‘A full holiday, but nice to be together for a long time’

Image: private

Gidi (36) toured with husband Adrian and daughters Ella (9) and Loulou (4) for a month between LA and San Francisco, before flying to New York. A journey full of adventure and impressions.

“Only one occasion my youngest daughter asked if she could go home to pick up her Elsa dress. Furthermore, the fact that we were on holiday longer was something positive rather than negative. When we are gone for two weeks, I soon find myself thinking about the end of the holiday. Now that we were going to travel for four weeks, I felt less restlessness. I had all the time to just enjoy. And it felt like we were more involved in the community instead of just visiting as tourists.

Diverse landscape

I was once in San Francisco with Adrian and we were curious about what else there was to discover in that area. Last summer it finally happened. I like the desert very much, Adrian is more into mountains, sports activities.

Fortunately, we encountered plenty of both during our trek. Because that struck me again and again: how diverse the landscape is between Los Angeles and San Francisco. And the climate: sometimes we went from 38 to 18 degrees in one day. In LA it sometimes seemed almost Mediterranean, but further down at Joshua Tree it was desert-like with special trees. Then we headed for the coast, where it felt English and the climate was cool: a completely different world.

“We drove from dry to cool, from a bit bushy to jungle”

Big Sur, another coastal area of ​​California, was more Atlantic, with rocks and forests with the tallest trees in the world and crazy yellow mountains with dry grass. Then to Yosemite National Park, where we suddenly drove between the steep rock walls. I was always amazed at how quickly everything changed from dry to cool, from slightly bushy to jungle, and that we could tick it all off in one trip.

Death Valley

Before leaving I was actually only a little afraid of Death Valley. It’s one of the hottest places on earth and I could imagine our car breaking down and standing there on the side of the road, in the heat, with no coverage. But the opposite happened. We had been out of Las Vegas for a while when we saw dark clouds approaching. We already knew then that storms were coming, but yes, what can you do with that, how does that work? We asked someone at the gas station. He looked at our car, saw that it was a four-wheel drive and said: this will be fine, keep driving.

“Just past the California border, we got an emergency alert on our phone: ‘Turn around! A matter of life or death!’“

But moments later, just beyond the California border, we got an emergency alert on our phone: “Turn around! A matter of life or death! Only take to the road to flee!’ At that moment I panicked: what are we doing? The children were meanwhile listening to music in the backseat and did not notice anything.

We decided to take shelter at a seedy looking casino, and then, when it was a bit quieter, we drove into Death Valley. There were meanwhile flash flood arise, enormous streams of water. A sheriff guided us through the mudslides. When I saw him, I felt relief. But I also realized how vulnerable we are and how strong nature is.

Read also – Route 66 in an oldtimer: 9 tips for a fun holiday with children >

In its own way

I found Joshua Tree to be one of the most beautiful places on our trip. It was like a warm, quiet bubble where the world seemed a little more diffuse, as if everything was muffled by the sand. Then we drove straight to Las Vegas. That was a bit of a shock. After five minutes in the city, my daughter pulled me along: “I want to go back,” she said. ‘I do not like this.’

“Joshua Tree was like a warm, calm bubble where the world seemed more diffuse”

It wasn’t until the next day that we were able to look at it from a bit more distance and saw how over the top everything was. People walked around with mega-sized slush puppies and we saw how Americans had recreated all kinds of things in their own way, such as Venice, the Eiffel Tower or a kitschy Roman palace. We walked through a kind of art installation called Omega Mart: a surreal supermarket with a freezer that turned out to be a gateway to another world, full of slides and light installations. Pretty bizarre, but the kids thought it was really cool.

My daughter was recently allowed to make a list at school with the things she liked most about her holiday. She mentioned the giant sequoias, the Space Shuttle at the Science Center, and, of course, the bizarre freezer in Las Vegas. But also a store in San Francisco where they sold little Japanese dolls – that excited her just as much, and frankly I did too.

Full program

We didn’t really leave on spec: I knew well where we would go, and where we would sleep. The program was quite full, maybe we were a bit too enthusiastic. This is how we ended our trip in New York, where it was actually much too busy and too hot for us.

Along the way, I was therefore sometimes afraid that it was too much for the children, that I would burden them with our wishes. And sometimes my eldest also found it a bit difficult to be on the road all the time. But all in all it was a very nice time, especially in California. To be together for so long. And after all that bustle, our own capital city home felt like a village after returning home. Wonderfully quiet, sometimes nice.”

Read also – With a camper through the west of America: this is what to see >

Doing

Educational

In the California Science Center, for example, you can see the Space Shuttle. It is not only about the universe, but also about nature. Admission was free, like many other museums in the US.

californiasciencecenter.org

Gaming

Beautiful old arcade games can be found at Musee Mécanique in San Francisco. A fascinating place.

museemecanique.com

Fairy tale

As if you have ended up in a fairytale forest, that’s how Muir Woods near San Francisco feels. The trees are gigantic high. Magic.

Beautiful place

A nice combination of educational and beautiful is the Griffith Observatory. At this observatory you have a great view of LA

griffithobservatory.org

To sleep

Quirky

Just outside LA you’ll find Sierra Madre, a quirky place. Wonderfully quiet and you can make beautiful mountain walks.

airbnb.nl/rooms/4317515

Alien

Joshua Tree is a magical, otherworldly place where you can completely unwind. Our cottage had a beautiful interior.

thejoshuatreehouse.com, @thejoshuatreehouse

Gold panning

This lodge was perfectly set up for children. In the river next to it you can find real gold.

sequoialodgekernville.com

To eat

Tasty tacos

Taco trucks can be found all over LA Leo’s Taco Truck is one of the most famous. Our eldest was a big fan of the tacos, which she could invest herself.

leostacostruck.com

Add fish

Mercado La Paloma in LA was a surprise. Something for everyone in this food hall, but Holbox’s tacos with freshly fried fish were a favourite.

mercadolapaloma.com

Muy bien

At Barceloneta in Santa Cruz we ate better tapas than in Spain.

eatbarceloneta.com

To enjoy

At Gayle’s Bakery (also Santa Cruz) you stand among the locals who quickly come to get a bite. The pastries are delicious, especially the Cinnamon Sugar Downtowner.

gaylesbakery.com

With a subscription to Kek Mama you enjoy great benefits:

*Cheaper than in the store
*Read Kek Mama first every month
*Shipped for free

Subscribe now and pay only €4.19 per edition.

Post Views: 0