Category: United States of America (USA)

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Brrrrr – Washington

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Washington is full of wonderful sightseeing opportunities but boy it was cold. The first day we spent walking down to the Capitol Building and a visit to the National Museum of the America Indian (excellent but also warmer) it got to a top of -4c and with the wind chill factor could have been as low as -10c. Back to the museum it was very well done and gave a great insight into the history of the American Indians and also how they are maintaining their identity in current times. All displayed were interesting and the stories well told.

Day 2 was warmer it got to zero as the top but after yesterday it felt positively balmy. We caught the hop on hop off bus and we stayed on around the entire loop to get the lay of the land. This tour was great and the bus had heated seats and was the best place to see the sights, we even braved upstairs for a while to take photos, boy it was cold but worth it. We decided we would stay on the bus and only get off for a late lunch at Johnny Rockets before boarding the next bus and heading for home…A long hot shower never felt so good. After we warmed and rested up we decided on a steak in the hotel restaurant, we all had the new york with mash and veggies it was very good

Day three we decided to board the bus again and get off at White House, St Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, Arlington Cemetery, and the Lincoln Memorial. From the memorial, we walked along the reflecting pool down to  Washington’s monument. It was really cold and the reflecting pool was frozen over but well worth the walk but we were pleased when the bus picked us up again and dropped us near our hotel. Another shower needed to thaw out. Tomorrow we head out and collect a rental from Reagan Airport and drive to the big apple

 

Lancaster Harrisburg and Gettysburg

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We left Philadelphia behind and headed towards Lancaster PA via Valley Forge (The place Washington marshalled his army). It was a nice drive throught the parkland and on this snowey day it is easy to see why half of his men froze to death during a very cold winter. The drive to Lnacaster was uneventful, when we arrived we drove around and saw some of the armish people in their buggys.

Lancaster was much bigger than we expected but was interesting. After a late lunch we headed towards Harrisburg where we planned to spend the night. No dinner needed after lunch but Ian and I did a quick coffee run to Maccas which was a few doors up from the hotel. Too cold to walk we drove a rediculous 100 yards but figured the coffee would be cold if we carried it home on foot. What did Ian order…a thick shake!!!! What was he thinking!!!

Next morning we set out for Gettysburg which was on our way back to Washington. As it was early when we got to Gettysburg the quaint little shops we still closed but it looked like a very interesting place. We visit the Gettyburg information centre and checked out the displays but did’t take the battlefields tour as it was very cold and we didn’t want to get back to WWashington too late as the car was due back today. Car delivered back to Baltimore on time and Ian and I caught the bus then train back to Washington where mum was waiting in our hotel (home for next four nights). Our connection from the bus to the train was at Greenbelt, the station was in the open on top of a hill the wind was howling and it was dark by 5pm, pleased to say the train came in 3 minutes after we got up on the platform or otherwise we would have frozen to death. Trip to hotel uneventful.

Snow in Philly

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We stayed in Philadelphia an extra day as we woke to the snow coming down steadily. We didn’t fancy taking on the roads today so decided to book another night and see in the New Year in Philly. Our hotel was just along the wharf from where the fireworks were going to be set off. The morning was spent wandering around the downtown area and trying not to fall over in the snow, most of the streets were cleared but some were still all covered in snow. We returned to the hotel at three to settle in for the night. It gets dark at 5pm so is quite gloomy by 4pm especially with the heavy cloud cover. We ordered in Chinese from the Mandarin House and yes they came in the little boxes and a paper bag just like on tv.

Back on the road again

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We flew into Baltimore in DC yesterday and picked up the rental car before heading 40 miles down the road to Aberdeen Maryland for our first night.

After a great time in Abilene for Christmas, we felt a little strange to be on the move again. We boarded our plane in Abilene at 8am Tuesday just as the snow started to fall. After the plane was checked for a mechanical fault and a thorough de-icing of the plane we finally got off the ground at 9.45am as the snow was really getting heavy. An hour later the sky was clear and we were landing in Dallas. Lunch at TGI Fridays while waiting for our connection to Baltimore. Second flight uneventful and after shuttle ride to the rental facility we collected our Sonata and head towards Philadelphia.

After a good night, we set off to Philly arriving at our hotel at 12noon. They were able to let us have our room early so we checked in and set off to walk around the downtown area and check out the liberty bell. Lots of history here and some lovely old buildings. Tomorrow on the way out of town Ian is going to run up the Rocky steps or at least we might walk up them.

San Antonio and the Alamo

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Sunday morning we set off on a four-hour drive to San Antonio. We had a break at Brady for donuts and coffee. We arrived at San Antonio at 2pm and headed to the Mexican markets for a couple of hours while waiting to check in to our room at the Courtyard on Marriot. After checking in we headed to Landry’s on the river walk for dinner. We had yet another huge meal and then decided to walk it off by walking along the river walk to our hotel. It was so pretty with all the Christmas lights and decorations.

 

The weather was warm and perfect for a stroll before bed. Day two we all headed to the Alamo after a Mexican breakfast in a well known Mexican restaurant. There is some much history in this place and it is not hard to imagine what it was like in days gone by.
After the Alamo and a bit of shopping at the river centre, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. A cruise on the river was followed by dinner at another Mexcian restaurant right on the edge of the river. The best nachos ever. After dinner, we strolled back to the hotel at about 9.30pm. Tomorrow we head for the outlet malls at San Marcos buts a whole other story.

The coast road from San Fransico to Los Angeles

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We set off early with only a 2 hour drive through some really pretty countryside. Monterey was decided on as our first of two overnight stops along the way. Monterey was is just outside Carmel by the Sea which is a very exclusive place to visit and the quaint little shops were interesting but certainly on the high end price-wise and if you didn’t have a dog on a leash you felt positively underdressed. Each of the stores had a dog water bowl on the footpath for the pooches. We wandered for a couple of hours and then headed back to Monterey for an early dinner at Chilli’s before retiring to the hotel. The food was great as was the hotel.

Day two we headed off down highway 1. The weather was clear and the drive again was very scenic. Today we were headed for Ventura which is only two hours north of LA. This is certainly worth doing and I would recommend this drive to anyone. The driving was not too difficult and there are lots of places to pull over to take pictures and a break.

A highlight was a stop off to view the elephant seal colony, although they were not what you would call energetic.

Tomorrow we fly to Abilene where we will stay for Christmas. Bring on the West Texas BBQ.

San Francisco

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As mentioned in previous post the rain as forecast was coming down, although it was easier throughout the middle of the day. We headed to Fisherman Wharf and parked the car in a nearby carpark. We decided given the weather to catch the Hop on Hop off bus around the downtown area and some of the main sites. We will take the other route across the Golden Gate bridge tomorrow. The bus ride was very informative and I didn’t realise this was where Levi jeans were first made and remains the world head quarters for this company.

After the tour we headed for Pier 39 to check out the shops and the seals snoozing on the docks. Not so many today but enough to make the walk worthwhile. After spending time taking photos of the seals and of Alcartraz which could be seen easily from the end of the pier. We decided on lunch at where else but Bubba Gumps and yes we all had shrimp but I also had the clam chowder, I can never resist a good chowder. After a very enjoyable lunch, our table overlooked the bay, we head back to the pier for a wander through the stores.

The rain was starting to get heavier so we decided to call it a day, collect the car and head back to the hotel.

Day 2 saw the weather improve a little but still showering heavily at times. The sun tried hard a couple of times to put in an appearance but not successful. The day started for us after parking the car again near Fisherman’s Wharf the catching the Hop on Hop off tour over the Golden Gate bridge and in to Sausolito. We donned the rain ponchos provided and proceeded to top of the bus, Sharpie declined and stayed downstairs and dry. Not sure why he wouldn’t want to ride around in top of open double decker bus in the rain ducking rain soaked tree branches.

It was so worth a bit of moisture and cold to experience driving across the Golden Gate in such a way. The views of the city and the bay were ourstanding and the guide commented on the views as often in good weather fog or smog blocks the view. The next part of the journey was to the quaint, very exculusive and expensive Sausolito. This was interesting and on a fine day it would have been fun to wander around and catch the ferry back to the city, not for us given the weather.

After a hot chocolate and drying off a bit we headed to Union Square and visited Macy’s, very crowded with shoppers so we didn’t hang around long before taking a drive around some of the steep streets for a look before heading back to the hotel, it was teaming with rain by this time and Ian was doing well with the driving especially through the main part of the city in such conditions. We had a very early dinner or late lunch at Denny’s which was located next to our hotel. A wet but enjoyable visit in San Francisco tomorrow we head back towards Los Angles via the coast road.

Driving from San Diego to San Francisco

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We decided to drive right through in the day to allow us extra time in San Francisco. San Francisco is 502 miles (800 km) north of San Diego and we traveled on the Interstate 5 (I5) for the entire trip. Until we passed LA the traffic was a bit steady but not as slow as the M4 on a good morning. It was truly amazing how the countryside changed along the way there must have been at least 150 miles (maybe more) of nut trees and they had ripped a lot out due to irrigation restrictions.

Today we saw the most cattle any of us had ever seen before in one place, they were in a big feedlot that went on for miles and miles. They were all black cattle and I would hate to think of the volume of feed they would consume in a day. The feedlot (Harris Ranch) can process up to 250,000 head cattle annually. At any given time, seventy to 100 thousand head of cattle are present at the lot. Cattle typically spend twelve to sixteen months grazing before arriving at the feedlot at 650 to 750 pounds. Once there, the cows spend three to four months fattening up to an additional 400 pounds before they are slaughtered at Harris Ranch’s Selma plant. Now the largest cattle feeder on the West Coast, Harris Ranch produces nearly 200 million pounds of beef a year but is still considered a moderately sized operation. The nation’s largest operations located in the Midwest and Texas feed can feed over 400,000 head of cattle at one time. Mega-feedlot operations such as these pose significant human and environmental health threats including surface and groundwater contamination and air pollution including emission of greenhouse gases. 

We arrived at our hotel a few minutes after 4pm and were settled into our room a short while later. Ian and I duck across the road to Panda Express to get some take away Chinese for dinner. It was a long drive but very interesting just the same. The little red ford focus ticked over the 2000th mile since we picked her up in LA.

The rain started about 200 miles out of San Francisco and it looks as though our visit to the bay area will be wet. According to weather reports, there is substantial rain on the way.

San Diego and Sea World

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San Diego turned on some beautiful weather for us to explore San Diego. Day one was spent wandering around the downtown in Gas Lamp district. We visited Westfield’s and checked out Macy’s and Norstrom’s department stores in the complex. We wandered along the waterfront and visited Sea Port village which was well done but obliviously designed with tourists in mind. Lots of quaint little shops with oodles of souvenirs and nicknacks.

Dinner was just up the road from the hotel at Japanese restaurant Fuji Steakhouse and Sushi. Our Teppanyaki Chef was fantastic and to quote Sharpie “The best calamari’ he has ever eaten and complimented his streak perfectly. Mum and I had the steak and shrimp and we all had chicken fried rice as a side. All prepared in front of us in teppanyaki style.

Day two we took a drive out to the San Diego zoo and took some pictures at the entrance but decided we would go to Sea World as it would be less walking and the shows looked good. Good, they were great, we watched all three shows and each one outdid the previous show. The sea lions and the otter were funny and the show on how the dolphins and whales are being trained for the new show opening in 2010 was terrific and informative. Our day was capped off with the Shamu show which was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and I’d have paid the entrance fee just to see this half hour show. There were so many highlights but I really enjoyed the penguin display as well.


On the way home we headed to a jewelry outlet, Sarah you would go nuts here, I made heaps of purchases and it looked like I would need to get a second job to pay for my haul but no it only tallied a couple hundred dollars. I have 10 pairs of earrings, 10 or 12 rings, a ruby and silver bracelet, and a pendant. I will have to hide them when I get home or lose them. Mum made a couple of nice purchases as well and Sharpie kept the car company in the car park for an hour and a half. Glad he didn’t come in I would have probably bought even more. 


We decided on dinner at Denny’s back near the hotel, although no one was really all that hungry we had only had a coffee since breakfast and still didn’t feel like much for dinner. Chicken fried steak for me, Ian had the fish and mum had scrambled eggs and sausages. 

Tomorrow we set off for San Francisco all looking forward to sitting for the day. All leg weary from all the walking







Tucson to San Diego in a day

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We decided to drive from Tuscon to San Diego in one day (about 400 miles or 660 km). Like driving from Sydney to Nyngan. The drive was good up to lunchtime when the heavy rain set in and driving across the range was tricky, Ian was up to it and we arrived safely at our hotel by about 4pm.  We saw three rollovers on the way down due to drivers going to0 fast and braking too sharply in the slippery conditions.


We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Yuma to break the journey. This is Ian’s favourite eating place and he has been hanging out for the opportunity to sample their meals. Yuma is nestled in the Yuma and Gila valleys of southern Arizona on banks of the Colorado River.


With three days in San Diego, it was worth pushing on to get the opportunity to rest up a bit and catch up on washing and other chores. We are staying at a La Quinta on the outskirts of San Diego, again a great hotel at the right rate.