Four theme parks in four days - that's the plan! We arrived in Orlando this morning via the overnight train from Raleigh (had a sleeper carriage, wonderful!) after an amazing four nights in King, NC, with the incredibly welcoming and awesome Clark family. Ate way too much (we were there for Thanksgiving), had a dog to share my bed with (oh Bubbles, how I miss thee), and made some great new friends - all related to the friends we were staying with. We just loved our time there, and I'll definitely be making an effort to get back there for another visit.
Off to bed now - those theme parks are looking quite daunting!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Recovering from Vegas.
Shirley Porter, Karolyn Timarkos, Kristi Clark, Dustin Elter - Juice & Java.
We are now in King, North Carolina, staying with friends, and recovering from Vegas. Don't get me wrong, we loved it, but Vegas should have a compulsory 1:1 ratio - if you spend a week there, you need a week to recover. We have walked through most of the major casinos on The Strip and, consequently, feel like we have toured France, Italy, Egypt, and the Mediterranean - we even went for a gondola ride through the streets of "Venice" and under ther bridge of sighs, which looked just like the real city, only cleaner and less crowded. A great way to travel Europe!
I missed the Bunny Club. Spent $15 on a taxi to get there on our last night, only to discover that it didn't open until 9pm, and we had tickets for Rod Stewart at 8pm. Was too tied after the concert, and couldn't afford to spend another $30 getting there and back. Forlornly bought two fridge magnets, one for me, one for Jade. Next time I'll know!
My friend Kristi and her boyfirend Dustin are in the kitchen baking pumpkin cupcakes - we are having two Thanksgivings - one tonight, and one tomorrow. How spoilt! Last night we went with them to the supermarket - it usually takes then 10 minutes; with two Kiwis in tow it took over half an hour, and they had to keep explaining to people, "It's okay, they're from New Zealand" as I took photos of everything!
I have an animal to share my bed here! An 8 month old Shih Tzu puppy called Bubbles, who is just adorable. I miss jackson terribly, so it's nice to have someone on the bed for a bit.
I was up till 1.30am this morning watching TV3 News and Campbell Live streaming live from NZ with the coverage of Pike River. Just terrible, and what an awful time the residents of Greymouth and Reefton must be going through. Very, very sad.
After a couple of days of clouds and drizzle, we are back to blue skies. I'm off now to take photos of fallen leaves. Love to everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving!
More photos from King, NC.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Pike River
Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the families and friends of the miners at Pike River at this terrible time.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Hi from 10,000 feet.
Mum and I are currently at 10,000 feet somewhere over Utah, heading up to Minneapolis, then back down to Raleigh. Had an awesome time in Vegas, although a week to recover would be nice! Rod Stewart was a brilliant concert, great show, great performance. Cloud cover now obliterating the view so might TRY and get an hour's sleep. Soooooooooooo tired! Bed at midnight, couldn't sleep till about 1.30, and up at 4.15 to catch the flight. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Las Vegas
What a day yesterday. We went with Sundance Helicopters on a flight to the Grand Canyon. It is difficult choosing a company to do this with - almost EVERY Grand Canyon flight company proudly declares themselves to be "The official" Grand Canyon flight company. We saw one place that delcared itself "The official Las Vegas Tourist Information Centre" but the woman in there made it obvious she was a hawker within 30 seconds of opening her mouth. Finally we saw the a booth that advertised Sundance, and I remembered that I had pounched on a couple in the carpark outside Champions on my way to work one day because he was wearing a "Sundance Helicopters Las Vegas" T-Shirt, and they had done tours with htme and thought they were the best.
They certainly seemed to give the best air time. They are the only (so they say - who knows?) Grand Canyon company with an office at McCarran airport, so they fly from here, rather than putting you on a bus for an hour or more to get to the airport the others use. Some of the packages we had been looking at had flight times of around 15-20 minutes. With Sundance we had an hour an a half, so we not only saw the Grand Canyon, but all of Vegas and The Strip as well.
Last night we took the bus to Downtown - the original Vegas - for the Freemont Street Experience light show. What a difference to The Strip! I mean, The Strip is great and all, but Freemont Street is more .... genuine, I guess. It seemed to have more of a Christmas Carnival atmosphere than the over-sexed Strip, and there are NO hawkers guaranteeing you a girl in 20 minutes - who are prolific on The Strip.
We discovered, too, that food prices Downtown are half, or less, of on The Strip. Those all-you-can-eat buffets on The Strip start at $29.99 - we saw one Downtown for $8.88. Hot dogs that coast $4.50 on The Stip will be $1.50 Downtown, and main meals (that the Americans call entrees) that go for $30-35 on The Strip will be around $15-20 Downtown. It's worth the $5 on the bus to go there to eat.
We have been into some of the mega-hotels for a look around. The Luxor, with it's Egyptian theme, Sunset (Mediterranean), Excalibur where we're staying is, of course, Medieval, New York New York speaks for itself. Today we're going to kick of with a full loop on the bus trip so I can video, then start at the North end of The Strip and work our way back down. We are definitely going for a boat ride on the gondolas at The Venetian - $16, but cheaper than getting to Venice and looks identical, except that the water is clean.
It's overcast again today - it was yesterday, but we were fine in T-shirts. The Americans all had on sweatshirts, jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves. Funny.
We have sucummbed to the gambling bug - Mum has lost $3, and I have lost 50c! We both put in $1 into three different machines (a funky Time Machine that had lots of bells and whistles and shook the chair), a one-armed bandit so we could pull the traditional lever, and a card machine so Mum could play blackjack and I could play poker. I won $2.50 on the Time Machine, for which you print out a voucher. I can cash it in another machine, but might keep it as a memento instead. The gamblers back home would go nuts over here - NZ poker machines are so antiquated compared to what some of the ones here do.
More photos from Las Vegas.
They certainly seemed to give the best air time. They are the only (so they say - who knows?) Grand Canyon company with an office at McCarran airport, so they fly from here, rather than putting you on a bus for an hour or more to get to the airport the others use. Some of the packages we had been looking at had flight times of around 15-20 minutes. With Sundance we had an hour an a half, so we not only saw the Grand Canyon, but all of Vegas and The Strip as well.
Last night we took the bus to Downtown - the original Vegas - for the Freemont Street Experience light show. What a difference to The Strip! I mean, The Strip is great and all, but Freemont Street is more .... genuine, I guess. It seemed to have more of a Christmas Carnival atmosphere than the over-sexed Strip, and there are NO hawkers guaranteeing you a girl in 20 minutes - who are prolific on The Strip.
We discovered, too, that food prices Downtown are half, or less, of on The Strip. Those all-you-can-eat buffets on The Strip start at $29.99 - we saw one Downtown for $8.88. Hot dogs that coast $4.50 on The Stip will be $1.50 Downtown, and main meals (that the Americans call entrees) that go for $30-35 on The Strip will be around $15-20 Downtown. It's worth the $5 on the bus to go there to eat.
We have been into some of the mega-hotels for a look around. The Luxor, with it's Egyptian theme, Sunset (Mediterranean), Excalibur where we're staying is, of course, Medieval, New York New York speaks for itself. Today we're going to kick of with a full loop on the bus trip so I can video, then start at the North end of The Strip and work our way back down. We are definitely going for a boat ride on the gondolas at The Venetian - $16, but cheaper than getting to Venice and looks identical, except that the water is clean.
It's overcast again today - it was yesterday, but we were fine in T-shirts. The Americans all had on sweatshirts, jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves. Funny.
We have sucummbed to the gambling bug - Mum has lost $3, and I have lost 50c! We both put in $1 into three different machines (a funky Time Machine that had lots of bells and whistles and shook the chair), a one-armed bandit so we could pull the traditional lever, and a card machine so Mum could play blackjack and I could play poker. I won $2.50 on the Time Machine, for which you print out a voucher. I can cash it in another machine, but might keep it as a memento instead. The gamblers back home would go nuts over here - NZ poker machines are so antiquated compared to what some of the ones here do.
More photos from Las Vegas.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
A catch up from Las Vegas.
No internet access for four nights - oh the torture! But I did keep a diary:
Monday November 15.
Words, words, words ... to describe Yosemite National Park ... just don’t exist. Nothing you can write, and no images you can share, can convey even a tiny part of the majesty of standing at the base of those 2000 foot cliffs looking up. Suffice it to say, they brought the Escarpment in The Belgariad well and truly to life for me!
I was most impressed with the way both Curry Village, where we stayed, and Yosemite Village, about a mile up the road, have been designed and built so perfectly to blend in with the environment. Not for Yosemite the neon lights and glaring shop fronts of Australian and New Zealand ski resorts – these human venues really are at one with nature.
As a Kiwi, my biggest thrill was watching the squirrels every day (we don’t have them in New Zealand): busily filling their tummies with food for the winter, stockpiling acorns, and stuffing their mouths with as many leaves as they could carry to insulate their burrows, then returning to the surface and spitting out the occasional half leaf that just isn’t quite correct. I even managed to film some squirrel porn! I thought it was a strange time of the year to be breeding, but one of the Park staff said they’re like rabbits – all year round.
The permanent heated canvas tent we stayed in was ... a bit of a challenge. I’m sure it would be delightful in summer. Unfortunately, the heater was either controlled by a thermostat, in which case it waited until the temperature hit freezing before switching on again, or was on a time delay, and by the time it switched on again the temperature was freezing. Either way, you get the salient word mentioned twice in that sentence! Only two blankets were provided – good old Army issue blankets that wouldn’t warm a hot water bottle in the Sahara during the day. Although we both slept with what we thought was sufficient the first night, the second night we piled the layers on. So instead of freezing, we only half froze.
Early November is a funny time of the year to visit Yosemite – it’s stunningly beautiful, with the trees in their autumn (fall) colours, but most of the services and restaurants are closed for the season, despite the place being very busy, by New Zealand standards. But, perhaps, that is very quiet by American standards. Still, it did mean no queues for the toilets/showers, and the staff all had time to stop and chat. It’s great being a Kiwi in the USA – everyone loves you!
Which reminds me, on the way into the park on the 120 we stopped at a gas station/bar/junk store in the middle of nowhere because it proudly declared on a hand written sign “Chinese Camp Store. Kiwi Tavern.” And was flying the Swiss and Kiwi flags. Turns out the bloke who owns it, who bought it 30 years ago, is from Whakatane! (For those who don’t know, that’s about an hour’s drive from where we live in New Zealand. Gave him a 2011 New Zealand calendar, which he was most delighted with. It’s a pity I won’t drink anything whilst driving on the wrong side of the road – he sold Steinlager!
More photos from Yosemite National Park.
Our plan had been to stay two nights at Yosemite, then go through to Mammoth Lakes for a night, before heading on to Death Valley. When I booked the accommodation at Mammoth the lodge said there was virtually no chance that the Tioga Pass would be closed by snow. It was closed. Thankfully, out of five weeks, this was the one place that was not either prepaid or had my credit card number. We had no internet access at Yosemite, so once we returned to cellphone range I texted Jen in New Zealand and asked her to e-mail a cancellation through. Then we hit the 120 west, instead of east, hung left at the 99, and flew down through Merced, Madera, Fresno, and Tulare to Denaro, took another left onto the 155, and came through Sequoia National Forest to Wofford Heights, where we are staying the night at the Sierra Vista Motel with TWO ROOMS (snore free) that, in its hey day, had James Brolin, Catherine Bach, and Olivia Newton-John stay here. But alas, no internet access. The owner doesn’t even have it himself – he drives up the road and parks at McDonalds and uses theirs.
The 155 was fascinating – started off with endless vineyards, pistachios, and orange plantations, then turned into tussocky grasslands, then into sequoias and black oaks, in all their autumn glory. And a squirrel that ran across the road in front of us! We climbed up to over 6000 feet, before coming down to Wofford Heights on the shores of Lake Isabella which, I think, is still a few thousand feet above sea level. Probably in the ski season (cross country) it’s a veritable hive of activity; right now it’s a sleepy little town where the main entertainment for the kids seems to be hanging out at the gas station and annoying the owner.
It is 7.09pm and I am about ready for bed! The combination of long drives, thin mountain air, darkness at 4.30pm, and an average of 2-3 hours sleep a night is starting to take its toll. I will close the dividing door between the rooms tonight with delight and hope for an unbroken night’s sleep in preparation for the trek through Death Valley tomorrow!
More photos from Wofford Heights.
Tuesday November 16.
NINE HOURS SLEEP!!!! Bliss. I did watch an hour of Family Guy before I went to bed (on the ONE channel that the TV in Wofford Heights seems to get, tbs) and then 9 hours of undisturbed, snore-free sleep. Feel sooooo good this morning, which is yet another golden morning of cloudless skies. And smog free. Once we hit the 99 travelling south the countryside was covered in smog the whole way, until we turned off onto the 155 and climbed up into the mountains. Neither of us are sure of the size of Fresno, but as we drove through, the city didn’t seem to be big enough to be generating that much pollution, so we suspect it came all the way up from Los Angeles. It was pretty awful, whatever the source.
Today we are off to Death Valley. Josh at the gas station said it’s a very sensible time of the year to visit – “We get folks here in summer heading off to Death Valley when it’s, like, 150 degrees (52 for Kiwis) – crazy!” We’re expecting around 75 (24).
(Tuesday Night.)
Well, if words fail completely to describe the grandeur of Yosemite National Park, they fail just as abysmally in describing the majesty that is the Death Valley National Park. I feel like we have driven through the landscapes of several different planets today. Death Valley is not “desert” as per Arabian Knights desert, but is an endlessly changing kaleidoscope of different colours and textures, set against a backdrop of soaring peaks and sweeping valleys. Absolutely stunning.
We had a rest stop at Cosmo Junction, where a group of high school students were on a field trip, and by eavesdropping we learnt some interesting facts about the area, which was originally volcanic (which we had presumed from the tons of scoria and obsidian lying everywhere), and is rather prone to earthquakes. Goody. I also had the best laugh I’d had in a long time. In this vast valley of varying shades of brown and red there was one bright patch of green – a small, lush lawn at the rest stop. The students had all just settled themselves down and were lying around in the sun, when the sprinklers that kept that grass so lush came on. Hilarous! As the kids’ teacher said, “I have NEVER seen you guys move so quick.”
For the night we are at the Armagosa Hotel and Opera House, which, in its day (much like the Sierra Vista Motel in Wofford Heights), must have been quite something. It was at its height in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, and still shows lingering elements of what it once was. Over the cooler season they still have opera performances on the weekends, starring Marta who has, I think, been performing here for 60 or 70 years now. I imagine everyone from around these parts comes here when the performances are on, and the old girls (both the Hotel and Marta) enjoy being transported into the days of past fabulosity.
We had planned to have dinner at the cafe here, but they decided to pack up early and go home, so we went to Nevada for dinner instead. Seriously, it’s 7 miles down the road – a long, long, very, very straight road. I could have driven it with my eyes shut. The Long Street Casino, another venue that has seen better days, but was still worth a visit. However, if you ever go there, I do NOT recommend the chicken steak, vegetables, and potatoes. I do not honestly believe that a real potato was even considered in the preparation of this dish.
Wednesday November 17.
Again, Death Valley, oh my gosh. We really, really, really feel like we drove through an alien landscape today. I must research what sci-fi films have been shot in Death Valley and get them out back home. We stopped off at the delightful China Ranch Date Farm, that I had stumbled across by zooming in on a patch of green whilst looking at Death Valley on Google satellite. Best date shakes in the world!
More photos from Death Valley.
More photos from China Ranch Date Farm.
Funnily enough, before we went to China Ranch we stopped off at Shoshane for gas, and decided to pop into the Post Office to double check that our directions to China Ranch were accurate. We could not have picked a better place to ask - the Post Mistress owns China Ranch Date Farm! (Along with her husband.) She was delighted when I said I had heard about the farm by zooming in on a patch of green whilst looking at a Google satellite iamge of Death Valley on my computer in New Zealand. She directed us a five minute walk away, where the remains on the old miners homes (cut into the rock) still stand today.
Photos from Shoshane.
Now we're in Vegas, which is also another world entirely. We went for a walk down The Strip when we first arrived, but the "bright lights, big city" were a bit much after the peace and grandeur of the desert, so we're relaxing at the hotel (Excalibur, $31 a night for the room!) before going for dinner. Who said food in Vegas ic cheap???? It's bloody expensive in the casinos - we'll hit Subway. Tomorrow we'll investigate places off The Strip and see if the price halves. Also tomorrow we have to return our darling Diego - the car we have had since San Diego (12 hour flight, originality of names wasn't our strong point). He has been awesome and has taken us nearly 2000 miles - all for $164! (Gas). Sooooo cheap over here.
Monday November 15.
Words, words, words ... to describe Yosemite National Park ... just don’t exist. Nothing you can write, and no images you can share, can convey even a tiny part of the majesty of standing at the base of those 2000 foot cliffs looking up. Suffice it to say, they brought the Escarpment in The Belgariad well and truly to life for me!
I was most impressed with the way both Curry Village, where we stayed, and Yosemite Village, about a mile up the road, have been designed and built so perfectly to blend in with the environment. Not for Yosemite the neon lights and glaring shop fronts of Australian and New Zealand ski resorts – these human venues really are at one with nature.
As a Kiwi, my biggest thrill was watching the squirrels every day (we don’t have them in New Zealand): busily filling their tummies with food for the winter, stockpiling acorns, and stuffing their mouths with as many leaves as they could carry to insulate their burrows, then returning to the surface and spitting out the occasional half leaf that just isn’t quite correct. I even managed to film some squirrel porn! I thought it was a strange time of the year to be breeding, but one of the Park staff said they’re like rabbits – all year round.
The permanent heated canvas tent we stayed in was ... a bit of a challenge. I’m sure it would be delightful in summer. Unfortunately, the heater was either controlled by a thermostat, in which case it waited until the temperature hit freezing before switching on again, or was on a time delay, and by the time it switched on again the temperature was freezing. Either way, you get the salient word mentioned twice in that sentence! Only two blankets were provided – good old Army issue blankets that wouldn’t warm a hot water bottle in the Sahara during the day. Although we both slept with what we thought was sufficient the first night, the second night we piled the layers on. So instead of freezing, we only half froze.
Early November is a funny time of the year to visit Yosemite – it’s stunningly beautiful, with the trees in their autumn (fall) colours, but most of the services and restaurants are closed for the season, despite the place being very busy, by New Zealand standards. But, perhaps, that is very quiet by American standards. Still, it did mean no queues for the toilets/showers, and the staff all had time to stop and chat. It’s great being a Kiwi in the USA – everyone loves you!
Which reminds me, on the way into the park on the 120 we stopped at a gas station/bar/junk store in the middle of nowhere because it proudly declared on a hand written sign “Chinese Camp Store. Kiwi Tavern.” And was flying the Swiss and Kiwi flags. Turns out the bloke who owns it, who bought it 30 years ago, is from Whakatane! (For those who don’t know, that’s about an hour’s drive from where we live in New Zealand. Gave him a 2011 New Zealand calendar, which he was most delighted with. It’s a pity I won’t drink anything whilst driving on the wrong side of the road – he sold Steinlager!
More photos from Yosemite National Park.
Our plan had been to stay two nights at Yosemite, then go through to Mammoth Lakes for a night, before heading on to Death Valley. When I booked the accommodation at Mammoth the lodge said there was virtually no chance that the Tioga Pass would be closed by snow. It was closed. Thankfully, out of five weeks, this was the one place that was not either prepaid or had my credit card number. We had no internet access at Yosemite, so once we returned to cellphone range I texted Jen in New Zealand and asked her to e-mail a cancellation through. Then we hit the 120 west, instead of east, hung left at the 99, and flew down through Merced, Madera, Fresno, and Tulare to Denaro, took another left onto the 155, and came through Sequoia National Forest to Wofford Heights, where we are staying the night at the Sierra Vista Motel with TWO ROOMS (snore free) that, in its hey day, had James Brolin, Catherine Bach, and Olivia Newton-John stay here. But alas, no internet access. The owner doesn’t even have it himself – he drives up the road and parks at McDonalds and uses theirs.
The 155 was fascinating – started off with endless vineyards, pistachios, and orange plantations, then turned into tussocky grasslands, then into sequoias and black oaks, in all their autumn glory. And a squirrel that ran across the road in front of us! We climbed up to over 6000 feet, before coming down to Wofford Heights on the shores of Lake Isabella which, I think, is still a few thousand feet above sea level. Probably in the ski season (cross country) it’s a veritable hive of activity; right now it’s a sleepy little town where the main entertainment for the kids seems to be hanging out at the gas station and annoying the owner.
It is 7.09pm and I am about ready for bed! The combination of long drives, thin mountain air, darkness at 4.30pm, and an average of 2-3 hours sleep a night is starting to take its toll. I will close the dividing door between the rooms tonight with delight and hope for an unbroken night’s sleep in preparation for the trek through Death Valley tomorrow!
More photos from Wofford Heights.
Tuesday November 16.
NINE HOURS SLEEP!!!! Bliss. I did watch an hour of Family Guy before I went to bed (on the ONE channel that the TV in Wofford Heights seems to get, tbs) and then 9 hours of undisturbed, snore-free sleep. Feel sooooo good this morning, which is yet another golden morning of cloudless skies. And smog free. Once we hit the 99 travelling south the countryside was covered in smog the whole way, until we turned off onto the 155 and climbed up into the mountains. Neither of us are sure of the size of Fresno, but as we drove through, the city didn’t seem to be big enough to be generating that much pollution, so we suspect it came all the way up from Los Angeles. It was pretty awful, whatever the source.
Today we are off to Death Valley. Josh at the gas station said it’s a very sensible time of the year to visit – “We get folks here in summer heading off to Death Valley when it’s, like, 150 degrees (52 for Kiwis) – crazy!” We’re expecting around 75 (24).
(Tuesday Night.)
Well, if words fail completely to describe the grandeur of Yosemite National Park, they fail just as abysmally in describing the majesty that is the Death Valley National Park. I feel like we have driven through the landscapes of several different planets today. Death Valley is not “desert” as per Arabian Knights desert, but is an endlessly changing kaleidoscope of different colours and textures, set against a backdrop of soaring peaks and sweeping valleys. Absolutely stunning.
We had a rest stop at Cosmo Junction, where a group of high school students were on a field trip, and by eavesdropping we learnt some interesting facts about the area, which was originally volcanic (which we had presumed from the tons of scoria and obsidian lying everywhere), and is rather prone to earthquakes. Goody. I also had the best laugh I’d had in a long time. In this vast valley of varying shades of brown and red there was one bright patch of green – a small, lush lawn at the rest stop. The students had all just settled themselves down and were lying around in the sun, when the sprinklers that kept that grass so lush came on. Hilarous! As the kids’ teacher said, “I have NEVER seen you guys move so quick.”
For the night we are at the Armagosa Hotel and Opera House, which, in its day (much like the Sierra Vista Motel in Wofford Heights), must have been quite something. It was at its height in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, and still shows lingering elements of what it once was. Over the cooler season they still have opera performances on the weekends, starring Marta who has, I think, been performing here for 60 or 70 years now. I imagine everyone from around these parts comes here when the performances are on, and the old girls (both the Hotel and Marta) enjoy being transported into the days of past fabulosity.
We had planned to have dinner at the cafe here, but they decided to pack up early and go home, so we went to Nevada for dinner instead. Seriously, it’s 7 miles down the road – a long, long, very, very straight road. I could have driven it with my eyes shut. The Long Street Casino, another venue that has seen better days, but was still worth a visit. However, if you ever go there, I do NOT recommend the chicken steak, vegetables, and potatoes. I do not honestly believe that a real potato was even considered in the preparation of this dish.
Wednesday November 17.
Again, Death Valley, oh my gosh. We really, really, really feel like we drove through an alien landscape today. I must research what sci-fi films have been shot in Death Valley and get them out back home. We stopped off at the delightful China Ranch Date Farm, that I had stumbled across by zooming in on a patch of green whilst looking at Death Valley on Google satellite. Best date shakes in the world!
More photos from Death Valley.
More photos from China Ranch Date Farm.
Funnily enough, before we went to China Ranch we stopped off at Shoshane for gas, and decided to pop into the Post Office to double check that our directions to China Ranch were accurate. We could not have picked a better place to ask - the Post Mistress owns China Ranch Date Farm! (Along with her husband.) She was delighted when I said I had heard about the farm by zooming in on a patch of green whilst looking at a Google satellite iamge of Death Valley on my computer in New Zealand. She directed us a five minute walk away, where the remains on the old miners homes (cut into the rock) still stand today.
Photos from Shoshane.
Now we're in Vegas, which is also another world entirely. We went for a walk down The Strip when we first arrived, but the "bright lights, big city" were a bit much after the peace and grandeur of the desert, so we're relaxing at the hotel (Excalibur, $31 a night for the room!) before going for dinner. Who said food in Vegas ic cheap???? It's bloody expensive in the casinos - we'll hit Subway. Tomorrow we'll investigate places off The Strip and see if the price halves. Also tomorrow we have to return our darling Diego - the car we have had since San Diego (12 hour flight, originality of names wasn't our strong point). He has been awesome and has taken us nearly 2000 miles - all for $164! (Gas). Sooooo cheap over here.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
&^%$#&@^ Internet!!!
I didn't think I'd find a country with worse, or slower, internet access than New Zealand, but the U.S.A. it is. We are off to Yosemite National Park this morning for two nights. There is no internet access where we are staying; there may be in Curry Village, but if not, we'll see you when we get to Mammoth Lakes (hopefully).
Saturday, November 13, 2010
A Catch Up.
Okay, so I'm a little behind in the travel blog. Ahhhh, the best laid plans ... mine were scuttled by the upper respiratory tract obstruction issuing from the other bed. Other than the Palomar Inn at Shell Beach which, wonder of wonders had two seperate rooms, I have only managed around 15 hours sleep in six nights, and that has been broken sleep. This is one of the many, many reasons I do not have children - I do NOT function without sleep.
According to the Palomar Inn's website they are located in Pismo Beach, but in actual fact they are in Shell Beach, which is where we spent our third night. I would move there in a heartbeat. The bay is lovely, the houses are gorgeous, and everything is immaculate. I shudder to think what any residents of Shell Beach would think of New Zealand if they were enticed there by the 100% Pure campaign! Shell Beach really is 100% Pure - we didn't see so much as a toothpick in terms of rubbish, not even a thought of tagging, and all the front yards of the houses go out of their way to outdo each other in Home & Garden design. If you tried that at home, everything you put out would be stolen in the night. It was sad to
have to leave and continue on northwards.
More photos from Sonoma and Santa Rosa.
According to the Palomar Inn's website they are located in Pismo Beach, but in actual fact they are in Shell Beach, which is where we spent our third night. I would move there in a heartbeat. The bay is lovely, the houses are gorgeous, and everything is immaculate. I shudder to think what any residents of Shell Beach would think of New Zealand if they were enticed there by the 100% Pure campaign! Shell Beach really is 100% Pure - we didn't see so much as a toothpick in terms of rubbish, not even a thought of tagging, and all the front yards of the houses go out of their way to outdo each other in Home & Garden design. If you tried that at home, everything you put out would be stolen in the night. It was sad to
have to leave and continue on northwards.
We took the CA-1 north, that hugs the Pacific coast line, rather than the 101 north, whichis a big ugly road with too many lanes. The drive was spectacular; a winding little road that went up and down some veeery stepp hills, with stunning views across the ocean. At San Simeon we followed a sign to Hearst Castle, which sounded interesting, and grudgingly parted with $24 each for a one and a half hour tour.
WOW!!!! It was worth 10 times the price. The Castle was built by William Randolph Hearst, and rivalled, if not exceeded, many of the castles I saw in Europe and the U.K. I took dozens of photos, and also purchased two books as we couldn't possibly remember everything our guide, Eric, told us in an hour and a half.
More photos from Hearst Castle.
Continuing on, we pulled off the road not much later because when you see a sign that says "Elephant Seals", well, you just have to. Check out their photos here.
Google maps assured us the drive from Shell Beach to San Francisco via the coast road would take 5 hours and 10 minutes. Seven and a half hours later we finally made it, in the dark, and the rain. The only rain, however, that we have had so far - that night in San Fran.
The next morning we walked about two hours to get to Thomas Cook Currency Exchange. I had taken out $500 in cash in New Zealand, and was going to change it at Auckland Airport when I thought, why not change in at LAX? You get a better exchange rate in the foreign country - at that stage the rate was .76 in New Zealand and .82 in the USA. LAX offered .70! Dodgy buggers. So, I thought, I'll wait till Monday and change it at the bank. Ha! You can't exchange foreign currency at the banks in the USA, unless you have an American account for them to put the money in. So, I was cashless. Now, while one can survive quite well at home without cash by putting everyting on the EFTPOS card, it doesn't work in the States where you have to leave $1 and $5 notes all over the place for housekeepers, waiters, valets, busboys etc. It was sooooo good to finally get some greenbacks, and not have to keep borrowing off Mum.
From there we headed for Telegraph Hill, where the wild parrots that I have wanted to meet for many years had headed off to another part of the city for the day. Wasn't happy about that. We did watch them putting a new elevator in to the top of Coit Tower using a crane with a 200 foot reach - that was something pretty special. Descending the other side, we once again encountered helpful yet geographically challenged Americans who tried to get us back to our hotel in a direction that even we knew was wrong, so we opted for a cab instead.
More photos from San Francisco.
The next day, it was back on the road to Santa Rosa, again chosing the coastal route rather than the 101, this one known as the Shoreline Highway, and yes it was. At times the water was only feet away. Another beautiful drive.
On Thursday Mum's sister, and my Aunt, Jackie (who Mum met a few years ago for the first time, and I had never met) drove over from Sonoma (where she lives) and took us for an awesome full day tour of San Francisco and the surrounding counties. We had lunch at Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf, where we received a meal for $75 that would cost around $200 (at least) at Harbourside back home.
Today we started off domestically, heading to WalMart first up. Mum was taking a photo of me in the carpark with the WalMart sign behind, when a lovely man driving by said "Do you want a photo of both of you?" We said yes, he obliged, asked where we were from, and when we said New Zealand he said "No way, get out of here!" He coaches the Santa Rosa High School basketball team and about seven months ago they received a Kiwi kid on a scholarship - and we remembered seeing the news item about it on TV3 back home. Small world. Gave him some Kiwi stickers, and he was beside himself with delight.
Walmart was sooooooooooo cheap - Americans must DIE when they come to NZ and see the price of everything. I wish I could have filled up a container to take back home. Just ridiculously cheap. From there we drove up to Sonoma and spent a lovely few hours wandering around, and having lunch at a Himilayan restaurant where they served real food at normal sized portions -brilliant!
And that pretty much brings us up to date. Probably not very wittily or excitingly - this is a bit of a drab post, but I really am too tired to write anything more than "We did this, we did that." Maybe I can catch some zzzzzzzz's in Vegas and get back to writing something that is interesting to read.
WOW!!!! It was worth 10 times the price. The Castle was built by William Randolph Hearst, and rivalled, if not exceeded, many of the castles I saw in Europe and the U.K. I took dozens of photos, and also purchased two books as we couldn't possibly remember everything our guide, Eric, told us in an hour and a half.
More photos from Hearst Castle.
Continuing on, we pulled off the road not much later because when you see a sign that says "Elephant Seals", well, you just have to. Check out their photos here.
Google maps assured us the drive from Shell Beach to San Francisco via the coast road would take 5 hours and 10 minutes. Seven and a half hours later we finally made it, in the dark, and the rain. The only rain, however, that we have had so far - that night in San Fran.
The next morning we walked about two hours to get to Thomas Cook Currency Exchange. I had taken out $500 in cash in New Zealand, and was going to change it at Auckland Airport when I thought, why not change in at LAX? You get a better exchange rate in the foreign country - at that stage the rate was .76 in New Zealand and .82 in the USA. LAX offered .70! Dodgy buggers. So, I thought, I'll wait till Monday and change it at the bank. Ha! You can't exchange foreign currency at the banks in the USA, unless you have an American account for them to put the money in. So, I was cashless. Now, while one can survive quite well at home without cash by putting everyting on the EFTPOS card, it doesn't work in the States where you have to leave $1 and $5 notes all over the place for housekeepers, waiters, valets, busboys etc. It was sooooo good to finally get some greenbacks, and not have to keep borrowing off Mum.
From there we headed for Telegraph Hill, where the wild parrots that I have wanted to meet for many years had headed off to another part of the city for the day. Wasn't happy about that. We did watch them putting a new elevator in to the top of Coit Tower using a crane with a 200 foot reach - that was something pretty special. Descending the other side, we once again encountered helpful yet geographically challenged Americans who tried to get us back to our hotel in a direction that even we knew was wrong, so we opted for a cab instead.
More photos from San Francisco.
The next day, it was back on the road to Santa Rosa, again chosing the coastal route rather than the 101, this one known as the Shoreline Highway, and yes it was. At times the water was only feet away. Another beautiful drive.
On Thursday Mum's sister, and my Aunt, Jackie (who Mum met a few years ago for the first time, and I had never met) drove over from Sonoma (where she lives) and took us for an awesome full day tour of San Francisco and the surrounding counties. We had lunch at Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf, where we received a meal for $75 that would cost around $200 (at least) at Harbourside back home.
Today we started off domestically, heading to WalMart first up. Mum was taking a photo of me in the carpark with the WalMart sign behind, when a lovely man driving by said "Do you want a photo of both of you?" We said yes, he obliged, asked where we were from, and when we said New Zealand he said "No way, get out of here!" He coaches the Santa Rosa High School basketball team and about seven months ago they received a Kiwi kid on a scholarship - and we remembered seeing the news item about it on TV3 back home. Small world. Gave him some Kiwi stickers, and he was beside himself with delight.
Walmart was sooooooooooo cheap - Americans must DIE when they come to NZ and see the price of everything. I wish I could have filled up a container to take back home. Just ridiculously cheap. From there we drove up to Sonoma and spent a lovely few hours wandering around, and having lunch at a Himilayan restaurant where they served real food at normal sized portions -brilliant!
And that pretty much brings us up to date. Probably not very wittily or excitingly - this is a bit of a drab post, but I really am too tired to write anything more than "We did this, we did that." Maybe I can catch some zzzzzzzz's in Vegas and get back to writing something that is interesting to read.
More photos from Sonoma and Santa Rosa.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Pismo Beach (Shell Beach)
The Pismo Beach photo album is now on-line. Just about to head out for the day - will try and write about it tonight.
^%$*&#@
Nope - the laptop still thinks it's Friday here, it's only Thursday. Ignore the dates posted automatically - I'll add the real date at the start of each post.
Dates sorted.
It was my fault - this time travel confuses thing. While Mum and I were still on Wednesday, my laptop was already in Thursday. I've reset his clock so the dates should be correct now.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Dates???
I'm not sure about these dates - to the best of my knowledge, today is Wednesday November 10, not Thursday. Still don['t have the Hearst Castle photos posted, or Pismo/Shell Beach, and today I took about 300 photos of San Francisco. Where, by the way, I did NOT see the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill. The hill, yes. and Mum even climbed it (nearly killed her) - but the parrots were all off wherever they spend the day. But at least I got to see where they live.
San Francisco is amazing - and I thought the hills in Wellington were steep! Sheesh. We spent about four hours wandering around today, then headed north to Santa Rosa along the Shoreline Highway, which Google assured us would take 1 hour and 23 minutes, and which took us nearer to four hours. Had dinner at Applebees, an American classic where I ordered a Caesar Salad that would feed the entire Papamoa Sports Fishing Club at Champions on a Sunday.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!
Hi again - okay, I don't know if that was the Caesar Salad, but something just came straight through me rather explosively. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh - burning ring of fire. This is supposed to happen in Bali, not Santa Rosa. Gotta go!
San Francisco is amazing - and I thought the hills in Wellington were steep! Sheesh. We spent about four hours wandering around today, then headed north to Santa Rosa along the Shoreline Highway, which Google assured us would take 1 hour and 23 minutes, and which took us nearer to four hours. Had dinner at Applebees, an American classic where I ordered a Caesar Salad that would feed the entire Papamoa Sports Fishing Club at Champions on a Sunday.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!
Hi again - okay, I don't know if that was the Caesar Salad, but something just came straight through me rather explosively. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh - burning ring of fire. This is supposed to happen in Bali, not Santa Rosa. Gotta go!
Trailer ..........
Just to whet your appetite - this is an aerial shot of Hearst Castle that we visited yesterday. Will post photos tonight.
Did I say I'd post photos "tonight"? Well, okay, it's now a month later - but here are more photos from Hearst Castle.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Shell Beach and Hearst Castle
Too tired to give a full report now, but look forward to tales of the drive north from Shell Beach, and a two hour stop at the AMAAAAAZING Hearst Castle. Took 708 photos - promise not to post them all, but will post some tomorrow.
Goodnight from San Francisco (where it took two hours to drive 30 miles).
Goodnight from San Francisco (where it took two hours to drive 30 miles).
Monday, November 8, 2010
San Diego Zoo
They grow their zoos big in the USA. San Diego Zoo was great, aside from the fact that, as with everything else we've been looking for so far, the Americans are not big on sign posting anything. After heading five minutes the wrong way trying to find the park entrance (by following the crowds who, it turned out, were all going to the National History Museum) we found a billboard of Balboa Park with the Zoo Entrance being indicated in the legend as red dot number 41. There was no red dot number 41. There was a 40, and a 42, which were not even remotely close to each other, but no 41. Some less geographically challenged Americans than yesterday's lot set us on the right path, which was great because we were an hour late.
Upon arrival at the gates, we found out we were five minutes early. Brian, of the stunning personality, had not bothered to inform us that Daylight Savings began last night. Bless him. Anyway, we queued to bu tickets, and then queued to get in, but suprisingly, that was it for the queues for the day - other than to see the panda bears, but oh my gosh, they were so cute, the queue was well worth it. We did the touristy bus trip and skyrail, both of which were great ways to see as much of the park with as little exertion as possible, and then meandered back and around and through.
The merchandising is mean - not for the USA the tired little souvenir shop at the entrance - there were shops and stalls all the way through the park, and although there was the usual array of tacky touristy stuff, there was also some very high quality (and, of course high price) branded merchandise as well. The staff were wonderful, and so American - and I mean that in the best possible way. Americans PARTICIPATE - no shuffling of the feet and looking down when they are asked for audience participation like Kiwis do - they go for it! It makes everything so much more fun and interactive.
Really too tired to write more now. Hoping for some sleep tonight.
More photos from San Diego Zoo.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Made it to San Diego!
PHOTO: U.S.A.??? Nope, Trevor V. Stevens garage. A good warm up act for the U.S.A.
Sooooo tired, this may be short. Very bumpy flight to Auckland, then the terribly young, female pilot showed she definitely still had her training wheels on with a jaw-jarring landing. Our friend Trevor V. Stevens took us back to his place where Miss Heleee had cooked up a storm for us, and we did our best in a practice run to eat like Americans. Then back to Auckland, quick walk through and on to the plane, and off we soared. We had two seats right at the back of the plane - the plane was quite sparsely populated and they announced that when the seatbelt sign went off, you could move to other seats. The sign went off, and Mum leaped out an claimed a row of four seats faster than Lightning Bolt came out the blocks at the Olympics! What a Godsend those four seats were, although my turn was somewhat defeated by the two Poms who insisted in disussing their boring lives very loudly and very longly from 4.30 in the morning.
The U.S. Customs service commendably demonstrated how to take as long as possible to complete simple tasks; hence we did not clear customs until an hour and a half after we landed. Then a shuttle to Alamo where we ummed and ahhed over what car to choose (you get your pick - women should not have to make this decision), finally settling on a blue one.
We didn't opt for GPS (for what they charge we could have bought one) as I had already downloaded the driving instructions from Google. Unfortunately, Shirley gets carsick reading, and I was not quite that comfortable with driving on the wrong side of the road, so we made the foolish presumption that San Diego SeaWorld or San Diego Zoo would be sufficiently sign posted. When we saw a sign that said Mexico 15 miles, we figured we had gone too far. A series of very friendly, but increasingly geographically challenged Americans, helped us cover the 20 minutes we'd gone wrong by in a staggering two hours! Bless them. I was shattered by the time we arrived, and were checked in at the hotel by Brian Pagan (yes, really), who has a personality to rival Spock, but WAS just brimming with information.
Shirley is already asleep, and I'm about to crash. Love to all, and hope life is good where you are.
More photos from getting to the USA.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
And we're off!!!
Well, the day has finally arrived. The checked in luggage is all packed, and the cabin luggage is not far off. There's not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind, so it should be smooth flying to Auckland, then off to Trevor V. Stevens' place for a BBQ - check him out http://www.trevorvstevens.com/ - great country music singer, he won the NZCMA 2010 Award for Top Male Vocalist. Then back to Auckland International for the loooooong flight across the Pacific.
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