After a sleepless night, we headed up through the foothills on a treacherously windy mountain road into the Giant Forest. Here, we came across the world's largest tree: General Sherman is about 275 feet tall (equivalent to a 27-storey building!), 36,5 feet wide and about 2000 years old. In theory, there is enough wood in this tree to build 25x2-bed houses (if the wood were good enough to build with). However, it is a very brittle and soft wood. It holds the heavy...

Wow, what a day! Not only did I walk amongst giants today at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, but I also drove on the iconic Highway 1 along California's spectacularly diverse Pacific coastline and then crossed a desert to get to Sequoia NP! All in a day's driving! I woke up very early to a crisp cold morning with mist shrouding the tips of the redwood trees. They smell a bit like dusty, sour pine - a very pleasant earthy aroma - something like aged oak, perhaps? We...

So, this morning we drove south from Lyons to Denver Airport for our flight to San Francisco. When we dropped off the car, we'd clocked 2832 miles in 3 weeks! That's an average of just under 135 miles per day! It didn't feel that far - unlike Australia - because there were more things to do in between destinations and the scenery (for the most part) was very diverse. I guess, as with many other things in life, it's not just about the end destination but how you g...

Today, our last day in LA, we decided to go to the more historical areas of LA near downtown. We took the bus from our area and stopped off just outside the (relatively) new Disney Concert Hall, designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry. I, inadvertently, seem to be turning into a groupie! So far, I have seen his buildings in Bilbao (when I travelled there with my friend Heidi to visit The Guggenheim Museum), in Chicago (outdoor concert area near Anish Kapoor'...

Today we celebrated Wendy's birthday by heading for brunch @ Tart, where I had the California Scramble: 3 eggs, Pico de Gallo, Andouille Sausage, Green Chilli, Cheddar cheese, avocado and creme fraiche. Tart is a fabulous eatery situated in a hotel called Farmer's Daughter - just across the road from the Farner's Market. From the busy Fairfax Road, it looks like a 50's style motel which has undergone an extensive urban makeover. Once you inside, however, you can ...