Thirdly

It’s closing in on midnight, we’re fast asleep hidden at the back of a “Day Use Only” beach car park. The crazy bright headlights and torches wake us up just before the loud knock on the van. It’s the police here for a chat, I slide open the side window sat on the edge of the bed in my pants.

He explains that the car park is day use only, I explain that we had noticed that, but we had looked for a campsite spot but it was 70 dollars and we were like “Pffffft”. He acknowledged that that was indeed quite steep, and after confirming we would be away in morning, we were granted permission to stay the night. Nice.

But it hasn’t all been like that, in fact that’s only the second time we’ve been approached with the first being at 8am when the coffee was already on. Sure thing, we’ll be gone as soooooon as the brew is ready. Just before San Francisco we had a day by a river relaxing, changing oil, painting the vans posterior and making friends with the Mexican site maintenance guy who picked some figs for us and tried in vain to teach us some Spanish which we immediately forgot. Good start…

Behold, the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. Screw you coastal dementor fog. 

"Viewpoint"

We proceeded to do the touristy thing, wandering around taking photos and realising how long it had been since we were in a hustle or a bustle. Looked at some old (ish…) pier, a swanky exclusive boat access only ex prison (Alcatraz) and some chilled seals.

Of course we couldn’t not go and drive the steep roads on our way out, the ones fondly remembered from Grand Theft Auto. The photos don’t do it justice, a clutch garage would do great bussiness here. Clutching at straws?

 

One last city stop, Silicone Valley where we found the red blob we’ve all been chasing.

Down the coast we found blue sky. Our whole time in the States we had been haunted by the coastal fog blowing inland, it was a relief to break free as we drove the “Big Sur” coastal road soaking up the rays and scoring ourselves another winning camp spot. Some mild gymnastics later and were watching the sunset from our balcony.

We couldn’t travel through California without stopping at GoWesty, the company that makes all things Vanagon and even runs a couple of 4WD rally vans. A few spares and a couple of stickers picked up and we went to view the local “artwork”. CowBearPaddleboarder.

The climate is certainly changing down here in Southern California, landscapes are barren and the air is hot. To avoid Los Angeles we head yet again inland, where we start to enter the desert, with every river and lake so dry it’s impossible to imagine what it would even look like with water flowing.  The days too are getting noticably shorter, due to both the year stretching on and travelling south. Day to night is also very sudden in the desert landscrape, with sunset to blackness taking just half an hour. That is until the moon rises, bringing with it enough light to wander around in the night to relieve a bladder without a torch.

 

We find ourselves a spot near a rare wet lake to spend our first day doing 0km. The wind here is weird, it’s calm in the morning and picks up around midday strong enough to blow flip flops away. This then hangs around through to midnight, where it calms down again until the next midday. We rotate the tyres, add extra spacers to the rear springs and fix up the headlight wiring to include the light bar.

And of course we find some time to write this for you lovely people. If ever you wondered what it looks like whilst this work of art is crafted, below is a picture of what it looks like tonight.

We’re getting close to crossing into Mexico, at which point the blog might switch to Spanish so you can all learn with us. We’ve decided to go see Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon which adds a few days to our English speaking travels, not that we’re delaying or anything.

Tune in next time for almost Mexico travels. Let us know what you’re enjoying and what you could do without in our ramblings. Less of the attitude? Thought so.

Same map link as last time because we are nice

Now for more, TOP TRAVELERS TIPS

• If you close the soap bottle at sea level and then open it again later that day at an elevation of 5000ft, it will dump its contents. Everywhere.
• If you don't know whether you will be locked in whilst using a day use car park for camping, check for cobwebs and dust on the locks.
• Always remember to do a mid afternoon changeover. Soda removed from the limited space fridge, beer replaces said sodas.

American Pine cone. Massive.