End of Road trip- Figure of 8!

Could not have asked for a better end to the road trip- San Diego, the quintessential California in my eyes.

The photos start of Coronado and go on our trip to La Jolla where a Stanford GSB classmate kindly put us up for the night- thanks Luis!

Hence ends, the most killer road trip ever- will put together a compiled video sometime this week.

Chilling in San Diego

Good times in San Diego at more modest accomodation (Banana Bungalows Hostel!), definitely a change from vegas- the partying continues:

Vegas nights part 2

We moved on to MGM Grand, a monster casino!

Vegas nights part 1

Hard rock was a fantastic hotel! Although not on the main strip, its smaller size makes it much more manageable than the mega hotels. Here is Matt chilling outside in the neon lights and palm trees:




The highlight? Meeting Dominic from the Muse, a british rock band at the vegas music conference opening party. Had to get a picture to prove it!:

Kernville to Las Vegas (via Sequoia National Forest & Death Valley)

Another early start before embarking on our longest day yet...

The forest was a real treat and we were lucky to see some genuine cowboys herding cattle:

Then coming out of the forest, rising up to 9000ft and then down to death valley (-200ft) before descending into vegas:

Santa Barbara to Kernville (Sequoia National Forest)

Leaving Santa Barbara, it was more a less relative tame drive to a random town outside the Sequoia National Forest known as Kernville-- ummm, there's not much here... Some parts of the central california are quite scenic and look very midwestern. The region is rich in agribusiness. I think the region produces more fruit than any other area in the world. The temperature shot up to 93F and the convertible roof had to be put on!

The I-5 highway connecting the north and south california:


Opening up into the central valley- goodbye coastline:

Monterey to Santa Barbara (via Big Sur & Hearst castle)

Early bed time- that is the key, but like there is much to do in Monterey/Pacific Grove on a Sunday night.
We were on the road by 8am and started what was probably the most scenic drives, not mansions and golf courses, but sheer natural beauty- cliff meets the pacific in a striking way and a eerie fog at horizon level.

We hit the much raved about Nepenthe restuarant, a family run restuarant that has been around for generations. We stopped for brunch t enjoy the breathtaking Big Sur views.

The convertible really paid off at this part of the trip as the rolling hills, cliffs and windy roads continued.

By midday we reached Hearst castle. Due to a prompt arrival, we decided to adjust our itinerary accordingly to reduce driving time for the Santa Barbara to Vegas portion- essentially skipping a night at Big Sur and going straight on Santa Barbara.
Hearst castle, or more like a "priceless mansion estate", was a real feast into the ridiculous wealth of one media/publishing mogul, William Randolf Hearst. I'll let the photos do the talking:

We ended our day entering Santa Barbara by 6pm- A great driving day with fantastic views. In the evening we headed into downtown Santa Barbara for a meal followed by a short trip to a bar playing live music.