Stuff travel agents don't tell you that would be nice to know before you go.

1. Driving on the right hand side of the road is very easy to get used to. Driving on the left after coming home - not so much!


2. Getting cash in the States after 9/11 is not easy. We put Mum's Mastercard and my Visa Card into numerous holes-in-the-wall trying to get cash, and only succeeded once (at SeaWorld). Taking New Zealand dollars is no good either - the banks won't change foreign dollars unless you have a US bank account. Take American dollars with you - do NOT wait to exchange cash at LAX - the rate is 12c less than in New Zealand.


3. Following on from the previous note - you do need cash in the States. Unlike NZ, where you can survive on plastic, you have to have cash to tip in the States.


4. Many intersections in the US have four-way stop signs. Pedestrians get the right of way. Then it's first come first served. If more than one car arrives at the same time, give way (yield) to drivers on your right.


5. In California people sit on the speed limit. In Florida, they go 10-15 miles above the speed limit.


6. Drivers can be fined for driving too slow on the freeways. Brilliant!


7. The Motel 6 chain have cooking facilities in the rooms. I wish we had known this before day 32 of a 35 night trip.


8. Ask the locals where they eat. Tourist restaurants will charge $29.99 for all you can eat; locals restaurants will charge $9.99.


9. The media give Americans a bad rap. Americans are not as fat as we are. And certainly not on the West Coast. And especially the kids. We didn't see any fat kids in California at all - not the way you see so many of them in New Zealand.


10. Take over a bunch of New Zealand keyrings, stickers, calendars, etc from the $2 shop and give them to random people you meet and like - they are hugely popular, and fun.


11. Do not drink the water. They say it's safe, but it tastes awful. But bottled water in bulk. We paid $4.95 for a 24 pack at the gas station.


12. Speaking of gas - it's about a third of the price that we pay in New Zealand.


13. Getting around Las Vegas - use the RTC bus system - $7 for 24 hours.


14. If you ever stay at Curry Village in Yosemite National Park in winter in a "heated" tent, the thermostat has to drop to freezing before the heater switches on again. Go to Wal Mart and buy sleeping bags.


15. Wal Mart is awesome. A half to a third to a quarter, and less, the price of the same stuff at The Warehouse here in New Zealand.


16. If you are visiting theme parks, use their Fast Pass system for the rides. This can save you hours of waiting in queues.


17. Speaking of queues - learn to live with them. They are a part of life in the States.


18. Wear clean socks when flying. You have to take your shoes off so they can x-ray them to check for bombs.


19. There are no showers at LAX. And the shopping and restaurants offer less than at Auckland Domestic.


20. If flying on from LAX, have at least three hours between arrival and departure times. No one seems to know how to work the fingerprint machines properly, and it took us nearly two hours to get through customs.

The theme parks will fingerprint you. They do this in about 2.3 seconds. They should go and work for Homeland Security and teach them how to work the fingerprint machines.

21. If using Google maps to work out driving times:
    • add one hour if driving through LA, or any other big city, outside rush hour. Add two hours if driving through between 6am and 10am or 3pm and 7pm.
    
    
    • check out the terrain - if there's altitude, or winding roads, add about half an hour for every two hours Google suggests.
22. If using GPS - this will take you on the most direct route. If you want to use GPS and drive the scenic routes, combine it with Google maps. Use Google maps to pull the blue route marker onto the scenic routes, then break the journey down for GPS to follow that scenic route.


23. If using GPS for the first time - plug it into the cigarette lighter. Seriously, we didn't know this, and nearly ran the battery out.


24. Rental car companies charge around $15.95 per day to hire GPS. You can buy them at Wal Mart from $59. (I wish we had known this at the start of our 22 days car hire without GPS because we couldn't afford the $350 to hire one).


25. If you are going to the West Coast, or Florida, for any length of time, learn a little bit of Spanish.


26. If you are going to south Miami, learn a lot of Spanish.


27. The Playboy Bunny Club in Las Vegas is off The Strip, $30 round trip in a cab. It does not open until 9pm. Sigh.


28. Theme park tickets get cheaper the longer you go for - e.g. Disney one day pass $82; 10-day pass $26.20 per day.


29. The address of Westwood Cemetery where Marilyn Monroe is buried is 1218 Glendon Avenue in the Westwood Village.


30. Visit a Gelson's Supermarket if you can. They are amazing.