We left our temporary home in Turlock on the morning of January the 6th and drove to Yosemite National Park for the second time. During our first trip we had done all the touristy stuff like seeing the waterfalls and Ahwahnee Hotel but now we were there to climb! The best Will had ever climbed was a 5.10c and I was still on 5.9er's, we also hadn't done any climbing for a while but we felt pretty amped and had found a few doable looking routes in the guide book. However in the coming days we would discover Yosemite climbing is on a whole other level!

First up we headed to the spot known as Knob Hill containing a short bolted 5.8 and 5.9 route. We parked and found the spot with ease the only problem was that the two anchor bolts were no longer there. We were pretty disappointed as it looked like a fun warm up route with a bit of a crack to practice with. Will had a bit of a look around and found a few old slings used for different routes that were beyond our climbing ability so we had lunch while checking the guide book for another climb. It was 2:30pm on day one and no rock climbing had yet been done... 

Not far along the road we walked down to another spot called Five and Dime Cliff where the other people there described the 5.8 route called Mockery as fun. The guide book described it as hard. Will set up to lead the climb while the other people top roped an overhanging 5.10c nose called Bijou. Despite falling a few times on the gnarly looking route they all looked pretty fit so we were both wondering how we would stack up. Will very quietly made his way up the 5.8 I could tell by his silence that he was concentrating hard and not having a whole lot of “fun". He did make it to the top though and once down reported that the climb was much much harder than the 5.10c climbs he had done elsewhere. I toped roped the climb but used the rope quite a bit and no way could I have led it. 

Exhausted after our one climb we retreated to the campground for some food. Dinner was these amazing sausages that a friends dad Bob had brought for us. We ate them in buns with other good stuff and had to use a lot of self control to save two sausages for another night; to this day we still salivate over the delicious flavour. That evening or it could have been the next night we went to a ranger talk about bears, everyone was telling us to keep an eye out for them as the lack of snow and warm temperatures meant that they hadn't gone into hibernation yet this season. It felt like everyone we met had had a recent beer encounter so we were eger to learn more. The ranger told us some pretty interesting stories about his three close encounters with Grizzly bears and how the black bear is just a species of bear so not all of them are in fact black. They can be brown, grey, yellow brown, black or a mixture of. We saw photos, skulls, beer skins and knew what to do if we saw one. All that was left was to actually, physically, see one. 

The following morning at ridiculous o’clock while I continued sleeping in the back, Will woke up and drove us to the Tunnel View look out to capture the sunrise. He was a little early for the sunrise but eventually it came up and he captured some stunning photos before retiring to bed again for a couple of hours. By 10am we were searching for the next climbing spot but the more we read the guide book the less doable climbs we found. We only had a 60m/195 ft rope so any pitches over 95 ft were out like the knobby sounding 150 ft New Deviations route. As was the 5.8, 70 ft route named Costa Rica as it only had two bolts and we weren't yet ready to climb lines that run out. Eventually we settled on a spot known as Cookie Sheet, however finding it was a challenge in itself. We must have driven past it twice before we found the described talus field and it was 2pm by the time we had made the 45 minute approach and had lunch. The whole rocky bear scat covered approach made me a little worried about what I would do if a bear actually came along while Will was half way up the wall. I collected a pile of rocks and we agreed if a beer came I would run up the wall Macgyver style using Wills weight and we would both hang in limbo until the coast was clear. 

The 5.7 route was called the Dark Side and could be done as a short multi pitch, this would be our first ever multi pitch climb. We had also never climbed on such silky smooth granite before but luckily it had quite an easy slope so we were both feeling confident. As it turns out I don't much like climbing granite where there is next to nothing to grip but Will the trooper ended up leading both pitches and we made it to the top for some awesome photos. Unfortunatly no bears or beers in sight. Afterwards we drove over to the visitors centre to get a back country pass and a bear canister for our overnight hike to the top of El Capitan the next day. Before heading to bed we also popped over to Camp Curry for a much needed hot shower. 

The next day dawned blue sky once again and we couldn't resist the urge to sneak in one more climb, a 5.9er called "Gidget Goes to Yosemite" on the Endless Summer Wall. Once again it took us far to long to find the wall and we sweated hard during the open up hill approach. At 11am Will started the climb - or should i say battle - but the over hanging ledge at the third bolt proved too difficult and as time was ticking we had to abandon the climb for the first time leaving a carabiner behind. After quickly retreating to the Dodge we parked at Camp 4, left a note in the windscreen and started the hike towards Upper Yosemite Falls. This is how one web site describes this walk that we stated at 2pm with no proper lunch. 

"Difficulty:  High. It's a long, steep climb from the valley floor to the valley rim, and easily rates an 8 out of 10. Consider this question: would you climb the stairs all the way to the top of the Empire State Building? Well, in the course of your hike to Upper Yosemite Falls, you'll climb the equivalent of just over two Empire State Buildings."

It was challenging for sure and we were glad to have our friends energy balls to keep us going. Past the top of the falls we planed to make it a further 7Km along the ridge to the top of El Capitan that day but I called it quits not far past the falls when a nice camp site presented it's self. We cooked the mouth watering sausages again with pasta following all the bear rules of cooking 50 yards from the tent, but neither of us got much sleep. Any little sound had us wondering if a bear was right outside. Of course come morning the canister was exactly where we'd left it the previous evening.

That morning we hiked the top of El Cap and spent a few hours savouring the truly majestic view and discovering all the climbing left overs around the place. There was stack of full water bottles hiding under rock shelters, old rope, old shoes we could even see some climbing bolts as we neared the edge. We also wanted to find the famous tree featured on the film "Race for The Nose". Its the finish point for The Nose speed records. After lunch it was time to get moving we still had a long walk ahead of us down the other side. We started off and after a few pleasent hours made our way down a long snowy ridge that eventually came to an old unused road. We followed it uphill for half an hour before coming to a sign that read Tamarack Flat and Tioga Rd while another read Foresta... we knew we didn't want to go to Tamarack Flat but Foresta didn't sound very familiar either so we turned back thinking we must have missed something or were meant to go the other way down the road. I won't name names but someone didn't bring a map with the end of the trail on it. Back where we had first met the old road we found no signs but there was a definite track leading through the over growth along the road so we decided to follow that. Evidently we should have chosen to follow the Foresta sign which lead to Big Oak Flat Road. Instead our road descended very slowly as it crawled it's way back into the valley. At 5pm we were still far to high so when the ancient road dissipated for the third time under a massive rock fall we took our chances and scrambled down the jumbled run off. We then had to crash through a few hundred yards of bush in the fading light before we finally emerged on to the valley road.

We had gone so far into the valley that we came out on the one way section that exits the park so for a while we had to walk along the road back the way we'd come. The plan from here was to hitch hike back to the Dodge but who would pick up two unkept hikers in the dark in America? We directed our head lights onto our faces and put on our most friendly smiles. Fifteen cars later we were picked up by an older couple who's son had traveled to New Zealand through his work with singer Jack Johnson. At the Dodge we discovered we had a flat tire so quickly pumped it back up with the 12v compressor. We then had another hot rejuvenating shower at Camp Curry. I was ready for some food but Will wanted to get a photo of us underneath the Camp Curry sign and took forever setting it up while I died of hunger. We had dinner at a bar inside the park which sadly only had healthy choices such as kale salad or turkey sandwich. We made do with the pickings available then took our tired bodies to bed. 

On the 10th of January we were about to leave Yosemite when Will decided he needed to get that perfect shot of El Capitan from the meadow he persevered while I moaned about going but he did end up with some pretty cool shots like the Gopro one below. 

Rochelle & Will

Us two traveling Kiwis didn't want a repeat of last years Christmas where we camped in the tent, alone, in the pouring rain at a hot spring in southern Chile. So we subtly hinted to an old friend Alex from Turlock, California that we would love to spend Christmas with her and her family. We met Alex when she stayed with us in New Zealand over two years ago through Couch Surfing, we had these crazy three days together and had since kept in contact via facebook. We knew she was a good sort though as she had repackaged and sent Wills new Nikon camera to him in Nicaragua and straight away offered to have us stay over Christmas!

So this is how we found ourselves arriving at the Riedinger family home on December 22nd to meet Alex's parents Bob and Anna while Alex was a work. We didn't know it until after we had arrived but the Riedinger family house was already famous for its hospitality and good times, it even has it's own facebook page called Camp Turlock. After initial introductions including meeting their five dogs we were shown to the trailer/caravan out in the pasture. The Riedinger's seemed to feel a little bad about putting us out there but we couldn't have been happier the trailer was gigantic compared the Dodge and even had it's own toilet and sink! The privacy and ability to let Scout straight out the door in the morning was an added bonus so we moved in and spread out for the first time in ages; it was bliss! 

I remember on the second day we were there Will and Bob nipped down to the car wreckers on the corner and haggled two used roof rails for the price of one so they could fix our badly broken roof set up. In the end the men did an awesome job, Bob even repaired the one we had snapped so we now had four rails to support all the stuff on the roof. We made the most of this extra strength and added a plastic box to the roof for even more storage. Initially it was for fire wood but that didn't last long after we brought our own snow skis in Canada. Now it contains our climbing gear. Will also constructed a wooden cradle for the jerry cans to sit more securely in. I helped for a while until Anna and Alex invited me to get my nails done. We all had them done in the same festive red and I began to feel like a real person again rather than some grimy traveler! On one of the other days leading up to Christmas we also gave the Dodge a much needed wash and vacuum and then left it set up like a normal car with the back seats folded up. We also made friends with some Mexicans at a tyre shop in town who gave us two used (but good) BF Goodrich tires for $20 to replace our two rear tires, particularly the one that kept slowly going flat. 

One evening leading up to Christmas Alex and her boyfriend Jamie invited us to go to Del Osso Farms which was a county fair type thing. We sat in the car drinking Southern Comfort and eggnog out of mason jars for a while, then did a spot of ice skating or ice falling you might have called it if you were watching us. Next we wanted to do some down hill tubing but it had already closed for the night so Will decided to have a go at riding a big spinning, bucking, pumpkin! It was absolutely hilarious and one day I'll put the video of it online but for now you will have to settle for a screen shot. The evening of cheap thrills continued when we bought tickets for this giant bouncy inflated thing and bounced around laughing until it hurt. Afterwards we stopped in at Bass Pro for some last minute Christmas shopping then went to meet Alex's brother Zach briefly at his bosses house. 

On Christmas Eve day Will and I called our families using skype as it was Christmas Day already in New Zealand. It was really good to catch up with them and feel a bit closer to home for a while epically being able to see everyone on the video link. Christmas Eve was also the main event for the Riedinger family and everyone was there except for Alex's brother Chris a fireman, who had to work. For dinner we had homemade Tamales, refried beans, rice and Hey Honey! cocktails. Hey Honey! is a delicious up and coming artisanal lemonade produced by the Riedinger's. It's sweetened only with honey and is available across California in three delicious flavours. During dinner I got the Tamale with the secret jalapeño in it and my mouth just about exploded! After dinner and desert it was present time white elephant style. Will and I scored a massive box of assorted flavoured local Blue Diamond Almonds and a neck massager. It was really special for us to be included in this big family affair and we even received personal presents from Anna and Bob, and Alex! Later that evening two of the more sober people took us for a drive around the neighbourhood to see all the Christmas lights and a fun night was had by all. 

Christmas Day was pretty low key with family coming and going, but for dinner we had another feast of roast turkey. I think this is also the day where we watched the old movie Christmas Vacation, a tradition in the Riedinger house, it's a classic. So that was the first of many celebrations over for another year.

During the week between Christmas and New Years the good times just kept coming one night we went out to watch Steve Frost the lead singer of Placebo who went to school with Jamie and Alex sing live, then finished the night with Moscow Mules (lime, ginger beer and vodka) at Alex's favourite bar 10 East. Then on the 28th we went with Alex and Jamie to a party at this crazy Medieval village at the back of someone's farm. They actually had a trebishe, a chapel, a banquette room, accommodation and a full on pub with four beers on tap! We had heaps of fun exploring the place and meeting all of Alex and Jamie's friends. Apparently they usually use the village for real life jousting competitions and have everyone dressed up medieval style and speak old English. 

Will and I also really enjoyed Bob and Alex teaching us how to shoot bows, as that wasn't something we had ever done before. After an initial practice session in the back yard to get the basics Bob took us down to the range. Alex's dad Bob has a real passion for archery and was at the range almost every morning and he also has a nice head collection in the garage to prove the practice paid off. Bob helped set up the range which had about fifteen 3D targets set along a trail inside a wooded grove. They ranged from a beer climbing a log to a cougar in a tree. We thought we did pretty well for newbies as we weren't the only ones losing a few arrows in the brush. The only problem I was having was the string of the bow kept catching my arm leaving me with a few bruises but after a few days rest we returned to the range for more. On one occasion Will decided it was time Scout did some more swimming so he coaxed him into the freezing river that ran through the range. Scout struggled a bit in the fast water so crazy Will joined him in his undies then it was home quickly for a warm shower!

Just a few days before New Years Eve Will, Alex, Jamie and I loaded up the Dodge and headed to Yosemite National Park for an overnight camping trip. The day was crisp as we enjoyed a few of the parks attractions and Will even spotted some climbers on the face of El Capitan. Late afternoon we headed to the camp site and set up our tents and put our food in the beer locker. We had a race with Alex and Jamie to put up the tents but got beaten by a hair, looks like we hadn't been sleeping in the tent as much as we thought. Dinner was Tamales cooked over the fire with beans and we talked around the warm flames of the camp fire into the night. The next morning we were glad to find we weren't the only ones who enjoyed a sleep in and Will even managed to cook our bacon and egg breakfast before the other two emerged. We left Yosemite that day but not before we bought a rock climbing guide book and vowed to come back and explore the place more thoroughly in the New Year.  

On the 31st of December it was obviously time to celebrate the New Year so with the Dodge running well Alex, Jamie, Will and I hit the road once more for Big Sur over on the coast. We would be seeing in the new year with Alex's sister and her partner Billy at the Furnwood Campground. We left Scout behind with Anna and Bob who also had Zach's four dogs to look after making it nine dogs in total and six of them were big German Shepherds, thanks Anna! On the way there we stopped in for lunch at Phil's Fish Market for fish'n'chips on the beach in the Monterey sun shine and later arrived in Big Sur. A BBQ dinner with Kyra and Billy's friends started the evening then we moved to the bar where they had a live band playing. We had a super fun night messing around and dancing to the band. In the wee hours as the celebrations started to wind down I became tired so decided Will and I should sleep in the car to give the others some space in the tiny cabin we were all meant to be sharing. The next morning after a groggy start and a quick shower just before check out, we hit the road again. We stopped at the beach along the way for some fresh air then with Alex driving we called in to visit her other brother Chris at the fire station. He showed us around the station and we had a play in the fire engines. Afterwards we drove up the Carmel Valley to Kyra and Billy's house for the night. For dinner Billy showed off his culinary skills; we had a barbecued chicken cooked with a beer can up its butt, but it was tasty! The next day it was time to return to Camp Turlock and just when we thought the Dodge was going well we had a tire blow on one of the old tires and soon after changing it we ran out of gas! Neither was a problem we would now just need some more new (but used) tires and Alex no longer wanted to drive.

After the New Years celebrations we started to think about leaving and going on the rock climbing trip back to Yosemite. We returned the Dodge to camp mode and then decided to take up Anna's offer of looking after Scout while we went to Yosemite from the 6th until the 10th of January. We figured that we would leave Turlock straight after returning from Yosemite, so Jamie and Alex being the awesome down to earth people that they are made me a surprise birthday cake with candles! I was stoked. They had even asked Will what my favourite flavour was and they got it spot on with the rich chocolate! 

I will write about our Yosemite trip in another blog but will finish this one by telling you about what happened when we returned to Turlock. So I may have said that we planed to leave straight after returning from Yosemite, well that pretty quickly turned into three more days in the trailer. The nice food and time to wash our clothes was too hard to resist! When Alex heard the news she organised to take us on a flight in a Cessna 172 with her and her instructor during some of her private plot licence training. We flew over the surrounding farm lands and country towns and got a new perspective of the Central Valley. We could really see how dry the region was by the vast areas of brown grass and we also got to see the dairys from above. It was strange and a little unnatural for us to see the cows constantly confined to such small enclosures and grain fed compared to the free range grass fed cattle in New Zealand. 

After flying we returned to discover Alex's brother Zach had finally proposed to his girlfriend Amy, even we knew he was going to ask her but it was all news to Amy! The engaged couple came over that night and celebrated with champagne and cake. Will and I were really feeling like part of the family, if we'd stayed any longer we might have gotten an invitation to the wedding so it was probably time to leave! The following morning we had the Dodge packed ready to go and being the 13th of January it was my birthday. Having had the cake as well as receiving some cute handmade earrings from Alex a few days earlier I wasn't expecting anything on the actual day. That is until Jamie accidentally let the cat out of the bag that there would be a final birthday brunch celebration! I was blown away by these people that just kept on being so generous. Thus we finished off our time together with mimosa's, french toast and fresh strawberries even though it was only a few days before that we'd had waffles for breakfast. The food the Riedinger's ate was always locally grown and organic, we left with a new perspective towards food and we were now looking at the back of everything to see what it contained. We cant afford to buy totally organic but they had gotten us thinking and we really enjoyed the vegetable packed juices they made as well as the organic energy balls Alex made for our Yosemite trip. 

On our way up to Sequoia NP from LA were surprised to again see so many Oil Pumpjacks littering the horizon, its something you just don’t see in New Zealand. To top the American cliche off we pulled in at a truck stop and found the biggest drink we had ever seen at 64oz (1.9L). It made the Super sized version from McDonald’s look tiny, Will just had to get one and for $1.85 it didn’t even break the bank. We completed the junk fest by buying some cheesy deep fired stick things and then hit the road for the fresh air of Sequoia NP.

We arrived at the National Park in the dark and were told that we would need chains to travel beyond the first campground which at the time we didn’t have. Not to worry we only wanted to go to the campground anyway we lied to the Ranger. At the Potwhisa campground it was only us and two other girls in a tent; we asked them about the bear situation as this was our first encounter with bear territory and all the signs said not to leave food in your car. Instead they said to use the bear lockers at each camp site. We wondered how this would work for us as we were sleeping in the car but we figured we could always start the car or something if we had any encounters and left the food inside with us while we slept. Almost sadly we had no bear problems and left the campground early the next morning.  

I was worried we would get in trouble with no chains but Will as usual was unfazed so we continued on to the visitors centre. It wasn’t the best visitors centre but we had a look around and asked about what we should do with the food in the car while we camped. The Ranger advised that we put it in the bear locker but it all sounded too much like hard work for us I don’t think they realised how much food we carry in the Dodge. We wondered what the big RV’s did but didn’t end up asking. 

From the visitors centre we drove further into the park and stopped at the giant tree museum where we learnt about the way the Sequoia trees can survive fires and how this is part of the natural cycle that makes way for new trees to grow. The park now conducts routine burns to continue this cycle in a controlled manner. The road to the Moro Rock lookout was closed which apparently makes the road a trail and guess what, while you can take dogs on roads you can’t take them on trails. So we left Scout in the car and walked down the lightly snow covered road and then up the few hundred stairs to the lookout. As you can see from the photo the view across the valley was pretty magical. Afterwards we walked to Tunnel Tree before driving over to the big daddy Sequoia tree called General Sherman; it’s the worlds largest tree by volume. We walked around the tree and admired it’s huge fire scars then queued up with the others tourists to get a our tree photo which had its difficulties given its size and it was entertaining watching everyone use different techniques to get their shot. 

We stopped in to see a few other spots in the afternoon before making our way over to camp Azalea. The road was crazy with such huge trees so close on either side you could see how the attitude towards conservation had changed over time. From the days when they cut down a 2000 year old tree to make way for a new lodge to today where they won’t remove a single Sequoia tree making the road super narrow in places. That evening we again ignored the bear warnings and kept the food in the car and yet again we didn’t see any bears just some tracks in the snow. We got all excited when Scout growled and barked for the first time ever and we really hoped to see a bear as we shined our torch into the darkness but all we found was some people walking by. The next morning we went for a quick walk around the General Grant Grove then attempted to head out of the park. I may have given Will some wrong directions and we drove a while in the wrong direction before I realised; ops my bad. 

Our next stop was in the central valley town of Turlock where we would be spending Christmas and New Years with the Riedinger family. On our way there we decided we were starving so took the opportunity to stop in at an IHOP (International House of Pancakes). We both ordered a portion of pancakes with a side of bacon and eggs it sounded good in theory but we both struggled to finish it. Near the IHOP was an auto store where we fitted a new break light bulb in the car park and finally bought some heavy duty chains for the Dodge. Afterwards we made our way to what became know as "Camp Turlock"

Hope my blogs haven’t been too much about all the bad food we’ve been eating.

Rochelle & Will

Once again we were driving into a new city and about to stay with some people we had met only briefly beforehand in some crazy location. This time the location was Laguna 69 in Peru's Cordelia Blanca; we were camped at 4500m when Eric & Jessica turned up for breakfast and asked to borrow a lighter for their cooker. We got talking and were quickly invited to stay with them when we passed through California. Little did we know but that breif meeting on a mountain would turn into an awesome house to stay in for our week in LA. 

When we arrived in Newport beach, LA, Eric said they had a beach BBQ planned but they just had to pop out and grab some supplies. We wanted to go with them but they refused so we stayed behind and got to know their house mate Daniel. Later we found out that Eric hadn't wanted us to go with them as they were collecting firewood from rubbish skips and construction site's! To be honest that sounds like something we would totally do; anyway down at the beach Eric already had the fire going when we arrived with Jessica and the hotdog supplies. This classic American meal of hotdogs and beer followed by gooey s'mores was just what we needed and we had a great night swapping travel tales! Amongst the adventure both of us couples recalled how sick we had gotten at times and how difficult it can be when your with your other half 24/7, fortunately we had all come out stronger for it. We must have still been hungry when we got home though because we said yes when Eric offered to heat up some of his other house mate Tom's famous ribs. 

After a lazy start the following morning we went for brunch at a cute little outdoor diner overlooking the beach then spent a couple of hours driving around Newport Beach with Eric and Jessica. Eric was actually moving out of his house that afternoon but arranged for us to pay a little rent and take his room for the week while they were in-between flat mates, could it get any better! Eric and Jessica went to Jessica's cousins house for their last night together in LA before going their separate ways to be with family for Christmas and had invited us to join them later that evening. 

The hot weather and salty breeze were calling Will who really wanted to have a swim before we moved further north and it became too cold, he also wanted to get Scout in there for a dip. So that afternoon we hit the dog beach and despite the cold water Will and still tiny Scout were crashing around in the waves much to the delight of all the on lookers. 

That evening we were welcomed into Jessica's cousin Vanessa's house and met her family of husband Jessie, two kids and two dogs. We joined the fun and grabbed a glass of Southern Comfort and egg nog; it was sweet and delicious. This was followed by an equally delicious pizza feast and then later in the evening we had beer and more s'mores around their outdoor fire pit. With the kids in bed and the dogs busy we talked and laughed into the night and had a really fun evening with loads of advice about what we could do while in LA. Though buying more egg nog and So.Co. was top of the list of things for us to do. Needless to say we slept the night at the Rolla’s house. 

The next morning after some bacon topped pumpkin flavoured pancakes we thought we had better seize the day and navigated our way through eight lane highways to the Santa Monica Pier. Knowing we would be going to some theme parks in the next few days we simply walked around and kept our money firmly in our pockets. We tried taking Scout with us but he was too crazy to handle with sooo many people around and everyone wanted to stop and pet him so we put him in the car. We knew it was a little hot but the air con had just been on, all four windows were cracked and he had a fresh bowl of water. However when we arrived back at the Dodge thirty minutes later some lady runs over to us and says "They took your dog. There was like twenty people here worried about him they were going to smash a window but the police came and took him". The ticket under the wiper gave the address and there was no damage to the car so we drove to the animal shelter wondering how all this could have happened, usually he's hidden in the back behind the window tints but he must have come forward for a drink and been spotted by some god-righteous animal lover. 

The guy at the animal shelter gave us a stern talking to about the dangers of leaving an animal in a hot car and despite wanting to argue our point we were all yes sir no sir in the hopes of evading a fine. The officer turned out to be nice and basically said he couldn't charge us because the vet check him over and found Scout was perfectly fine. With that debacle over we decided it was time to check out Muscle Beach just down the coast. 

At Muscle Beach we did the same thing I had done over fifteen years ago and roller bladed along the famous beach pathway. Scout thought it was super fun and pulled us individually along at high speed. A couple of times we had to pull a quick manoeuvre to avoid hitting someone and I think twice Will fell over. The action we saw along the beach was colourful to say the least and after returning the skates we walked back along the stalls. As the sun set things really started to get interesting; we were offered hard drugs several times, could have had countless consultations with so called doctors for medical marijuana and brought many counter fit items sold by muscly men with dreadlocks and tattoos. Just when we thought we had seen it all we watched a big guy in tight pants perform a dance routine in some roller skates... We finished the night with a heart attack inducing peanutbutter and bacon donut sandwich from the "Trashy Gourmet".

The next day we were up early and after leaving Scout with Daniel we ventured into a world of crazy themed rides at Disney's California Adventure. We had the theme park insiders guide which instructed us to get a 'fast pass' for the Radiator Springs ride and then head to Soaring Over California. We did all the major rides and really enjoyed the 3D shoot-em-up Toy Story ride as well as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and California Screamin roller coaster. The Aladdin show was fantastic especially sitting down after all that standing in line. Though we found the highly recommended World of Colour a bit lame and felt a bit like we had to suffer through it as we were trapped between the hoards of people all standing on our tired feet. Exhausted and full of processed unhealthy food like cream cheese pretzels and corn dogs we headed back to our new home and went straight to sleep. 

We designated the next day as an errand day and after a slow start we managed to make it out of the house, Wills project was to strengthen our rapidly deteriorating roof rack in the Home Deport parking lot. One of our overloaded roof rails had snapped on one side after the rough roads we drove in Death Valley so Will attempted to reinforce it by cable tying blocks of wood underneath the rail where the heavy roof box sat to stop the flexing. This looked like it would work pretty well other than the fact that when Will put them in he broke the other side of the roof rail as well! We now needed a new roof rail more than ever but luckily for now our crazy contraption of locks and tie downs was just holding everything in place. While Will was doing all this I was busy spending a few bucks on some super cheap new outfits at the Ross store next door. Earlier that day we had taken Scout to get his last round of vaccinations at four months old and also had is rabies titer test done to check that he has rabies antibodies for his trip to New Zealand. 

On the 18th of December just a week before christmas we went to Disney Land it was awesome being there with all the christmas displays on so even if we wouldn’t get a white Christmas here in California we were still having a very lavish American Christmas experience. This time we had no dog sitter for Scout so we decided to take him to the Disney dog kennels at four months and one day old he just made the cut for the age and vaccination requirements. But the poor guy had some pretty explosive diarrhoea just as we walked in which was horrific for us to try and clean up with people watching… It put a bit of a downer on the day especially when we arrived back at lunch time to find he had had another ‘episode’. We hoped he would be ok and decided to not give him his dinner as we continued to explore the never ending areas of Disney Land until just before closing. We again used the theme park inside advisor and skipped the lines with our fast passes for Space Mountain and the Indiana Jones ride which we both really enjoyed. In fact the longest line we waited in was for the infamous 'It’s A Small World After All' ride as I remembered it from when I was a kid and had to take Will to spot the tiny New Zealand display with the Maori girl and Kiwis. But after two days inside these man made ‘wonderlands' we had had enough. Adventure for us was found outside in the wild with no price tag attached though we could see how the kiddies could like it. 

The following day we took Scout back to the Vet who took a poop sample to figure out what was going on and then we did some laundry, watched some TV and contemplated leaving the next morning. It was a nice day completed with a nice evening when Daniel and Tom invited us out for dinner and a beer at this dog friendly bar called The Lazy Dog. We sat outside as the sun set and ate our delicious food while Scout tipped over and then chewed both his bowel of rice and bowl of water agh the joys of having a dog! At least he didn’t get the runs again while we were there. Daniel and Tom were awesome guys as was their other house mate Will and we hope we can see them all again when we return to LA for Scouts final vet checks before we fly home. 

On the 20th of December we left the craziness of LA and headed north once more.

Rochelle & Will