After our short break at San Bernardino camp site North of Los Angeles and, a little bit of gold prospecting in a river close by which I must say we were not successful, we set off to Los Angeles heading along the interstate ten which was the main route to the west coast and, eventually route one which would take us north following the coastal road. The drive into or around Los Angeles was nothing really to talk about as there was a massive fog bank which spread right up the west coast and at first I thought it was the smog we hear so much about but to my relief it was only the fog laying low in the valley.
   
    Once we got onto the coast route the scenery changed and the sights were beautiful with the rugged coast line and the vast Pacific ocean spreading out like a massive carpet gently swaying towards the worlds edge. We stopped on the way at about mid day to cook our breakfast which is usually bacon in a roll and we took in all the sights before getting back on the road once again. I find that each day I drive, I can get a few more miles out of the day which is not always a good thing as sometimes we go past camp sites we should really stop at and the day just drags on. Anyway by the end of the day we found a site a called Gaviota State Park right on the beach next to the highway, which is where all the state parks are located which we thought would be a great place to stay for the night, so we pulled in paid for the privilege and put the tent up. What I didnt anticipate was the fact that it was the wind that happened to blow up during the evening and went on till the early hours of the morning.



Later the next morning I found out the wind was recorded to be gusting at around seventy five miles per hour. That was one hell of a night and I will never forget how we had to secure the tent down with several more guy lines just to stop the fibre glass stays from breaking, what was even more surprising that the entire camp was empty by the time we got up as we found the wind had blown down most of the tents which were there as we arrived. Next day we continued to drive along the coastal highway which was getting even more beautiful and, we ended up in San Jose south of San Francisco staying with two very lovely friends of mine at there house, Bruce and Carol who took myself and wife in during my previous drive around the world.



Next day we were taken out for lunch and a grand tour of some beauty spots also a road called seventeen mile drive, a private stretch of road right on the coast which is open to the public for a fee ! and has several fantastic golf courses en-route including pebble beach golf course which many of you out there may know !


   
    I then spent the next day sorting out some minor problems with the car namely the electrical wiring which had taken its toll on the American roads and the tracking that was more than forty degrees toe out on the front wheels "not good for the tyres" as we have gone through one set of tyres on the front since we left New York.