Chasing The Sun: Roadtripping California

It’s something that’s on most people’s bucket list: roadtripping California. But something about that dream gets a bit lost when you’re careening around the edge of the cliff roads Yosemite in a giant rental car with your entire family. Less Route 1 in a convertible and more the end of the Italian Job…

So, how did this come to be? My mum was having a big birthday, my dad wanted to surprise her and my sister and I were not going to be left behind on this one. As a result it was a very mish-mashed trip that tried to tick 4 people’s worth of boxes in just two weeks.

The itinerary started off in San Francisco for a couple of days of pure touristy chaos. We’re talking Alcatraz, Mission, Lombard Street, Cable Cars, Golden Gate – the whole nine yards. After all this hustle and bustle we were ready to head on out of the city and booked a chauffeured trip to wine country on Viator (my mum was not going to be left out of this as a designated driver…).

With limited time, we had two options: head to Napa which is further away and go to fewer vineyard tastings or go to Sonoma which is closer and get more wineries in our allotted time. The decision wasn’t that difficult. There are hundreds of vineyards to choose from and thousands of glasses of wine to drink but we started at Jacuzzi Vineyards and the courtyard is so beautiful you could easily spend the whole day just sitting and drinking and watching the world go by.

After San Fran and Wine Country, we grabbed the rental car and headed to South Lake Tahoe. This is definitely a place I wish we spent more time in, all in all, we were there less than 48 hours and it was nowhere near enough for this gorgeous, peaceful and outdoorsy wonderland. Definitely will be going back again soon.

Quickly jumping back in the car, it was time to take our lives in our hands with my mum’s driving on clifftops on the “wrong side” of the road and the “wrong side” of the car. I have never been so tense in a vehicle ever and I’ve been in some questionable tuktuks…

Again, with far too little time we had a quick exploration of Yosemite, taking in the world-famous Tunnel View, and truly appreciating how batshit crazy Alex Honnold must have been in Free Solo. As someone who loves hiking and the outdoors, I could’ve easily spent the full fortnight here.

Back in the car and back on more secure roads, we headed south for Huntington Beach, otherwise known as Surf City. Now, if you’ve seen my previous post, you’ll know I recently learned how to surf and was so excited to get back on a board at the famous Pier. Unfortunately, I was on my bike at home in Liverpool and got clotheslined by a car door a few weeks before, resulting in a couple of minor injuries but did have to have my finger operated on with metal pins sticking out and A LOT of bandages that I was not allowed to get wet. Gutted.

Nevertheless, Huntington Beach was my absolute favourite place on this trip. It might have been because we had a good 5 days to explore and enjoy it, but the laidback nature of the place, the fact you could walk everywhere, and the fish tacos and beer made it my perfect place.

So the morning we packed up to head to LA for a few days before heading home, our AirBnB got cancelled. We’d been staying in AirBnBs the whole time and my parents were just about coming around to them -until this point. Normally this wouldn’t be a huge issue as AirBnB support offers to help you find a place either where you currently are or in that city, but we had limited time to drive up there and hand back our rental car.

So, rather than a nice relaxing final morning in HB, the four of us were phones open and scrolling through last minute places and fielding calls from AirBnB HQ. Eventually, we got another place, that was actually in a much better location (right around the corner from the Walk of Fame) so silver linings.

Once we were settled in LA, it was back on the tourist track: the Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, Venice Beach, the Original Farmers Market – all the hits – but my favourite was the hike up through Griffith Park on a weekend morning and just seeing the different parts of the city from afar – everything just looked so tiny and peaceful and unchaotic, all things that LA definitely isn’t.

So, all in all, much like this blog post, this was a whistlestop trip with some places definitely needing multiple revisits to properly experience and enjoy them. I ate far too many fish tacos (which let’s be honest is not a real thing), drank a lot of tasty local beers from all across the state, especially in Simmzy’s and Duke’s in Huntington Beach, and drank as much was acceptable in Sonoma. Maybe next time I’ll organise to have less peril driving through Yosemite…