Saturday 6 January 2024

Cali Road Trip - the next adventure awaits

Following the disappointment of last year’s Camino, I wasn’t sure when the next adventure would be.  Would I risk feeling like that again?  Or not being able to complete the adventure the way that I wanted? What would the next adventure look like?

Talking with a colleague at work just before the Black Friday sales, he mentioned the equivalent sales day for travel.  Known as Travel Tuesday, it is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the States, after the Black Friday sales.  I was a little sceptical.  I had looked at some of the airfares to Los Angeles the week prior, and I was looking at about $2200 for a return flight in July 2024.  

Imagine my surprise when I logged on on Travel Tuesday and found the same airfare for $1100.  Take off some points that I had accumulated from Frequent Flyers and I got a return QANTAS flight for less than 1K.  Direct to LA.  On the flight I wanted.  It was serendipity - I just had to book it didn’t I?

Now I find myself working up an itinerary.  I’ve spent a lot of time in LA already, so don’t want to spend too much time there outside of what I want to see this time.  I’ve planned to fly in early evening, stay at an airport hotel then jump on a plane to Seattle next day.  A few nights in Seattle, where I’ll explore the city and do a day tour up to some of the parks up there (think Mt St Helens), then a train to San Francisco.  The Coast Starlight travels down the West Coast, and on Wednesday and Fridays, park rangers board the train and give a commentary as the train makes its way south.  (Check out the link here for more info - it looks so cool!)

A couple of days in San Fran checking out the national parks I missed last time (Alcatraz anyone - hoping there won’t be government shut downs this time), then picking up a camper ready for the drive to Yosemite, where I’ll be staying for a few nights, then onto Sequoia/Kings Canyon, and Joshua Tree National Parks.  Finally, a long drive to Kingsman Arizona where I’ll base myself for some time at Lake Mead National Recreation area, before returning the camper to LA and a few days spent at the theme parks/movie studio touring.

It’s early days, but really important to plan early, as there are various permits, reservations and bookings that need to happen, including a reservation just to travel into Yosemite in a car during peak season.  It’s a measure that National Parks has introduced to avoid traffic and congestion through the park during Summer.  I was up at 3am this morning making my reservation, as bookings opened today, and they sell out fast.  It’s only $2, and if I get a campsite when they open (February) I can get a refund, but there are many what ifs involved.  This way, if I miss a campsite, I can camp at an RV park outside of the park and then drive in each day.

Next will be campsite bookings, National Parks passes (each park has an entrance fee, so an annual pass makes it much cheaper) and a single internal flight.  It’s looking exciting.  I’m a little nervous at the thought of travelling solo for so long (my longest solo US travel prior to this was 10 days), but Bren has other travel plans of his own this year, so it’s not an option for him to take another 3 weeks off.  Unless I find a travel buddy between now and July, it’s just me cruising the miles of road.

So stayed tuned as I plan the trip and share the fun of building an itinerary as I go.