Lava, luck and lakes

When we found out that Lassen volcanic park was closed for the winter we set our pilot on course for the Lava Beds National Monument in the far North of California. To get there we straddled the Oregon state line and drove through some stunning volcanic scenery. What we didn't realise was that we should've been prepared to go caving as the highlight of the park is a score of very accessible lava tube and similar underground caverns. We toyed with getting out our snowbaord helmets but when we realised our torches had flat or no batteries and we were frankly clueless (and in my case well lanky for the narrow caves) we had to duck out and just do the one kiddies cave that was lit. We pushed on to Reno in Nevada and then to Lake Tahoe. Regarding media, our trip so far has been dominated by watching the weather channel and listening out for local radio stations traffic and weather reports (so far no rain in California and no notable traffic jams either - touch wood). We found that we were in Tahoe for the last weekend of some resorts but we still had about 15 possible resorts to choose from for a saturday of spring skiing. We plumped for Squaw Valley which had the most lifts open, including a cable car and gondola and hit the slopes in the sun. We followed up by driving round the gorgeous Lake Tahoe and trying to shop in the South Tahoe City, only to find that it is way behind Whistler in development and not able to satisfy our shopping lust. Our eyes were just starting to get trained on the outlet stores we heard were coming around Vegas.


Cycling in Sonoma (previous entry)

The big prize in Sonoma's Ravensbrook winery

The Finlandia motel - with jacuzzi and sauna

Boom - Mount Shasta - check your aura at the gate

SssanFran, streets, Sonoma, Shasta

SF exceeded expectations. We explored most of the areas of town briefly and enjoyed the trolleys, cable cars, driving the zig zag Lombard street, stayed on the hill and downtown, ate Italian, saw cool Jazz, had the best burrito we will ever have, and dug the whole vibe. We can totally understand why people rave about it - so much more charm than LA and so much more accessible physically and spiritually. And we fell victim to the City Lights bookstore as Kate predicted and we came away with far more cool books, especially about Central and South American politics, than we can realistically carry.

Our plan to do Sonoma valley wineries by bicycle worked a treat. This was the first time it became apparent how lucky we were to be travelling off peak in spring. The roads were clear, the wineries empty, the amazing picnic store was easy to shop in, the weather hot but mild, and again we were able to take our first chpoice accomodation by turning up on the day (in fact as I write this we only had a hitch with accomodation when we first arrived in Santa Monica/Venice - fingers crossed we stay lucky). I don't know if Otso has planned a next vacation but I couldn't help think how much you would love this. The wineries were so cool and relaxed and the rolling hill views made it a really special day.

We checked out some big trees on the way out of SF on the Avenue of the Giants. The trees were big, very big, but didn't really grab us so we decided to didtch the other redwood park we were planning to go to and we went to Mount Shasta. This place was a big surprise. The mountain itself is awesome, looking like a perfectly sculpted peak that can be viewed from all sides that dominates the landscape. It is the size of Mont Blanc and casts a mystical shadow over its surroundings. I cant remember if Robin told me about this place but it is head heaven and I couldn't help but think how Bob would love this place. We found our own surprise at the Finlandia motel where a Finnish family laid on the Finn discount, piped up the sauna and hot tub and entertained Anna by, er, speaking in the native tongue.

Three songs about wine:
#3 Lilac Wine, Jeff Buckley
#2 Water with the Wine, Joan Armatrading
#1 We don't have to take our clothes off, Jermaine Stewart


And that's just the tourists!

chillin by the pier

Cheesey view... and a nice skyline

The streets of San Francisco

Cheesier view

Santa Barbara and up the Big Sur

Santa Barbara was a lot more laid back, cosy, relaxed and cool than I had imagined - definately a place I would go again. Conversely, though many people talked up Santa Cruz, we found it was a bit threatening, lazy and shabby - like the worst side of Brighton. The hostel we had in Cruz was lovely, with a sweet garden and cabins. But it was slackerville. The Big Sur driving was spectacular and we have far too many photos of rock/sea scapes. We saw hundreds of sea lions close up at Piedras Blancas, spent the night on Raggedy Point in non/budget luxury and delighted in the Monterrey aquarium. The highlight though was probably Hearst Castle. Take Portmerrion and exponentially inflate it and add a large dose of celebrity debauchery and multiply the budget into biblical proportions and you get the idea. Even though it was only accessible by guided tour it was stunning . I am still looking for David Niven's books about the shenanigans there.

Three songs about big:
#3 Mr Big, Free
#2 Big Bottom, Spinal Tap
#1 Notorious B.I.G., P Diddy


This doesn't even begin to get across the enormous opulence of Hearst Castle

Up close and personal

Anna has a lot of new boyfriends to choose from

Big Sur

Bigger Sur

Are you sure...

Too sexy for the strip?

Our last few days in LA the first time round were marked by a scorching weekend. We hit Venice beach in 35 degrees on a busy weekend to see the freak show and the beautiful people and we hit Sunset Strip in the evening to go to the famous Comedy Store to see stand-up. We were treated to a parade of comics from various TV shows and it was well worth it. Though the evening will be remembered for our sushi dinner where we sat next to Neil's favourite male vocal duo, Right Said Fred. The chaps were looking smooth as ever. I had a quick word with Richard Fairbrass and bit my toungue to avoid the obvious "too sexy" lines. How they must be haunted by that tune - but probably loaded from it too. Anyway Neil, Richard said he will be round for yor usual rendezvous - nudge nudge. In LA we also added to our celebrity total by watching an acoustic gig with the Scottish Hobbit from Lord of the Rings. Not exactly Depp and Pammy...

A note from the Ed

So, apologies for the lack of communications these past few weeks but we have been frustrated by the lack on Internet cafes in the US, the poor quality of free hostel wifi and the limited functionality of paid Internet access in hostels - generally it has been frustrating but also great to avoid computers for a while. We are back in LA in Hermosa by the beach taking advantage of the free public library Internet to update the blog and plan our next steps. We have been on the move a lot in the last few weeks (we have covered 4000 miles). Hopefully we will get the chance to add pictures and add some Finnish to the blog soon - but until then you are stuck with me. Love, MC Deli


I'll be there for you... etc. etc.

LA interrupted

We have now pitched up in LA and are spending a few nights in the Hostel California, our base to drive around and see the sights. We have Pete, our blue Sebring, to take us where we want to go, procured after much haggling with Dollar and an upgrade, even though the overall price was much higher than predicted due to the vagueries of the US car insurance system (and yours truly just not getting it right). So far we have been in Venice, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Melrose Avenue and we are just going to Rodeo Drive. Thank heavens we found Pete's AC control after a few hours driving on Thursday as it is 35 degrees today! We might have to go back to Venice beach and just sit on it tomorrow!

Big shout out to Chris I met on the plane who regailed me with tales of Burning Man and gave us phone numbers of friends on the route and was a great guy all round - we will be sure to look him up when we reapppear back in LA in a few weeks.

More on LA later. Celebrities, shops etc. beckon:)

Santa Monica pier

Hollywood hills' plush pads

Serene and sureal Venice canal living

Of Orcas

Still no time to put up photos as the prices of internet use everywhere we have been are so high. We have free wireless on the phone a lot but its only good for simple messages and checking the footy results.

The second week in Whistler got sunnier though there was still snow and some amazing thick fog. We went all over both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, cooked ourselves some nice meals and drank plenty of average but cheap local BC red wine. We also at last met our first Finn in a gondola - she had the obligatory English (well Welsh) boyfriend - as we know Finnish ladies tour the world looking the best guys to take back home etc etc.

We explored the local transport to get to Vancouver and stayed in the Grand Trunk hostel for four nights. In a nutshell this hostel is to be avoided by all but the hardiest of travellers. We wouldn't go within shooting distance of the kitchen but the squalor certainly encouraged us to get up early and go back as late as possible. On three key criteria (location, cost, Internet) the Grand Trunk stacks up well but with qualification. The location is at one end of the attractive part of Gastown, Vancouver. Walk out and right and it is brick paved streets, the steaming clock, boutiques, eateries, cafes and feels like a French quarter. Turn left and within 10 paces you are in the smack capital of Vancouver where homelessness has increased a third in the last year - quite a contrast. At 16 CAD a night each it is the cheapest place in Vancouver. However the restrooms and kitchen were grim. The fridge in our room was enormous for 1974 and the telly even had knobs for channel tuning. It was really dirty. On value you'd have to chalk it down. And then the free Internet was on a PC from the dark ages withg DIY cabling that had a mind of its own. And it was one of those places you can hear everything everywhere. PLus there was the comulsory non-sequitur conspiracy paranoic running things who had more rabbit than Sainsburys. Oh and it rained all the time in Vancouver. A lot like Helsinki when we left.

So, geddit, don't stay at the Trunk unless it's the Olympics and then you will no choice! Vancouver was a little drab really with a disappointing Chinatown and plenty of coffee shops filled with Macbooks in every area. Yaletown was new media luvvy heaven. Gastown was our favourite part which was handy as we were stying there. We were serenaded by some of the worst solo Mariachi you can imagine - it didn't get any better when the chef trundled out with a flute and made it sound like a ladle - and we were the only customers. We didn't make it to Stanley park but we did go to Steveston for the whale trip. On the first day we went out and saw sea lions, seals, a sea otter and plenty of Vancouver's surrounding islands, complete with their isolated holiday homes - another feature that maybe made Vancouver a little too much like home. On the first day the myriad of whale watching companies combined with the sea planes, coast guard, fishing fleets and local shipping couldn't locate the resident killer whale posse, known as J-pod (after four hours at sea you really wish that, being the most studied group of marine mammals on the planet, they had tagged the big blighters). Anyway we went back on the second day, as you get a lifetime guarantee you will see whales, and before departure they had been located. We finally caught up with the 21 members of J-pod down near Victoria and it was special to see such awesome creatures. Our two days at sea turned out to be quite theraputic and with the amount of wildlife it was well worth it.The incrediible fauna around Vancouver is there because the Frasier river is the most salmon rich river in the world and its mouth supports a vast interdependant ecosystem. One that would be great to see in future would be a salmon run by one of the six species of local salmon upstream to spawn - next time, next time.

Our last day in Vancouver was actually in Seattle. We hired a car, went over the border and drove to Seattle, went up the space needle, chilled in Belltown and went to the Gehry-designed Experience Music Project, which was unfortunately the only massive multi-million dollar Hendrix memorial museum in the world with no exhibits about a certain James Marshall Hendrix - more on this another time.

On our last night in Vancouver we hooked up with my dad's cousin, Kieran. Earlier in the day we had sought out the Salt Tasting Room, a deli recommended by a stranger from the Thorn Tree forum. The Salt Tasting Room was a revalation. Out of context in a tramp littered alley affectionately called Blood Alley, it was a place you would never accidently chance upon (I even avoided telling Anna the name of the alley until we had reached the door because it was so portentous). Far from being a run of the mill deli, the room was a multi-national fine cheese, fine meat and fine wine tasting restaurant with a laid back vibe. With just a tasting menu of consequtive cheeses and meats accompanied by select condiments and wine (by the bottle, glass or cunningly by tasting glass to compliment each item). It was magic. We tried the local BC cheeses and found them a bit subtle by European standards but still delightful. The highlight of the evening undoubtedly was great uncle Kieran. Well travelled, debonair, personable, interesting and kind; I can't believe my family has been hiding him all this time. It was the first time we met and I wish we had invited him up to Whistler before.

I think the lesson is that in future we shouldn't be shy about getting in touch with people on route.

Three songs about salmon and their related food chain
#3 Solomon's Atlantis Salmon, Steve Hillage
#2 Neptune's Wrath, The Electric Chairs
#1 The Salmon Dance, The Chemical Brothers


Killer whales ahoy!

The Gehry-designed Hendrix-less museum