Author: Mr A
Location: Sydney, Australia to Pasadena, USA
Thursday: This was the longest Thursday ever! We got up at 6am in Sydney, flew to LA, spent hours crawling through LAX immigration and LA traffic up to Pasedena, then went shopping, had lunch, more shopping, then dinner. A total of 33 hours awake with a quick 40 minute snooze.
Thanks to Pasedena local Deborah (Catherine’s friend though her Facebook group for fellow sufferers of her airway disease*) we were collected from our motel, driven around to organise local mobile SIM cards, banking and then to the local outdoor chain store REI, where I promptly got stuck in to some much needed retail therapy. Catherine wasn’t quite as lucky finding her size in things.
Deborah also took us to the best places to eat, with Japanese dining at lunch, a break for a local brew mid afternoon and American grill in the evening.
All were superb high quality food experiences with great service.
Mrs A almost committed a rookie error when visiting the bathroom though. There was a dispenser by the sink that was full of blue lotion. Catherine was about to squirt it into her hands (assuming it was soap) when the lady next to her, who seemed unable to speak, began gesturing enthusiastically. Catherine twigged…it was mouthwash she was about to clean her hands with! We then got chatting to Catherine’s rescuer and her dinner date. Everyone’s so friendly.
Pasadena isn’t going to be on everyone’s tourist list, we came here to see Deborah and escape LA traffic before collecting our hire car, but we could easily have spent much longer here. The higher elevation here means its a little fresher than the smoky LA basin, so a town grew up framed by the mountains that provide a scenic backdrop.
Location: Pasadena to Atascadero, California, USA
Friday: After some much needed sleep we headed down to sample our first US breakfast. 
Now, apparently the grey porridge looking substance in the photo is….biscuits in gravy. Not something I’m going to add to my roast beef anytime soon!
Then we were off to pick up our car. Driving on the right here we come. Deborah transferred over her “care package” for us – a slab of water bottles, disposable plates, cutlery and all sorts for picnics. What an amazingly thoughtful lady. She keeps thanking Catherine for all her help and support through the Facebook group, and was grateful to be able to do something for her. Don’t tell Tassie, but there was a little bit of time with Deborah’s very cute Pomeranian ‘cat-dog’ Houdi (Houdini!) before we headed off.
So all equipped we headed off north up to Route 101…minus Houdi!
When we stopped at a junction just outside Santa Barbara, we spotted this young guy with an interesting proposition.
A stop was called for in Santa Barbara, first job a quick wine stock up (we need to get used to the premium price of Californian wine compared to Australia), and then spotted a sign for “Cat Therapy”. We couldn’t resist of course. It was a business just about to open as a cat café, and the young ladies us allowed us in for a preview.
The idea is they take cats from rescue shelters in LA and use the café to showcase them to patrons as prospective adopters. Brilliant.
Lunch then beckoned in the form of the number 1 recommendation on Trip Advisor. We can see why, after fish tacos with a fresh salad that were top class. Gee this is going to be a tough trip on the waistline!
Santa Barbara had a lovely feel to it with wide open boulevards, Spanish style architecture and upmarket shops. Clearly some money floating around here.
As we pulled away from Santa Barbara we were treated to magnificent views over the Channel Islands National Park and the valley below.
Ever the tour guide, we received a message from Deborah recommending we stop for a beer at the Cold Springs Tavern, an old staging post in the hills. We took the short diversion – very nice…loving the locally brewed beers and the very cute blue Californian Steller-Jays. 
The views from the road were superb as we climbed up to our friends’ place in Atascadero where we will spend the weekend.
Dave and SJ moved out of the hustle and bustle of San Francisco a year ago to this incredible spot way up on a ridge with 360 degree views towards either the ocean or the vineyards.
A superb dinner was spent sampling some local products from those vineyards, awesome surf and turf to soak it up. It’s awesome to see people like these guys so change their lives from inner city to rural isolation. Just check out these views and our first taste of their local hummingbird population.
Our friends recently also moved to fur parent status. Check out this poser!
We’ve certainly had a fantastic start to our month in the USA – how can it get better than this?
*Idiopathic subglottic stenosis
Tea progressed into champagne, and the four of us then went out for a delicious local curry – Mark and Chris careful not to overdo the cheese and nibbles before we went!
Mark drove excellently despite the stressful conditions, and before long we were emptying the last of our freezer bits and pieces and heading to our friends’ apartment in Matraville, not far from Botany Bay for a delicious roast lamb dinner and a well deserved glass of red wine.
Monday and Tuesday were earmarked for the all essential medical check ups, with good news for Mr A’s eye pressures, less good news for my airway (but a new procedure to try in October), and some steroid injections into my foot to allow some comfortable hiking in the USA.
Mr A took the opportunity to catch up with a bunch of old work colleagues for lunch while I had a hair cut. Lovely.
We finished off our day joining Jenny and David for dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Fabulous food and company as always.
While we are away, Miss Tassie will be staying here at her luxury pad in Matraville for the next month. She’s settled in nicely, already solar mapping out the apartment. Apparently the new chairs on the balcony suit her, while she is also finding the colour scheme elsewhere works with her glossy blue coat. She’s in good hands here.
The sand was just so fine and white, almost felt like flour in your hand. We had a great lunch at a little surf cafe, and then settled in back at the Zone.
We had a brief whirlwind of time to transfer our cases and food back into the caravan, dig out the smart clothes and get changed, before the four of us drove into Brisbane for the evening.
After this, we parted ways, Phil and Libby ending up at a pub helping celebrate a nephew’s birthday, while Mr A and I joined three lovely ladies for dinner in a French restaurant beside the water.
We have probably driven past this area a dozen times without any awareness of what’s here, but it’s a lovely rural settlement sat on the banks of the Clarence River close to the estuary. There are over 100 islands in the wide river here, the nearest to us being Goodwood Island.
The sun was starting to set so we only went a couple of kilometres, crossing over the bridge to Goodwood Island and checking out the wet sugar cane fields before returning for the evening.
More rain and thunder entertained us, a novelty after the dry and drought of the inland areas. Sadly, it seems the rain is sticking to the coast, not helping out the farmers this time.
We chat about our plan to come and rent here when we have had enough of our full time nomadic phase. It certainly is nice to be in an apartment again with endless water on tap and a toilet I don’t have to empty every morning! Tassie also approves, taking up her position on the day bed watching the non-stop action on the river.
Watching the sunset turn the water to red, we both feel that we want to see this view a LOT more.
All sorts of local folk are selling their wares, or cooking up tasty treats. We could so get used to this life!
Sunday: A little worse for wear this morning, it was market time again – this time at the local Noosa farmers market. It seems the whole town turns out to buy their weekly fruit and veg, so you can see it is a bit of a social catch up as well. The food we buy is all just so yummy. Fresh olives with flavours that just leap out at you. Nitrate free bacon. Oranges and apples that are bursting with juice.
We come back and pile into the fresh produce for lunch.
What a view. Great beer on tap, free live music, good bar service. I could enjoy making this a regular Sunday night catch up spot with friends!
And what a beautiful walk it is. We are days away from the offical start of spring here (1st September) but the wildflowers were out in abundance.
Several varieties of boronia, teatree, bottlebrush, peas, heath, eucalypts and more brightened our pathway, accompanied by the rhythmic hum of insects feeding on the nectar. It really was good for the soul and reminded us how much we love bush walking at this time of year.
The pathway was well marked and predominantly white sand or grass, very easy walking with a couple of water crossings along the way. The landscape was quite open with good views to the east, across to the Great Sandy National Park.
Even the trunks of the gum trees were beautiful!
We stopped walking after around 5km when we saw the path dropping steeply downhill, remembering we had to turn around at some point and return via the same route.
We definitely recommend getting out and enjoying the Australian bush at this time of year.
So good to be back by the ocean again, with those lovely smells of the sea air, the calm waters of the Coral Sea exuding a tranquility that we just soaked up, over a cold beer.
I did smile though on seeing this cafe perched in a car park, next to the road, when the other side of the building was…..
…this view! I don’t think 1770 has quite made it into 2018 – and that’s part of its appeal.
This was a little less sleepy, with a few shops and restaurants, one of which we had been told was going to be offering an Indian focused menu tonight. A booking was made – this little business is clearly making an effort to do something a bit different. A range of speciality teas lined the walls that almost rivalled our selection in the Zone!
Then it was back to Cafe Discovery for their take on Indian food. A beef vindaloo and chicken tikka masala went down a treat.
We decided to brave the weather and headed out for a walk, so glad we did. The first short walk we did through a paper bark forest was magical with the sun making the dripping vegetation just sparkle.
Then it was a 6km coastal walk, although the weather then closed in and it really started to throw it down, complete with thunder and lightning.
Back to the park and a quiet Sunday night (when isn’t it nowadays!) and plans made for our departure tomorrow.
Queensland is very dry currently, not having had rain in this area for a couple of months. This is very evident in the sheer numbers of birds flocking to this little water source, particularly grey fantails and flocks of silvereyes, so gorgeous.
Six kilometres later we were back at camp for a relax. This is one of the nicest places we have parked our mobile apartment in a long while, surrounded by tall gum trees, dappled sunlight and high sandstone walls providing a picturesque backdrop. As we sat outside with a cup of tea a couple we had seen on our walk strolled past, the American man inviting Mark to join him on a cycle up to the dam later on in the afternoon. Mark accepted his invitation, and jumped on his bike for a ride.I meanwhile finished baking an orange and almond cake, and left that to cool while I went off on another 6km walk.
From there, I walked up to Dragon Cave, so named for the black ‘mural’ of a dragon up on the wall in there…with a little imagination. Generally I just enjoyed the clean fresh air, the sound of the birds and just being outdoors in the warm light of the late afternoon.
I reached camp just as the sun was setting, and Mr A was already sipping a glass of French red wine with his cycling partner and some other neighbours. It turns out the cyclist, Ben, works with mutual friends in Sydney. What a small world!
Cania Gorge had a gold rush in the 1870s, and the remnants were visible on a short walk. There was little gold here, with 183.5 tons of rock yielding only around 4.3kg of gold – a lot of work for little reward under gruelling conditions. Today felt pretty warm at about 25 degrees centigrade in the middle of winter. We had a wander around, then headed off to do another, longer walk.
We hiked up to a lookout giving us a fabulous view across this little National Park, before returning to camp.
Before long we were seeing signs for Rubyvale and Sapphire, and finally our destination for the evening in Emerald. Yes, you guessed it, we are in the gemfields, but not having a go at fossicking this time. That would involve attention to detail and patience, not Mr A’s strengths!
Looking at the map, it would be easy to miss little Cania Gorge. It sits about 150km from the coast inland from Gladstone, and like Carnarvon National Park has deep sandstone gorges and apparently a healthy population of platypus. We had been recommended this location by two separate friends who are or have been in the past local to this area, so thought it would be crazy to miss it.
A short cycle along the road allowed us to learn more about the multitude of wild creatures living here, many rare and endangered, and the evidence of 19,000 years of Aboriginal habitation in the gorge. Incredible. Already it feels like a very special place.
But we just couldn’t imagine what you would do for the weeks that some people are clearly spending here! There are four caravan parks in town, and no shops that seem to cater for them. What do all these nomads do here? Some on our camp look very settled in. Each to their own I guess.
Then a very chilled out day, concluding with a Goan fish curry courtesy of Mrs A’s fair hands. Well I have now graduated to kitchen assistant preparing the garlic, turmeric, ginger and blending up with pestle and mortar. Its a start!