Day 15 - Chimichangas

This will be a quickie because I am freezing cold so am going to rug up in bed!

Early up and at ‘em today! We wanted to take some pictures of the Grand Canyon as the sun is coming up. It is damned freezing but this is too special to miss. I dress up in what I can only describe as something you would wear to a bad taste party. I needed to keep warm so was using what I had. If I needed to make a fashion statement or introduce a new fashion trend at this time, so be it.

 The walls of the canyon literally changed with each passing minute. As the sun hit them they developed a silvery sheen – almost sparkling. Lower in the canyon a blue tinged mist remained this was a stark contrast to the brilliance above. I snapped away happily whilst still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was standing in front of one of the “Seven Wonders of the World”. I again felt very humbled.

We set out again and headed for Durango, Colorado. It has always been a dream of mine to see the Rocky Mountains. John Denver left me wondering if they were as beautiful as his lyrics suggested. We stopped to have a bite to eat before hitting the highway once again. We stopped at every opportunity to take more photos of the canyon but we had to draw the line somewhere as we really needed to get some miles behind us. Once out of the national park the scenery changed from alpine to desert plains. We passed a sign that indicated that there was another lookout and given that we could see that there was something worth looking at, we turned where the sign indicated to do so. We found ourselves on something which looked a little like an Indian tribal land – there were several Indians setting up stalls with handmade pottery and jewellery.

We stopped by the lookout quickly and then stopped at bathrooms that were up near the highway. We were in the middle of whoop whoop again and I was a little concerned about how the toilets would be. The Bear went in first and came out reassuring me that whilst the loo was the hole in the ground type (or Thunderbox) they were very clean. I was busting to go so weighed up going in a hole in the ground or peeing my pants. The need to pee meant I would be visiting the little Indians room. Sure enough they were very clean but I was seriously concerned that a rattle snake was going to slide up and bite me on the butt! *shudders*.

Back on the road we passed several reservations that the Indians lived on. They are clearly poverty stricken although there always seemed to be nice cars that were parked there. Mind you, there were about 10 cars to every shanty. The scenery kept changing over and over again which was startling. This was something you would never see in Australia. It really is quite fascinating.

I had my first drive on the right hand side of the road. I don’t mind telling you that I HATED it. Sitting behind the steering wheel on the left hand side of the car was nothing short of bizarre - and I had the most overwhelming feeling that I was going to fall out of the car door. It felt as though the chair was lopsided although the Bear assured me it was not. I drove very carefully and was barely game to get to the speed limit. The roads over here are amazingly good so I guess that helped a small bit. Whilst I was driving it was the Bears responsibility to take the photos. I take photos of absolutely everything and it was clear that he would not. I had to point out things that I would have taken photos of – he was letting the side down. I was prepared to forgive him but that was until we went through a small township (I can’t remember the name) where I had to pull up at a red light. The Bear exclaimed that there were cows right beside the road at the intersection. I looked...yes there were two or three cows. Now B take a photo! As I was moving off from the red light, he exclaims again that there was a horse standing in the servo. I looked back – and sure a enough. There was-a horse standing in the service station minding his own business. I asked B if he got a photo of it...but no he hadn’t. I won’t let him forget that in a hurry! Driving through “Monument Valley” (you know where the cowboy movies are made) I insisted that he go berserk with the photo taking. I was still very tense at the wheel of the car and was very glad to pull over and let the Bear take over the driving.

We went through some of the most amazing terrain and whilst a lot of it was boring, I wondered what stories the land would tell if it could. We drove to the “Four Corners Monument” where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet however there is a $3 charge per person to get to it, and we decided to pass. Once in Colorado we experienced some of the more ugly terrain which came as a surprise to me. I thought all of Colorado was the beautiful travel brochure stuff. Not so. However in the distance was snow capped mountains and the Bear told me that was a part of the Rocky Mountains. I was excited! Nearing Durango we climbed through some absolutely gorgeous terrain which bore none of the ugliness earlier on. It was lush and green with almost every type of fir you can grow, and the quaintest of houses.  There were spots of snow....it looked like Christmas.  Just beautiful. Coming into Durango I saw that it was picture postcard material....and it is from there that I type this. It is absolutely stunning.....with the main street right out of a movie. I can hardly wait to photograph it tomorrow!

We got to the hotel and found that our room has a little kitchenette. We figured that we would just pop down to the supermarket and by something that we could take back and eat at the unit rather than eating out again. At the supermarket we got few things – including “Chimichangas”. Now I had thought that these were a made up term for “Two and a Half Men” however they are very real. We bought a beef one and a chicken one to try. The Beef was yummo....but the chicken wasn’t nice at all. But....we tried it!

It is minus 4 as I type this with the expected minimum to be minus 8. That fashion statement that I referred to earlier will definitely be catching on in these parts! Tomorrow we head to Santa Fe!

Day 14 - Pumpkins and Bears

Today we leave Las Vegas and head to the Grand Canyon. I am actually very sorry to be leaving Vegas as we just simply did not have enough time there. We have had whirlwind trips of all cities thus far actually...and I am so sorry we have not the time or resource to do things differently. However we still have places to go and places to see. Today I will see the Grand Canyon.

We have breakfast at the buffet before we leave, just as we have done for the past three mornings. The difference today was that I lined up by myself to get us a table as the Bear was taking some baggage out to the car. I lined up at the designated entry to the eating area. This desk normally has a concierge who leads us to our table however she was not there when I got there. I can see that she has gone to take someone else to their table, so I just waited for her to return. She got side tracked on the way back and I was slightly annoyed because I had been standing there for several minutes.

Four Americans came to stand behind me, and were talking amid each other. They commented on the fact that they were required to wait to be shown to a table and stated that this wasn’t “a prep school” and they should just be able to help themselves. With that....they did! They pushed past me and helped themselves to the last remaining table in the buffet area. I pretty much spat purple dwarfs as that table effectively was meant for me and the Bear. At this time, the concierge had still not returned. I could see some other patrons were finishing up their breakfast so I knew that it would not be long until we had a table. The Bear also had not returned so it wasn’t a real issue that I was still waiting.

A minute later two American men came to stand behind me. They were politely talking to each other and were wondering whether they had to stand and wait for a table, or just help themselves. They looked at me before they started to overtake me and make a beeline for the table that had just been vacated. Not on your Nelly fella’s!

Me: *politely* Excuse me....I am waiting for a table also. The lady will be back in a minute.

Yank Number 1: Weeeert

Me: Pardon?

Yank Number 1: Weeeeert

Me: I’m sorry. I beg your pardon?

Yank Number 1: Whaaayaaart

Me: *blank look*

Me: *blink*

Me: *raises one eyebrow*

Yank Number 2: I don’t think he understood what you said.

Me: Ohhhhhhhhh...ok....he was saying “What”...as in “what did you say?”

Yank Number 2: *nods*

Me: Oh. Ok then. *turns to Yank number 1* I’m next. WAIT-YOUR-TURN!!

Yank Number 1: Bloody Brits.

I swear if someone calls me or the Bear Poms or Brits again, I am going to shove their head up a dead bears bum!

We drove all day stopping at Hoover Damn, which was amazing. We crossed the Nevada border into Arizona (where we had to change the clocks AGAIN!. This is the third or fourth time since being here and my body clock has given up on trying to figure things out) where we stopped at a place called Grasshopper Junction which was just up the road from Santa Claus. Santa Claus consisted of one broken down old shed. Grasshopper Junction was a convenience store in the middle of whoop whoop. There were a couple of redneck cows out the back who seriously looked inbred. The store had a green alien painted on the front of it and it wasn’t until later that I realised the alien was in fact a grasshopper. I would love to suggest to the artist not to give up their day job. We stopped there to purchase a drink and cautiously entered the store. I was hit by an overwhelming acrid odour and immediately saw that two women were doing something with some meat. I suspect they also double as the local butcher – not that there is anyone within cooee – or as a couple of axe murderers who kill passers by and turn them into jerky. The lady who served us was not there for any small talk and seriously had the personality of a dung beetle. This was ok as I was keen to get out of there.

Back in the car we resumed out trip and I resumed my excessive and obsessive photograph taking. We arrived at the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon and immediately went to a lookout site. It was damned FREEZING but I was almost overcome by the sheer magnificence of the canyon. To try to put it into words would simply not do it justice – so I will stick to saying that I felt humbled. We then headed to “El Tova” where we were staying the night. El Tova sits right on the rim of the canyon and I mean literally on the rim. You walk out the door or look out the window and the canyon is there. El Tova is a log cabin type lodge which features many deer and moose heads on its walls and a roaring fireplace in its den. This made a change from the bears and pumpkins that are currently adorning houses and shop fronts...maybe for thanksgiving perhaps? The Bear had booked the “Fred Harvey Suite” which was a room with a balcony that overlooked the canyon. There are apparently only four rooms that look out over the canyon in its entire perimeter so this was a privilege. Fred Harvey was the gentleman who founded the group of hotels that El Tova belonged to – with El Tova being the main location. The Fred Harvey Suite was located on the upper floor at the opposite end of the reception area. I wanted to help the Bear unload the car and haul the suitcases up the steep flight of stairs however the chivalrous one would not hear of it. He wanted me to continue snapping away whilst we still had light.

We trudged up the stairs and down the end of the long hallway which creaked with every step. There was a smell which I can’t describe and this became stronger as we entered the room. I took two steps inside the room and stopped rock solid. There was a freakin’ great portrait of Fred Harvey himself hanging in the room and was watching over the bed. Now I did look hotel up before flying overseas and read that the hotel is meant to be haunted by the ghost of Fred Harvey. The sight of him watching over the bed absolutely freaked me out and the Bear predicted that we wouldn’t be getting much sleep. I wanted to throw a sheet over the portrait but decided that would be a seriously stupid move if the place was in fact haunted. A ghost might be fairly pissed off if I did that! I went out to the balcony to try to get away from the damned painting and the smell, and spent the next half an hour snapping away until the sun went down.

We had dinner at the restaurant which had logs lining the walls and another fire place roaring. Well at least that is what the Bear told me. The place was so darned dark I couldn’t see a thing! The Bear had to read me the menu while I pretended to look at it. He ordered a schnitzel and I had crab cakes before we retired to the spooky room. I confess that whilst B was in the shower I had a bit of a chat to Mr Fred Harvey and told him that if he started to rattle chains during the night we would take our money and run – and that this would be completely against what his motel chain were about. I was happy that we had that little chat and despite his eyes following our every move from his portrait, and my imagination working overtime with the blobby things that you see in the dark, I did manage to get a small amount of sleep in the impossibly uncomfortable bed! Durango tomorrow!

Day 13 - Bye Bye Las Vegas

Day 13. My goodness time is flying. It is just going to darned fast! Time waits for no-one. True dat.

It’s hard for any mother to hear that her baby is in pain – let alone when she is out of the country and cannot be there to kiss it better. My fearless daughter was doing a “Warrior Dash” (an unbelievably hard obstacle course which tests a number of things including endurance and patience) despite her specialist telling her to cease all physical activity (long story). My head strong daughter had to dive in and do it anyway just to try to prove to herself that she could do it. And do it she did! She completed it through wet weather and in terribly muddy conditions. She had to go to the first aid tent afterwards, and subsequently to the hospital because she had taken a fall and split her knee/leg open in a couple of places. She had crawled through mud and under barbed wire that way. Several stitches later.....*sigh* Mummeh wishes she was there to look after you Eamsikens! I send a huge thank you to those that are looking after her. :-)

Well today was our last day in Las Vegas. Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon (speaking of which...I may not have internet connection there) where we are for one night. We thought on our last day we would do the one thing that still needed to be done from Alyx’s request list...and that was to have a gondola ride at The Venetian.

Oh by the way...today’s tip: Do not reach down to pick up your mobile phone (if you have dropped it) when you are on an automatic flushing loo. It is meant to flush automatically when you get your big butt off of it...however as it turns out, if you lift your “cheeks” off of the seat with some of them, whether it be to disembark from the throne, or simply reach forward to pick up your phone....your loo will turn into a bidet. And of course given that you have just had a heart attack because the noise is like a jet taking off.....you are in the right place if you have just cr@pped yourself. *sigh* America’s toilets are seriously out to get me. My mission is to sort them out before leaving this country. Just as a footnote: if there had have been a camera in the toilet the first time I discovered that there are in fact toilets that flush themselves, it would have been a scene that could have been used in an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I dead set shit myself whilst launching a blood curdling scream.

I am somewhat intrigued by the differences in every casino – their theme, their entertainment, their food and their hassling. The Venetian was again different to any that we had been to previously. This one was simply stunning. Just beautiful. We set out to find where the gondola rides took place – and we walked down the streets in Venice to get there. The shop fronts were so realistic as was the “sky” up above. As we walked it was like the clouds were moving! Very, very clever. There was a canal that ran through the casino and amid the venetian stores. There were a number of gondoliers that manned the gondolas that were there.

It wasn’t a cheap thing to do - $16 per person or $64 if you wanted a private ride for two people. We chose the cheaper option thinking that the $64 option was for those that wanted to take a ride in non-business hours. Mind you, I don’t think I thought that quite through as the casinos never close. After the Bear purchased the tickets we were advised to go to the boarding dock where we waited for our turn. A gondolier came up and said that he would be taking the four of us out together. Four? I know that I might look big enough to be two people, but add the Bear and we still do not have that head count correct. The gondolier advised we would be going with another couple who had also purchased tickets. The male who was half of that couple, expressed his opinion on this. He, like us, thought that when we purchased the tickets, it was to go out by ourselves in the gondola. He was advised “no” and was told if he wanted a gondola for him and his partner alone, he would need to pay the larger sum of money. Rip off I say! He advised him and his partner would board the gondola with us.

Stepping into the gondola was like a baby elephant trying to walk after its back legs were paralysed. It rocked violently and I am fairly sure that I stuck my butt in the face of the other man. I sat down – and put on my seat belt - yes seatbelt – and we were off. The other couple were very nice and the gondolier’s singing was absolutely beautiful. It was a lovely ride and worth every bit of the $32 plus tax. The other couple were lovely to talk to...and as a bonus we found out where to go in Memphis for the best BBQ ribs.

On the way back to the car we stopped at a photo place which advertised gimmick photos where your head/face is super imposed onto the body of another person. Given that I would sincerely love to have my head on the body of another person, this concept sincerely appealed to me. The Bear thought it would be a lot of fund too! We sifted through the templates and decided to settle on a joint photo with me as a “show girl” and the Bear as Elvis. The lady took a photo of our heads and placed them in the space for a head on the template. After this she wanted to show us how these turned out before she actually printed them. In an up-sell which I can only describe as sheer brilliance, when we went to look at our photos on the computer, she had put our heads onto another “body” and asked if we wanted them too. She had placed my head on the body of some extraordinary chick whose body was beyond stunning, and the Bear had his head placed on an old time gambler who was dressed in a suit. His looked awesome. Mine looked....*cough*....tartish although I secretly was chuffed that there was someone out there that could give me my old figure back in a millisecond. Given that our joint photo had me looking like I was the end result of a peacock and giraffe mating, I figured yes I would like to have another photo. I settled on a template where my face was put onto Marilyn Munro just so that I could see what I would look like as a blonde. Damned disgusting I tell ya! But...given that we were in Vegas...we figured it would be nice to have those as souvenirs to take home.

 Our last stop for the day was at the Bellagio where every half hour their fountains come to life, and they are choreographed to move in time with the music that is played through cleverly hidden speakers. Facing Las Vegas Boulevard, we were facing the huge Eiffel Tower that was lit up in all of its glory. It made a stunning back drop as the jets of water burst into life and danced to “Luck be a Lady Tonight”. As it was nigh time, the lights beneath the water shone up through the jets and allowed the fountain to “speak”. I couldn’t quite see clearly enough to watch it at the time (the Bear videotaped it though) so I just shot away with my camera hoping that I would have more hits than misses. I was jostled around by the Chinese who also kept trying to photo bomb each shot by sticking their big, fat heads in front of the camera!

We walked back to the car through the hotel. The foyer/entry/reception desk is absolutely magnificent. It was done up in autumn colours and flowers; pumpkins were a main feature of their displays and I can only assume this incorporates Thanksgiving. When we were at the Venetian and the Palazzo today we found that the area joining the two casinos also had an autumn display which was breathtaking. It is sometimes hard to remember you are in a casino! A trip into Fremont Street and a look at the old time casino days finished off our night.

Tomorrow we leave Las Vegas and drive the five or so hours to the Grand Canyon. It is mean to be cold there however nowhere near as cold as Durango (Colorado) where the temperature has been as low as -14 degrees this week. Brrr! We will head to there on Tuesday. We may not have internet available to us at the Grand Canyon and may not have mobile reception for a day or two depending on what is available there.

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!