Highway 1, West Coast USA, inc Las Vegas 2012

The start of our holiday. A 10 hour flight, 3 films and an hour's snooze. Virgin is a very good airline. Arrived in San Francisco at 1pm Us time. Picked up at the airport and taken to hotel, about 10 minutes. Nice hotel right on San Francisco Bay overlooking the airport and downtown with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. Let Alice have a sleep for an hour then went for a walk along the bay path. Back to the hotel for a light snack and off to bed. 6pm US time, 2 am UK time, night night!!

Up early, shuttle bus back to airport and BART train into downtown San Francisco. First stop, breakfast and coffee in Union Square. Walked all the way up Powell Street, then caught the bus to Coit Tower. Fantastic views from the top, all over the city and bay area, Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, Alcatraz island and Fishermans Wharf. Walked back to Powell and caught a tram back to Union Square for lunch. Fi and Alice spent the next few hours in Macey's cloths shopping, I had sleep in the cafe. Walked back up Powell to Grace cathedral then on to China town for a Chinese supper. Back to the airport on the train, then back to the hotel for coffee and bed, zzzzzz

Up early again, train to downtown San Francisco and then a trolley bus to Pier 33 to catch the boat to Alcatraz Island. On the island did an audio tour of the prison block and cells. Very interesting but creepy and quite cold. Stayed on the island for a couple of hours, then caught the ferry back to the mainland. Walked along the harbour to Fisherman's Wharf. What a crazy place, very busy and very touristy, but the sea lions were worth looking at, although there weren't many there. Stopped for light lunch, then walked further along the harbour area. Caught the trolley bus back to downtown and had a look in Westfield shopping centre and Bloomingdales, before catching the train back to the airport and bus back to the hotel. Very tired so having dinner in restaurant of the hotel, then an early night. What a good day.

Last day in San Francisco today so started with a traditional American breakfast of pancakes with fried eggs, bacon and sausages all dipped in maple syrup and washed down with hot strong coffee. Packed everything up and headed for the airport to collect the car, a big Dodge 4x4. Set off to the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco driving over to the other side. Stopped to take some photos then drove back over to the Golden Gate Park where we visited the Japanese Tea Gardens. Then it was south on highway 1 through the mist of San Francisco heading for Santa Cruz. We stopped off at a state park to look for elephant seals, but unfortunately couldn't find any. Saw a wild dear on the way back to the car. Arrived at Santa Cruz and found a hotel (sorry Julia it's a Super 8) and had a walk along the board walk. Quite a lively place but a bit tacky. Got a pizza to go, ate in room then off to sleep.

Another walk along the board walk this morning and along the pier where there were sea lions basking on a pontoon under the pier and could get within a few feet of them. Back on the board walk we took a trip on the Skyrider, a chair lift going all the way along the board walk. Next we headed south again joining highway 1 heading for Monterey in a mixture of mist and sunshine. Cloudy on arrival so headed to the aquarium and spent nearly 4 hours in there, really good aquarium. No chance to look around Monterey so found a hotel for the night. Denny's for tea and back to hotel for an early night.

Drove through downtown Monterey this morning and on to the 17 mile drive. Fantastic views of the coast and lots of golf courses with luxury millionaire houses. Stopped at Pebble Beach golf resort for coffee and look at the famous course. Moved on to Carmel by the sea, a lovely quaint town, with some very upmarket boutiques. Drove along the front and back through a residential area, then back on to Highway 1 heading south. Soon on to the Big Sur, very mountainous, windy cliff edge roads with fantastic scenery. Stopped frequently to take some stunning pictures of the coastline. Stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park and did a coastal walk to a beach viewpoint with an 80 ft waterfall cascading on to the beach. A quick coffee stop where Alice pointed out a tiny humming bird. Just before San Simeon we stopped at a beach to watch elephant seals basking in the sun on the beach. A detour inland to view Hearst Castle, then on to Morrow Bay for an overnight stay. An evening meal sat beside the estuary overlooking the famous volcanic plug.

Woke up in Morro in the mist, quick breakfast and on the road again. Highway 101 straight to Santa Barbara, parked the car and headed straight to the beach. 80 degrees and bright sunshine at last!!!. Enjoyed watching the pelicans glide low and close over the beach. After a couple of hours, nicely baked, we took a trolley bus and headed for the shops again!! One dress and 18 dollars worth of nail varnish later back to the car. Decided to go a little further down the coast, so joined H101 again and got to Ventura and found a nice motel on the beach. Evening meal in a typical American diner to round off a perfect day.

Alice and Terry had a swim and spa in the hotel before we left this morning. Pool was quite cool and the spa very hot, particularly on burnt skin!!! Left Ventura and back on H101, through Oxnade picking up some groceries on the way to re-join highway 1. Got to Malibu by lunchtime and headed up into the Santa Monica mountain range for a picnic and a hike through the forest. This is Mountain Lion territory but unfortunately we didn't see one, although Fi and Alice jumped and screamed when I threw a stone against a tree in front of them. After the hike it was down the mountain and on to Malibu surf beach and straight into the sea to cool off. A lazy couple of hours on the beach sunbathing and watching the pelicans dive into the sea to catch fish. Malibu is very exclusive with hotels at over $500 a night, so we continued down to Santa Monica and found a reasonable room near LA airport. Burgers and Tacos for tea then off to bed.

LA day today, first stop Beverly Hills and Rodeo drive. Eventually got there through the LA traffic and into a different world!!!. Valet parking makes you feel a bit special, then on to the shops where there is every designer shop you can think of. If you had £1,000,000 it wouldn't last very long. Picnic lunch in the park with a photo shoot by the Beverly Hills sign. Then up into the mountains again, driving through Beverly Hills, envious of all the fantastic houses and gardens on the way. Drove along Mulholland Drive which goes right along the top of the mountain ridge. Some view points along the way overlooking Universal City, Hollywood Bowl and the famous Hollywood sign, set into the Hill. Back down and into the centre of Hollywood following the walk of fame where all the famous names are set in stars in the pavement. Stopped for a massive cocktail, sat on the sidewalk watching everyone going by. Back to the hotel fighting through the LA traffic again, 7 lanes of solid traffic in both directions, makes the M25 a doddle. Checked in and straight to the pool, so refreshing after the city atmosphere. Dinner in the hotel and an early night ready for a full day at Universal Studio's tomorrow.

Wow what a day, got over to Universal Studio's mid morning, parked the car in the Jurasic car park!!! Walked to the park and straight into the first show, Waterworld, the original set used in the film. Lots of action, fights, jet ski stunts, explosions, fire and a plane crash!!! Then we went to a 4D animation of Shrek, where you had 3D viewing with seat movements plus water and wind, got a face full when Donkey sneezed. Next was a tour of the whole studios by bus, so we saw lots of the studios where films and tv programmes are made, plus lots of outside sets such as Wisteria Drive, New York City and some old cowboy sets from westerns. Then we travelled into a Durasic Park set which was 4D animation of dinosaurs fighting with King Kong and we got spat at by a Dinosaur, very life like, particularly when the whole bus went into a ravine. Stop for a quick bite and a coffee, then off to the next attraction, Transformers. Had to queue for over 2 hours to get on the ride, but when we did it was very spectacular, full of 3D animation and the car spinning and being attacked by the bad transformers amongst the tower blocks of a city. Looked around some of the shops and then finally went into a famous film animals show which was Alice's favorite, it's now 8.30 in the evening and things are starting to close down. Just outside the Universal Studio's is Universal City Walk which is full of shops and restaurants, had a quick look around but very busy so decided to call it a day. Back to the car and through downtown LA on a Saturday night on our way back to the hotel. Completely zonked so straight to bed and looking for a restful day tomorrow.

Woke up at 9 0'clock this morning after yesterday's excitement. A lazy day today just spent most of the time around the hotel pool topping up the tan. Lunch by the pool, then mid afternoon took a trip to Marina Del Ray which is huge. Had a walk along the quay looking at the pelicans and sea lions again. A nice coffee sat on the quay overlooking part of the marina and all the boats coming back in from a days sailing. McDonalds for tea (Alice's choice!!) then back to the hotel for an early night, 500 mile drive tomorrow.

Left the hotel at 9 0'clock and hit the freeways out of LA heading east with a 500 mile drive to get to Williams in Arizona. Traffic running quite smoothly for rush hour in LA, although we are going out of town. First section is up into the mountains past Holywood and into the California desert, with the temperature rising as we went. Scenery is quite bland with lots of sand, small palm trees and scrubland. Freeway now very quiet so able to make good time. Stopped for lunch in a Jack in the Box, a McDonalds alternative, where the temperature had reached 110 degrees. By mid afternoon we had crossed the Colarado river into Arizona, and to our surprise the surroundings got greener and the temperature dropped to around 85 degrees. Got off the freeway and joined Route 66 for a few miles stopping at Seligman for fuel. Arrived in Williams at 5 0'clock, booked into a hotel and had a look around the town. A typical western style American town out of the 50's. There was a gun fight in the street and two cowboys got shot, Alice got the empty bullet case from one of their colt 45's. Rounded off the day with a great big steak. Grand Canyon tomorrow.

Breakfast in the hotel this morning and then a little detour to get some pictures of the old, Williams to Grand Canyon railroad train. Then on to the Grand Canyon itself, about an hours drive, surprisingly through lush green prairie land and forest. Reached the Grand Canyon National Park and once through got stopped for speeding, but let off with a caution, phew!!. Drove to the lodge, booked in and got a quick bite to eat and a coffee, then off to the rim of the canyon. The first sight is breath taking, Fi felt very emotional, it is much bigger than you ever realise from pictures or television. We started the Angel trail which eventually leads to the Colarado river, but this is a two day hike, so we turned round after 1/2 mile (I wanted to go all the way but was out voted!! ) when we reached the top, we followed the rim trail for a couple of miles. This trail has different rock sections for each ten million years of the canyon's evolution. At each million years there was an insert into the pavement where a cent fitted. Alice put hers in 1,091 million years. Heading back we stopped for ice creams and then back to the lodge for a coffee and a rest. Rested up we headed out in the truck north to see some more view points. The one recommended was 25 miles away and at 25 mph speed limit, we opted for a closer one, which was absolutely stunning. With the evening sun setting it was throwing up areas of shadow and bright, rock formations. Driving back through the park forest there were many elks wondering through the trees oblivious to the passing cars. Back at the lodge we got an evening meal in the lodge restaurant of traditional English chicken dinner (Alice stuck to chips). Back to our lodge and an early night ready for our trip to Vegas tomorrow, and Fi's **th birthday.!!!

Fi's birthday today and started it off by opening presents in bed. Then off to the lodge cafe for birthday cake and coffee. Still at the Grand Canyon we packed everything up and had a last look at the famous Canyon itself before heading for Las Vagas. Out of the park we joined Highway 40 east, very apt!!! stopping for lunch at Dunking Donut's before continuing on Highway 40. Not long after we hit a tremendous thunderstorm with great flashes of lighting and such heavy rain we nearly had to stop, all in the middle of a desert. Next stop The Hoover Dam, which we crossed first by car, parked up and then walked back over, in 100 degrees of heat. Finally we reached Las Vagas, found the hotel, not difficult as it's pyramid shaped and about as big as the real ones, checked in and found our roomon the 13th floor. All the bedrooms are on the outside faces of the building, so the lift goes up and sideways at the same time. Dumped everything off and had a quick look around the hotel before getting dressed up for a special birthday dinner at the hotels steak restaurant, superb mmmm. After dinner we caught a overhead shuttle to the next hotel for a view up the strip at night. What an amazing sight, a pyramid behind us, a knights castle to the side, the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State and Chrysler buildings in the background, and the Eiffle Tower in the distance. Walked back to the hotel, quick coffee from McDonalds (actually in the hotel) then off to bed. What a **th birthday for Fi, one she will never forget.

A day in Vegas. After a good night's sleep and a quick breakfast, we were on our way, first by overhead tram to Excalibur, then walk across the street to New York New York, and on to The Monte Carlos. This hotel was very opulent and hundreds of thousands of gaming machines. Another overhead tram took us to The Belagio, again very high class with a massive inside conservatory with millions of plants and a full sized lighthouse. Crossing the road we went into Ceasar's Palace, probably the biggest and grandest on the strip. Massive statues and water fountains adorned the place, and again many thousand gaming machines and tables. We ventured into Ceasar's Palace shopping forum to be met with lifelike Italian street's, under a painted bright sky that made you think you were outside. This was just full of all the main designer shops with everything costing a fortune. Back to the hotel we decided to spend a couple of hours by one of the many pools, before getting ready to go back out on the night time strip again. Dinner consisted of pizza and salad, then After a quick gamble on the slot machines we headed down the strip again. First stop, Balagio's to see the fountain show to music, fantastic. Then on to the Mirage to see the volcano erupt, then The Venitian to see the gondolas and a light show. McDonalds for a coffee and a sprite before walking back to the hotel, very very tired.

Last day and we are up early and down by the pool by 9 O'clock for a final swim before packing up. Checked out of the hotel by 11 and a short ride to the car rental return, hoppa bus to the airport and we are checked in and ready to fly home. WHAT A FANTASTIC HOLIDAY.