Setting Off

On Wednesday I fly to Los Angeles for a 3-week vacation that has been 44 years in the making.

I first arrived in the US in late June of 1980. I had earned a scholarship to study at the Library of Congress in Washington DC for 6 weeks during the summer. I sold my scholarship flight ticket to DC and replaced it with one to Los Angeles. I was a 21-year-old British student. I wanted to surf Malibu Beach.

I kept the flight back from DC six weeks later, decided that I would just hitchhike across. It looked all very plausible on a piece of paper.

The next 10 weeks were the most formative of my life. The ‘Welcome to America’ was so overwhelming that I knew I would eventually move here and establish my life here. What happened during those 10 weeks is scarcely believable. One incredible story after another. My 8-foot yellow surfboard went all the way up the coast of California with me. I interviewed the leader of the US Senate, in my jeans, in his offices in DC.

I traveled to Los Angeles, Tijuana, San Diego, MALIBU BEACH, Monterrey, San Francisco, Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, New Orleans, Washington DC, and New York City. Living out of a red backpack with a Union Jack on it. A smile and a hitchhiker’s thumb. And I got a first-class grade on my scholarship, despite spending only 6 days studying in DC.

I am writing the book of that trip – ‘Welcome to America.’ Even if it does not sell a copy, it will be such fun to recall the experiences and write it down. On Wednesday I am going back to retrace my first 3 weeks of that trip in California. A lot of that trip has been lost in the fog of time. I only have about 20 photos from the whole 10-week trip, (no iPhones in those days), but they are very helpful guideposts. One of them is from a bullring in Tijuana. I have absolutely no recall of being in Mexico. None.

This Thursday, the day after I arrive in LA, I am going to visit bullrings in Tijuana….

This will be largely a research project trip. But I am blessed that along the route of my trip are 7 friends from all different parts of my life. This includes my best friend from High School in Liverpool, and my long-time boss from London. And I intend to try and explore the California that I missed first time around, as best as time will allow.

I will not be telling all the old stories, but I hope you will follow along with me on the trip. I will try and update every day. And I will share some old and new photos – including the most famous one which I will share on Wednesday before I take off. Today, for context, I share the picture from my last day on that original trip – tired, broke, but happy to be in New York City and across from the world trade towers.

The Kit

I am off to start my California trip first thing tomorrow morning.

This is how I got around during that time in 1980.

The photograph has generated comments when dragged out over the years!

I lived out of the red backpack. It was pretty small by todays standards, and with a metal frame. This is all I had for 10 weeks. A yellow 2 person tent on top. 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of shorts, pair of jeans, a smart jacket (used successfully later on the trip), couple of t-shirts and shirts, toilet bag etc. Not much. For those following, you may note that I was probably at least 10lbs heavier in this photo in week 3 in Yosemite, than last night’s New York photo in week 10. A lot of walking, not much eating. No iPhone, not just for photos, but also nothing to communicate back home with, nor anything to use for payment for food, travel and shelter. I had some cash and some travelers checks. I did have that ‘The USA on $10 a day book,’ in the backpack somewhere.

Those white shorts…..well, enough said.

I had to share this. My friend Blair, knowing I am going to Tijuana, decided to get ahead of developments and set up a JustGiving page to rescue El Moustache, (El Chatto)

Arrival – Los Angeles

I note that I am usually the only one looking out the window on long flights, but worth it.

Rockies between Denver and Salt Lake, then Navajo Reserves, then San Gabriel Mountains and into classic LA freeways.

I arrived!

Downtown Los Angeles – Then and Now

When I first arrived in downtown Los Angeles 44 years ago the highlight tall new building was the glass, mirrored, cylinders of the Hotel Buenaventura. (My old photos are a little browner…)

Now Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall dominates that part of town, as dramatically different today as the Buenaventura was then.

It beautifully reflects light off its long sheets of twisted metal. It’s also a wonderful counterpoint to the classical LA Opera next door.

It was a beautiful night for a photo of the whole downtown area, significantly expanded since my days.

Dodger Stadium

I did not go to a baseball game back in 1980. But I rapidly got hooked to the true American pastime, and it’s beautiful rhythms and sounds.

My son, James, and I went on several baseball trips together and we have been to all of the California baseball stadiums together. Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Giants and A’s. Mostly back in 2003-2005 time.

I also once spent a fascinating 4 hours talking baseball with Dan Rather after an Angels game we went to.

Tonight I went back to Dodger Stadium. Home of Ohtani-Betts. Sitting in the hills above the city it has a beautiful, open, night-out feel. And great colors as the sun comes down. From behind home plate you look out at the very tall royal palms and the matching floodlights.

I got some good photos of the great man from Japan.

Tijuana – The Bullring Rediscovered

You cannot make these stories up.

This is a picture of me and the owner of the Nuevo Toreo de Tijuana – Victor Manuel Browser Miret – today in Tijuana. (A ‘Toreo’ is a bullring.)

His father owned the Bullfighting ring I visited in 1980. It was in the center of town and long since closed and torn down.

But he kept the yellow and red arched entrance way, and sign design in respect of that bullring. My original picture is the second one, both the ring and photo are a little faded.

How did this happen?

My research said there were two bullrings in Tijuana. It was clear from the photos that the main one, Plaza Monumental de Toreos, on the coast, in what looked like a nice, safe area, was not the bullring I went to in 1980.

The other one was in a rough part of town.

I intended to park at the border, walk across and Uber to Plaza Monumental. Have lunch and return. That was the recommendation of friends in San Diego.

Well, while looking for parking I accidentally ended up in the driving lane to cross the border! Oops. So I drove across. Which then gave me more flexibility to try and visit the other bullring, which looked more like mine from 1980.

It was definitely in a very rough part of town. A couple of the streets were almost impassable. I almost turned back. But I found the stadium by a derelict dirt parking lot. I thought I would jump out of the car, take some quick photos and get the hell out of dodge.

As I was taking photos, two men waved at me to come on in. I thought about it. And decided to join them.

It was Victor Manuel and one of his workers. I told him I was writing a book and that I had a photo from 1980, which I shared.

“Mi casa es tu casa” from that point on.

I got the full tour, history, had a beer with the family and workers in the closed restaurant (it was 11.15am), told about the bullfighters. Manuel’s father was a bullfighter, Manuel rode the side horses (photos shared).

I am not sure I understood all the stories about the men on the statues, but it all sounded fantastic. The red and yellow is for Spain. It had been recently painted, they expect to reopen next year.

I am not a fan of bullfighting, but recognize it is an important part of Spanish, Mexican and Hemingway history. It was a lovely surprise of a visit. Probably not that different from my original visit, i.e. I got lost, met some friendly people and took a photo.

I am definitely a ‘Sunny Side’ guy.

Crossing the Border

Crossing the US border into Mexico and coming back was an interesting experience. The first border crossing I went to included the access to the Tijuana airport. This was as good an airport experience as any in the US. The roads towards were wide, clear and well marked. The parking was easily accessible, safe, clean and right by the terminals. The airport itself was new, clean, efficient and welcoming and staff were delightful. Especially as I was in the wrong location.

Crossing into Tijuana by car was straightforward. I barely had to slow down. It was like the Whitestone Bridge before EzPass.

Coming back was an hour long wait in traffic, but very efficient once I got to the gates and showed my drivers license. I have a global entry pass, but could not find out how to get in that lane. That would have taken me 5 minutes.

Clean, safe, organized and no one was getting through without full documentation.

Seeing the actual wall running off into the distance seemed relevant given the importance of the subject in the US, but everything worked as one would hope between San Diego and Tijuana and back. Reality is so often different from news media.

Also the area between Tijuana and San Diego was thriving. Big wide new highways, as much large truck traffic as I have seen anywhere in the US, (it actually reminded me of watching all the container ship traffic going through the Singapore straights from and to China). And the roads were banked with hundreds of active, recently built warehouse facilities. A lot of commerce in sight.

San Diego

Dinner at Eddie V’s – La Jolla

From sublime to ridiculous to finish the day. I had dinner tonight with 6 friends who I know through my consulting business who are prominent in the digital asset/crypto business. People from Coinbase, Silvergate and BVNK. I forgot to take the dinner picture with all the smiling faces. But Eddie V’s was the restaurant we had our first client dinner back in 2018. It sits in La Jolla village and looks down on La Jolla cove. So, in line with this trip, we went back to the start of that journey for this dinner. So much has changed in that industry since then. But it seemed appropriate in the context of California 1980. Could I have imagined dinner with the protagonists of Blockchain, BitCoin and StableCoin payments back then? ….

A lot of stories were told.

Life’s a journey.

San Diego Zoo

On my first trip I went to the San Diego Zoo. No photos from then. But seeing the Pandas was a very big deal back then after Nixon received Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing from Chairman Mao after the opening up of China trip in 1972.

No pandas today. Very disappointing. They are renovating their enclosures and so they won’t be back until the summer…..

I share a lot of fun photos from today. It’s a great zoo and they seemed to concentrate on cuteness. Made me want to go back to Africa.

Balboa Park – A Panama Connection

The reason for my original trip to the US was to study the US Panamanian Canal treaties.

How appropriate that I today visited Balboa Park, that in 1915 was the site of the Panama-California Exposition, a world fair celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal.

In addition to the Plaza de Panama at the center of the park I visited the Museum of Man, Museum of Photographic Arts, the San Diego Museum of Art.

La Jolla Cove – Morning

Great early morning in La Jolla Cove.

I loved watching this guy. Snorkel and mask, key-lime colored swim hat, beer gut, speedos, contemplating a swim with the seals. So Graham Broyd – but not me (maybe I learned something in 44 years.)

Great seals and sea lions, surfing and playing. And it wouldn’t be La Jolla without morning meditations in the park.

The Dream – Beaches, Cliffs and Parasailers

Black’s Beach and the Gliderport

California was a dream when I left from England back in 1980. And this is what that dream looked like to me back then – beaches, sunshine, surfing, parasailing.

I wanted to find the exact spot of the first two photos.

Black’s Beach and the Gliderport between La Jolla and Torrey Pines, (the golf course is up on top of the cliffs just a little further along.)

It was a stunning morning. The most beautiful beaches and ocean and cliffs. And it’s a very difficult climb down the cliffs, so very few people were on the beach.

I found the exact spots, but was advised that some rock slides have impacted the cliffs since then, but not the beach.

I also saw surfers with MY yellow surf board, that I picked up from a lifeguard back in 1980.

Difficult to imagine a more beautiful morning.

Parasailing

I had fun taking photos of the parasailers.

I thought I would share a few. Including the one who missed the windtides and landed on the beach. You fly tandem with a pilot. $200. You have to read out loud a sheet that says ‘I might crash, be paralyzed or die.’ To do it solo (I asked, of course,) takes a year of training.

Also the beach scape is from Black’s Beach all the way up the coast. Laguna Beach, Newport, Huntington and then Los Angeles sticking out, and the San Gabriel mountains just visible in the background.

What a great way to spend a day.

The Spanish Missions

One of the parts of Californian history that I had not previously touched was the role of the Spanish Missions that were established all along the coast and ‘settled’ the area in the early 1800s.

I visited Mission San Luis Rey, north of Mission Viejo and south of Mission San Juan Capistrano, which between them covered most of the coastline between San Diego and Los Angeles.

Mission San Luis Rey were Franciscan ‘monks’. But at its peak they had 3000 Luiseno Indians working with them, and 27,000 head of cattle on their land.

It is still in operation with 28 Franciscan residents, acts as a retreat, and a cemetery for any religion.

The bell tower was briefly the tallest building in California!

The Mission sits up from the highway and was almost strangely quiet and calm, breezy and peaceful.

Lunch with Anita Johnson – Pasadena

Lunch today with the great Anita Johnson in Pasadena. Superstar Metropolitan Opera Soprano who sang the very first Handel’s Messiah concert with Dr. John King conducting the New Choral Society over 31 years ago.

Anita at her best, was the best. Kathryn Lewek, Lisette Oropesa – wonderful, awe-inspiring, but not quite Anita!

The Queen Mary – A Story Pieced Together

Story time. I had a picture of the Queen Mary from my 1980 trip. I worked out today why.

My father was a member of the RAF’s Bomber Command at the end of WW2.

105,000 members, 56,000 killed, average age 21, average numbers of missions 2.1.

I also understand only 5 members of my fathers high school class survived the war. They would have been 21 in 1945. His best friend from school was Alec …Alec and my father had ‘survivor guilt’ and never really spoke about the war. Alec moved to California after the war and married a local. I had forgotten that I visited Alec on my first trip and I stayed a night at their home in Long Beach.

Alec took me to visit the Queen Mary. He didn’t tell me any stories.

About 10 years ago, through a mixture of my father sharing stories close to time of his passing, and a visit to a museum in Texas, I became aware that my father traveled on the Queen Mary from Southampton, England to Halifax, Canada leaving on December 23rd, 1942. The Queen Mary had been converted to a troop carrier, transporting over 16,000 troops (look at the old photos) at a time, jammed into the space meant for 2,000 passengers. It headed northwest to Halifax to try and avoid the German UBoats, who would have loved to sink such a target. Can you imagine how cold this must have been. Canada, at sea, out on deck, in December.

My father was on his way to British Airforce Training School in Terrell, Texas. They could not train in England as the Germans would shoot them down. He was 18.

Alec would have known all this, but did not share any background with me at the time. He just chose a visit to the QM as the one trip to make with me during my visit, rather than Disney or any other LA tourist site.

I did not piece this all together until this morning.

The formal naval officer guide on the Queen Mary today shook my hand and took me to the see the old pictures and took the photo below. I have no idea if my father was one of those in the background of that photo, but he was on one of those voyages.

I added some of the interior photos as they are of a beautiful cruise liner returned to service after the war.

This is why I came on this trip, with the hope that a revisit to the same spots would trigger a memory or a context to help with a story.

The Drive Up – Newport Beach and Huntington Beach

The drive up from San Diego to Los Angeles is beautiful. I stopped in Newport Beach which had beautiful homes, all perfectly manicured, pristine beaches and active surfing. And Huntington Beach. I remember being shocked to see oil rigs just off the coast 44 years ago. That seemed so un-Californian. The surfers were like ducks on a pond. The beaches were very wide and sparsely populated, despite the excellent weather. What a great way to spend the Sunday morning.

The Rose Bowl and Griffith Observatory

As I came into Los Angeles on Sunday I did two quick new visits to LA classics.

I stopped by the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

And climbed to the top of the hill with the Griffith Observatory – possibly better at night. Great views of the city and the iconic sign in Hollywood Hills.

Petersen Automotive Museum

A wonderful trip today to the Petersen Automotive Museum. Without question the best display of car art I have seen.

My camera ran out of battery so I can’t share the ‘President’s Cars’ which was fun. Saddam Hussein, Roosevelt, Truman, the last drive of Bobby Kennedy, Shah of Iran.

I do have a lot of cars from movies and TV shows, from Scooby Doo to Tom Cruise’s baby fiat.

Also a 2022 Redbull F1, one of 20+ F1 cars. The metal tires/wheels from the first moon landing module, the bullet tested Tesla truck. Strongly recommended.

Santa Monica – Sleeping in the Bushes

Part of this trip is an attempt to trigger memories from the original trip, for the book, by visiting the same places.

I had a very clear recall of sleeping out, in some bushes, in a park. I had met another hitchhiker, and the youth hostel was too far away and the weather was good. So we did. Just call us vagrants. I always thought it was either close to the San Diego train or bus station. But I visited both, and it was definitely not either place.

Today I was in the park alongside the beautiful Santa Monica Beach and out of nowhere I got an overwhelming visceral sense that ‘it was here.’

And that makes sense to me from the environment and the location.

I still have no recall how I was visiting so many places, so quickly. I recall my hitchhike pick up from Malibu, north of LA, but none from the time I was south of LA. And I visited Tijuana, Mexico, San Diego, La Jolla, Black’s Beach, Huntington Beach and Los Angeles, largely staying in youth hostels, which were seldom conveniently located, in the same time as I am doing it this time in a rental car, staying with friend or in hotels….

Santa Monica, with its famous Pier, was another beautiful southern Californian coastal town. Wide beach, surfs-up ocean and mountains in the background, lovely pine-tree lined park and neat houses along the front.

Beverly Hills and Brentwood

Staying with friends in Brentwood/Beverly Hills. Lovely dinner overlooking Malibu Beach at sunset. Allowed me to explore the local sights – although I didn’t bump into Julia Roberts or Richard Gere.

Hollywood

Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame

I had 2 photos of Hollywood Blvd and the Walk of Fame from 1980. A Star for Liberace (I have no idea why I picked him to take my one photo back then, I guess he was a big deal.) And a street sign of Hollywood Blvd and 6600W. I had no idea why I had that street sign, beyond Hollywood Blvd being a famous address. Well, turns out that this is the cross-street where Liberace’s star was. I clearly anticipated coming back 44 years later and wanted to leave a guide post.

I share a photo of the Chinese Theater, where the Oscars show used to be performed.

Jimmy Kimmel’s show is across the street in the old Masonic Temple.

Outside of the Chinese Theater are the hand prints and shoes prints of Hollywood’s greatest. Unlike the stars on the walk of fame, there is not much room for the hand prints, and they are not movable. It’s surprising how they appear to have got all the right actors in history there. They all seem to have passed the test of time. I love that De Niro is over by a flower pot in the corner, and Jack’s slate is strangely angled on one side. Just seemed appropriate. And Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell and Sophia Lauren are all nestled up next to each other – doesn’t bear thinking about….

I share for fun.

I also share some of my favorite stars from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There are 100s. I never realized that in the center of the star is a TV (with antenna), a movie camera, a vinyl record or a microphone, depending on the star’s roles. Someone like Frank Sinatra that’s a tough choice.

Art and Museums

LACMA – Los Angeles County Museum of Art

A visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (LACMA). A little disappointing given its profile. Galeries seemed sparse of art. There was a great model of 11,000 cars moving through LA. The lamplights outside would have been great at night, a couple of things I liked, including a huge mural with the artists still working in it, and then I really enjoyed a non-traditional LA artist Edward Ruscha, upstairs. All the loud, advertising style pieces.

The J. Paul Getty Museum

J. P. Getty Museum. This was fantastic. Moved from Malibu to the hills over LA and reopened in 1997.

As a complete Museum experience I found it unrivaled. Certainly the big five – Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery, the Louvre, El Prado and the Uffizi have a volume of art that no other museum could match. But the JPGM has the advantage of being recently located, designed and built. 100s of years after the others.

It dazzles from a distance on top of the hills. The architecture is stunning, the stone colors dazzling, the gardens around it magnificent, the layout of the galleries thoughtful and art enhancing and the art collections world class.

My photos won’t do it justice, but I highly recommend a visit. First the building and gardens. Next post for the art.

JP Getty Museum – the art.

The special exhibition was of Camille Claudel, the French wife of Auguste Rodin. She spent almost 30 years in a psychiatric ward, but is assumed to have sculpted the feet and hands on Rodin’s sculptures, and the heads on the Burghers of Calais. I.e the best bits.

Paramount Studios Tour

A visit with the Steve Maier and his lovely wife and business partner Nanci Carr. What a delight. So many fun memories and stories.

Steve pointed me at Paramount for the best movie studio tour. It’s LA, and I love movies.

Cecile DeMille co-founded of Paramount, here filming The Ten Commandments, when he said: ‘The greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling.’ I have to agree.

Hope you enjoy some of the photos. It always seems so odd to me that so many movies and TV shows were made in these giant white buildings, including some by people we know.

I had to sit on Forest Gump’s bench. My 3rd book is planned to be ‘The Forest Gump of Finance’, if I ever get the first one completed…

I love that the movie stars used to live ‘on campus’ and wait for casting requests. Howard Hughes and Catherine Hepburn had their rooms (photos included). Bing Crosby and Bob Hope used to play golf on the lawns. Alfred Hitchcock wrote behind a window he closed off with a book case so no one could see in. The sets of New York – Washington Square, Lower East side, Financial district are preset on site, then are adapted and seen in so many movies. Movie and TV stars just wander around and eat in the canteen.

I got beemed up like Scottie. And I had to take the photos from Eddie Murphy’s ‘Coming to America’ as they stole the title for my upcoming book, which I now have to call ‘Welcome to America’.

In anticipation of the movie, which will follow the book, they handed me an Oscar. Maybe a touch premature but a good sign….

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Ronald Reagan won the US Presidency in 1980, the year of my original trip to America. It seemed appropriate that I visit his Presidential Library in Ventura County, CA. (Everything is linked in some way…)

It is also timely given the failing US support for Ukraine today and the increasing expansion Russia is making westward, in the context of Reagan’s challenge to Russian President Gorbachev to ‘Tear down this Wall’ and he and Thatcher’s aggressive stance towards the Soviet Union that brought its end and the Berlin Wall being torn down at the end of his Presidency in 1989.

It was interesting to go back in time to those years in many ways, hear speeches and review historical events.

Also, I got to tour Air-Force One and Marine One.

I note a wonderful picture of Princess Diana dancing with John Travolta. And there was a yellow surfboard in the Presidential library – as there should be.

I also note one general comment about California that has surprised me. There is so much space. The library is on top of some hills northwest of LA. Beautiful views, and hardly any people or construction for as far as you could see.

Malibu – The Dream Fulfilled

My primary purpose of my trip in 1980 was to get to Malibu Beach and surf. I used the University scholarship to study at the Library of Congress in DC as a vehicle to enable my trip. I sold my ticket to DC, bought one to LAX, assuming I could just hitchhike back to DC 6 weeks later.

And surf I did.

Having arrived in Malibu, of course I had no surfboard – in those days they were called ‘Malibu Boards’.

I approached a lifeguard, in his hut, on the beach and advised of my dilemma. ‘No problem, they wash up every night, I have some in the back, just pick one out.’ Thus started the legend of my 8 foot yellow surfboard. I surfed Malibu Beach with it and then hitchhiked all the way to Yosemite National Park with it and my back pack, eventually leaving it at San Francisco airport’s baggage drop with a sticker saying ‘Hold until pickup’ on it.

The photo of the board from 1980 up against the brown Ford Pinto also tells of the first hitchhiking ride I recall.

While leaving Malibu, heading north, any numbers of cars and trucks passed. Then a 2 door Pinto, with 4 large guys and a lot of luggage inside stopped and said ‘Want a ride.’ They all got out, rearranged all the luggage, tied my board to the roof and squeezed me in the middle of the back seat, hunched over on the edge of the seat. And off we went…

Today I found the exact lifeguard station, on the beach. There was a yellow surfboard underneath. I know the beach as it’s a special surfing location along the 21 mile Malibu coastline, called Surfriders Beach, where the waves come up in a long swell, that stays up for a long time, before breaking, making it very special to ride. The wave was large enough in my time that I looked over my shoulder and saw 2 surfers above me on the wave, coming in my direction, and one beneath me who was about to get in my way. All way above the surface of the water. It was the ultimate location to surf in 1980.

I spoke with the lifeguards today, who took the picture of me, (and want me to send the book, once written). I watched the surfers. The waves were nothing today, before the season, and worst time of day. But it was wonderful to return. What a day! Very fond memories, revisited. Hard to imagine….

Now Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Pebble Beach (no golfing), Palo Alto and San Francisco for the second of 3 legs of the entire trip.

Santa Barbara

I stayed in the Santa Barbara Inn, just off the beach, awoke to the sound of crashing waves. Last night there were serious soccer and rugby games going on in the park that runs along the beach. And a lovely sunset, reminded me of the opening of Apocalypse Now, except with pelicans, not helicopters.

Brian Farrell – The Man Who Beat Me by 1/100th of a Second

One of the great joys of this trip is meeting up with friends who just happen to live along my defined route. And the amazing diversity of those friends and where they fit in my life.

Here is Brian Farrell. We met when he beat me by 1/100th of a second in the National Masters Championships 400 meters in Ames, Iowa several years ago. We always enjoy catching up. We had brunch in Ascatero on my route between Santa Barbara and Pebble Beach.

I could not go up Highway 1 and Big Sur due to the mudslides. But he pointed me at the Morro Rock and Morro Bay which was unique along this wonderful coast.

(He has been training more conscientiously than me recently….)

Hearst Castle – Finally

On my original 1980 trip I remember looking up from Highway 1 and seeing this magnificent palace on top of a hill. I was in someone else’s car (I was hitchhiking), and so I was told what it was, but we could not stop.

Hearst Castle in San Simeon.

I got my opportunity to finally make the visit.

Ironically, it was built with its priority to be the view out to the Pacific Ocean. The first photo is from the primary view spot….due to the weather visibility was about 50 feet. It was very cold, raining and miserable.

William Randolph’s home was magnificent, used to entertain all the wonderful and important people that populated the stories in his magazines and newspapers, primarily in the 1920s and 1930s. One fun anecdote, he purchased Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan magazines in 1885 and 1905 respectively.

Wonderful outdoor and indoor pools, 20 foot high fireplace, magnificent tapestries. Wild design by one of the first significant female architects – Julia Morgan in 1920s. Most items bought in Europe and built into the design, rather than built locally.

The 3rd photo is a statue of Nike, pre-Phil Knight.

Pebble Beach – An Old Boss and a New Dog

A visit to my boss for 15 of my 20 years at RBS. What a joy. So many fun memories and stories.

He has heard me tell my 1980 stories too often, but still listens and laughs.

He lives up above Pebble Beach golf course.

Weather was not great for views, and we were focused on updating each other rather than taking photos, but drove into Cypress Point golf course and Spanish Bay, went alongside several holes on Pebble.

Ironically Peter adopted a new black Labrador as a rescue today – Bella.

Picture in front of ‘Lone Pine’.

The peninsula on the left in the background is Los Lobos, the island for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

And the Carmel Bakery where we breakfasted, which Peter used to go 60 years ago growing up here.

Silicon Valley – A World That Did Not Exist in 1980

Palo Alto – Apple, Google and Meta

I made one planned diversion off the prescribed route of my original 1980 trip.

I wanted to go to Palo Alto. Google, Facebook and Apple did not exist in 1980. We all like to complain about them, but they have transformed the way we live, work and communicate. And they are all within a few miles of each other along the Bay around Palo Alto.

I think about my trip today. I exist off my Apple iPhone, it drives everything I do all day – talk on phone, text, email, photos, directions to locations, pay small bills, etc. I used to put quarters in the phone in 1980. Photos were on a Kodak Instamatic, limited to 24.

Google. All my research, all my map following; my work done during the trip on gmail and gdrive, indispensable, and of course we are all on Facebook recording and sharing this trip.

And the transformation in the global and US economies over the last 30 years has been heavily driven by these companies. Today the combined market cap is over $7 trillion.

And Oracle is just down the street.

The buildings were very interesting. Facebook/Meta looked like post WW2 German prefab blocks. With some paint. And the security car followed me around the whole time.

Apple looked like the Pentagon, in a futuristic TV show. One mile around circular space ship. They have a visitor center but you can’t get close to the space ship. I took photos of it through the pine trees. But then I went up the hill to take photos of Apple, and of Silicon Valley, from above and you can see the spaceship landed in Cupertino!

Google were in a stunning building, opened in the last few years. Looked like a very large Japanese pagoda. All the ‘dragon tiles’ on the roof are solar panels, and angled in a pattern to collect and funnel rainwater. A big visitor center and nice gardens and statues surrounding and good Google art and their iconic bicycles.

Palo Alto, which barely existed as a town in 1980 is clearly very different from the coastal California that I traversed. The demographics, geography, atmosphere and attitudes all very different.

I include photos from the hills of the whole valley. I found the visits helpful context from my experiences in 1980.

The Computer History Museum

A recommendation from Rebecca and Greg was to visit the Computer History Museum, next to Google. I am not a techy, but thought I would stop by for 15-20 minutes, ended up over an hour, could easily have been more.

It made you realize how much had changed and how quickly. How far we have come in so few years.

I did not have any use of computers during my college/university years, Betsy likes to recall the punch card system she used.

But here are the big box IBM computers, the hard discs, the first laptops, the Palm Pilot, HP12, all used along our recent journey towards the smartphone.

Also from business, the huge computers that filled up floors of an office building, and later a whole room. We all aspired to have a Cray Supercomputer. And so many of they firms, many now defunct, were clients of mine. IBM, Wang, Digital Electronics, Prime Computers, Tektronix, Xerox, Burroughs. I assure you I wasn’t the single reason for their collapse. And I have also bumped into people who worked with Tim Berners-Lee and at the CERN Atom-splitter research center in my career as software and the internet were being developed.

And most of the software we all now use was based on Morse code and what the code breakers (hackers) advanced during WW2.

I include Pixar, and now driverless Waymo cars which I guess will provide delivery for all our needs going forward. Actively in operation in California today, apparently.

Ever onwards.

Ridge Vineyards

Stunning trip up a very tight, very winding hill to Ridge Vineyards. 2,200 feet up.

Ridge was one of the successful competitors in the US/French wine tastings of the 1970s that confirmed California wines as competitors/equals to their French brethren. Grgich, Stags Leap and Ridge were all prominent at the time.

Wine tastings were by appointment only – unless of course you were writing a book about your 1980 California hitch-hiking trip. They welcomed me in without an appointment. Lovely experience, a little concerned about one of the signs. Allowed me to photo Silicon Valley as well.

Stanford University

To go along with my trip to Apple, Google and Meta I wanted to revisit Stanford University, with a similar context. This was the source of so much of the research, intelligence and young talent and resources that enabled the technology change we have seen since 1980.

It’s also a beautiful, unique campus which has great memories for me (not from 1980), with Peyton and with the great Olympian and Birmingham Water Polo player Bob Weir, (that’s a whole other story….).

I also share one of the largest collections of Rodin sculptures, inside and outside of Stanford’s Cantor Museum, including the magnificent Gates of Hell.

Sausalito – A Friend from 1976

A highlight of the trip.

I stayed with my best friend from High School in Liverpool, England – Brian Robins and his delightful wife Caroline – in Sausalito, just over the Golden Gate Bridge north of San Francisco city.

What a joy. We shared a photo of the Monitors of Merchant Taylor’s School, Crosby, with our gowns, back in 1976. I am front right as you look at the photo. Brian behind me at the end. We hitchhiked to Germany together between our Lower and Upper Sixth Form years, Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Hannover. I had just turned 17. We last met at my 50th Birthday party in Scarsdale. He has had a wonderful career in Northern California for the last 20 years. And recently moved to a beautiful home in a very steep hill in Sausalito, with absolutely stunning views of San Francisco, the skyline and the bridges. It was so much fun to catch up, as if we had not been apart for 48 years. What a joy.

The Golden Gate Bridge – A Lifelong Battle

On the original trip in 1980 I either slept out or stayed in Youth Hostels. I remember walking north across the Golden Gate Bridge to get to the Youth Hostel. My host Brian suggested we try and find that Hostel this morning. We drove down a steep, winding and narrow coastal road to what he had noted was the YMCA, in the middle of old military land, Presidio and the Nike Nuclear missile site. On reaching the old YMCA building I knew it was NOT my youth hostel. Very disappointing. It was now an education facility, private with no public parking. I said ‘let’s park and I will go in.’ An employee saw us and intervened. I told him about my trip and the book. He engaged, ‘Yes, this used to be a YMCA, but not the hostel. What used to be the hostel was about a mile down the road and up the hill!’

We ventured further, arrived and looked in the windows, as it was now closed, and partially converted into an Arts Center, and saw the washrooms. This was my 1980 San Francisco Youth Hotel! It definitely resonated. About a 3 mile hike from the Golden Gate Bridge, which itself is over a mile across. Oh what fun. The trip to jog the mind by revisiting the route earned its keep again. Bless Brian. And great views along the way.

Can you make these stories up? No you can’t.

I have had a lifelong battle with the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1980 I had to walk across it to get to the Marin Youth Hostel on the other side. The fog was in, I had about 6 feet visibility, the wind was howling and making the bridge swing, and the big trucks were loudly rumbling across, right next to me in the walkway on the outside of the bridge.

Not so much at the time, but that experience plays back in my head when I cross bridges today. Back home in New York I frequently cross the Whitestone Bridge, half the time I am white-knuckled on the steering wheel, focused solely on the car in front. Still today.

I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in my rental car to get to Sausalito on this trip, I don’t think I breathed all the way across.

But the Bridge is still winning. When I was due to cross back over, we were out walking and noted traffic had stopped. The Gaza demonstrators had blocked the bridge, half way across. If Brian and I had not gone Hostel hunting, my schedule would have had me stuck on the bridge for 4 or 5 hours! Just waiting for my car to be blown off the bridge. (There was no wind.)

As it was I foolishly chose to drive in the opposite direction, going the long way around, eventually crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. This meant crossing numerous other bridges as I went from island to island, and of course the Bay Bridge is at least 100 miles long…..

This was the most stressful hour and a half of driving (I was 20 minutes from downtown San Francisco in Sausalito.)

I will concede the bridge is beautiful.

San Francisco – The City

San Francisco. Malibu Beach was my primary destination preference when I first came to the US as a 21 year old. But San Francisco was a close second. The shining city on the hill. The Golden Gate Bridge (more later), the bay, the Transamerica pyramid building, Nob Hill, Pier 39, China Town, the cable cars, the crazy crooked Lombard Street, and the whole wild recent history that San Francisco represented back then.

I had 3 photos (out of my 24 shot Kodak Instamatic) from that trip. I went back and replicated them for fun. In perfect symmetry for my trips, in 1980 there were strikers demonstrating outside the Fairmont Hotel, this time there were Gaza demonstrators blocking the Golden Gate Bridge. ‘Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme.’

And despite what one might imagine from the news media, everything appeared cleaner, safer and more attractive – so far.

Finding the Youth Hostels – Crissy Field

The joys of walking, or of hitchhiking, rather than taking more typical, practical transportation.

I had recall from 1980 of looking up at the Golden Gate Bridge from a beach on the San Francisco city side. I traced that spot to a beach alongside Crissy Field, about 3 miles along from Pier 39 going towards the bridge. It is quite a long way from the typical tourist sites, so I was not sure how I ended up there.

This morning I took the cable car to Ghirardelli Square, and set off on my morning hike. Along the way I went through Fort Mason. In the grounds there was a sign to the ‘International Hostel.’ Ah hah! Off we went. Still open, I definitely remember staying there. I did my usual, ‘I was here in 1980 and I am writing a book routine.’ In walks John, who looks like he had worked there for a while. John advised that the hostel was built back in April of 1980. He started work there in 1990, but his stories of crazy hitchhikers crossing America matched mine. He also advised that you could only stay 3 nights at this hostel, which explains why I headed off across the bridge to the other hostel. And of course it explains why I was down on the flat part of San Francisco by Crissy Field looking up at the bridge from the beach back then.

Turned out this area I revisited was beautiful, if I were to live in San Francisco (highly unlikely given my bridge phobia), this is where I would settle. Even the dogs being walked were beautiful.

Nob Hill and the Pacific Union Club

Revisited a number of tourist spots from 1980 and other visits to San Francisco. I do love that a priority visit is to a chocolate shop.

The Pacific Union Club is the brown building. It is at the very top of Nob Hill. I had a wonderful client 20 years ago, who when I visited San Francisco on business calls would take me to the Pacific Union Club, it was very private, have breakfast in their grand restaurant, play squash in the basement and then go to their large sauna baths. Very nice start to the day.

Turn the sound on for the seal video – it allows you to smell them. As you can see the weather was perfect.

The Palace of Fine Arts – Panama Again

The Panama thread keeps weaving through my trip. (I came to the US in 1980 on a scholarship to study US-Panamanian negotiations for the Panama Canal.)

Today, while I was out at Crissy Field I visited the Palace of Fine Arts. Built in 1915, of course, to celebrate the completion of the building of the Panama Canal and part of the California-Panama exhibitions that I have bumped into all along this trip.

It was very striking.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

I always find time for a great Art Gallery. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Reopened after significant reinvestment in 2016. Unique architecture. I actually did not really enjoy their exhibitions, everyone has a different taste. There were a few classics like the original LOVE sign and painting.

But on the way out I noticed they had a gallery showing selections from their permanent collections, which I enjoyed – and share some of my favorites.

City Hall and Farewell to San Francisco

Goodbye San Francisco.

Today marked the end of the second of three legs of this trip. It was Malibu Beach to San Francisco.

I walked 21,848 steps today – many of them up and down those steep San Francisco hills. I saw and experienced a lot. But have a lot of driving tomorrow, so fine.

Late in the afternoon I walked out to see San Francisco City Hall and walked through their UN Plaza area. City Hall has a dome larger than the Capitol Building in DC, (that I ended up spending time in on my original 1980 trip), and was very imposing. I did not make it into the Asian Art Museum, which I sense would have been fantastic and in a very large building.

I did however find the area where the homeless, street people were, there were a lot, very depressing. Along 2 streets effectively.

Tomorrow, if I can somehow make it back across the Bay Bridge, we start the third leg of the trip. Yosemite National Park, Death Valley, and Las Vegas. An obvious threesome. If anyone is still following, I can assure you there are stories that go with each of those stops back in 1980!

Yosemite National Park

How I Got Here in 1980

I have arrived in Yosemite National Park at the Ahwahnee Lodge.

I believe I have pieced together why I was in Yosemite in 1980. I have 3 photos, so I was here. I had not planned to come to Yosemite. It is reasonable to say that as a 21 year old Brit, I had never heard of Yosemite in 1980. Remember I went to surf at Malibu and needed to hitchhike across to Washington DC. San Francisco was cool back then, so it made sense for me to hitchhike up to there, that was probably planned.

My honest guess is that I had a sign, as I stood close to an entrance ramp to the Bay Bridge, that said: ‘Washington DC.’

3 guys in their 20s picked me up (I remember them clearly), and they probably said: ‘Jump in. We are going to Yosemite. It’s on the way to DC.’ Which it kind of is….

They were going hiking. So now I was going hiking. I had a tent. Yosemite sounded fantastic.

This also aligns with my friend Frank who was on the trip with me for the first 3 or 4 days. When I eventually got home I called him. ‘Hey, I went to this incredible place called Yosemite National Park.’ ‘So did I’ responded Frank. Clearly two people who had not planned on this side Yosemite trip.

My three guys, to whom I was very grateful for the lift and introduction to Yosemite, were not on my plan. I recall when we started hiking, they were playing AC:DC very loudly in a large cassette box they had. The first night, somewhere up in the hills, they thought it would be cool to leave some food out to attract the bears…..even as a naive Brit, I dissuaded them of that notion, and in the morning set off on my own schedule again.

The Drive In

My drive in today on 120 was incredible, coming through Stanislaus National Forest. A series of switch backs going from 2,000 to over 7,000 feet. I thought I was going over the edge many a time.

And I stopped off at Merced Grove. An incredible urge to stop the car and walk down to the Grove came over me. Literally u-turned the car. Went on a steep inclined 2 mile hike down to the river head. Walked through snow and forded streams in my running training shoes. Felt like a homing pigeon. It made some sense that in 1980 we would have stopped there, just 15 minutes into the National Park, and probably 5 hours into a drive from San Francisco, they were eager hikers. Throughout the whole walk today my 6th sense kept driving me forward. When I got there I did not get any revelations. And I was exhausted when I got back. The stream in the photo was from the bottom of Merced Grove. The redwoods were magnificent. C’est La Vie.

Get ready for a feast of photos and stories over the next 36 hours.

El Capitan – And Frank’s Jump

El Capitan.

‘He jumped off El Capitan.’

Four photos. The classic tourist photo, which cannot give any sense of the scale, the sheer and smooth surface and the awesome nature of this clean rock face, 3,000 feet straight up. A second which tries to better capture that view.

The third is a close-up that captures two climbers who were going up El Capitan today. Given that they were somewhat hunched over, the cliff face was about 1,000 times their size. I talked to a family member who was observing from a distance.

Fourth. A brief video, with my narration today to explain what happened one day back in 1980.

Listen.

Frank, now Dr. Frank Smith, a prominent surgeon in Bristol, England, who was with me on the early days of the 1980 trip…..jumped off El Capitan. From the very top.

Frank’s wife Sandie is on FB, and may see this.

I confirmed the story with Frank, before I started this trip 2 weeks ago. He used to have tee-shirt with ‘EC 104’ on it. The one hundredth and fourth person to base-jump, illegally, off El Capitan.

It took on a whole new meaning and emotion standing at the bottom of El Capitan today.

The way to do Frank’s jump was as follows:

Run as fast as you can towards the edge and jump headfirst as far out as you can. Distance is important so that you do not hit the cliff face on way down.

Then free-dive as far away from the cliff-face as you can, if you are too close when the chute opens (big round ones in those days) then the chute will touch the side, close and down you go.

Open the chute at the last moment possible.

You will come down in top of the pine trees, not good. So maneuver the chute away towards field.

Land safely on field, hope to avoid police who had arrived after Frank got to the top of El Capitan.

Frank succeeded at everything but the last part.

And I have been corrected thus morning Dr. Frank is also a Professor now….

You need to speak to him. The way he relates the story of how he was picked up by the rangers and sat infront of the judge is hilarious. He tells it really well. And the bit about the dog is brilliant!

Half Dome at Sunset

After dinner drink in Yosemite.

I went back to the room after dinner but had the window open. I heard the beautiful sound of running water. I ventured back out, glass in hand. What a bonus, within 100 yards of my room. The sun setting against Half Dome and I sat down in and around the waterfall and run off.

Hiking the Valley – Retracing the Footsteps

Four photos to replicate from 1980. It was a lot of walking, hiking, climbing, but I think I got them done today.

The first was Colombia Point. Typical story from this trip. I was advised my waterfall picture was along this trail. It was not. I got to Colombia Point, stopped and was chatting, telling the 5th or 6th hiker on the trail that I was here in 1980 and writing a book, and how disappointed I was not to find the waterfall photo. Then the guy says, ‘Hold on. I think you are about 10 feet from one of your other photos.’ (For context, I had been hiking for 2 hours.) So we set up and took the pictures. He tried to help me get to hold onto the railing, my vertigo was kicking-in, it was pretty steep over the other side. I couldn’t find the girl with the pink shorts either.

Two separate park rangers advised me that my original photo was from Vernal Falls, which is miles away. I put that photo at the end. I think they are wrong.

Photo 2 is at the Vernal Falls, on the famous John Muir trail.

Photo 3. I forgot to bring my Speedo’s with me this time, but that is the Merced River down towards Mirror Lake.

Photo 4 is the roaring river down from Yosemite Falls.

Mission Accomplished.

I was 44 years younger when I first did this, but I was carrying a backpack then. No easy task. Below each of the sites I visited today were camping grounds. So again, it made sense why I was in these locations.

Two feet and nine toes very sore today, soaking in ice cold water towards the end of a days hiking.

The Meadow at Sunset

Walking home from dinner I went to a meadow in the valley to catch the sunset again.

The first photo with the bird flying across has to be one of the top 10 photos I have ever taken.

The whole series feels more like a renaissance painting than an iPhone snap. The last one, a very brief video, are the frogs very unhappy I walked into their wet meadow to take the photos. As you can tell I was the only one there. Half Dome, from the meadow, at sunset, Yosemite Valley.

Almost spiritual.

Vernal Falls

Vernal Falls on the John Muir trail.

This was the perfect time of year to be with the waterfalls in Yosemite. The winter snow is melting and the water is just gushing down the granite cliffs. Some of the waterfalls are still frozen higher up. A month ago the weather forecast was for 20 degrees overnight and 40s during the day. It was 70+ and blue skies all day.

A lot of photos, no apologies, it was stunning. Some short videos included, just to capture the sound and the force of the water.

Goodbye Yosemite. It’s been magical.

Death Valley – The Night I Don’t Talk About

In 1980 I tried to get a ride from Yosemite to Las Vegas. I made it halfway there and got stuck. I was more conservative this time and drove from Yosemite to Lone Pine on the edge of Death Valley.

In 1980 we drove over the top of Yosemite and down towards Death Valley on the Tioga Pass. It is closed, as impassable due to snow, until May 15. So this time I had to do a 7 hour drive around instead.

Lone Pine is a real old western town. Gas station at either end, a lot of bars, and a Western Movie History Museum. Apparently a lot of the westerns were shot here. I am staying in the Gene Autry room in the local Notel Motel dive.

In 1980 crossing Death Valley was the scariest experience of my young life.

I was hitchhiking from Yosemite National Park to Las Vegas in July 1980. In the late afternoon/early evening I had been dropped off in a small town close to Death Valley National Park. About 5 hours drive away from Las Vegas. I decided against the sensible option to stay overnight where I stood, and chose to try and just get one more ride across to Vegas that evening. I got a ride. Unfortunately, in running towards the truck, I left my only water bottle behind.

During the ride the driver advised me that he lived in the desert – in Death Valley. He added that I was not invited to stay at his house overnight, and that he would just drop me off at his turn-off and hopefully I would get another ride to finish my trip across to Vegas that night.

The details of that night we will keep for the book, but suffice to say I spent the night in Death Valley, in July, with no water, camped about 10 feet from Route 190.

At 6.15am the next morning, I was awoken by a truck driver honking his horn very loudly. I stuck my head out of my little tent. He said ‘What the f..k are you doing down there!’ Very loudly.

I replied sleepily but startled, ‘I am trying to get to Vegas.’ And so I quickly gathered my gear, jumped in and off we went.

Finding the Spot

I found the exact spot of my traumatic drop off back in 1980. They moved the Route 190 sign a little further up the road, but I made ‘camp’ just beyond the road that turned-off from 190, where the driver who dropped me off headed to his home.

The mountain range in the background had not changed. And the straight road into the mountains had not moved.

The memory is powerful with some exercise. I came over the mountains into this valley, saw the straightaway road and immediately knew my exact spot. There is a beautiful buttercup plant growing on the exact spot where I put down my tent, 10 feet from the highway and spent the night.

At night the cars would come over the mountains and you would immediately see their headlights, and hear the engine. They were 12 miles away. I would jump up, hold my Vegas sign, and then wait 15 minutes for that car to whizz by.

The 3 bikers I was chatting with at the Notel Motel last night said the guy probably picked me up to kill me and then bury me, somewhere out in the desert. “A lot of room out there, they’d never find you.” But they guessed he changed his mind, and so dropped me off. Biker wisdom, not entirely implausible.

It was strangely satisfying finding the location.

The Drive Through

The drive through the Death Valley National Park was much better than expected. It was beautiful – mountains on both sides, huge, flat, empty plains in between. But a wonderful array of subtle colors both in the mountains but also the fauna, which was much lusher than expected. More than just a place you have to cross to get to Vegas, it is worth its own trip.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas.

The sudden switch from Death Valley into Las Vegas is still dramatic. In 1980 I arrived in a pick up truck. Walked the streets until I found the best deal. $24 a night hotel with all-you-can-eat breakfast, and a room with a shower!

I had a jacket in my backpack that got pulled out and ironed for a night on the town. (You got dressed up in Vegas in those days.)

How appropriate that my one photo from 1980 was Tom Jones at Caesar’s Palace. Today’s video replica advertisement at Caesar’s had a chef above Garth Brooks – a sign of the times.

And how great to meet up with the longest standing show in Vegas, the world’s greatest comedy magician – Mac King. (Significantly older brother of our dear friend John King.) He was in fine form now in the Excalibur. I will be wearing my Mac King t-shirt back on the plane today.

2024 brings us the latest, boldest, brightest attraction in Vegas. Sphere. Really remarkable, and of all ironies Phish, my daughter in law’s absolute, all time favorite band were playing.

Stayed in our favorite hotel the Venetian, lunch at our favorite spot Mon Ami Gabi. Vegas was packed and thriving in April.

Epilogue – The People Who Made the Trip

I had 3 different trips going on over the last 19 days.

The 1980 revisit trip.

A California tourist trip.

And through incredible serendipity a series of wonderful people from different times of my life that just happened to be somewhere on my route.

Juan Miguel Browser – the owner of the bullring in Tijuana.

My crypto 6 for dinner at Eddie V’s.

Anita Johnson. Opera singer.

Sam and Catherine Ford. Business partner.

The lifeguards on Malibu Beach. My heroes.

Steve Maier and Nanci Carr. Family friends.

Brian Farrell. Runner.

Peter Nielsen. Banker boss.

Rebecca and Greg. PhDs.

Brian and Caroline Robins. High School friend.

John from the Youth Hostel at Fort Mason.

The couple who coached me to the edge of Columbia Rock in Yosemite.

Mac King. Magician.

Apologies to Steve Steckler, husband of our esteemed relative Major Lizzy Steckler of the US Marines, as I forgot to take a photo.

And apologies of course to the 3 bikers at the Notel Hotel in Lone Pine.

As always, it’s the people who make a trip. Thank you all. Until next time…..