We have spent the first few days getting used to America and driving on the other side. We left LA virtually straight away and headed over the mountains to Joshua Tree National Park, out in the Mojave desert. The scenery is incredible, I have never experienced a desert before and it is so vast here. The mountains just go on and on. We camped in the NP for 1 night but it was so cold, we had to find a motel the next night. The weather there is so extreme, intense bright days with deep blue sky and very cold nights, it even snowed on the mountain tops. It seems very strange as everywhere you look are cacti!!We have spent a couple of days in Morro Bay, doing nothing and having a rest, we found a lovely campsite out in the middle of nowhere right next to the sea. Spent a couple of nights there although the second day it poured down.
It’s true what they say about the food portions, they are massive, we have tried most sorts of fast food now, I think the novelty has worn off, most things are fried, although we did have a huge homemade pizza the other evening which was great.

I had some idea of what to expect but I never realised it would be just like on TV I thought it would be a watered down version, but no Americans are just as loud and in your face cheerful as you see on TV. I must say it comes across as if they are so full of themselves and quite insincere. There really is no similarity to British people. I’m finding it difficult to understand what they say and no one understands us, we could be speaking a different language. But it is interesting to see how everything is different.

Camping American style is also different, everyone seems to drive the big caravanette things or RV’s as they call them here. Most of the sites are set up for them, not tents, and no showers just toilets.

Morro Bay is a lovely little town, very touristy and bohemian, quite a few healthfood shops, alternate medicine, café’s, bookshops etc. We had breakfast at the Internet Café yesterday and most of the locals seem to be aging hippy artists or younger travellers on the Gringo trail. Interesting mix, I love people watching.
The town has a harbour where you can have a go at every watersport you can imagine. We watched two tall ships go out on short day trips and as it was Sunday lots of people sailing and kayaking. The surf is huge, and as you can imagine it is a big surfing area. You would think it is a sport for young muscular blond men and women but we saw plenty of middle aged and older retired people out enjoying themselves.
I don’t think we will stay in the US once we pick up the bike, it is too expensive, we are already over budget, and the weather is a lot colder than we thought it would be so we will head south.
We are heading south back towards LA now, spent the night in Carpinteria, camping right next to the beach, it is so beautiful, the birdlife is very diverse, we ate our tea watching coots, and other waders and an egret fishing along the shore line. The sunset was incredible and before bed we went for a moonlight walk along the beach. The Harbour Seals are breeding at the moment so we plan to have a walk this morning to see if we can spot any before heading off south again. Last night I fell asleep listening to the surf crashing up the beach, wonderful.