My son is living and working out in Los Angeles for Cirque du Soleil.

He’s performing as a hoop diver in their hit show ‘Volta.’

Connor residing in Los Angeles seemed to offer the perfect opportunity to bring the dream of a californian road trip to life, watch him perform for the biggest circus act in the world and spend some time with our daughter and her partner. It would be precious time for us as a family.  This was to be a trip where I could combine both my passions. The happiness of travel and the love of family.

One thing I’ve learnt over the years, is that no matter what I think a certain destination or a location is going to be like. It’s what it feels like when I arrive, the sense I gather whilst in motion, which tells me all about the trip i’m on. Travel has taught me truly to trust my gut.

Vin and me had wanted to explore California for so long and I was excited to be mobile after breaking my ankle a couple of months before. Some much needed time away, for a little r’n’r for Vin and me after such a difficult time. Although we’d even managed to make that fun – the appreciation for my son’s ability to leap off the floor and jump through a hoop on stage, presented itself far more clearly to me, each time we went out. With me in an air cast and wheelchair to move around in and Vin being the willing helper, despite suffering from an injury to his own knee, meant my front step loomed large in front of me, every time we returned home. He would stand by my side, supporting me, as I gathered the energy inside of me to leap up it on one leg. It was scary, exhilarating and funny. It may have been one small step for man but it was definitely one giant leap for Janicekind.

At this point, we were still naive as to what the distances were like we needed to drive, to enable us to move along the coastline and through this county’s heart. On reflection, it was a huge task – although trying out a hybrid car meant our desire to move over to electric is now with us.

I’m always excited when we travel, to see if what I had been looking forward to, was the thing to make my heart flutter, or my soul burst with happiness in reality and there were going to be a few definite’s and some surprises on this trip.

Starting in San Francisco our drive took us down the coastal road which is Highway 1 and into Los Angeles through Santa Barbara. We passed through Carmel, Monterey and other coastal towns as well as Big Sur and Slo Cal offering amazing sights along our way.

In my next post, I’ll take you on the journey with me.  You’ll find out where I saw sea otters for the first time, what Morro Bay is like and why I’d say put this on your must go list of places to visit as you travel. My thoughts about the legislation of cannabis and if this affected our trip at all and how far further afield we managed to travel in the short time we were in the country.