Day 80: San Simeon CA to Long Beach CA 476km
We set off from San Simeon early.
It is cool 59degF/15degC and the skies are blue.
We ride South and leave CA1 and head east through the Cuyana Valley then to Ventura on HWY33. This route takes us off the busy highway from Obispo into farmland and mountains.
A day of arid scenes, dry stream and river beds, irrigated fields, pistachio orchards, people harvesting strawberries, mountain passes and wonderful winding roads.
We reach the hwy101 near Ventura and are on the freeway for about two hours. It is warm here 95degF/35degC. Traffic ebbs and flows. One of the ebbs is caused by a motorcycle crash. Traffic police, an ambulance and firemen are on the scene. A very sobering site.
Dick as always provides a good gap between us and the car in front - vehicles in the lane behind us seem to mirror this. When we get near to Santa Monica we accept the welcome arms of a car pool lane on the inside of the freeway. This gives us a fairly free run for the 55miles to the Long Beach off ramp.
We arrive at the Queen Mary. A night for pearls and bubbles to celebrate.
80 days around the USA.
We have been blessed by...
...each other
...the hospitality of friends,
...the people we have met along the way,
... the marvellous weather, and..
...the opportunity to see wonders of creation
As we rode into Los Angeles-the city of the angels-I listen to Abba sing
Pockets of irrigated green in the valley below the Los Padres.
Vehicles behind, beside and ahead of us.
Sometimes in 8 lanes.
Destination, The Queen Mary at Long Beach.
A love-filled journey.
Praise The Lord.
It is cool 59degF/15degC and the skies are blue.
We ride South and leave CA1 and head east through the Cuyana Valley then to Ventura on HWY33. This route takes us off the busy highway from Obispo into farmland and mountains.
A day of arid scenes, dry stream and river beds, irrigated fields, pistachio orchards, people harvesting strawberries, mountain passes and wonderful winding roads.
We reach the hwy101 near Ventura and are on the freeway for about two hours. It is warm here 95degF/35degC. Traffic ebbs and flows. One of the ebbs is caused by a motorcycle crash. Traffic police, an ambulance and firemen are on the scene. A very sobering site.
Dick as always provides a good gap between us and the car in front - vehicles in the lane behind us seem to mirror this. When we get near to Santa Monica we accept the welcome arms of a car pool lane on the inside of the freeway. This gives us a fairly free run for the 55miles to the Long Beach off ramp.
We arrive at the Queen Mary. A night for pearls and bubbles to celebrate.
80 days around the USA.
We have been blessed by...
...each other
...the hospitality of friends,
...the people we have met along the way,
... the marvellous weather, and..
...the opportunity to see wonders of creation
As we rode into Los Angeles-the city of the angels-I listen to Abba sing
" I believe in angels,
Something good in everything I see".
I believe in angels.
I have prayed at the start of every day that angels will surround us on the bike and protect us.
A plaque at New Cuyana commemorates Nancy Kelsey the sole woman on the earliest organised overland immigrant party to California in 1841.
Up and over Los Padres mountain range - 5000' and snow signs down to 1000'.
The last petrol stop for the trip.
I have donned my fluoro pink best for added visibility on the freeways.
Sometimes in 8 lanes.
Pearls and bubbles and a thankful prayer.
Praise The Lord.
The copyright for the photographs on this blog, Pearls on Wheels, is assigned to the author.
Comments
I know we Americans have a bit of a reputation, of being loud, rude, and pushy. I'm glad you could see beyond that, to find our generous, warm, and loving hearts.
One question, is Orlanda going home with you? I'll bet she'd love New Zealand.
One day we will meet.
Yes, Orlanda is coming to New Zealand. She is very keen to go on a ride from Nord Kapp Norway to Capetown, South Africa in 2015.