Cumulative miles driven: 5,660

We have not seen a "winter's day" in California since we arrived, by the sound of it this sunny and hot weather is very unusual and even though everyone is out enjoying the sun and surf what they really need here is rain. The reservoirs are dry and California is under drought conditions. The rain can hold off until at least Saturday afternoon though once we are on the aeroplane headed back towards the UK as far as I am concerned.

Having completed the coast to coast drive across the USA we have had a couple of days to explore the area south of San Luis Obispo as far as Los Angeles using the city of Ventura as a base. We really struggled with where to stop for the final three nights. Initially we looked at LA itself but could not find anywhere suitable within our rather meagre budget that did not get poor reviews of either the motel or the surrounding area. The Americans use the word 'sketchy' whereas we would probably us the term 'rough, dodgy or a dump' when describing a less than desirable neighbourhood so having ruled plenty of areas out our search eventually led us to Ventura. The word 'sketchy' appeared a little bit in various reviews but nowhere near as much as other places!

What a delight it actually turned out to be. The small downtown area had plenty of shops, bars and restaurants and the waterfront area was pleasant enough and overall it all felt clean and safe. Our motel was a little too far from the downtown area to walk for dinner but just along the road was a very good French style bistro for our final evening meal. The motel itself was probably one of the best of our trip too. All in all a nice way to finish the trip off and certainly much better than some of the other places we have visited along the coastal area.

The other places and things we have done in this area have been varied too. First off we visited Malibu, home to the rich and famous, and an expensive string of houses on the beach. Too be honest we were a little disappointed. There was a nice enough shopping area set back from the beach complete with the odd designer label shop and coffee establishments but the place seemed to lack any real soul. The beach houses did not look that appealing either and not somewhere where we would buy a dream house. We also visited Santa Barbara and this was much more pleasant than Malibu, plenty of shops and restaurants in a busy downtown area with people out and about enjoying the city. The beach and pier were not as stunning as we expected and Avila Beach, where we first visited the Pacific Ocean on this trip was a much more relaxing place than Santa Barbara. So overall, good, but probably not that good to return to.

Solvang was a place recommended to us to visit as it is a small Danish town in the heart of California. For something so 'non American' it was a nice place to spend an hour or two enjoying nice (but not too stodgy) cakes and maybe a pancake, a beer or some local wine. A night here might be very good in the future too as there are nice looking restaurants and plenty of touristy shops to peruse.

For something very American we also had a day in central Los Angeles although starting with the El Pueblo National Monument area, close to Union Station, there was a rather Spanish/Mexican feel about the place as this is where the city started to grow from. Today this is a bit of a 'tat market' area selling hats, coats snd souvenirs but it is also close to the downtown area. The main reason for driving into central LA was to watch a top flight NHL ice hockey game at the Staples Center between the Calgary Flames and the local team, the LA Kings. The area around the multi use arena has been much re-vitalised and sits alongside LA Live a large dining and entertainment area. The LA Kings won 5-2, much to the approval of the 18,000 strong crowd, and we then just had an hour and a half drive ahead of us back north to Ventura.

We have a final sixty five miles to drive in order to catch our flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) back to Manchester via Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and London Heathrow. Hopefully our bags will follow us as we head back to cold and grey Britain. It is a bit of a shame to be headed back . . . . . but maybe there will be a cheeky last minute deal to tempt us away from the UK during our planned four weeks at home!