The Cross-Country Chronicles: I Left My Heart in San Francisco

After eight months of winter where the sun gave me little more than a non-existent goggle tan, I was looking forward to getting to the west coast and soaking up some much needed sunshine.

Unfortunately, San Francisco did not deliver.

What it did deliver was a dose of its traditional west coast weather – rain. This poked a big dirty hole in our plans to spend the morning walking across the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoying the sunshine in Golden Gate Park. In fact, everything we wanted to do involved being outside so we were temporarily at a loss to what we were going to do for the one day we had designated to seeing San Fran.

After a big delicious breakfast at Ella’s (a recommendation from our house host, Anne) we exchanged our sun hats for museum tickets and headed to two of San Fran’s art galleries – the Legion of Honour and the de Young. While the de Young’s photography collection left Molly a little wanting, there were some good sculptures including a hanging cube made out of the burnt pieces of a church destroyed by arsonists.

Thankfully, the Legion of Honour made up for any disappointment with an incredible exhibition by Isabelle de Borchgrave called Pulp Fashion – dresses made entirely out of paper fibres which reflected fashion trends from the 1800s to present day. I’ve never wanted to touch a display so much in my life.

From one art show to another, we then paid a trip to the Haight – San Fran’s very own hippie-ville and my home away from home. It was difficult to control myself in the presence of so many vintage and retro clothing stores. Molly literally had to drag me out the door as I consoled myself with the reality that I can’t fit any more in my backpack as it is. The Haight also gave us a nice glimpse of San Fran's famous Victorian architecture. Believe me, these babies are boring compared to some of the colour combo's we came across.

The sun got its act together in the afternoon and after another delicious dinner with Anne at a local Mexican restaurant, Molly and I paid one last visit to the Golden Gate Bridge – a choice which definitely rewarded us with a few memorable happy snaps of the setting sun over San Francisco.

We called it an early night (or as early a night as possible when Sex in the City is on cable) and fell asleep with LA in our dreamy sites.

If it rains, I’ll cry.

Ciao for now. xo

The Cross-Country Chronicles: I Got People in Portland

Guess who's back in the USA?!

That's right. I've traded in maple syrup, Tim Hortons and the eternal winter for west coast beaches and Barack Obama. And I couldn't be happier. Bye bye Canada. Hello California.

After 18 brief but enjoyable hours in Vancouver with Zosia Cassie - my bunk director from Appel Farm 2010 - I made my way into the Americas via Seattle, Washington. I had a two hour layover in Seattle before I was due to catch a train to Portland, which was just enough time to decide that I could live in Seattle and live a very happy life. Despite its reputation, I was dubious about the coffee (I have become dubious about all American coffee) but I was pleasantly surprised that it lived up to its name. I spent two hours sitting in a cafe called Zeitgeist - free WiFi, coffee, happy days - sending emails and preparing myself for the prospect that in four hours I would be in Portland with my Appel Farm BFF, Molly Soloway.

Seeing Molly really hit home that I was back in the USA and that after all the waiting, camp was a mere couple of weeks away. Her parents welcomed me into their Portland home like I was one of their own children and were even encouraging about my having another hole pierced through my ear - just be glad it's not a tattoo, Mum. Molly showed me the Portland delights - the Saturday Markets, a trip to Trader Joe's for roadtrip supplys and a night of dancing at the Crystal Ballroom for their 80's music video party. Whitney Houston, dance your heart out.

My stay in the City of Roses was short and sweet and before we knew it, Molly and I were embarking on our Cross Country Roadtrip - Portland to New Jersey via the most wayward destinations available (more on that to come).

Our first day was spent getting lost before we even got out of Portland, followed by a seven hour drive to Eureka, California where for the second time since being in the USA, I got behind the wheel. Molly swears I'm doing really well, although I swear there's been a few times where she's clutched the door handle in fear because I've drifted too far to the right side of the right lane. Give me a break - it's a struggle using the left side of my brain.

On our drive to Eureka, we were given a small taste of the Redwood National Forest but nothing compared to our drive from Eureka to San Fransisco where we drove straight down the middile of the Avenue of the Giants. The Redwood National Forest protects 45 per cent of Coastal Redwoods - the tallest and most magnificent trees in the world. You could not wrap your arms around these suckers if you had your whole extended family plus the Brady Bunch - they're huge.

After Molly and I got tired of taking photos of the trees and driving our car through the middle of one (we didn't crash, we actually drove through a hole in a tree and paid $6 to do it), we headed onwards to San Francisco - home of the Golden Gate Bridge, Full House and a hell of a lot of hills. We are fortunate enough to be staying with the mum of one of Molly's school friends who has been an obliging and humble host since we got here all of five hours ago . She took us on a guided tour of downtown San Fran and then treated us to a lovely dinner and an even tastier bottle of red.

We're taking a break from driving tomorrow and spending the day in San Fran, where we will no doubt take more photos of the Golden Gate Bridge and tone up our ta-tas walking up and down this hilly heaven.

Ciao for now. xo