Going Back to Cali
Aug 19
15 min read
It had been years since Jelley was in California, and slightly fewer years since Luke was last in his hometown, and we were happy to be here - a little older, wiser and even more appreciative for every chance to spend with family and friends. It was also still technically Covid times when we last visited, so it felt like a totally different lifetime. We landed and went straight to Stinson Beach to catch up with Luke's Mom. Stinson Beach had become our home base when traveling in North America over the years, and was a familiar spot to be in. Jelley had only previously visited California during the winter months, and it was a welcome change having much longer daylight hours and slightly better weather!
The main trigger for traveling to California was for one of Luke’s closest friends weddings in San Jose, and we were so excited to be able to make it there, especially as Luke was a groomsman! Between Covid border closures and the general nature of our work and lifestyle, we have unfortunately missed many good friends weddings around the world, which made this all the more special.
It was super special to catch up with the bride & groom on our arrival with dinner - we know how valuable the pre-wedding time can be - but perhaps they were grateful for a short break from both large families being in town! It was a lovely couple of days partaking in many wedding activities - getting to know the other guests and family members, enjoying incredible food and learning more about San Jose, where the groom is so proud to call home.
We were on a self-proclaimed mission to walk as much as possible between the activities. It’s safe to say instead of pedestrian-friendly, we might describe the city as more pedestrian-hostile, with the the number of other pedestrians we saw on a 45 minute journey the same as the number of fried turkey legs we saw scattered throughout the streets (4).
A highlight was a walking tour hosted by the groom’s father in the city of San Jose . As the former editor of the local newspaper for 40 years, he was filled with inside information to share! Rather than a history tour, he focused on the story of the murder and lynching of Brooke Hart in 1933, which was a dark plotline and took us to many inner-city scenes of the crime.
Luke and the boys were off early for the wedding day shenanigans, leaving Jelley & Stine with more time to explore the city. The girls wandered through gorgeous leafy streets to San Jose's rose garden, in full bloom and a truly peaceful colourful spot. This was such a cute neighbourhood, popped into the local library and market before returning home for a bite to eat before the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception, surrounded by towering Redwood trees, and we felt so lucky to be able to be here. We really enjoyed the quality time with some of Luke’s best friends over the wedding week.
Our next stop on the family & friends reunion tour was north of San Francisco in a new area to us, Sonoma. A family friend Jen had kindly invited us to their holiday house, and treated us to a nice dinner in town before they came to join us the next day. Interestingly the restaurant they booked for us was Nepalese, with the staff from Namche Bazaar (the mountain town at 3,500m on route to Mt Everest we had visited in 2023), so that was a fun conversation and of course, delicious momos!
The next day, Jen & Sarah joined us, along with Luke’s mom and his brother, who had just returned home from his freshman year at college! We visited in Sonoma at pizza place Luke had fond memories eating at with his grandparents, before exploring the Sonoma Botanical Gardens together. The Japanese gardens were particularly peaceful, and reminded us of some of the beautiful areas we discovered when Luke's Mom & sister visited us one year ago in Osaka.
We also explored the Jack London State Park - a museum in his homestead, along with the remains of his luxury dream house project which burnt down before completion. Jack London was a renowned author most known for ‘Into the Wild’ and many others, who also travelled the world by sailing boat with his wife. Luke recognised the name from other spots in Northern California but didn’t know the full history until we visited the museum; Jelley had no idea.
Our next destination was driving down Highway 1 on a California Roadtrip. We had such great memories from our big National Parks roadtrip in 2022 , and knew there was so much more to explore in the Golden State. A few colleagues, who since became friends, from the World Expo in Japan had recently moved to LA, and it was the perfect excuse to visit in their new home.
Whilst it is possible to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles directly on the ugly Interstate 5, the much more scenic route is along Highway 1 along the coast. We took a combination of the two options, taking the I5 South until we turned inland to Morro Bay. We had actually stayed here on our 2022 trip at a beachfront campsite, however, it was so extremely foggy that we didn’t see the sea or beach at all, and spent that visit in a bar watching the SuperBowl. The photos online, especially of Morro Rock, looked beautiful, and we thought it was a worthy stop to break up the journey.
There was not a cloud in the sky on our drive .. that is, until we turned toward the coast. We couldn’t believe our bad luck! We must be jinxed. Driving straight into the fog, we resigned ourselves to the fact we may have to return another time for a case of ‘third time lucky’.
We were initially feeling disappointed, but our mood immediately flipped to joy as we walked down to the waterfront and were greeted by sea otters !!! This was our first time seeing these, and they looked different than expected. What we imagined was more similar to river otters, but these looked more like seals with their size and the way they swam. They were SO cute playing in the water and floating on their backs while sleeping. We were enamored.
Although there was no sunset to be had, we stumbled upon an excellent seafood restaurant on the wharf, where the fish is caught daily and served with the best service we had in the USA to date. Seafood chowder in a sourdough breadbowl is a quintessential California meal by the sea, and we ended the day very content with our decision to visit Morro Bay. We will be back, hopefully to see Morro Rock one day.
The next morning, we drove up the coast to the fascinating Hearst Castle. Luke had dim memories of visiting as a child (and not appreciating it), and Jelley had never head of it so we were excited to check it out.
Even the visitor centre was a sprawling complex with a shuttle system that winds you up the hillside to the "castle" itself, since you can't just drive up. By the time the bus dropped us off, we'd already clocked that this wasn't going to be a quick look around.
The easiest way to describe the whole experience is Great Gatsby, if Gatsby had unlimited money and a genuine obsession with European history. William Randolph Hearst built a media empire and then poured an unfathomable amount of that fortune into this hilltop estate. Guest houses the size of mansions in their own right. Room after room stuffed with relics shipped over from actual European castles and churches after wars.
What struck us most is that it's not even finished. Hearst died before construction wrapped, and yet the estate has been preserved so meticulously you'd never guess. It was eventually donated to the state of California, on the condition that it stays maintained exactly as it was and remains open for public tours indefinitely, which is a pretty remarkable deal for the rest of us.
There were two giant swimming pools. The outdoor one, the Neptune Pool took over a decade to get right, rebuilt three separate times between 1924 and 1936 before Hearst was finally satisfied, and it holds around 1,306,000 liters (345,000 gallons) of water, lined with marble and framed by a reconstructed ancient temple facade. Standing at the edge of it, it's less "swimming pool" and more "Roman castle that happens to hold water."
Our tour guide deserves a mention too, genuinely one of the best we've had anywhere in a while. Sharp, funny, clearly loved the subject, and had this great habit of pausing before we walked into the next room to ask what we actually wanted to hear about, then delivering it like she'd been waiting all day for that exact question.
One funny thing she told us about was that the area is still home to dazzle of zebras. Descendants of Hearst's old private zoo still roam freely along the hills beside Highway 1, grazing alongside cattle in a strange, unregulated grey area, similar to America's wild horse herds, since zebras technically fall outside the state's restricted species list. We kept our eyes on the hillsides the whole drive in and out, but didn't see any.
It was time to continue our journey down the West Coast toward Los Angeles for a weekend stay with our good friend in Venice Beach. Returning to LA always brings a fresh wave of energy, especially with the shiny new backdrop of Venice Beach to explore. To make things even better, two of our former Expo colleagues, Rachel and Riley, happened to be in town for one night only. Reconnecting with them over a Japanese dinner was such a highlight. We shared a great evening of reminiscing about our intense, unforgettable experience working together in Osaka.
Venice Beach served as an iconic base camp for the weekend. Interestingly, we had no idea that the neighbourhood was originally built to mimic the actual canals of Venice, Italy, complete with its own network of manmade waterways! It served as the ultimate launching point for all of our beachside hangs across LA.
We spent time meandering along the famous promenade, stopping by Muscle Beach, the legendary outdoor gym made famous by bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970s. The area is steeped in pop culture history, from its roots as the birthplace of modern skateboarding culture to its iconic appearances in classic video games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater which Luke immediately recognised from playing those games as a kid.
From there, we took a slow stroll along the coastal boardwalk over to Santa Monica and out onto the Santa Monica Pier. Stepping onto the wooden planks felt completely surreal, as the historic pier is instantly recognisable from countless famous movies and TV shows.
Dinner that evening turned into quite the adventure. Because Jelley did not have her physical passport on hand, we got turned away from a pub due to strict local ID checks. It was a funny little hiccup, but it ended up working out completely in our favour. We pivoted on the fly and stumbled into an incredible spot nearby, tucking into some of the most amazing, authentic Mexi-Cali food we have had in a long time!
The next morning, we set out for breakfast at the Marina Del Rey Farmers Market, wandering through the stalls to sample fresh local produce and tasty bites. While taking in the morning sun, we spotted actor Chace Crawford (famous from Gossip Girl and The Boys) casually strolling through the market. In true LA fashion, we kept our cool and let him enjoy his breakfast without taking any paparazzi photos.
Our host Lexie proved once again why she is an absolute queen. Within just a few weeks of moving to LA, she had already made two awesome local friends - who happened to own a boat (and a dog)! They graciously invited all of us out for a day on the water, giving us a front-row seat to the sprawling Los Angeles coastline from a completely new perspective.
Cruising along the coast with great friends, ocean breeze, and a dog on deck made for an unbelievable day on the water. We capped off the afternoon by heading back to shore just in time to catch a stunning, golden-hour sunset right on Venice Beach.
Out to West Hollywood, we hit up a cool vintage market packed with incredible items that would have looked amazing in our invisible house! Afterward, we jumped into another brand-new experience for us: a drag show brunch. A friend from our Expo days who recently moved back to LA joined us as a fun surprise. It was awesome catching up with one of our fellow "old people" from our time in Japan.
The drag show was at a brunch bar called The Abbey, a venue that describes itself as the "largest gay bar in the world". It was a super interesting experience! There was even a random TV "celebrity" guest who got a ton of airtime during the show, though we personally had no idea who they were. It was definitely a bit out of our comfort zone, but really fun and memorable nonetheless.
We then headed up to the Griffith Observatory. Being the weekend, it was very busy. Perched on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood, this historic facility is a public observatory, planetarium, and exhibition space that is a cultural landmark offering incredible vistas across the Los Angeles Basin. We saw the iconic Hollywood sign a little closer and were impressed by the city skyline, which was wonderfully clear with no smog!
LA was totally unexpected to us, and although we just explored very specific pockets, it changed our previous perspectives on the city and opened our minds a little. It definitely helped having local friends to explore with, and we know we will be back one day!
It happened to be Memorial Day weekend when we were there, and we reshuffled our plans a little to head down to San Diego to visit one of Luke’s friends from his summer camp days! We were so glad we could fit this visit in, especially since it had been four years since Scooter had traversed all the way up to Stinson Beach for Luke’s 30th birthday. We had another awesome local "tour guide" for the trip in Balboa Park, which was another fantastic Expo connection! We spent time exploring the sprawling park before heading out for some incredible, authentic tacos.
We also took a drive around the city and crossed the sweeping bridge over to Coronado Island to check out the iconic Hotel del Coronado. Built back in 1888, "The Del" is a massive, wooden Victorian beach resort famous for its signature red-turreted roof. It is a legendary landmark that has hosted everyone from U.S. presidents and royalty to Hollywood stars, and it even served as the backdrop for classic movies like Marilyn Monroe's Some Like It Hot. It was a whirlwind, quick visit to San Diego, but we are so glad we got the chance to catch up and visit!
We had our America the Beautiful National Park Pass, complete with the current President’s portrait on it, and we were determined to maximize its use across the best bits of the USA. Anyone who has visited the United States and only stuck to the cities really should consider coming back for a proper road trip to experience the incredible natural beauty of this massive continent.
Next up on our route was Joshua Tree National Park. We had actually planned to visit during our 2022 trip, but we simply did not make it that far south back then, so reaching it this time felt like checking off a long-awaited bucket list item. We were especially curious to see the park's namesake trees, which look like something plucked straight out of a Dr. Seuss novel. Along the way, we learned that Joshua trees are not actually trees at all, they are actually giant succulents!
It felt so great to be camping again in our familiar "home," the trusty tent setup we first bought for that 2022 roadtrip. We stayed at a super basic campground inside the National Park, and it was quite the experience paying for a site with zero access to running water, just a simple patch of dirt and the expectation that you are entirely self-sufficient.
We spent our time taking short walks through the park among the giant succulents and massive boulder formations. We stopped by the famous "Skull Rock", though Luke was not entirely convinced that it actually looked like a skull!
To top off our visit, we headed to a sweeping sunset spot overlooking the Coachella Valley. It was a deeply peaceful experience watching the light shift over the vast desert floor below, right up until a very large group of tourists arrived to share the view with us!
Our next two national parks often appear joined on many maps, but they are indeed separate parks surrounded by a patchwork of other land use designations like National Forests and Wilderness Areas. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks share a border, yet their bizarre boundaries tell a fascinating story of the logging industry's history. Back in the late 19th century, commercial logging devastated massive swaths of these ancient groves. Conservationists fought to protect the surviving giants, resulting in a fragmented map where protected National Park land wraps tightly around areas that were historically carved out for timber production or managed under different federal agencies.
Leaving the dry, sun-baked desert of Joshua Tree behind, we made the five-hour drive into the Sierra Nevada mountains and were greeted by a total surprise: snow! The dramatic contrast of transitioning from scorching desert heat to snowy alpine peaks in just a few hours was wild, and it is what makes California so unique. In fact, California is home to nine national parks, more than any other state in the US!
The Giant Sequoias are just as their name suggests: GIANT! Giant Sequoias belong to the Redwood family, but while their relatives, the Coast Redwoods, hold the title for the tallest trees on Earth, the Giant Sequoias are the largest living trees by overall volume. Walking among them is a humbling experience, with circumferences reaching up to 30 meters (100 feet).
We learned a crazy piece of history while exploring the groves. Back in the 1850s, loggers actually cut down a Giant Sequoia, one of the largest and oldest living organisms on Earth, just to chop it into sections and ship it to New York for a World's Fair. They did it to prove to the rest of the country and the world that trees of this size actually existed, as people simply refused to believe the photos. Standing beside these gentle giants today, it seems completely absurd that someone had to destroy one just to prove it was real. But even more absurd was the fact that they cut the gargantuan tree down with zero power tools!
Our plans remained flexible, especially since we were not at all equipped to camp in horrid weather. We already had a few question marks over the waterproofness of our rain fly, and we certainly did not want to test it out in freezing temperatures. While the park rangers believed based on the forecast that the snow would not settle, we did not regret our decision for a second to book a last-minute cabin at a lower elevation outside the park, complete with glorious heating!
On our way out, we made a quick stop at the visitor center, which was both interesting and informative. We always get a good laugh at the classic American tradition of measuring everything in football fields, double-decker buses, or elephants for size comparisons. It never fails to entertain us! We also found it particularly interesting learning about the role that fire plays in the lifecycle of sequoias and that this type of sequoia only grows at a certain elevation (not too high and not too low) in this part of California.
The next morning, we drove into a winter wonderland as the snow had definitely settled! We made our way down to the neighboring Kings Canyon National Park and were completely amazed. It is basically Yosemite, but with absolutely nobody else around. The dramatic granite cliffs and access to total wilderness left us hungry for more.
We did a really lovely short hike through the valley and up to "mist falls" waterfall. We had seen at the visitor center that there had already been multiple water-related deaths that season, with extremely strong river flows from recent snowmelt making the waterways and slippery rocks especially treacherous. Despite the clear warnings and signage, we watched multiple hikers cross the safety threshold near the top of the waterfall (one person even slipped and dropped her phone!). We did not want to stick around long up there after seeing that.
Our campsite booked for that night was still covered in snow, so we decided to shorten the next day's drive by staying halfway between Kings Canyon and San Francisco in a random roadside motel. As we were leaving the park on Friday afternoon, long queues of cars were lined up at the entrance as weekend trippers arrived from the big cities. We were so grateful to have experienced the magic of the National Parks during the quiet weekdays without the crowds. It was the shoulder season right before the summer madness of school vacations began, and our timing (despite the unexpected snow) worked out brilliantly.
The motel was in a town called Chowchilla and was something straight out of the TV show Schitt's Creek, sitting in the middle of nowhere with super basic amenities. It was exactly what we needed for a quick overnight stay. We later looked up the town and discovered that Chowchilla was infamous for a shocking 1976 event where three armed men kidnapped an entire school bus of 26 children and their driver, burying them alive inside a buried box truck in a quarry before the captives heroically dug their own way out to escape. Fun stuff, and another relevant movie to add to our watchlist!
Once back in the Bay Area, we caught up with our friends Megan and Sam. We decided to do a walk up Mount Tamalpais (otherwise known as Mt Tam) which is located just north of San Francisco and backs right onto Stinson Beach. Rising 784 meters (2,572 feet) above sea level, its vast network of trails serve as a beloved recreational playground for hikers, trail runners, and outdoor lovers looking to soak in spectacular coastal views of San Francisco.
We had always wanted to hike up here, and we were treated to the perfect weather window. The summit delivered incredible, panoramic views out over the Pacific coastline and the surrounding bay. It was also extra special because we had not seen Megan and Sam since our wedding back in New Zealand, which doubled as their honeymoon! Since they had recently moved back to the Bay Area from Washington, it was amazing to catch up properly, especially after so many big, exciting life moments for all of us.
We spent one final night back in Stinson Beach with Luke's mom, where we enjoyed a gorgeous beach sunset and some coastal walks (Stinson always delivers!) before preparing for our early morning flight the next day to South America.
Our trip to Luke’s home state was a real success, and Luke fell right back in love with California all over again. Now, on to our next destination: Ecuador!
Until Then,
- A Kiwi and A Cali
I love that seafood restaurant in Morro Bay!! So glad you guys got to go there, sorry about the fog. I hope you were able to see San Luis Obispo a bit while driving through. I spent 5 years there in my college town! - Gannon