We're going home...........

Monday/Tuesday 2nd/3rd December

We had spent an hour or so last night sorting out all our stuff - some of which we were leaving behind in San Jose in preparation for our next visit - and packing so that we could have a leisurely start to the day. Sherry reluctantly left for work at 10am, Rich was working at home and busy on conference calls but he managed to fit our farewells into a break in proceedings.  It was with heavy hearts that we waved goodbye and drove off down Erica Court for the final time.

Time had been allowed for a visit to Wells Fargo at Los Gatos so that we could open a US bank account before our departure.  This took slightly longer than expected but by the time we left we were the proud owners of a shiny new joint checking and saving account complete with temporary debit cards and a horse......yes a horse,  albeit  a small furry one which we accepted thinking it would make an excellent gift for Sherry and Rich's grandkids.  Unfortunately as we didn't have time either to drop it back to Erica Court or mail it, the poor thing found itself being unceremoniously squashed into my already bulging suitcase.

One last stop at Trader Joe's in Cupertino on the way to the airport - I am so going to miss Trader Joe - to pick up some treats to take back for our running friends and more frantic squashing of treats into my seemingly bottomless suitcase.  We couldn't resist one final episode of thrill seeking before reaching the safety of the airport.  The deal with our hire car was that we paid in advance for a tank of fuel and returned it empty....in our case with 3 miles of gas remaining! I was seriously thinking I may end up pushing it the last few hundred yards, luckily the Thrifty return garge was on the 3rd floor of the parking lot. If it had been on the top floor I don't think we would have made it!

We were at the airport in plenty of time to check in, go through security, buy coffee and relax before boarding our flight which, thankfully, was on time at 4.20pm.  Once on board we soon realised that we had three children from hell across the aisle from us - they were absolutely the worst behaved children I have ever encountered and their mother who looked about 12 years old herself just sat looking blankly at the air crew as they repeatedly told her that she must make them behave.  It got worse - a couple of hours into the flight I realised that I had mislaid my purse. Frantic searching of all pockets, rucksacks etc ensued only confirming that the purse definitely was not with us.  I knew I had it after we passed through security because I bought coffee so it must have been mislaid in the departure lounge.  I spent the rest of the trip trying not to think about the huge credit card bill that someone could be running up.......or that I would have to confess to Wells Fargo that I had only managed to keep my new card for 3 houors before losing it!

It really wasn't my day.....the in flight vegetarian option meal was inedible - a sort of mushy overcooked medley of unidentifiable vegetables, accompanied by an uninteresting salad and a small fruit salad.  One individual rice cake was the only carbohydrate included and no protein.  As usual I was starving! The non vegetarian choice was either chicken or a tasty cheese pasta - did they not realise that was actually a vegetarian option? Fortunately the air crew took pity on me and gave me a spare portion of the pasta.

I spent most of the trip trying to blank out the revolting children - at one point the youngest was standing up on it's seat, bashing the TV monitor with a can of diet coke whilst the mother watched it - and staring at my own monitor as it told me how many miles and hours of flight was still left. I hate flying!!  It was really strange watching the sky lightening as we came towards the end of the flight - our body clocks were still on midnight but by the time we landed it was 10.15am.

On landing first stop was to find wi fi, get a number for my credit card and ring to cancel it.  My brain felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool as I tried to remember when I had last used it and then convert Californian time to UK time!  We were lucky enough to find a courtesy bus for the parking already waiting and half full and once reunited with the car our fears that the battery may be flat proved groundless and it started with no problems.  One last slight hindrance as Martin took a wrong turn and we made an interesting detour north via Uxbridge before we could get the M40 back to the M25 and head for home!  Jet lag has a lot to answer for.

We arrived in Dorchester at around 3.30pm UK time which for us was 8.30am having been up "all night". It was so good to be home although the flat felt strangely unfamiliar at first..... So that was it, our adventure over and we settled down to catch up on some sleep.........now we just need to start planning the next trip................

The final day - at Big Basin

Sunday 1st December

Our last full day in California dawned bright and sunny - another perfect Fall day.  We took the scenic drive out to the Big Basin Redwoods State Park.  Not only was it scenic but also reminiscent of being in England as we drove along Highway 35 - an almost single lane road winding along the wooded ridge before dropping down to the aptly named Bear Creek Road.  Arriving at the Park we were, for the first time this trip, thwarted as far as finding free parking was concerned!  However, we have enjoyed a lot of visits to beautiful state and county parks during this holiday so finally handing over a $10 day use parking fee seemd entirely appropriate.

Map in hand we set off to run a 10.5 mile loop, heading towards the sea on the lovely Skyline to the Sea trail which runs for approximately 32 miles from the Castle Rock State Park to the coast at Waddell beach.  We were already formulating plans to the run the whole trail next visit and have Sherry and Rich meet us in Santa Cruz to taxi us home!


We set off through the redwoods crossing the Opal Creek and beginning to climb up through the forest occasionally overtaking a few hikers but for the most part enjoying complete solitude.  We were both surprised by the beauty of this area which is easily as striking as Muir Woods or the redwoods of Humboldt county and equally surprised that in all our visits to San Jose we have never found our way here beforehand.  This was my perfect location - my favourite running is through the forest with the sun filtering through the trees and an enticing trail snaking ahead begging to be followed.  I was so pleased that we had found such a great place to conclude our holiday.

The trail zig zagged up through the trees crossing the Middle Ridge fire road and then picking up and following Kelly Creek, a tributary to the West Waddell Creek which runs down to the coast.  For today however, the point where the creeks intercept was also the point at which we turned to the north to follow the watercourse along the Berry Falls trail stopping en route to admire the waterfalls and even having to negotiate mud in a few places - not something we have encountered much of in the past 2 months!


The falls and creek are named for a lumberman, Tilford George Berry who lived the life of a hermit on the banks of the trail and who disappeared in 1870 never to be seen again.  Some 25 years later, whilst strolling through a chaparral near Boulder Creek, a doctor came across a perfectly preserved skeleton with Berry's gun leaning against it and a single bullet through the head.

After the strenuous climb to the top of the falls we turned onto the Sunset Trail which would eventually lead us back down to Big Basin and, emerging briefly from the trees into bright sunshine, ran through a landscape that could have been Meditterranean with white slabs of rock and low lying scrub alongside the path.


Shortly afterwards we re entered the woods and the more familiar terrain and this is where our perfect day took a downturn.  A momentary lack of concentration and I turned my ankle on a tree root bringing me to an immediate stop in excrutiating pain.  Martin very helpfully told me that I'd definitely broken my ankle and was told quite impolitely to keep his opinions to himself!  Past experience has proved that if you can possibly keep moving on a sprained ankle it seems to help in the long run (hobble!) and as we were still 4 miles away from our starting point this is what I did.  Once the inital pain subsided it didn't feel too bad and I was hopeful that I may have got away without any serious damage but I was so cross with myself for spoiling a lovely run and especially on our last day.

It took us about an hour to finish the loop and even in my state of mind it was hard not to enjoy the beauty of the forest.  Due to a slightly late start and the slow rate of progress after my accident it was 2.30pm by the time we got back to the car and any plans we had for the afternoon's entertainment (slack lining!) were abandoned.  Instead we took an even more scenic drive back following Highway 9 up to Skyline Boulevard at the Saratoga Gap, stopping numerous times to enjoy vista points and note the trail heads for the Skyline to the Sea trail which we are definitely going to do next time - if I can manage to avoid tree roots and other such dangers!

Back at Erica Court we belatedly iced, compressed and elevated my ankle - which although puffy was not too badly swollen and showed no signs of bruising - until it was time to go out for our final farewell dinner with Sherry and Rich.  This found us back in downtown Campbell at the Rock Bottom Brewery and Restaurant, another excellent choice of venue, where we all enjoyed salmon fish and chips with apple coleslaw and some of us aso tried the sampler selection of hand crafted beers. Despite the great food, beer and company the evening was tinged with sadness at the thought of our imminent departure which we tried to offset by discussing plans for our next visit ................

Deja vu in Los Gatos

Saturday 30th November

We were all late getting up today despite yet another day of perfect fall weather.  The plan was to revisit the Los Gatos cafe for brunch.  We seem to have run out of exploring energy and instead are enjoying returning to favourite haunts during the last few days of our holiday.

Once again we had decided to cycle and meet Sherry and Rich there so we got the bikes out of the car and Martin put them back together for (hopefully) the last time.  We set off wearing far too many layers - just can't shake off that English expectation of being too cold - and were soon sweltering in nearly 70 degrees of sunshine.  We are so going to suffer when we get back to England.  We followed a slightly different route than on our previous expedition and eventually after about 7 miles of busy roads, interminable red lights and traffic we got to the Los Gatos Creek bike path and the enjoyable part of the ride.  This time we didn't make the mistake of exiting the bike path too soon but followed it through the Vasona Lake Country Park arriving at the cafe at exactly the pre arranged time of 11.45am having cycled 15 very warm miles.

We got our name on the list and then waited for Sherry and Rich to arrive and thankfully cooled down a bit. As expected it was bustling but the time passed quickly until our table was ready. The food was as usual plentiful and delicious and the company great - although slightly tinged with sadness that time is running out. After 7 weeks of diligent practice putting away American portions I failed again and had to get a "to go" box for the remains of my crab and avocado souffle omelette.  I was absolutely stuffed....

We strolled around doing some window shopping and enjoying the sunshine and also went to Sherry's bank where we were able to arrange to pay my marathon prize cheque (minus the portion that the IRS have incorrectly claimed!) into her account and draw cash.  I felt decidedly nervous walking round with a large sum of money and kept checking that my purse was in my pocket even though it was zipped and impossible for it to fall out.  Pleasant as it was in lovely Los Gatos we were conscious that it was already after 2pm and we had a 90 minute cycle ride ahead of us and no lights so we left Sherry and Rich to do a bit more shopping and headed back to the bikes.

It was lovely cycling back along the trails passing through the parks but I really wasn't looking forward to the road section at the end.  However it seemed much shorter on the way back. We again went a slightly different route and although the distance was the same it took us 20 minutes less. This was odd but we put it down to using more local streets and therefore minimising the time we spent waiting at red lights.

We were back at Erica Court before Sherry and Rich and fortunately we had left the slack line in their car...as Martin was really keen to go back out to the park and set it up.....whilst all I wanted to do was have a shower, a cup of coffee and a rest. We had after all cycled just over 30 miles.  I must admit that I gave into the temptation of a little snooze and the next thing I knew Martin was waking me up to tell me that we were going out for dinner.

After brunch I was so full that I couldn't imagine eating anything else for a week but by 7pm I was (predictably!) feeling quite hungry again which was just as well since Rich had arranged a special treat for us - a visit to Buca di Beppo. Of all the excellent restaurants we have been to this really was the ultimate experience. It's a big bustling Italian restaurant and they have one table which is in an alcove in the kitchen so you get to interact with the staff and watch all the food being prepared and put out ready to serve.  Apart from the unusual setting and lovely staff, the food is brilliant. They serve it in large dishes to share so we chose three dishes between us: Apple Gorgonzola Salad; Salmon Sorrento and Cheese Manicotti and each one was better than the last.  In addition we got to see a lot of other dishes being put out ready for the waiting staff and even as vegetarians we were impressed by the meatballs which were the size of small footballs!

It was a great evening and we are so lucky to have friends with such a good knowledge of all the best restaurants in the area and who enjoy sharing the experience of visiting them with such gusto.  We have been so spoiled and I am going to be on a strict diet for months to come in order to counteract all these special treats!

Black Friday

Friday 29th November

Today is the day that Americans head to the shops for I suppose the equivalent of New Year's Day Sales in England.  Having watched the news the night before and seen the gun fights and other violence that flares up over parking spaces, queue jumping and that extra special bargain.......we decided to steer very clear.

Instead we headed over to the northern end of Almaden Quicksilver County park for a leisurely stroll.  We have hit a spell of exceptionally nice weather for our last few days in California so even though it's less than a month until Christmas it was still comfortable to be walking in t shirts and shorts.  If anything it's even nicer now because the trees have their lovely autumn colours which look spectacular against the blue skies and in the golden sunshine.

Martin was suffering from a slight injury, his toe had been in an altercation with a rock at the beach on Tuesday so he was finding walking a little painful.  I was still feeling stuffed up and peaky with the virus which will not go away and we were both feeling a bit lazy after a very long day yesterday so we took it fairly easy. We enjoyed exploring this end of the park, which we had not been to beforehand but were surprised and a little disappointed that there were so many other people with the same idea. We had assumed that they would all be murdering each other at the mall but apparently not.......

After a couple of miles we found the perfect place to stop and put up the slack line - a picnic bench just off the path beside a shaded stream.  We had been there for about half an hour enjoying the peace and tranquility when a really annoying American family descended on us, sat down at the picnic table despite the fact that we had our stuff on it and I was actually sitting at one end and carried on a loud conversation with their two irritating little girls who were jumping around in the stream.  Then another three people showed up and joined them.....We took one look at each other, stuffed the slack line back in the ruck sack and exited stage left as quickly as possible.

A little further up this lovely wooded valley we came to the Guadalupe reservoir which is looking very sad with extremely low water levels. We continued along the Guadalupe Trail until it joined the Mine Hill Trail just short of where we had run the previous weekend and then looped back on ourselves until we reached the trail head and retraced our steps to the car.  This was our third and last visit to this lovely park for this trip and it remains my favourite place in the San Jose area. I'm already looking forward to returning next visit.

An exciting drive followed - only 17 miles worth of petrol left in the car apparently - but we made it to a gas station.  I guess if we had run out at least we still had the bikes in the back.........Next stop the Almaden Whole Foods for one last visit to the salad bar and then off to the Almaden Lake park for a picnic and more slack lining.  The first place we set up was not good so we walked around the very lovely lake and found absolutely the best place on the far side of the park.  I have found the last few sessions very frustrating and was losing my enthusiasm....but this time I suddenly got my balance back and it was much better.  It's one of those totally pointless things that you just have to keep doing and the parks in California are brilliant because they're so large, there are so many trees and nobody takes any notice. I can't imagine, for example, setting it up in the Borough Gardens in Dorchester......

We completed our circuit of the lake to get back to the car and both agreed that this is our favourite "town" park, definitely nicer than Hellyer although it is a bit further away from Erica Court.  I decided that I needed some more driving practice after a couple of days off and bravely took the wheel to negotiate the Saturday traffic and two freeways........I still find some of the junctions rather mystifying but I'm much more confident now.  It doesn't help when I ask for directions and the navigator says things like "keep straight here....or you could turn right if you want to......."

Back at Erica Court we caught up with Sherry and Rich who were debating what we should do with our evening and what/where to eat. Fortunately the final decision was to stay in and eat Thanksgiving left overs, not only because they were delicious but also because we really just wanted to relax and get an early night. It's so tiring being on holiday.......

Thanksgiving Thursday and the Turkey Trot

Thursday 28th November

Our Thanksgiving started very early as we left the house at 7am headed for Hellyer Park and the Turkey Trot Half Marathon.  Unfortunately the virus I picked up at the weekend had not gone away as hoped, the sore throat had returned overnight on Tuesday and I was feeling pretty wiped out, so I did the sensible thing........and raced anyway.

It was a lovely sunny morning, just a bit on the cool side that early in the morning.  First stop was finding the closest free parking (we could then feel smug watching the less savvy locals circling the $6 a day car park desperately seeking a space to park) and then walking over to the number pick up.  We got there just in time to hear the announcement that due to a power cut all the toilets in the park were closed because the flushes need electric to work.......400 plus nervous runners and no toilets, every race organisers worst nightmare! Fortunately our route back to the car to drop off our excess clothing passed through another part of the park where there were a couple of porta loos......which we found ahead of the other 398 people who all appeared to be queuing for them a bit later on.

We were expecting the race start to be delayed due to the toilet dilemma but it was actually very prompt. The half marathon and 10k started together with the 5k starting 10 minutes later.  So at 8am sharp we were off on the mile loop of the lake before heading out on the Coyote Creek Trail for the rest of the course which was a straightforward out and back. We weren't sure what the standard was going to be as this is only the second year the race has been held but our suspicion that it would not be a very high proved correct.

I had set my watch for 6.50 pace which is slower than my normal half marathon pace but I was being realistic about the sort of shape I'm in after 6 weeks of no regular training, too much food and alcohol and on top of that a virus.  The usual race start adrenalin rush made it feel easy for the first mile but unfortunately it didn't last long and it soon started to feel like hard work.  After 4 miles I really just wanted to stop and lie down at the side of the trail but since that wasn't an option I gritted my teeth and resigned myself to another hour at least of feeling horrible!  It was made slightly harder by not feeling like a race, after the initial jockeying for places, I could see one person ahead of me on the straight parts of the trail but otherwise I could have been out for a morning run on my own.

At least I knew I was ahead of all the other female competition and the going was fairly easy.  There were a few undulations, the odd dip in the path and bridge crossing but on the whole it was a flat course and I was just about managing to hang on to the pace target.  As I neared the turn around point I started to meet the leaders coming back and starting counting to see how Martin was doing.  It was fantastic to see him neck and neck with another runner in joint third place and looking comfortable.  The turn around was just across a foot bridge over the creek and I was 8th at that stage.  I had meant to take note of the time to see how far ahead I was of the next female when I passed her on the way back....but naturally I completely forgot!

There were about 3 or 4 women fairly close together and I spent the rest of the race expecting one of them to catch me up.  I pushed really hard to try and stay on the pace and I managed it until the 9 mile mark but after that I gradually dropped off and found myself working harder to run slower! Towards the end I started to pass the back markers in the 10k race, mostly walking and I knew how they felt!  I had risked a couple of nervous glances over my shoulder and knew that there was one other runner behind me - male - and as I reached the point where the path split and headed back past the lake to the finish he overtook me dropping me down into 9th place.  Martin was waiting here too and said that I was second lady which gave me a bit of a jolt, I knew I was first unless someone had cheated..........but I tried to put it out of my head because I could see the clock ahead and I still had a chance to get across that line under 1.30.  Somehow I managed to find an injection of speed from somewhere and just made it....1.29.59!!  My worst half marathon time since 2009....


Martin had done really well and finished in 3rd place overall and a great time of 1.25.39 which he later found was a PB for him.......by 1 second!  I was a bit worried by him thinking that I was second - he said that another girl with a half marathon number on had passed him whilst he was waiting for me. However, an announcement that the male course record had been broken was followed by another one saying that I had won and broken the course record by 5 minutes....so all was not lost.  Fortunately they were handing out the winners medals as the runners finished so we didn't have to wait around for a presentation and in all honesty all I wanted to do was go home and lie in a darkened room for several days........




........So we went home and after a quick shower and coffee I spent the next 6 hours in the kitchen helping Sherry cook Thanksgiving Dinner for 12!  At 3.30 guests began arriving, all bearing platters of food and eventually all was ready and we sat down to a gigantic feast.  It was really bad timing that I just wasn't able to do it justice although I did my best and I think Martin may have made up for me to some extent.  The evening was also marred slightly by Sherry having a spell of feeling unwell and having to go and lie down for a while but fortunately she rallied and the evening ended on a high.

After everyone had left it was back to the kitchen for more washing up duty and then we relaxed and chatted for a while before staggering off to bed.  It had been a long day.

Slobbing in San Jose

Wednesday 27th November

So this is going to be the briefest blog of the holiday.........neither Sherry or Rich were working so we spent some time with them and helped out with the big pre Thanksgiving Day shop.  Apart from that we stayed off our feet as much as possible and caught up with some mundane stuff like laundry.

A quiet night in, sensible pasta dinner and early night.

The only thing that was remarkable about today was that Martin didn't take a single photograph....so here's one from earlier in our stay of the lovely haven that is Erica Court......

Morro Bay en route to San Jose

Tuesday 26th November

We checked out of the very pleasant Day's Inn at Buellton and headed north up the 101 towards San Luis Obispo where we stopped for a break and coffee.  We had planned to pick up some food for lunch but we'd both got such good value out of the free breakfast at the motel that we decided we really didn't need anything else for a few hours.  After all this American over indulgence it's going to be really hard getting back to "normal" food.

Next stop was Morro Bay where we parked up north of the bay and walked out onto the beach.  And what an amazing beach it is!  This is a place that has been added to our ever growing list of places that we need to re-visit when we have more time. It wouldn't be your first choice for a relaxing day at the beach, it's far too big and windswept but for a run it would be absolutely perfect - miles and miles of firm sand stretching as far as the eye could see.  We walked south towards Morro Rock where the beach was more populated (due to it's proximity to the main car park) and where there were a lot of surfers and kayak surfers - all snugly encased in wet suits.  We felt not the slightest temptation to brave the surf today!

We strolled round the rock as far as we could go and climbed onto the rocks - past the sign which said "Danger - do not climb on the rocks".  The rock is connected to mainland by a causeway and stands sentinel at the mouth of the bay itself.  This is a really strange place - the town is clearly visible from this point sitting on the edge of what is effectively a lagoon separated from the sea by a large spit and really very attractive.  However, in the foreground is a huge industrial building with three gigantic towers which totally dominates and spoils the landscape. Why?  I just don't understand how or why it is there. The town's website describes it as being the "picture perfect getaway" - all photos carefully angled to avoid showing this monstrosity.

Our walk was about 4 miles out and back - I think it was probably as far again to the south end of the beach.  We have to come back here when we need to do a fast, flat training run.  There is also a state park at the south side of the bay which it would be good to explore.  We decided that, as we had no time restrictions, we would take the scenic route up Highway 1 and made a brief stop at San Simeon where Martin strung the slack line up for a while.  I wasn't feeling energetic enough to have a go and it wasn't a very good location so we soon moved on.

Last time we drove up this route was exactly 6 weeks ago to the day and we were too stressed to enjoy it as we raced to get to the Big Sur campsite before it got dark.  This time we were able to relax, take our time and enjoy the stunning scenery.  Consequently we made a lot of stops at vista points including one place just past San Simeon where we were rewarded with the sight of a beach-full of elephant seals basking in the afternoon sunshine. These were young males - apparently the adult males and breeding females don't arrive until December/January.  It would be interesting to see them because even the youngsters were massive!

Despite our gargantuan breakfast we were starting to feel a bit hungry by now so once we got to Big Sur we stopped at the deli to pick up some coffee and a snack.  Big Sur is definitely another area that we need to visit again, so many hiking opportunities and state beaches which need to be explored. A little further up the coast we stopped at a pull off and found a path which led down to the rocky shore where we sat in total solitude and watched the sun go down.  Even though there was a fair amount of cloud the sunset was absolutely amazing and we were also rewarded with the sight of a whale cutting through the surf.

Unfortunately our lingering along the coast meant that we hit the rush hour traffic at Monterrey and it took us quite a while to get back to San Jose.  As it was getting late we stopped off at the Almaden Whole Foods to pick up some salad for supper.  When we got back to Erica Court both Sherry and Rich were out so we were able to sort out all our rubbish and eat before they got back and then spend some time catching up.

It really feels like our adventure is coming to an end now, no more travelling, we will be spending the rest of our stay with Sherry and Rich and experiencing (for me) a first American Thanksgiving before heading for home.

Relaxing at Refugio

Monday 25th November

We finally cracked it! A lovely motel and peace and quiet throughout the night.  Apart from a rotten sore throat....perfect.

After a very civilised free breakfast we drove down 101 to the coast and parked at Refugio State beach. By the time we got there the temperature was up to the high 60's and the sky was beautiful Californian blue. This is a really lovely beach with sea like a mill pond, far reaching golden sand and palm trees along the shoreline. Apart from looking very attractive the palm trees made a very convenient slack lining location!

We spent an hour or so wasting our time on this pointless pastime.  It was harder today because the trees were further apart and this meant that the middle of the line had more wobble.  For some reason my balance on my left foot is much better than the right so I practised until I could get onto the line from either side and then eventually I managed to travel the whole length of the line - 15 steps which was a huge breakthrough for me.

We had both made progress but were getting rather warm and a bit tired so we decided to quit whilst we were ahead and move onto the beach. The sea was absolutely perfect, slightly cooler than 20 miles further south at Santa Barbara but fine once you got used to it and great for swimming.  After we got out we decided we needed to move because there was a gentle breeze which made it just slightly too cool to be comfortable. We walked to the end of the beach, did a bit of rock climbing and found a lovely sheltered little cove where we settled down to relax for a few hours. It was just what I needed, my energy levels were low and I was feeling decidedly under par.  Unusually Martin also managed to stay still for a couple of hours instead of starting to fidget after about 5 minutes of sitting still!

Later on we strolled along to the opposite end of the beach and by a combination of wading and climbing got round to the next couple of coves.  We almost wished we had come to this end of the beach first because it was even nicer than the area where we had been.  This is definitely a beach to come back to again, I think it might even have supplanted Leadbetter/Hendry beaches as top of my favourite beach list.

We had another short session on the slack line before we left but my heart wasn't in it and back at the motel I also skipped the ice cold pool and headed straight for the hot tub.  Even that seemed way too much effort and the rest of the evening I spent doing absolutely nothing.  Fortunately Martin had more energy and appetite than I did so he microwaved some of our left over camping supplies and produced another Indian feast for supper.

Sunday - day of rest

Sunday 24th November

Unbelievable though it may seem we drew the short straw again.......all was quiet until about 3.30 when the all to familiar noise began upstairs, walking around, banging doors, items being dropped and voices.  I really do not understand how so many people can be so rude and thoughtless, it obviously just does not occur to them that other people may be trying to sleep through their racket.  Martin was so incensed that he went down to reception rather than call them and came back to report that they weren't very concerned.  At last we heard footsteps on the stairs - they were actually checking out (at 4am) so once again we got a few hours of sleep before morning.

Lying awake in the middle of the night I had a horrible sore throat which I hoped would be gone by morning but unfortunately it wasn't and I was feeling decidedly under par which was a shame because it was a beautiful day.  We checked out of the hotel and drove to the Daily Grind cafe which had been recommended to us.  This was a really great place, lots of outdoor seating, a pleasant, roomy interior, really good internet connection, great choice of excellent brews of coffee and tasty pastries.

Next stop was Hendry's beach which looked absolutely beautiful in the lovely sunshine and we headed along the sand towards Santa Barbara for about half a mile before finding the perfect place to stop and relax.  We spent a great morning enjoying the sunshine, twice swimming in the sea which was lovely, reading, juggling and people watching. There was a constant flow of dog walkers up and down the beach, dogs of all shapes and sizes greatly outnumbering the human population.  Very few people seem to come to the beach just to relax and there was no one in the sea except us which I absolutely don't understand, it was so lovely. Martin's theory is that Californians don't consider November to be the time of year for going to the beach (except to walk the dog) but it was hot and sunny and the sky was blue so why not? Anyway it was just exactly what I needed, I think I'm suffering from holiday burn out!

Unusually we had not thought ahead and brought food with us but by 1pm we were ready for a change of scenery anyway so we strolled back to the car and drove up to the top of Elings Park where we found a picnic bench with perfect views across to the Santa Ynez mountain range in the north and the sea to the south.  Unfortunately we had underestimated the amount of food we had left and it was also rather windy and exposed so after a hasty and rather unsatisfying snack we headed on down to Whole Foods for coffee and a treat to warm us up and keep us going.

Next stop was back to Oak Park for another session of slack lining. It's hard to explain the attraction of this activity. It's totally pointless, extremely frustrating...........but addictive. You have to have just one more go! Once again we both made some progress but I think it'll be a while before we're stringing the line up on the rocks high above Yosemite valley.........

At about 4pm we packed up for the day and I took the wheel to drive up the San Marcos Pass across the mountains towards Buellton where we had booked a motel room for the night. We arrived at about 4.45pm, just time for a very brief dip in the icy pool and a longer soak in the lovely hot tub before showering and settling into our extremely pleasant room.  In fact it was so nice and so reasonable that we decided we would probably stay there another night as the forecast was looking really good for the next couple days and there are some great sounding beaches within about 20 miles which we have yet to visit.

I was still feeling a bit unwell but we decided to go out as there was a family run pizza restaurant which had really good reviews on Trip Adviser, Antonio's Pizzas, and it was less than half a mile away so we strolled over there, had a beer and a delicious and very reasonably priced pizza which was so large that we managed to save a large portion of it for tomorrow's lunch - now that is definitely a first, I must be ill!

And then it was back to the motel hoping that the third night would prove lucky and we would not be disturbed.

Sleepless in........Santa Barbara

Saturday 23rd November

So we managed to do it again.....find the perfect motel and then have noisy neighbours.  In this case it was upstairs, stamping around, laughing and talking loudly.  Fortunately at about 11pm they went out and we enjoyed 4 and a half hours of peace and quiet until they arrived back, crashing up the stairs, banging the doors, dropping things and talking loudly at 3.30am. This only went on for 10 minutes or so and then peace again descended just long enough to lull us into a false sense of security, but at 5.15am they started having a very loud conversation which just went on and on.  Martin called reception twice but it was about an hour later before they finally shut up and we managed to get a bit of sleep.

Consequently we were late getting up and going out.  On our way we stopped at reception to see if the noisy pair were staying another night in which case we were going to insist on a change of room.  The manager assured us they were checking out and that any untoward noise is not tolerated after 10pm!!  I wish he had told them the same thing!

We drove down and parked near Stearn's Pier to do a short, fast run on the flat cycle/walking path along the shore.  We did a mile out and back warm up towards Leadbetter beach and then a mile out and back in the other direction at 6.30 pace.....which felt really hard.  After that we jogged out to the end of the pier and back to cool down.  It was quite a nice morning but it looked much less cloudy further west so we decided to head for Goleta and check out the beach there.

A mandatory stop for coffee and provisions delayed us slightly as did some navigational challenges but we eventually arrived, parked and set off along the beach.  Goleta is not as attractive as either Hendry or Leadbetter but it was not really quite nice enough for lounging on the beach anyway so we set off to walk towards Hendry and find somewhere we could have lunch. The tide was quite high so once we got to the end of Goleta beach itself quite a lot of rock climbing and scrambling ensued until we reached a sheltered and private little cove where we stopped for lunch.  The sun was still out and for a while it was lovely and after we had eaten we continued along the beach for a while hoping that there would be some way up onto the cliff but the only steps we found were clearly marked private so eventually we decided to retrace our steps.

Cloud had blown in from the north and it had got rather chilly so we were pleased to arrive back at the car. It was my turn for daily driving practice and we set off back to Santa Barbara looking for a park with trees so that we could do some slack lining. We arrived at Oak Park and after walking all the way round it came back to where we had parked and used two trees by the road.  They were perfect except for being so public; I was hoping to find somewhere a little more secluded but actually no one seemed to take any notice of us.  I think that Americans are used to a lot more bizarre behaviour than a middle aged English couple taking turns to try and balance on a line strung between trees!  Considering the very small amount of practice we've had we've both improved quite a lot, especially Martin who made it from end to end several times.  I was a bit frustrated that my own progress was slower but I can now get on the line without having to hold on, balance quite well on one or two feet and take one step before I fall off.

It's actually quite tiring on the legs so after about an hour we packed up and headed back to the hotel for a swim in the pool followed by the very necessary hot shower to defrost afterwards.  Later on we strolled a mile or so up State Street to the Flavor of India to satisfy Martin's craving for spicy food, followed by an early night to try and catch up on some of last night's sleep.

Snow in the desert!

Friday 22nd November

Several times in the night I woke thinking I could hear someone or something on the decking...but it was just the patter of rain and when we woke at 5.59am it was easy to convince ourselves that we needed to stay in bed rather than join Dave on his morning constitutional.  A couple hours later Martin woke me so that I could witness the unusual phenomenon of snow falling in the desert! It was an amazing contrast to the sunny blue sky on our arrival just 3 days earlier. This morning the temperature was about 38 degrees and it felt really cold.

We had some coffee as we packed our bags and cleared up - we had pretty much eaten every last available crumb in our usual locust like fashion and as we had been extremely reclusive over the past few days we had decided to treat ourselves to breakfast out. As it happened we knew a place nearby where you can get really good pancakes..........so having said goodbye to Dave we set off for Yucca Valley, taking a detour through Pioneertown en route to see what we had missed by not visiting yesterday.

After bottomless cups of coffee and large pancakes at the C&S Coffee Shop we were fortified for the long drive ahead and set off back up 247 to take the "scenic" route to Santa Barbara - with me driving.  It may have been slightly more scenic in nice weather but with grey skies and fairly heavy rain it was just a very long, straight road travelling through a pretty bleak landscape.  Following a slight domestic during which the navigational assistance from the passenger seat had the already rather nervous driver swerving manically from lane to lane until there was nowhere else to go, we made a rather hasty stop for gas and a change of roles. Apart from that the journey was rather uneventful until we arrived at the Motel 6 in Santa Barbara.........

When I had booked the room I had failed to notice that there was no fridge or microwave.  Apart from that the room was really small and it had a strange smell which I couldn't identify. I don't know if it was just the contrast from the lovely cabin but I really felt that I just couldn't stay there, especially as we had booked for 2 nights. Hasty internet research showed that we could get a room at the Orange Tree Inn (where we stayed in December 2011) for slightly less so we went back down to the reception and fortunately managed to negotiate a refund, then cheekily sat in the car and used the free wi fi to make the booking at the Orange Tree!

Installed in a much nicer room a short time later we decided to brave a quick swim in the "heated" outdoor pool - it was quite refreshing once you got past the shock factor and just long enough to feel like you were getting some benefit out of the swim from end to end. As we had been rather lazy and not done our usual dawn exercise we walked into town - once again striding along at 14 minute mile pace, sweeping old ladies, children and dogs on extending leads out of our way as we raced to get to the SB Brew House ahead of the end of Happy Hour!

After sharing rather too much beer, a plate of nachos, some gorgonzola dip with toasted bread and a mixed salad as a token gesture to healthiness, our walk home was considerably slower and we made a few detours including a visit to a large store where our only purpose was to use their rest room and for some reason try on silly hats (how much beer?) before stopping off to pick up a large tub of ice cream for Martin and a coffee for me. There are apparently some benefits to being back in civilization!

Boulder Garden

Thursday 21st November

Another 5.45am start saw us out on the trails to join our host Dave on his daily 4 mile hike.  The sky behind us as we headed east was spectacularly streaked with red light and being English we both heeded this as a shepherd's warning, which caused Dave some puzzlement (and probably amusement but he was far too polite/nice to express it!).

After our ridiculously early start we were happy to have a relaxing morning.  Dave had offered to take us to his friend Garth's Boulder Garden later but had some business to take care of first so we spent the morning enjoying the comfort of the cabin, breakfast again spent marveling at the number and variety of birds taking advantage of the bird bath and seed just out side our window.  Yesterday we had seen a couple of chipmunks climb up to the bird bath for a drink, today it was the turn of a plump, well fed rabbit!

The weather, as forecast, had turned cloudy and cool and during the morning it started to rain - the first rain in the area for over 6 weeks.  It was not proper "English" rain but enough to cause a bit of dampness. When Dave knocked on the door to let us know that he and Sacchi were ready to go we arranged that we would cycle over and meet them there - which caused much debate on how long it would take us to get there under pedal power. Martin's estimate was 15 minutes, Dave thought an hour!

We set off sliding and slithering down the steep hill and pretty much coming to a halt as we hit the loose sand at the bottom!  It was an interesting cycle, trying to keep the wheels in an existing tire track, avoid the deep sand, washboard, ruts and rocks and it did take us longer than Martin's estimate.  We turned off at the horse ranch onto another sandy road and started climbing steadily passing some rather strange structures on our right, then the "Magic Garden", then a school bus (which is someone's home) and finally reaching the "Cosmic Castle" - which looks like a pile of rocks but if you look closely you realise that it is actually a "home". (Travel time was 30 minutes......).

We had just paused to debate whether to go on or wait for Dave to arrive when a "window" in the rock opened and a voice greeted us from above. Introducing himself as Jason he kindly offered to show us around.  We explained that we were waiting for someone and continued a little further along the track so as not to disturb him as he was apparently meditating.  We could now see the valley below with Garth's teepee and various other structures and decided to wait here for Dave.

In the mean time Jason arrived, presumably meditation over and gave us each a hug of greeting as he introduced himself properly at ground level. The look on Martin's face was priceless!! He was just about to start us on the tour when Dave arrived so they did a sort of joint tour (Garth was not there) which was really good because Dave knew a lot of the history and background but Jason, having been living there for the last few weeks, knew the most recent developments.

It was a very interesting experience, the permaculture and self sustaining part particularly, but the spiritual, new age theme was a bit overwhelming for us.  I was fascinated by the chickens, an impressive array of varieties in a large structure with an enormous balancing rock as the roof, and the greenhouse was amazing, especially the flowering clematis growing up the outside - in the desert!! and solar powered shower. I'm not sure how much privacy a shower in a greenhouse affords but we were assured that if you wait till midday the water is quite hot!


 There are pools with fish and frogs, a small "swimming" pool carved into the rocks with adjoining sauna and tub in a small hut, vegetables growing in small patches and lots of spiritual areas like the crystal table, tree of life and drum circle. The tour finished at Garth's teepee, surprisingly large and warm inside with a small wood burner and a very large and ancient dog curled up on one of the comfy chairs.

Just as we had decided that it was time to go - Dave had errands to run in town and we were advised to go have a look at some nearby caves whilst we were there - Garth himself arrived back so we got to meet the man himself.  In truth by now I was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable, we declined his kind offer of tea and extricated ourselves (another hug from Jason!) to go and climb up to the rocks and peer into the aforementioned caves.  As we headed back to collect our bikes we could see a rainbow in the sky, a fact which caused great excitement to some other residents who had emerged from.....well, somewhere, I have no idea where.

We cycled back the 3 miles or so of sandy trails marveling at how different people can exist under different circumstances.  People come from far and wide, some like us just to look and wonder, some to live and help with the work of maintaining the place and some to free load and party. Garth apparently welcomes all and only very occasionally asks someone to move on. It felt so far removed from our own rather conventional way of life that it was hard to take in that for some of the people we had met it is a permanent and long standing way of life.

Back in Dave's cabin we enjoyed our creature comforts as we had a late lunch and a lazy afternoon. We went out again later to climb up into the rocks and circle through some amazing boulder strewn valleys.  The light had an amazing quality and it felt like being in the lost world.  We circled back around as darkness began to fall thinking we were heading in the right direction but emerged onto the dirt road about a quarter mile beyond the cabin - so easy to become disorientated when it's impossible to walk in a straight line or see past the next pile of precariously balanced giant rocks.

We had intended to go to Pappy and Harriet's, a "hipster honkytonk barbecue restaurant and music venue" in nearby Pioneertown, a town which began life as a movie set and home to movie actors filming in the desert, but such was the spell that the peace and tranquility of the cabin has woven around us that we neither of us wanted to leave it.  Instead we spent another calming and relaxing evening soaking in the hot tub, listening to music and cooking and eating our meal "at home".

A walk on the wild side

Wednesday 20th November

Despite our intention to use these precious days in the desert to relax and recover our normal energy levels.....we had again decided to use all the daylight hours at our disposal and get up as soon as it was light. Consequently the alarm was set for 5.45am, or at least mine was. Martin had somehow managed to set his for 2.45am and cheerfully told me it was time to get up.  I was a bit puzzled as to why my alarm hadn't gone off until I checked the time. What a relief not having to get up for another 4 hours!

Our host, Dave, sets off on a 4 mile hike every day at 6am and had invited us to join him. We fully intend to do so but today we needed to run so although we set off at the same time as him we went off in different directions and at a different pace. We had planned to run back down the entrance road on a fairly mundane out and back route to try and do some miles at a decent pace.  This proved rather harder than expected, it was surprisingly difficult to run on the track due to the loose sand and washboard effect.  We did manage one 6 minute mile on the way out but as soon as we turned we realised that we had been running slightly downhill! On the way back it was a real hard slog and all thoughts of speed were rapidly dismissed.  I felt really depressed at how hard I was working to run very slowly after two days of almost complete rest. It wasn't until later that I remembered that we are at an altitude of almost 5000 feet which hopefully is the reason.

We had a leisurely breakfast whilst watching the birds, chipmunks and rabbits busily snacking on the seed we had distributed just outside the window. The whole desert seemed to be teeming with life as they scuttled around.

The weather forecast had been "partially cloudy" and for cooler temperatures but as we set off the sky was a clear blue and we soon needed to shed layers. Rosie, the rescue dog, had decided to accompany us on our hike and we set off due west from the back of the cabin with no clear destination in mind. It was surprisingly difficult to walk in a straight line due to the rock filled valleys...which looked as though you should be able to wend your way through but were largely impassable causing much back tracking, scrambling and climbing. Consequently we made slow progress and it was hot!

We had brought the slack line and our main aim was to find a suitable place to set it up - again surprisingly difficult.  There were plenty of trees but none which were the right size, the right distance apart and without too many rocks or other hazards between them.  Eventually we found the perfect place, a little sand filled valley, sheltered  with some shade and two trees.  Rosie settled down for a snooze and I got some juggling practice in whilst Martin set the line up.  It was a bit like being at the beach but without the sea!  We stayed there for a couple of hours - the slack lining wasn't too successful because the trees were a bit too far apart which meant that the line was more prone to wobbling.

After a while we decided to head back in the general direction of the cabin and see if we could find a better spot.  This involved quite a lot of climbing - once you entered one of the small canyons and then discovered that you couldn't get through, it was often quite difficult to retrace your steps and find the same way back out.  Rosie patiently followed us, sometimes scampering off and disappearing for a while but always coming back to us again.  We stopped at another spot and put the slack line up again, this was better in that the trees were closer together, but there was a lot more cactus and other prickly undergrowth which meant that we had to keep our shoes on and we have both found it easier to balance with bare feet. I was feeling a bit lazy and sitting in the sun with my book seemed like a much more sensible option. The absolute beauty of it was that there was no-one else anywhere within sight or sound and the chances of actually meeting or seeing anyone else were....zero.

We arrived back at the cabin mid afternoon and sat out on the deck enjoying the sun and a cold drink.  Even though we had covered a relatively short distance it had been over quite tiring terrain and we were glad to put our feet up for a while.  Later we made coffee and took it out to the swing seat at the front of the property where I could quite happily have sat looking down the valley until the sun set.  Martin, of course, can not sit still for more than about 5 minutes at a time and insisted that we climb to the top of one of the rock cairns behind the property to watch the sun set....so off we went again with a slightly bemused Rosie trotting along behind us.

As we climbed up (and up) I was more than a bit worried about how I was going to get down again but I tried not to think about it so that we could enjoy the fabulous sight of watching the sun sink below the distance rocks. We were probably at about 5000 feet, with no sound, no sign of any habitation, just the rocks and the beautiful sky and pink tinged clouds.  Once the sun had disappeared I was anxious to descend before it got dark.  This involved quite a few false starts and it was with great relief that we finally reached the bottom.  Martin has an overly optimistic view of my climbing abilities and I have an overly pessimistic view of how easily I could break a leg, or worse!

On the way back to the cabin we stopped off at the meditation hut so that I could do my core strength exercises, my daily discipline made much easier by the spiritual surroundings, not to mention the padded flooring and view from the window to take the mind off the pain! Next stop, as darkness fell, was the hot tub and tonight we were much earlier as Martin wanted to do some star gazing before the moon came out. The sky was clear, the stars were bright, the water was lovely and hot, it really is the perfect way to relax into the evening. We could get used to living like this, it's going to be hard to leave here and go back to the standard budget motels and camping!

Paradise in the desert

Tuesday 19th November

We woke up to a dull grey sky this morning which matched our moods as we packed all the gear back into the car yet again and left Santa Clarita behind.

Today our destination was the Joshua Tree National Park or to be more accurate a VRBO (vacation rental by owner) property, which had been highly recommended to us by Nigel and Kimmen, situated about 20 miles to the north of the park.  As we headed east on 210 and contrary to the rather gloomy weather forecast, the sky brightened and the sun came out. We had not planned on stopping anywhere en route (apart from the mandatory Trader Joe visit to pick up provisions for the next few days and this we did in Redlands, a small town just north of San Bernardino National Forest, as we passed by) and we had a 2pm check in time so it was a fairly leisurely drive.

We arrived in Yucca Valley, the last habitation before our rather isolated destination, at 1pm and on impulse stopped at the C & S Coffee Shop for lunch.  Research on Trip Advisor had shown this unlikely looking cafe to have excellent reviews - it looked very ordinary from outside and I'm quite sure we would normally have passed it by without a second glance, but as we (by chance) drove right past it we did a U turn (Martin's speciality) and went in. It proved to be every bit as good as the reviews claimed and we had coffee and the best pancakes ever (a very healthy lunch option........).

Martin decided that it was my turn to drive now and it was the perfect place - lanes and junctions to cope with but not too much traffic.  I'm finally getting used to the fact that I have the majority of the car on my right hand side!!  We turned off on 247 heading north and were soon on Pipes Canyon Road which was the last paved road before we turned off onto the first of the dirt roads we had to negotiate to reach our destination. It was a bit like driving on ice as we skidded back and forth in deep sand, then juddered over the wash board and finally steered cautiously round some large rocks and pot holes before a steep climb up to our home for the next three days.  I was a nervous wreck by this time (every sentence Martin had uttered since we left the tarmac behind had started with "whatever you do don't........") and under no circumstances am I driving the car back down that same stretch.....

We were greeted by Sachi, a former Burmese monk and wife of Dave, who has owned the property since 1998, and their three cute dogs.  It took us a while to unpack and sort ourselves out and we were already feeling the tranquility and peace seeping over us as we explored this unique place.  Firstly the accommodation itself is lovely, very tastefully furnished and well equipped but the best thing is the 16 foot sliding window out onto a deck looking out onto.....nothing.  Just boulders, cactus, Joshua trees, sky and wild life. No neighbours, no roads, absolutely nothing.  I really can't write a description that does it justice and none of the photos that we have taken so far do so either.

We strolled around checking out all the angles and lovely places to sit - there is even an octagonal yoga/meditation "hut" about 100 yards away, invisible from the main building with an easy to miss entrance reached by sliding through some rocks - again beautifully furnished and completely private with lovely views from each of it's windows. The perfect place for me to do my daily core strength exercises!

The past 5 weeks of travelling long distances, packing and unpacking, staying somewhere different almost every night and doing daily hard exercise has left us feeling exhausted and we really need a few days to relax and recharge our batteries.  This is the perfect place to do just that.

All that remained for us to do was .............nothing.   We had brought plenty of food with us but the kitchen was really well stocked so we decided to save our supplies in case of future hunger and use one of the pizzas thoughtfully provided as an easy option. Coupled with a huge and healthy spinach salad and washed down with a shared Hanger 24 orange wheat beer it was delicious.  There was a huge selection of music to chose from, DVD's to watch and absolutely the best thing of all......half an hour soaking in the hot tub after dark. Unfortunately there was a full moon and a lot of cloud which meant that there were very few stars to watch but it was still the perfect end to the day.