USA Adventure - Fall '24

Our Fallbrook Airbnb was a lovely, bijou Casita with a west-facing balcony yielding amazing views and sunsets. It was located in the grounds of a beautifully decorated hilltop house owned by Kathy and Ron, who proved to be extraordinary hosts. Kathy asked if I'd walk with her to Guajome Regional Park and another morning to Santa Margarita River Trail Preserve. This special place is one of the last free-flowing wild rivers in Southern California, and part of the South Coast Ecoregion, a global diversity hotspot but with many species under threat. The A-board when we arrived listed an incredible range of species sitings including a mountain lion and I was slightly concerned about the amount of snakes, but in the end I only saw a duck and a rabbit! As well as a love of wildlife and walking, Chris and I discovered that we shared a love of wine with our hosts. In fact, Ron had an extensive wine cellar and accompanying knowledge, and after drinks one night, Kathy confirmed we were h...

The photos describe La Jolla better than words. We ate at a popular Mexican fish market; I had fresh fish Tacos and cabbage slaw and Chris a grilled calamari steak and salad, washed down with a bottle of Mexican Pacifico. 25 degrees and bright sunshine; a lovely way to spend a Sunday. On a serious note, the area where we parked was dominated by many buildings of the  Scripps Institution for Oceanography. It has been at the forefront of oceanographic developments, one of the earliest identifiers of climate change, including a former student who died in 2019 aged 101 years,  Walter Munk, who as an ocean expert helped plan the timing of D-Day. It also owns Birch Aquarium which we'd like to visit if we have time.

On a walk around the expansive Oceanside Marina one day, I saw a large raft covered in Sea Lions. They were also lying on the boat pontoons with signs to keep away as they were dangerous. Their bark is similar to a dog's and one little poodle walking past was obviously confused! Pods of dolphins would swim parallel to the surfers at Oceanside, in deeper water. Chris and I did a fantastic 5 mile walk or trail linking the beaches, coves and cliffs of La Jolla, the 'jewel' of San Diego, located 30 miles south of Oceanside. It is close to Miramar, once home of TOPGUN (now in Fallon, Nevada) and several celebrities including Alicia Keys. It is a beautiful coast and a huge Marine Protected Area and from the cliffs we saw seals, sea lions, pelicans (very smelly) and cormorants. On Saturday we had a BBQ with the retired General Ty and his wife Leah in their lovely home, near Bonsall, in the heart of avocado country (in fact they have 30 trees in their garden and we are still eating...

After visiting Sprouts Farmers Market Supermarket - loved it - we moved into our first Airbnb Apartment in North Coast Village, Oceanside, famed for its endless beach and world-class surf. The balcony faced south towards the pier - the longest wooden one on the western US coastline - and a 2 minute walk took us to near pale, sugary sand and a much anticipated paddle in the Pacific Ocean. Chris estimated that the water was about 16 degrees and we could tell why the many surfers wore wetsuits, as well as stopping the board rubbing skin as he found out on a surf lesson. The waves were impressive and very loud, but the beach was quiet; for us,  this was a great beach day but for the locals, it was out of season. The resort had a heated and large spa pools and surrounded by tropical landscaped gardens it proved a great place to chill. Over the next few days, I walked, swum, ate and explored and I have recorded many things about American life that I thought I knew or have been surprised ...

We drove along a busy Interstate 15 around 60 miles north to Temecula, a populous but spread-out city in Temecula Valley Wine Country (it has 41 wineries alone).  We arrived at Marriott Springhill Suites for 2 nights, located just outside Old Town Temecula (founded 1859) and a 10 minute walk for Chris to Metrea and antique shops and real cafes for me!  The area was originally colonised by the Pechanga Band  of Luiseño  Indians, and they now have a Reservation to the south of the City with the usual Casino and resort; US states have limited legal ability to forbid gambling as the Indians have tribal sovereignty and use the funds for their economy and services (John Grisham is a great source of information!!). After work for Chris and my first real Chocolate Milkshake and a bit of mooching - the cowboy boots and alligator jerky were not for me - I arranged to dine at Lorimar Winery (recommended) as there was live music. Lovely atmosphere, great food and nice Sauvi...

After toasted cinnamon bagels for me and waffles for Chris (which he made himself), we left our bags at Reception and headed across the road (no jaywalking of course) to the Waterfront and historic ships. Amazingly, the first one we saw, "The Star of India", was built in the Isle of Man in 1863, and is the oldest active sailing ship in the world. Further along was USS Midway, the longest serving US aircraft carrier of the 20th century (1945-1992), whilst nearby was a 'megayacht' called 'Launchpad', which I discovered was built and launched this year for Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook etc) at a cost of 300 million dollars. In front of that was 'Wingman', a vessel that could easily belong to the villain in a James Bond movie, and which was used to house his staff, at a cost of 30 million dollars!  I guess 'Wingman' was chosen as a name for its 'Top Gun' reference, as we later sought out the bar used by the film's naval aviators,...

 Change of Plan: Heading West to avoid Tampa Welcome to my blog following our last-minute trip to the US! In parallel to a few days of planning to travel to and stay in Tampa, Florida, I was tracking the development of a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico with the National Hurricane Centre, which had the potential to make landfall directly in Tampa Bay. The worst-case scenario evolved and the storm became the Category 5 Hurricane Milton, predicted to be the worst weather event for Tampa since 1921. It was due to make landfall at the precise hour our flight was scheduled to land! What is it with my family and extreme US weather (Ange)?  With a potential storm surge of over 12ft, which could engulf a vast area of the city including collegues property and Downtown Tampa, location of our first Airbnb, Chris decided to 'Go West', to Temecula, California. Leaving Wednesday morning at 7, we flew Virgin Atlantic for 7.5 hours to New York, arriving to a 2 hour queue to process our ES...