Sonoma valley and the south californian coast

After Yosemite we decided to take a well deserved break from climbing and drive West to the Sonoma valley. What better place to relax than a wine region! Rather than going to the well known Napa valley we decided to choose Sonoma which is a smaller and less touristy wine region that was recommended to us by Jo & Mike a French couple we met in Yosemite ( always listen to the French when it comes to wine!). Ollie (our friend from Berlin) decided to come with us before his trip ends. We stopped in a small town called Healdsburg which was full of wine tasting rooms and good restaurants but the best was when we rented some bikes and visited some wineries in the Dry Creek Valley. We were warmly welcomed by the wine producers and all the tastings were for free!

After 3 days in the wine region we left Ollie and drove to San Fransisco. We really liked the city especially the west side with the Haight which a more trendy and layback area.The city is not too big and people were very friendly ( as always so far in the States!). The only 'problem' is that the city is super expensive...actually the whole Californian coast is expensive...maybe not compare to Europe but compare to other States a hostel or a campground is at least twice the price...but it also looks like the richest state...3 days in a city and that's it, Aline and I usually feel the urge to get out back in the countryside.

We decided it was a good moment to take some beach time and to drive from Frisco to San Diego in about 10 days and stop where we would find some nice places. We first drove to Monterey where we stopped to say hi to Justin ( a climber friend we met in Oregon) and could not resist to go climbing for a day at his local crag ( the Pinnacles). We then drove for 2 days along Big Sur on Highway 1. Big Sur is a 100 miles stretch of steep coast line with dramatic views of the Pacific ocean. You see plenty of inaccessible beaches and lots of sea lions and wonderful sunrise/sunset. There are not much places to stop overnight but the drive is fantastic. We then stopped in Santa Barbara ( rich, posh and glam!) , Malibu ( does not look like on TV at all) and Santa Monica ( where the skateboard was born). Finally we took 2 days to try to surf. We thought it would be more difficult but after a few hours we were able to stand up and take some small waves...ok not with style and forget about the big waves where you usually spend more time under the water than on the board but it was really fun! We surfed in Doheny and Elijo beaches that were trully beautifull and not too crowded at all.

check out the new video California  and pictures!

We are now in San Diego and ready to go climbing again so we will head up East to the Famous Joshua Tree National Park

Oh and here are some random news/facts

- we drove 10.000 km with the van so far (it now has a total of 594.000 km, I'm not kidding)

- the score 'a la manille'( a Belgian card game) is 4-3 / for me of course

- our favorite breakfast : peanut butter and banana sandwich

- our favorite beer : the sierra nevada

- our favourite expression: 'right on, man'

- California's weather is a myth , there is fog in the morning ( but no rain ;-)

- I shaved my beard but not entirely

- In the US, every food finds its origin in Europe. We actually think it is more a marketing tool to have: French Vanilla, English Toffee, Belgian Waffle, Dutch Milk, German sausages, Italian Bread (???) What the does the italians have to do with bread? etc 

- Congrats to Candice and Caro who will become mothers soon!!!