This was one of the three best holidays of my life, and one of the others was also with Thibault, to China. So my first reflection is how much I owe young Thibault. He is a brilliant travelling companion, both because of his meticulous organisation and his good company. And on this holiday he was a real star in doing all the driving. A couple of the journeys were very long and tiring, and the trip across Los Angeles very stressful.
I have never been on a proper road trip. One doesn't tend to get invited if you can't drive. It was great fun and I would heartily recommend it to anyone, although maybe first job is to get a mate as good as Thibault. Ok, not an easy task. Best part maybe is we were still good friends coming home. Holidays tend to be a good test of that. I hope I wasn't too much of a burden, not being able to cycle all that well (see Golden gate park) nor being that sure-footed around Yosemite, nor being a young person out on the Town in the early part of our trip. But hopefully if nothing else Thibault can bask in the warm glow of my appreciation. And I did buy him a few good meals on the way. I can readily excuse him for occasional grumpiness, like not letting me eat an ice lolly in the car!
It was also nice having Joe join us for the last part of the trip. As I have said to many people I like threesomes (and not in the sexual sense!). Its just easier having three people for conversation to flow, provided of course you all get along. Otherwise allows ganging-up. Four and you end up with two pairs.
Highlights? Well not what I expected altogether. The Big Sur was good, but didn't match Yosemite. San Francisco was a little bit disappointing. San Diego was great. Las Vegas really not my cup of tea. But not a day went by which I didn't enjoy thoroughly. I don't really expect to have another holiday as good ever again (unless I can persuade Thibault to take me on another road trip, which I suspect is unlikely!)
So my top ten highlights, which areentirely personal, are in order as follows
1. Night out in San Francisco with too much to drink and great sushi. Just the best night out.
2. Walk to Dog Lake off the Tioga Pass. Stunning scenery once I had got my breath back from the climb.
3. Dante's Point in Death Valley. Like being on top of the world.
4. Mirror Lake in Yosemite. Another beautiful hike.
5. Hearst Castle. Amazing place, very well done. Great guide. The whole thing just done so well.
6. Hiking in Limekiln Park. Just great fun. And Thibault looked particularly happy!
7. Whale-watching in Monterrey. Not for the actual experience but just the knowledge that I had seen Blue Whales in the flesh so to speak.
8. Drinking in the car-park of our motel in Lee Vining. (I told you this was a personal choice. Just was a nice evening chatting with my two companions, over a second bottle of wine. You can't underestimate the heady combination of alcohol and good friends.)
9. Alcatraz. It really is the best sight in San Francisco and its very well-presented.
10. Wine, dinner, chatting with Democrats and then a few beers in Santa Barbara.
The other thing I would say about the States, or at least California, is that it preserves its National Parks well. They are done surprisingly tastefully, with lots of good facilities. A marked contrast to Vegas, or Santa Monica. I expected more commercialism, but it was all done with the restraint that one has become accustomed to with the National Trust, but I haven't seen so much of in the rest of the world.
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