What I imagined as two weeks getting to know San Francisco has turned out to be more of a 10 day road trip around Southern California and Nevada. That's fine by me - I don't drive, but I do like maps. I don't, however, like American street signs. At least they keep you on your toes.
So we've been from San Francisco to Los Angeles via Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo, along the coast road which despite heavy mist around Big Sur was still gorgeous. From Los Angeles, we drove to Las Vegas which to my great surprise I really enjoyed. After a day trip to the Grand Canyon we headed back to San Francisco via Yosemite National Park and an overnight stop in Bishop.
It's been a trip of contradictions. I find the US extremely enigmatic and beguiling. I could live here, certainly. In some ways it suits my lifestyle better than London ever will. On the other hand, the excesses of consumption disturb me, and without a car the experience would be very different to my last two weeks.
It's been great just to switch my eyes to infinity, remind myself what a horizon is, and stop living life at 18 inches. I'll fill in the gaps when I get the photos from my fellow travellers and upload them to Flickr along with my own. There's too much for one blog post anyway.
Back Saturday.