Monday 8th July 2013
Got up and packed ready for taxi at 11am, at which point, our lovely excited neighbours (Jackie, James, Ruth and Beryl) came out to congratulate us and wave us off. Arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare which meant we could pick up our money, shop for reading material and a postage stamp and then go to Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food to start on the first glass of champagne with a delicious lunch. We then went directly to the gate by which point they were already boarding.
Unfortunately, our efforts at chatting up the lovely lady at the check in desk didn’t pay off and we weren’t upgraded. So we boarded the cattle class and started the 10 hour journey with the very limited movie selection. Luckily, the nice Scottish flight attendant gave us a glass of champagne after we told her we’d just got married in Scotland. We also had the wedding videos and the photo booth pictures to look through to keep us entertained (and prove to the flight attendant that we had actually just got married!).
Helen anxiously awaited the landing at SFO where a plane had crashed into the sea wall at the start of the runway two days prior. Rob on the other hand was totally relaxed about the landing, so much so he fell asleep just before landing.
We landed late afternoon and were met in the arrivals area by our executive chauffeur. The chauffeur drove us in his black Lincoln town car for 30 minutes or so to the lovely San Fran neighbourhood of Pacific Heights whilst Rob marvelled at the American cars on the road.

We realised the heatwave was clearly over in the USA and the famous San Francisco fog was evident. Helen realised she might have not packed the right clothes for the honeymoon!
We were greeted by the very nice evening front desk man, Jon, and Howard the bell boy. We were particularly impressed with the hot towels on arrival, the daily wine tasting session had already finished so they offered to take wine up to our room for us which we duly drank after getting through the champagne that already awaited us in our room. At this point it was about 2am BST and we were too tired to go out for dinner so went online to order in a “take-out” salad. You may laugh, but they were huge and delicious (but not cheap)!!

Tuesday 9th July 2013
Helen had trouble sleeping and was awake from 2am. The fog was still hanging around. We went down to see the friendly staff and had our first delicious breakfast at our hotel (Hotel Drisco). Rob managed to limit himself to five courses.
We then went to see Eduardo the hotel handy man from Guatemala who set us up with the hotel’s bikes for the day. Rob wanted bike tools which Eduardo gave us along with his business card, advising if we had any trouble with the bikes, to give him a call and he would come to collect us.

We then embarked on our bike ride to Sausalito via the Presidio Park and over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, albeit difficult to see because of the fog. Amazing close up though.

The bike ride was just challenging enough for Helen given the hills. While San Fran was swathed in fog, Sausalito was bathed in glorious sunshine, much to Helen’s relief. Sausalito was a lovely little seaside town. We ate lunch of massive salad (!) at the Trident on the sea front. We then walked along the front and Rob had the world’s biggest peanut butter ice cream and we sat in the sunshine and looked out over the bay before joining the line for the ferry back where we were surrounded by grumpy teenagers (one German for Helen to translate and one Mexican for Rob to translate).

The ferry across the bay had good views of Alcatraz and the Bridge but was absolutely freezing. Rob had hat and gloves on so it must have been cold.
The ferry took us to Fisherman’s Wharf which is like the American equivalent of Blackpool (touristy and underwhelming). We cycled to Union Square and realised the baseball stadium wasn’t too far away and Helen had already spotted that there was going to be a game between the Giants (San Fran) and the Mets (New York) that night. We headed there on our bikes to buy tickets for the game and then cycled back through a bit of an unexpected rough area smelling of marijuana and urine. That sped Helen up a bit.
We got back to the hotel just in time for free wine. To our delight the free wine included nibbles which we took to the extreme and had enough food to count as dinner. Fortified by the wine, we went off to get the bus to the game. We ended up chasing the bus down the street until the nice bus driver stopped for us to let us on. Helen told him the bus drivers in London don’t do that.
We arrived at the game just as the game started, we kind of understood what was happening, it’s just like rounders really, but we didn’t make it to the end as Helen still had jetlag and being right on the bay, it was hellish cold. We got a different bus home meaning that we had to walk up 6 near-vertical blocks to get back to the hotel.

Wednesday 10th July 2013
We got up and had yet another lovely breakfast. We didn’t have much planned to do apart from a visit to Alcatraz but after speaking to Bob on the Front Desk, he gave us a very full itinerary to follow. So we started off in a cab to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. We luckily arrived during the free hour on offer once a week! The garden was lovely, the weather being slightly overcast and made for great pictures. Time ran out quickly and we sat for a moment by the lake and then headed around to the “trolley” to the ferry building. The ferry building was very nice with nice artisan food stores where we picked up a gluten free picnic feast.

We then had a bit of a walk to Pier 33 and had a look at the Americas Cup boats but Helen was feeling tired, still suffering from jet lag. We had time to kill so we went to Hard Rock café for an overpriced glass of wine before joining the unnecessary line for the ferry to Alcatraz.
Alcatraz was very interesting. We followed the audio tour and learnt about the history of Alcatraz. Very atmospheric and great fun.
We got back to the mainland after sailing straight past the America’s Cup catamarans in the bay – Rob was very impressed by the hydrofoils. We then walked to the corner of Jefferson and Powell to get the famous tram to Lombard St where the distinctive hilly roads of San Fran can be seen. Unfortunately the queue was huge and the tram staff were not in any hurry to move the queue along. We therefore decided to walk up the hill to Lombard Street and after taking in the view, we literally jumped on the first tram to come up the hill and hung out of the side as it barrelled down to Union Square. We couldn’t believe that we were allowed to hang on for dear life on the tram in such a H&S conscious country. It was great fun and definitely a highlight of our time in San Fran.
We then got the bus home, had a quick glass of free wine, got changed, then got a cab to Green’s vegetarian restaurant.
The restaurant was in a wharf building with an amazing view of the Golden Gate bridge. The food and wine were spectacular. Helen again was incredibly tired and by the end of the night, she could only keep one eye open, so the night was cut short and we went home to bed.

Thursday 11th July 2013
We had our last breakfast at Hotel Drisco and this time surreptitiously made our lunch at the breakfast table.
Lorries “Go Shuttle” picked us up from the hotel to take us to the airport where we were to pick up the Mustang from Hertz. Rob had cleverly joined Hertz Gold so we left the Austrian couple we’d met on the shuttle bus and didn’t have to join the queues and we just went to the parking lot where Rob’s name was above the white Mustang waiting for us.

We embarked on our drive down towards Carmel but we hit traffic so we turned off to Monterrey and picked up some bikes to cycle the 17 mile drive. Thanks Ruth for recommending this.
The cycle was very picturesque. We saw tonnes of seals right at the start of the cycle. We went off piste on the way back as Helen insisted we didn’t cycle back on ourselves. So the route took us over a good few hills and after asking for directions, we made it back to the bike rental shop within three hours. Not bad for 34 hilly miles.

After the bike shop recommending them, we headed to Monterey Kayaks where we booked ourselves in for a kayak round the bay the next morning.
We headed over to Carmel to the Lamplighter Inn, an absolutely gorgeous little place where other guests were enjoying free wine by the fire pit. Thanks Ruth for the recommendation. We checked in and joined the other guests for the free wine, had a chat with Drew who was Scottish. Both Rob and Helen managed to hold back the laughter when Drew told us in his American accent his surname was McWilliams (sounded like a Welsh surname with “Mc” added to it to make it sound Scottish).
Rob “sampled” the free sherry in our lovely room whilst Helen got ready. Helen must have taken ages as the sherry decanter ended up empty.
We went to La Bicyclette for dinner after wandering around the beautiful streets of Carmel, wishing we had longer to spend there. Rob, being a bit merry from the sherry, spoke to almost everyone in the restaurant and the maître d’ was worried she was going to have to share her tips with him.

Friday 12th July 2013
We were up and checked out by 0815 to get back to Monterrey for kayaking. What an amazing kayaking trip around the bay. We started off by standing in a circle with the blonde Californian guides and the other kayakers from the group (yeah man!) us saying we really wanted to see sea otters as we’d never seen one before, not thinking we would actually get to see one. When we got out there, they were all over the place!! The first one we saw was a blonde headed sea otter who was cracking something open on a rock on his belly whilst he swam around on his back. They’re so cute how they swim on their backs. We saw Seals, Sea-Lions, Cormorants etc. and a few Sea Hares. It wasn’t until we got home and saw a programme on Monterey that we realised what a world famous ecosystem it is.

We then got in the car and embarked on what turned out to be a bit of a bigger day than we were expecting. First stop was Andrew Molera State Park where we parked up and walked through a campground and wood to the lovely remote beach. About a mile there and a mile back but boy was it warm.
Next stop – Pfeiffer State Park. The wind was strong there and the sea rough. There were natural arches in the rocks which was a popular photo spot, much to Rob’s annoyance when he was trying to take a photo without anyone else in it. The kids climbing the rocks (past the “Do not climb the rocks” sign) scared us so we went on our way before we were forced to become first responders.
Cruising down Highway 1 we headed to Nepenthe for a spot of late lunch. We got there about 2PM but and there was still an hour wait for a table for lunch, no bother when they have beer and that view. It’s a very fancy and slightly hippy-ish organic burger joint really so we joined in and had a massive burger looking out over the ocean. We also had our first experience of the Stellar Jays, wow their blue is stellar indeed.

Heading further down the coast we arrived at Hearst Castle. We didn’t make it any further than the visitor centre as the castle itself had closed 3 minutes earlier. The visitor centre was interesting though and gave us some tips for when we win the lottery. We read up on how bonkers the place is and then headed off. One for next time.
Starting to get to sunset now and what better way to spend the twilight hours than visiting the beach to see the Elephant Seals. They are massive and smelly. Amazing they’ve only been living/breeding there since the 90s.
Hell of a lot of driving today and dark now so time to head to Santa Barbara for the night. Arrived to stay over at The Upham, loads of fancy cars, looked good. Turned out to be generally underwhelming.

Sat 13th July 2013
Up early, breakfast al fresco and then a walk round Santa Barbara was the order of the day. Stopped for a spot of shopping for some towels and shorts etc. Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, gorgeous architecture with the whitewashed walls and red tile roofs. One place H came away from and thought “I could live there”. We headed down to the pier, lovely view of the town, avenue of palm trees, lighthouse and miles of beach. Lots of homeless people around in Santa Barbara and some really good begging ideas from the inventive guys on the pier, signs saying “bet you can’t throw a quarter this far” etc. Got the 50c shuttle back to the hotel and grabbed our gear. Checked out and headed up to Mission Santa Barbara, lovely place, watched the historical video, skirted round a wedding who were having their photos taken in the main square and looked through the museum, they were some strange people those monks, the platform clogs were pretty interesting.
Jumped in the mustang and headed to Real Food Daily Santa Monica, parked up and walked round for take away, got some massive salads and the most gingery lemonade ever.
Headed over to the beach to eat our lunch, it was mobbed but there are miles of sand, loads of bikes and blades and walkers just like in the movies plus the lifeguard huts just like in Baywatch.

We then thought we’d “pop” over to Laguna Beach on the freeway, what a flaming nightmare, we were stationary so much we had to put the top up as we were burning to a crisp. Once we got going we zipped down to Laguna Beach, it’s a fantastically wealthy place. Really beautiful.
Luckily found a spot on a meter in the centre of town @ main beach just in time for sunset. We wandered off uphill to find a restroom. What we did find was a little hidden walk through to a beach overview with a little arcade of boutiques leading to a cliff top restaurant etc. We watched some wedding speeches taking place at the restaurant. A guy who paints with light closed the curtains to show us his work. He didn’t get a purchase from us though even though he’d gone to a lot of effort with the sales – seemed like he’d planted a member of the public to say she’s just purchased a painting from him and he was amazing. We made our excuses and left.
Wandered back downhill on a mission to find Heisler Park. Got on the free shuttle blue west (which is wrong but ended up right as he took us to the depot). Chatted to a 30 something Orange County local. Got onto the free shuttle green to the top of the hill. Walked through Heisler Park, down to the beach and back along to main beach as the sun set. Sat for a while and enjoyed it. Once the sun set we jumped in the car to head back to Hollywood, the freeway was fast as we could use the car share lane. There was an N5 closure so we diverted but still got back quick. Looks like we heard about the closure just in time as after today we kept meeting people who were talking about how bad the N5 closure was in LA! Checked in to Magic Castle Hotel, they are really friendly and gave us loads of free sweets.

Sun 14th July 2013
Met Phil Ideson for breakfast at Magic Castle. They gave him free breakfast and free parking. He gave us a free tour around LA downtown and Beverley Hills. We took pics of the Hollywood sign from the road and saw a Hollywood Actor walking his dog but Rob can’t remember his flaming name and Helen is very frustrated by the fact that Rob can’t even Google him to show her a picture because he also can’t remember what he’s been in. Cruised up to the Griffith Observatory, great views of LA, H is most excited by the fact it is where they go walking in Episodes.
From there we drove to Rodeo Drive past Beverley Hills. Lots of exclusive shops, couple of Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Exactly what you would expect. Headed to sprinkles to get red velvet gluten free cupcakes for Beth Ideson and got a baby grow for the new bambino Tristan Ideson born just a couple of days prior. Had a juice from the very trendy juice bar.
Next was a tour around the massive houses of Beverley Hills then Phil drove us to the Ivy for lunch where we said goodbye. The Ivy was great, loads of flowers and free champagne, lovely salad lunch.

Taxi driver was an actor (cliché?) and practiced his Scottish accent on us on the way back to the Chinese theatre (well funny).
We walked along looking at hand prints and stars on the road etc. Was worth a visit to say we’d been there but it was all totally plop. So didn’t spend long on it and walked back to Magic Castle and jumped in the car to head to Las Vegas.
First though we drove to Dicks to buy a tent and camping kit etc. Thought they’d have everything and more that we could need. They even had little scale models of tents to give an idea of what the big ones will look like. No warm jackets for H though and no beanies. Must have been the wrong season. We also forgot to buy an inflatable mattress.
Cruise control set, we drove to LV, the lane discipline was almost as bad as the M25 and the traffic in the other direction was horrendous. We stopped at a Ghost Town on the way – Calico. H was excited about this – just like in the western movies with the saloon doors. Great fun.
Upon arrival at the oasis of LV we cruised the strip and arrived at the Wynn. Valet parked and the Bell Boy took our bags to our room. Checked in and upgraded to a suite which were going cheap as the NBA had cancelled a load of suites last minute. Went to the suite and couldn’t believe how massive and great it was. Bags delivered in record time. We felt a bit like celebrities.

We went down to the concierge to check out plans for next day and then went to buffet for dinner (not feeling like celebrities at this point). Crazy foods and huge portions. $30 for unlimited champagne but the service couldn’t keep up with Robs thirst for sparkles.
Had a look around the Wynn, had a bit of a gamble, retained our shirts though, played craps on the $10 table, won some, lost some and then made our money back, time for bed.

Mon 15th July 2013.
Up late and down for breakfast, breakfast slow but enjoyable, Rob had lobster thermidore, H had granola.
Headed to the gun store after much deliberation as to whether it was morally correct for us to go and shoot guns in a country where mass shootings are a regular occurrence. H got over it and we went but with much trepidation and nerves. It was great though. Rob picked out two pistols and a machine gun, H a pistol and machine gun. Those nerves meant we got a massive adrenaline rush shooting machine guns. H was a better shot with pistols, good thing to know now we’re married.
Next a visit to the Stratosphere, the tallest building in LV, we went up to the viewing platform. Amazing/scary views.
All this had been a bit too much adrenalin so time for the Wynn pool. Had Lunch and drinks. Some kind fellas from Detroit gave us a jug of mai tais as they had slightly overdone it and Rob offered to help them to their feet.
With the Mai Tais on board we floated back to the room and changed before heading out to watch La Reve by Cirque de Soleil which was breathtaking.

After the show we went on to Win Lei for the Chinese food, it was far and away the best Chinese food we’ve ever seen, never mind eaten. Steve Wynn and his wife are vegan so every restaurant in The Wynn has vegan menus as an option. Great for H. A particular favourite was the kung pow “chick’n”.

Suitably fortified it was time to gamble, we played craps on the $10 table, won some, lost some and then made our money back, time to leave. H then played electronic poker, won some, lost some and won her money back, time for bed.
Such a great fun filled day.

Tue 16th July 2013
Breakfast buffet at the Wynn and then check out early, head to pharmacy to get wet wipes for camping (v important to H) and then search unsuccessfully for Dicks to get security tag removed from H’s new hoody which we realised hadn’t been removed from the previous shop. No luck though so we got the hoody for free!
Had to be quick as we had to get to the west rim of the canyon along a bonkers dirt road for a helicopter ride. As we were cutting things very fine, we had to scream by the hoover dam and didn’t have chance to look at it in its full glory. Will have to go back to do that. Had to overtake quite a few people in 4x4s who obviously weren’t quite as quick off road perhaps because they actually owned their cars. Got there in time to look around the tat shop and then jump into Airwolf. Bagged the front seats which was great. Bit concerning as it powered towards the rim, and such a strange sensation when the ground just dropped away when we passed over the rim. Great views. Incomprehensible how big the canyon is. Other helicopters looked like remote control toy aircraft they were so far down into the canyon. Spectacular experience. Rob’s first time in a helicopter. Stopped on the bottom by the river for a drink and some photos and then back up and out. The heat was crazy. Must have been 45⁰C.

On a bit of an adrenaline comedown and wanting to get there before dark it was straight to the south rim. We experienced a biblical storm, hailstones like tennis balls then rain that swamped the wipers. We got to Mather campground at 19:55, lucky that as registration closes at 20:00. Our neighbours arrived at the same time, their RV reversed into the registration hut which caused some excitement.
We got to the campsite, set up our lovely new tent with our head-torches and got our heads down.

Wed 17th July 2013
Up early with the sunrise at 05:30 and took the shuttle over to the rim (not quite on track after having to wait a while for the bus). Had a breakfast of porridge, coffee and pastries in the lodge and then headed off at 07:00 to hike into the canyon. Hike down to 1.5mile, 3mile and then Indian Garden. Getting a bit hot. Sit in Indian garden and eat cheese and biscuits for brunch. The hike back out was both epic and knackering. Without water you’d be a goner and many hikers are apparently so they have rangers dotted around warning people on their way down that they need to get back up! Got to the top eventually after a 5 hour hike and shuttled back to the campsite. Drove to the showers but had to wait an hour, the joys of camping, so we went to the market, bought an inflatable mattress and pillow for H. Had time for a well-deserved lunch at the village centre with bottomless iced tea and lemonade (American lemonade is great – surprisingly it’s always the fresh stuff, not sprite etc).

Headed over to the showers and put on a load of washing. Headed to the visitor centre, then over to devils view to see sunset, watched a great thunderstorm but decided to turn round and return to the observatory for the sunset as it was looking like we weren’t going to make it in time. We were treated to a glorious sunset at the observatory. Headed out of the park to find a hotel restaurant with great reviews in guide book, looked plop and empty. Went to Sophie’s Mexican restaurant instead, mobbed. Had loads of tortillas and salsa. H had a massive cooked chili pepper covered in cheese. Back to campground.

Thu 18th July 2013
Packed up camp and drove the rim of the canyon, heading east stopping to look down at every viewpoint. Some mind blowing views. Drove to Monument valley and went around the 17 mile scenic drive. H had been looking forward to visiting Monument Valley and surrounding areas which featured in the film Thelma and Louise. Got some good pics of this. Lovely bit of off road for the mustang, bonkers rock formations. Headed off towards Moab passing Mexican Hat with a quick stop for the supermarket. Headed into Arches National Park at sunset. Crazy, red rock formations which you can drive around. A storm was coming over so grey sky one side, lightning flashes in the distance and lovely orange sky on the other side. Got some great shots. Set up camp in the sand for the first time. This was definitely the best camping spot we’ve ever had – right amongst the rocks. Just amazing.

H got a bit afraid when the ranger came over to the tent and advised we should look in our shoes before putting them on to check for scorpions! Quick glass of wine and a spot of cheese and then over to the ranger talk in the outdoor amphitheatre amongst the rocks. Ranger talk was on bats, seemingly there are 500 species of bat, boom!!! Back to bed for an early rise to get on with hiking.

Fri 19th July 2013
Up and down to delicate-arch, back from breakfast and then landscape-arch, pine-arch, tunnel-arch, double-arch, arch-arch, getting the picture arch etc.

Barbecue for lunch, roasting courgettes in the crazy hot noon day sun while H photographed the lizards.
Then over to Canyonlands NP and Dead Horse Canyon for more views. Stopped off at Green River to take a break which turned out to be a great shout as we met some lovely locals. Bought melon from an old lady on the side of the road and her elderly mute husband sitting in a rocking chair in the background in his dungarees (going to say it again – just like in the movies!!). Had a milkshake and visited the museum which the lady selling the watermelon had recommended. The lady in the museum then recommended a few places for us to visit in the local area starting with the best milkshake in town down the road (which the melon lady had already recommended). Black Dragon Canyon was next stop. The guide book said “turn off the highway between mile marker 146 and 147”. Go through the gate and be sure to shut it behind you. Drive for 2 miles and stop when you cannot drive any further. One wrong turn with a slight delay to work our way out of a spot of mud and then back on track. Headed down until the boulders became too large and walked from there. Amazing pictographs on the walls. Great fun with the echoes.

Back into the car and looking for a place to turn around. Slight issue requiring an hour’s work of emptying and jacking both sides of the car up to pack rocks under the wheels in 100⁰F temperature, only had to do it twice. Slight delay meant that Goblin state park had to be bypassed and the drive to Boulder over Boulder Mountain approaching sunset was great. Arrived at Boulder Mountain Lodge and checked in for the night. Due to delays, we didn’t manage lunch, we just had to wait until dinner in the Hells Backbone Grill. Had a lovely dinner by the pond at sunset, edible flowers, organic and local food.

Sat 20th July 2013
Great breakfast at the Hell’s Backbone, chatted to the owner and found out they were in the Telegraph that morning and then a stop at the “farmers’ market” (not really a farmer’s more a hippie market!) next to Boulder.
Through Capitol Reef state park and over the hogs back road to Escalante which was slightly scary, stopped at the Pioneer museum to see the wagon. We got enticed in by the lovely Mormon elder who wanted us to learn about his ancestors’ pioneering mission. Watched the video on the hole in the rock pioneer. Brother Griffin and his wife really blew us away with their hospitality. Back and forward over the hogs back looking for the Calf Creek falls. Stopped at the kiva coffeehouse for lunch (great place). The nice lady there gave us direction to the Calf Creek Falls which we’d read about in a book.
Eventually found the parking and hiked down to the falls. Swam in the big pool at the base of the falls after a lot of deliberation. Cold, cold water. Hiked back up over the “slickrock” to the car and headed down Bryce Canyon. Had a quick hike round the rim and looked down on Thor’s hammer etc. Rob got some good photos of chipmunks. Travelled through Grand Staircase Escalante NP to Zion Mountain Ranch (ZMR). Looked at the buffalo, checked in and went straight to dinner at Chez Bison. Lovely dinner where Rob ate some Buffalo as we watched their friends graze. Helen on the other hand was content having made friends with all the animals (horses, buffalo, chickens, dogs etc.) on the ranch.

Sun 21st July 2013
Breakfast at Chez Bison then up and over to Zion. Hiked to the canyon viewpoint. Brilliant view. Couldn’t quite make it through the tunnel as Helen had a claustrophobic panic attack so headed back to ZMR to check out and decided we couldn’t hang around for the horse trek that was booked in for later that day. Headed up through the ski fields to cedar breaks np. It was cold and rainy there and cars were arriving covered in hail/snow so we went into the hut where we had a Ranger talk and great views. Then back down to Vegas for the night. Arrived and checked in to the Bellagio which was full to bursting – very different to The Wynn experience! Watched the fountains and then wandered over to the Venetian to find dinner at Bouchon. Very exclusive, whisky cocktails and bread on the table cloths. Wandered back and played craps at the Bellagio being taught by some very nice croupiers before bed, left when we were back to zero.

Mon 22nd July 2013
Broke fast at the very popular Bellagio buffet

Then went for a “hike” along the strip. Looked at the Luxor, New York New York etc. All in All a bit weird and dated. Headed back to the hotel and bell boy-ed and valet-ed and got our stuff together for the drive to Sequoia NP. Sat Nav said 9 hours, major panic ensued as we had planned 5 hours. Turned out to be somewhere in between after application of the right foot. Arrived in Sequoia NP at sunset. Headed back to get gas and then zoomed up one of the best roads of the trip, just as it got dark. Glorious, started to get sea-sick. Arrived at the campground on top of the hill and got ourselves sorted.

Tue 23rd July 2013
Up early and all the way back down the road to the camp entrance to start checking things out. Tunnel rock, Hospital rock. Saw a bear which we were very excited about! Moro Rock, Tunnel Log, then a hike around the meadow to see the chimney tree, saw another bear (!), visited the museum.

Up the hill and a hike to the General Sherman tree.

Then back up the hill to the Lodgepole campground, barbecue and a campfire to finish off the day.

Wed 24th July 2013
Up late, packed up the camp and then a cruise to Yosemite NP was the order of the day. Incredible views leaving sequoia and heading into Yosemite and lots of little stops like at Bridalveil falls. Headed into Yosemite which was heaving with folks and through to find our “camp” at Curry Village. Roasting hot, poorly ventilated and cramped, but apart from that perfect! Headed over to the Ahwahnee lodge for dinner. Like a carry on film, all the staff looked and acted mad. Hilarious. Had drinks on the grass and then had to put on trousers for the dining room. Had a nice retro dinner and headed back to the camp.

Thu 25th July 2013
Up early, had the included breakfast at the village of 4 pancakes, eggs, potatoes, beans, oj, coffee and water and headed along to the bike hire place to get some cruisers to work it off.

Cruised the valley floor doing all the hikes of 2 hours or less. Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls etc. Then back to Curry Village to the pool and sun loungers. Nice relaxing time by the pool. Then returned the bikes, got our stuff together and headed up to Glacier Point for sunset. Saw a bear on the way so took it nice and slow. Cooked up a lovely pasta one pot meal on the trangia and saw the last of the sunset. Washed up the pots in a drinking fountain as the picnic spot was non-existent.

Sat in the amphitheatre and waited for it to get fully dark with a couple from Edinburgh. Had champagne and strawberries for their anniversary with them and a good blether. Once it
was dark the rangers put on a show explaining the constellations you could see and the native American stories about them. Then headed back down the road and into the camp on the valley floor again.

Fri 26th July 2013
Really slow start to the day, breakfast at the camp and then a trip up to Tahoe via the Tioga pass and Tuolumne meadows. Quick stop for a swim in the beautiful alpine lake then on the road to the viewpoint of half dome. Half dome completely invisible in the smoke as Yosemite had a planned fire underway. Headed on to Tahoe. Great approach over the top of the Heavenly ski field. Arrived at the Paradice (not a typo!), lovely lady gave us loads of options for rooms which would be suitable, gave us recommendations for dinner, basically couldn’t have been more helpful. Got washed up and then headed out for a champagne cruise on the lake. Totally amazing, lovely weather, great views, very relaxed atmosphere.

Headed back to the hotel and then off up to the Heavenly gondola station for the best pizza we’ve ever had. Truly great. Back to the motel.

Sat 27th July 2013
Packed up, gave away some camping stuff to a uni party from San Fran and then checked out. Headed over to the golf course for a glorious buffet breakfast on the veranda, under the ramada. Lovely food and lovely setting. Back in the car and headed round the lake. Traffic horrendous. Stopped to look at emerald bay very quickly and then underway again. Stopped for gas and saw hundreds of people cruising down the river on inflatables, some inflating them at the gas station and then walking them over the road. Freeway ok but then all of a sudden stationary. Wildfire has caused a massive tailback. Try to find our own way past, stop and get a takeaway coffee and then back on the road. Traffic announcements telling us the road is poop all the way to SFO. Traffic poop, the bay bridge a nightmare. Luckily no cops around as we open up the mustang at any opportunity. Very panicky last few hours of our honeymoon unfortunately. Arrive at Hertz, throw the keys at the lady and run for it. Make it to check in with a couple of minutes to spare. Holiday all but over, just a sleepless 10 hour overnight flight to endure with the rubbish entertainment and then we’re home.