US trip: the beginning

In my last couple of posts I've briefly mentioned an overseas trip... well, we've now been back for almost two weeks so I thought I better write about it before I forget all the details!

Monterey, California, from Point Lobos State Reserve

After our Spain trip last year, Al and I started thinking about where we wanted to visit next, and the US was in both of our sights. So earlier this year we started the dreaming... and planning... and booking. A dream for Al (and I quickly started to share it) was to see a major freeride/mountain bike event—Red Bull Rampage—so our holiday planning was centred around that. Only issue was that other than knowing it would be in October, it took checking the Red Bull website daily to find the actual dates. And then knowing the dates didn't guarantee tickets! That took an early morning alarm (4am!) and quick internet skills to secure. More about the actual event in a later post though!

Point Lobos State Reserve

With our agenda locked in, and a number of exciting events to look forward along the way, we arrived in the US early on Thursday 19 October. The plan: drive across the United States in three weeks. Yep, we know—we're crazy.

After lengthy delays trying to get out of LAX, we ended up changing our connecting flight to San Francisco to a flight to nearby San Jose. Our first two nights would be spent with Al's childhood mate Glenn—an excellent host and guide while we were in that part of the country.

Al and Glenn, Point Lobos State Reserve 

After a good night's rest, Glenn took us for a drive to Monterey and Big Sur. The scenery was absolutely incredible and our camera's got a good working out. Monterey is the home of the Monterey Pine, or Pinus Radiata as Al informed us. Apparently this is the most common pine for building and construction... well, I think that's what we were being told (I was mainly just nodding during my lesson on trees)!!

Pinus Radiata, aka Monterey Pine (aka, trees... tall trees)

After a drive down to Big Sur, and quite a few more photos, we headed back to Monterey for margaritas and some amazing Mexican food.

Big Sur, California

I'd tell you more about the drive back to Glenn's place but I'm pretty sure I was asleep in the back seat of the car for most of it.

More on the trip next time x