Griffith Observatory
Finally, we make it to Southern California and weather befitting civilized society. We shrugged off our coats and scarfs to go shopping for sunglasses and eating sushi.
Category California
Read MoreGriffith Observatory
Restocking
We had to loop back to Grass Valley to pick up a few last items we had left with friends. With a few lessons learned, we laid out the back of the van in a more thoughtful way with rugs, a mattress on the floor, plastic storage drawers as dressers, and a cooler, easily accessible in the back. I guess the means we are ready for the first leg of our real trip...
Los Angeles
I know some people might baulk if I were to say that we were "trapped" in Los Angeles. Maybe I'll say that we were detained? There was a small matter of a broken break light and air conditioner that led us to entrust our beloved Dodgy to one of the few mechanics in LA that would even touch a car from the 80s. Good man that he was, finding replacement parts for an '86 van is no small feat and what we had anticipated as a stay of a few days in LA turned out to be two weeks. In the end, while there was still more work to do on the air conditioning, we liberated the van from the shop so that we could continue our trip...with the windows down.
Red, Red Wine
Ah, Santa Barbara! Sure, I could say we visited for the cute downtown but who would we be kidding? It was all for the pinot noir. Though our wine tasting travails were limited, they were quite fruitful. It was for this reason, and this alone, that we had packed two coolers. One is for ice and food. The other is for wine.
Yes Sur!
Next, we mozied down the 1 to Big Sur. Aside from almost getting bit by a rattlesnake, it was a laid back ride that was all about the scenery. Here, we had our first go at sleeping in the van at the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground. While Big Sur isn't quite the place to roll in without a reservation, it helps to arrive on a week week day and be friendly.
California Dream’Inn
For our first night on the road, we celebrated by not sleeping in the car. Instead, we indulged in a hotel by the sea. There were sea lions, arcade games, and mimosas. It was perfect.