San Diego - Santa Barbara

Ocean Beach is a really relaxed seaside town that is a breath of fresh air compared to the full on neons of the Las Vegas strip. We spent much of our time during the day wondering around the various strange boutiques that line the main street. In a simular situation to our time in Colorado people at the hostel are confused when we tell them that we don't surf. San Diego itself is reminiscent of Austin in that it is manageable small city and it is built around a vibrant central area known as the Gaslamp District. On Sunday we walked from the middle of town to the huge Balboa Park which houses all of the cities major museums and exhibitions and the world famous San Diego Zoo. The zoo had some of the most impressive purpose built habitats either of us have ever seen which allow you to get incredibly close to the animals without disturbing them. We spent hours watching gorillas, orangutans and hippopotomi that came within inches of our faces behind reinforced glass panels. One of the best exhibits was the purpose built panda enclosure where the zoo is attempting to stem their decline towards extinction through a unique breeding program. One of the new arrivals, a six month old female had managed to climb to the top of a very large tree and fall asleep, it was an endearing sight. It was great to see so many different species in one place and to discover yet more animals we didn't even know existed.
The following day we boarded our final Greyhound bus that would take us through downtown Los Angeles and in to the foothills of Hollywood. It was a great relief when we stepped off the bus because we knew that we wouldn't have to travel such long distances by bus again. The hostel was two blocks walk from the bus station on a street just off Hollywood Boulevard and four blocks from the Kodak Theatre. When checking in we booked an extra bed for Max who would be joining us a few days later. After getting something to eat we spent the evening wondering up and down Hollywood Blvd looking at some of the stars on the Walk of Fame. Los Angeles is so unimaginably massive that we decided to leave much of our sightseeing until we could pick up another rental car. That night we decided to get an early night so that we could rise early the next morning and go to Disneyland. The original Disneyland is so much smaller than the more modern parks at less than a quarter the size of Euro Disney. However, this seemed to make the experience all the more enjoyable as it was possible to see everything in one day. Because we went midweek in the off season it was also relatively deserted so the longest we had to queue for was about ten minutes. Many of the rides have been updated in line with Disney's more recent films and franchises but the world's first themepark still maintains it's original charm. Its was well worth the three hour round trip we had to get there and back.
The next day we had another two hour journey on public transport to pick up Max from Los Angeles International airport. Once he'd arrived we boarded an Alamo shuttle and were whisked away to pick up our rental car, a surprisingly flash Pontiac Grand Prix. It took us a further two hours to negotiate our way back through central LA and Beverley Hills in rush hour traffic. It was then we realised that it would make sense to get out of the city the next morning and begin making our way north towards San Francisco. So the next day after having breakfast at a local diner we drove up the coast through Malibu in the direction of Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is one of the most picturesque towns on the coast of California boasting soft sand beaches and white washed Spainish colonial buildings that give the town a real Mediterranean feel. We liked the look of the place so much that we decided to stay two nights. We have spent much of the day light hours at the beach and our evenings have been devoted to exploring State Street which has a wealth of restuarants, specialist shops and cocktail bars. Last night was the town's 54th annual Christmas parade which saw hundreds of children from the local schools performing and singing to welcome in the holiday season. It must be hard to get into the Christmas spirit here in southern California but they seemed to manage pretty well. The town's relaxed atmosphere and vibrant nightlife has been the perfect first stop on our whistlestop tour. Tomorrow we will be making our way towards San Luis Obispo on highway 1 and look forward to some spectacular seaviews. We only have ten days left of our trip so we are determined to make the most of it.