Group Leader: Joey Robinson
Come and follow along! Intrepid Suntrek leader Joey Robinson just left the Intrepid Suntrek base in Santa Rosa California to start his exciting California Dreamin' tour from Los Angeles tomorrow. He'll be posting his travel experiences everyday to this wall. Don't miss all the action!
Pick-up day: California Dreamin'
After a quick meet and greet in Los Angeles, we were off to sunny San Diego where we enjoyed a seaside picnic lunch at La Jolla Cove, watched handmade sweets being churned at Old Town San Diego, people watched on ritzy Coronado Island and finished up with our first BBQ (California style...). Weather tomorrow.....Sunny with 0% chance of rain... Beach anyone?
Another full day in San Diego. Some went to the World Famous San Diego Zoo, while others lazed happily on Mission Beach. We encountered some dolphins swimming while crossing the mission bay bridge and found the tribute statue to the world's most infamous kiss. Finished the day with a delicious Italian feast.
Day 4: San Diego through Joshua Tree to Lake Havasu, AZ.
Off to an early start we routed through southern California nearing 1.5 miles to the Mexican border. We visited one of the most interesting characters in the U.S.A; his name is Leonard Knight and 29 years ago he painted a small statue in the desert and never lef...t. He has since painted and and sculpted an entire mountain with messages of peace and love and named it Salvation Mountain. You can see him in the movie "into the wild" After, we entered Joshua Tree National Park and scrambled amongst the colossal rocks and high desert landscape. From JT we drove to The Colorado River and went for a swim and played an intense game of American football in the river. The stars were putting on a show last night as ate bangers and mash riverside. Grand Canyon in our near future.... A great day!!!
Day 5: Lake Havasu - Route 66 - Grand Canyon
Woke up to the sound of the Colorado River passing by, we ate a quick breakfast and headed to take a walk on the "London Bridge" , the actual London Bridge is right over the Colorado River in Arizona. We enjoyed some smoothies and coffee and set off toward...s Route 66. We ate some lunch at Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In in the historic town of Seligman, AZ. Then hopped back in the van towards Grand Canyon, where we took an exciting helicopter ride over and into the One of the 7 natural Wonders of the World! We then headed to Mather Campground and shared life stories over a huge BBQ dinner. Tomorrow we hike into the Canyon!! More to come....
Day 6 - Have a pie at Yavapai!!
Today we completed a full Monty of the Grand Canyon! We stumbled out of our tents at 5:15 am, still wearing our sleeping bags, and left to catch sunrise over the Grand Canyon. Excellent start to an even better day! We then headed back to camp and made a hearty break...fast accompanied with cowboy coffee. Packed a quick lunch and set off on a hike down into the canyon for some incredible views! Seriously incredible!!! Later that afternoon, we grabbed some to go pizza/food and headed back to Yavapai point to have dinner and sunset; completing our full Monty! Yet the day needed one more thing ti be perfect so we headed back to camp and built a massive bonfire where I taught the ancient art if S'More making. Tomorrow: Vegas Baby!!!!
Day 7-8 - Las Vegas
After a couple of excellent days in the grand canyon, we set off early towards Las Vegas. We drove through Arizona into Nevada, once again crossing the mighty Colorado River. We arrived in Las Vegas in the early afternoon heading strait to an outlet center with some of the best... prices in the entire U.S. We then drove through the las Vegas strip taking in all the sights before heading to the hotel to get ready for our Limo ride! We met in my room at 8:00 to start the night, Vegas style! By 9:30 we were in our giant stretch F-650 limousine partying down the strip! I cannot say what happened the rest of the night due to the nature of being in Vegas we must abide by the law of "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas! But, let's just say it was great!!!!!!!!! The following day was a free day for everyone to explore, gamble, shop, sightsee! Tomorrow: Death Valley National Park, by average temperature the hottest desert in the world!
Day 9 - Death Valley
Today we woke up from an exciting two days in Vegas ready for an adventure in nature. Only two short hours from Vegas we entered the hottest, driest, and lowest elevation in North America! Temperatures reached 48 degrees celsius as we drove into the valley of death! We ate a q...uick picnic lunch before walking on an ancient inland sea. We stumbled upon a hidden crystal blue spring while tip-toeing over sharp salt formations, then explored the vibrant reds, greens, purples and oranges of the jagged Black mountains!
Tomorrow: Yosemite National Park
Day 10 - Yosemite National Park
By far one of the most fun days yet!!! We set off early from Bishop to cross Tioga Pass at a crazy 9,900 feet high. From Olmstead Point, we could see the entire glacier carved spectacles of Yosemite Valley. Made a quick lunch and headed into the valley to go rafting ...down the Merced River through the heart of Yosemite Valley. A 2-hour river trip took us 3 hours as we jumped out of our boats, had splash wars, beached our boats to soak up sun and stood in awe of the massive granite cliffs surrounding us! We then headed back to camp and made dinner and a massive bonfire! It was such an adventurous day! Tomorrow San Francisco!!!
Today we started the day with a hike to a nearby Giant Sequoia Grove before heading towards San Francisco. Upon arrival we started our tour of my personal favorite city in the US. We walked through Chinatown to a hidden alleyway where in the corner an older Chinese man ha...s set up a fortune cookie factory. He invited is in and gave us all warm samples of his cookies! Then we hit other highlights of the city before heading back for a night out on the town! The next day we all boarded a ferry for the worlds most famous prison besides Azkaban.... Alcatraz!!! The city was a nice contrast to all the nature and it was fin to see city lights again! Tomorrow, the Pacific Coast Highway!!
Day 13-14 - Pacific Coast Highway
Today we left Frisco (San Francisco) to start down the world famous Pacific Coast Highway. Our first stop was Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk. We had lunch on the beach and played some American football in the sun. Then we headed a bit south to the quaint town of Mo...nterey, California and wandered the historic Cannery Row district. Our final destination for the day was a bit further south to our campground amongst the giant coastal redwood trees in Big Sur, California. At camp we had a homecooked greek meal made by three passengers from Greece! It was ridiculously good!
The next day was a day for the photographer. Crystal clear skies along the entire stretch of the PCH (pacific coast highway). We did a hike out to a beach with a waterfall right onto the beach (pictured) we saw a giant pod of dolphins swimming and jumping. Sea otters were floating around while cracking open some freshly caught clams. We stopped at elephant seal beach to watch the giant seals lazing in the sun and "arfing". To top it all off we stopped at Santa Barbara for some more beach time. We ended the day in Malibu California where we dined out at a famous beachfront cafe over sunset! These are the types of days that make California so famous!!
Tomorrow we say goodbye. For sure to stay in touch, it's going to be sad. All good things come to an end.
Anybody else excited about traveling on this tour? Check out http://www.intrepidsuntrek.com/ for small group adventure trips in the USA and Canada.
Anybody else excited about traveling on this tour? Check out http://www.intrepidsuntrek.com/ for small group adventure trips in the USA and Canada.
Cheers,
Joey, Intrepid Suntrek group leader
