Waves without borders

Photos: Baja Camping adventure

vickey84 — Sun, 7 Sep 2014 14:31:00 GMT

Solo Camping in the Desert of Baja

Disneyland Check!

vickey84 — Wed, 3 Sep 2014 06:21:00 GMT

Supercalafragalisticexpealadocious.....................and that´s all I have to say about that!! Ha only kidding. Yep I´m in America so it would really have been rude not to have done the whole Disneyland thing. It was as to be expected a magical kingdom, the one thing I must say is Walt Disney certainly had a fantastic creative mind and then the tech genius´s behind him have really created a fantastical land. I shan´t say that much because the photos explain it all...........it was fun especially as Irene and I spent most of the day looking for places to flip upside down, climb over things or pull silly faces which added to our entertainment. Not sure the staff were totally dazzeled with our ridiculous leggin/ Tshirt combo or the trying on of all the hats in all the shops but Captain Amaerica was bedazzeled by our mastery of hands stands :-) It was a full on day starting early and ending lare and by the end we could barely walk or speak with exhaustion but in one day we covered all the rides and experiences we wanted. It helped that we were awarded a magical moment two fold. One of the park staff was actually enamoured by our accents and gave us a que jump into the Wild car Toad in the Willows ride and the Matterhorn bobsled (Amazing represantations of London and did you know that the Matterhorn is replicated exactly!!

Photos: Disneyland Adventure

vickey84 — Wed, 3 Sep 2014 06:09:00 GMT

Ojai with Mimi and a mighty big swell!!

vickey84 — Wed, 3 Sep 2014 00:52:00 GMT

After a good nights kip in luxury at the Hilton it was time to say Adiós to all the AWT crew and after running airport shuttle for a fair few I hit the roads once again destined for the delightful little town of Ojai buried away in the vineyards just north of LA. Here I was to be reunited with my very good friend Mimi who had coincidental been attending a yoga therapy tune up summit in the area. We planned a blissful few days together chilling out at our delightful airbnb hide out complete with hot tub, fire pit and obviously glasses of wine and we succeeded the first night. Then things went a little pear shape: first up Mimi is an anatomy crazed, body posture, myofascial release fascist and after a week in the desert doing all sorts of ridiculous and silly things my fascia was not pleased I can tell you that. Morning number 1 we worked on shoulders, Lats and QL muscles which had me squealing in agony, Day 2 was the ankles to knees (way more painful than you think), Day 3 hips and Pelvic floor and Day 4 Glutes and Lower back..........dear god I thought she was supposed to be my friend :-0 Still I got my own back, it just so happened that her stay coincided with the biggest swell seen in SoCal for around a decade. Obviously I was well aware a good swell was coming in and not completely aware of the full magnitude of it at that stage I dragged Mimi off to a surf shop to get a body board (sounding familiar Dad.....see you shouldn´t feel bad I do it to everyone!). Our first attempt was relatively unsuccessful as we failed to find fins for Mimi but not to be deterred and with a promising building swell the next day we hit the shops got some fins and tried again. This time we attempted a different break and I think we were both rather brave......after paddling out through the somewhat heaving shore break we swiftly realised that this thing was a warping fast barrelling sucky wave that was pretty damn difficult to drop in on and closed out rather sharpishly. Some while later after a good number of attempts, a multitude of pull backs and with balls in our mouths we resolved to chalk another 1 up to the ocean. So it was that after getting back in through the shore break; which most likely appeared more akin to the laundry getting done on the beach than a surfer and body boarder, two bedraggled rats found themselves at Malibu Beach. Wow what a spectacle..........it was a solid 8-10ft on the sets, Laird Hamilton was shooting the pier and the life guards were on red alert with the boat out back trying to rescue bits of pier as the posts were knocked down and in between that a number of surfers who were being sucked into the pier by the outrageous current. Not wanting to be outdone Mimi and I saw it fit to at least flip a few handstands in the shore break as we decided tat was all we´d be achieving this day. I could have stayed all night watching but poor Mimi (not as fascinated by the scene as myself) managed to prise me away I believe with a large Barnicle knife. The following days I had to behave myself and stay away from the waves in order to retain a good friendship.......hard I know but one must suffer hee hee hee!! We instead; checked out Malibu Pier hit the pirate swing, before hanging out on muscle beach in order to demonstrate I supreme yogic pole dancing skills to the muscle clad brigade, we ate great food in Santa Monicas healthy hipster streets, attended some of my favourite yoga classes and headed back out to Ojai for some hiking above the wine valleys. Each evening we managed to unwind chilling in the Jacuzzi and warming our feet by the fire under the stars. Tough life :-)

Photos: Ojai and Ventura County

vickey84 — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 11:59:00 GMT

Hanging out with Mimi

Baja AWT Windsurf Trip

vickey84 — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 02:37:00 GMT

3 hot chicks.... in a van, travelling down into Baja Mexico; what could possibly go wrong?? Well.........for you to decide!! All that needs be said really is that we had an absolute whale of a time and El Presidente was the DON …...did I mention I love my van??

I know in theory we were supposed to be heading down for the AWT windsurfing event but from the moment I picked up Katie McAnena and Sam Bittner from the airport we knew that the event would be secondary to the fun and friendships about to be formed.

It all started with a late night airport shuttle; El Presidente was booked to deposit 2 weary Chicas, to a rowdy hostel, on a Friday night, in down town San Diego. Accordingly they had a rather sketchy night and with stories of phantom tent poles we met up the following lunch time at the Waterfront Hilton. YEP I started off my professional athletic training chilling poolside at the Hilton, sipping cocktails. I was introduced to Sam´s craziness pretty instantaneously when she gifted me a tight leopard print dress and we all decided to don these delightful items and head out for lunch looking a kin to hookers :-/ It didn´t stop there, by 8pm most of the convoy crew had showed up, we were staying 5 to a room so that we could lavish ourselves in the otherwise to expensive Hilton luxury.

We kick started the day early at 7am and after a brief pit stop to collect our drive thru Mexican insurance and a brief flirtation with the Mexican border control we were on the road.

Poor Poor El Presidente; 3 Chicas driving through Mexico with the tunes cranked up as we danced along and badly impersonated the artists :-/ Then he had to bash along the final 2hr section of dirt road before arriving at an impressive 5pm on Camp.

Punta San Carlos, Solo Sports camp is essentially glamping in the middle of the desert. It´s dusty, its windy and most essential there´s waves :-) As a bonus the camp provides you with a carpeted area to rig on or if your name is Vickey practice yoga. You get a lovely comfy tent to yourself, a solar shower bag at the end of the day and best of all a well stocked bar, which we made the most of.

I managed to hit the water as soon as we arrived, sneaking in a windy session with some smallish waves. It was a great sunset session allowing me to shake off the drive and introduc me to the local wildlife. The following day they launched us straight into competition, I did terribly having not sailed the competition spot or ever competed I was completely put off by the whole tactical sailing thing but did manage to have fun which was the important part. The following days were windless and with just some micro waves coming through we borrowed long boards from camp and all the girls paddled out in fancy dress for some playtime, party waves galore. By Tuesday El Presidente was called back into action this time in the role of girls party bus: we danced around under the stars drinking warm champagne.......classy! It seemed we might all turn into alcoholics but after several days of long boarding, Sup ing and yoga the conditions returned with some bigger waves starting to come through. The Amateur event was commenced which despite my protestations, Sam and Katie dutifully enrolled me in for some extra competition practice. Shockingly against the odds; these being I was pretty damn hung over and tried to sail out without my harness, I won my heat and went straight through into the Quater Finals. Thursday morning I had an excellent surf in the building swell up at the point. Then by lunch time the wind had picked up enough for them to commence running a few heats. Sadly just as we entered the water they called it for the day saying the wind had dropped. As I was already dressed for action and with some building logo to mast high sets coming through, in my infinite wisdom I decided to attempt it anyway. I was rewarded with an amazing session; some long peeling waves coming in at the point and going all the way down into the Chilli Bowl. As the sun began to set the sky turned a glorious Pink and Orange, the seals popped up continuously as if watching the spectacle as the pelicans swooped down over my head. I was in my element and feeling at one with the world right up until the moment it was dark, I was still out and Katie seemed to be in a right old panic by the van flashing the headlights and beeping me in :-/ I had planned to get much further up wind but decided to head towards the lights to assure her I was fine.......bad move. I got caught in the massive current running under the cliff due to the huge high tide I was taken in towards the cliff and had to bail all my equipment as it got sucked into a cave and clamber up the cliff to safety. The ocean´s way of keeping my ego in check I presume. I spent a fitful night constantly checking the beach as the tide dropped. I did manage to recover my board in a rather sorry state but the rig has gone to Davey Crocker.

The next day the swell was pretty sizeable a solid 4m on the sets but no wind all morning. We did a small bit of filming, I tried to paddle out for a surf but got pushed back to the beach by the currents. Just as I was contemplating another surf attempt the head judge called the event to run. I still had my bigger board and managed to beg steal and borrow in order to cobble together a rig so sailed out with my deflated ego. Due to the high level of the other sailors in my heat I figured I was just out there for fun getting to sail great waves with just 4 other people on the water. Due to the previous nights stupidity my board was huge and on occasion I thought my ankles might snap as I bounced along the face of these monsters but fun I certainly had, it was the best 28mins ever catching bomb after bomb, whooping and cheering whilst the others also caught some great sets. I was sad to sail into the beach but mightily delighted when Sam shouted down to me with the megaphone that I had to get my arse back on the water for the finals!! The finals were another story, all the sailors were really good and pulled out all the tactics for the heat. Once again I found myself over whelmed by my lack of competition knowledge and after catching a few mediocre rides and despite the little voice in my head saying ´don´t do it´ I panicked that Id not caught anything yet so caught a shitty little ride too far into the bay and once again found myself swimming in under a cliff despite the jet ski trying to pull me out of the foaming white water. Happily this time I managed to rescue my gear or more appropriately everyone else's gear :-/

So that´s about it prizes were given, I was awarded a brand new deck plate and extension along with my new nickname ´Kamikaze girl´. The following day El Presidente escorted 3 tired chicas back out of the desert and to the Hilton for a much more subdued night before we all went on our way. I had an amazing week, met some genuinely interesting and fun people. All the windsurfers were so friendly and welcoming, the AWT is like a big family and they accepted me in unquestioningly. Best event ever amongst the greatest group of people Im now proud to call friends. Thanks to all muchos Love :-)

Photos: Baja Trips

vickey84 — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 02:32:00 GMT

Punta San Carlos Event

Hiking San Diego

vickey84 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:59:00 GMT

For anyone that knows me amongst the multitude of things I like to fill my time with is hiking. I have felt somewhat deprived of this of late, I tried to hike at Laguna Beach Canyons but it was really just a canyon in amongst lots of motorways rather than being out amongst nature. One of my yoga teachers had suggested I check out two spots one on the beach called Torrey Pines and the other a spot infamous for people trying to get their shot for instagram and facebook known as Potato Chip Rock near Poway Lake. I have been rather busy of late but decided to take 2days to sneak both into my action packed life. Yesterday I went over to Torrey Pines and was disappointed to find yet again what I would call a small park as opposed to a wild hike, still it was rather pleasant with these ancient and almost extinct pines so I passed an enjoyable couple of hours trail running the whole thing before grabbing my yoga mat and hiking down the cliff to the beach for a post run practice.

I then drove out 40mins away from the beach to small town known as Poway so that I could sleep over and get to the trail head when the park opened at dawn. I was delighted to find a lovely lake and a decent hike up through the scrub and boulders to potato chip rock..........yes I did get my money shot! All the reviews I´d read had me expecting huge hordes but whilst there were other hikers it was still relatively peaceful indeed I passed a good 10mins trying to capture the humming birds busy over the lake without seeing another soul (I still failed to get the shot though).

Im now sat by the lake typing away in picturesque peace before the rest of my week which is lining up to be busy with yoga classes, talk of Salsa class and then this weekend heading back down to Baja for the windsurf competition.

Note for other travellers:

Don´t drive into Torrey Pines Park instead try to find parking along the road which is free
Poway lake park is closed at night but I found a great sleep over spot at an open trail head just of Old Couch Road

Couch surfing success

vickey84 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:33:00 GMT

As you will see from all my posts it´s not like I´ve been getting bored on my travels but I would say that after 3weeks on my todd I was starting to get a little lonely. I decided it was time to try out this couch surfing phenomenon which I´d decided sounded a little crazy and some what dangerous: you sign up to a website make your profile and then request to sleep on the couch of some complete stranger as you pass through their neighbourhood. It was for this reason I hadn´t yet got involved but I kept hearing good reports and where better than San Diego which has a thriving community of these strange creatures who meet every Tuesday night for what they term 'Tipsy Tuesday'.

It was time to get out of my comfort zone and go and talk to strangers in a bar, I was really nervous. I entered the bar and sidled towards what seemed to be a big group of people, then timidly chose the nicest looking person on the sidelines of the crowd to enquire if she was a couchsurfer and the rest is history.

Nicole instantly took charge spun me off to be introduced to Jessica and then between them they solicited me in meeting a lot of fascinating people from all walks of life. At some point during the course of the evening I found myself signed up to a pool party the following night and then Mexico for wine tasting and surfing over the weekend. I´ve now been out every night and not only that but I´ve slept on the worlds most comfortable couch and have been really looked after by Jessica and Nicole as they´ve shown me their city of San Diego. First up was the pool party, BBQ and Jacuzzi night at Nicole´s in Oceanside, then the street fair followed by a day out at La Jolla Coves, Seal watching with Jessica all before the weekend in Mexico with Nicole and a small group of other couch surfers.

With regards to Mexico I had been scared off by everyone saying how dangerous it was so I was surprised to find roads in good condition, very friendly locals and none of the dodgy corrupt military stops and gun wielding drug lords I´d been led to believe filled Mexico. The border was really easy to cross, they even sell drive thru insurance just before!! We did have the van checked on the way over but one look at the two giggling girls in the front and I think the border control police thought it would be easier to waves us through......we did get a smile when we asked if he´d like to come to the beach with us. At the border on the way back the most hassle we had was from all the vendors trying to sell us cold drinks and tasty treats which to be honest given the sweltering heat wasn´t actually a bad idea (and the vendors were extremely dedicated running up the road with items as we shuffled along)

The roads up to Ensenada are all pretty well maintained and we didn´t encounter any of the corrupt military/police check points. In fact the wine territories as you´d imagine where all beautifully manicured and maintained. We didn´t quite get to taste as many wines as intended but we did find a lovely winery high up on the slopes with fantastic views out over the valley. Not to be disappointed Eric who was with us from San Diego had been advised by some previous couch surfing contacts that there was a wine festival going on in the town of Ensenada. This thriving event of music, theatre and wine tasting with what seemed to be the entire town in attendance more than made up for the disappointments of earlier in the day. Only somewhat marred by the fear that we had no where to sleep yet, Nicole and I weren´t too bothered as we had the plush comfort of El Presidente but Eric´s Couch surfer from Switzerland didn´t seem too keen on crashing in the car on a Saturday night in the town centre. After a little driving around, encountering a distinctly closed highway controlled by lots of police we found a little camp site and put our heads to rest.

Sunday we woke early and headed up the coast on my forecast recommendations towards a surf spot known as K58 La Fonda. Here we scored a nice little surf even though it barrels really fast onto the beach so I have some wicked bruises as per normal after I got pasted a lot!! Our next mission was to track down ´Coco Camarons´ that Nicole had eaten previously in Mexico and was adamant we needed to try these!! We did track them down and after negotiating with the machete wielding Mexican lady we satiated our hunger with these delicious coconuts filled up with mango, cucumber, tamrind and sea foods of varying kinds (mainly prawns hence coco camarones!!). Originally I was going to part company with the crew here and head back to Ensenada where I´d found a local couch surfer offering to show me the town and a shower, however the forecast was dropping and Nicole was very keen that I should experience a thing known as ´City Fest´ in the gay capitol of San Diego.......all I shall say about this is lot´s of semi naked men dancing to music in the street....and leave you with some pictures ;-)

San D Suburbs Encinitas and Oceanside

vickey84 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:28:00 GMT

I had to give El Presidente his own post but purchasing him was far from the only thing I got up to during my time in Encinitas. I had heard through the yogi grapevine that Encinitas was another haven for yoga plus it´s also home to 2 great surfing waves Swamis and Cardiffs. For these reasons I´d found an Airbnb apartment within spitting distance of the beach in Leucadia. Upon arrival you felt the instant chill which Encinitas exudes, there is a really nice feeling of community in this area with farmers markets, work outs in the park and lots of little bars and restaurants filled by locals making the most out of their town.

I´d asked around a bit but other than hearing it was a great place for yoga no-one could actually recommend a teacher or studio up in LA so I had to figure it out for myself. This resulted in the inevitable trial and error phase; I tried Bikram which confirmed my feeling it was not a form of practice for me, I then tried ´hot yoga flow´which I find a horrendous form of yoga practice more geared up as a money making scheme rather than actually practising yoga. Not to mention that in order to take part in these ´yogabucks´ community's you need to have all the latest trendiest leggings otherwise you can´t be a proper yogi. After several days and a good number of classes I was starting to feel disillusioned until I stumbled upon the most fantastic little studio tucked away in some gardens and a mere 5mins walk from the apartment BONUS! In a similar fashion to the great studio I found in SM (Power Yoga East) this was also run on donation basis. I really like this concept not only does it feel more inline with yogic philosophy but it also puts some onus on the teacher to run a good class and impart some knowledge as a true guru should. Two teachers here were incredible and I ended up going everyday for the rest of the week and since leaving the apartment I have made it back several times for their classes.

Just to spice things up I also took a couple of Barre Classes . They say that Barre involves a mix of ballet and Pilates, I would agree with this but it should also come with a warning that you will be made to do thousands of squats in one form or another; by the end of the week my arse was killing and it´s only just recovering now!

During my week stay the surf wasn´t really up to much but I did manage to get out at the local spot called Beacons; a pretty nondescript beach break, and the infamous wave called Swamis; although small when I surfed it was nicely formed and I can see the winter potential. On Wednesday I´d worked out that the forecast would be producing the best waves at a place called Oceanside so I headed to the harbour for a surf. I really loved surfing here the wave itself wasn´t amazing but the crowd was really friendly, there were huge seals surfing by the harbour wall and the harbour area was a delight. I surfed here for several days after finding it and each morning I delighted in sipping my coffee post surf whilst playing spectator to the seals as they cruised around the harbour generally trying to annoy the pelicans who were perched on top of the pontoons.

According to the locals Oceanside is supposed to be rather ghetto but I had completely the opposite feel for this place and really rather loved this San Diego Suburb. I passed a wonderful evening at a lively street fair with lot´s of live music and food stands from many different countries. I also witnessed the art of 'yarn bombing'; apparently a fun local pastime where by individuals sneak out at night and knit clothing for items of street furniture :-/

Better than cow tipping I suppose!!

El Presidente

vickey84 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:06:00 GMT

Following on from my last post you should be made aware that I have indeed purchased myself a van. After a week of ownership it now goes under the name of Él Presidente´ NB this is contrary to the nickname awarded it by friends new and old; seriously guys pussy palace is not cool even with the retro red velvet and wood panelling look.

After some advice from my Airbnb host and a little research on Craigs´ list* I´d found some vans that sounded promising. I was highly sceptical about purchasing a vehicle from what could possibly be a dubious web link, with my mechanical knowledge rating at around 0 and with significant uncertainties as to whether I could even register the vehicle in my name. I weighed all this up against the thought of paying huge amounts in rent to live out of a car for the next 5months and placed some calls. I had found 3 listings and organised viewings of all. It was only en route to the first one that I work out the location was really right next to the Mexican border and the owner was Mexican; stereotypes being what they are and as I was already somewhat nervous, I was almost ready to turn around when I found myself driving through some fairly undesirable neighbourhoods. Determined by this stage I doggedly followed Google Maps and was pleasantly surprised to pop out into a rather pleasant neighbourhood and upon arrival be welcomed into a very well kept home by the owners sweet daughter, who´d arranged everything for her Dad who himself was dubious of Craigs list. He´d just finished couching the local kids football team and was very excited to discover I was English right up until he realised I didn´t know the first thing about football....ooppss points down to me! We exchanged pleasantries, sizing each other up and then I tried to reel off all the questions one is supposed to ask so you look like you know what your doing. About ½ way through I realised I wasn´t fooling anyone, admitted I didn´t have a clue and decided it best just to go for a drive. The whole family hopped aboard grand daughter and all which didn´t help calm my anxieties over driving this beast of a van around the residential streets. My driving can´t have been too bad as the grand daughter persisted to blabber on about the trips her grand dad had taken them oblivious to protestations from her Mum and grandfather for some peace. Even with my total lack of mechanical knowledge, it became quickly apparent that the van was very well cared for so I thought bollocks to it, did some negotiation and committed to picking it up in 3days time.

I did still check the other vans and neither the owners nor the vans were as genuine. I did take it to the mechanics to get a full service/check over and was incredibly relieved to hear the mechanics say what great condition the van was in. It was also really easy to register the van at a local registration exchange despite the woman at the DMV telling me it was impossible.

So I´m now the proud owner of a 1993 Chevy Conversion Van with 87k on the clock, Subwoofers, a DVD player and swanky interior lighting, oh and did I mention a hoover yep even a hoover!! I am sooo cool ha ha ha ha Love my van

I guess it goes to show that sometimes you have to put your faith in other people and not make pre judgements based on stereotypes.

Note for other travellers:

www.craigslist.com Craigs´ List is a website of essentially local ads but it´s been brought into the modern age and placed online. Very useful for finding all sorts of used things in your local area and very active in SolCal.

Despite what the DMV might say it´s relatively easy to register a vehicle as a foreigner. You do need an address so that they can post the DMV certificate to you but it can be a hostel or somewhere you can get mail held. It should take around 2weeks to get there. I got mine done at a local registration renewal/exchange registered place, you have to pay an additional fee for the priviledge but they´re used to foreigners where as the DMV will insist you have to get a Californian license blahblahblah

Check the smog certificate when you purchase the vehicle it needs to be within 90days for the registration otherwise you have to get it re-done.

Photos: San Diego week 3 and 4

vickey84 — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 06:41:00 GMT

San D, Encinitas and a quick stop Mexico

Pacific Coastal Ocean Towns Huntington Beach to San Clemente

vickey84 — Sat, 2 Aug 2014 23:11:00 GMT

They call San Clemente the last post or what I think they mean by this is that its the first town where you can start to relax and find some space after the craziness of LA and it´s city towns. I´ve come to understand that unlike Europe where the cities and towns are high density yet compact in the USA the towns and cities are low density but sprawling and each seems to converge into the other without much land in between. Indeed if it weren´t for the sign posts informing you of the fact that you´d entered a new town you´d probably not realise.

After LA I was craving some nature and open space so I hopped onto Pacific Highway 101 and burned (or rather crawled in traffic) down the coastal road concentrating on navigation, traffic and pedestrians and not really taking in the sights as I went. After a week of chilling out in San Onofre and San Clemente I felt appropriately chillaxed to head back up the coast and check out the coastal towns that are in fact all interesting and different in their own right.

First stop along the coast was the Marina town of Dana Point; I am informed that just last week it was home to the first 'Americas Cup' sailing craft and also that it was an absolutely stunning town and marina, a not to be missed attraction. In a way my informants were correct, it is indeed very beautiful with the cliffs dropping down to the marina shores but like everything at this time of year it was jam packed full of yachts and tourists so I didn´t stick around for much more than a photo op before carrying on with my quest up to Huntington Beach that claims the title of 'surf city'. The town is currently playing host to the VANS US Open National surf competition, one of the biggest surf events world wide and certainly the biggest over here so it was an obvious target for my travels. The event itself was appropriately impressive in terms of scale, the level of surfing was mind blowingly phenomenal and alongside it there were radical BMX and skating competitions running in the event park. Sadly my opinion of the town itself was not on the same level of awe and wander, in fact I thought it was a bit of an industrial dive with factory chimneys crowding the inshore horizon coupled with the fact that actually Huntington Beach surf breaks are not all that amazing in comparison to other breaks on offer both to the North and South along the Californian coast.

So I did a 180° U turn somewhat disillusioned and headed back down the coast arriving in time for a late afternoon body surf and dinner into the delightfully pituresque town of Laguna beach. Whilst it is the hotspot for snobby wealthy folk to vacation and I did give it the name Triple M (Millionaires, Mansions and Movie Stars) the town is actually fascinating blend of art culture, quaint architecture and lovely little cove beaches. This did prove somewhat problematic to find myself an appropriate place to park for a night in the car as I felt a little at odds parking in front of a mansion to bed down in the boot. 2hrs later after a multitude of laps around the town in the car I found a little spot and decided to go check out the town. As I sat happily slurping down an Angry Orchard Cider over a beautiful sunset I detected the twang of Aussie accent coming from the bar, feeling a little bit lonely I decided it was high time I introduced myself to some other strangers on the road. Whilst their fashion sense was somewhat bizarre the guys themselves were most entertaining for a night on the town. They appropriately entertained me with their stories of surf bumming down the Californian coast, living out of a camper van that they´d acquired upon their arrival and handing out very helpful tips on how to get by as a beach bum!

The following morning I felt it necessary to move on very early of my own accord before being moved on involuntarily by local authorities. So feeling somewhat furry headed (bloody Aussies) I decided to head inland for a hike amongst the canyons. Sadly I didn´t manage to track down a Mountain Lion despite the sign suggesting I would and the local ranger being somewhat unimpressed by jovial attitude towards going out looking for one.

And that´s that; Coastal towns LA to San Diego now done and I´m typing this holed up in an actual building, this time in Encinitas just North of San Diego. Funnily enough after meeting the Aussie's, my latest Airbnb host happens himself to be a bit of an expert on purchasing and living out of a conversion vans, surfing the Mexican and Californian coast. I find myself lined up for two van viewings tomorrow and it starting to look highly likely that this trip is about to turn into a proper Californian Hippy Surf Bum mission. I can´t so I´m to unhappy about the prospect :-)

Slumming it at Trestles

vickey84 — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 11:24:00 GMT

Well it´s 5.30am and my first concern is to crawl out of the back undetected, pretty tough as the streets are already getting busy. By 5.50 I´m parked up on the main road running over the Interstate highway running between Marine Camp Pendleton in the Canyon and San Mateo point my destination. Next task is to try and change out of my Pj´s and clean my teeth subtly so that I don´t look like I´m living out of my car which of course I am and this task is very challenging at 5.50am when the parking along the road is already busy with surfers trying to get in for a dawn surf to beat the crowd. PAH I follow the ant trail with their surf boards down the path towards the beach and the famed Trestles surfing ground. OK I know I´m trying to surf this infamous way and so obviously it´s going to be busy, the problem is its just a small southerly swell coming through and so this beach is the only place in the OC getting any action. Over the course of 5 days I did manage to fight for a few waves at Uppers and my goofy side was delighted with the break called Cottons, plus it was super glassy each morning which made it a joy to surf despite the crowds. Post surf my next concern was coffee and breakfast then some serious mincing and a spot of yoga before back to the beach for another surf. Early evening I´d hit up the San Clemente State beach car park for a post surf/end of day shower, enjoy dinner whilst the sun was setting and then final task of the day to find a good, sneaky spot to park and crawl back into my hole for a good nights sleep. So went my days in San Clemente living like a proper surf hobo out of the car. The biggest problem was trying to act like I wasn´t living out of my car which is not even remotely easy when, as I´ve discovered, every man and his goat decides to de-camp from their inland dwellings to the Californian South Coast for summer holidays (for the English out there imagine Cornwall in the summer jacked up on steroids). So San Clemente, which I imagine to be in winter, a lovely quaint, coastal town with some delightful architecture, is in fact during the peak of summer, a jam packed car parking nightmare. On my first morning here I surfed alongside the pier at a nice easy little break called T Street, post surf I decided to have breakfast (around 10am) at a beach side cafe. Whilst I waited amongst the hordes to be seated I watched the train decamp thousands of pasty white looking gremlins with their squealing brats, sun umbrellas and cool boxes to head down to find their sq metre of space on the beach........quite a scary site I can assure you :-0

This all seems rather contrary to the Californian people themselves who are actually super laid back chilled and friendly people, on the water whilst the might be hustling for waves that´s not to say they´re not friendly. Indeed I was befriended by a lovely lady whilst surfing Trestles Upper who invited me to a BBQ on the beach Sunday afternoon. In true Californian style everyone heads down for a day chilling, surfing and grilling on the beach. So post surf I chatted with some of the local surfers and a fascinating older guy who it turns out was an ´Óriginal´windsurfer who was friends with the guy credited for inventing 'sailboarding' as he referred to it! Whilst he is a die hard surfer he had some excellent stories to relate of adventures in the waves of Baja with original equipment (and trust me I know that´s some feat as Dad used to have some of the original equipment in the garage) there´s no way I could even lift one of the wave 'sinker' boards single handedly let alone sail it in waves or even my boom to my one piece mast with a piece of string.........come to think about it I wish I'd asked him how the hell he managed to get his mast all the way down to Baja south coast in the car, he must have some good packing tips!

Right I´m writing this at 6.30am back in town by the pier, I was hoping for a surf but the sea is distinctly flat and so instead I think I shall call it quits here and check out the public toilets. FYI as an expert now on the state of public toilets I can advise the best time to go is early morning just after the state beach employees have hosed them down and before the hordes can do their worst!!

Camp America aka San Onofre The Bluffs

vickey84 — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 12:06:00 GMT

Well as previously mentioned I decided to head down the coast into Orange County for some surf action.

Most advice I received was that 'the' place to stay was San Onofre, so I managed to book myself in for 3nights camping at the San Onofre Bluufs State park campsite. After all the raving I´d heard you can imagine my surprise when I pulled up into what most would consider a motorway services lorry park. You had the busy interstate 5 and heavy rail way on one side, Nuclear Power station to the North and Marine Camp Pendleton to the south...hmmmm. What was most interesting of all was that the Americans seemed to have gone over board with their 'lorry park´ camping and every parking space was occupied by huge outrageous RV´s, massive palace style tents, Gazebos and essentially any type of camping paraphernalia you could dream up (including basket ball hoops). It was with some trepidation that I pulled up into my parking space, which dwarfed my mid sized SUV, and commenced unpacking my brand new still wrapped tent, under the stink eye from my neighbouring campers :-\ 20 minutes later and I stood mightly proud of myself for erecting my tent without having to ask anyone for assistance and further more managed to assemble my camp stove and get a cup of tea on the go.......RESULT! Actually I can't really take any credit, that has to go to Wallmart for selling 100% idiot proof equipment, I also have to note that as per everything in America, I'd erected my very own palace complete with Queen sized double bed!!

Camp set I decided to go and check out the surf, after all it was the main reason I found myself in Camp America. I was delighted to discover my pitch was a mere 200m away from Trail 6 which according to the Storm Rider Guide is the trail to head for. Furthermore it was a huge relief to discover that as soon as you hit the trail it was like entering another world, no screaming brats or cars or trains just peace and quite (well except for the constant drone of military aircraft and what I assume was an incessant boom from a quarry although equally could have been something to do with the military). The trail grew more picturesque as I descended down the cliff and although the surf wasn´t epic by any standards I did surf all 3 days in around 2ft of glass beach break. The first day I surfed could possibly go down as one of my most memorable surfs ever; a huge black fin popped up a mere 8feet away from me and justifiably scared the hell out of me. I obviously started to paddle swiftly back to shore only to be overtaken by the local and his two mates. 3 Dolphins came out to play with me in the surf, an utterly amazing experience especially given that there were surfers scattered up and down the beach but none in my near vicinity so I was alone with these amazing creatures. According to some local surfers these 3 constantly patrol this beach they were there every time I entered the water along with their fellow flock of pelicans. It was the weirdest experience to surf here under the cliffs so detached from the car park at the top.

Hmmmm Wallmart well I wasn´t thinking about it BUT now you mention it not a bad idea round here!!!

Now moving on back up the coast to San Clemente and then Huntingdon Beach for some surf history and the US national Open surf event.|

Photos: The OC

vickey84 — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 11:31:00 GMT

Orange County

Adieu Santa Monica

vickey84 — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 04:47:00 GMT

So it´s been a week since I left Barcelona for the wild unknown of America.

I gave myself a week based in Santa Monica to get my feet under me and I've managed to achieve that and more. I chose Santa Monica because it is one of the best places for yoga in America, in fact the world spawning some of the best teachers out there. I´ve tried to take as many classes as possible and have met and practised under some phenomenal teachers such as Vytas, Liz Arch and oof course my favourite Kathryn Budig at the yogaglo studio(www.vytasyoga.com , www.lizarch.com , www.yogaglo.com for those ever in the area). I've also tried to expand my horizons and taken some classes I wouldn't normally have even considered …......yep seriously last night I found myself doing some weird pelvic thrusting motions to kirtan music but you know what, after I got over feeling totally ridiculous it actually felt pretty good and I noticed pain in areas of my body I thought had healed (apparently my lower sacrum still aches from falling off the horse last year). I even meditated, yep me, I sat still for a whole entire 30minutes doing nothing but breathing and was surprised to find it felt good, Yes Dad I can hear you now and just so you know nobody likes an ´I told you so´ moment.

In addition to just yoga, Santa Monica is also the health food hub of LA and I´ve gorged myself on Organic this and Raw food that. I have absolutely no issues with this although some would refer to it as hippy food. But me, I love dried kale chips, they taste great even if they have a tendency to come out as whole leaves just as they go in. I´ve had amazing RAW food Jalapeno peppers stuffed with almond paste, tried organic cornbread, slurped super charged smoothies with all sorts of weird protein concoctions and random vegetables in them that are supposed to be good for you. I think my favourite was probably the cauliflower, jalapeno pesto and hazelnut dish (not a smoothie that really would have been weird!).

Finally I've met some incredible people and I must give a big heartfelt thanks to my airbnb host Tony, aka 'RAD Uncle'. I arrived here very apprehensive about my travels and he instantly put my mind at ease, welcomed me into his home and gave me the 101 on his town, places to eat and best of all yoga teachers to check out. One of the best parts about travelling is the people you meet and Rad Uncle you rock. He's a super cool dude, seriously, he travelled across America (and around Germany during the last world cup) staying with and interviewing some of the biggest American football fans for a documentary. He also travelled India and Brazil for lengthy periods not to mention he LOVES food, surfing, yoga and tea. Hence we had lot's to talk about and he made me feel so much more confident in this decision to travel California for the next 5months.

Airbnb The Soul Surfer Bungalow on Bay Street 5*´s !!

I´ve loved Santa Monica but now it´s time to bid Adieu to the city and cruise down the coast for some surf and beach camping.

Sunday Chill day

vickey84 — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 10:05:00 GMT

Sunday as everyone knows is a day of rest.

Given the cankle I decided I should heed this and relax so planned a lie in bed followed by a chill day and a really relaxing yoga class in the evening..............

I managed the lie in more or less. By that I mean I woke up at 8.00 and messed around on the laptop in bed until 10, I felt this was pretty good for me!! But then I really needed a cup of tea so I had to hit the streets of Venice (and no I'm not in Italy!). The farmers market was on on Main Street, Venice, Santa Monica so first stop Organic coffee and a very fresh berry juice on the market. Then I felt as I was 'chilling' my next stop should be the beach for a little body surf. I was worried I'd perhaps created a scene, getting thrashed around arse over tit in the shore break, when I saw the otherwise idle beach lifeguards charging into the water towards me. However I soon realised it was for the 2 VERY LA style girls flaying around in the sea nearby. Either the lifeguards wanted to demonstrate their abilities as Mitch to these potential Pamela's or a really life threatening incident occurred (such as a burst silicone implant) but either way it couldn't have been that serious in waist deep water and I certainly didn't see any sharks around!!

After all tht excitement I figured I was on a roll with my 'non chilling' so decided to hit up the Santa Monica pier theme park for further kicks and a ride on the roller coaster. It wasn´t exactly mast high wave thrills or indeed even waist high adrenaline but never the less mild entertainment for the afternoon.

Next up the Lonely Planet guide suggested to me I should take a stroll along the promenade where upon I encountered the most incredible street dancing show (check the video link if it works). I can honestly say it was really impressive and the guy on the mic was hysterical. I heard someone comment that only in LA would you get something like this, and I must agree because as I wandered off I nearly tripped over a massive iguana wandering along the pavement followed by a husky sat quite happily on the pannier rack of a motorcycle just cruising down the boulevard. FYI A 'Boulevard´ is not a park but a really large street. In LA it seems to consist of around 6 lanes so realistically more like a motorway hence when you look on google maps it all looks so close until you attempt to walk it. Trust me I´m now an expert at this and learning quickly to drive and suck up that the parking is an awful part of the experience!!

OK sorry I can´t work out how to upload the video, I did manage to upload 3 of the ones I took to Vimeo so you can go there to check it out instead.......https://vimeo.com/user10975643

The answer is not 42 it's Brownies and wine!!

vickey84 — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 16:15:00 GMT

I woke up this morning feeling pretty bummed.

I mean I do enjoy my own company and all that shit but something's really are better with someone else, like Ferris wheels on the pier, exploring new cities and restaurants at night.

On top of this, I woke up today with a huge fat ankle, supportingly referred to as my cankle by a darling brother. Thus I faced the prospect of a ´REST´day, out of necessity.

After a rousing pep talk I decided the only course of action to lift my spirits was to head on over to Malibu and check out the surf. I was still on the blue side when I hit Malibu pier, despite it being super cool. But post organic strawberries with scotch pancakes and Fresh OJ at the pier farmhouse cafe I entered the pier surf shop only to find THE ACTUAL Gidget hanging out (with her crazy stripy knee high socks) signing books. For any surf chick out there, Gidget (a TV series from the 60´s) is THE original female surf icon and accredited inspiration behind the 60´s surf craze. One signed book later & I was back on the flip side of life, the sun shining and sea sparkling.

Time to call up some camp-sites and reserve my space for the coming weeks on the road................... ehhherrr, ´I´m sorry Maam we´re fully booked until October'. Hmmmm SHIT so much for my winging it masterplan. It would appear that Americans like to take their summer holidays camping along the Californian coast, bugger.

You know what bollocks to convention I shall just rock up at the beach & sleep in my SUV post surf, that´s what Gidget does for you. Yes I know I'm a female travelling on my own but that doesn't make me disabled. Women are perfectly capable/ strong and determined human beings and we shouldn't be scared by the conventional societal preconceptions that we are weak and must be pampered/ molly cuddled and wrapped up in cotton wool. So screw yourselves 'reserve America', if you don't have room for one small tent in your enormous state parks I shall live the stereotypical surfer life out of my truck...........eat, sleep, surf, repeat.

Well just for a few days as in honesty after my whimsical determination the desire for an actual mattress found within the confines of 4 real walls proved to be too strong and I found a great place on Airbnb in Encinitas San Diego for the end of the month.

Back home with the cankle on ice my current airbnb host recommended an excellent place to eat down town, so after the camp site blow I decided I should pamper myself a little with great food. LSS (long story short) I marched around the city for a good 50mins to find a packed restaurant full of starry eyed couples threw my teddies out of the pram and was on my way home to sulk when I came across a lovely looking restaurant and sat down to indulge.

In conclusion the answer to life the universe and everything is actually a huge chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream accompanied by a sumptuous Cabernet Sauvignon/ Syrah Blend from the Napa valley. Oh and it doesn´t hurt to start with a delicious cauliflower, almond and Jalapeno pesto dish alongside baked tomatoes in balsamic glaze with organic cornbread.

Travel mares and First Impressions

vickey84 — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 14:44:00 GMT

'Well wouldn´t you know it I´m still in Spain'

Family update on my travel to let them know how it's going, in this instance not very well. In fact it went from totally chilled into travel chaos in the blink of an eye or the 2minute walk from the drop off to the check in counter. It turns out the flight was delayed by 2.5hrs and seemingly everyone heading to America has a connecting flight, thus the poor check in staff were busily trying to re-route and rebook well over 50% of the passengers so 3hrs later and a run to the gate and I was ready to get on the plane. Still from my perspective it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I apparently made one of the biggest travelling faux pas, flying into one city airport and leaving from another across the city (which in this instance only happened to be New frikin York!) WHOOPSS!! A long story short upon arrival into Newark the lovely lady got me onto the next available flight to LAX which as a bonus left just 30mins after my original scheduled flight and out of the airport in which I arrived. Despite almost missing this flight due to American Security I finally landed into LAX 30mins behind schedule with my bag following along an hour later (clearly it didn't run as fast as I did!!).

This time in LAX I had the airport sussed and easily managed to find the rental car shuttle. At this stage I was beyond tired and so it was I experienced my first business exchange in the US........seriously they can sell you everything and more, plus tax. Not only that but they employ sneaky tactics in this instance I was seriously sidetracked trying to work out if the huge breasted massively plumbed up red lipped sales person was male or female so I ended up with insurance up to me ears BUT I did have the where withal to decline the extra little special make up mirror (seriously).

And so it was I found myself driving around in my SUV cruising down town into Santa Monica, just 3 blocks from the pier and Venice beach. I was particularly pleased with myself for not getting lost and managing to park (which here is actually a miracle and I now understand the comment 'feed the metre' WHICH does not give you a ticket just in case any of you are as stupid as me standing there looking blanky at it until some passer by felt sorry for me....oooppsss TOURIST ALERT).

Anyway the place I found is really the cutest little wooden condo and right in yoga central with studios everywhere not to mention 15mins drive from Malibu beach and the host is so kind and helpful suggesting all sorts of places to visit, classes to take and even inviting me to his BBQ last night. So yes I´ve been totally cliché walking down the broad walk from Santa Monica pier to Venice beach, picking up my organic protein shake post yoga class (or so far 3classes and its day 2!!) Tonight I´'ve planned a yoga Barre class and then there's a concert on Santa Monica pier, whilst tomorrow looks like I can pick up my equipment from customs (finally) and go surf Malibu.

California dreaming baby, ride on ;-)