California

On Monday morning we packed up our ever-increasing bags of gear, left our 5 person hostel room (which was beginning to smell quite ripe due to miminal ventilation over 4 days and many different room-mates) and picked up our hire car. Luckily navigating back to our hostel was easy, and I was familiar with the streets we had to take- although I was pleasantly surprised that driving on the right wasn't so difficult after all. Here we are almost a week later and it feels as natural as driving on the left

We headed out of San Francisco over the Golden Gate bridge, stopping to take photos and walk out a short way. Our friends Mel and Fi rode over on bicycles, so we met them at the other side, chauffering our still-recovering resident cripples Caz and Layla to meet them on the other side in beautiful Sausalito. It's amazing how such an idyllic small town place like Sausalito can exist so close to a big dirty urban centre like San Franciso, it was like a little hideaway...

After saying goodbye to our fellow travellers (who were staying on an extra day and driving down the coast) we headed inland to Yosemite. One thing I've really come to appreciate while travelling are recommendations... whether it's food, shopping, or things to see- every place that we've checked out on a personal recommendation has blown us away. Well, it's mainly the food actually- after a day of walking around and building an appetite, there's nothing better than getting enormous servings of extremely tasty local fare at excellent prices. San Fran was almost exclusively a 2-meal-a-day stay, since we'd eat such huge lunches, or save ourselves for huge dinners.

Anyway, our Yosemite accomodation was no exception to the recommendation rule; the beautiful Yosemite Bug hostel located about an hours drive outside the park. Thanks Brie! We took the opportunity to stock up at a local grocery store and make ourselves a massive homecooked meal consisting of 2-inch thick steaks, grilled vegies and a giant salad. Going a week without a homecooked meal really makes you appreciate fresh food We've done really well in terms of food so far, probably eating more fresh vegetables and fruit than I would at home.

Unfortunately for us, the one day we had in Yosemite was miserable, against all weather forecasts. Our intended drive to the very top of the mountain was interrupted by the clouds clinging to the peak- driving became near impossible. We went back down into the valley and settled for some short walks. The next day as we were leaving the hostel, the sun was shining and the sky was clear

The next couple of days were a blur of driving and delirium- Sonia had managed to get sick again, and spent a few hours in Santa Cruz holed up in the hostel with a fever while I wandered the town in search of ginger and lemon to cook up some sore-throat remedy.
Santa Cruz had a great laid-back vibe, and another brilliant hostel. Hostelling International is truly a great organisation, and all the hostels have a very welcoming and homely atmosphere.
The next day we drove Highway 1 down Big Sur and for the first time i felt really homesick for the landscape of Australia. The winding coastal drives reminded me so much of the southwest and the natural beauty of Oz.
After 4-5 hours of winding roads, the effect of the constant turning and change of speed was having an affect on both of our stomachs, heads and temperaments. Luckily the highway eventually levelled out into a coastal plain, making the drive into San Luis Obispo much more bearable.

SLO was another area small town, and we rocked up just in time for the weekly Farmers Market, which turns the main street into a street party with market fresh fruit and veg, live local bands, tasty local food stalls and lots of fun things to look at. Since we were both feeling quite retched by this stage, we cooked up some more ginger tea for the next days' drive and had an early night.
We set off at 6am the next morning for the trip into Los Angeles- we were told that the trip could blow out to 4-5 hours, and we had to meet our friends at lunchtime for an architectural tour of LA by another friend's mother who lives in the area. We made great time, and the edge-of-seat freeway driving I'd heard about turned out to be true, but we managed to scrape through.

LA definitely has a lot of character, but in many ways it's an urban nightmare. It's jut so spread out over such a massive area, and traffic is horrendous. It's like what I imagine Perth could slowly turn into if they just keep building low-density housing and more freeways, pushing everything out further and further. We did a great architectural tour; visiting the Eames case study house, Eames office and Edgemar arts centre in Venice, then onto the Getty Centre- taking in a drive down Sunset strip through Hollywood and Beverly Hills on the way. But to spent almost 4 hours driving to get to all these places wore me out to a point of sleep-deprived exhaustion, especially when so much of it was spent stuck in freeway traffic and trying desperately to stay behind our guiding car when other drivers (mainly in the car by themselves chatting away on cellphones) insisted on cutting in.

We crashed early while the other girls headed out for the night, and managed to sleep through the loud music and all-night shenanigans happening at this hip hostel in Hollywood.

I'm struggling to upload photos at the moment- the computers alternate between being CD-less and USB-less- but will try and get some more up ASAP.

Have been thinking of you all fondly! Lots of love.
-Liam