I have lived in California for most of my life and all of my adult life. We are one of the fortunate states that have all the fun stuff. We have mountains for snow and beauty, we have the desert for heat and peace, we have the ocean for surfing and water and we have everything in between. I don't think that there is a better state because even though we have earthquakes you can live were everything is only a couple of hours away.

We bought a car in California and drove 6000 miles, visiting many friends on our way across America. We went to Las Vegas, Boulder Dam, The Grand Canyon ( South Rim ) and many other cities on our way to my 50th High School reunion on Long Island, N.Y. before selling the car in N.Y. and traveling on to England, Scotland, Paris, Rome, Dubai, and finally Hong Kong, before retuning home to Australia.

I went camping at Cachuma recreation area right outside of Santa Barbara Ca. The place was not that bad, but we were camped out on dirt and not grass, however there are other camp site that have grass. The bath are ok for camping but make sure that you bring some type of clean wipe, and change for the baths.

When I lived in America, I lived 23 miles from the gateway to Yosemite. I chose not to use one of the pictures representing Yosemite from Wayan as they were in no way representative of Yosemite. Yosemite is a mountain valley carved out of stone by the Tuolumne River and a glacier. It is magnificent and awe inspiring. It's like being in another world. It is a natural setting without industry and pollution. There are mile high falls that you can stand next to, and virgin forest, giant redwoods, pine trees that literally reach into heaven during a foggy day. The streams are crystal clear and full of wild trout. On a given day you can see bears, dear, raccoons, bobcats, and several other critters one would normally see in a zoo. There are mountain lions there as well. There is usually snow all year long on the highest peaks and granite giants, that mountain climbers scale.

Perfect for enjoying nature, wildlife and exploring the deep inner sanctums of the mind(!) I loved it from start to finish, but after 3 months I was ready to leave. I was just ready to move on. I spent the time living in a yome, volunteering on a Tibetan book-making project (which was the best part) and studying meditation, Tibetan language, yoga, and other Buddhist concepts. A great place to go if you like volunteer work, great vegetarian meals, and living in a community of round cloth homes.