28 August 2017- 6 September 2017
This was the 3rd time I visited US.
The first time, it was with Singapore Airlines, flying from Sydney to Los Angeles. The flight went pass near the edge of north pole. The second time I flew to New York with Thai airways, stopping at Bangkok. This time it’s from Sydney to LA again, but it was with Fiji airways, stopped over at Nadi.
The night is short when you fly into an incoming sun. I still remember the first time when I flew to the other side of earth, the sun rose up twice as faster than usual, land mass and the dry salt lake drenched in morning light. In contrast to this time, which was mostly ocean view with a glimpse of Los Angeles where the plane landed.
I did a return road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco and travelled this leg on my own.
After resting for two days, trying to get over the jet lag. I Started driving along the coast from Santa Maria to Salina, stopping over at Carrizo Plain National Monument, partly because it’s on the way and partly because apparently the place had beautiful valleys full of flowers.
Except, I went there in the wrong season and all I saw where hays, beautiful golden hays. Despite inviting golden undulation, hiking was out of question because the temperature was soaring over 32 degrees (90 fahrenheit).
There were surprising large amount of oil drills in California, both inland and near the coast.
Quite a few attractions along the coastal California are next to de-commissioned industry areas. Take Morro Bay for example, there is a huge piece of amazing rock in the ocean, plenty wildlife in the neighbourhood. But not far away there are also three gigantic chimneys.
There were quite a few vista points between San Simone and Big Sur. At certain vista points, squirrels and other seabirds were awaiting in the car parks. Those animals seemed to be used to be fed by tourists – you can tell by the way those animals act towards humans. When wildlife looking at people with expecting eyes and itching towards any open car doors, there is a good chance that they had previous experiences of getting generous handouts from visitors.
At seal vista point, one can see plenty of elephant seals, lying lazily on the beach. Those animals are here all year round.
Keep on driving up north, you will reach Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. I didn’t get to drive through Big Sur state park because part of highway 1 was closed. So I spent one day doing the coast drive and another in the Big Sur state park. In between I spent two days away from the coastal area.
When I was in California this time, there was a heatwave, and being in the ‘warm season’ – It’s almost 40 degrees (103 F) inland. I stayed in accommodation more than I would like to. It’s so warm that San Luis reservoir seems steamy. Even visiting the park at 7am, the place was shrouded in red.
Back to coastal, McWay Falls in the Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park is a short walk from highway 1. Twenty minutes walk will take you to a place with spectacular views.
Moss Landing is another example of wildlife sanctuary next to industrial area. Various websites indicated that monetary was a good place to spot sea otters.
So I went to there. But instead, I was greeted by a large colony of seabirds and seals. Sea otters on the other hand were hard to find.
Eventually I ended up in San Francisco. Having a few apps of my own, the valley was a place I must visit.
