1. I drive back to LA and find the cheapest gas station near the airport to return the car full. The range gauge shows 3 miles left to drive so I basically arrive there on fumes. But I do save US$10 on a full tank :)))\2. I eat my last Mexican meal, struggle a little with baggage (they weigh my carry on too, because it's bulky - luckily I take out some stuff before placing it on the scales without the guy seeing so I'm only 1 kg over - whew!)3. I buy my l...

1. We don't do much besides packing as this is Jan's last and my second to last day. Then we drive out to Mulholland Drive, take a few pictures, a short hike and that's it. Weather, sadly, is perfect (sunny 25C). We watch people jog and walk their dogs for a while and then head for the airport.2. Jan takes off and I head out to San Diego in my small car. I observe beautiful ocean views on the way and unfortunately get stuck in traffic for 1.5h just be...

1. We enjoy our last hours in San Francisco: take the cable car (and discover it's not only used by tourists!) and visit the oceanfront at Fisherman's Wharf, where we use our national park pass for the last time to visit a couple of boats (apparently there is also a national park within San Francisco).2. We find a real old-style diner next to our hotel and we enjoy some fabulous food in vintage surroundings.3. We regretfully take back our jeep, take the f...

1. We visit the Coit Tower, enjoy the views and have an interesting chat with the tower's curator, who happens to be Irish and Polish (in the words of one of his friends: Ah so you're both stupid AND a drunk?)2. We drive out to THE bridge (Golden Gate), where we share our time equally between: finding a place to park, walking across the bridge and back and visiting the gift shop. We are blessed with amazing clear sky weather as opposed to the usual fog an...

1. We drive out towards Sequoia National Monument only to find a state trooper blocking the road and telling us to turn back as the road up is blocked by snow (county doesn't plough above 5000 feet and so no giant sequoias for us this winter :( ). More time for San Francisco I suppose.2. We reach San Francisco quite early in the day and easily find our hotel in the city center. This, finally, is a proper city, with streets, blocks, parks, high rises, and pede...