Embassy Suites Temecula Ranch

... surfers. The surf art was awsome and I learned alot more about the history of the sport.
On the beach one day I had a nice conversation with a man who appeared to be a surf hippy in his 40's, he lived nearby and warned us about the week of rain that was fast approaching. Sure enough the weather got colder and the rain started to pour so we started on our journey back up the coast.

I can't wait to go back to southern California!
Love it! I want to live there!

... shirt and sun-screen! Anyway, I did make it back alive and well, if you were wondering. It was a great time! The highlight was visiting Key West FL. Aside from the destination, I got to visit with friends I hadnt seen in 10 years...super cool!

Thanks for reading all my mindless blogging. I do have a few pics to post but not much....mostly cycle related. Its kind of difficult to snap photos when your riding a bike.

We rented an AVIS car from Oceanside to drive to LAX. It was much cheaper than flying or parking one's car at LAX. On our return we have reserved a car in Culver City and they will pick us up for $20 which is a lot cheaper than picking up the car at the airport. Just need to put this info into reservation and call the Culver City office once you are at the terminal.

... large suitcase opened ..... no sat nav .... smaller suitcase, within the large suitcase opened .... SAT NAV ... found. This living out of suitcases was taking its toll! Eventually we checked out and were on our way towards Temecula to see 'Auntie' Cheryl, with Angie at the helm.......well as far as the gas station next door for fuel top up anyway. Chrissie went off to find some bottled water for the journey while Angie and Wendy got their ...

... about that in a mo, only first we should fill you in on the trauma we had getting here...

It all started with an inocent question from a couple of fellow travellers in Mendoza, Argentina - we were asked, 'have you had any trouble with travelling around, you know, missed buses, flights cancelled, boarder patrols etc?'. We answered honestly, 'no'... then it all went horribly wrong. First, a massive snow storm hit the Chilean Alps making the roads dangerous ...

I've been lazing around these past weeks so I needed a real workout. I signed up for a day of fun at the Oceanview Gem Mine in Pala, California. This is the last operating mine in the Pala mining district. I saw this place on a show called "Treasure Hunters" some time ago and have always been interested. This mine is famous for its gem quality Tourmaline. You get to work the tailings pile from the main ...

... out 5 chimes and the employees behind the bar are not in a birthday mood. Their body language clearly states that they want to go home. We learn that our next winery is actually open until 6 so we head onward to #4, Mount Palomare. We park the car and music begins to fill our ears as we approach the front gates. Inside the courtyard is a fountain and people are sitting around tables, sipping their wine. A trio is playing some welcome jazz and a wonderful smell is drifting out ...

... just to explore and check stuff out. We went around the beach neighborhoods of L.A. and also up into the Hollywood Hills, which was fun. We checked into our new hyatt at century city (where they gushed over their VIP David Abbott) and then had dinner in Santa Monica at Big Dean's, recommended by the "blackbook" to L.A. we picked up on 3rd Street for Dusty. It's just a divey semi-touristy but kinda biker bar on the pier, where they supposedly have really ...

... himself, card tricks where a scorpion chose the person's card and made a duck disappear from inside a box and appear in a bucket. After the show I walked around the MGM a bit and watched a few people play. Then I took a walk down The Strip and saw the Monte Carlo, Caesars Palace, Paris, and the Bellagio. I went into the Bellagio just for the Ocean's Eleven moment but ended up staying and having a good look around and donating some money to the casino and their ...

... grabbing a yellow cab for a 5 minute (and 2 mile) journey to our hotel, which cost us $20! When we arrived we noticed the pool of hotel shuttle buses, with signs displaying their free airport pick-up and drops into various parts of the city. Bizarrely having 'gone back in time', we experienced 21st January all over again, but it appeared to us as if we had merely flown through the night and arrived the following morning. We wandered around the vicinity of the ...