The BEST and the WORST of the US West Coast

Ever since 2020 I've had plans for a massive road trip through Nevada and California, and now it finally happened in 2024. This is a video about a three week road trip where I discover the best...and the worst...of the US west coast.
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My journey took me from the depravity of Las Vegas, to a helicopter tour over Grand Canyon, and onwards to Joshua Tree National Park. After that I explored San Diego, including the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld. Oh, and Seaport Village and a quick stop in La Jolla as well. And of course, the lovely downtown San Diego, with all its...problems.
From there I moved on to Los Angeles where I was disillusioned with Hollywood and Venice Beach, but there was plenty to like as well. Such as the public transport, with a pretty good metro and bus system - despite what people online say.
After that I ventured north to Santa Barbara, Cambria and Carmel-by-the-Sea, and explored a lot of different attractions along the way. Everything from Nitt Witt Ridge, to the Danish Capital of America, Solvang. And also an elephant seal rookery, and a Walmart Super Center where I got kicked out. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
I also took the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, drove past Monterey and into San Francisco. Here's a spoiler, but I think I fell in love with San Francisco a bit - that city was quite lovely, with lots of geeky and non-geeky activities to do. I didn't film my visits to Tenderloin though. That might have upset the hordes of...colorful people there.
From there I moved on to Yosemite National Park, the Swedish town of Kingsburg, and then into Panamint Springs Resort, right next to Death Valley. Of course, I also explored Death Valley with all its Star Wars Episode IV filming locations. And I also found plently of interesting alien merchandise at the Alien Research Center...and Brothel.
Finally, I was back in Las Vegas after all of that - and that meant that it was time to return back to cold Sweden... But this really turned out to be an unforgettable road trip.

[@theodorehile7921]

As a Silicon Valley native who has lived and worked in all three West Coast states: You saw all the lovely...and "kitchy" spots in California and Vegas, but you cannot see it all in one trip. Oregon and Washington state both have their beauties and marvels, and I'd recommend you try a visit where you follow the Columbia River from its northern reaches in Washington to its outflow into the Pacific Ocean. There is a landscape near Grand Coulee Dam that is not to be found anywhere else in the world, and other spots along the way where there is desert...and rain forests too. Lots of Swedes came to the region for logging and fishing opportunities, so you may appreciate what drew them here. Your KZbin content is endlessly charming...keep up the good work!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Thank you! And thanks for the tip 😊 I really want to do something similar against, and see even more of the US .. and the northern West Coast... Anf the East Coast. And Swedish places like Minnesota. There's just so much to see and explore in that gigantic country 😀

[@jacobwalsh7324]

Bloody yanks😂

[@hwy9nightkid]

@@ThreeStarVagabond I am a californian who lives in Sthlm since 2017.. I just got my citizenship in Sweden and super proud.. but if you need any tips on Silicon Valley , San Diego, or Napa/Sonoma.. don't hesitate.. your videos helped me so much learning about Sweden and the people.. tack så mycket!!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@hwy9nightkid Thank you so much for the offer! I'm afraid that I just got back from the west coast now, and it might be a while until I return there :/ So many places to see unfortunately. But I really appreciate it!

[@lilaskye2375]

Excellent video!!! You are quite a good filmmaker!! I’m glad you got to see Joshua Tree, one of my all-time favorites!!! And seeing Venice Beach brought back good memories for me. I’ve never seen the Venice Canals and not yet made it to Solvang, so I enjoyed that. And it was nice seeing how good San Francisco (where I lived for many years) looks because recently, I’ve seen so many videos depicting SF and the Bay Area as devastated war zone/homeless encampment…. And, yes, the pacific coastline, especially 17 mile drive is “bloody magnificent”!🤩

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Yay thank you! I had a wonderful time exploring all of these places, and even though I admit that there were some areas in Tenderloin that were...a bit worrisome...I really loved SF. The Bay Area is definitely one place I want to return to. Haha, there was honestly a lot that could be described as bloody magnificent over there. The road to Cambria and up to Ragged Point was breathtaking!

[@soyxarai6369]

Interesting trip, thank you for sharing :-)

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Thank you for checking it out 😀

[@novelette2551]

Best Vlog ever!!! MIRO!! Great vlog ! Miro...you didn't miss a beat....! You kept it real....l live in CA and I've been many times to all of the places you visited...It breaks my heart to see how much things have changed... All of the places you went that have gone down, homeless tents, dirty, etc... used to be vibrant, clean beautiful, populated with quirky, artsy Californian. and just magical! I remember that time. Hollywood is hot mess now.Its weird being a local, where I actually have to cut through Hollywood Blvd on my way to the dentist and l see so many tourists with dreams of coming to Hollywood and spend good money and it looks so fkn bad now ..makes sad for them. I'm most happy that you highlighted some of the places I thought were already gone down, but still vibrant. I think you saved me a trip to Kingsburg, 😆 l think I had recommended that you visit the Swedish town near Fresno..but from what I saw it looks more Swedless .. 😆 maybe it's seen better days. 😆 🤣. I'm glad you had fun. I can't wait to get back to Stockholm!°!!. Oh ! people cry when the planes land because they're still alive !!! 😆

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Haha thank you so much! And even though those places have gone down I still found them really really nice. I loved seeing all of these cities and other locations, and I had so much fun exploring all the weird things along the way :D But yeah, it really is heartbreaking to see all the homeless people in just about every city.... Right now you wouldn't want to be in Stockholm though - it's cooold and rainy! But cheers and hope you have a great one either way :D

[@novelette2551]

@@ThreeStarVagabond 😍

[@tumarfa]

Looks like a really nice trip! Southern California looks less dry than I had expected. 8:16 - Very cool specimen! 15:19 - FYI: There are actually several wineries in Denmark. It's not the 80s anymore.😀 21:38 - 14,050 pounds. Not 14,000, but 14,050. Perhaps they know from experience?🤔

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Yeah! I love those little critters :D And naah, no way there are wineries in Denmark. People say that there are some in Sweden too but I refuse to believe that either ^_^ Oh, that would be so funny if they had a truck that had just a tiny bit too much loaded :D

[@VAR_life]

I only thought that Italians clapped when planes land 👏🏻 Why do so many American towns look like film sets? The landscape though is breathtaking 😍

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Haha oh absolutely not only Italians :D I've even seen some Swedes do it on charter planes, come to think of it... Maybe it's because we're so used to seeing the US cities in movies, so they remind us of film sets? ^_^

[@brigidspencer5123]

Portuguese and Austrians also clap when the plane lands too. I don’t understand why they do this.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@brigidspencer5123 It is a bit weird isn't it! I just don't get what the idea is...

[@PhilThomas-yp3gg]

Nice trip. Sorry you missed Big Sur. One of the nicest parts of the California coast.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Yeah, it was a bit of a disappointment that Highway 1 was closed. I didn't really feel like going down south from Carmel, when I was heading up north to SF :/

[@PhilThomas-yp3gg]

A reason to come back sometime. Also, be careful around the “homeless” people here. I’m sure you noticed that many of them have mental health issues. Here in San Diego there have been multiple incidents of people being violently assaulted by them. It’s a shame they are not cared for better. but I always keep my distance.

[@pkharper3525]

Awesome video. I’ve been to Vegas but can’t say I was impressed. The west coast is beautiful but due to the high cost of living and taxes you tend to get a lot of homeless people. Hope you had fun, and loved your hat. Stay safe till next time.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I definitely had fun, but yeah there were some good and bad mixed along with it all. It did seem like a nice area overall, even though I think I found San Francisco the most..."liveable" place!

[@lnonel]

So wholesome ☺

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Haha I do try 😊

[@fangugel3812]

When you get back to Sweden, please consider a trip to Östergötland - Omberg, Vadstena, Ur Natur, Tåkern, etc. We love it hete.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Thanks for the suggestion! That's a really good idea. I used to live in Linköping but I never got around to exploring a lot of those areas - so that would be new and exciting to me too :D

[@continentalcoxons]

Really enjoyed this one Miro. Great to see a bit of a longer video too giving us a taste of manyvplaces across your trip. Always wanted to visit Yosemite.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Thank you! Haha, I love the longer video style but I'm really struggling to find time to edit stuff this long :D Oh yeah, I think you'd love hiking in Yosemite! It's bloody amazing...

[@continentalcoxons]

@ThreeStarVagabond yeah, it does take a long time to edit the longer ones. Can sometimes take me a week to do a half hour video. Hiking in Yosemite would be amazing for sure, the scenery would make it a spectacular hike.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@continentalcoxons Well, damn fine work on getting those long ones done! Man, I struggle just finding time for everything I want to do - and then editing stuff on top of that. But oh well, it's all fun!

[@Jordynfire]

Welcome to my home the west coast!! I was born and raised in California!! But now I live in Pennsylvania. I would love to go to Sweden someday!!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Sweden is lovely but I have to say that there was SO much to see and do in California! Amazing place for a trip like this. Not sure about PA - that's still on my to-do list 😊

[@Jordynfire]

@@ThreeStarVagabondfrom what I understand, the East Coast and North Eastern states are very similar to places in England. But I could be very wrong because I have actually never been outside the USA (hopefully someday soon). PA has a lot of forest and nature it’s actually very beautiful. Hopefully you can come out and see PA someday!

[@Rain-ge2eh]

I really like the weather there. Great video. ❤

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

The weather was so good! I want to go back again 😅

[@ChristopherGronlund]

This was a blast! Sooooooooo glad you got to spend so much time just driving and seeing things. Deserts are so cool, and road trips are really the best way to experience the good, the weird, and the ugly in the U.S. Really glad you just went for it and made this video longer than most. I love all your travel videos (from all the places you visit), and I know you're always on the go. I love the couple American videos you've shared, and will always be happy to see more from this trip. But I know it's summer and time for more travel and look forward to other adventures. The effort on this one is so well done, I won't even point out how utterly wrong you are about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! 🤣

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I'm totally ignoring the peanut butter and jelly comment :D But yeah, this trip was amazing - and editing this together just made me realize how much I've actually done. The insane part is that I have loads of other material. Like, a full video about Solvang, one about the worst tourist attractions in California, one about weird attractions along the way, one about 10 free things to do in Las Vegas, etc... This video was "just" the rest of the trip! ^^ I'm desperately trying to make plans for summer now, so that I can mix every US video with a Swedish one as soon as possible :D

[@ChristopherGronlund]

@@ThreeStarVagabond I figured there would be plenty more specific U.S. videos from such a long and varied trip! This one is so much fun 😀

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@ChristopherGronlund Thank you! :D And yeah... Gotta do something about that terabyte of footage I have after all ^^

[@patrickwoods2213]

Hopefully you can come back and do the East coast next time - New York, Boston, ect.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I really should! I was in the East coast back in 2001 so it's about time now....

[@dreammfyre]

RIP the German in Venice booth. Pretty sure it’s closed down now

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Oh yeah! I didn't remember what you meant at first, but I think I filmed a bit of it behind the bboying

[@johto]

Cool video ! 👍

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Tack så mycket :D

[@johto]

@@ThreeStarVagabond Good looking footage. Like your humour in your commentery. Maybe its the common scandinavian thing. Your nose sure toke some beating. Too much sun or booze or both? 😎Cheers from Finland ! 👍

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Appreciate it! I guess the Scandis and Nordic people all have a bit of a dry humor - I like it that way :D And yeah.. It started with "it's not that hot - I don't need sunscreen". And then "I'm already burned - it can't get any worse now". And then "oh it could - but now it's too late to apply sunscreen anyway"...

[@midmiddleton163]

It looks like you had an adventure. The US is massive. I'm glad you get to roam around and see the sights.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

It really was amazing to be able to see all of that on one trip! Such a cool little adventure - but I want to go back and explore even more 😀

[@midmiddleton163]

@ThreeStarVagabond Next time, visit Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The Pacific Northwest looks very similar to sweden in the countryside and along the rivers. Im glad you had fun. Cheers.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Thanks for the tip! That's definitely on my to-do list 😀

[@samengle8068]

nice

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Thanks! :D

[@marna_li]

They hopefully have the cereal that they can sell, or else the business wouldn't go around. Anyway, as a Swede, I see what you mean. And when it comes to the alcohol... yeah... that is probably what most Swedes would buy in an ordinary supermarket.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I guess it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. People expect lots of brands, so if they're not there they won't sell - so they need to get lots of brands... But haha yeah, unfortunately so.

[@lulu.chains.88]

I want to visit California a lot more after watching your video. So many beautiful places along the coast! I will skip LA tho. Still sad I didn't get to go to Kingsburg last time I was there even if it's not all that impressive. I will have to disagree with you on cinnamon buns, the American kind with frosting on top is much better than the kanelbulle I had in Stockholm 🫣 Although maybe Bröd och Salt wasn't the right place to visit. If you have any better suggestions I will happily try again when I visit next year :) Looking forward to the next video!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I really want to go back and explore even more after this! There's just so much to see over there 😊 Haha we'll have to agree to disagree about the cinnamon buns. Bröd & salt might not be the best but they're not too shabby. So if those don't work, maybe give up on the Swedish ones 😀

[@xPrimaru]

Juste, dom har den där stora globen. Hur var den? Verkar ganska häftig o se :D

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Den var cool och visade mest olika snygga scener. Men ärligt så gillade jag Fremont Street Experience bättre. Där var det en gigantisk canopy screen istället som visade en massa grejer!

[@sarahtaylor3950]

I'm sure you were after a re-enactment of the Harry Potter movie where the snake 🐍 came out of his enclosure. That would be funny. I was surprised at the size of the axolotl, I have always thought they were smaller, I thought they would make a great Pokermon. A man from Sweden saying its cold 🥶 😂😂

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Yes! That's exactly how I was envisioning it when I saw the dragon 😀 And haha it was a big one wasn't it? Looks like a Mewtwo almost... hmmm.. 😊 And well it looked warm but some places were really chilly in the wind! Still lots of UV though apparently, judging from my nose...

[@EricMagazu]

3SV, did you happen to try Mountain Dew Zero while you were in the USA?

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Umm... I kinda forgot! But in my defense there were so many weird sodas and I had a hard time seeing which ones were sugar free 😅

[@orlx]

Make Sweden lagom again !

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Exactly! I love that hat :D

[@nathanpattee1629]

About the applauding....i am from the USA and i can't understand it either ..except to say maybe they are glad they survived? (The airplane ..the rollar coaster who knows). did a Walmart worker realy kick you out of the store for filming? I am from this country but i don't understand a lot there...too many loud and annoying people ,they don't have respect for others..

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I guess that makes sense, but given how people drive they should applaud every car ride too in that case. And yes indeed... I was asked to leave and escorted out :D And oh well, there's plenty of great and really nice people as well!

[@nathanpattee1629]

@@ThreeStarVagabond Wow! When i get back to the states i might try filming and talking in my local Walmart and see what happens...maybe if you told them you were Danish they would let you film and take all the beer?? 🍻😁😁.....how do people drive in Sweden compared to Nevada and California?

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@nathanpattee1629 Haha! Give it a shot :D But I think it was my commentary inside the store that made people annoyed ;D Well, Nevada was pretty chill for driving. Mostly desert and smaller towns (and Vegas). I saw a lot of insane takeovers in CA though. People coming at high speed and zooming through narrow gaps. Looks completely insane - never seen that in Sweden.

[@lucasbergstrm]

fan va coolt

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Det var fan riktigt nice 😀

[@robinjohansson1949]

Var det enkelt att ta sig runt i med bil sådär?

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Ja men faktiskt! Det var lite nervöst med alla enorma motorvägar först, och att alltid navigera sig med vägnummer. Men det funkade riktigt bra att åka runt. Fast i storstäderna så parkerade jag bilen vid motellet, och körde lokaltrafik istället.

[@robinjohansson1949]

@@ThreeStarVagabond Ok, har bara kört i USA en gång. Var i L.A 2014, besökte bland annat bägge Disney parkerna, Huntigton Beach, Griffith Observatory. Tyckte då det var skrämmande. Du körde så långt!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@robinjohansson1949 Härligt! Låter som om du såg en hel del kul saker. Jag åkte mycket buss och tunnelbana istället när jag var där - fast jag körde till Griffith, för det var enklare

[@robinjohansson1949]

@@ThreeStarVagabond Okej, ja det gjorde jag. Körde också till Griffith. Hade tur att få parkering längst upp. Parkvakterna gick och bötfällde alla bilar som stod vid kanterna upptill Griffith.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@robinjohansson1949 Jag passade på att åka upp före kl 9, så jag kunde parkera gratis och vandra runt lite för att se Hollywood-skylten. Men jag skippade själva observatoriet tyvärr, för jag skulle vidare :/

[@user-pn3io5oy3i]

Vilken film, Yosemite?

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Yosemite finns med lite iaf! 😊

[@user-pn3io5oy3i]

@@ThreeStarVagabond men vilken film är det?

[@scipioafricanus2]

scenery good literally everything else terrible

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Haha I probably just filmed it all poorly

[@squidney2313]

Need some sunscreen my guy

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

It's pretty miserable to see my nose get worse all the time. At first I was like "naah it's not so hot" then I thought "naah, I've already burned my nose so it can't get worse now"... Well, it could

[@Cybercenturycentaur]

The best and the worst comes from the USA.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

That's actually a pretty fair statement... The US is a land of great variety after all. For good and for bad.

[@MedusaQueen729]

You are NOT a Swede. You are just a Swedish citizen.

[@Malt3s3rKot]

he loks pretty swedish to me

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Haha wtf?

[@MedusaQueen729]

@@Malt3s3rKot No, he does not look all that Swedish. Plus, he is half Finnish, half Bosnian. His ethnicity is not Swedish, he is only a Swedish citizen.

[@ChristopherGronlund]

@@MedusaQueen729 Chill out, madam pureblood! I bet you don't actually look like medusa.

[@novelette2551]

​@MedusaQueen729 ....And....your point is???? Oh you have none! How disrespectful ...that has nothing to do with this vlog... My black cousins from Arizona move to Sweden in the 90s.. and they are now Swedish.. Just like a person from Italy living as an American citizen is now an American ....that was a reach to figure out a person's ethnicity ...good grief