked up, and listening to the sounds of the wildlife. Clare was soon asleep, but the night creatures were out in force, a pack of animals and their high pitched yelps echoed around the area - they must be at the lake a few hundred meters away. Research leads me to beleive it was a small group of Mountain Coyotes. A wolf howl shut them up, leaving me the opportunity to hear the rest of the wildlife rustling and scurrying around - a perfect backing noise to sleep to.