Las Vegas to Los Angeles

Day 17

Delay, Delay!

Bye Bye Vegas, Not sure they are real cops!

We got a phone call telling us that our morning bus had been cancelled so we had to take a later one.  This coach then got stuck in a ton of traffic around LA. Some 7 hours later we arrived. After getting off the bus we ended up getting in a suspicious looking taxi! Hmmm not convinced it was  a taxi,  just some dude chancing it, his price was quite good though

We got to our Air bnb accommodation and was met by john and he was very nice.  My first impressions of LA, it looks rough as fuck. Might look better in the day. I am not sure what pictures you have of Hollywood in your head, but it looks nothing like your imagination.

Air BnB Accommodation 

It is also Halloween today which is taken very seriously in the states.  We met this guy eating a burriotto, that is not a mask its proper make up!

Las Vegas

Day 16

Helicopter Ride, Naked Hot Tub and Twin Peaks.

So the main activity of the day was the helicopter ride down the Grand Canyon.  This was very kindly bought by Claire as a birthday present. We were up at 0545 as the limousine was picking us up at 0600.

 We were soon at our destination and after being weighed! we were assigned helicopters, we got lovely woman called michelle as our pilot.  We were soon off and Claire who does not like flying was very very scared! I must admit it was a very odd feeling, flying a round in a chopper.

Genuine look on her face, she did not know I was taking that shot!

We were soon heading out to the canyon taking in some amazing views.

Hoover Damb

Heading into the Grand Canyon

After a smooth landing in the canyon we had a picnic and  a chance to take some more photos.

We soon headed off and back towards Las Vegas.  On the way back we got to fly over the famous Las Vegas Boulevard strip.

Although this trip was expensive, it was definitely worth it.  Something we will both never forget and I would highly recommend anyone visiting Vegas to do it, worth every penny.

Anyway headed back to the hotel and I decided to hit thee gym and spa. After my workout I went into the hot tub. As I got I got in the hot tub I  thought I had a few funny looks coming my way. It soon dawned on me that everyone else was naked except me.  I dont care what everyone else was thinking, my shorts were staying on!  A piece of advice to anyone visiting the UK, should you visit a gym/spa make sure you wear your clothes at all times, otherwise you will be thrown out!  After working on the tan for a couple of hours we headed out to do some gambling.

If we are going to gamble we may as well go to the Beallgio.  After losing 30 dollars quickly on blackjack, I decided to go double or nothing on red or black  (Claire was unimpressed with this tactic).  It had hit red ten times in a row, surely not a again.. Luckily for me and the marriage it hit black I was  a winner. The guy next to me was a little more relieved as he had bet 1500 on black.

I thought I would spend thee money on some drinks.  I spotted a bar called twin peaks, I thought it sounded alright, plus had a load of tvs showing sports.  However that was not the main attraction, I feel the name twin peaks were named affter the waitresses and their outfits!!! I would have loved to have took a photo but, I had already pushed my luck once already.

They did have a amazing climbing wall in there, something you could do when drunk.  You were harnessed in but it would never be allowed in the uk.

Off to LA tomorrow, got a longish day ahead!

Las Vegas

Day 15

Relaxation, Relaxation,Relaxation!!!

Literally all we did during daylight ours was work on our tan by the pool.  That was after a quick gym and spa visit.  In the evening we took it easy as we have a big day tomorrow, a helicopter ride down the Grand Canyon.  We are being picked up by limousine at 7am.  I cant wait!!

Vagas so far  is everything I expected it to be.  Just loads of neon lights ad slot machines everywhere. It is essentially everything blackpool wants to be!  I personally would not fly from the UK to just visit Vegas.  I have really loved the hotel, weather, pool and the relaxation!  Which is something you do not hear often about Vegas.

Finally caught up with the  blog now!!! ( While watching the baseball world series, come on Kansas City!)   Those  3/4 days in Yosemite made it a bit of a chore to catch up.  Bloody Curry Camp.

Las Vegas

Day 14


Relaxation, casino casino

View from room

we woke up and decided to take it easy today.  Over the past two weeks we have been super busy every day so it was nice to  have no real plans.  Las Vegas comes alive at night and that is when we plan to do all the site seeing.  So in the morning we hit he spa, gym and outdoor pool, the weather was perfect 24c and no wind.  Ow and the room at Bally's is absolute heaven compared to curry camp!!!




Okay in the evening we headed round the casinos.

The Bellagio  and famous fountain display

Paris Casino ( We are connected to it)

Treasure Island

We then visited the Venetian and this in my opinion is the most impressive casino.  It is based on venice and has a amazing canal that runs through the middle.  I personally love the ceiling decor. 

We also visited numerous other casinos, such as the mirrage,  caesars palace etc.  Then headed to a bbq joint for some huge portions.

Full Ribs!

Yosemite to Vegas

Day 13

10000ft

We left Curry Camp today and to be honest I was pretty releived. For every one hundred tents there was one mens urinal and one toliet!!  Lets just the shower and toilet block were really really bad. Having set that Yosemite is a must see if you are on the west coast of the US.

Anyway we headed off in the car over the toga pass, which took us 10000 ft in elevation!  I never thought I would drive a car that high before ( well claire was driving at this point)

Then onto death valley road, were we went nearly 70 miles without seeing another car.  If we had broken down it would have been a bit of a problem.  I had taken over the driving at this point and lets just say some speed limits were broken! It would be wrong not too, dead straight roads with no cars in sight.

Me messing around in the middle of a freeway!

Some 400 miles or so we hit vagas!  It is much busyier than I thought.  It was fun negotiating the 6 lane highway into Vegas!   After a quick wash we headed out. Ow boy I have never seen anywhere like it!

Yosemite

Day 12

Bear Alert!!

We took it easy today, doing some of the low level walks.  First on the agenda was mirror lake.  However there was absolutely no water in there!  One of the main reasns for this is that calfornia is in the middle of a 2year drought.. That will explain some of the fabulous weather we have been having here.

Mirror Lake/ Mirror Meadow!!

We also came across some of the wildlife. The star of the show being the bears, a mother with two cubs.  We were very lucky to see them.

Deer, it came within 2 feet. Not botheres at all.

Fat chipmonk, people were feeding by hand.

Yosemite has been amazing, it should be high on anyones list of places to visit.  Although avoid Curry Camp if possible, the toilet and shower facilities are really bad, plus it is very noisey.  Ow and the free wifi is just a myth!!!

Yosemite

Day 11

Amazing views

It was time to explore one of Americas most famous national parks.  The views were absolutely amazing,  the pictures just dont do it justice.  We headed up to Navada falls,  although the lack of rain this year means there was not that much water.  The surrounding views were still stunning though.

The walk took the best of 6 hours, and reached heights of over 6500 ft.  That combined with the hot weather and racing a German couple downhill (we won) meant we were wrecked when we got back.  We made ourselves,  ham,cheese, philadephia and dorito sandwiches, trust me they tasted amazing.

To p of the John Muir Trail

San Francisco to Yosemite

Day 10


Road Trip!

We headed into downtown San francisco to pick up out hire car.  The roads in that area are a nightmare, of one way systems combined with 4 lane streets.  Claire decided she was going to drive first, I was pretty glad she did as I had no idea how to drive a automatic.  We were in the car no longer than a minute and people were beeping at us, this was due to the fact we were blocking the entrance and exit to a multistory car park.  We decided at the last second to get a sat nav with the car. Best money ever spent.  We were soon on our way out of the city and onto Yosemity.

After aabout a hour and half I took over the driving and it soon headed up hill!  The road climbed to  over 6000ft and there were some pretty tight winding roads, Claire looked worried.

The Famous Half Dome Mountain.

Eventually we made it to Curry Camp, where we are staying in a posh tent thing. It came with a heater, claire decided she did not want to use it.  Lets just say we woke up at about 4 am, freezing our ass off.

San Francisco

Day 9

Birthday, Alcatraz, Lombard Street, Laundry, New Phone !!!!!!

Today was my 35th birthday, ow so so old!! Anyway, headed out to Alcatraz today, one of the must do things while visting San Francisco.  After a bit of cloud this morning, it soon brightened up to be another hot day.  We headed out to Alcatraz at 930 am, along with 500 other people on the boat.

From the movie, the actual cell

How I would have looked me and Al Capone would have got on well!

After hitting the prison we had fish and chips at the codfather, a british run place near the peer, it was amazing.

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Best food so far

Then we headed back to do some emergency laundry. I was at the end of my clothing, there is only enough stuff to last a week.   In fact undwear surplies only last 5 days.  yeah yeah i know its day 8, I had hand washed stuff in New York.  Luckily the San Remo has washing facilities.  All fresh Stuff, amazing!!



Then headed out to Lomard Street, this is a famous twisty street in San Francisco and also looked at some of the famous trams/ cable cars.  The photos do not do justice on how steep the streets.

Lombard Street

In the evening headed out for some beers and nachos yum yum.  Also my new phone arrived, a samsung s 3 mini, yes, thanks amazon!!!!