Day 12 - Doobie Day!

Feeling somewhat better today. I have no idea what I came down with yesterday!

Okies...I have decided my husband is a clothes horse. This morning he put on no less than 4 shirts before he found one that he wished to wear for the day. 

I would like to make mention of my complete and utter confusion with most things American. I am sure when Australia was born, the powers-that-be decided that we need to do everything in the complete opposite way to that of the Americans. I am sure that if at that very moment there was even the smallest inkling that we would one day be able to fly to the other side of the world we would have decided to do everything exactly the same....just for the convenience. Since being here I have found that not only do we drive on the opposite side of the road to the Americans, we also have our light switches going the exact opposite way (meaning our “off” position, is their “on” position and vice versa); the power points are upside down; and in some case, the shower taps turn the opposite way. So I am pretty much wanting to drive on their wrong side of the road, turning all lights off as I go along. Water even swirls down the sink and toilet the opposite way as though to fit in with that theme. I am getting used to getting into the opposite side of the car, however when I am tired or simply not thinking, I will still go to get in our “right” side.

We went down to breakfast this morning in the hotel where we are staying. They have a lovely looking buffet which is included in our accommodation price. It’s amazing how much of the lovely looking buffet is to our own breakfast type buffets. I would say 100% different. These are the food stuffs available at the buffet: • Cheese Blintz: These are a part of Jewish cuisine and are small crepes, stuffed with cottage cheese, fried in oil and then dusted with icing sugar. These are disgusting.
• Biscuits: These are scones. I have no idea why the Yanks call these biscuits!
• Sausage Gravy: This is what the Americans load onto their biscuits. Now this doesn’t look as it sounds. It actually looks like cat vomit. In fact it is a white sauce with mashed up sausage in it. There was no way in hell that I was going to try it however the Bear said it was quite nice. Bring on the jam and cream I say....and they are scones. Not biscuits!
• Scrambled eggs: These eggs were formerly the powdered variety and I am fairly certain have food colouring in them. They are very, very yellow.
• Bacon: this is very long and very thin and is very, very brittle. You can stand it on one end. If you try to cut it on your plate, it actually shatters. When I had my first taste of it, I thought it was from a pig. Well maybe a pig that has been on a major diet. However my second tasting of it leads me to believe that it might have been camel, or mongoose or something.
• Home Fries (breakfast potatoes) these are a diced potato with the skin left on, and dusted in herb and chilli. These are bloody hot and are a sure way to put a fire into your morning!
• Fruit and cereal: Fruit and cereal. I guess I should change the 100% to a 90% difference. Today instead of having the buffet I ordered Eggs Benedict. I love Eggs Benedict! They came to me with Canadian bacon (the round, thick, unsalted stuff) and muffins (not the English variety...but some other sweetened cardboard) and with their version of a hash brown (grated potato thicker than we have it but not cooked – almost half raw). The eggs were original – I am guessing you can’t use powdered eggs for poaching – and I thought this was a good sign that I might actually eat something this morning. The eggs were covered in the hollandaise sauce which is my favourite part of the dish. I took the eggs off the sweetened cardboard, and the Canadian bacon and tucked into the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. Bad move. Their version of hollandaise sauce....is a white sauce which with a food colouring to turn it yellow and is laced with chilli powder. Talk about burning ring of fire! Johnny Cash was singing about the food in this damned country! Needless to say, I won’t be having the buffet or the eggs Benedict tomorrow morning.

Tonight we went to see my beloved Doobie Brothers. This is the second time we have seen them, having gone to their concert in Brisbane in March last year. I was so excited. We drove over to the Las Vegas Hilton where the concert was being held. This stage has featured the greats over the last 60 odd years including Elvis, Sammy Davis Junior, Dean Martin etc and I felt privileged that we were going to a place that had been graced with such big acts. From the outside the Las Vegas Hilton looks to be a very majestic although humble building. What do I mean by that? Oh lord only knows.

We parked the car and nearly froze to death in the 100 mile dash that we made to get into the venue. The first thing I became aware of inside was of a young man (for want of a better word) yelling at his girlfriend for “placing your foot near my balls”. He repeated this over and over whilst standing outside the Pizza Hut take away location. 1) I should have questioned why there was a Pizza Hut within the Las Vegas Hilton, and 2) I should have realised what demographic goes to the Las Vegas Hilton once I heard the young upstart yelling about his gonads. Alas, I was still thawing out so didn’t pick up on these not so subtle clues at this point.

The carpet looked old and worn, the wall coverings had not been changed since 1952 and the chandeliers looked as though they were purchased by Liberace himself. I thought this might have been to retain the “brat pack” feel, or keep the ambience of the golden days gone by. That was until I caught a whiff of the first person that we passed in the gaming room. He was obviously wearing Eau De Batshit and had poured it over his head. The room was filled with people who wore something similar. One man smiled as we walked through the gaming lounge – his single tooth reflected the light from the garish chandeliers. A woman stopped dead in front of us and we were nearly sucked into the abyss created by the massive wedgie that her fake leather jeans were causing. Smoke absolutely consumed the room (it is still legal to smoke in Casinos in Vegas) and it was almost too thick to be able to breathe. People were smoking cigarettes, cigars and pipes...and I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a joint or two being smoked either. And that was just by the staff!

 We had planned on having a quiet dinner at the Hilton – as we actually thought there might have been a nice restaurant there. Hell no. We finally found a seat at a diner in there that sold chips and “Philly cheese steak” burgers (shaved steak with cheese on a roll) and listened as the drunken person at the next table discussed the difference between smoking cigarettes and pot (his table companion did have the manners to apologise for this). However.....the diner did not have any smoking allowed in there, so at least we could have a cold drink and be able to breathe).

Once we were able to enter the show room, we did so. We had purchased tickets in the front row although I am still trying to find how to justify the large sum of money versus the type of venue we were in. As the Bear pointed out, Elvis had been on this stage so I sought solace in that. The Doobie Brothers hit the stage at exactly the right time and I was absolutely ecstatic to see them. Toward the end of the evening they encouraged people to stand up against the stage (I guess they are trying to relive their youth as well) which I was happy to comply with. I passed the camera to the Bear so that he could take a couple of photos with my head in it. He managed to do so whilst dodging the retarded drug taking baby hippo that was having a seizure beside me (his words...not mine). Yes....the drunken lady beside me did have an unorthodox dancing style, but as I reminded my husband, I resembled a couple of wombats fighting in a pillow slip myself....so we shouldn’t say nasty things about the baby hippo.

All in all....despite the fact that going to the Las Vegas Hilton could have had us in an upcoming episode of Cops, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert....and as far as I am concerned The Doobie Brothers are STILL the BEST Band in the world!

Day 11 - not feeling so good today!

I am feeling quite off today so this may be a small diary note. Please excuse the typos also.

Las Vegas is surrounded by massive mountains (no trees on them...it’s another sort of moonscape) and the city is nestled (for want of a better word) in the desert that is between them. The roads are very wide and in good order unlike our goat-track (the Warrego Highway) and are several lanes across. The traffic lights are prominent at the major intersections. It is really good for motorists and possibly a tool to reduce accidents. I am hugely amazed at the vast differences between the three major cities that I have visited so far.

Las Vegas today was cold and very windy The weatherman on the news last night advised it was going to be raining. I have no doubt that the weatherman has come to the USA from Australia after learning how to totally stuff up a weather report! Don’t roll a dice – try the magic 8-ball instead!

The Bear and I went for a drive to check out some strip malls...especially the outlets that have the discounted clothing and shoes etc. I totally understand why Mattchoo spent most of his time here shopping! The bargains are incredible! I am desperately trying to find a way to fit in items that we want to purchase, or find a way to post them home. We also went to a Pet Barn (like Pet Stock) and found a huge amount of things that I would like to buy my babies. I didn’t due to lack of room....however I am sure Santa will spoil them rotten. I would have loved to have purchased a little pink dress that we saw in a pets novelty store in San Francisco as it would have looked soooooooooooo cute on Ella however I restrained myself....and didn’t purchase it.

We both suffer from arthritic conditions although our problem area are our knees. It is the Bears right knee...and my left knee. With the cold today mine was giving me hell. We have done so much walking...it’s incredible. This time last year I could not walk to the front door! It is frustrating that my knee wants to let me down now. I am tempted to go find “Dial-a-Arthroscopy” – they have nearly everything else here.

Bargain of the day (We didn’t purchase it though) was 2 litre bottles of Coca Cola....for $0.88. There was a limit of 5 bottles. That just blows me away. I don’t think I have ever see Coke that cheap. And..there is a certain amount if irony here...but the place that is selling them is actually a pharmacy. Go figure. But then in America you can go to the supermarket to get your free flu shot! Amazing...just amazing.

Tomorrow night is Doobie Brothers night. Woooot! Front row seats! I am SO excited! The Doobies in Vegas...with my awesome husband.   It doesn’t get any better than this. I am such a lucky gal!

Day 10 - On the road again.

Well today we left San Francisco. I have to say that I sincerely love the place and would go back there in a heartbeat. It is truly awesome and has its own unique flavour. I don’t know if I could handle the fog when it sets in however I should be used to that from living in Toowoomba. Speaking of fog, the city had clear skies again today unlike yesterday when fog/cloud blanketed it. I was pleased to see this as driving in the rain and/or fog doesn’t do my nerves or patience any good.

On the way out of ‘Frisco, we did a couple of things including taking a drive down the worlds most crooked street. It has a speed limit of only 5 miles per hour, not that I think we should have even gone that fast! It was a steep and winding road although looked more like a driveway. The terrace houses on the crooked street were absolutely gorgeous and had immaculately manicured gardens. It was just beautiful. We then drove out through the suburbs of Tenderloin and Fillmore in order to try and get some photographs of the place names for Alyx. Unfortunately we couldn’t get one for Tenderloin but did for Fillmore! Long story which I will explain another time!

Next stop was at “Denny’s Diner” for some breakfast. I was excited to see that grits was on the menu! I decided against trying them this morning however as I wanted to leave that experience when we are in a more appropriate location such as New Orleans. Is there such a thing as an appropriate location to eat grits? I don’t know – it just seems like the right thing to do. Whilst at Denny’s I had my first toilet mishap of the day.

The diner had two ladies toilets – one for handicapped people, and the other one was a normal cubicle. The handicapped cubicle was in use so I went to the vacant other cubicle. It was very small and squishy which did absolutely nothing to help my “ireallyprefermyowndunnyphobia”. As with all public toilets I tried to gingerly “almost” sit down however somehow due to the lack of room, I have come down onto the toilet seat with a thud. I was not aware that the toilet seat was actually broken and was just sitting on top of the bowl. This came as a rude shock to me as I slid with the seat sideways to my right, and off the toilet. Due to lack of room I became sort of wedged on the right hand side of the loo – with my left leg pointing straight out in front of me, and my right leg at an impossible angle behind me. Fortunately because the cubicle was so small I was able to use the lack of space to help me upright. I checked that I was in one piece and scrubbed my hands and arms with anything I could find and sauntered back outside. For the record the person in the handicapped toilet was no longer there – and I have to wonder if she made a run for it upon hearing my colourful cussing.

I will definitely be trying grits once I get to somewhere like New Orleans. I asked the waitress in Denny’s today what they were (I had been wanting to ask a waitress in a diner a question, like they do in the movies. Yes...I am strange) and she said they were little white things that look like rice. The Bear and I thought it was potato. He looked it up on the iPhone and found that grits is actually some sort of corn! From what I read, it is fairly similar to the thickness and texture of porridge so I am thinking I am going to like them. I love porridge!

What I won’t be trying again is a “corndog”. The Bear and I purchased one at a gas station in between San Francisco and Las Vegas as sort of a late lunch. They looked like our Dagwood dogs – same shape, same colour, and same stick. I thought YUMMO given that I had been hanging out for something....actually ANYTHING that tasted like what we have at home. Once back out on the road, the Bear took a bite out of his, and said it was cold. I took a bite out of mine – it wasn’t cold but it tasted like crap! It was a frankfurt sausage covered in pancake batter and fried. The batter was sickly sweet and left a hideous after-taste. We both threw them out. I find it amazing that the American people seem to prefer sweet foods. This is displayed in most food that they eat including the likes of bread. If it’s not sweet or Mexican, it will be covered in layers of grease. I have made a promise to myself that I will find something in America that I like, and could live on....besides Coca Cola. In the meantime I will live on Quesadilla’s!

The road from San Francisco to Las Vegas would have to be the most boring drive I have ever encountered. This is more boring than the Townsville to Brisbane drive...I kid you not. The road is long....and straight. No turns or corners – just straight. It has some sort of moonscape landscape which left me absolutely baffled as to why they could not put the land to some sort of use. I did see a couple of hundred windmills out there which is what America uses to generate their electricity but that is about it. Once in Mojave we went and had a look at the airplane graveyard (where old planes get parked after they are taken out of the fleet) which was interesting. This is also where Richard Branson is doing his whole passenger in space thingy...not that we could see evidence of this other than a couple of signs. Once through Mojave and driving into the desert, I found it very interesting. The country side was very desert looking complete with cacti, and was relatively boring....but it had an excuse! It was a desert! I still found many things to photograph – which the Bear finds quite amusing. I really am quite the shutterbug! I don’t want to miss a thing.

Night fell a good couple of hours out of Las Vegas and I found large amount of traffic coming toward us troubling (I am night blind). If I don’t concentrate on something else, the cars lights will give me a migraine – so I took out my tweezers and began to shave (pluck the hairs out of my chin). That did the trick! I plucked my hairs in order to stop a migraine. I am a genius in my own mind! I was able to chat to the Bear, pluck my chin, and have the last couple of hours go by fairly quick.

I saw the glow in the sky from Las Vegas’ night lights, well before the city came into view. Once we got to the city however I was blown away. What a magnificent place – full of colour, light and energy. I could not believe the sheer size of some of the casinos, nor their themes. There are places that I have seen in movies and places that I know have had the biggest stars playing at them. Elvis used to play here, as did Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin. The history that this town holds is of huge interest to this music buff! And as it turns out, we are in walking distance to the Las Vegas Hilton where the Doobie Brothers are playing tomorrow and Saturday night. I am considering whether or not to stalk them or just crash tackle them during their concert on Saturday night. In the meantime I cannot wait to have a closer look at the spectacular casinos and take another zillion photos! I will be off to the shops tomorrow before I do anything else however in order to try to get a sweater or cardigan. It is snowing already in New York and may very well be snowing at the Grand Canyon by the time we get there. I have a parker and a poncho with me but something tells me I will need more than that!

Day 9 - Lady-boys or shims?

Today we woke up to a more season appropriate day. It was foggy, damp and cold. The hot weather that we had up until now was apparently freakish. San Francisco SHOULD be foggy and cold at this time of year. We are so glad we went to Alcatraz and across the bridge yesterday as it is barely visible today. From what the weather reports we are going to strike a bit of snow well before hit New York.

Thank goodness the elections are over and done with here. However the news broadcasters are now dissecting each of the candidate’s history and their campaign ups and downs. I thought this would all finish once the election was over and done with, and the 600 TV stations could go back to screening something entertaining....however....nope.

Just a quick paragraph which I forgot to put in last night. The Bear went into the laundry at the place where we are staying to do some washing. He was gone for a few minutes and when he came back he was cussing loudly and was visibly shaken. He had taken someone’s clothes out of the washing machine as its cycle was finished, and it could have been all night before the clothing owner came back. There had been no sign of the clothing owner and he carefully took them out after cleaning down the top of the dryer to place them on it.   He began putting our clothes into the washing machine.  He was interrupted by an almighty scream – and turned to find a lady wearing a sheet who was screaming at him! She asked him if he had removed her clothes from the dryer....and of course he said “yes”....and he began to get the clothes down off the dryer for her. She screamed at him yelling “DON’T TOUCH MY CLOTHES!” She then stated that she was “kosher” and that meant no-one could touch her clothes but her. She kept yelling at him...and suffice to say he was pretty weirded out by this. Firstly because she was screaming at him, and secondly because she turned up at the laundry in a sheet!

I would also like to make mention of the clam chowder that I had at a restaurant last night. I always thought chowder was a soup however this was more like a clam and bacon stew. Very filling but I am not quite sure whether I loved it or hated it...however I couldn’t come to San Francisco without trying it.  It would be like going to New York and not trying a hot dog with mustard from a street vendor.

 We went down to Pier 39 to have some breakfast....and to see the sea lions. There probably would have only been 40-50 there where as they can have anywhere up to 1000. Some of them were quite playful, and the rest just huddled together. Whilst they stunk the same as the ones in Monterey the other day, they were still beautiful and again I found myself missing by dogs.

We also stopped in at a “spy” shop. I thought this might have souvenirs that Alyx might like. I didn’t for one moment think that it might be a “real” spy shop....alas it was. It sold everything from smoke bombs to surveillance equipment to mobile phone trackers. Nearly everything in the store would have been completely illegal in Australia and I wondered how they could even sell it in America. It was so COOL! Needless to say we had to leave the store empty handed.

In order to honour one of Alyx’s requests we decided we would catch a cable car (as opposed to a street car ) and have a look down town.  It was a bizarre experience as they go up and down those long, hilly streets as you see in any movie that is set in San Francisco. We didn’t exactly have the best vantage point as we were shoved aside by four extremely rude European men (who were loud and obnoxious and were clearly trying to over compensate for their lack of groin material)  who unashamedly pushed past everyone to get on the cable car first.  People squeezed on like sardines and I found myself a little uncomfortable with people being well within my personal space.  Once the cable car started up the first hilly part my arm reached out to grab onto a pole (my other hand had the camera in it) however instead of grabbing a pole, I grabbed a man that was standing on the side of the car next to the Bear. I was so embarrassed!  In order not to allow this to happen again, I wrapped my legs around a pole and hung on tight. Whilst this was not a pretty picture it freed up both hands and I was a little more successful in taking a few photos.  The Bear was also able to get some good video footage whilst hanging off the car (this was completely legal) and  on a warm day would have been excellent!  By the time we got down town I was so terribly cold that I could no longer feel my nose or feet. I was also desperately in need of something to eat. There is a large shopping complex at the end of the tram line so we thought we would go in and thaw out there.

I decided I would have something Mexican for lunch and sat to reserve a table in the food court whilst the Bear went and purchased it. This was a particularly exclusive shopping centre with the likes of Bloomingdales in it......definitely up market. The Bear and I were dressed very poorly compared to the other patrons – I was in bike pants and joggers, with hair unkempt....and the Bear was in shorts and joggers etc. I sat at the table and was trying to sort of blend in....you know....trying NOT to act self conscious about what I was wearing. I was pretending to just be sitting there chillin'...and tried to look totally cool. I tried to make it look as though my bright purple and pink striped ankle socks which poked out from my white and blue striped shoes, and the large hole in my bike pants were deliberate fashion statements. I am not really convinced that I successfully pulled this off. I saw a very tall blonde woman come striding towards me. She had ordered some food at the place across from where I was sitting (hamburgers if you must know) and they had called her number. She tossed her curly blonde hair back and strode to the counter. I was admiring her hair and her suit that she was wearing (silver with a very slim black stripe through it) and was thinking how lovely she looked given that she was so tall and made even more so by the heels she was wearing. I watched as she spoke to the person behind the counter (hoping she wouldn’t fall down and break a nail due to those heels) and was wondering if her hair was permed or natural; whether her blonde was dyed or natural; and wondered if her finger nails were fake or natural. She turned around from the counter to face in my direction and I noticed her perfect, arched eye brows and her absolutely flawless makeup; and her large and very noticeable “Adams Apple”. Say what?? WTF??? She/him/it raised one of those perfect eyebrows at me, and then sauntered off. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The Bear came back to the table with lunch and I told him about the cross dresser I had just seen. He had not seen her. I didn’t go into too much description because I didn’t want anyone to hear me talking about it out loud, when he asked if it was the “lady-boy” that was sitting “over there”. He gestured towards a group of people that were standing a couple of feet away.

I looked over and saw a group of three people – the first being a pretty Hispanic woman, the second being a very flamboyant and obviously gay (not there is anything wrong with that) male, and a very large breasted Asian who also had a prominent Adam's apple. Unlike the tall blonde I had just seen, the Asian looked as though he/she/it had been smacked in the face with a shovel. The look of surprise on my face was something that I could not disguise and I started to look at every other patron in a new light. I watched the flamboyant male gesture wildly with his hands, and tap his mile long Italian shoes whilst talking like Elmer Fudd to the lady-boy who giggled madly (and sounded like Daffy Duck) at him. The pretty Latino watched the animated pair and I could not tell if she was male, female or extra-terrestrial. It occurred to me that I may as well stop trying to hide my pink and purple socks as I knew that I had no hope of fitting into the scenery when there were men there that totally out did me in the beauty department and who had perkier breasts than me. This new found freedom allowed me to let my hair down in ‘Frisco because it was apparent that “everything goes”. Woot!

Day 8 - Twinkies and Ding Dongs

And so is my eight day week! We have been in the United States for one week today, however we lived through the first of those days twice (given the change in time zones) hence our eight day week. It has gone so fast.  I fear the next weeks will go even faster. *insert sad face here*  I am a little tired today.  I have done more exercise in the past week than I have done in the past decade!  My blog will be a little less energetic tonight.

Today was absolutely gorgeous. San Francisco had an expected temperature of 27 degrees which is unseasonably warm. Apparently a cold front is coming through and temperatures will drop substantially over the next couple of days. In fact, snow has been predicted at Yosemite which is only about 4 hours from here. We may get to see that!

Anyway back to San Fran today – it was warm and the blue sky was wonderful. It was the perfect day to set out on the bay and visit Alcatraz. It takes twelve and a half minutes by ferry across to the island....and it was on that journey that I got my first look at the Golden Gate Bridge. It is just awesome. We caught a tram down to near the pier where we caught the boat. The trams are absolutely beautiful and the smell reminds me of the old wooden trains that we used to take when Mum took us into town. It was like stepping back in time.  Out on the bay in the ferry we were able to look back that the San Francisco skyline - and it was a sight to challenge any capital city that I have seen in my life. I sincerely don't think any city could match it.  It is beyond description.  I find myself wondering what I will think of New York!

Alcatraz was so much closer to the mainland than I had pictured. It is in such a beautiful spot but it projects a feeling of sadness. I didn't want to feel sad for the prisoners that were there.....but I couldn’t help it. We went around the cell house listening through a headset (it was a self guided audio tour) to a tape recorded by past employees and inmates of Alcatraz. They told of things that happened and things during their time there and felt that there are things that the world should know. Hollywood has glorified Alcatraz and apparently the scripts are a far cry from what really happened. There were things that the narrators didn't tell us although I suspect they would have liked to.  I suspect that the walls hold the secrets....those that everyone really do not want to know about.  They would rather listen to the myths than the untold truths.

 The island was much smaller than I had imagined, as was the jail itself. It really was an eye opener. The cells were small (I think I heard 5 foot x 7 foot) and equipped with a toilet bowl and a bed. It would have been darned cold in the winter. Apparently their food was good and presented well, as it was a legal requirement to do so. The inmates were given a roof over their head, food and clothing. Everything else they received was a privilege.

After getting back to the mainland I experienced another round of “firsts”. I had my first taste of a “Snapple”. I used to see it all the time on Seinfeld, however didn’t really know what it was. It is actually a fruit juice drink. It is quite refreshing and it tasted nice....but it is just a fruit drink. Not juice. I also got to experience a “twinkie” and a “ding dong”. The first is a sort of cylindrical cake with cream that has been piped into the middle of it. It was seriously nice however very sweet. The second was also a cake – chocolate cake with cream in the middle and is covered on the outside with another layer of chocolate. I didn’t like it as much as the twinkie. Just for the record however, I felt a little naughty eating a “Twinkie” and a “Ding Dong”. Maybe it’s just me....but together they sound pornographic. *shrugs*

This afternoon we went in search of Route 37.  This was a challenge that Alyx set - as one of her favourite bands make a reference to this.  We went about 20 miles north of San Fran and we found the route.  It led to Napa Valley which is wine country.  I took several photos of the signs that said "37" and we then head back into the city.   This afternoon also saw me going over the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time. Alyx had set me the challenge of getting a photograph or video recording of us going over the Golden Gate and singing “Save me San Francisco”.  So we did exactly that. Mind you, I could not hold the video recorder, and hold my phone which could have had the lyrics (after seeking help from Google) on tap – so I had to wing it. I might have mumbled my way through the song not knowing the words....but the chorus? I owned that shit! Mind you I sounded like a South African Tree Climbing Duck.

The Bear rang the cattery today to check on Benson and Chester. The lady told the Bear that she is calling Chester “The Turtle”. He is apparently crawling in under the bedding and chasing the toy mice that the Bear left for them. When under the round bedding he looks like a turtle. This may be typical behaviour for a cat...however Chester is not really aware that he is a cat...and I have no idea where this side of him came from. I am guessing that the poor thing has had a nervous breakdown due to being left and is suffering from schizophrenia . He clearly is sending out a cry for help....the poor boy. Benny apparently snubbed the people for a couple of days....but then realised that sucking up to them was better than no-one at all.  Typical Benson behaviour....so I know he is fine.

The Bear then rang Elena (the lady who is looking after Schultz and Ella) and apparently they are behaving. *sigh* They only misbehave when I am around. God I miss them!   AI know most of you will remember my anguish at leaving my babies and that the Bear rang Lena when I had wanted to cancel the second place that I had booked them into.  Lena is their groomer and if she could have recommended someone, then I would trust her judgement.  As it turned out, she was happy to look after them - and given that she is one of the very few people that I would trust with them, I was stoked! Ella and Schultz love her.  I am sure my relief was visible!  Apparently Elena ‘s husband loves them so much, they are wanting to get one! I suggested that we could get another one too so that we can get a discount for a multiple purchase.  Of course, this was quickly stomped out...although I think the Bear thinks I was joking.  He even put his best foot forward in trying to give away my dogs, and offered Elena first rights to keeping them.....however he realised that it is far too warm for hell to have frozen over. I miss my babies too much!  Secretly though, I am hoping the dogs want to come home when we get back as Elena allows them both to sleep on her bed! I would LOVE to have them sleep with me in bed however the Bear draws the line there.  On the bright side of things, I am glad they are being looked after so well.   Just for the record, Lena you ROCK!  Anyone looking for a really good pet salon, with awesome people who REALLY care for animals....call Elena's Groom Room.

Tomorrow will be our last full day in San Francisco. We are going to do some more touristy things and do a spot of shopping. I would also like to visit the "Spy Cafe" across the road.  It is a fair dinkum spy shop!  I was tempted to do a nudey run (it is legal to get around starkers here...as long as you are not aroused, and are not around children) however I don't think even San Francisco would be ready for me to do that.  I can only begin to think of the news headlines. "Nude lady gets slapped in the face by her own belly!"     I still cannot get over how beautiful this city is so I wouldn't  want to spoil that with blubber and cellulite.  I could go down the road to the Asian Trannies who are doing a show here is San Fran at the moment.  I could chuck on a boa and shake my groove thang with the shims!!

Days 6 and 7 - Happy Birthday Ma!

Sorry about yesterday! The motel we checked into in Monterey did have an internet connection, but the laptop refused to be a part of it. Fortunately we have the facility back today.

So we left Los Angeles on the most beautiful day. There was little evidence of the smog that had been hanging around since our arrival. It was very warm day with the most bluest (is that a word?) of skies which made it an absolutely awesome day to be travelling up the coast road on the way to San Francisco. The weather is apparently unseasonably warm with record temperatures being set. Not that I would understand this...because I am stuffed if I can figure out the whole Fahrenheit thing. Me trying to figure out temperatures, mileage (versus kilometres) and time differences; is like trying to get Schultz to complete an algebra equation. *holds up stupid sign*

We travelled the coast road through Bel Air and Malibu. They were just WOW! Especially Malibu. Wow. Just stunning. It was hard not to sing the theme song to “Two and a Half Men”...so I just went with the overwhelming urge...and sung it. The backdrop to the ocean and the homes was a very dry, rocky, baron hillside which was a total contrast to the beach houses that lined the absolutely gorgeous beach. The palms there were less scary (yes...less scary) than those that are prominent in Los Angeles. I guess I haven’t told you about the scary palms? And that’s palms which sway in the breeze...not the thing on the inside of your hand.

Los Angeles has palm trees absolutely everywhere. These palms are native to California and were planted in L.A in the 1920’s and 1930’s and are known simply as the “California Palm”. They are tall, spindly trees with a tuft of fronds right at the top. They also feature grey “beard” looking stuff which hangs down beneath the fronds. It would seem as though this is cut off the tree in some suburbs but is left on in others. I am guessing its simply because the trees get too tall. When these palms are planted together, they don’t look too bad I guess....but when they are scattered unevenly – one here, one there – they look like tall, angry men who are trying to hide their arms. There is nothing endearing about that and I am fairly sure they become alive at night and terrorise their neighbourhoods. *shudders* Scary stuff. I really need to curb my imagination.

Anyway...no more angry palms. As we passed through Malibu the Bear suddenly stopped in the middle of the highway and did a u-turn. He had spotted a large pod of dolphins (well actually I think they might have been porpoises) and they were not in a hurry to go anywhere. I took a million photos and the Bear did some video-taping. It was just lovely to watch them. 

Back on the road we found ourselves getting fuel (ok...gas) at a small town called “Winchester” which is just past Santa Barbara. It was the first time we had to fill up, so I felt this was a big moment in our lives. I videotaped it (yes....I am a fair dinkum nutter) before realising I had about seven and a half seconds to make it to a ladies room. The Bear pointed it out to me, so I ambled inside to find that there was only one communal toilet. The toilet was in a large room...and it had a sign on the inside of the door suggesting that you lock the door with the slide across bolt “in order to protect your privacy”. Geeeez, no shit Sherlock! So I take my place on the throne which seemed to be in the middle of this room. I felt like a naughty kid put on display. I had not even started to tinkle when the door knob started moving. Someone was trying to open the door! I dead set nearly fell in the toilet! I didn’t know whether to suck it up; hurry up; pull them up; or finish the job at hand and be ready with a witty salutation should the door be opened and my lily-white butt be shown for the world to see. Sheer fright allowed me to “pee quick” and unfortunately I was not given the chance to say “LAPD. Raise your hands and face the wall” to the obviously desperate Mexican who I found on the other side of the door.

May I just make this random comment before I forget again – Americans have cheese on absolutely EVERYTHING.....and they put coleslaw with nearly everything. I swear I will never eat either of those food stuffs ever again.

Okies...back on the road we decided it might be a bit of a stretch to reach Carmel before dark...so we took the trip easy with the intention of just pulling into a motel when we felt like it. We could have taken a far quicker route however we had been told that the coast road was amazing. Well amazing did not describe it. It is breath takingly beautiful with the scenery outside the right hand window changing every couple of minutes...and the Pacific Ocean (which was outside the left hand window)...was just stunning. The coast road goes in twists and turns as it climbs its way up the cliffs. This would normally have bothered me however I was snapping anything and everything with my camera. Still on the coast road (route 1) we passed Hearst’s Castle; stopped in the middle of nowhere to watch some sea lions; and made our way around the rocky cliffs with the intention of at least getting to “Big Sur” before dark. Big Sur is actually a part of the Santa Lucia Mountains which arise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. Big Sur means “the big south” in Spanish....and is nothing short of spectacular.

In the late afternoon ass we continued to negotiate the roads around Big Sur, I asked the Bear if we could stop so that I could take a photo of the sun setting over the water. I had only had the opportunity to see this once before (in Perth) however I stupidly closed my eyes at the moment in question, so that I could see if I would “hear” the sun hitting the water. Yes...for an intelligent person I sometimes have precious little upstairs. We stopped for a couple of minutes...I took a thousand photos...and we were on our way again. Driving through the last parts of Big Sur we figured we would to get to Carmel after all given that we weren’t too short of our target, and because there didn’t appear to be many places to stay at Big Sur. This was one of the few nights that we hadn’t pre-booked accommodation. The day was long.....and we were just keen to find somewhere and get to bed.

In the dark we saw a little bit of signage for Carmel but it was few and far between. I am night blind so I can offer very little in the way of directions unless I make them up. After a while it became obvious that we had passed any turn that there was to Carmel and the next exit off the highway would be at Monterey. Not to worry....we figured we would stay in Monterey the night and check out Carmel tomorrow. So it was off to Monterey!

This morning we woke up to a brilliant sun rise...with a view to die for. There was mist hanging around over the beach (a little like what it does to the bridge in San Francisco), the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the buildings were simply quaint. We checked out of our motel and took a drive to have some breakfast. We found an awesome cafe right on the pier which served fantastic food and provided fantastic service. I had a single pancake....which was larger than a hub cap (I kid you not...and I only ate about a third of it) and the Bear had a 3 egg omelette with spinach, cheese etc which looked mighty fine. As we sat there, we thought we could hear some sea lions.

After breakfast we went in search of whatever was making the noise and we came across several hundred sea lions sun baking on the large rocky pier. There was a metal fence that I was looking through and we could literally bend down and touch them. I was fascinated by their behaviour....which is not dissimilar to my son at home; they fought and growled, they stunk, and their teeth needed a good clean. On the bright side they obviously loved each other and lay all over one another. They growled and communicated just like Schultz and Ella! They were just beautiful! It made me seriously miss my dogs!

Anyway my lessons learned in the past 24 hours are as follows:

• Marriott Hotels do not have kettles in the rooms. They prefer to think that their coffee machines will cater nicely. I am curious to know why everyone here will drink pigs-swill because it sure tastes like something you would expect to use to strip wallpaper from the walls.

• Some Marriott’s here do not even have bar fridges in the rooms.

• Americans do not understand us. No amount of trying will get them to actually hear the sound. Most wont guess where we are from (dang it....I would have soooooooooo much fun with that!)

• Daylight savings (which ended in California yesterday) totally screws with tourists who are struggling to understand the times zones. This might only be another hour but it totally did my head in.

• Snickerdoodles go softer after the packet has been opened. No-one likes a soft Snickerdoodle.

Back on the road again today heading for San Francisco. We dropped into Carmel which we so cleverly missed last night – and found a very, pretty “village” with a beautiful beach, trees lining the streets and flowers hanging in baskets.....and a stack pretentious old people whose arrogance totally outweighed the beauty of this town. We were glad we had met the nicer people of Monterey and the beautiful African American people that were at Crenshaw a couple of days ago. So quicker than you could say "Go ahead. Make my day" we were outta there! I would have loved to hang around and assess how many people wearing heels did NOT have a permit (it is a legal requirement in Carmel) however it was more important to get back on the road.  

We decided we had enough delays and made a genuine effort to make a beeline for San Francisco. The trip was uneventful although I still managed to take photos of absolutely anything. We stumbled across San Jose which was like an oasis in the middle of a moonscape... If anyone asks “Do you know the way to San Jose” I will have to say no...because in this land of a million signs....there was very little to announce San Jose. No wonder the question is asked in a song!

Finally we reached San Francisco. What an absolutely glorious city! It is just stunning! I was snapping madly away....when the Bear told me to keep my eyes peeled for the Golden Gate Bridge. A bridge came into view and he exclaims...”there it is!”.....”ummmm...no its not!” He had pointed out the Bay Bridge. We continue. A bridge came into view. “Now! There it is!”....”ummmm or is it the same bridge?”. He thinks for a minute and asks “does that Bridge look new to you?” B Bear....as if I could tell a bridge from a taco at this point in time. Which person in this car was just coming into San Fran for the first time in their life? *mentally shoots hand up* We drive further towards our destination, and the Bear is desperately trying to figure out if the bridge we could see...was the Golden Gate. The Bear found out that the bridge we could see was the Bay Bridge....and we were yet to see the Golden Gate. From all accounts, it sounded like we had lost a bridge...and I got the giggles. We arrived at our destination (minus seeing the darned bridge) and walked in to check in...with a person who I believe could be rather flamboyant....not that there is anything wrong with that.

Tomorrow we go to Alcatraz and will be crossing the Golden Gate Bridge once we find it...so that I can meet one of the challenges my daughter gave me. It should be a great day!

Day 6 - Leaving Los Angeles

I will update this as soon as I have Internet access to the laptop. It is temporarily not available and I can't do my waffle on the phone :-S