It was time to say good bye to the California Coast and head inland to the wineries and National Parks in California. We were definitely devo to say good bye to the coast, but we couldn’t wait to get to Yosemite either!

Pinnacles National Park

We headed to Pinnacles National Park from Big Sur. After a long drive, we finally got to Pinnacles late afternoon. It was our first National Park and it happened to be the newest National Park. We were at the youngest National Park in USA!

We arrived at our campsite to see boxes. We thought out loud – bears? After spotting a ranger doing his rounds, we waved at him and quizzed him. He alerted us that there were no bears but mean and scary raccoons. He warned us that they usually creep out at dark and we were instructed to store everything inside the car or the box.

Not to long after sun down, the raccoons were out and doing their rounds. They were attempting to enter every campsite for food. The ranger caught a few for relocation but he said, “they will soon be back”. The next morning we did a few hikes in the park and headed towards Napa Valley.

Napa Valley

Napa Valley is a famous wine region near San Fransisco. We should have loved this area and enjoyed the wine but we were stung by the wine tasting and wine prices in Saint Ynez Valley. We never stepped inside a winery. Instead we spent the night at the state park, did a hike and drove out.

Central Valley

Driving from Napa to Lake Tahoe, we passed through the food bowl of California. And I must say, it was incredibly beautiful. We stayed in a town called Lodi and had a crazy encounter with the locals. We walked into a bar to have a drink before dinner. As soon as we stepped in, we were a little sacred and I won’t lie, the thought of walking out alive did go through my mind! The people hanging around were rough looking. We ordered our drinks and appeared to be enjoying the moment when a lady walked out and walked back in with a cobra! WTF, cobra! Well, at least she was nice about it – she let us pet her cobra!!!! We walked out laughing and promising we were never doing this again.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is an American institution. It is where a lot of people take their kids for summer. We drove from the town of Lodi to Tahoe early in the morning. Luckily, we were able to get a campsite at the campground by the Lake.

There was a summer festival going on the lake with music, bands and “no beer” even though everyone was drinking their own. We took a drive out away from the crowds and ended up in a state park on the beach of Lake Tahoe. Kids were swimming but for us the water and the wind was too cold. Therefore, we put up chairs and had a couple of beers with our feet in the sand. We were in the middle of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Paradise.

Yosemite National Park

It was finally time to drive to Yosemite. We didn’t have any bookings because everything gets booked 3 months prior! And, 3 months earlier we weren’t even sure if we were going USA. So to secure a campsite in Yosemite, we left Tahoe at 6am. We were making good time curving and winding through the mountains when we noticed fire in the distance. Getting closer we learnt it was a bush fire and the road was blocked. We waited for almost an hour before we were allowed to go through.

The drive to the park entrance was already breath taking! We wished we didn’t have to rush for a campsite as every bend was a magnificent view of the mountains and valley. But we had to keep going and upon finally reaching, we were told that the campsites were all full. It was not even 10am. Disaster!

After thinking through our options quickly, we decided to turn around and get back on the Tioga Pass to find a campsite in the National Forest. After wasting some time at two campgrounds, we finally came across one that had some campsites available! Praise the Lord we said and booked it for next 3 nights. Below is the photo of the clear starry sky we watched from our campsite.

Because of our campsite location and mileage restriction of the campervan, we spent most of our time in Toulmne Meadows. Very quickly we learnt that it was impossible to see the entire park in one trip, so we planned the next 3 days and focused on areas within our reach.

We trekked to Cathedral Lake, Elizabeth Lake and Dog Lakes and were constantly wowed by the amazing view. The sight of domes and peaks were just so common in the park but oh so spectacular.

Wildlife in Yosemite

At first we failed to see any wildlife in Yosemite though there was always signs of it. While walking up to Dog Lake, Shruti noticed something on a rock. It was a marmot one of the cuter animals we saw. Another time, we were walking to Soda Springs when we saw an entire family of deer. We were busy taking photos from a distance and just then a deer came only 20 yards away. The prize was obviously a black bear and we were lucky enough to see one across the stream!

Yosemite Valley

While driving to the valley, we saw a group of cars stopped, more or less in the middle of nowhere. This is called an animal jam and Shruti was quick to scream out that there was a bear. We parked at the next pullout and Shruti ran down to the previous pullout to see the bear. Sure enough, there was a cinnamon colored black bear on the other side of the river searching for and eating mostly bulbs and berries. It was a big bear with a huge bum, pretty much the same as all the bear films. We were glad to photograph it and glad it was on the other side!

On our final day in Yosemite, we headed to the valley and spent the entire day walking around and exploring another part of the park. The valley was equally stunning. The granite peak of El Capitan, Half Dome and other tall mountains were mighty and breathtaking. We hiked to the Yosemite Falls and it looked outstanding. Somehow the Yosemite Upper Falls reminded me of the falls in Telugu film Bahubali!

On our day out of the park, we saw the Bridalveil Falls and the Tunnel View of the Yosemite Valley. The falls really did look like a bridal veil but the tunnel view was sublime. I can imagine the people in 1800s coming to this area for fur trapping and being blown away by the beauty of the valley. Yosemite is a must visit if you were in California!

Kings Canyon National Park

Our next stop after Yosemite was Kings Canyon National Park. Our plan was to head to Sequoia National Park but the ranger at Yosemite recommended us to spend at least a night in Kings Canyon. So here we were!

We never imagined what the next day would be. It totally blew our minds. The Sequoia trees were magnificent! We never thought we would be so blown away by trees. Sequoias grow to almost 300 feet tall, 100 feet in circumference, can protect themselves from fire and diseases and can live up to 3000 years. No wonder they are the National Trees of USA. Even in death, their wood doesn’t decompose for hundreds of years which provide shelter for animals, plants and humans. Blown away of the mind!

We went to see ‘General Grant’, the third biggest tree in the world. We parked at the Grant Grove and started seeing the biggest trees of our lives. We were wowed already! But when we got to the Grant Tree, we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was the biggest thing in that area. It was over 250 feet tall, 100 feet round at the base and 1600 years old. It was so big that Shruti had to shoot it vertically panoramic.

Our next stop was the Cut Grove. Without Science and much awareness, the ignorant and money hungry people cut down many of the big Sequioa’s. It was a sad sight seeing the bases of huge trees some thousands of years old. The saddest though was the Mark Twain Tree. It was the biggest tree of the time, and if it lived, it would have been the biggest tree of our time. The base still exists and could easily fit 30 people on it. However, it was a great sacrifice as its portions were taken to New York and London where people couldn’t believe it was real and that led to the protection of these mighty trees.

Sequoia National Park

Later that day, we drove 30 minutes to the Sequoia National Park. We used the park shuttle the next day to visit some of the attractions. The Sequoia Museum was definitely worth the trip but General Sherman Tree took our breathe away. Standing tall among other tall trees, General Sherman was a reminder that humans are just a speck of dust in this universe.

We decided to hike a little and we ended up reaching Moro Rock. What. A. View! Walking up the steps along the edge of the balancing rock, we got to the top for a 360 degree view of the National Park and Central Valley. I’m sure we are not going to forget that never.

Los Angeles

The drive from Sequoia to LA was a short 3 hours but a tricky one. The park warns people not to use the D gear in automatic cars while descending as you can lose your breaks and land in the cliff. Therefore, I drove the descent and Shruti drove until the traffic started getting heavy before LA.

We met Suyash again in LA and stayed with him. Our first stop together in LA was of course Hollywood Blvd. At first, we didn’t think it was much and then we encountered the crowd after 2 blocks. The place was as touristy as Cusco, Peru because “you have to see it”. There was the Hollywood sign in the distance, some people dressed up as characters from films talking pictures for tips. Shruti and I felt claustrophobic but Suyash was over the moon to get his Facebook profile pic.

We next walked down Hollywood Blvd into Hollywood Hills in search of Ari Gold’s house. Suyash followed Entourage religiously and was way to excited but Shruti and I were worried that someone would call the cops on us.

We then walked down Sunset Blvd which is another iconic road in LA. It was lively with bars and restaurants all over the place. Suyash took us to a bar named Whisky A Go Go. This is the place where some of the most famous bands in rock history started or played. We were at a place where The Doors and Led Zeppelin had jammed! We bought tickets to go inside and watch some young rock bands. The vibe was amazing and we could only imagine when Jim Morrison came on stage or Led Zep played Kashmir. After a lot of rock music and drinking we took an uber back to the hotel while we heard the sad story of the driver not having health insurance and her daughter having cancer. Not all is right in USA!

The next day was shopping day. We drove out from LA for an hour to arrive at a huge shopping complex which was a factory outlet. All the brands were there and the markdowns were unbelievable. If we weren’t backpacking and took an empty bag to USA, we would have filled it up with a quarter of the cost of Australia. On the way back, Suyash got to see the Malibu beach, albeit in dark.

On our final day in LA area, we went with Suyash to San Diego. We visited a lake in the region and chilled with beers along its shore while Americans celebrated 4th July Independence Day. It capped off a great trip in LA and a great time with Suyash again.

Joshua Tree National Park

We left San Diego and headed towards the desert. Along the way, the scenery became drier and drier and we stopped at a native American petrol “complex” built on native land. Calling it a petrol station would be wrong as it had space for poker machines, car wash and a super market. The taxes were less and it was one of the cheapest fuel stops in USA for us.

As we reached Joshua Tree National Park, we walked into the visitors center. We only wanted to know how we could get the awesome sunset shots and a campsite. We were assured not to worry about either. Our only worry would be to avoid thirsty bees. If they see water or sweat, they will attack. Oh, scary!

The park is famous for another amazing tree. Joshua tree grows only in the Mojave and Colorado deserts in USA. It looks like a cactus has grown into a tree, kinda similar one being in Galapagos. Its shape and features made it look remarkable against a setting sun. As the sunset came close, we took photos from a great vista point on top of a mountain overlooking palm springs town.

Our next destination was the tallest Joshua Tree in the world. After the sun had set, we finally reached this tree. Though we weren’t quite sure where to find it, the ranger assured us that we won’t miss it. It looked like a funy power pole in the middle of the desert! Shruti finally got the perfect shot with it. The colors in this park were unbelievable, it really was like nature at play. The conditions were just right but the colors – we never saw those colors anywhere again!

We heard noises outside as we prepared to sleep. A bike, a truck and two voices. It seemed weird. Shruti wanted to wake up later to photograph the sky so we had to sleep. But when we woke up, we realised that the two voices were sky gazing with a huge telescope in the truck. Despite their rough looks, they were awesome people. We had a great time watching stars, planets and galaxies with them.

The next morning we drove to Skull Rock and climbed over some rocks in the park before it got too hot. At another place, the rocks had many shapes and it was up to each person’s imagination on what they looked like. It was an amazing experience being in this park and a great entry to the Wild Wild West! We were now prepared to leave behind California and head to Nevada.

We started our epic Road Trip from Los Angeles. After we picked up The Beast, we were ready to hit the road. The plan was to go along the  California Coast, visit some National Parks and Forest and then eventually head inland for some more National Parks. Yes, lots of National Parks.

California Coast

Our first drive was towards the town of Ventura. I have to say this, the LA traffic is nuts! Speeding, cutting lanes, not indicating, tying a tie, applying make up and loud music. WOW. It took us a while to get used to the madness around us. Eventually we were in a supermarket and stocking our camper with food and drinks.

Driving on California 1, which is along the California Coast, we arrived at Emma Wood State Beach. The beach looked amazing. Massive waves, full wet suit clad surfers and runners all along enjoying the ocean. We were all excited and decided to take a dip. Singing California Gurls, we changed to our swimmers and stepped in the water. IT WAS COLD! WHATTTTT. This can’t be the Cali beach we heard about in songs. Oh and another bummer. There were homeless people around so it wasn’t the safety to be roaming around till dark. But the first night sleep on the cozy cozy bed was amazing.

The sun rose and we woke up to beautiful warm sun rays and sound of the waves. After eating some cereals for brekky and updating our blog, we were on the road towards Santa Barbara. The other exciting thing was – we had no idea where we would sleep that night!

Driving on California 1, we made plenty of stops along beaches before finally getting to Santa Barbara. After a great meal and some drinks, we headed towards Los Padres National Forest to find a camp site. Luckily we did! And also lit our first camp fire. A great day indeed!

We were slowly making our way to Big Sur. I had a campsite booked at San Simeon State Park and we decided to visit Saint Ynez Wine Country and the Town of Solvang. The wineyards looked pretty under the shining sun, clear skies and mountains around. But it was Solvang that blew our mind! Solvang is a Danish town in the middle of California. The barns, the windmills and the souvenirs, the town has it all! It was like visiting some town in Denmark.

Big Sur

Big Sur is the famous stretch of California Coast between the towns of San Simeon and Carmels. To simplify, it could be compared to the Great Ocean Road. However, the comparison isn’t fair as the Big Sur is more famous, more beautiful (in my humble opinion) and more untouched (because of the Parks along the coast).

Waking up on Sunday, it was Shruti’s birthday and we were heading to Big Sur! We started driving from San Simeon early in the morning to enjoy the view and get a campsite. Again we had no bookings so we had to try our luck! But we had to stop when we got to the Elephant Seal Sanctuary. We had seen Sea Lions in Galapagos but the Elephant Seals were louder and wayy bigger! In fact the males could easily be 300 kilos.

As we left the sanctuary, the road turned to a windy mountainous road but the view got better and better. One of the reasons I said the Big Sur is better than Great Ocean Road is that there are no trees on the side of the road and there are pullouts every few miles. This means that you have a better view during the drive but you also have a better opportunity for photos. The view of Big Sur amazed us each time we passed a bend! We couldn’t believe our eyes.

While enjoying the view, we were getting anxious about a campsite. A popular stretch like Big Sur had limited campgrounds and they are likely to fill up quickly. We passed by the first campground and it had a FULL sign, not encouraging. We passed the Kirk Creek Campground and thought the same would be the case. But I thought we should ask the camp host and turned The Beast around. They had a spot!!! What a win!

We had a spot just above the Pacific Ocean. As Shruti prepared dinner, I got the camp fire going and we enjoyed the evening with the stunning view of the sunset and beers. It wasn’t an expensive birthday celebration but it was priceless.

To end our rendezvous with the California Coast, we visited the Marine Parks and Sand Dunes along the coast. We also saw the California Sea Lions and Sea Otters chilling in the water. The otters in particular were very cute. It was a great few days spent on the California Coast!

Golden Gate Bridge

We weren’t supposed to visit San Fransisco till the end of our road trip. That meant, no driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and no photos of the bridge with the car. Shruti wasn’t happy about that! So I decided to alter the plan. We decided to passed through San Fransisco on the way to Napa (more in next post).

The traffic getting into and out of the city was insane! Jams everywhere. After dealing with the traffic for over an hour, we were finally on the bridge. It was sooo worth it!

We then headed to a few top viewing spots for the bridge. The crazy chilly wind in June were giving us shivers. But boy, it was all worth it.

Finally! After loads of planning and bookings, we were nervously looking forward to kick off the big West Coast Road Trip. After getting familiar with the USA road and rules, especially the right hand drive, on East Road Trip, we were good to go. But that was just the start. We had no idea what we had signed up for. A true adventure awaited us.

Background

But first, how did we get here? Well, with Europe being the original plan, logistics didn’t work out and we were sort of back to square one. Just then Shruti thought out loud – would you mind living on the road? We could do a big road trip in USA.

I have to say, I was a little worried. I wasn’t sure how would we ‘survive’ being on the road for 40 days! Well, now I can say – it turned out blardy brilliant and we in fact extended our campervan booking for extra 5 days. WINNING!

Home & Car – Campervan

Growing up on main stream entertainment, West Coast USA and road trips have been featured way too many times. Some of the examples are right here, including songs! We thought, let’s end the trip on a high note. Let’s do the West Coast Road Trip by living / driving around in a campervan. It was the most budget friendly option – a mode of transport that will get us to places and a ‘roof’ to sleep and cook. Cheapness overloaded.

We looked up few options and finally signed up with Escape Campervans. The graffiti work on the cars blew my mind, actually maybe more of Shruti’s, and we had to get one of those!

We booked one of the smaller vans and got to the shop to pick it up. Turns out, they only had the bigger models available and they were ready to ‘upgrade’ us for free. Well, I was thinking – it isn’t really an upgrade cause I am not confident driving this beast. And that’s how our Starry Fox got it’s name- The Beast.

We were amazed at how the van could transform to a nice, comfortable bed! In the morning it could be a spacious ‘living room’, with a table!!!, and at night, a cozy bed. And, it came with a mini kitchen! Portable stove, solar fridge, pots and pans and basic utensils. We were so stoked when we picked it up!

West Coast Road Trip Map

Here is a map with all the places we visited. The Big Sur and ALL National Parks were a highlight. Oh, and not to forget Vegas!!

Driving over 5,500 miles (8,550 kms) in 45 days – What An Epic Road Trip!

After spending a good week in Washington DC, we were ready to move to our next destination. We wanted to see Niagara Falls and the Amish County. After quickly checking the bus options, we decided renting a car was the way to do it. Buses are expensive and at odd hours. Driving would also train us for the big road trip on the West Coast!

East USA Roadtrip

Once we agreed to drive to Niagara Falls and back, we decided to utilise our time on the road in the best way possible. We planned and booked Airbnb at various locations so we could experience more. 1000 miles (1609 kms) later, we had USA road experience. Here is the route we took –

Pennsylvania

We picked up the car from Hertz and we were on our way. Our first stop from DC was the Pennsylvania Dutch Country famous for Mennonites and Amish communities who are originally German. We had thoroughly researched how to avoid the tourist traps and were not disappointed.

Pennsylvania Dutch Country was incredibly green, beautiful and full of barns. It was picturesque. We visited farmer’s market and bought fresh apple ciders and pretzels. We enjoyed smorgasbord, which is a Amish buffet. The food was hearty and warm.

We were delighted to watch real Amish people going on with their lives in traditional ways. What a wonder! Before heading east, we visited a working museum showing the life of 19th Century Pennsylvania, especially the German influenced area. They spoke German there until the early 20th century. Who would have thought!

Our next stop was Philadelphia which is a great historic city in the eastern United States along with New York and Boston. We lived close to the Art Museum though we skipped visiting it. We’re no art aficionados and DC had spoilt us with free museums. But visiting the Rocky Steps were a must! There were lots of people around, some posing in iconic Rocky post at the top of the stairs.

The city is meant to be extremely walk-able and hell yeah it was. We walked from our Airbnb apartment to the center without any issues. We saw the Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall, both Iconic Symbols of America’s Freedom and Modern Government.

Other than sightseeing, the city had lots of bars we visited especially for SIPS. City’s bars had specials on Wednesdays and we were able to enjoy that. We even found a local bar 2 doors down from the apartment. Fancy that! Philadelphia was a great little city which has been cleaned up and is a great place to stop at.

Ithaca

We were slowly making our way from Philadelphia to Niagara Falls. Ithaca was a great little town on the way there. We stayed at an Airbnb house next to the woods in Ithaca.

The town is home to Cornell University which we visited for the Waterfalls and to see what an Ivy League university looks like. The waterfalls were beautiful while the University was historic and had a bunch of reunions happening.

We visited the Ithaca Lake for sunset and it was an incredible sunset. The downside was that returning from the lake we had to be extra careful of deer crossing the road. The town itself was cute and we had nice drinks and tapas. Due to the university, it was very lively even on a weekday.

The next day we visited Robert Treman State Park, Buttermilk Falls, Taughannock State Park and Watkin Glenn State Park all in one day. It was a lot of driving but we saw some incredible places and hiked beautiful trails. Watkins Glen in particular was strikingly beautiful.

The craft brewing culture is quite big in USA and Ithaca region is a wine producing region. Therefore, we were able to mix the two and taste wine and beer in the same vicinity. Wine is produced in summer after the harvest while beer can be produced all year round, it’s a fantastic idea. The beer flights were quite cheap while we found it odd to pay for wine tasting. I suppose Hunter Valley back in Australia has spoilt us there!

On our way out, we spotted at a farmer’s market to enjoy some fresh breakfast. To our delight we came across a Sri Lankan gentleman selling authentic Sri Lankan meals. Of course we had a fulfilling brunch ;)

Niagara Falls

The primary reason we took this road trip was to see Niagara Falls. Ithaca to Niagara Falls was a 3 hour drive and it was quite comfortable. We were only expecting the falls but the area around was like a carnival. Lots happening on both sides of the border.

Something we didn’t know – there are 2 falls, American and Horseshoe falls. The Canadians have the better view of both sides. However, the American side gets you closer to the brink. Its a different experience seeing a huge river get to the edge and just fall. It’s hard to put the experience in words. Although the viewing area around the Horshoe Falls was under restoration, we managed to get the glimpse of the falls.

Luna Island is a little island on the American falls where you are surrounded by the river on both sides before it falls down hundreds of feet. The wash is carried by the wind and standing close to the edge gets you and your electronics pretty wet.

 

After the falls we drove to Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes on the border of US and Canada. It was windy and cold but seeing Toronto’s silhouette made it all worthwhile. We were so close to Canada!

We met Shruti’s friend Neha in Buffalo, the other big city in the area. We went to Anchor Bar which is where Buffalo Wings originate. We ate, drank and chatted for several hours. Finally we drove back to DC, returned the car and killed final hours before our flight to LA with the Patel Family. It was a great end to a great trip.