Roads tripped!
Okaaay, so...I decided to leave Yosemite (too many tourists, and I couldn't bear that I was one of them!), and drove out once I'd done the last entry. It took me until about 1am to reach the little town where I'd slept the night before, and so I parked in the same spot and went to sleep. I woke up and decided to drive around California for a bit (quite a long 'bit' seeing as it's as big as England, but then petrol's only £15 for 40 litres so it's cheap enough...), and headed for San Francisco.
San Francisco is actually quite nice in a 'lots of city surrounded by water' sort of way - I drove in, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, crossed back and drove out again. Lovely. I then joined Highway 1 (the scenic route down the Californian coast) and ddrove on it for the rest of the day...7 hours later I was still 300 miles away from LA, so I stopped over for the night. While I'm here, I thought I should achieve some of the American clichés: so my first breakfast was in McDonald's, and last night I slept over in a real live motel. The motel (I'm still there now, about to set off driving again) was actually very comfortable and spacious, with a huge bed, bathroom, swimming pool, tennis courts etc for only £25 a night. AND I slept the whole night through. AND the dodgiest thing on the notorious hotel TV was Futurama. Great!
Yesterday's driving took me around the coastline of cliffs and creeks, and was gorgeous. I drove around these narrow winding roads, clinging to the sides of the rockface, with the sun setting over the sea on one side and the rocks lit up orange on the other...breathtaking. I didn't take many photos 'cos every time I stopped I thought of the Cornwall evenings this year, and that made me miss future Mrs James, and that made me enjoy it less...so I just drove on, concentrated on not falling off the cliff, and enjoyed the view out of the window when I saw it - which was fantastic. I did get a couple of pictures too, like.
So I think that's it for now. I've managed to put some pictures on from Canada, and I'll try for some Californian ones now. Hey, I tell you something: Andy's zoom lens is fantastic! So much fun, it's a wonderful toy. Although I lost the cap (I'll get a new one in LA) and the polarising lens add-on is dodgy (I'll get him a new one as a thank-you present).
Now...while I'm in LA I'll do some cheap shopping - I thought it would make sense to get a new iPod here, especially as mine is starting to die now. A good idea? If so...white or black? My vote's with white, but black is fine too.
San Francisco is actually quite nice in a 'lots of city surrounded by water' sort of way - I drove in, crossed the Golden Gate bridge, crossed back and drove out again. Lovely. I then joined Highway 1 (the scenic route down the Californian coast) and ddrove on it for the rest of the day...7 hours later I was still 300 miles away from LA, so I stopped over for the night. While I'm here, I thought I should achieve some of the American clichés: so my first breakfast was in McDonald's, and last night I slept over in a real live motel. The motel (I'm still there now, about to set off driving again) was actually very comfortable and spacious, with a huge bed, bathroom, swimming pool, tennis courts etc for only £25 a night. AND I slept the whole night through. AND the dodgiest thing on the notorious hotel TV was Futurama. Great!
Yesterday's driving took me around the coastline of cliffs and creeks, and was gorgeous. I drove around these narrow winding roads, clinging to the sides of the rockface, with the sun setting over the sea on one side and the rocks lit up orange on the other...breathtaking. I didn't take many photos 'cos every time I stopped I thought of the Cornwall evenings this year, and that made me miss future Mrs James, and that made me enjoy it less...so I just drove on, concentrated on not falling off the cliff, and enjoyed the view out of the window when I saw it - which was fantastic. I did get a couple of pictures too, like.
So I think that's it for now. I've managed to put some pictures on from Canada, and I'll try for some Californian ones now. Hey, I tell you something: Andy's zoom lens is fantastic! So much fun, it's a wonderful toy. Although I lost the cap (I'll get a new one in LA) and the polarising lens add-on is dodgy (I'll get him a new one as a thank-you present).
Now...while I'm in LA I'll do some cheap shopping - I thought it would make sense to get a new iPod here, especially as mine is starting to die now. A good idea? If so...white or black? My vote's with white, but black is fine too.