We were up early, had breakfast, packed a lunch and off we went, headed for the Mojave Desert and a day at Joshua Tree National Park. Not far from Big Bear we passed Baldwin Lake which was totally dry. We dropped quickly, the elevation markers counting down til we were popping our ears and leaving the forest way behind us. The road was very windy with loads of u turns explaining why it takes an hour and forty to go just 38 miles. It became an almost alien land...

Another day in paradise, warm with blue sky, lovely. Breakfast and a round of laundry was followed by the pack as we got ready to move on. The road to Big Bear was at first very dry, California has been in drought for a number of years and that's very obvious out this way. We crossed a number of dry rivers and creeks. We stopped along the way a few of times for photo ops and once to check out a Costco store. After driving for about an hour we started to climb...

We woke early to another sunny warm day in Hollywood. For breakfast we opted for a combo of the hotels coffee & fruit and our own breads and eggs. Like last year I boiled some eggs in the rooms coffee maker last night to up the protein content of the supplied breakfast and we had bought healthy breads to replace the really bad white stuff they supply. Pete of course hit the pastries and muffins as well :-) We set off on foot to explore a bit, found a superma...

Back in the USA Like last year we were flat out til the last minute. An early start to get an order packed and to the airport by 6am on Monday meant we only got 4-5 hours sleep Sunday night and getting everything done on Monday meant an hour or two of sleep for me and none at all for Pete. Our ride to the airport picked us up at 5.15am, thanks Sue! We checked in with a couple of hours to spare and relaxed at the gate before flying to Sydney. Getting through cu...