Viva Las Vegas

quick one today - Vegas is unique in its own special way. Estimated to have a population of a couple of million people and heaven knows how many visitors - it feels like everyone is out on the strip at night.

During the day we checked out almost all the casinos on the strip. Glass flowers on the ceilings, or mosaics, or chandeliers, or murals - anything goes in Vegas. Photo is of the water show at the Bellagio, with Paris's Eiffel Tower in the background. There's lions in the MGM foyer and a rainforest cafe where we ate lunch.

Tonight we went to see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian. The theatre is amazing - built to resemble the Paris Opera, the costumes were perfect, the singing excellent - a fabulous night topped off by an Italian meal and a nice chianti in St Mark's square at sunset, listening to the strings trio.

Back to the hotel to watch Treasure Island's pirate cove show, then the volcano at the Mirage - sleep calls now.

Big trees to desert - rambling on...

executive summary for those who think I write too much :-)

• HUGE trees
• tiny squirrels
• deer encounter
• desert crossing
• VEGAS!
• Blue man show
• not much sleep

now... an early start for a very long trip today - about 9 hours of driving. Question - why would a hotel that asks you to turn the lights off when you're not using them have an outdoor heated pool with no covers? A winding drive now through the Yosemite trees - less snow today, just the patches left from yesterday's falls. We've been lucky with thr road closures as there were still some closed areas yesterday, which are open again this morning. Managed to get the hertz navigator working, so we put ours away which didn't have the Nevada maps loaded yet.

Mariposa Grove where we exit the park has massive sequoia trees - a mile's walk takes us up to the largest of them, named the grizzly giant. At the base of it we see tiny squirrels - a contrast to the massive tree. Walking back we come across a deer, eating something inside a hollow tree trunk. She wasn't moving far away, even for us and ran back to the tree as soon as we were past. Snow flowers were sprouting beside many of the pines, strange red growths that spring up where there is a particular fungi under the ground. There are still patches of snow near the track, but the day is warming up.

Back in the car we dropped down the mountain to a warmer morning. The landscape changed dramatically as we drive down from the mountains, from the huge trees, to scrub on the hillsides then grasslands with some cattel ranches and mesas rising from the plains. Surprisingly we find more berry farms, wine grapes, cherries and olive farms. Fresno is quite green, with masses of RV sales lots both new and used. Then on to Bakersfield - suggested for a lunch stop but we decided to press on for a while yet. Tehachapi, on the edge of the Mojhave desert is another windfarm area, with many hundreds all over the hills on the edge of the desert. Once we get past them there is less and less vegetation as we drive across the desert - past Edwards Airforce Base and a rocket site.

Once we turn onto the highway to Vegas we are just part of a long line of cars and trucks heading for the lights of the strip. We go up to 4730 feet and then down into Nevada. As soon as we cross the border there's the discount fashion mall - had to stop for the experience but only bought a few shirts - for about 1/3 of what we would pay in Aus...

Almost had a close encounter with the highway patrol - but they pulled over the black, fast looking job in front of us - whew! Found Treasure Island wiithout any trouble and after about an hour to check in, had a nice surprise to find the Venetian across the road - where we had tickets for tonight's Blue Man show. Can't describe it really - you will just have to go. A really good night. Afterwards we walked up the strip for a while, Vegas is still partying hard at 1am, but we'd had a big day and were in bed nice and early - about 2am early!

rambling around Yosemite National Park...

Up early to get out of San Fran before rush hour – good move I think as we still had lots of traffic even at 7am. Nav-person is hopeless, so we relied on written instructions for a while and got back on track for Yosemite national park.

Wind farms – California has a lot of those big windmills – at Altamount pass the hills are covered with various styles, groups, lines of wind towers. Stopped at Tracy for breakfast at a 'country Kitchen (the usual dry eggs and this time some tomato slices and fruit instead of potato and bread.) We picked up some fruit and salads at the food-mart across the street and headed out through the cherry orchards and farmland toward Yosemite NP and the Sierra Nevada.

Picked up some petrol on the way in to the vally and then, just after Groveland – SNOW! It snowed last night and the road had been closed until about 10am for vehicles without snow chains – fortunately it is open now and we made our way through the breathtaking scenery, trying to find parking space to view the half dome half covered in snow and bridal veil falls gushing down from the top of the escarpment.

As usual there is a helpful bus service around the attractions, so we used it for most of the day, stopping to view Yosemite falls and the Captain, the chapel and Mirror Lakes before heading back to the car so that we could drive around and check out the other places by car. The campsites were full, maybe because of the start of the summer holidays and the memorial day weekend , but it was interesting to drive around the campgrounds and check out the bear-proof food safes and signs warning that wildcats will take small children… don't crouch down, yell and throw rocks, never let children run ahead or lag behind on a track.

Saw some birds – crows, blue jays, some little copper bellied jobs, some with an orange/red flash on their wings and a woodpecker – they really do peck the tree trunks! Plus lots of sparrows and starlings?

We checked out Bridal Veil Falls later in the day as when we tried to go there earlier the cranky ranger had just waved us past – no chance of a park then. Later in the day the sun was shining and the falls were crashing down, helped I suspect by the melting snow from the morning. Rainbows were everywhere and so was the spray from the falls, so we were both very cold and wet and soggy on the way down the hill.

Yosemite is amazingly beautiful – awe inspiring really - with huge granite cliffs and spectacular wildlife, though we haven’t seen the talked about bears yet! You can ride bicycles through the valley – something that would be great fun as almost all the tracks are quite flat – or there are also horse riding expeditions along some of the trails. We checked out the camping areas and decided that they would be fine for a few days, though still too crowded by Aussie standards.

It was almost 6pm when we made our way out of the valley to find out hotel for the night – Yosemite View Lodge – just outside the western side of the park. Pizza and a great Californian cab sav for dinner and a sound sleep until tomorrow’s early start…

Rambling on about San Francisco

Loving San Francisco's cable cars and trolley busses today! We bought a day pass for $13 and have been hopping on and off, following the maps and having a great day - despite the typically changeable San Francisco weather, which has shown us most of its moods in the last 12 hours...
We started with a cable car ride up Russell Street and down again to have breakfast at Pat's - a funky little art cafe a few blocks from Fisherman's wharf. No coffee though - the espresso machine was broken (we've heard that story in most restaurants in the USA so far!) Then the rain came down - we had prepared with rain gear and managed to stay reasonably dry (except for soggy shoes) while we wandered along the wharf area where crab and souveniers are the order of the day. A fascinating (and free) mechanical museum holds hundreds of working antique arcade machines, have your fortune told or start a grand prix of tiny wooden racing cars - or perhaps a peep show is to your liking?
Walking on up to the maritime area we managed to find a national parks booth and buy our annual pass - at $80 for a year it's a bargain for the americans and not bad value for tourists either if you plan to see more than a few parks in the trip. A bonus was that we also got free entry to all the ships moored at the wharf for visitors.
Just as we headed for the ships we spotted a break in the weather coming (pale blue patches over near the bridge) so headed off to pier 39 to spend a few more $ and take a boat trip on the bay.
The water was great and the boat trip gave a fabulous view of the city, the bridges and Alacatraz island - bonus was an interesting commentary that we could actually hear at the back of the boat. The city is spectacular from the water and we spotted seals, dolphins and lots of sea birds around Alcatraz. Yes, I took several photos... (OK lots of photos) but that's what travel is about, yes?
Back on the pier we scored a fabulous lunch of calamari for him and I couldn't go past the clam chowder, which they claimed had been voted the best in the world. Can't argue with that and for about $10 including taxes and tips it was great value. After that we strolled around the amazing mixture of shops and entertainment - best entertainment though was the local sealion colony, sunning themselves on the floating docks beside the pier. Sleeping, scratching and swimming seems to be the order of the day, with a friendly call to the watchers on the pier every now and then.
Jumped on a tram after that and managed to get to Haight street - hippie heaven in the 70s and still pretty much that way now. A walk down the street to the golden gate park was interesting for the architecture, the people, the murals and the incense even in the take away shops. The park was a nice break from city streets, but we soon headed back to the trams to work our way back into the city and Union square.

After a change of clothes at the hotel we headed off on the cable car again - the wharf is so much better when it isn't pouring rain. Bought a jacket to keep me a bit warmer in the national parks - a reversible bargain at $20. Then we cable car'd it bac into the city and dinner at Jimmy's Bar - a San Francisco icon with live jazz and great steaks. We're learning about the USA portions though and one of us orders a steak, the other a salad and we share.
It's art month in the city and there's sculpted and painted hearts in San Francisco's Union square - so there's another song - I left my heart in San Francisco - but I haven't really; it's a beautiful and interesting city though.

Rambling from the Cliffs to the Bay

After a great night's sleep we are back on the road again today, heading for San Francisco on Highway One. We passed the huge California Polytechnic and then a place that made us scratch our heads - California Men's Colony... had to gooogle that one - it's a state male prison - aparrently minimum security and known as 'the country club' because of its innovative rehabilitation and education programs.
Moro Rock is a spectacular area with huge rocks out in the ocean - a popular surfing spot. Soon I have another of those songs running through my head - but it's 'dead skunk in the middle of the road' - anyone under 50 might need to look that one up!
We stopped at an all American diner for breakfast - eggs and bacon for me (hold the fries and bread and hash browns please) - and blueberry pancakes for him - with maple syrup - yum... then we are back in the car and heading for Hearst Castle, just a little further up the coast.
Hearst Castle is amazing - a huge holiday home for Randolph Hearst, the media baron. The woman architect managed to fit all of Hearst's 'finds' from around the world - from ancient roman mosaics to 13th century choir stalls to marble statues from florence - an incredible collection of other countries' history - and fit it into a collection of buildings known as Hearst Castle. In truth it looks more like a church - but it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, all amazed at the opulence on display.
Check out the turkey buzzards sunning their wings at the top of the blog today - must have been their morning hangout because we didn't see it again all day. A little further along the cliffs we find a sealion colony - lots of fat sealions tucked side by side on a tiny beach area, and some inquisitive little squirrels popping in and out of the bushes looking for peanuts left by helpful(?) tourists. We took the top down on the car as the weather was nice and ... well, just because it's a little sad to drive a convertible and not convert it :-)
Stopped at Santa Lucia for a clifftop lunch - the drive is truly spectacular as it hugs the coast, over bridges and clinging to the clifffs. Spotted a blue Jay in the flower spike of the aloe vera beside the restaurant. Then we continued through masses of wildflowers on the sides of the road and the occasional pocket of redwood forest, through the Big Sur area well known for its wilderness hiking and on to Monterey.
Time was getting away from us so we skipped the drive around the famous Pebble Beach area and headed inland for the expressway and San Francisco.
SO MUCH TRAFFIC!!! - I thought LA was madness, but the traffic across the San Francisco Bay Bridge was insane. Not helped by the fact that they haven't the electronic systems for everyone, so there are still about 15 cash booths and attendants slowing the traffic as we go onto this massive bridge.
Fortunately the navigator (not me) managed to get us off the bridge and into the city to our hotel - a heritage spot right where the cable cars turn around - the room is cosy and clean and we walked down to chinatown for dinner at the top of one of the buildings there - the Empress of China - and by the photos in the lobby, another eating landmark for the likes of Jackie Chan and other famous and infamous people.
Wandering back past the famous stores such as Macys and SAKS (and yes, the Aussie icon Quicksilver) was interesting - and our hotel is just near the famous Union Square - onca a sand dune aparrently...

Pacific Coast Ramblings

A fond farewell to Los Angeles this morning (we were just getting used to all those freeways.) We headed for highway One heading north, much to the distress of our onboard navigator, who kept trying to turn us around and put us on 101. Faster the expressway might be, but Highway One is the scenic route - and scenery is what we wanted.

Down at the edge of the beach, Pacific Palisades literally has sand at the doorsteps, though I hate to think of the cleaning bills and the pricetag on the real estate :-). Further along, Malibu has 27 miles of coastline and much of it reminds me of a hippie village with a mix of architecture from the most modern concrete and glass to adobe designs straight from Mexico. As usual the coastal colours are fantastic.

Breakfast in Paradise - Paradise Cove that is, where Gidget and other movies were filmed and where breakfast at an outside table means sand between your toes - and under your table... the beach terrace is unique and the food delicious - the ultimate California beach breakfast and worth the drive from LA!

Heading further up the coast the names of places we have read about, heard of in songs or seen on TV come alive. Yesterday I was singing 'Hotel California' and cruising Sunset Strip, today it's 'Ventura Highway' that springs to mind. Strawberry farms lin the sides of the roads and the orange orchards must smell divine when the flowers take over.

We arrived in Santa Barbara in time to check out the old Mission that still functions as the local Catholic Church - beautiful architecture and handpainted borders, massive beams and long verandahs are cool and shady with a courtyard massed with flowers. I saw a tiny humming bird for a few seconds before it darted away out of my camera's view. Then we headed for the Courthouse in the centre of town - terracotta tiled floors have been worn to a high gloss over the years and painted walls and tunisian tiling gives an almost festive feel to a very serious place. The names of the presiding Judges are painted outside their chambers, with patches of slightly different colour showing that these are changed every now and then.

How can you tell you are in State Street, Santa Barbara? Because there are flags lining the street in a patriotic display of red, white and blue. It's the Rodeo Drive of Santa Barbara, with beautiful shop fronts (rip curl is there for the Aussies) arcades and cafes - I spotted a fabulous book shop - but the weight of bringing home all the books I 'need' makes ordering over the net a more attractive option.

Stearns wharf is a huge old shipping wharf that now has tourist shops and restaurants - and parking! It felt very strange driving out along the wide old boards to the parking area near the end of the wharf. We checked out the seals while we ate our fish and chips, watched carefully in return by some very large seagulls and even larger pelicans.

The until now reliable Chrysler was showing a very hot engine and a quick check revealed very little coolant. We fixed it with a plastic bag of water from the rest rooms and crossed our fingers that the leak isn't a fast one. Time will tell!

An afternoon cruise up highway 1 via Vandenberg Airforce Base and Guadalupe (always wondered where that was...) is interesting. Our hotel at Shell Beach is on a resort strip just out of Pismo. There's a cliff walk along the top of the bluff and several stairways down to the dark sands. Today the surf is small and the wetsuited surfers only get a few seconds of ride for all their effort. The seals are having a much better time. We are assured that it is different on other days when the swell is larger. Tonight Sean looks after us at the bar at the hotel and expresses his own wish to surf the Australian beaches. We fall for the clam chowder and go to bed happy and tired.

Universal ramblings...

Today started well with finding great coffee for breakfast near the beach, then discovering a Target store to buy an esky, Thermos flask, some camera batteries (very important) two dozen bottles of water and a few bottles of wine (OK - also very important!). Then we headed for the Hollywood Hills and Universal Studios. Parking was easy early in the day and then we made a great decision - buying a front-of-line pass for the shows and rides. This lets you jump the queues and stay afterwards at the shows and meet the stars. Waterworld, Terminator - even the animal stars - it was great fun and a bit different to the usual 'queue and watch and run' routine. Best part of the day - probably the waterworld show with amazing special effects including a plane landing in the lagoon just in front of our seats. Also watching the people in front of us in the 'house of horrors', cuddled together all the way through the corridors, screaming at every turn and even frightening themselves with their own reflections in the hall of mirrors. the Jurassic park ride was wet but fun and the lunchtime pizza slice was predictably chewy :-)
The Getty Museum was closed late in the afternon Mondays, so we headed back to Beverley Hills and strolled up Rodeo Drive. Beautiful shops, roses massed along the centre of the street and lots of very nice cars. Skipped dinner at Tiffanies to head out to Manhattan beach for a fabulous (and cheap) meal at OB's Grill and Bar. There we sat in a booth and soaked up the atmosphere, watching the surrounding TVs as the locals cheered and stressed over the NBL basketball game. After dinner we crunched our way across the peanut shells on the floor, made our way back to the car and once more braved the LA traffic back to the hotel. Tomorrow we head north to Shell Beach via Santa Barbera along what I have heard is a beautiful coastal drive.

Flying into LAX and rambling around Santa Monica & Hollywood

Good news, we had a leg stretching bulkhead seat on the 12 hour flight to LA - even better, no extra person in our 3 seats, so we had lots of space - better again, some decent first release movies! The only problem was a lack of sleep... Arrived safely in LA and managed to pick up the hire car from Hertz (photo for A attached) a Sebring convertible is a Chrysler and quite nice too - gold with a black soft top that folds away neatly into the boot at the touch of a button. Then we managed to find the Hilton - and even better, they had our room available at 8am, so we could have a rest and shower before we headed out onto the freeways of LA.

Sundays are fortunately quiet and thankfully forgiving of antipodean natives travelling on the 'wrong' side of the road - so we headed down to Santa Monica pier - how cool is this place? (freezing today, with a blustery wind off the ocean), but seriously... huge timber boards underfoot and interesting restaurants and a fun fair and artists and a witchdoctor and fishermen ... all right at the end of the famous Route 66 across the USA - so very cool.

Lunch was at a Mexican place right at the end of the pier, Marisol - the nachos and enchiladas were fortunately much more palatable than breakfast on the plane and served with a smile by Jesus and his mates. After that we walked kilometres up the beachfront, along with bicycles, skaters, walkers and lots of dogs who wanted to stop every 10 seconds to overrule the latest mark on the legs of everything. Then we headed inland a bit to the shopping promenade. Homely touches included the Quicksilver store (just like the one in Paris) and Cotton-On advertising Aussies in the heart of LA.

Photographed the 'Hotel California' sign - just foro all the beach boys fans - it is right down on the Ocean Drive. Hollywood was fascinating - less impressive in many ways than I expected but with some outstanding parts such as the chinese theatre forecourt with the amazing concrete slabs with hands and feet prints of some of everyone's favourite movie-folk. We couldn't find the entrance to the Hard Rock cafe afterwards, so dared to try coffee in the restaurant further along the strip. Bad move really... but we drank it anyway :-) and then headed off following the 'star map' through the Beverley Hills with the top down on the convertible. Lots of fun as we identified the LA homes of everyone from Michael Jackson to Ronald Regan. I LOVED some of those homes - such a beautiful suburb :-)

After that it was back to the hotel just on sunset for a bottle of a fabulous Californian Syrah and an almost perfect medium-rare steak for me and grilled salmon for S, paired with salad and fresh veges - yum. Now bed - we seriously need some sleep!

Sydney to Brisbane ...

Smooth travelling so far, leaving a soggy Sydney early this morning for a short stopover in the sunshine state. Check in was the usual cheerful Qantas style and our bags are LA bound - hopefully we will be able to find them at the airport there.

In Brisbane now and grateful for a comfortable seat and a glass of wine in the lounge - in our soon to be USA time zone it's after 5 in the afternoon, so we're getting in the zone a little early!

We're travelling with bigger suitcases than our usual carry-on size, planning some walking in the national parks between San Francisco and Denver - and maybe some shopping as well if we can't resist - but first we're taking the fabulous ocean drive between LA and San Francisco. I can't wait to get my camera out!

rambling away...

So - where to start? This is my travel blog, but maybe it will turn into something else as well. Rambling is how we love to travel - with a plan but finding detours on the way. Rambling is what my writing generally resembles too :-)

Tonight we are in Sydney - time to catch up with eldest son and his wife to hear about their honeymoon in Europe - what they loved about Paris, London and Prague - what they dislike about Icelandic volcanoes and civil unrest that changed their plans somewhat to include trains and cars as well as planes, lots of German villages and a relaxing massage in a Thai hotel instead of time exploring Bangkok

Tomorrow we head for Los Angeles. Right now I'm heading for the bar and a calming G&T...