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In October 1999, Penny and John
went on holiday to California and the American West. This was a two
week fly/drive visit, through Virgin Airways. Penny's daily diary is
shown below, together with some photos of the trip. The photos are
snapshots using an APS Cannon Ixus camera, or still frames from a
video shot on a JVC digital camcorder. There
are several pictures
for most days, so CLICK
ON THE DAY to
see them. |
SATURDAY
2 October  HEATHROW
TO LOS ANGELES
Suzie and Jessica drove us up to
London Heathrow Airport for 9 o' clock in the morning. Jessica
enjoyed seeing the planes and having a Macdonald's! We flew off at
midday in glorious sunshine, which made the flight more enjoyable
seeing the sights below. We flew over northern England and Ireland,
then Greenland which was mountainous and covered in snow, over the
Atlantic to Newfoundland then Canada to Montana over the Rockies, the
Columbian Plateau, Reno, Yosemite, then landed in Los Angeles. On
arrival we picked up our car, a Plymouth Voyager (Brilliant). We
stayed in Anaheim near Disneyland. We arrived at the hotel at 6.30
(2.30 at night to us!) we had to get our body clocks right so went
down to have dinner and went to bed about 9 o'clock exhausted.
SUNDAY 3
October CRYSTAL
CATHEDRAL / UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
After breakfast we walked two
blocks and visited the Crystal Cathedral, which is built with glass -
it's amazing. Unfortunately, it was Sunday so we could not enter as
there was a service being held. After this we drove to the North side
of LA to visit Universal Studios. One of the best areas was the
'Terminator', which was a 3-D effect film. There was a silver
monster, similar to an octopus and the tentacles came out and it
looked (through your 3-D glasses) that it was about to hit your nose,
just amazing. We then visited the Back Draft lot, which showed how
some of the fire scenes were made, off then to childish things; we
rode on ET bikes!
MONDAY
4 October QUEEN
MARY, LONG BEACH
We left Anaheim early and drove
to Long Beach and visited the Queen Mary. This liner used to leave
the docks in Southampton on its voyages to New York. Southampton was
its home port and we used to see it many times in dock, so this was
very interesting to John and me. We drove to Palm Springs making a
detour down the coast, Laguna Beach to Dana Point and then northeast
over the Elsinore Mountains. The temperature certainly rose and
stepping out the car at the hotel was like walking into a cooker!!
John was fascinated with the windmills that surround Palm Springs
(and also San Francisco).
TUESDAY 5
October PALM
SPRINGS
After eating breakfast outside
at a café in the town centre (only the English would prefer to
eat in the heat of the morning sun than sit inside in the air
conditioning), we then visited the Museum, followed by a trip on the
Scenic Tramway. This took us high above the desert floor about
8000ft. We had superb views, on the one side was desert and mountains
and the other was woodland. After this we set off for Phoenix. This
road was nearly straight from Palm Springs all the way to Phoenix.
Here we stayed overnight at Scottsdale.
WEDNESDAY 6
October MONTEZUMA
/ SEDONA
Visited a shopping mall at
Scottsdale and had breakfast there, unfortunately most of the shops
didn't open till 10 o'clock and we needed to be on our way. Just
north of here we visited an old town called Rawhide and sat on some
wagons, shown in the photo. We travelled north, stopping at Montezuma
Castle National Monument. This was some dwellings cut out of the
cliffs by the Indians. Next was a quick stop for apple pie and a
drink at Sedona. We would have liked to stay here longer but were
already an hour or so late in our schedule. I think we will have to
come back here and see the wonderful shaped red rocks again.
Anyway, off now to the Grand
Canyon. Unfortunately we just missed the sunset so had a meal and off
to bed early ready for an early morning.
THURSDAY 7
October GRAND
CANYON
Up at 6 o'clock and out to the
car to find that there was a frost. We drove down to the edge of the
canyon and watched the sun rise. It was freezing cold and as the sun
rose, it was followed by a breeze which vanished as soon as the sun
was up. We spent some time taking photos and videoing and by now it
was getting quite warm and we returned to the hotel for breakfast. We
returned to the Grand Canyon village where we parked up and caught a
bus which drove west to different view points where you could get out
and catch the later bus which followed about ten minutes behind. We
could also have walked but didn't have that much time as we had to be
at the airport for our planned helicopter ride over the canyon. This
experience was incredible. I was lucky to be picked to sit in the
front seat, which of course was what I wanted. The only problem was
the sun was too low in the sky and kept getting in our eyes. The next
time we visit we would like to go down to the floor of the Canyon and
get out and explore. After the flight we returned to get a good spot
to view the sunset. I couldn't believe the places that some idiots
tried to sit. One slip and they would be dead, and we would have had
to watch them fall. We had a good laugh with the people around us and
decided we could make some money on the good photographs that we
could provide the newspapers with! That evening when we got back we
went to the Imax theatre. This was the most incredible experience.
You fly like a bird over rocky formations down to the river, along
the river over the rapids and swoop up again. The screen itself was
about four times larger than a cinema screen. I believe we will be
having a similar theatre in a town nearby us. I can't wait for it to
open - I will be first in the queue.
FRIDAY 8
October PAGE
/ BRYCE CANYON
Again we were up at 6.00 to see
the sunrise (again freezing cold). After breakfast we travelled along
the east drive, unfortunately, we got stopped by a policeman with no
sense of humour! He did eventually let us go, after giving us a
lecture on going over the speed limit! We then entered the Navajo
Indian Reservation, and travelled north to Page. We stopped for a
McDonald's and then visited the Glenn Canyon Dam at the western side
of Lake Powell. Again we were running an hour late and entered the
state of Utah and had to change our clocks to an hour ahead which now
made us two hours late! We drove west and then north on route 89 to
state route 12, which is a scenic byway. On entering this road we
passed through two arches made of red rock and on to Bryce Canyon. We
arrived just in time to see the setting sun. The colours were
amazing; they ranged from white to deep pink and brown to a rust
colour. The shapes were like stalagmites reaching from the floor of
the canyon upwards. These were called hoodoos.
SATURDAY 9
October ZION
CANYON / LAS VEGAS
Another sunrise!! Still freezing
cold. We drove and walked up to 8000 ft and also walked part way down
into the canyon. By now the sun was shinning and again the canyon
looked different in colour. Unfortunately we had to move on south and
west to Las Vegas via Zion Canyon. This canyon was so different. The
rock was granite. To enter the canyon we had to drive through a mile
long tunnel carved out of the mountainside. There were a few
portholes through which you could view the valley. The traffic was
heavy today, as it was Columbus Day weekend. We saw a few climbers on
the face of a mountain; they looked like dots on the mountain. Next
stop was 'Circus Circus' our hotel at Las Vegas. We left our hotel at
around six in the evening to walk the strip. This was a foolish thing
to do; we should have caught a taxi to take us to the more exciting
hotels. I thought the 'Venician Hotel' was the best (see
picture). On the second floor of the hotel it had a canal
running though the streets of shops. There were even gondolas taking
people to different shopping malls. (see picture) The ceiling was
made to look like the sky and this changed to make it seem different
times of the day. The Eiffel Tower also had streets and the sky
effect in its "Paris" hotel. The MGM Hotel had two
beautiful lions that played football with the keeper. We also went
into the building shaped to look like a Coca-Cola bottle; it was full
of coke merchandise, expensive! By midnight our feet couldn't take it
any longer so we took a taxi back to the hotel and fell into bed.
SUNDAY 10
October DEATH
VALLEY
Death Valley was next and wasn't
it hot, dry and barren. There was an area, which was like a desert,
just sand dunes. There seemed to be nothing growing at all. Also in
Death Valley is the lowest point in the USA. We travelled on till we
reached the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, to a town called
Lone Pine. From here we could see Mount Whitney 14.494 ft high and
the highest point on the American mainland.
MONDAY 11
October MONO
LAKE / YOSEMITE
Drove north to Mono Lake which
had weird things growing up in it, they were called 'Tufa' and formed
from salt deposits.
This was also an area of old
volcanos. We turned west here to go through Tioga Pass, which took us
to Yosemite National Park. This again was beautiful. It was a shame
that it hadn't rained a few days before as all but one waterfall was
dry. Again there were two tunnels to go through both going and coming
out of Yosemite. The mountains just towered above us we could have
spent more time just sitting looking at the enormity of it all.
Fresno was our next call where our hotel awaited us.
TUESDAY 12
October KINGS
CANYON
We lost about half an hour
trying to get out of Fresno. So I threw away the maps and went with
my instincts! We seemed to drive higher and higher until we looked
back at Fresno and saw we were the highest thing around. We
eventually arrived at Kings Canyon, where we hoped to see the General
Grant tree, which is the second largest Redwood in the world. There
was also a fallen tree, which was so large you could walk through it,
which we did. Kings Canyon itself was spectacular, with huge cliffs
around us, and glorious viewpoints, including waterfalls. Again we
were very late and had to return to Fresno and on to San Francisco.
We arrived on the outskirts at dusk and saw all the wind machines on
the hills, amazing sight, well John thought so. By the time we
reached the Bay Bridge it was dark and we were faced with eight lanes
of traffic and didn't know which lane to be in. Here we panicked but
somehow managed to get to our hotel in China Town. The view was great
(even though it was dark) from the bedroom window. We looked forward
to the next day to video it.
WEDNESDAY 13
October SAN
FRANCISCO
The view was vanishing with the
fog coming in from the sea. We had breakfast delivered to our room as
we had to be up early for the coach which was picking us up to take
us to the starting point of our 3 hour sightseeing tour. I don't
think the driver stopped talking for more than a minute during the
whole trip! He drove us to the Golden Gate Bridge, which was covered
in fog, with just the tops of the span showing. This made a great
photo. He eventually dropped us off at Fisherman's Wharf where we
boarded a boat to Alcatraz Island. We were given earphones each and
could listen to the history as we walked around. They showed you the
cells of 'Bird Man' and the cells where the three men escaped. On
return to the mainland, we visited Fisherman's Wharf. There were lots
of interesting shops but most exciting were the seals basking on the
piers. We spent ages just watching a pair of males trying to claim
the females, which were ignoring them! We decided we would catch a
cable car tram to take us back up to China town. The first stop had a
mile long queue so we walked to another stop which wasn't much
shorter. The other passengers were really enjoying themselves and we
all had a good laugh. We got off at Macey's and did some shopping for
the kids back home. Eventually found our way back to China Town and
had a very expensive dinner there.
THURSDAY 14
October SAN
FRANCISCO / MORRO BAY
Drove to the Golden Gate Bridge
to see it without fog! Visited the fort beneath it and took loads of
video and photos. Next was to find the coast road and drive south.
Stopped at Monterey and walked up the Wharf picked up some sandwiches
for our lunch and asked how long it will take us to drive down to
Morro Bay. We were advised not to take the coast road as the fog was
coming in, so what did we do? Yes, we took the coast road! It was a
shame the weather was not better as it would have been a lovely
drive. As we neared Morro Bay, we noticed the beach was covered with
seals. We stopped the car and walked over the fields to the edge of
the beach. There were loads of them all tightly lying together like
sardines in a can! We watched a magnificent sunset and then travelled
a few miles down the road and found our hotel for the night. This one
was far more luxurious than all the others were.
FRIDAY 15
October SOLVANG
/ VENTURA
Unfortunately, it started as
another dull and misty day. We walked though the small town and
bought Jessica a kite and then returned to the car for the drive to
Ventura. Halfway, we visited a town called Solvang. Danish people
founded this town. They have kept it looking traditionally Danish. It
is a very attractive town with the windmills and beamed houses. Even
the people dress up in their original costumes. They do make lovely
pastries and coffee. We arrived at our Ventura hotel at the same time
as a coach load of tourists so we decided to take a walk on the
beach. This night was to be our last intake of American burgers. We
were feeling a little depressed thinking our holiday was over and
also excited at coming home to see the children; it's amazing how you
can miss Jessica so much.
SATURDAY
16 October GRIFFITH
PARK, LA / HOME
This morning we drove to Los
Angeles and visited Griffith Park. This is high above Hollywood and
from it you can see the great Hollywood sign on the side of the hill.
At the very top is an observatory, which we walked around, it had
splendid views of L.A. We sat and took in the sights and the sun for
some time, as we didn't have to be at the airport till 2.30pm. When
we arrived back to the car, three fire engines were in the carpark.
They looked immaculate. We had a peep inside the cabs and saw an
array of computers. We drove down to L.A. and eventually found the
Car Rental, where we returned the car and boarded a bus to LAX
Airport. The journey home wasn't so exciting as it got dark quite
quickly, and so nothing to do but watch films! Sadly, the end of a
wonderful holiday. We can't wait to come back. John is already
planning the next (in his head at the moment) to Canyonlands, the
Arches, Capitol Reef and Mesa Verde National Parks, visiting Utah and
Colorado. As you can see, we preferred the open spaces rather than
the cities.
The return trip was made im May
2002 and starting from Las Vegas, we had over two weeks to tour the
American South West / Grand Circle. This trip we planned ourselves,
to our own itinerary.
If you have read so far, I hope
you have enjoyed this accounrt of our holiday and I thank you for
your patience and fortitude!
Why not now have a look at what
we got up to on our May 2002 holiday to the American South West.
NEXT HOLIDAY,
MAY 2002  THE
AMERICAN SOUTH WEST
JUNE 2004 HOLIDAY  THE
ROCKIES
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