Mel & Trinity

I wanted to wrap up my trip, summarise my highlights/least favourite moment, and the things I figured out for myself on this trip, so here goes.

I arrived home on Thursday having had no sleep on the flight. I was curious to see how I would feel when I got home. I was so excited! I dropped off my bags; gave my folks a quick call each; and then grabbed my hiking boots to hit Wimbledon Common. I managed to get up to the Common and felt nauseous from lack of sleep, so I admitted defeat, and went home to sleep. My sleeping pattern has been nuts (hence the 01:30 post). Hopefully I won’t be nodding off at my desk tomorrow (it’s first day back in the office).

The last 5 days in the Napa/Sonoma wine region, and San Fransisco were fantastic! It was wonderful to have some of my friends join me in Napa and we certainly celebrated my (near completion of my) trip in style. My hangover the next day was testament to that.

The landscape around San Fransisco and its wine region reminds me so much of the Cape (South Africa) in terms of weather, scenery and vibe (it’s just not quite as pretty as the Cape and three times the price), that I felt right at home. It made me miss Cape Town. I can’t wait to go back there. It’s still my favourite place in the world! Of course, I am South African so I may be a bit biased.

The pinnacle moment, when I crossed Golden Gate Bridge to complete my journey, occurred around 15:51 at Sunday, 20 September. It was a bitter sweet feeling completing my trip. On one hand I was so proud of what I had achieved but on the other sad it was over. In the end I wracked up around 11,450 miles on my (virgin) ride.

The moment was captured by Nicola and Gail who were in a car behind me. Thanks ladies!

Below are the highlights of my trip and some of my favourite things. I haven’t included photos of these but you could search for these on my Facebook page or foe the relevant posts on my website.

The scenic highlights of my trip:

1) The northern rim of the Grand Canyon at Yellowstone National Park
2) The magnificence that is Crater Lake
3) Mt Rainier (and its phenomenal night sky)
4) The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde
5) The whole of British Columbia (it’s too gorgeous to separate)
6) Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe
7) Bryce Canyon
8) Grand Canyon
9) Highway 101 between Big Sur and Monterey
10) Highway 1 in California

(To be honest it’s incredibly difficult to make this list)

My personal highlights:

1) Sharing sections of my trip with Grant, Nicola and my cousins
2) Meeting the amazing people that I have met on my journey
3) Meeting and walking with Charlie at Crater Lake (the guy walking the Pacific Crest Trail)
4) Having my friends Nicola, Paul, Amyn and Gail with me in Napa
5) Sharing in Aira’s 1st and Bee’s 100th birthday celebrations

And of course, crossing Golden Gate Bridge!

My favourite things:

Major city: Vancouver (BC)
U.S. Major city: San Fransisco (CA)
Smaller cities/towns: Nelson (BC), Banff (BC), Park City (UT), Jackson (WY), Sante Fe (NM), Aspen (CO), Hood River (OR), Canon Beach (OR), Lake Tahoe (CA), Mendocino (CA)
Meal: Redds (Yountville, CA)
Beer: Harvest Moon Organic Hemp Ale (Nelson, BC)
Latte: Moore Coffee (Seattle, WA)
Stays: Lake Tahoe (CA) and Mendocino (CA)
Sunrise: On the plane home
Sunset: Chandler (AZ)

My least favourite things:

1) Riding through a horrific thunderstorm in Utah
2) Riding over independence pass at night and in the rain
3) The heavy winds at times that through me all over the road
4) The excessively hot temperatures in Arizona
5) Being ‘cheated’ out of $10 at Monument Valley
6) My one lock on my pannier being damaged in Arcata (CA)
7) A flat front tyre in Bend
8) Getting stung in the neck by a wasp in Napa
9) The AirBnB I stayed at in Astoria (I don’t want to see labels on everything)
10) Loosing three things along the way – 2 wall chargers and my favourite flip flops

Having come home I realised that I love what I have, although I may need to take more sunny breaks throughout the year. I also love travelling on my own (this trip was the first time I’d ever done that). This of course means that this trip was only the beginning. My next adventure awaits (although I have to wait 6-7 weeks for Trinity to arrive back from the U.S.).

Watch this space!