jeff and elise in the USA

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approaching santa barbara. we had booked a fairly nice room for this night as a bit of a treat for ourselves, so we were looking forward to getting there

 

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getting that summer holiday feel.

 

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nice old beach houses along from the inn on summer hill where we planned to just rest and enjoy one peacefull evening

 

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inn on summer hill

 

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they serve really good afternoon snacks yummy cheese and condiments. we planned to watch the sun go down here, but then realised that despite being on the west coast the view faces almost true south.. still it was a good sunset

 

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enjoyed a few drinks as the sun sank peacefully.

 

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we thought he lived further north.. apparently not

 

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more great riding but more of that pesky fog.. it can get quite cold

 

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woops forgot the pic

 

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malibu... i had imagined it a beach heaven, but we found it grotty

 

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heading slightly inland after santa monica you realise theres a lovely day happening away from the nasty fog.. we are heading to san diego and will return to LA latter

 

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large man on stilts why??? not sure, but interesting

 

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we loved that nation pride is everywhere

 

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awesome church in san diego

 

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san diego is a beautiful city. seemingly well planned around its geography

 

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even downtown traffic was good, but our GPS wanted to take us the wrong way down one way streets

 

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unloading at the gaslight ramada which has alift which was once the fastest in the USA and people came just to ride it. its probably one of the USA.s slowest lifts now, but it is pretty special.

 

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LOL about the GPS. it gave us a headache trying to get out of san diego to go to Mexico. luckily we asked a Mexican street cleaner and she gave excellent directions.

 

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the point of no return... with hindsight we should have taken this exit lol.

 

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at this point mexico still held promise of being worth seeing in a positive way

 

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the border crossing people asked if we were sure we wanted to cross, at the time we thought we would find the area the tourists shop and get a few souveineers, apparently tour busses dont go there anymore and thats probably a good thing. The GPS stopped at the crossing, so we were officially lost, Elise hid all her jewlery, and i was on hightened alert, it is seriously yuck. almost everyone stares at you like a lion stares at a wounded antelope. the squallid conditions and disrespect for their environment is obvious in every direction.

 

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after about an hour of taking in the sights of mexico we made it to the area formerly visited by tour busses, thanks to the help of the only American we saw. he also gave us some good tips including where to park the trike in RELATIVE safety. we cautiously ventured away from the trike and did some shopping, we did find one nice shop keeper. Elise got a mexical blanket and a few trinkets and i got a tijuana choppers T shirt which will serve as a reminder never to go back to Mexico again

 

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getting into mexico was easy... getting out is another story... three and a half hours in a jamb in the baking sun isnt fun. beggers and desperadoes all wanting a dollar, those selling cans of cold drink were a welcome sight

 

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as you get closer to immigration the stalls are right on the motorway, you could grab something from your lane lol. i guess this never moves at over 1 mile per hour.

 

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disorganised turns into pure chaos as you get closer and slowly closer.. its a place where tempers frey. i know mine did.

 

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it may not show but at this point im cheering on the inside. almost there

 

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you know how Homer simpson chants USA USA... well thats how i felt.. the USA represented freedom at its best after Mexico

 

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cruising san diego at dusk

 

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