End Of An Era

After a whistle stop tour of Northern California, some serious tanning and the consumption of more food then should be possible; it is now time for Ads to return home to Blighty. I know that I am not just speaking for myself when I say that he will be missed and that he should return to join us as soon as possible.

Here are three shots from his last 24 hours...

Marin County (just west of Novato)

Sutro Baths

Golden Gate Bridge from the Headlands

© All Images By Paul

Stinson Beach

2.5 miles southeast of the wonderful Bolinas, and sat on the winding and beautiful road that is Highway 1, lies Stinson Beach. This former tent settlement is now an established destination for day-trippers and surfers from San Francisco and Marin County who come to enjoy its long stretch of golden sand and near perfect surf. For most of the year this is a cold and foggy Californian coastal town, however for us today the sun was shining and the beach was untypically popular.

After an excellent lunch at the local 'Sand Dollar Restaurant' and a very short walk, we sat on the beach and exposed our pale English torsos to a poor unprepared Californian public before relaxing on the sand under a near empty blue sky.




© All Images By Paul
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Redwoods

12 miles north of San Francisco sit the very easily accessible Muir Woods. This is not so much a hiking opportunity but rather an excuse to get up close to possibly the most beautiful natural phenomenon on the West Coast of the United States; the Sequoia Sempervirens, or Redwoods.

Unfortunately, due to the short-sighted impact that human industry has inflicted on its natural environment, the once estimated 2 million acres of Redwood forests have been decimated. However, in little pockets of perfect and genuinely awesome beauty, sit protected clusters of these ancient trees, as monuments to what once was.

To an Englishman, these immense trees hold a particular hypnotic power. They are huge. They dwarf anything native to the British Isles and by doing so they leave my lower jaw hanging in recognition. As I look up into their thick canopy, I can barely see the intense sun as it attempts to penetrate. To say that I am impressed by these large, powerful plants would be an understatement.






© All Images By Paul
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Golfing

So out of an embarrassing round in California in 2008 came a fascination with that most middle-aged of obsessions; golf. Now it was time to see if my skills had improved...

... bugger! It appears that 2 years of pitch-and-putt in and around London has done little to improve my swing. Thankfully, Mr Graham suffered equally when confronted with the intimidating fairways of this lush and pristine members club. Still, a very embarrassing English performance in front of our very professional and particularly serious American cousins.

Rebecca & Ads

Rebecca

Ads

Ads & Cart

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San Francisco

Day 1! This is very exciting. Day 1 is all about dealing with jet-lag and doing all of the things in and around the bay area that we know and enjoy.

This basically involved a tip to Haight-Ashbury for noodles, and a walk around the Palace of Fine Arts and the Marina with Davo & Kim.

Haight-Ashbury

Rebecca, Kim and The Bay

Davo

© All Images By Paul
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... And We're Off!

So it is with a sad but excited heart that I say good bye to London. But after 8 years, 6 apartments and 2 long and hard jobs, it is certainly time for us to part company. At least for a while. It is easy to say that most of my favourite people live in this vast and intense city. It is going to be less easy not to be able to see any of you whilst I am away.

Just before I go, and now that what was our perfect apartment has been cleared, I just want to say a massive thank you to all the people that helped us pack everything up. You know who you are and so do I. Honestly, I really do appreciate it and it won't be forgotten. You have made a massive and difficult task far easier to deal with.

© All Images By Paul

UK Driving License

Realisation descends. What am I doing? Why don’t I just get up off my arse and do this? These were the thoughts that belatedly gripped me as I discussed the possibility of escaping London’s rat race with Miss Rebecca back in January this year.

Ever since I first went to the US as a fresh faced graduate in 1999, I have held a desire that I don’t fully understand. With thoughts of freedom and immense beautiful landscapes I have wanted to hit the open road in search of something and nothing simultaneously. Partially and predictably inspired by Kerouac’s wonder-lust, and partially motivated by a desire to see the real underbelly of that most celebrated of modern democracies, my ambition has recently become insuppressible. Why? Well to be honest the answer to that question is a long, tedious and clichéd story that has seen me question the direction and meaning of everything. My life has changed beyond recognition over the last 4 years and I now don’t recognise who I am and where I am going. Something needs to change.

Upon finally acknowledging the need for change back in January, 1 major obstacle stood in my way; that was a driving license. I had a few lessons as a 17 year old, but with an immediate post school migration to university and a subsequent move to the pedestrian paradise that is London, I simply never quite got round to properly learning. In retrospect this delay was as much a consequence of an irrational fear as it was due to a lack of inclination. I guess that I found it difficult to deal with the responsibility that comes with driving; both with regard to the vehicle itself and more importantly, for my passengers and fellow users of her majesties highways. Ill be honest, this responsibility bothered me. Silly I know, but this anxiety festered for a good decade until I decided enough was enough. It’s amazing what a good kick up the arse and some words of kind encouragement from those that you love can do for your confidence.

So with words of support resonating within my mind, I took a deep breath and jumped whole heartedly into tuition in March of this year. Now, after some professional lessons and some immense patience on the part of my father who repeatedly took me out in his once beloved and now forgotten ford focus, I am the proud owner of a UK driving license. I can quite honestly say I feel more proud of this then I did after either of my degrees. I finally feel like a fully paid-up member of the adult community.
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California 2008 - Background

This time I managed to negotiate a whole month off work. Miss Rebecca decided that we needed to look at some really stupidly large trees in Pfeiffer National Park. So with that in mind we packed up a hired car, loaded film into an old Rangefinder and headed south. This was an inspired recommendation that saw us tucked up in a small wooden cabin cooking stew in a coffee percolator (who would have thought that that was possible).

After several days trekking country paths that hugged the pacific, we headed north through San Francisco and up towards the genuinely awesome landscapes of Tahoe and Squaw Valley.






© All Images By Paul

California 2006 - Background

Now wet, my appetite sought something more, something that could only be satisfied by the long open road. Without a driving license this was undeniably difficult, so the responsibility for progress fell square on Miss Rebecca's shoulders.

San Francisco - Big Sur - Los Angeles - San Francisco









© All Images By Paul.

California 2005 - Background

Both toe's were dipped and my appetite was suitably whetted. Here are some images from my first trip to California in 2005.






© All images by Paul.