Epic California Roadtrip

The last two weeks my hubby and I have been on an epic road trip in California ☀️

(You can also see our vlog on YouTube, here >> )

I didn’t use any social media or read the news, which was very refreshing… We saw so much (inc lots of wildlife) and took 100’s of photos... here are the highlights:

San Francisco

A very relaxed, interesting place. Enjoyed views of the GG bridge, driving up/down steep roads, Golden Gate Park - esp the Japanese tea garden, visiting the largest China town outside of Asia and walking amongst the skyscrapers. I loved the Victorian houses such as the ‘painted ladies’.

Pacific Highway

Next, we drove down the Pacific Highway.
Such a beautiful stretch of coast line. We stopped to take photos regularly, it felt like every turn of the road gave us another glorious view…
I could write a whole blog entry just on this part of the trip alone, but here are my highlights -

Monterey Bay

We went on a boat trip and saw humpback whales inc a mother and her calf, sea otters, sea lions, seals and brown pelicans. Wonderful.

Carmel by the sea

One of the most charming and idyllic coastal towns we’ve ever been to, it’s like something out of a fairy tale. We sat on the beautiful white sandy beach and watched the sun go down

Big Sur

Incredible coastline, gorgeous view after view after view Spotted some dolphins another humpback whale and elephant seals lazing on a beach.

Pismo Beach

Stayed in a fab hotel and sat in a hot jacuzzi looking up at the stars. They also had pelicans nesting on the cliffs which we could get close to, and loved.

Los Angeles

We only booked one night here after multiple people telling us they were disappointed with LA. We didn’t like it much - it’s nothing remarkable, lots of homeless people, and not as glam as you’d expect. We drove thru Beverley Hills though which was lovely, through Hollywood, and managed to get a good view of the infamous sign.

Sequoia National Park

Just fantastic walking among giants. Here we met the largest tree on Earth General Sherman - age 2,200 years old!

We felt honoured to be amongst such large, beautiful trees.

Kings Canyon National Park

A stunning place and deeper than the Grand Canyon. Spotted deer a few times while on wonderful walks, plus many birds including falcons and eagles… We stayed within 20ft of the mighty King’s River.

Yosemite

Wow. One of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been - it’s up there with the Grand Canyon and Swiss Alps. Stunning views, awesome walks... heaven on Earth. Saw a bear from afar, more deer, and pikas, which are a little like meerkats.

Drove through a mountain pass at 9,945 ft and walked through high mountain meadows. One night we stayed out after dark and saw the Milky Way; just awesome and mind-blowing... couldn’t believe how many stars there are.