22. Journey back to San Francisco, CA

From the lush Giant Forest to a dry, sandy desert landscape, we made our way to Santa Barbara for a hike at “Piedras Blancas.” Along the way, we passed beautiful grape groves—this region is actually one of the best places for Pinot Noir outside of France. And here comes the explanation why the Pinot Noir is so good: The mountains here run east to west, creating foggy, humid nights and sunny days, unlike the rest of California's north-south mountain ranges. This is what a local told me. It was fascinating to see how pistachios grow—they resemble almond trees! The drive was picturesque, lined with vineyards and filled with migrating birds.

We did some climbing at Wheeler Canyon, where I found tiny frogs hiding in the huecos (those climbing pockets). Maybe I should've kissed one... 🥰🐸💋🔜🤴🏻

After a relaxing night by the coast, we grabbed breakfast at a cozy alternative café and hit the road for more climbing at Echo Cliffs. The hike to the sandstone cliffs was breathtaking, with a spectacular view of Balance Rock—which, by the way, is totally climbable. Uahhh, how thrilling...

That night, we had an unexpected experience. We planned to camp at the Echo Cliffs trailhead since the guys were already in high spirits, but a signpost shattered our plans: "No camping." Just as we were about to leave, we saw a shooting star! It was the first of its kind for me, moving in slow motion, shimmering from right to left like a rainbow sliding down the sky—a scene straight out of a childhood drawing! At that exact moment, a ranger's car drove by. Our hearts stopped; we thought we were getting fined for sure. We all closed our eyes, held hands, and made a wish. And guess what? After a tense minute, the ranger just drove off. Instead of handing us a hefty fine, he just pulled over to take a piss. Haha, looks like we all wished for the same thing. Thanks, shooting star!🌠

I drove us to a safer camping spot in the middle of the night, on a bumpy road in the middle of nowhere. Better safe than sorry! We chilled under the moonlight in our camping chairs until it got too chilly to stay outside. 🌙 🌝

The next day, we headed to Santa Monica for a swim at Malibu Beach, where the waves exfoliated our bodies, and a stop at a laundromat on the way did the same for our clothes. I even performed some laundry magic (see my video 🧜🏻‍♀️✨). It was a day of pure indulgence! We treated ourselves to delicious handmade ice cream at "Salt & Straw"🍨—Huckleberry Cabanero with a hint of spice, and creamy Strawberry Coconut Water Sorbet. Like a poem melting on my tongue. Heaven! This was followed by hand-rolled dumplings,🥟🥟🥟 sesame scallion noodles, and string beans garnished with caramelized garlic and crunchy chili sesame cucumbers at Din Tai Fung. My soul was dancing like in Cockaigne.

That evening, we visited Griffith Observatory, where the Foucault Pendulum blew our minds, proving that the Earth rotates on its axis. We soaked in a spectacular view of Santa Monica from the rooftop. We camped at several pullouts around San Luis Obispo and at campgrounds like Kirk Creek. The ocean there was hazy, but we spotted otters, elephant seals, and raccoons. The elephant seals were my highlight. 🦭 🦭 They seem clumsy, playful and lazy on the beach but are fast and fierce hunters in the sea, reaching up to 5,000 pounds (2'270kg) and growing up to 16 feet (5m) long. They can dive for 20-30 minutes, with some dives lasting up to 2 hours, reaching depths of nearly 1 mile (1,6 km). Isn't that amazing? They don't eat or drink on land, only coming ashore for birthing, breeding, and molting. I was surprised to learn that they are solitary and do not migrate as a group—they arrive and leave the rookery individually. Their main predators are white sharks.

We celebrated Theo’s 40th birthday in San Francisco, starting with some nice walks along the beach, rooftop yoga at 1Hotel with breathtaking views, dinner at a pricey but fantastic steakhouse (House of Prime Ribs) with prime steaks and excellent regional Pinot Noir—a farewell dinner for Ingo as well. We had a blast at a Hawaiian bar and then an exciting taxi ride back to the Townhouse Motel in a Waymo, a self-driving car exclusive to San Francisco—the city of the future! 🚓🌉 These past five weeks have been so relaxing—no early wake-ups, no intense hikes, no rushing—just lots of cafés, chill evenings, and nice chats with Ingo. It’s one thing to share a few holi-"days" together, but spending a damn, hell-yeah vacation in a confined space of 9 feet high, 7.2 feet wide, and 20 feet long… sometimes 24/7… eating, cooking, chilling, and sleeping, all like sardines in a tin can—it was an experience I’ll never forget.
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