We left Montana D'Oro State Park and headed up California Highway 1. This is a famous drive as the road hugs the cliff edges with wonderful views of the ocean below. Mind you as the driver, I only got to see bits of it as the road is narrow and twisting so it needed a lot of attention. On the way we stopped to see Elephant seals on the beach. These are only juveniles as the adults arrive in December.



We camped among the Redwoods at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

And this is where we celebrated Lucy's 5th birthday. Of course she had to have a cake and Gilly made a beautiful chocolate cake in the truck oven.

That afternoon we went out on a drive along the coast once more and saw an amazing sight. On the road we were in brilliant sunshine with blue sky above us. Less than 200m below us was the ocean, but it was covered in a blanket of cloud as far as the eye could see, literally just resting on top of the waves. It was like the view from an airplane above the clouds.



The following day we headed up to Monterey and visited the aquarium. Gilly was disappointed the sea otter exhibit was closed as she had been looking for them along the coast. However even better than seeing them in the exhibit, we saw some in the sea from the viewing platform outside the aquarium. The kids loved the aquarium and there were some great exhibits. The tuna they had in there were massive and just what I would have loved to have caught on fishing trips of old. However the jelly fish exhibit was perhaps the most impressive.



As we push on up the coast it is getting cooler but the beaches are still very beautiful.

We had heard that driving in San Francisco was a nightmare and not something you should do in a large vehicle so we approached the city with some trepidation as we needed to drive through it to get to an RV park that was near to transport into the city centre. As it happened driving was a breeze and before we knew it we were crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

Leaving Las Vegas we weren't sure what was awaiting us in Death Valley. Since the Federal Government shut down the preceding day all the national parks have been closed. If the situation continues it will really put a dampener on our plans. We had been hoping to go to Death Valley,Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP in the next few weeks. Mind you it is just a small inconvenience to us compared to everyone who works there who have been put on unpaid leave until they can get their acts together in Washington. We figured Death Valley was a good test to see what the situation was as it has a main road running through it which they can't actually close. Driving through we were able to experience the desert: 38 degrees Celsius and the beautiful desolate scenery.

However nearly all the side roads to overlooks and places of interest were closed, as were all the campsites.

Eventually when we were almost through the park we found a lodge that had a few RV sites open. It was right next to the official NP campsite which was completely closed but they were still open for one more night, so we quickly pulled in.



Cutting our Death Valley plans short we headed west. We drove through some fantastic scenery through rocky desert canyons until we hit Bakersfield.... suddenly the sky turned brown and constant oiled refineries and dusty farms was up there vying for our least attractive drive spot.

So we decided to press on, after a mammoth 9 hour drive we arrived just after sunset on the stunningly beautiful pacific coast at Montana de Oro State Park. The following morning once we could appreciate how unexpectedly lovely the place we just picked off the map was we decided to stay for 2 more nights. The coast here is wild and untamed with rocky outcrops, sea lions and howling coyotes at night. We are now looking forward to driving up the Big Sur and seeing what delights that the State Parks might have in store for us while we wait to see if we can make it to Yosemite next week.

When we look along the street we can see the Statue of Liberty, the Eifel tower and the Sphinx. We can only be in Las Vegas. We decided to have a mini break and checked into a hotel in Las Vegas to enjoy the pool and catch up on things. Alisha and Lucy have loved Las Vegas without understanding a lot of what is going on. They have enjoyed the noise, the lights and the sights eg a roller coaster that goes through a hotel. Gilly and I have been a bit shell shocked. After been out in the National Parks, Las Vegas hits you full on. And we have not even been in the full throng of things as with 2 young children we have been back in our hotel room by 9 each night.

We have spent our time here enjoying a few good meals, doing some shopping, lazing by the pool and wandering around the Strip looking at the surreal sights.



We also enjoyed the fountain show at the Bellagio.

After 3 nights Gilly and I are ready to get back on the road and into the wilds again. It is 25 years since I have been to Vegas and I think once every 25 years is enough but it did make for a nice relaxing rest. We are not quite sure where we are heading as we had hoped to visit a few more National Parks but because of the government shut down here in the US all the National Parks here are closed. I know we are guests here in the US so we should be polite but after watching the politicians on the news for the last few days it is clear the odd balls in Vegas are far more sensible than the politicians in Washington.