California - part 2

San Francisco was great. My friend was between house mates so I was free to stay in one of the open bed rooms in the house. Quite the gift in downtown SF, where rooms go for $1,400 to $1,800+ and 1 bedrooms net $3,500 per month. The least I could do was prepare dinner daily and ensure the fridge remained stocked.

Old buddies in one of San Francisco's watering holes.

I was also happy to see traffic in San Francisco, and beyond all the way down to LA. Allow me to elaborate: California I the only North American jurisdiction where "lane filtering", or riding your motorcycle between cars, is allowed. It was beautiful cruising through Napa Valley or random highway backups without much issues. I also can't imagine how I would have gotten through the LA metro area without filtering.

After a few days I headed south on gorgeous highway 1 -- down to Monterrey, the Big Sur, and SoCal.

Along the coastal highway I saw magnificent cliffs, beautiful surfer towns, endless white beaches, tourist piers and much, much more.

Massive elephant seals!

Once south of Santa Monica, the towns started exhibiting beautiful "Mission" style architecture. 

Santa Barbara mission.

Gorgeous Ojai, CA.

Who buys ice cream with a check?

I am typing this post from a laundromat in Palm Springs, CA, about an hour into the vast southwestern desert. From here I will be venturing to Joshua Tree, into Arizona,  over to Utah and from there New Mexico and El Paso. Better keep my water jugs full.