Simon dropped me at the car hire place at the airport and it was now down to me to remember how to drive (and how to drive automatic) and get myself to San Francisco. I had decided to go via Route 1 which was not going to be the quickest route but definitely the most scenic. Most of the time Route 1 hugs the West Coast giving access to stunning views to distract the driver.

The usual West Coast cloud did not really clear all day so some of the views were a bit lacking but I stopped at Piedras Blancas to see the elephant seals and then the drive through Big Sur was stunning on both sides of the road despite the lack of sun. Heading into San Francisco at rush hour probably wasn't the most sensible thing and this was made worse by the lack of obvious fuel stations meaning I arrived at Ioan's with about 20 miles left in the tank.

Ioan and I caught up with some nice wine before I retired to the guest apartment (yes apartment!) with another bottle of wine with arrangements to met up with Ioan the following evening for dinner.

After a lazy start I headed straight to the nearest fuel station before going to downtown for a bit of retail therapy. I did not by much as I was horrified about how expensive everything was - not just because of Brexit and the fall of the pound. It may be that 9 years ago when I was there I had a larger budget and a shopping buddy but my purchases extended to kitchen knives and a water bottle!

That evening Ioan took me to the Cliff House where we had been last visit and we had a stunning meal watching seals in the water and crazy swimmers but unfortunately no sunset due to thick cloud/fog. Ioan ewas off to visit Amanada and Simon the next day so I was to left to my own devices.

Afre watching too much Olympics that night and the next morning I made a late start heading over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sauselito. Once over the bridge the weather cheered up and I had a nice stroll around the town and a very good sushi lunch. The views across the bay to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz were stunning and I could have stayed longer but had decided to head to the cinema as it was something else I wouldn't be doing for a while. I headed to Daly City and caught up with the lastest Star Trek film (most enjoyable) before calling at the supermarket for more food for the evening in my comfy apartment with the original Start Trek poster and Revenge of the Jedi poster for company.

My last morning in the Americas I packed the car and headed to see the Painted Ladies in the sunshne and then a quick stroll and lunch in Haight-Ashbury before heading to the airport and the start of my epic 33 hour journey to Cape Town!