Hotel: The Luxor - Spa Suite, floor 18
As I got up I moved all the furniture round so I had a good view out of the window whilst I had my healthy breakfast of Cinnamon Brown Sugar belVita breakfast biscuits, which I eat in the UK but of course we don't have this yummy flavour.
Washed down with Cherry Lime Vodka, again not in the UK, and some coleslaw, it really is the cornerstone of a nutritious healthy diet. At least my cough is better this morning so something is helping.
Today's budget sorted (one really should set budgets in Vegas, as it is the city of psychological money extraction) we head off onto the strip.
We drove up to the Pawn Stars shop but the queue was silly big, so we headed to Walmart for water and a new case for Mel (if you remember I zapped the lock/zip on the other one after leaving the keys in LA.)
Then really little else was done but gambling, eating and drinking.
There are a few interesting new machines. One is called Rich Life and is a combination of a slot machine and a board game. If you get three Rich Life symbols on the reels, you roll the dice on a huge 65" led screen and advance along the track. This leads to either a cash bonus game, nothing, or a do or die square where the wrong choice heads you back to the start. I got very close with a $20 investment, but when I got thrown out I walked away with $13 but spent a lot of time playing so it was fun.
Next we tried one called "Clue" which you link to your mLife (loyalty card) account and it stores your game progress. Mel did better at this one, I got fed up and cashed out quickly. Heading down towards the food court, we saw a Pawn Stars machine, it seems those guys are getting everywhere.
We tried "Rice and Noodles" in the Luxor, with lettuce wraps and pot stickers for starters and fried pepper pork for main. I also tried the signature cocktail, a strawberry martini called The Dragon.
Finally we threw a few more dollars into the MGMMirage groups coffers and headed to bed.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Posted with Blogsy
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Day 10: Bakersfield to Las Vegas
A late start as by now I'm running out of lungs to cough up, the mixture I bought clearly not working, and I needed a few more hours sleep. One sleeping pill later and I got them.
Mel had packed everything, so I just managed to squeeze another diary onto the Internet and we loaded up the car. I wrapped the leftover meats from the platter last night to nibble in the car.
Heading out the town we went to see a Pharmacist about my now extremely bad cough, and she suggested some tablets which are working well now as I write this the next day.
Filling up with fuel, I ask the girl behind the counter how much a cup full of ice would be, and she replied "Full Price." Thinking she clearly didn't hear me, I stated I just wanted a cup, ice and no soda in it. "Doesn't matter, it will still be full price." Needless to say I decline, without thanks. They also wouldn't accept their own chains vouchers!
Fast forward 125 miles and we are in Barstow at an IHOP for breakfast. I ordered a scrambled sausage, bacon, cheese and egg dish with a lemonade with mango; Mel had a turkey sandwich and fries with a strawberry and orange fizz.
When my plate came the amount of cheese on it was incredulous, as well as what was in the scrambled dish, it was also sitting on a bed of grated cheese too! The waitress asked if we wanted anything else, and I joked extra cheese which she took completely seriously and headed off to get it. I called after her telling her I was joking. Blimey, it must be a regular occurrence.
I asked Mel to pass the salt, pepper and statin shakers then quickly set about separating the bed of cheese from the scramble before they all melted together and I'd need to get my travel health insurance documents from the case.
Fast forward another 80 or so miles down Interstate 15 North and we are in Baker at the Alien Jerky shop. You can easily get off at the first Baker junction, drive down the main road seeing the various stores, and get back on at the next junction. It's worth doing even if you don't stop. The world famous Mad Greek Cafe if here too, and is a 24/7 operation if you're missing kebabs.
As well as all the very interesting alien / groom lake / area 51 items and information on the walls they have a large selection of jerky to choose from as well as samples.
Rich had asked me to bring him some jerky back, as the UK stuff is often very soft and unauthentic, so being the good friend I am I selected one with medical properties.
I'll let him tell you how that goes.
Another blast down the interstate and a quick stop at a casino after Primm so Mel could relieve her latest slushy, which had rendered her tongue blue. It rendered something else green she discovered in the morning.
Which I had just been reminded of.
....and finally in Vegas.
Valet parking and bags taken to your room is always a joy. We managed to get a strip side corner spa suite this time, but the view is obscured by the Luxors own towers and the Excalibur, so it's pretty average for a Vegas view.
Entering the room it is very large with separate sleeping and living areas, two 46" Samsung TVs, decent air conditioning at last, dining table and chairs which I moved to the window, fridge and a beautiful Egyptian hieroglyphic painted wardrobe and safe.
One interesting feature is the carpet, it is textured like sand dunes and is very cool to walk on.
The spa, which is really just a sunken bath as it has no jets, sits in the window which is nice. Plenty of towels everywhere, and the bed is ok but then we were spoilt last night.
Downside: The Internet access is STILL via a cable, which is about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike if you have an iPhone,iPad or MacBook air.
So no diary updates for two days until we get to the Vdara.
Thinking the cat5 cable for the Internet was missing, with the possibility of me buying an adapter for the MacBook Air, I called and asked for a replacement.
When the technician turned up a few minutes later (they are very prompt here, as they were with our luggage) he fished behind the wardrobe and found it had fallen down. Slightly embarrassed I said I found the ethernet ports on the cable boxes behind the TVs and assumed they were missing.
"Oh, no sir. Those are for programming the cable boxes."
Really. Perhaps he shouldn't have told ME that. Especially now I've seen Walmart sell an adapter for $7.
Freshened up, changed, gambling budgets defined, singles for drink tips and ID for the players club all complete, we head to the desk to get our new loyalty cards and hit the slots.
We decided we would play together, as playing on your own can quickly make you zone out into a world of your own - indeed the machines are designed that way.
The first couple of machines ate our cash in pretty short order, but then we found a "Super Jackpot Party" machine, which is lots of fun and has been kind in the past. It was today too, over doubling our money at one point, but of course the house usually wins so between that and the food we took back to the room we were $40 down each today.
But we were just practicing. Heh.
Mel had packed everything, so I just managed to squeeze another diary onto the Internet and we loaded up the car. I wrapped the leftover meats from the platter last night to nibble in the car.
Heading out the town we went to see a Pharmacist about my now extremely bad cough, and she suggested some tablets which are working well now as I write this the next day.
Filling up with fuel, I ask the girl behind the counter how much a cup full of ice would be, and she replied "Full Price." Thinking she clearly didn't hear me, I stated I just wanted a cup, ice and no soda in it. "Doesn't matter, it will still be full price." Needless to say I decline, without thanks. They also wouldn't accept their own chains vouchers!
Fast forward 125 miles and we are in Barstow at an IHOP for breakfast. I ordered a scrambled sausage, bacon, cheese and egg dish with a lemonade with mango; Mel had a turkey sandwich and fries with a strawberry and orange fizz.
When my plate came the amount of cheese on it was incredulous, as well as what was in the scrambled dish, it was also sitting on a bed of grated cheese too! The waitress asked if we wanted anything else, and I joked extra cheese which she took completely seriously and headed off to get it. I called after her telling her I was joking. Blimey, it must be a regular occurrence.
I asked Mel to pass the salt, pepper and statin shakers then quickly set about separating the bed of cheese from the scramble before they all melted together and I'd need to get my travel health insurance documents from the case.
Fast forward another 80 or so miles down Interstate 15 North and we are in Baker at the Alien Jerky shop. You can easily get off at the first Baker junction, drive down the main road seeing the various stores, and get back on at the next junction. It's worth doing even if you don't stop. The world famous Mad Greek Cafe if here too, and is a 24/7 operation if you're missing kebabs.
As well as all the very interesting alien / groom lake / area 51 items and information on the walls they have a large selection of jerky to choose from as well as samples.
Rich had asked me to bring him some jerky back, as the UK stuff is often very soft and unauthentic, so being the good friend I am I selected one with medical properties.
I'll let him tell you how that goes.
Another blast down the interstate and a quick stop at a casino after Primm so Mel could relieve her latest slushy, which had rendered her tongue blue. It rendered something else green she discovered in the morning.
Whilst she did that I hit my first slot machine, an American Idol one. They use the technology the 3D Nintendo does to create a 3D effect that works very well. The sound system in the seats gives your back a massage too. My $20 disappeared very quickly though, at 50c a spin. You have to be careful with machines that claim to be 1c machines as they often force you to play multiple lines to ramp the actual bid up.
....and finally in Vegas.
Valet parking and bags taken to your room is always a joy. We managed to get a strip side corner spa suite this time, but the view is obscured by the Luxors own towers and the Excalibur, so it's pretty average for a Vegas view.
So no diary updates for two days until we get to the Vdara.
Thinking the cat5 cable for the Internet was missing, with the possibility of me buying an adapter for the MacBook Air, I called and asked for a replacement.
When the technician turned up a few minutes later (they are very prompt here, as they were with our luggage) he fished behind the wardrobe and found it had fallen down. Slightly embarrassed I said I found the ethernet ports on the cable boxes behind the TVs and assumed they were missing.
"Oh, no sir. Those are for programming the cable boxes."
Really. Perhaps he shouldn't have told ME that. Especially now I've seen Walmart sell an adapter for $7.
Freshened up, changed, gambling budgets defined, singles for drink tips and ID for the players club all complete, we head to the desk to get our new loyalty cards and hit the slots.
We decided we would play together, as playing on your own can quickly make you zone out into a world of your own - indeed the machines are designed that way.
The first couple of machines ate our cash in pretty short order, but then we found a "Super Jackpot Party" machine, which is lots of fun and has been kind in the past. It was today too, over doubling our money at one point, but of course the house usually wins so between that and the food we took back to the room we were $40 down each today.
But we were just practicing. Heh.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Day 9: Yosemite to Bakersfield
Hotel: The Padre - Head Honcho Suite
I got up early and finished sorting out our luggage whilst Mel slept in for half an hour. Makes a change for it to be that way round, so despite her asking to be woken at 9am I work her at 9:04am as she was so sweet and giggly last night :-)
She threw on some clothes quickly and fetched the car, as we couldn't park next to the "cottage," then got her morning routine out of the way whilst I loaded the car and emptied the cool box iced water into the bath so we could refresh it with ice. I guess she was fortunate I waited until she got out of it.
With last nights revelation that we could drive by the giant Sequoias, we set off with that in mind, and headed into Yosemite Valley once more to almost instantly turn off down the 41 towards Fresno. Only moderate bum clenching on this one.
Another tip: Nearing the Sequoia Grove there is a sign that says that parking is full and you should stop and use the shuttle bus. It lies, it is a permanent sign that can't be changed and embarks you on a 90 minute at best round trip back to that location. Ignore it, at this time of year anyway, as the car park was a third empty and I'm glad I was cavalier in telling Mel to press on.
However, moments later Karma caught up with me when I told her to turn down the Forest Drive turning, as that sounded like a good way of seeing the trees when one is in a hurry. But no.
Forest Drive is a road called forest drive, complete with residential housing, and is not A forest drive as one might imagine. A u-turn, a consult of the map and Google, and off down the road we continued until we found the actual proper Grove we sought.
This stuff should be documented somewhere.
But in the end I was right, you can park up right next to the trails if you ignore the sign and press on to the real one.
Now at 102f we parked up, had a nibble of chicken salad, grabbed water and set off on the trail. We took some pictures of a live tree, a fallen tree and a burnt tree.
Bakersfield
It had been niggling at me for some time as to why Bakersfield rang a bell in my mind for something. I had picked its location purely as it was half way to Vegas, leaving Mel to choose a hotel she liked.
Once we started seeing the numerous bail bond shops on the way through town to the Padre Hotel it dawned on me. The Prison.
When we arrived we parked over the street as we intended to go out fairly quickly for some take-out, grabbed our backpacks which we'd packed for a quick over night stay rather than lug the big cases, and checked in.
The room is amazing, with a pillow topped memory foam mattress, huge soft pillows and a nice view of the city at the bottom of the bed.
In the bathroom, which has two entrances either side of the bed making Mel happy, is where the suite gets its Head Honcho name from. The spa bath fills from the ceiling! A most unusual feature.
There is also a large shower with a seat which I like, a barrel sink and huge mirrors. The floor is a very interesting hexagon pattern a lot like the entrance plazas to the Magic Kingdoms at Disney.
A 46" Tv is set above the desk, which isn't the smartest move as someone working at it obscures it for someone sitting on the bed or L shaped sofa.
In the end I did get a couple uploaded in the morning by plugging the iPad in overnight and forcing retries on all upload failures..
Mel wanted BBQ fodder, so we headed to Fabios corner which had good reviews to find it closed, a quick google and we headed to Dangerous Daves on the other side of town. We order burnt ends, ribs and pulled pork and waited 30 minutes for it, $25 total.
I also picked up some peach balini Smirnoff Ice from a sweet old lady (I like drinking them over here, they are only 4%, small and very refreshing cold.)
When we got back we found 4 ribs, a dozen burnt end cubes and enough pulled pork to cover the toast it came with. The coleslaw was enough to fit on a spoon. Needless to say, I do NOT recommend Dangerous Daves.
It was so little and so poor we ordered a cheese and meat platter from room service to supplement it!
Mel bathed, I fought with the Internet, and then we went to sleep on the best bed I have slept on EVER. Just a shame my cough woke me up so often. Grr.
I got up early and finished sorting out our luggage whilst Mel slept in for half an hour. Makes a change for it to be that way round, so despite her asking to be woken at 9am I work her at 9:04am as she was so sweet and giggly last night :-)
She threw on some clothes quickly and fetched the car, as we couldn't park next to the "cottage," then got her morning routine out of the way whilst I loaded the car and emptied the cool box iced water into the bath so we could refresh it with ice. I guess she was fortunate I waited until she got out of it.
With last nights revelation that we could drive by the giant Sequoias, we set off with that in mind, and headed into Yosemite Valley once more to almost instantly turn off down the 41 towards Fresno. Only moderate bum clenching on this one.
Another tip: Nearing the Sequoia Grove there is a sign that says that parking is full and you should stop and use the shuttle bus. It lies, it is a permanent sign that can't be changed and embarks you on a 90 minute at best round trip back to that location. Ignore it, at this time of year anyway, as the car park was a third empty and I'm glad I was cavalier in telling Mel to press on.
However, moments later Karma caught up with me when I told her to turn down the Forest Drive turning, as that sounded like a good way of seeing the trees when one is in a hurry. But no.
Forest Drive is a road called forest drive, complete with residential housing, and is not A forest drive as one might imagine. A u-turn, a consult of the map and Google, and off down the road we continued until we found the actual proper Grove we sought.
This stuff should be documented somewhere.
But in the end I was right, you can park up right next to the trails if you ignore the sign and press on to the real one.
Now at 102f we parked up, had a nibble of chicken salad, grabbed water and set off on the trail. We took some pictures of a live tree, a fallen tree and a burnt tree.
After a mile we decided to throw in the towel and head back to the air conditioning. If we were to visit again we'd allow more time and take the tram tour so as to see more, but we felt today due to heat and hurting legs from yesterday's hike that one tree looks pretty much like another and we'd had our fill.
It had been niggling at me for some time as to why Bakersfield rang a bell in my mind for something. I had picked its location purely as it was half way to Vegas, leaving Mel to choose a hotel she liked.
Once we started seeing the numerous bail bond shops on the way through town to the Padre Hotel it dawned on me. The Prison.
When we arrived we parked over the street as we intended to go out fairly quickly for some take-out, grabbed our backpacks which we'd packed for a quick over night stay rather than lug the big cases, and checked in.
The room is amazing, with a pillow topped memory foam mattress, huge soft pillows and a nice view of the city at the bottom of the bed.
As it's a corner suite there are also city views to the side and we later got to watch some skateboarders making good use of the multi-story car park on that side.
There is also a large shower with a seat which I like, a barrel sink and huge mirrors. The floor is a very interesting hexagon pattern a lot like the entrance plazas to the Magic Kingdoms at Disney.
The only huge downer here is the Internet access: Not only was it slow, it was suffering 10% packet loss, meaning the evening I planned on updating all my diary entries ended up a fight just getting the photos online so I could insert them into the text I had already been writing as I went along.
Mel wanted BBQ fodder, so we headed to Fabios corner which had good reviews to find it closed, a quick google and we headed to Dangerous Daves on the other side of town. We order burnt ends, ribs and pulled pork and waited 30 minutes for it, $25 total.
I also picked up some peach balini Smirnoff Ice from a sweet old lady (I like drinking them over here, they are only 4%, small and very refreshing cold.)
When we got back we found 4 ribs, a dozen burnt end cubes and enough pulled pork to cover the toast it came with. The coleslaw was enough to fit on a spoon. Needless to say, I do NOT recommend Dangerous Daves.
It was so little and so poor we ordered a cheese and meat platter from room service to supplement it!
Mel bathed, I fought with the Internet, and then we went to sleep on the best bed I have slept on EVER. Just a shame my cough woke me up so often. Grr.
Day 8: Yosemite Part 2
Driving back round for another loop, with some late lunch on our minds, Mel popped into the General Store to get some souvenirs whilst I consulted the maps further.
One last lap of the park then, but the sun was falling behind the mountains and most photography opportunities had been had or were now lost, so we headed out with happy hearts, aching legs and an insect bite or twelve.
Back at the lodge Mel re-teaches me how to play dominoes which I haven't played since a young child. One great thing about staying here for two nights is the lack of TV, Phone and Internet. It really does feel good to just enjoy each others company, and I vow to make us do it more often. Date night on steroids :-)
Bedroom for sunset.
We both got a Mojito and sat outside in the twilight waiting for the buzz, and a resulting grin from me, when our table was ready - and it wasn't long.
But then disaster struck! They were out of the marinated flat iron steak Mel had last night. At 8pm on a Saturday night I thought this was a bit rubbish, but chef agreed to do a rib eye in a similar balsamic glaze. Mel had the same, and whilst she polished off most of it my heart wasn't in it and it was a bit fatty so a lot got left.
The follow up blackberry margarita was divine though, and Mel had *gasp* another Mojito. That plus the Bud Light she had in the "cottage" is probably the most alcohol she has drunk in one evening :-)
Which probably explains why she was keen to get into the hammock that was outside our "Cottage" when we got back, and much hilarity ensued whilst we both tried to get on.
Starring at the map in disbelief that I made the mistake of thinking the giant sequoias were in Yosemite Valley, I suddenly realised that as route 41 south was open, we could go that way to Bakersfield instead if we got up a little earlier.
Redemption.
Bed then, after a quick shuffle of things into cases and chargers-a-charging.
We then went on to the Anwahnee hotel for lunch, which is the hotel I'd recommend you stay at if you intend to spend a lot of time in the Valley area, as it's very plush even if wine comes at $10 for a small glass of house white.
Pulled pork and Pastrami sandwich's ordered respectively we were joined by our lunch guest.
The whole situation reminded me of the Fawlty Towers episode "Basil the Rat" with the squirrel running around, jumping on chairs and tables whilst the servers snap "Don't feed them! Watch out, they will bite and I'll need to get security..."
Back at the lodge Mel re-teaches me how to play dominoes which I haven't played since a young child. One great thing about staying here for two nights is the lack of TV, Phone and Internet. It really does feel good to just enjoy each others company, and I vow to make us do it more often. Date night on steroids :-)
Bedroom for sunset.
Heading back to the lodge for dinner, we were told it was a 30 minute wait and given one of those pagers that flashes and vibrates which I quickly stuffed in my front pocket :-)
But then disaster struck! They were out of the marinated flat iron steak Mel had last night. At 8pm on a Saturday night I thought this was a bit rubbish, but chef agreed to do a rib eye in a similar balsamic glaze. Mel had the same, and whilst she polished off most of it my heart wasn't in it and it was a bit fatty so a lot got left.
The follow up blackberry margarita was divine though, and Mel had *gasp* another Mojito. That plus the Bud Light she had in the "cottage" is probably the most alcohol she has drunk in one evening :-)
Which probably explains why she was keen to get into the hammock that was outside our "Cottage" when we got back, and much hilarity ensued whilst we both tried to get on.
After some cuddles and star gazing again, we did manage a graceful dismount after a few minutes debating strategy, and we headed inside.
Redemption.
Bed then, after a quick shuffle of things into cases and chargers-a-charging.
Day 8: Yosemite Part 1
Yosemite Part 1
Our day in Yosemite is the main reason we pushed our holiday back from last October to now, so we were super-excited about today. If you'll excuse the Americanism.
We picked up some lunch from the lodge general store, a couple of chicken salads in a wonderful poppy seed, honey and cider vinegar mayonnaise, and a cheese and ham roll. I also picked up some drugs for my very annoying cough.
The drive into Yosemite is fairly quick, with only a few miles of the now all too familiar butt clenching. The fee for a week of access to the whole park is $20 which is jolly reasonable if only to pay the rangers to stop the bears stealing your pic-a-nic baskets.
While we were in the queue for the ticket station, we paused so I could get the customary photo of the park sign. This annoyed the person behind us, despite the fact there was still a length queue of cars ahead, so he started to honk his horn. I told Mel to ignore him whilst I got a better shot. He honked again and went to overtake us in the no-overtake zone we were sat in! He lost that one.
Later on we saw another chap get honked, shouted and sworn at for holding up traffic for not more than 5 seconds while he manoeuvred into a parking space. Jeeze. I guess if you only get 2 weeks vacation a year every second counts.
A huge area we passed, several square miles, had been devastated by fire and they were busy replanting.
Our first waterfall treat was quickly followed by a fantastic view of the valley. See the river down there? You drive down to that!
The first major site we attempted to visit was the B falls, but it quickly became apparent that chaos was reigning in the car park for it, so we continued on. A little way down the road a caught it through the trees anyway.
With our salad and drinks in hand I led Mel over to the other side of the bridge where you can clearly see the falls, but there are no picnic tables. I sat down on a tree stump and prepared to chow down until Mel pointed out there may be ants. She was right, and a swear they were a meter long.
Back to the regular area, where rather than waterfalls we got to watch squirrels and kids attempting to drown themselves in dinghies but it was so peaceful and pretty I forgot all about the waterfall for now. I did miss the water when it came to using the restrooms though, because there isn't any - just a hole in the ground with a seat on it.
So here is my top Yosemite Valley tip: do a loop of the area first. It's not that big, it's basically a one way dual carriageway figure of 8, and you can see the best places to park for any given trail or area you wish to view. There is parking all over the place, and certainly at this time of year we never struggled except for that first location. Peak season you can park at the visitor centre and jump on the free buses if that fails you.
Our day in Yosemite is the main reason we pushed our holiday back from last October to now, so we were super-excited about today. If you'll excuse the Americanism.
We picked up some lunch from the lodge general store, a couple of chicken salads in a wonderful poppy seed, honey and cider vinegar mayonnaise, and a cheese and ham roll. I also picked up some drugs for my very annoying cough.
The drive into Yosemite is fairly quick, with only a few miles of the now all too familiar butt clenching. The fee for a week of access to the whole park is $20 which is jolly reasonable if only to pay the rangers to stop the bears stealing your pic-a-nic baskets.
Later on we saw another chap get honked, shouted and sworn at for holding up traffic for not more than 5 seconds while he manoeuvred into a parking space. Jeeze. I guess if you only get 2 weeks vacation a year every second counts.
I caught a glimpse of the Yosemite Falls through the trees so we pulled over into a picnic area called Swinging Bridge.
Mel pointed out I've not mentioned the cooler we bought on the first day yet, and I guess this is a good time to slot that in. It has been a godsend. For $18 it's a sturdy plastic affair we grabbed in Walmart and when filled with ice over all the bottles of water etc. it keeps them ice cold for 3 days. We laid our fruit, salads and Mels mint and toffee Oreo cookies on top of that and despite the raging heat we have ice cold drinks on tap without having to pay park prices!With our salad and drinks in hand I led Mel over to the other side of the bridge where you can clearly see the falls, but there are no picnic tables. I sat down on a tree stump and prepared to chow down until Mel pointed out there may be ants. She was right, and a swear they were a meter long.
Back to the regular area, where rather than waterfalls we got to watch squirrels and kids attempting to drown themselves in dinghies but it was so peaceful and pretty I forgot all about the waterfall for now. I did miss the water when it came to using the restrooms though, because there isn't any - just a hole in the ground with a seat on it.
At this point, whilst wondering where the giant sequoias were I started going through all the guides, maps and paperwork we had been handed at the gate. Then I saw it. They are actually one and a half hours south of the valley we were in, with a two hour trip back to the hotel after that.
It was 2pm, and there was much to do in the valley so we sighed at the oversight and headed onto Yosemite Falls. We parked in the road and cut across a wooded area to the information point, getting our feet wet in the process. We were pointed in the right direction and walked a mile in the now 84f heat to find - better places to park.So here is my top Yosemite Valley tip: do a loop of the area first. It's not that big, it's basically a one way dual carriageway figure of 8, and you can see the best places to park for any given trail or area you wish to view. There is parking all over the place, and certainly at this time of year we never struggled except for that first location. Peak season you can park at the visitor centre and jump on the free buses if that fails you.
Once up at the lower falls, which doesn't take too long really, you are treated to a bridge over the river and a lovely cooling misty spray. It's very busy here, and you need to be quick to get photographs without other people in them.
We traded couples shots with another, sat for a while in the mist and then headed back to the welcoming blast of air conditioning.
Continued in Part 2
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Day 7: San Francisco to Yosemite
Day 7: San Francisco to Yosemite
Up and out as quick as we could this morning and we exited out over the Bay Bridge, which is a strange and long double decker construction, with west bound traffic traveling over the top of the eastbound traffic. Halfway across is Treasure Island which appears to be a place for the well-to-do.
Walmart was our first destination for supplies whilst we were out of civilisation. I gave my friend Rich a quick call to let him know we were off the grid for three days, which we had timed to be a weekend so any computer issues that might need me attending wouldn't be so critical.
It turned out he was sat at our house with our cat Inky on his lap watching TV which is very cute. So glad she's getting first star cat sitting treatment - and I bet she is more so!
Supplies and new ice for the cooler purchased, we popped into Panda Express for one of my favourite things: Noodles in a box.
Except for one missed turn we made good progress over the next 50 miles or so, through a variety of terrain.
Travelling down a 20 mile strip of road about two thirds into the journey, we started seeing fruit trees that like before near Pismo went on for almost that entire time. Then we started seeing farm shops and I remember someone saying they always stopped off to get some Strawberries as they were extremely fresh and delicious.
We missed a couple as the signage came up too late but decided as we neared town to turnaround and visit one alled The Barn a short way back. Worth it, it was, yes.
A punnet of cherries and strawberries later we separated some out to eat there and then and put the rest in the cooler. I polished those off while Mel used the restroom so I separated some more! Wow. I've never tasted anything like it. The sun is obviously kind to fruit here.
The next part of the journey was another bum clencher for me, as we snaked up to 2500ft clinging to the side of the mountain, with me on the nasty side this time unlike highway 1. I did marvel at the fact we had a 4G signal at the top and updated Facebook to prove it. Then further up to 4000ft at Oak Flats where you can cheerfully pay $4.80 for a gallon of unleaded compared to the $3.83 we paid in Sonora before we embarked on our climb up Death Mountain, as I like to call it now. So bear that in mind should you do this, although filling up the tank of a 4x4 for £30 or £35 is not going to make the average Brit unhappy.
Our hotel, the Evergreen Lodge, sits at the end of a 6 mile road off Interstate 120 nestled amongst red pines and is very nice to look at - all the buildings are wooden cabins and don't look at all out of place. Perhaps Center Parcs got its inspiration from places like this.
However, at first I was a bit upset about the "Cottage" we had booked. The local insects were very quick to take bites out of us despite our deploying of spray, this combined with a lack of air conditioning in fierce heat and a screaming baby in the "Cottage" next to us led to an unhappy Andy.
But once I worked out that the heater they had on needed to be turned off, the ceiling fans could be upped a notch and the pillows were super soft, I was happier. Things got even better when I realised our decking area, lounge and bedroom window all face west into the setting sun. Happy now.
So we got to unloading following the rules and regulations laid down.
You know that trick when are at a caravan park in the UK and you toss bread onto the roof of your mates caravans so the seagulls wake them up? Just us then? Well, anyway, you could have much better fun here involving beef jerky and brown bears. They tell you not to leave ANY food in your car, which leaves me the image of Yogi and Boo Boo tearing the doors off to get to my open bag of Cheetos in the console.
The "Cottage" has a wide variety of games in it, including trivial pursuit, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Dominos, Cards and Boggle! They all are in good condition so Mel sat about thrashing me at Yahtzee until I got three of them in one game. She didn't even bother adding the scores up. Heh.
We waited for sunset but hunger beat the sun to it and we headed to the lodge. The waitress quickly brought water in a caffer and Mel responded by smashing her glass with it, whilst I coughed the restaurant apart with a chest cough I picked up in San Fran probably from the dodgy air conditioning. Perhaps not having it here is a blessing?
Mel had the steak with a balsamic glaze, which was delicious and I wished I'd had it rather than the sickly sweet maple chicken wings. Truffles fries again were very welcome, as was the warm bread and herb butter.
The walk back to the "Cottage" was very nice, with subtle lighting guiding your way and only the one cabin with the screaming kid breaking the silence; although luckily the parents are the sort to tell it to shut up and respect the other guests. Nice.
A quick kiss on the doorstep because the setting was so beautiful and we are sitting out on our balcony without the tint of light pollution you get in 95% of the UK. We marvelled at the stars on a clear night, and the silence and tranquility.
Ahhhh. Heaven.
(Literally I guess.)
Think I went all slushy there, which is a change from Mel drinking them from every 711 we pass then complaining she needs a toilet.
Monday, 13 May 2013
Day 6: San Francisco Part 2: Alcatraz
Alcatraz
We sat down on the top deck of the boat, which is one of few in the world that is largely solar powered, and they have neat flat screens around the boat showing the power distribution to the engines, on board facilities and any diesel input required to supplement the suns rays.
Love the name of the boat by our side.
They announced the safety rules, and then said that the night time cruises get a special treat of circling the island before docking that the day trips don't get. We picked the right side, by luck, as we were afforded terrific views of San Francisco and then of the island, as long as ignorant people don't stand in front of you but they can be easily complained at.
Should anyone do this, you want the left hand side as you are looking at the front of the ship.
The journey round the island was extensively commentated and very interesting, and when you get off the boat you are given the choice of wandering off by yourself or listening to a tour guide. Ours was very interesting as he was involved in many episodes of one of the Ghost Shows and needless to say he wasn't a believer and learnt quickly they were using the trivia about the prison he was telling them to set up situations were psychics would state they knew a person was suffering/dying in location X.
I'll say no more so you can enjoy yourself.
Once up the death march hill, 13 stories he said and it sure felt like it, you are given a set of headphones for our audio tour which you can run at your own pace. Packed full of noises and voices from ex-inmates as well as a virtual tour guide moving you around as he talks, it really was a treat.
The creepy hospital wing only opens at night
Again, I'll say little more as it needs to be experienced as a whole, but I'll throw in a few pictures and tell you Al Capone's cell was number 131 at first, as they don't tell you that on the tour. Right at the start you can see its the one open cell on the second floor.
Done with the tour there are some optional extras but they didn't seem that exciting so we thought we'd catch the early boat and headed back down to the dock which was considerably easier than going up.
On the boat with time to spare we watched folks bust a stitch running down the hill to catch the boat in time, with five unlucky individuals not making it. What was amusing but shouldn't be was that one of the party did make the boat, and had to wave them goodbye with an hour and a half wait at the other end for them to catch up.
Making sure we were one of the first off the boat we grabbed the only taxi waiting there, which was a posh town car, and we knew it would cost us but not too badly in the end. Just double that of a yellow cab at $25. And surprisingly - or maybe not - he couldn't change a $50 but unsurprisingly the doorman at our hotel could.
We loaded up on supplies at Walgreens now it was devoid of a private party and retired to the room. My cough was now getting bad so I knocked back some milkshake and went to bed. We watched a show about a lady who renovates old houses which was interesting and went to sleep.
Perchance to dream of hiking up mountains shortly.
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