California, no doubt about it.

Listen to this while reading: Andrea Bocelli ft. Sarah Brightman - Time to say goodbye

So after 6 months in Mammoth Lakes, it was time to leave.  The snow had all but melted and I was ready to see some more of this wonderful country that is the USA.  Unfortunately for me, who hates to fly, the flights to and from Mammoth were back to the summer schedule, meaning this gem was entrusted to get me to Los Angeles safely:

Thankfully, on these Alaska flights, almost to make up for the fact that the plane looks like a toy, they serve free beer or wine.  Turned out the flight was great, and I didn't even spill a drop of my Sierra Nevada.

We arrived into LAX at about 7pm and picked up a rental car (we used Fox rent-a-car because they are so much cheaper).  The plan was to take about one week to drive up the California coast along Highway 1, and tonight's first stop was in Santa Barbara.  Obviously, we drive on the left-hand side of the road in NZ, and even though this was not the first time I had driven in the States, I was tired, traffic from LA had been crazy and so I was glad we had booked somewhere to stay that first night...and also because this is what we woke up to:

After 6 months in the mountains, I was now standing on one of the most famous and most glorious beaches in the world.  It was all I could do not to jump straight into the ocean. However, just because it looks lovely and warm, it doesn't mean it is - it was still about 60F/15C degrees water temperature. Cold.

After Santa Barbara, we drove to Cayucos and stayed there one night, then onto Monterey (Pacific Grove to be specific) and straight on up to Napa for the Bottlerock festival. There we saw Jane's Addiction, Bad Religion, Train, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Kings of Leon and the Zac Brown Band. Amazing!

We ended our drive here...best life!