Back at the end of January I took a trip to California. My primary motivation was to visit a friend working the ski season in the Lake Tahoe region but since I was making the trip I thought I would have a brief look around Los Angeles and San Francisco at the same time. Whilst away from home I set myself the challenge of sharing (through my usual social channels) a high quality and interesting photo every day. What follows are a selection of my favourites from the 3 weeks away.

On my flight from Australia to Los Angeles, despite not pre selecting, I was lucky enough to have a window seat on the correct side of the plane to capture this sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

In LA my only real target was to see the Petersen Automotive Museum. It certainly didn’t disappoint, for anyone with even a passing interest in cars it is a must see. For those more passionate the vault tour they offer is a great way to see even more of their diverse collection.

Whilst in LA I stayed at an AirBNB in the Santa Monica area so had to check out the pier at night.

On my brother’s recommendation whilst in San Francisco I took a tour of the city with the guys at Vantigo and was very happy I did. Their founding philosophy was to offer tours of the city in VW busses, the Kombi as we know it here in Australia. That unique transport plus a wealth of local knowledge from a very friendly guide made it a great way to spend half a day seeing what SF has to offer.

From San Francisco I made my way up in to the mountains to spend a couple of weeks with my friend. I always enjoy being in the mountains but the Lake Tahoe region really blew me away. Everywhere I pointed my camera I could find a spectacular scene.

My base of operations whilst in the mountains was Truckee where my friend most graciously provided me with a bed. It was a lovely place to spend a couple of weeks but provided somewhat contrasting moods. Perched over the Truckee river peaceful scenes such as these were the norm however they were interrupted several times throughout the day and night by freight trains passing by on the opposite side of the house. Regardless spending 2 weeks with my friend in her second home was brilliant.

Found in Truckee, just up the road from where I was staying is this quintessential American diner, Jax at the Tracks. Here I learnt that Australians, broadly speaking, don’t know how to make a milkshake. In fact, I have not even bothered to have one since coming home, it simply wouldn’t compare.

From Truckee the closest snowboarding is found at the Northstar resort where my friend is instructing for the season. Whilst not a particularly challenging mountain it suited my style nicely, fast and flowing is when I am happiest on the board.

Speaking of boards this is my trusty Lib Tech Dark Series overlooking the Lake Tahoe. It is actually only the second board I have owned but it suits me so well that I’ve only ever contemplated replacing it with a newer model of the same design. After 6 years it still serves me very well.

My stay in California came to a close with this dramatic sunset over LAX.