Satruday Sept 18, 2010

Day 92, Sept 10 2010 (Fri)

Our time in Vegas came to an end, and we indulged in a big buffet breakfast to help us for the big day of driving we had in store (280 miles in desert heat with no air conditioning – ouch). To reflect on our time in Sin City, we particularly enjoyed the experience at the Shooting Range (we packed heat!), and had a fabulous time lying by the pool and reading, and also loved the Rat Pack is Back dinner and show (where we were seated next to a lovely four-some from Canada, and an especially gorgeous elderly Texan pair). The Grand Canyon was indeed Grand and Canyon-y, but we left feeling a little underwhelmed, especially after all the other amazing national park things we’ve seen on the trip! We are definitely glad that we saw it though, as we know we would’ve regretted it if we missed it.

We stayed in Palm Springs this night. Palm Springs is quite a pretty town, and historically was a really popular resort retreat for celebrities and the like. Even the budget Quality Inn that we stayed at had a decent pool as part of its facilities!

Day 93, Sept 11 2010 (Sat)

A leisurely driving day, we arrived into San Diego in the early afternoon and settled in with a good shower and some clean clothes (after another hot driving day!) We went for a walk through the historic Gaslamp District, to the sea front, then landed at the Hyatt Rooftop Bar for some drinks – where we met-up with Michelle and her Mum, Lorraine. It was so fabulous to catch-up, and we spent the evening together having drinks, dinner (Tapas at “Confidential”… shhh…) and a great, long, overdue catch-up!

Day 94, Sept 12 2010 (Sun)

Today was a fairly dedicated Baseball game. We went to see the San Diego Padres vs San Francisco Giants (Giants won very convincingly). There was a massive army troop (recruits, I think) there watching the game too, and it was quite a spectacle watching them file in, and answer orders from their Sergeant. The game atmosphere was quite similar to what we enjoyed on the East Coast, but the addition of Mexican food to the menu was a welcome one. We enjoyed a few happy hour drinks at a local bar before hitting the hay that night.

Day 95, Sept 13 2010 (Mon)

Our final day in San Diego consisted of a visit to the world famous San Diego Zoo – and it was definitely the best Zoo experience we’ve ever had. The facilities for the animals were spectacular, and we did a free guided bus tour of the zoo to start the day and help us get oriented. Here are some other highlights:

> Overall, the animals were quite active and easy to find, which really enhanced the spectacle of it all

> A panda returned to its enclosure to find a big bunch of bamboo had been left for it, and we were there to watch her rip into the bamboo trunks for lunch!

> Two brother gorillas (5 years difference in age) were playing (quite rampantly) with each other – flinging dirt at one another, biting each other – we stayed for ages watching them at their game!

> Keepers had put 2 live fish into the pond of the Lion/Lioness enclosure (something they do only once a month to help “entertain” the animals), and we were there at just the right time to watch them playing with the fish and trying to catch it (something they weren’t particularly good at – but they did manage to catch them in the end!)

> Sea Lion show (run of the mill, with waves and splashes, but always fun to see!)

> The 2 hippos were cool too – there was a hose constantly spraying into their pool, and one of the hippos kept opening and closing his mouth to catch the water (we imagine it was massaging his head/mouth too) – their jaws are incredible, and their teeth horrible!

> Seeing an elephant getting a pedicure! (you should’ve seen the size of the nail file!)

After spending most of the day at the zoo, we went for a lovely drive in the sun through Old Town (very touristy) and Cordoba. We kind of lost our way on Cordoba and found ourselves driving into the guarded Naval Base! Fortunately, the soldiers were quite understanding (must happen often!), and they held onto Tim’s ID while we did a U-Turn, and then they gave it back to us as we exited! Whoops. After that hiccup, we continued to Hotel Del Cordoba (an old school hotel on the beach) and enjoyed a cocktail in the sun. It was lovely!

Day 96, Sept 14 2010 (Tues)

Beach day in La Jolla (said La Hoya) and Carlsbad (no pronunciation guide necessary). Sun, surf, sand. Perfect. We also ceremoniously watched the season finale of the LOST series, which we began watching in NYC in May! (That’s right – 6 long seasons, in 4 months! Boom!)

Day 97, Sept 15 2010 (Wed)

Arrived into La La Land, ready to tour celebrity hangouts and lift our game. Proceeded immediately to Rodeo Drive (Beverly Hills Baby!) and walked through the shops (like we even had a chance of patronizing them!) We were pleasantly surprised by how easy the traffic situation was, and how cheap the parking was ($1/hr meter parking – unbelievable). The houses here are incredible – they know how to live, that’s for sure. And we took a drive up to view the Hollywood sign (just like it is in the pictures, but was great to be near there in person… we actually didn’t hike-up to the sign itself, just drove to a viewing point. As far as we’re concerned, you can’t see the sign when you’re right next to it anyway, so why waste the extra effort?!) Then we proceeded to our economy-lodging, and searched for a nearby Indian restaurant to satisfy Stacey’s craving (our diet hasn’t been particularly exotic of late).

Day 98, Sept 16 2010 (Thurs)

More LA sightseeing. This time, consisting of a 5 mile walk from Santa Monica Pier along the Venice Beach Oceanfront Walk, and back again. The people are definitely eccentric. And there are a few doctors’ practices soliciting business from the sidewalk, trying to coax people in for a marijuana check-up (i.e., to see if you qualify for medicinal marijuana!) One of the practices even had a billboard out the front advertising symptoms that you may be experiencing which will help you qualify for a prescription! Legit. Disappointingly, we’d been hoping for sunny weather at the beach for some more reading in the sun, but alas it was overcast and cool again. But good walking weather, I suppose! After, we met-up with Courtney (an old co-worker of Tim’s who recently moved here) for a spot of lunch at a nearby mall, then bought a Pandora charm to memorialize the road trip as we went to pick-up the Duke from the pier (again, parking ON Santa Monica Pier, and only $8 for the day. Bargain. Why do people complain so much about LA? This place is pretty awesome, and much better than we were expecting. I guess that says a lot for setting one’s expectations low, really….) We detoured via the Hollywood Hills (Mulholland Drive) to do some more house-perving on our way back to our classy EconoLodge.

More exotic food for dinner… Japanese this time!

Day 99, Sept 17 2010 (Fri)

Our last full day in America (sob). We took the Duke for a full detailing (a necessary extravagance to ensure he clears customs/quarantine in Australia… apparently they frown upon foreign dirt entering the country). Sadly, we also dropped him off to the shipping yard, where he will sit for a couple months before being loaded onto a boat and brought home to us. We collected a hire car from LAX (the bliss of power steering and air conditioning), and managed to fit in a final tourist activity – a visit to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Mann Grauman’s Chinese Theater. We went to a wine bar over the road (“Lou’s”) to toast the end to the road trip with some bubbles, and a classy cheese/meats plate. Lou’s was a really lovely place, situated in the middle of a really crappy strip-mall type area – but it was super popular, and was well reviewed in GQ too, so it appears that we’re all over the hip LA scene.

An LA observation: We’re surprised at how easy it is to buy knock-off designer sunnies here. Tim picked-up a nice pair along Venice Beach, and they were even on-sale in the office at the place where we got Duke cleaned. Its like Chinatown in every neighbourhood!

Another LA observation: The nice-to-look-at neighbourhoods (with pretty houses and tree-lined streets) are separated by less-nice-to-look-at, ghetto-type areas, so we’ve found it a little difficult to pinpoint the picturesque areas (with the exception of Beverly Hills and Mulholland Drive, of course!)

Day 100, Sept 18 2010 (Sat)

Our bags are packed, and we are ready to bid farewell to the USA. It has been a sensational, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we will forever cherish these memories – and will count our blessings for being able to indulge in such an extravagant experience. We are prepared for the horrific flight schedule that will take us to Cusco, Peru, where we will embark upon the Inca Trail to visit Machu Picchu, and hopefully some Mayan Gods out there protect us from altitude sickness. We are so looking forward to this enriching experience, and dare say we’ll be at a loss for words to explain it.