Zion National Park

All of the national parks we visited had been spectacular and Zion was no exception. We were welcomed by big horned goats scaling Checkerboard Mesa on the side of the road. We had been promised sightings of thee goats at Yosemite and Gran Canyon and questioned their existence up until this point. Zion Canyon is distinguished by its steep, red cliffs and spectacular scenic views.

We stayed in Springdale, a town within the park which made access to the many trails very accessible by the free shuttle bus. Our accommodation had a small farm at the rear and we made friends with the miniature horses who absolutely loved apples!

Our trail of choice whilst at Zion was the Narrows., a wading hike through the Virgin river between the canyon walls. I can’t say we were well equipped for it but it was a gorgeous trail, albeit quite cold when the water rose above our waists!

Grand Canyon South Rim

We can confirm that the Grand Canyon is indeed, grand. Having visited as a child, Dave was still blown away by it. It’s really difficult to get your head around the scope of such a large hole! Your perspective is warped and it changes as the light shifts across it. We saw lots of deer and squirrels and more stars than you can ever imagine!

Arizona - Monument Valley & Page

From Moab, we drove south to Page via Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, a well known filming location for many Western movies. We’d have loved to be there at sunset but it was still pretty spectacular in the middle of the day.

Big John’s Texas Barbeque in Page

After arriving in Page we wandered up the street to find some dinner and came across Big John’s Texas Barbeque. This place was downright kitsch, complete with a live country band and buckets of unshelled peanuts on the communal tables. The food was seriously tasty and the people watching was on point, needless to say we had a great night!

Crazy colours on route 89

Being a desert, this part of the country is very sparse and the driving becomes pretty monotonous along some of the straightest roads we’ve ever seen, though it’s hard not to be constantly wowed by the landscape. Case in point, the tiny town of Cameron, which we only noticed due to the vibrant colours passing by the window. We stopped to fly the drone up to get a look from above - the colours and shapes were incredible!

Utah - Canyonlands and Arches

From San Francisco we caught the California Zephyr train across to Salt Lake City, where we would begin our trek down through the many red rock national parks. Throughout the 14 or so hour train ride we witnessed some stunning scenery as we passed through the Sierra Nevada, listened to many podcasts, ate 2 minute noodles for dinner and struggled to get any decent sleep before arriving in Salt Lake at 4am.

Salt Lake City to Moab - first stop Canyonlands National Park

We hung about at SLC airport for a couple of hours whilst we waited for the car rental shop to open, then collected our car - a Nissan Frontier Pickup Truck (we were expecting a Hyundai Elantra so were quite taken aback, but at least we looked the part!). A quick pit stop for a McDonald’s breakfast later, we were on our way along the four hour journey towards Moab. Our first stop was Canyonlands National Park, a dramatic landscape of canyons carved out by the Colorado river. Most of the trails here were quite short and you could hop between them in the car which was very convenient in the heat.

Arches National Park

As the name suggests, this national park is full of arches: Double Arch, Landscape Arch, The Windows, Double O Arch… there are many. The colour of the sandstone is so intense and the rock itself is made up of thousands of fine, brittle layers. We spend a good part of the day exploring the many trails in the intense heat before heading back into town for a margarita and some enormous Mexican fare.

San Francisco

San Francisco felt very much like a combination of Melbourne and Sydney, albeit much more steep! Unfortunately Steph wasn’t feeling great, so we spent more time in the hotel than we’d hoped and didn’t get around to visiting Alcatraz or wandering up to the famous Lombard Street.

Giants v Brewers at Oracle Stadium

As neither of us had been to a baseball game before we decided to go a game at Oracle Park. Surprisingly enough Steph didn’t fall asleep.

San Francisco Botanical Garden

Ferry to Sausalito

After feeling unwell for a few days it was nice to head out in the sun to Sausalito via the ferry. We stopped for some lunch on the water then strolled the esplanade to Fort Baker for a closer look at the Golden Gate Bridge.

It’s really hard to get used to advertisements like this one from Chill, a cannabis delivery company - they are everywhere in California… not to mention the casual wafts of weed!

Napa Valley

After a few days of what we would call ‘roughing it’, we were on our way to the Napa Valley. We stopped for lunch in Yountville and ate in the gorgeous kitchen gardens of the highly esteemed restaurant, The French Laundry. We stayed at a great, centrally located motel in St Helena with a pool that we made great use of.

Dinner at Harvest Table

After managing to stop for a drink at the one place in town that only sold beer (what?!), we walked up the road to Harvest Table for a delightful dinner. It was so nice to drink proper wine out of a proper glass!

Failla Winery Tasting

The next day we enjoyed a couple of tastings, starting at Failla just out of St Helena. We tasted their zinfandel at dinner the night before and it tempted us to invest in a tasting. Unlike our tastings, which are free, tastings in Napa are around $35 per person, however they are conducted with a lot more thought and care. Failla specialised in cool climate wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and were delicious!

Frog’s Leap Winery Tasting

Our second tasting was at Frog’s Leap, which took place on the rear deck of a grand old homestead. We were treated to generous pourings and tasty nibbles before enjoying a walk around their gardens albeit a bit tipsy.

Yosemite - Part One

Sunday 9 June - Left Monterey bright and early to begin the route to Yosemite National Park, definitely one of the locations we were most looking forward to. We had our first Walmart experience along the way, where we picked up some supplies for the next few days (including a bulk packet of Peanut Butter M&Ms). Traffic was a bit slow the closer we got to the park but we were too distracted by glimpses of the immense landscape to care; there’s just no way to describe how epic it is.

Lower Yosemite Fall

After checking in to our canvas tent in Half Dome Village, we stuffed our food into our bearbox (it’s a thing) and went for an aimless wander by the river. We made our way back to the center of camp via a beautiful boardwalk amidst a grassy meadow with an iconic view of Half Dome and El Capitan, then grabbed a Budweiser (all beer was $1.50 here!) before continuing on to Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls are seriously impressive no matter where you are in the park but seeing them up close and standing under the spray gave you a clear understanding of how powerful the water is! We also came across some very friendly horses and mules who were part of the Yosemite Horse and Mule Adoption Program, where you can adopt an ex National Park service animal, of course Steph had to be pried away.

Upper Yosemite Fall Hike

Monday 10 June - We are in no way hikers but we figured we’d give one of the more strenuous hikes a go whilst we were in Yosemite. Enraptured by the falls as we were, we chose the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail, a 7.6 mile (12km) round trip with an elevation gain of 2,600 feet (790 meters AKA steep!) that took us about 6.5hrs to complete. The photos really don’t do justice to just how steep this trail was nor the incredible views it offered. This was certainly a bucket list activity and we’re so glad we did it.

San Simeon to Monterey

Before leaving San Simeon we stopped to see the elephant seals who were equally cute and gross. There were thousands of them sunning themselves on the beach or ungraciously shuffling themselves over piles of other seals to get to or from the water. It was hilariously entertaining to watch, even if a bit smelly. We also saw the cutest little squirrel begging for someone’s donut…squee!

The N1 - California’s Great Ocean Road

With stunning weather, we continued north along the N1 stopping occasionally to take photos and send the drone out. This road is very similar to Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, just on a grander scale. We eventually came across Big Sur, which we thought we’d missed, and it was ridiculously hectic so we only stopped shortly before continuing on to Carmel.

Carmel by The Sea

We made a quick stop by the quaint little beach town that is Carmel. Being a Saturday afternoon it was crazy busy and a bit overwhelming so we didn’t stay long. It would be a lovely place to visit mid-week when it’s less busy.

Monterey

We arrived in Monterey in the late afternoon only to realise that we’d booked ourselves a room on the wrong side of town, we were staying off a street called ‘Playa Avenue’ and there were muscle car auto shops on several street corners. After finding a laundromat and feeling a little flat about the location, we jumped in the car and drove to the more convivial side of town. We stopped at the marina where we saw lots of seals then wandered along to Fisherman’s Wharf, pausing for a glass of chardonnay and one of the worst grilled cheese sandwiches we’d ever has (how do you get that wrong?!). We spotted more sea otters in the distance, frollicking with some paddle boarders, then headed back into the center of town for a late pizza.

Hearst Castle - San Simeon

Saturday 8 June - Spent the morning doing a guided tour at the extravagant and spectacular Hearst Castle: the joint concept of William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his architect Julia Morgan. Hearst began building this castle in 1919 on his ranchland overlooking the village of San Simeon and continued to add and change buildings and layouts until 1947. A real life Gatsby, Hearst hosted many of Hollywood’s rich and famous at his castle.

Everywhere you looked there was something more over-the-top to see; the terraces offering 360° views of San Simeon, the marble Neptune Pool, the meticulously manicured gardens, the weird Christian influenced architecture, and the Roman Pool with it’s tiles containing actual gold… we had never seen anything like it. What’s more, Hearst used to have a private zoo, complete with zebras and polar bears!

Los Angeles to San Simeon

Friday 7 June - After picking up our hire car we head out of LA through the unbelievable grandeur that is Beverly Hills and jump on the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 101) towards Malibu. The freedom of having a car is great and driving on the wrong side of the road isn’t too difficult to adjust to. Unfortunately what the locals call ‘June Gloom’ is still hanging around so it’s rather grey but still pretty spectacular. We stopped in Santa Barbara for a picnic by the beach and a wander along the pier before continuing on towards Pismo Beach.

Pismo Beach

We finally got blue skies as we headed north up the coast and stopped at Pismo Beach for a wander in the sun to stretch our legs and a quick drink.

Morro Bay

Our final stop before reaching San Simeon for the night was Morro Bay which is known for Morro Rock, an ancient volcanic mound at the end of Morro Rock Beach. Dave spotted sea otters which was very exciting but we couldn’t get a good photo of them (see unidentifiable blobs in water below).

San Simeon

After a long day of driving we arrived to a beautiful sunset in San Simeon, dumped our bags at the motel and grabbed some dinner at the motel diner. Steph had her first clam chowder experience, served in a bread bowl, which Dave, not a seafood eater, was deeply offended by - it was delicious! We then took a quick stroll down onto the beach to watch the sunset before grabbing a bottle of wine and retiring to the room.

Los Angeles - Hollywood Walk of Fame & Griffith Park

Thursday 6 June - Decide to do the Hollywood Walk of Fame to tick it off the list more than anything else. It’s extremely touristy and tacky but to be expected. We walk past the Chinese Theatre, Ripley’s and Tom Cruise’s star (obligatory photo below) before escaping back to Sunset Boulevard for some lunch. We stop at IHOP and realise from now on we will sharing a meal between us as they are enormous!

Griiffith Park & Observatory

With the intention of watching the sunset from Griffith Park Observatory, we head out there on foot and get half way before deciding to get a Lyft instead. We’re glad we did because it’s a steep climb and we had another five to six kilometres ahead of us. Unfortunately the golden hour never showed so we stayed for a quick walk around the grounds and a look inside the planetarium before heading back down the hill on foot. We stumbled across a deer on the side of the road and Steph subjected her to many photographs.

In the end, we enjoyed the walk down more as we got to see all the prestigious homes with immaculate gardens along the way. It was also crazy to see the incredible damage the old tree roots had done to the pavement. By suggestion of our Lyft driver, we grabbed a bite to eat in Los Feliz before heading home for some much needed sleep.

Electric Desert Nights @ The Standard

In search of some entertainment for the evening, we began looking for a comedy show or a live performance around the West Hollywood area and came across an intimate performance that was to take place at our hotel bar as part of Electric Desert Nights. The headline act was Primrose Forever Sanctuary feat. Korey Dane with Ryan Pollie as the support act (a couple of clips below). A perfect way to spend the evening :)

Los Angeles - Part One

Monday 3 June - We arrived in LA at just before 7am. After a long flight and not enough sleep we made our way from LAX airport to our hotel in West Hollywood. We stayed at The Standard on the Sunset Strip which was awesome but made us feel really uncool - these Hollywood folk are very wanky. Realising we couldn’t check in until 4pm, we attempted to stay awake by wandering our way down Sunset Boulevard. We found ourselves a classic American cheeseburger at Johnny Rockets and walked around aimlessly feeling pretty ordinary until check in.

There’s a weird dichotomy in LA between the seriously wealthy and the hopelessly poor. Whilst we expected homelessness, I don’t think we quite imagined the scale of it. From one block to the next you can experience well manicured gardens and pristine sidewalks to grotty street corners filled with tents and trolleys full of garbage where the homeless sleep. It’s a very strange place.

After a three hour nap and feeling semi refreshed we set off on another walk up the strip in search of dinner. A few tacos, some guacamole, salsa and tortilla chips at Pinches Tacos later we headed back to the hotel bar for a quick night cap (where Dave discovers his love for mezcal) then fell back into bed.

The Original Farmers Market

Tuesday 4 June - The following morning we decided to walk to the Original Farmers Market and The Grove. After stopping to take many photos of the glorious jacaranda trees, the neighbourhood cats and the squirrels, we made our way to Bob’s Coffee and Doughnuts where we tried their specialty, the cinnamon roll. They were seriously delicious and we’ll be making another visit when we return to LA at the end of our trip.

Runyon Canyon

Next stop was Runyon Canyon, about a 4.5km walk from our hotel along Hollywood Boulevard. This walk was steep but provided our first view of the Hollywood sign and a view over LA that, despite the haziness, reinforced just how spread out the city is.

Majordomo

After walking back from Runyon Canyon we spent the afternoon in the hotel, uploading photos and generally relaxing before making our way across to Chinatown for a long awaited dinner at David Chang’s Majordomo. To give you a sense of how bad the traffic in LA is, it took us 53 minutes to travel 16km across town via a Lyft ride! This restaurant was in the middle of nowhere, or as much as it can be in a big city. As our driver took us down an industrial backstreet beside the highway we were pretty reluctant to get out, but there it was. The dinner was fantastic and started off with one of the best Old Fashioned cocktails we’ve ever tasted. We started off with a flatbread style dish called Bing served with pork and spicy grilled pineapple, followed by crispy butterball potatoes and fried cauliflower, before finishing with crispy pork belly wraps.