Zoe Harrison Travel Web Site

Arriving from Mexico City into LAX couldn't have provided a more stark contrast. The people, the cars, the glitz, the glamour ... and we were only in LA for the night.

We wasted no time in hiring our rental car and starting our cruise along Highway 1 – the Pacific Coast Highway. It claims to be one of the most dramatically beautiful drives in the world. I couldn't agree more. We skirted spectacular beaches and surf, cliffs and rocks, and at every bend or turn there was a huge yearn to stop and take a photo.

Our first town stop was in Santa Barbara...a very well groomed and pristine town with white stucco buildings topped with red tiles. You certainly seem to need to have a bit of money to live here. Even the prison and court house looked like 5 star hotels. Then on to Solvang for nothing more than novelty factor really ... it's a Danish town right in the middle of Wine Country! Very surreal.

San Luis Obispo provided our first night's accommodation. It's home to California Polytechnic so is well set up for a good night out. We couldn't refuse such a great opportunity to let our hair down and made our way to 'the English' Frog and Peach Pub. In fact the only 'English' thing about the place was the dart board and red telephone box in the beer garden. Everyone (all of the American's anyway) were so friendly and some people we met in the Pizza place even insisted we went back to their's for a few more beers!

Late night and early start...Jason had it sussed. The day after the night before it was my turn to drive

Hearst Castle (www.hearst-castle.org) was the dream of William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper tycoon who died in 1951. It was conceived, built and rebuilt in the '20's ... a concrete shell on 127 acres, filled with 165 rooms, with a vast art collection, cathedral ceilings, marble, tapestries, Egyptian sculptures....you name it and it's here. OTT should cover it all. Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and Changing Rooms springs to mind. It is said to be impossible to calculate its value!

The Big Sur took us all the way to Monterey for our second night and our first experience of dormitory sleeping. How we've managed to avoid it until now is beyond me! Turned out to be the best night's sleep I have had. Our main reason for being here was the most amazing aquarium with the only white shark in captivity ... in the world! (www.mbayaq.org)

A quick stop in Santa Cruz for an ice cream, and to gawp at the acres and acres of pumpkin fields! Then on to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Francisco 26th September to 2nd October 2004

In San Francisco we stumbled on a great hostel (www.greentortoise.com) where our room was based in a separate house, with a shared kitchen. It was like student renting again except with a complimentary cleaner, free meals, free beer and live music! And much to Jason's delight it was in the heart of Broadway, the red light district! What more could you ask for?

The hostel also hosted a "Talent Night", so after 5 months off from comedy Jason jumped back in the saddle and entertained the troops with a fantastic 15 minute set. And repeated the great performance at Brain Wash (a launderette which doubles as a Comedy Venue!) a couple of nights later

When in Rome and all that .... Well when in America go to a baseball match – the Oakland A's. After 2 and a half hours I just began to get the rules. It's more complex than cricket. It was a fairly gripping finish with the score at 5 all, the home team clinched a win on the last ball.

A trip to San Francisco would not be complete without a trip to Alcatraz (www.alcatraz.us) and a trip on the Tram. I think we were in danger of becoming 'real' tourists until we were rescued by Todd (our San Franciscan friend we met in Spanish School). It was so nice to see a local perspective on the city ... as a result I think I could really live here. There's everything you could want in a city, and country side all in one.

Roadtrip to Hollywood 2nd to 4th October 2004

Sad to leave San Francisco but the wilderness of Yosemite National Park was calling us. Lunch break was in a small little known town of Modesto. It felt like we were in a 1950's movie or Happy Days as we pulled into A and W Root Beer Drive In, complete with a roller skating car hop! (www.awrootbeer.com)

Staying in Midpines we drove into Yosemite with a couple of round the worlders from Bristol, Brad and Louise. Glacier Point at 7214 feet provided dramatic views of the Half Dome and Yosemite Valley. And 35 miles on we were at Mariposa Grove and the magnificent Giant Sequoias trees. Despite trees not being my thang you can't help but be impressed by these beauties ... one as old as 2700 years, some as tall as 290 feet, and wide enough for cars to drive through.

The drive back to LA took us through the rest of the park and Kings Canyon. Every turn was like a picture postcard of mountains, trees, lakes and rivers. We need to return to this part of the world. There's so much more to see.

LA 4th to 7th October 2004

We've made it to Hollywood where we are beginning to appreciate another side of American culture. Particularly the food! Portion sizes here have a lot to answer for. And it's not simple to order either. Following are the waitresses proforma for taking an order..

How would you like your meat cooked?

Would you like gravy?

Fries, mash, or baked potatoes?

Soup or salad?

if salad ... Which dressing? Blue cheese, ranch, thousand, honey and mustard, vinaigrette?

if soup ... Which soup? Lentil, spinach, vegetable, cream of tomato?

phew...hard work.

I would never have dreamed that I would have enjoyed Universal Studios as much as I did. I guess it was helped by meeting up with our friends Gerry and Stefano who we originally met in Peru. The rides and tours were out of this world but the highlight for me had to be meeting Shrek!

And, wow! It is so easy to get caught up in the whole glitz and glamour of LA. On our last day in LA we took a tour of the city and saw all the hot spots! George Michaels toilet(!); the place where Hugh Grant was caught in the act; the place where River Phoenix died; the hotel from Pretty Woman; Pinks (the hot dog stand where Bruce Willis proposed to Demi More); the Playboy mansion; Sunset Strip; Walk of Fame; the house from Fresh Prince of Bel Air; the Peach Pit from Beverly Hills 90210; the homes of Brad and Jennifer, Tom Hanks, Jim Carey..... I could go on forever. I really was bowled over.

Just two weeks before we meet up with my mum and dad in New Zealand. But before then we've got the luxury of soaking up the sun, lazing on the beaches and taking in a spot of diving in Fiji. Life is soooooo tough!