California Dreamin'

The pilgrimage has come to an end and after waking up next to my Mickey Mouse ears it was time for me to drive back north to repatriate with my travel b companion and return the hire car in San Francisco. Originally I had a crazy idea that I'd road trip via Yosemite. It transpired this wasn't a very viable option and so I decided to cruise back up the 1 as far as I could then joining the 101 before I hit the closures at Big Sur again.

I said farewell to my Air BnB hosts and nearly cried when Dom said he would have taken me as his guest to a BAFTA screening last night had I not been at Disneyland. Dammit!

Driving down Sunset Boulevard I shed a small tear. Hollywood moved me far more than I had ever anticipated and has reaffirmed my ambitions as a filmmaker. I would need to find a way to get back here more permanently one day. I have a lot of work to do first but its certainly a wonderful feeling to see your dreams so clearly again and almost touch them.

After passing the mansions of Beverly Hills and picking up the 1 on the coast my first pitstop was Malibu Pier. I had a brief walk on the beach but found the white sand too hot underfoot to be comfortable and I found myself hopping about like a loon. The temperatures were in the high 20s/early 30s again. The Pier was very charming and I'm really glad I stopped.

Flora, Susan and I then turned up the tunes and cruised up the 1 all the way to Cambria where we enjoyed our last California Sunset before finding a Motel 6 to spend the night. I had been severely tempted to stay in the Madonna Inn with its quirky individually styled rooms and pink restaurant but it was a little out of my price range and a bit too far south. After travelling over 250 miles with another 200 to do in the morning I hit the hay and enjoyed a good night's rest.Read more