Northern and Southern California (21st to 28th of March 2019)

On Thursday 21st we continued our drive towards Santa Rosa. We took the scenic highway Nr.1, which is a beautiful drive along the ocean. We stopped a lot in the many view points and took some nice pictures! We also quickly stopped in Mountain view to see the Android statues. Approaching San Francisco we took the wrong route and were forced to pass through the city of San Francisco, which turned out to be nice because we drove on the typical "up and down streets" and took the Golden Gate bridge.

Along Highway Nr. 1

We finally arrived at Chris and Kathy's apartment and were greeted by their cat Buckley.

On Friday it was raining, so we took the chance to finish planning our trip a bit and then we met Stephanie for lunch and spent the afternoon together chatting and playing with her cats.
On Saturday the weather was nicer. We met Steve and Pamee for breakfast and then went for a hike in Calistoga, Napa Valley. After the hike we stopped at the winery Chateau Montelena, however there was 1h of waiting for the tasting, so we decided to go for another winery in Healdsburg. The situation there was not better, so we just went home and had some wine there. Also we bought a piece of raclette cheese. Steve and Pamee have received a raclette machine for last Christmas but had never used it. So it was a good occasion to try it out! We had a nice dinner and then played "Ticket to ride" (USA version). It really was a wonderful day and we enjoyed seeing the Collettes again!

At the winery Chateau Montelena with Steve and Pamee.

On Sunday 24th we finished up our planning and started our drive towards San Diego. For the night we stopped in Coalinga, where we were hosted by  Elizabeth. This town is in the deserty part of California and is apparently the biggest  producer of fruits and vegetables in the world! The following day we drove the last part direction San Diego. On the way we stopped at Walker Canyon admiring the ocean of blooming Californian poppies. So beautiful!

Wild poppies.

In the evening we arrived at our friends house in La Mesa. Shawn, Charlotte and little Aiden greeted us warmingly! It was so nice to see them again after 6 years!

On Tuesday the 26th of March we drove up to Solana Beach and to Elija Lagoon, where we did Annie's Canyon trail, a nice trail passing through a very narrow slot canyon. On our way we even encountered a rattle snake, right on the main track! We walked a little more around the trails of the lagoon and took a look at the visitors centre, where we had a quick talk about rattle snakes with one of the park rangers. After the lagoon we stopped for a slice of pizza and a beer at the Pizza Port in Solana Beach and then went for a walk along the ocean.

Slot canyon.

Rattle snake.

Shawn prepared a delicious dinner and had organized different flavoured cakes for Lorenzo's birthday! We had a really nice evening!

On our last day in San Diego, we met up with Annika, our English teacher during our stay in 2010. We met for lunch at the Liberty Public Market in Point Loma, a new complex of shops, restaurants and more. Previously it was a military complex not in use anymore.

After lunch we drove down to the Cabrillo National Monument Park, which is at the bottom of the little peninsula. Very nice view of the ocean and the City of San Diego and Coronado. Before heading home we drove up to Mount Helix, just above Shawn and Charlotte's home. From this little hill you can see San Diego and the surrounding towns. On the very top there is also an old amphitheater made of stone, which is still in use for performances on some special occasions like Easter or Christmas.

Shawn and Charlotte had some cousins visiting, so we went with them to Downtown La Mesa for dinner in a nice (and good) restaurant.

On Thursday 28th we had to leave for the airport to catch our flight for Honolulu. 

We are so thankful that we had the chance to see all our Californian friends again! They all were super nice and welcoming. Hopefully we can return the favor soon and meet them again in Switzerland.

Mt. Helix