So, we finally conclude our three and a half month stay in the US of A. What an incredible time we have had, we have made so many memories, just wish you were all with us to share them. We have been real busy and have updates to give you from 4 States: Illinois, California, Nevada & Arizona. Each one of them with their own story to tell but for us more importantly a memory engraved on our minds. Well as we write it has been 108 days since we left the UK for Boston. It just feels like yesterday yet looking back over our journal entries we have achieved and seen so much. Ok, so we haven't quite slept on the beach, yet, but we have done the lugging of luggage through the streets of Manhattan and Chicago looking for cheap modes of transportation.
The last time we wrote we had just arrived in Chicago, at the Arlington House Hostel. Only our second hostel so far but, not the greatest reception to our favourite US city. Basically the first room we were shown to had not been cleaned of the beer cans and previous nights party. I returned to the front desk to advise the chap on night duty and he nearly jumped across the counter and ripped my head off, nice. It was a bit scary as the maid's clearly had not done their job, so a few obscene words towards them in my direction. Room number 2, a bunk, hardly what a married couple wanted so sheepishly we went back to the front desk, and I think this guy was about to quit. Quite funny really, so we ended up in the penthouse with a view of the city. So can't really complain.
So more interestingly we had a lie in the next morning and headed off East through Lincoln Park to Lake Michigan and the beach. Yep, the lake has a beach and a stunning one at that, with a great view of the city skyline. We hung out there and watched the waves and people go by on skates and bikes then walked towards the city and stayed on the coastal route for the Navy Pier. Chicago as always is famous for its food. Pizza and hot dogs. So, we indulged in a hot dog, and watched jet ski's and sail boats pass us by as the clock rolled on un-noticed. We had been to Chicago in 2002 for New Year and were so impressed we wanted to go back. For those of you who haven't visited, it is a must. So much to do and see, and by far more cultural than New York. As cool as NY is, we would advise a trip to Chicago over NY any day.
From the Navy Pier we headed into the city to the newly built Millennium Park and outdoor auditorium where we joined a few thousand people for a free outdoor concert of the local orchestra. Kind of like the Proms. Aren't we cultured?! We checked out the newly installed Anish Kappor sculpture "The Cloud Gateway" which is just inspiring, we stood literally for hours staring into this kidney shaped mirror which basically brings the heavens to you. It has to be seen in person to understand it's awesomeness (is that even a word??).
The next few days in Chicago were hot and the traditional wind from the lakes blows most of the time, but it's nice just to cool you off. We walked the 3 miles or so from our hostel to downtown Chicago and went to the free night at the Art Institute, a walk around the Hancock Observatory, and yet another free concert in Millennium Park. Now these guys got a few thousand people to their feet, a band made up of West African's. Bongo's, marimba's, guitars and drums galore, and all for that special price that we love - FREE. We watched them into the late hours of the night and headed back to the hostel. We went to Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs baseball, and spent the next day on the beach and fell asleep watching the day tick by. We concluded our time in Chicago with a trip around the botanical gardens, man we are getting old. Chicago is the daddy as far as American cities are concerned.
So we gathered our bags made our way on the CTA and spent virtually the whole day travelling South to San Francisco. Neither of us have ever been way out West neither have we even seen the Pacific Ocean. Now we have though. So, we arrived into the San Fran airport and made our way towards the Bay on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Our hotel the La Luna was out towards the Golden Gate Bridge so quite off the beaten track from the BART so we had to get off for alternative modes of transport. We thought we might be able to walk the two miles but for those of you who have been to San Fran you will know the streets 'aint quite flat. So, after getting off in probably the most dodgiest part of town, our first impressions of San Fran were not great. Basically passing about 20-30 homeless guys and gangsters all at dusk with our luggage was a bit hair raising so we called a cab and cut our losses. Our cab driver was cool, a Russian with a bit of a chip on his shoulder but nice none the less.
The next day our friends Mona and Glen were arriving so we decided to scope out the city before we had to collect them. San Francisco is basically foggy every morning so we sat out on the bay for about 2 hours waiting for the first site of the bridge... but it never came. So, we walked on and saw a nice treat, our first sight of Alcatraz. From there we walked the rest of the Bay up to Pier 39 where all the action takes place. Our expectations were real high of San Fran but all in all they say first impressions count, verdict = not that impressed. It was a bit smelly from the fish, tons of seagulls (which = seagull poop), lots of litter and just seemed like it needed a face lift. It reminded me a bit of St Andrews football stadium in Birmingham, up the Villa! But you have to give it time to impress so we did, and went a collected Mona and Glen from the airport. It was nice to hear some fellow Brummies around. We took the same stroll with them the next day around the coastline, into Ghirardelli chocolatiers for a free sample, watched some cool funk band and had lunch at Bubba Gump's on Pier 39, one of our favourite restaurants from the movie Forrest Gump. We did wait ages for our meal so without prompting they offered us the food for no charge. Just wish we had of ordered the most expensive meals, LOL. So that was a nice arrival present for the Darby's and of course us budget travellers. The bridge became no clearer, but we saw a first peak at the base. The next day we had an early start and headed out to Pier 32 to catch a boat to Alcatraz. It was very cool and totally eerie. The only thing, it stank (I mean, makes you want to puke) of seagulls. It really was very cool to visit and get the audio tour. Lots of history and quite a brutal place, but not quite as bad as Robben Island in Cape Town. After this we headed over the Bay on the BART to Oakland for a baseball game. We saw the Oakland Athletics loose miserably to the Texas Rangers. It was fun though, and a pretty full crowd.
We also caught a day ticket for the famous trams up and down the steep streets and saw the crookedest street in the world, Lombard Street. Which our hotel was actually on. The next day we felt quite daring so picked up a bike each and headed off over the Golden Gate Bridge. We picked the perfect day, we could see the bridge in all it's full glory. We saw some seals and dolphins swimming under the bridge, and above it, a massive eagle. The bridge is very impressive and helped to salvage some of the disappointment of the city. We took a walk through Chinatown, ate lots of nice food, and checked our a few tacky shell shops. All in all, cool to visit but only for a few reasons. Go to Chicago instead!
We made our way back to the airport and took Mona and Glen to one of our favourite restaurant's, Olive Garden and to pick up a tent and sleeping bags from Target. We picked up the beast that would carry us around for the next 12 days, a black Chevy Trailblazer. The next morning was an early start so we headed through the busy rush hour traffic across the Bay and Eastbound towards Yosemite National Park for a bit of black bear spotting. When we arrived we pitched up our tents and made our homes for the next few days in a dusty campsite under huge pine trees. We weren't exactly kitted with the traditional camping modcons so got a bit filthy collecting fire wood. One problem, no showers on the site, and the places that there were some wanted to charge us $10 each. No, thanks so we headed down to the valley and the 'free' river for a wash. The river ran off the glacier so it was flippin' freezing, but the most crystal clear water we have ever seen. We headed back to camp for dinner, quesidilas over the fire. Well 2hrs later and the final result, soggy quesidilas but what a laugh we had. The view the next morning was amazing and we were surrounded by wildlife. Jay's, prairie dogs, squirrels, chipmunks but no sites of black bears. I mean come on that's why we went to Yosemite! Anyway we made our way back into the village in the valley and went for a swim in the pool, why, they have free showers! How clever are we. Yosemite was beautiful, miles of pine forests, valley's, plains, rocks and rivers. We were there mid week, but by the weekend the locals headed for the park so it got busier. And finally we got our first sight of a mommy and baby black bear. Totally and absolutely worth the wait. They are not regular sightings and you have to have a keen eye, so out of the corner of my eye I saw one, we pulled over and within a few minutes about 30 cars had stopped and blocked the roads. We got the best pics though. We took a walk up to the Mirror Lake which sadly over recent years has dried up due to global warming. The Happy Isles trail and then a walk up to the most stunning falls where people were jumping into a freezing cold lake. Not for us though but it made for some great photo's. Then came another surprise, another black bear. We got our pics and then three rangers ran up to it and chased it off. They come looking for food and generally end up bending a car door off it's hinges!!!
From there we headed through the windy roads down from Yosemite and into some of the largest crop fields we have ever seen. It was so hot and dry. Perfect for wine growth. Lots of driving, well 6hrs later, we arrived in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. These were well worth the journey. The Giant Sequoia's are simply amazing things to see. These things are huge, I mean probably bigger than the UK's largest building. They live up to 1700 years old, and we saw the 3rd largest tree in the world, General Grant, also called America's Christmas tree. They start their lives as tiny seed's no bigger than a sunflower seed, and look like baby Christmas trees when they are young. A long drive down the canyon to our lodge next to the Kings river. There were a lot fewer people, but even more magnificent that Yosemite in our opinion.
Another early start the next morning and a 8hr drive out to Las Vegas, with lots of renditions from the back seat by Glen of 'Viva Las Vegas' by Elvis. We hit a major storm heading up the freeway so couldn't really see the lights from the strip as we made our way into the valley. Nevada is unbelievably hot. Lots of dry deserts and mountains en route, but a great drive. The air con is a must. By this stage we had trekked over a 1000 miles throughout California into Nevada. We made the most of a late arrival into Vegas and checked into the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino opposite the world famous Bellagio. You would all recognise it from Ocean's 11. Vegas is everything we expected it to be. Lots of gambling, shops, shows and sleaze. It was all of the above but just something to say we have done. We would need a reason to go back. We checked out all the casino's took a few photo's outside all of them, and inside at the lions in the MGM and the flamingo's in the Flamingo, funnily. In honour of my Nan and Aunty Pat I spent a whole $1 on the Elvis slots, sadly I did not win us millions but was fun all the same. We checked out the 'Sirens at Treasure Island' which was a live pirate show but it might has well been an adult show. Great effects but if you call 'family entertainment' women in bikini's and pirates that looked like the Chippendales then, hey-ho take your kids.
We took off again early for the pinnacle of our trip. We headed yet again further East into the deserts and even hotter lands of Arizona. After a few hours delayed due to construction at the Hoover Dam we made our way across Arizona towards the Grand Canyon. On our arrival we were greeted by a stag with the biggest rack (it's antlers) that you have ever seen. Again we set up camp in a lot less dusty campsite right on the South Rim of the canyon. We caught the courtesy bus up to the rim and as you approach this thing is just HUGE. I mean you would not believe how big it really is. The TV and photo's cannot do it justice. We were a little scared as it is rated as the most spectacular as all of the natural wonders of the world. If so, what next? Honestly it will be hard to beat, you cannot begin to imagine the size of it. If you are American and reading this and have never been, you need your head looking at. Book a flight to Phoenix, hire a car and take the short drive North. I promise you will not be disappointed. The next morning we woke at 5am to see the sunrise over the canyon, it has been a long time since I felt the hairs on my neck stand but this is a moment I will never forget. From there we made our way down the canyon about 1000 feet so not to get hit by the mid day heat on the way back up. Well worth it, and you are just silenced by the sheer size of it when you are so deep in. Amy got bitten on her butt cheek by a fire ant, and sadly we got hit by the mid morning sun on the way back up. There is no such thing as "cool" in Arizona. Later that evening and so we could take advantage of our last night with the Darby's we bought a bottle of Valpolicella and headed for sunset over the canyon. Again another breathtaking moment of life. Sadly we made our way back West towards the shining lights of Las Vegas for one last night and dropped the Darby's at the airport for their flight back to Brum. We stayed in the Stratosphere over night and then a 6 hour drive West to the Hollywood hills baby.
LA, is a lot cooler than San Francisco, but the roads are just total chaos. Seven lane freeway's (on each side) and more cars I think than in the whole of Europe all in one sprawling metropolis. We dropped 'The Beast' back at the airport and headed to our hotel on the free shuttle bus. The next morning so to make the most of LA we got up early and took the Metro to Hollywood Boulevard to see the star lined streets. We caught our first glimpse of the Hollywood sign and thought of Hollywood, Birmingham. It was so surreal to see it for real (what a poet). Sadly we indulged in a tour around the stars homes but it of course is a must for any visitors to the city. We saw all the famous ones plus a few we had never heard of, but these places were unbelievable. The most expensive, $100m! Back down to earth or was it. Well we saw Jackie Chan's house and little did we realise a few hours later we would be stood next to the guy. The premiere of 'Rush Hour 3' was on, so being the sad bods that we are and having lots of time on our hands we waited for the arrival of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. We were perched in just the right spot and got some video footage and photos of both of them. What a way to end your time in the US! One more day so we headed on the bus to Santa Monica and took a stroll on Venice Beach and down the pier. No sign of the Hoff though (David Hasselhoff). A short bus ride North and we were in the heart of Beverley Hills, and a stroll down Rodeo Drive. People, this place has money, the people are filthy stinking rich, and there of course are those that think they are. More Ferrari's, Lambo's, Mercedes and Porsche's than in the factories. It's all good though.
A short trek back to the hotel to collect our luggage and back to the airport for our flight on Air Pacific to Fiji. Thankfully we had no one next to us on a row of three so the extra space on a night flight was much appreciated. We arrived in Fiji at 4:50am, oh what bliss to be away from the busyness of life and back to a place where people live without watches. But we will save our Fiji adventures until next time.