Continued from Western United States Road Trip: Part 1 of 2  

On day 7, we checked out of our hotel, and took some fun back roads down through the Mojave National Preserve to Joshua Tree National Park, and then to visit Dawn at her place in La Quinta.  Went to the River in Palm Springs to grab a bite to eat, then back to Dawn’s to stay up late and talk.

“Joshua Tree” was beautiful.  There was a vista point where one could see all the way to the Salton Sea on a clear day.  We drove down the mountain, past all of the wind turbines to Dawn’s.

We left in the early afternoon to head by the Salton Sea to El Centro, and then along the Mexican border to our quaint hotel in “Old Town” San Diego.  We made sure to stop at the In-N-Out burger, of course!

What to do in San Diego... We opted for the zoo, after breakfast at a Mexican restaurant in “Old Town.”  Then we went to watch a couple movies at a mall. You might want to bring a box of tissues if you ever go watch “Up.”

Panda’s, and zebra’s, and orang utans, and flamingos, and giraffe’s, and warthogs, and long necked turtles, and meerkats, oh my!  Not to mention a cute Jamie or Evan thrown into the mix somewhere as well.

Left San Diego for Murrieta to drive by my old apartment, then on through the orchards and farms to lovely Fresno, before making our way Yosemite to camp for the night .

After talking with some people we decided to hike to the top of Yosemite Falls.  A several mile hike up switchback trails is no easy task, but the view from the top, the journey there and back, and the smile at the end of the hike make it such a memorable experience and definitely worth the while.

Took a tour and wandered around the grounds of the Winchester Mansion in San Jose. Then we grabbed a “byte” to eat at Cafe Macs, before driving through San Francisco, stopping at the Apple Store and “Haight and Ashbury”.  After that it was across the bay to our adorable Bed and Breakfast in Napa.

What a drive!  All the way from Napa through the Redwoods (literally), by the ocean, into Oregon through Eugene and Portland before spending what remained of the night napping at a rest stop just outside of Seattle.  It is a neat feeling waking up to a view of a city where previously there was only black.

Seattle! Pike Place fish market, a hearty breakfast, enchanting drive and a ferry to Port Angeles, where we attended an unveiling of artwork and had cookies! We then took the ferry to Victoria and drove 6 blocks to our friend’s apartment, where we shared stories of our trip and had a delightful meal and evening.

Day 15 we explored Victoria’s harbour and downtown, saw an IMAX at the museum, took a boat taxi from fisherman’s wharf, wandered, talked, cherished the company of friends, enjoyed an amatory dinner at “Il Terrazzo”, and then met up with friends again for another night out.

The final day of our travel saga.  We barely caught an early morning ferry (there was a bit of running involved), then we drove all the way back home to Edmonton through the mountains, recounting our shared experiences with each other along the way.  Ω