Just after my birthday in Thailand last year, my friend announced he’d be celebrating his 40th in the desert – in California’s Palm Springs.
I was quick to book my room at the hotel, but seeing as though the party was going to run from Thursday to Sunday, and I was going to have to fly on Wednesday, I thought I might as well take a couple of extra days off and have the whole wek off.
I was Googling around but couldn’t really find anything much of interest to do in or around Palm Springs so needed to widen my net.
I’d already been to quite a few places in California and Nevada and so was stumped.
Eventually I decided I’d fly into San Francisco and drive down California 1.
I’d done the trip before, but it’d already been ten years so I thought why not.
I found an OK-priced flight with United ($1750) and before long the trip rolled around and I was off.
| Saturday | 22nd | San Francisco | Muir Woods National Park |
| Sunday | 23rd | Santa Cruz | Highway 1 |
| Monday | 24th | Morro Bay | Highway 1 |
| Tuesday | 25th | Los Angeles | |
| Wednesday | 26th | Los Angeles | |
| Thursday | 27th | Palm Springs | |
| Friday | 28th | Palm Springs | Joshua Tree National Monument |
| Saturday | 29th | Palm Springs | |
| Sunday | 30th | Palm Springs | Palm Springs Aerial Tramway |
| Monday | 31st | Sydney | Tahquitz Canyon |
Saturday 22nd
I arrived at the airport around 0830 giving me plenty of time before my 1020 flight.
Everything was on time and to plan and at 0630 on the same day, UA 870 was landing in San Francisco.
I’d organised a rental car with Alamo ($626) to be collected around 0800 at the airport and by half past I was on my way.
I made a bee-line to the Serramonte Centre to pick up an American sim card and look at the shops.
I even stole a 30 minute powernap in the carpark while I was waiting for the shops to open.
Around 1100 I was on the road, heading north for the Muir Woods National Monument to see the famous Redwoods.
You have to pre-book a window to visit the park. It cost me $25 and included parking and entry to the park.
My slot was 1200-1230 and I arrived right on time.
There’s no phone reception there and you’re supposed to download your booking confirmation before you go, so keep that in mind.
I did the easy Four Bridge Walk which begins just behind the visitor centre and then decided to continue the adventure by heading up the Ben Johnson/Dipsea loop trail.
The walk took me about an hour and a half and I thought it gave me a good sense of what the park and the woods were all about.
Around 1400 I was on the way – heading west to Stinson Beach.
The beach was packed, despite not being the most beautiful, and being shrouded in a thick layer of fog.
I took some pictures and continued on my way south towards the grey-washed Muir Beach Overlook.
After a quick photo I continued on my way to the Golden Gate View Point to get some snaps of the Golden Gate Bridge.
I took some snaps, but in actual fact there’s a much better view up the hill at the Golden Gate Observation Deck.
It was already 1730 and I was fading but there was a bit of light left in the day so I decided to cross the bridge and head to Marshall’s Beach for a better view.
It was pretty cold and windy but I managed to get the drone up briefly.
It was 2000 before I got to the hotel so I had a quick freshen up before heading out to find something for dinner.
Around 2300 I crawled into bed exhausted after a long day of travel, hiking and site-seeing.
I chose SoMa House because it included undercover secure parking which is apparently mandatory in San Francisco these days on account of the crime.
It’s just a bit of a motel that’s had a half-arsed facelift, but the location was good, the staff were nice and the price wasn’t terrible ($189).
Sunday 23rd
I had a bit of a slow start given the long day I had on saturday.
I decided to have a little walk around San Francisco before heading off of my adventure.
I walked down Market Street and ultimately to Fisherman’s Wharf for a look.
I got an uber back to the hotel to pick up the car as it was already an hour after checkout.
As a final stop, I decided to check out the Painted Ladies. I’d been to San Francisco half a dozen times and hadn’t managed to, so was happy to have a look.
Separately, I’d noticed these futuristic driverless cars all over San Francisco and a bit of Googling revealed they belonged to Waymo – a former Google driverless car project.
I wanted to give one a go but found out you needed an invite.
After asking all and sundry, I decided to reachout online. It was a sleepy sunday and so I wasn’t feeling hopeful.
Luckily for me, just as I was arriving at the Painted Ladies I received a response with an invite code.
I’d driven a couple of times past San Francisco City Hall and was impressed and so figured that could be a good place to take a Waymo.
It was cool, albeit gimmicky, but I’m glad I got to try, all the same.
Around 1400 I returned to Marshall’s Beach to try to get a clearer shot of the Golden Gate Bridge.
It was still foggy when I arrived but I decided to wait it out a bit, and it paid off.
Around 1500 it started to clear up.
I got the drone out and had a play before finally heading back up the hill, around 1545.
At 1600 I started my adventure – heading for California 1 – the highway that snakes down the state’s coast.
I stopped off for a quick break at a pretty unimpressive Pacifica Beach, before continuing south.
Around 1830 I arrived at Devis Slip which was an epic little spot on the cliffside just before Montara.
A few minutes down the road I also got the drone out at Montara Beach before realising it was getting late and deciding to gun it to Santa Cruz before it got too dark.
Around 2030 I rolled into town – not before wrecking the car tire.
I stayed at Motel 6 which was an OK budget option close to all the action.
I dropped my stuff off and headed straight down to the boardwalk for a look at the beach and amusement park.
It was getting late and with very few options open for dinner, I ended up at Taqueria Jalapeños. It was pretty mediocre, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Around 2200 I went back to the hotel to face the music – I had to sort out the car’s busted tire.
I changed the tire but unlike at home, the replacement isn’t a real tire. There was a note on it saying use this only to drive to a mechanic. I had a bit of a Google and online it said you could drive on the “donut” for no more than 50 miles and you shouldn’t speed.
moThe next day I ignored both of those things, and survived to tell the tale.
Monday 24th
Given there was no Alamo place in Santa Cruz, I decided I was going to drive to the closest outpost at Monterey Airport – about 50 miles south.
Before hitting the road, I decided to have a little walk around Santa Cruz to check out the pier, beaches and boardwalk.
Around 1000 I was on the road, en route for Monterey.
When I got to the airport the Alamo desk was unmanned and there was a sign saying report to Enterprise. Once I got to the front of the line there, they said they had no cars and I should go to their affiliated mechanic.
I dropped the car off and went for a walk only to be told 30 minutes later they couldn’t fix the tire and I’d have to go back to the airport.
I was starting to get frustrated, but also worried about driving too far on the fake tire.
I put Enterprise into Google maps and found a few more outlets in Monterey. There was another one a few miles up the road so I went there and explained my story.
Thankfully they were sympathetic and offered me a replacement car, no questions asked.
It seems too good to be true, but so far I’ve not heard anything from the rental company so I guess no news is good news.
Back on my merry way, I arrived at Carmel-by-the-sea around 1330.
It’s probably one of my favourite beaches in the US – with a long white sandy beach and clean, crystal clear water.
I spent a bit of time chilling at the beach before continuing south along the coast to Mara Beach.
Back on the road heading south I arrived at my next stop of the day: Bixby Creek Bridge.
I knew California-1 was closed but decided to continue as far as I could before turning back and taking the 101 south.
Around 1600 I hit the end of the road – just north of Lucia and had to turn back to continue on my way.
I stopped off at Little Sur River Beach for a look, as well as Rocky Creek Bridge, closer to Carmel.
It was 2100 before I arrived at Morro Bay for the night. I had booked into another Motel 6 which was neat and tidy but a bit of a way to the action – only about 15-20 minutes. But it’s not nothing.
I had a walk down to the beach and pier before looking for something for dinner. I ended up at The Siren in part because it was late and nothing else was open. It wasn’t bad. Nice staff and OK food. Decent cocktails too.
Around 2300 I was back at the hotel and ready for bed after another long, long day.
Tuesday 25th
I had a bit of a slow start after the long day I had on Monday.
I decided to go for a walk down to the beach to see Morro Rock since it was so dark when I arrived the previous night.
I had a look at the beach and the bay and walked along the boardwalk looking for otters but mostly finding seals.
Around midday, I hopped back in the car to continue my trip along California-1 – this time north to see the Elephant Seals.
Someone had recommended I go to see Salmon Creek and so I put that in the GPS and was off on my way.
About 1315 I stopped at the Elephant Seal viewing platform to take a look at the large, lazy seals sunning themselves on the beach.
Thirty minutes further up the road, past the Piedras Blancas, I arrived at Salmon Creek.
It was a short, steep hike to the falls, but definitely worth a look if you’re in the area.
It was already getting on in the day and knowing the road was closed further north, I decided to turn around and start the long journey south to LA.
I stopped back in Morro Bay to stretch my legs and play with the otters, before continuing to San Luis Obispo for something to eat.
In retrospect I probably should have found somewhere there to stay for the night, rather than Morro Bay, as it seemed like there was more going on.
Anyway, continuing south, I stopped off at Pirate’s Cove for a look before continuing on to Santa Barbara.
I got there around 1950 and had a quick leg-stretch before starting on the final stretch.
It was pretty late by the time I arrived at the hotel in LA and so I had a quick walk before getting washed up and popping into bed.
Wednesday 26th
I had another uncharacteristically slow start to the day before mustering the energy to prepare for my hike to the Hollywood sign.
I had done a bit of research on the best hike to do but settled on the Cahuenga Peak hike. It was shorter than the other two, but steeper. I figured how hard could it be?
Pretty hard, as it turned out.
Around midday I arrived at the start of the hike and was happy to discover plenty of free parking (probably on account of the heat and the mid-week dateline).
It took me a little under an hour to reach Mt. Lee and the (back of the) Hollywood Sign (!).
I gave the drone a sneaky go, before packing up and heading down the hill.
After a quick stop at Griffith Park to get a better view of the front of the sign, I made my way down to Sunset Boulevard to reward myself with a trip to a California institution: In-N-Out Burger.
After lunch, I spent an hour or so cruising around LA enjoying the big, blue sky, before heading back to the hotel to chill.
I decided to walk down the road to have a swim at the relatively newly opened West Hollywood Park.
It was a bit of an ordeal for a casual swim – I had to register with the local council using a made-up residential address before I could buy a ticket, and the pool was pretty small and didn’t really have anywhere to sit and sun, but in the afternoon summer heat, it still hit the spot.
I was at the pool enjoying the sun until around 2000 when I decided to go and grab some food.
I was expecting my friends around 2230 and after a series of flight delays they finally rolled in around 0130.
We went straight to bed knowing we had a big day ahead of us.
Thursday 27th
We checked out of the hotel early on and made a bee-line to Upland where we had to check out a storage unit.
We had a quick breakfast at Brandon’s Diner before heading back on the road.
We stopped for supplies at Cosco Moreno (what an experience that was!) before continuing on to Palm Springs.
We arrived at the hotel for the festivities just after 1500.
As it turns out, the festivities involved mostly chilling by the pool, but after all the driving I’d been doing, I wasn’t sad about it.
We had a relaxing start with a better than expected breakfast at the hotel before I strong-armed my friends into coming for a midday desert hike.
We arrived at Joshua Tree National Park around 1230 and after checking in at the visitors centre and after paying the $30 entry fee, we were in.
The guy at the visitors’ centre ran us through all the hikes and given the heat and the time of day, we decided to do a couple of short walks, instead of a longer one.
We started out at the Barker Dam hike – which is fairly flat and pretty easy.
We had a quick look at the Hidden Valley viewpoint before continuing on to Cap Rock.
It’s only a quick, flat loop, but not a bad shout to get a feel for the park.
Next up we had a quick stop for a shot of the biggest Joshua Tree before continuing on to see Skull Rock.
Around 1500 we decided to call it and headed back to the hotel to get ready for my friend’s birthday dinner.
He chose Tropicale in part because we were such a large group. The food was just OK but the cocktails were decent.
Saturday 29th
We had a very low key day today with a short outing to check out a little bit of Palm Springs.
Sunday 30th
A few people had told us how good the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was, and in the spirit of trying to do a couple of touristy things while we were in town, we headed up the hill to the cable car.
At $32 dollars it’s not cheap, but it’s a pretty cool experience. Apparently it’s the world’s largest rotating tram car.
Up top it’s about 20 degrees cooler than in Palm Springs, so that’s pretty nice too. We did the little hike at the top before checking out a couple of the viewpoints.
By 1430 we were on the way back down to town to participate in an iconic Palm Springs activity: a pool party.
A friend of a friend invited us to check out his epic concrete bunker-style house at the foot of the mountains.
Both the house and pool were beautiful and we had a nice afternoon whiling the day away.
We went into town for tea – settling on Blackbook for some unhealthy American fare, before heading back to the hotel for a late-night swim and early night.
Monday 31st
Quite a few of the party people had early flights home and left before we woke up. We had a slow start, enjoying breakfast at the hotel before heading up the road to the Tahquitz Canyon hike.
It’s only about 15 minutes from the hotel and so by 1000 we were at it.
The hike itself is pretty easy, but the searing sunshine added to the challenge.
We made it up to the waterfall around half past, and after a quick dip we continued on our way.
Back at the hotel, we packed up our room, had lunch, and set off on our way.
I had to drop my friends off at Upland at the storage company and around 1700 I set off, back to LA.
I still had a bit of time before my late-night flight, so I made a bee-line for Santa Monica to check out sunset and the beach.
I arrived around 1900 and the sun was still high in the sky so I continued on to Venice Beach for a look.
Around 2030 I arrived at LAX and returned the rental car.
My friend had upgraded my return flight to Sydney so I checked in and headed to the United Polaris Lounge for a shower, snack and a drink.
Just after 2200 I boarded UA 839, ready for the long, but thankfully comfortable, flight home.
