We woke up to many phone messages and the exciting news that my beautiful God daughter, Chrissie and her wonderful man, Huw, had just got engaged. The girls are already planning our trip to Wales for the wedding.

We arrived early at the airport for our 1pm flight and typically, they had valet baggage service, we had tsa security approval and so a 3 hour airport wait. Thanks for your efficiency Panda.

An hour later we were back in LA, we booked into the Renaissance Airport Hotel, same as before. At 5pm we were picked up for our 120km, 5 hour trip around LA. The traffic was insane.

Los Angeles is a large spread out city, apparently the reason being is that they don’t build high due to earthquake threats. However, traveling through downtown LA the skyline exhibited some pretty tall buildings. We passed the Lakers Stadium and the beautiful Opera House.

We stopped at Olvera Street, a little Tijuana, full of Mexican stalls, all selling the same things, bright clothes, shoes and general Chinese crap. We came across Avila House, the oldest house in LA, built in 1818. We wondered around the historical area with beautiful old trees.

Back on the road we passed residential areas: Chinatown, Little Armenia, Little Bangaladesh, Thai Town and so on.

We then headed to Hollywood Boulevard and strip. We walked down the Hollywood Walk of Fame with names of Hollywood stars immortalized in stone and passed the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars take place.

We wandered around La La Land, the biggest souvenir shop ever. Then off down Sunset Boulevard. We found these areas seedy and disappointing, especially after the glitz of Las Vegas.

It was dark as we headed off to the more up market areas of Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Century City and Fox Studios (sorry no pics).

Our last stop was Farmers Market, where there are loads of food stalls and a nice vibe. Our last dinner in America, these giant, delicious chicken burgers.

The alarm clock woke us ay 4am. Why??? We were taking a sunrise helicopter flip over the Grand Canyon.

At 4:30, I thought we would be the only ones awake in the hotel, how wrong I was, people were still going strong at the slot machines and the the hotel was abuzz. The shuttle picked us up for the half hour trip to Boulder City Airport, at this time of the morning, not only the hotel but the whole city was awake.

We took off in a red chopper, with Dan our pilot, at 6:30 and headed off towards the Hoover Dam. From there we flew along the steep-sided canyon, carved by the Colorado River. We witnessed ever changing and dramatic scenery of enormous proportions. This must be one of the worlds most spectacular landscapes, no wonder it is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. On our way back we flew over the Mojave Desert and Black Canyon.

We were back at the hotel by 8:30, had a coffee and a bite to eat before setting off to explore other hotels and shops on the strip. My favorite was Wynn, the interior was filled with life size flower models.

By lunch time we had had a full day, so we headed back to our room for a chill.

We had dinner at Samba Sushi, a sushi-Peruvian restaurant and one of the many at the Palazzo. We had no idea what was on the menu, so the waiter set up a tasting menu for us. We were treated to 9 courses of everything from rock lobster and mango sushi to wagu beef parcels and yellowtail sashimi in lemongrass sauce, washed down with saki.

By 9:30 we were ready for bed, we had been up since 4am. So an early night it was.

We said an early and sad farewell to the Diesels as they set off for their flight back to Miami. Gray said he will really miss our clothes and dish washer, vacuum cleaner, broom, fruit and kale sourcer, navigator and mom.

We had breakfast and then caught the shuttle to LAX. We had been booked on first class, I could get used to this. Our 80 minute flight to Las Vegas took 55 minutes. The Vegas airport was by far the most flashy we have experienced anywhere with big ads and slot machines everywhere.

Driving into Nevada’s resort city in the desert, we got the feel of vibrancy and excitement, especially down the 4 mile strip of themed hotels, from castles to treasure island to pyramids, there were elaborate displays and shopping centers.

We arrived at our Palazzo Hotel and casino and were blown away by its sheer size. This hotel is the second largest in the world, bigger than the Pentagon, and houses hotel rooms, casinos, shops, restaurants, spas and conference centers (this week Microsoft has a convention for 30 000 people).

The Palazzo is like Sun City x 10 on steroids, with an Italian Renaissance ambiance. They have gondolas floating through parts of the hotel. Shops to die for – Kirst, Robs, Al and Tania, all the top brands. Everything is big, bright and loud, kind of kitch, actually very, but fun.

“We spent the whole afternoon just exploring the hotel, it was too hot go outside (around 38 degrees of oppressive desert heat).

Gray felt like steak for dinner, so we ate at Morels, a steak house with great steaks, a good Zinfandel (a local red wine variety we have become partial too). Best of all was the macaron ice cream sandwich desert.

Before retiring to our huge hotel room on the 28th floor, with a stupendous view, we wandered back through the casino, watching people loose money.

The distance from Monterey to Los Angeles is just over 500km, should take around 4 to 5 hours. We took a slow road trip down California’s iconic Highway 1, it took us 2 days, around 18 hours to explore this beautiful part of the world.

The drive has wild and incomparable beauty, it is a definite bucket list experience. Mountains plunge into the sea, white cliffs, majestic redwood forests cloaked in fog, breathtaking views, hidden coves and charming towns.

We headed out of Monterey and took and took the scenic 17 mile drive, winding through the impressive Del Monte forest, taking in the mesmerising coastline of wildlife, along with some of golf’s greatest landmarks, Pebble Beach and Cypress Point. Our first of many stops to explore the coastline was Bird Island, easy to see how it got it’s name with nesting cormorants and gulls, roosting pelicans and seals and sea lions bellowing from the rock. We saw sea otters in the floating kelp.

Our next stop was the ‘Lone Cypress’ which perched itself over the Pacific and has withstood it’s storms and winds for around 250 years.

We then headed into Carmel and explored one of the most charming cities. The shops and restaurants are cute and alluring, an easy place to spend lots of money. We wondered, around the shops and market before settling in one of the eateries for brunch.

We continued with our drive along the coast, stopping regularly at places like the ghost trees at Pescadero Point. We went through areas of intense coastal fog, a natural part of summer on the peninsula, caused by the sea breeze blowing in from the cool waters onto the warm land.

Well into our day, around 4pm, we hit a road closure near Ragged Point. We had seen some sign about this but assumed there would be a detour. Nope, not along this narrow, mountain hugging road. We retraced our drive and found a road over the mountains, the Nacianto, this was a hectic pass, reminiscent of some of those we have done in Africa. On the upside, the scenery was spectacular, through huge forests of trees and cliff views into the steep valleys below. Once over the mountains we went through the Fort Hunter Liggett US army area.

We eventually picked up the alternate Highway 101 and arrived at San Luis Obispo’s, Pismo Beach, around 7pm. We were finished, thank heavens there was room at the inn and we booked into Sandcastles Hotel. We had a great view of the beach and pier for sundowners on our little veranda, before heading out to dinner.

After a good nights sleep, it was breakfast overlooking the sea, runs along the boardwalk, or in my case a stroll along the foggy, cold Pacific.

Our morning alternated between between the 101 and 1 Highways. We again drove through farmlands, the pickers were busy at this time of the year. Passed more military areas and landed back on the coastline.

We stopped at Santa Barbara, a beautiful seaside town, with a Spanish flavour, palm trees and jacarandas. We stopped at Whole Foods, an amazing ‘health’ food chain, to pick up goodies for a picnic lunch. Jean has been trying to get Gray to eat kale (with no success).

Our picnic spot was at the beautiful Mission Rose Garden. A popular spot for locals and we came across some ladies that look after rescued wild birds.

We then headed to the beach area and a walk along the Santa Barbara pier.

Back on the coastal road we drove through Ventura, passed Zuma Beach (can you believe it) and the mansions of Malibu.

There are areas where RV’s camp on the side of the road next to the beach.

We fought the traffic and the crowds to witness our final sunset of the trip of a lifetime with Wayne and Jean. Toasting with beers and sangria, the sun slipped over the mountains at 8 o’clock.

We drove the last hour of this amazing journey in the dark and wearily booked into the Renaissance Airport Hotel in Los Angeles.

Thank you so much dear friends for showing us amazing parts of your American ‘home’, for all the driving and road tripping,

Jean’s navigating, the wine, the laughs and an unforgettable time.

Our drive took us from tree’d grasslands, through fields of golden grass to Madera.

And why would we land up in some obscure, God foresaken town, off the beaten track??? Because the TJ Sports Bar had a TV and it was World Cup England vs Croatia semi final match. A tense match which saw England lose in extra time, much to the dismay of our ‘British’ mates.

It was a delightful drive down to Monterey, all farming country. We saw huge farms of pistachio nuts, fig orchards, lettuce, herbs and lots of plants and trees we couldn’t identify. Certainly, it was was more interesting than Free State mielie fields. We stopped at one of the farm stalls and bought cherries and nuts, they were delicious.

We struck out on our B&B in Monterey, it was not the greatest and nor in the best area.

We dumped our luggage and headed into town. Wayne and Jean hired bicycles and went for a cycle along the coast to Lovers Point and beyond.

Gray and I took a walk around town and along the coast. We saw a colony of harbor seals in the bay.

Monterey is on California’s rugged coast line. We explored Cannery Row, the one time center of the sardine packing industry, immortalized by the novelist John Steinbeck. We found a vibey strip of shops, seafood restaurants and bars, some housed in the old converted factories.

We stopped at one of the restaurants for a drink and the Diesel’s joined us for a delicious seafood dinner.

Oh wow wow wow – words and pics cannot describe the magnitude and beauty of Yosemite.

Back to the best start to the best day. We woke at 5am, a beautiful sun rise, with the view to an early start. My only regret about visiting the majestic Lake Tahoe was that we had not seen the black bears, local to the area. Then, Wayne, who had been packing the car, ran in and shouted ‘bear’ – we all flew out the house and found the bears up the road. We were not only treated to mama bear but also baby bear. What a treat, no regrets!!!

With all the excitement, we left later than planned but we ‘bearly’ noticed it. We wound our way around the north eastern side of the lake before taking the road at a rapid descent down the Sierra Nevada mountains to Carson City, a city of Casinos and RV’s. Then we headed into cowboy and Indian territory, the setting for many old Clint Eastwood films.

Listening to Johnny Clegg vibes, we drove through scenic countryside with the vegetation ranging from Karoo type scrub to pine forests, snow capped mountains and the Mono and Topaz lakes.

It took us around 3 ½ hours to reach the park entrance. The drive up was breathtaking and a snippet of what was to come. The natural beauty of this World Heritage Site Park can be found in all things, gigantic and tiny. From the towering granite cliffs, pine and sequoia (found in the southern section and unfortunately we didn’t see them) forests to the beautiful wild flowers, squirrels and birds.

The diversity, moods, sights, smells and sounds make up the many facets of this phenomenal area.

The summer day was hot, it’s hard to believe that in winter the park is closed in many places due to snow fall. Near Porcupine Flat we stopped at a picnic spot next to a bubbling, cold stream. We were visited by a little chipmunk waiting for crumbs.

We then drove through massive pine forests, at places opening up to lakes or meadows of tiny wild flowers. Our next stop was the impressive Bridalveil falls, the water looks like it is evaporating as it cascades over the high cliffs. An impressive sight from near and far.

Then it was a steep drive, again through magnificent pine forests to Glacier Point and stupendous views of the famous Half Dome. The beauty was mind blowing with areas of double waterfalls, waferfalls below waterfalls.

Of the parks, 3000 square km, we barely scratched the surface, you could get lost here for weeks exploring this magnificent park. I echo the words of John Muir, “it is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter”.

Our descent out the park was a seriously windy, pine forested, road down to Mariposa. We bought braai meat at the North Fork Suprmarket and headed to our house at the Ponderosa. It sounds like we are in a series of Dallas clashing with Little House on the Prairie. Our house for the night was delightful, comfortable and well stocked, set on a large property, reminiscent of our highveld back home. We were on high alert for a while as there was a fire in the area and the vegetation was really dry but with fire engines, planes and helicopters dowsing the flames, the fire was quickly contained.

Another beautiful evening of great friends, food, G&T’s and wine …. after the most memorable of days.

Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the US at an average depth of 300m. The lake is 35km in length and 90% of the water comes from melting snow. Straddling the borders of California and Nevada, it is a haven for holiday makers, with water sports in the summer and ski resorts in the winter.

The lake has been formed over the last 2 million years, commonly believed by the collapse of a volcanic crater but there is a school of thought that it is the result of the rise and fall of the landscape due to faulting. Whatever the cause, any time of day or season, or mood … it is breathtakingly beautiful.

We spent an hour this morning ambling around Tahoe City, with it’s quaint wooden shops.

This afternoon we caught the Tahoe Gal, a cruise boat, for a 3 hour cruise over the crystal clear, pristine waters to Emerald State Park, on the South side of the lake. Here we passed the Nordic-style Vikingsholm mansion, built in 1929.

Back on land we had an early dinner at Christy’s Grill, a wonderful restaurant, overlooking the lake.

Then home to prepare for our trip through Yosemite tomorrow and to revel in another spectacular sunset.

We bid a sad farewell to Napa, we were really lucky to have stayed in such a wonderful old house.

The 6 lane highway out north, Sacramento way, was packed, especially in the opposite direction, I guess with people returning home after the Independence Day week. I can’t believe the number of big assss cars and Winnebagos around. We left wine country and headed into mountain country and pine forests. It was a steady ascent up to Lake Tahoe at 1900m.

As we entered Tahoe territory, we were treated to beautiful scenery of huge pines and clear rocky streams. Being summer and school holidays, this is a popular holiday spot and the streams were full of boats and inflatables with families bobbing down stream.

We passed through the busy little town of Tahoe City on the Northern section of the lake, before heading further uphill, passed Dollar Point to Carnelian Bay.

Here we wound our way through a pine forest littered with wooden houses, reminiscent of a little Switzerland. We picked up our home for the next 2 nights on Air B & B, what a delightful find !! We are high up on a hill, surrounded by beautiful high pine trees and a view, second to none, of the pristine lake and Sierra Nevada Mountains on the opposite side.

In the afternoon we went for a walk along the lake, we came across a music concert on the beach, everyone here is in holiday mode.

We had a braai for dinner, deliciously tender ribeye steaks and chicken.

Great food, great wine, great sunset, great friends – life is great !!!

This morning we headed north out of town, along the Silverado trail, deep into wine country. Nestled among the vines are big, as well as smaller, micro wine farms, all with wine tasting venues. Where to start – if you have spent time in the Stellenbosch area you will know what I’m talking about. This area is reminiscent of Stellenbosch, but Stellies surrounds are prettier, being South African I am allowed to be biased in this observation.

Our first tasting was at Judd Hill, where we tasted their small production wines. The wines in the valley are really nice but the tasting is seriously expensive, on average $35 (R470) for a 5 wine taste. Robs, you and your Stellies friends would have to stick to vodka.

We then stopped off at Darioush, a tasting venue with a Persian flair (or could be California kitch), the gardens were beautiful. The tasting here was $48 (R650), you can buy a case of wine for that – ridiculous.

It was recommended we go to V. Sattui Winery for a picnic lunch, but the area was packed, so we found a deli restaurant and enjoyed their delicious sarmies.

What we found fascinating about the area was the way the vines are grown or trained. The vine sections are more thinly trimmed and not as spread out as our vines.

We then did the same as the day before, picked up fresh produce in town, swam, chilled and braaied halibut for dinner. This went really well with our wine.

I woke up early and wondered down into the garden, with a cup of coffee to blog. The air was clean and crisp and the only sounds were those of the birds and bees, too waking up to this beautiful morning.

Around 10 we drove into town. It is a pretty town, sleepy and laid back place. We wandered around town for a bit. Most of the shops are either food shops or wine tasting studios. It appears a lot of wine tasting is done in town.

We found the Rebel Wine Testing Studio. Jason and Helen, our hosts, studied law and promptly headed into wine making. They have a boutique operation, where they specialise in sourcing grapes and trying out new techniques. They, along with two other wine making friends, have recently opened up Rebel. We spent a delightful couple of hours tasting his ‘Uncharted’ label of wines, along with a few others. They have some great ideas, like corking their sparkling wine with a crown cap. Jason is a wealth of information about grape variatels, sourcing grapes in the valley and beyond and wine making in general. We left a whole lot more knowledgeable and definitely a tad on the tipsy side.

We wondered along to Oxbow, had a bite to eat and stocked up with the makings for a braai.

We spent the afternoon chilling at home, swimming, reading, sleeping, chatting – we seem to have been on a roller coaster and it was wonderful to take some down time to recharge the batteries.

The boys were so so excited about the idea of a braai. They meticulously gathered wood, set the fire and spent hours getting the coals ready. The food here is all organic, fresh and tasty. A feast was had under the big old trees on the old wooden table around the braai. The only downside were the mosquitoes , which eventually drove us inside for desert. Ice cream in the lounge, trying to guess what in the room might have once sat in the White House.