Day 98 - Laguna to Slab City

Well, i'm a few days late in writing this.. being on the road alot lately, and lack of wifi and power has its limitations..

So when i last wrote here, we were in Laguna Beach... it sure was nice there, being next to the pacific.. well, that was the last i'll see of the ocean for some time..

We set off with a destination in mind, called Slab City.. i wont go into to much detail about the place.. you can go here for that..

Having arrived just before dusk.. and were greeted initially by Salvation Mountain. And what a sight that is.

As we pulled up, there was an old guy named Earl there who we started talking to, who then introduced us to Adam. Adam had been given the task of helping to maintain the Mountain by 'The Trust'. The mountain is the work of Leonard Knight, who sadly isnt living in the Slabs anymore due to Alzheimer's disease. 

Still, we were shown round the mountain by Adam, who also explained how it was built and some of the ideas behind the work.

We were invited to set up camp right next to the mountain for the night, rather than venture into the Slabs as it was now dark.

A tin of soup and a few cold beers later, it was time for bed. However not before a spot of photography of course!

The next day we tried out the 'shower' which is essentially just a concrete manhole with a water supply tapped off from a nearby hot spring. The water wasn't cold, nor hot.. and was very refreshing in the morning heat.

Some pancakes and ice cold water later we then took a trip into the slabs to see if we could find some people to talk to and see what live was like 'off the grid'. We came across the Slab City skate park.. but couldnt find the local artist said to be behind some of the graffiti work inside the old swimming pool.

we ended up talking to an elderly gentleman by the name 'Red' and his friend (didn't catch her name). He knew a good story or two.. so much so that in my morning haze i had forgotten to put suncream on and ended up geting a nice pair of red shoulders...

we finally said our goodbyes and then hit the road again... this time bound for Vegas.. the SatNav saying it would be 340odd mile, was somewhat daunting..

i'll talk some more about that trip in the next post.

thanks for reading.

Ady

Day 99. Van Decals and Laguna Beach.

So we spent the next day having a rather relaxed one.. got up late and then headed back up to Huntington to meet the guy who had done the decals for Andy. After a couple of hours the Van was now complete with all the great stickers that Dave at Style Tech Vinyls did for us. I Must also Mention the great guys at Escape Campervans who did the awesome paint job and also arranged for the stickers to be added!

We then headed south after a quick picture stop at Huntington Beach, to Laguna Beach to check out the place the TV show 'The OC' was based on.

a quick tour around the town and then a little wonder along the beach later, we ended up talking to two girls who were visiting the beach from further up state..

Moijito's and a amazing sunset later it was time to part ways, and we set up the campervan bed for the first time to spend the night at Laguna, before heading out the next day..

Day 100 (pm)

So, after a rather religious and rather different way to spend my Sunday Morning, i spent the afternoon in an entirly different manor..

Thats right, i went down to Huntington Beach, CA to check out the Surf Competition..

Needless to say it was pretty freaking awesome.. people were out in force.. surfers were practising for the next rounds..

there was even a dude with a water jet pack..

the place was teaming with girls in bikini's, dude's in swim shorts and people all having a good time.

it really was a very Bi-Polar day..
















Well having spent the day there we then needed somewhere to stay... having looked for free overnight parking.. suddenly a phonecall came from Andy's Family Friend's in Camino de Estrella who were happy for us to drive over, feed us and let us stay for the night.. Needless to Say i'm incredibly  to Steve and Dona for their wonderful hospitality!

Well that was day T-100 over..

Day 100.. (am)

Today, is technically the start to the trip me and my friend will be taking across america..

It's 100 days till the US Election day, and we've kicked off the trip by making a trip to a Mega Church. That's right, I'm currently sat in a 3000 capacity church (that's a slight guess, but it's big!)



The purpose I guess to get an idea of how Americans chose to reach out to their chosen beliefs.

Now I'm no religious type myself.. But so far it's been an interesting day, seeing how people use this church as a community as well as a place of worship and prayer.


This is my view right now.. The service started with a live band playing a selection of religious themed songs.

I'm now watching a video link (this place is much more high tech than St. Paul's) of the Pastor Rick Warren.

Well I should probably stop using my phone, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to use the free wifi to do a quick post.

Stay tuned for an PM update, as the day is going to be quite bi-polar.. (i think that's the right word?!)

Thanks for reading.

Ady


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Location:Saddleback Pkwy,Lake Forest,United States

Planes, trains and Cable Cars...

So, I've been neglecting this blog slightly because I'm 'too busy' doing stuff.. Which is true.. But anyway I've got a spare 10 minuets before I board my plane to LAX... So here's an update..

I'm now leaving the very beautiful San Francisco... I arrive feeling very tired, hot and in pain from carrying 3 equally heavy bags... And was without anyway to stay initially due to my original host bailing on me last minuet.. After a check online I found the USA Hostels website.. And their rates were reasonable so I went and booked that..l would have been fun to have found a couch to surf on, but was short on time to find a host...

Anyway.l upon arriving at the civic centre BART station I was thrust into another new city.. With only a rough idea where I was heading, and determined not to hail a cab I made my way through the slightly run down part of town, where it seemed to be suffering from homelessness and in need of some cleaning... Anyway I finally made it up the hills to the hostel.

After dropping off the bags and reducing my back pack to the bare essentials... (iPad, all my camera lens and camera! And a few other bits and bobs) I headed off into the city to see what was what..

At this point I'd like to point out I'd had four hours sleep in NYC... Not much shut eye on the plane and I'd not eaten much more than a bagel. But still I ploughed on and found my self finally at pier 39 (tourist central) where I could wait no more and decided to grab a burger and beer..

I carried on further still and made it almost to the golden gate bridge... But the wind was picking up, clouds rolled in and having changed into shorts I didn't fancy walking much further..

Anyway Wednesday I had a full day in the city and the weather was much better.. So after checking out the Cable Car Museum.. And grabbing a few pics of the cable cars with Alactraz in the background I headed off to a bike rental shop..



After having the usual health and safety type briefing I set off with only one destination in mind... The bridge.

Following the usual tourist trails I made my way there and took plenty of pics along the way...




I stopped for lunch in the town on the other side of the bridge where i then caught the ferry home.. And handed the bike back..

I had then planned to take the cable car from the turn around point back to the other side of town.. But seeing as the que was longer than the total length of steel wire used by the cable car system I decided to head out on foot instead...





I finally found myself ready for food at Pier 3, and had been recommended I try out a place called the plant cafe. Needless to say the service and food was outstanding.. Although I now feel sorry for the people sharing my room last night as my farts were not exactly smelling of roses (sorry I felt that was important)







Right well the plane is boarding now, so I'll update again soon.

Ciao for now

Ady

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Ready to Taxi.

So, this is it.. I'm sat on the hard standing waiting to depart from this wonderful English summer (sarcasm alert).

Currently computers are being blamed for the current delay to the paperwork needed for takeoff.. Not being a seasoned flyier this is all new to me, but I can only assume they are using a windows based system.




Rather regret not getting a sandwich or something now before heading to the departure gate.. But I'll survive..

Well in around 7 hours I'll be on US soil and thrust into the beginning of an adventure that will hopefully last three or more months and cover over 10,000 miles of North American landscapes.

I'm no seasoned blogger, so if you do plan on reading this often.. Apologies if it's somewhat incoherent and poorly spelt.. It's just me putting my thoughts down on paper.. Well digital paper..

Adios and Bon Voyage

Ady

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Location:Inner Ring W,,United Kingdom

Time is ticking...

So its now 14 days till I leave, and if i'm honest i don't feel anywhere near ready to leave yet.. i've still got to get my visa approved (which as been with the embassy for over 7 days now) get an IDP (international driving permit) and get travel insurance... as well as move out of my current house and then pack what im going to take..

i've also now heard from one of my traveling buddies who is now over in the States already and will hopefully be able to start sorting out the things like finding and buying the trusty RV that will be our home for 3 months..

I've also created a google map with pins and rough travel times between cities... its no where near finished or comprehensive enough.. 

Well thats all of interest that i can really talk about for now... i would mention other stuff i've been up to in this blog.. but want to keep it more centered around my travel plans.

Ady