Legs and Borders

The last stop on my American adventure, it was also the first stop when I arrived to US four and a half months ago. I remember LA did not made a great first impression on me, it was in fact a major culture shock. It felt very different this time around though. First of all I contacted Rigel (trail name Rifle) few days ago asking if I could spend two nights at his place before the departure and he said yes. I met him three months ago during a trail magic he was hosting around RV resort close to LA, we got talking and he gave me his email address saying that if I would need a place to crash before going back to Europe I should let him know. And so I did, not having much faith that he will reply to my email but voila, he did and he was very positive about it. I arrived at his place yesterday in the afternoon later than expected as the morning Flix bus from Santa Barbara got cancelled and I had to book another one. Rifle's house was situated in North Hollywood ten minutes away from the...

Santa Barbara didn't make a great first impression on me, but on the other hand what was I even expecting? It was your typical beach resort where rich(er) and middle classi(er) people were coming to have fun, get drunk, sail on a boat, buy a cheesy marine themed souvenir and rave hard at a stag or hen's do. It was loud and cheerful all around, well at least on the two main roads along the beach and the nearby shopping centre. Once you hit the back alleys it was quickly getting quiet and ordinary which personally I didn't mind at all. On the first day I only had enough time to walk the wharf and check the surrounding beach, the verdict for camping here was negative, the beach was way too shallow and busy, it wouldn't be comfortable or particularly safe to spend a night here. So I activated plan b - I made my way over to one of the surrounding trails and found a good enough place to camp. Trail was called Hot Springs Canyon and it was situated on the outskirts of the city...

Around midday after a long trip from Oregon I decided to not waste any time and start exploring the city. I went along the San Francisco Bay and seen the Treasure Island, Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge from the distance. I kept on walking and finally arrived at the Pier 39 where I could take a boat tour going around the above attractions, Alcatraz tours visiting the island itself were sold out for the next two days so I decided to substitute it with the bay sightseeing. The tour took 90 minutes we went right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, twice around the Alcatraz and then to the other side of the town next to Treasure Island with a good panorama of the city, it was definitely worth the time and money. Pier 39 had another unexpected (for me) attraction a bunch of sea lions decided to make it their home in 1989 after their habitat got destroyed by earthquake. They been resting and causing all kind of drama on the wooden platforms at the bay, they were an absolute joy to watch and I...