Birds and Seals en Route 1

My last scenic road in the US, route 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles didn't disappoint me. Beautiful nature on the coast and more in land. We actually did our most intense hike in the US here in Big Sur towards Sykes Hot Springs. It's 10 miles in each direction (so 20 miles return == 32km) to get to some nice hot springs near a river in the thick of woods. Got some pictures there that I wouldn't share online :) Anyway, enjoy the ultra zoom of my camera here below.

Napa and Wine Tasting

Visiting Napa twice at the end of September and then early October still didn't make me want to go wine tasting as most tourists seem to do there. Don't get me wrong, I do like the taste of a good wine, but wouldn't bother making an effort to get to a specific vineyard and pay more than I'd pay for a bottle for a mare taste. I've just read this interesting article saying wine tasting is junk science and it reminded me of Napa.

One could be a connoisseur of olive oil as well so as there's always room for bs if you got the money.

The wine we bought most in California was called Oak Leaf. We were first introduced to it in Arcata by fellow CouchSurfers. It wasn't too bad and so another day we found it at the store. The price was shocking, $1.87 a bottle for a reasonable wine. When we shared the wine later with other people, they always said they liked it. Guess it shouldn't be that hard to make a good fermented grape juice after all.

The salvation army in Napa collects free food from grocery shops and give it away. A great initiative that slightly lessens the excessive amount of waste created by modern consumption practices and a profit-oriented economy.

Dana near a 1080 pound / 490kg pumpkin. Treat or treat?

Napa was good to us because of the people who hosted us. I enjoyed seeing and experiencing the area from a more local perspective and later learn about different crime rates in different town and how they're a direct result of local government corruption. Oh well, I'm too lazy to really go into it all now.

Some prepare for Halloween over a month in advance... Go Pumpkins!

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles

These pictures are from the second night in Los Angeles where I still am. Soon I'm heading to Mexico but there's no reason not to include random pictures from recent experiences. October 11th is when I met a cool girl whom I hosted in Israel over 3 years ago. She lives in LA and suggested the lovely Griffith Observatory. It's up a hill overlooking LA and the infamous HOLYWOOD sign. Really beautiful and interesting exhibits inside.

Apparently you can hike to the sign and try to vandalize it. Too far for me :)

After enjoying the reunion and amazing place I went on to a more touristy and boring place - Holywood Bvd where there are lots of stars on the pavement with names of movie stars. The only joy I imagine one could extract from it would be stepping on the names of hated celebrities. But hey, I get that other people do enjoy that. I went there to meet an even older friend I've met back in Thailand nearly 8 years ago. You know you're getting older when you can meet people you haven't met for many years. To longevity! Now read what's under the pictures and leave a comment if you please.

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles at the palm of my hand

Some say NASA is planning to send teddy bears to outer space...

Downtown Los Angeles seen from the Griffith Observatory

Same, but when the camera moves :)

Home is where the heart is, but Israel has a special place in my heart still

Albert Einstein and me

Near the Chinese Cinema, Holywood Bvd, top tourist dull destination

Sumo Wrestling in San Francisco

This was actually on September 21st but who said I gotta keep a chronological order?
The world's sumo champion had a show at Japantown Peace Plaza in San Francisco. It was a show meant for uninformed people like myself, explaining names of different moves and the rules of sumo. But hey, we're all here to see fat guys slap and push each other, right? Check out the videos then...

Down the 101 from Oregon to California

The US is packed with so-called scenic routes. They almost all feature stunning views which make a US road trip such a beautiful amazing experience. Often pictures cannot really encapsulate the feeling of open air views but here are a few anyway.

Our cool Ford Focus is named Billy and we got him in Texas. He has been serving us well for thousands of miles already.

As we now have a car we got some camping gear and do camp outdoors when we don't stay at people's houses in towns and cities.

Waves splashing and it looks like a gazer, but it's not.

Some of the giant red woods drifted far away.

A few hours later we started seeing some huge living trees.

While I'm opposed to riding horses, the picture still looks good.

Our rideshare people enjoying one of the scenic views