Day 27

Up very early to our room service breakfast. We thought it would be a good idea to stock up on stomach lining seen as our wine tour starts at 8.30 am! Off to the aptly named Ferry Building to meet our guide, Safiya. We were then told that the drive to Napa would take an hour and a half, so the drinking, sorry tasting, would not begin until 10 am. A much more reasonable drinking time! Safiya was a brilliant guide; she filled us with San Fran knowledge, history and house prices all the way to Napa. We now know where Danielle Steele lives and how much she paid for her house, as well as passing George Lucas‘ Skywalker Ranch! We have also seen the Sausalito ‘Bay’ which was Otis Redding’s inspiration.
First stop, Domaine Chandon, makers of all things bubbly and sparkling - a good way to start any day according to Safiya! It is Lynne’s firm belief that all smokers will find each other very quickly and this rang true again as Lynne spotted Frank having a cheeky tab before the tasting! Firmly becoming friends due to their nicotine addiction, Lynne and Frank, with their respective partners Matthew and Diane, set off for bubbly goodness! We weren’t disappointed as Bob, our tasting guide, filled us with knowledge!
Giggling back onto the bus, it was time for stop two - the lunch stop. We decided to do the tasting first, settling for the ‘deluxe’ tasting, which meant seven of Napa’s finest. Actually it was six of Napa’s finest wines and one taste of Maderia, which definitely meant it was time for food. Armed with the $20 voucher from Safiya, we purchased some fantastic cheese, prosciutto and olive bread from the well stocked deli. Oh, and also three bottles of wine, which we did not consume at lunch (just half a bottle!). All aboard to stop three on the tour, minus two of our fellow tasters who were too ‘ill’ to continue. It was the woman we saw hugging a bottle of wine while slumped over the picnic table at lunch.
Reunited with Frank and Diane once more, we tasted some of Napa’s finest reds before wandering through the vineyards (Frank and Lynne smoking their way through!) until it was time for the last stop. Here, we once again tasted some fine red wines and we were even allowed to taste the grapes from the vines. Never before have we tasted a cabernet sauvignon grape, but they are nothing like ’normal’ grapes (apart from the pips). Back to the patio for the final tasting and Lynne, somewhat upset at spilling red wine on her white skirt, was rescued by Margaret, our host. ‘Here, spray some of this on it and watch it vanish’, and it did! The best invention ever, a product called Wineaway, which literally did as it promised. We are trying to buy this in bulk and sell it on the black market in the U.K.
Back on the bus to catch the ferry to San Francisco, it was naptime for Matthew. Please see attached photo for the comedy value of this!
The ferry trip back was wonderful; great company, more wine and lovely views of the Golden Gate bridge. As we docked, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends, but not before exchanging emails and a promise to keep in touch. Frank and Diane, we hope you are reading this, as we are planning our trip to Chicago already!
Phew, this is a long entry. Anyway, next we decided we wanted to see the sealions in the Bay, but didn’t know where we were, so we employed the services of Jason, our trusty steed. I say steed, he was a man on a bike with a carriage attached to the back. As promised, he took us to the sealions, via a ride on a carousel, and then back to our hotel where an early night was on the cards. What a wonderful day, with fabulous memories and two new like-minded friends!

Day 26

A well deserved lie in after being up so early with the bear yesterday, meant we left the hotel in time for lunch! Heading to Japantown, we stopped for a sushi lunch. We then strolled the streets of San Francisco, vaguely heading for the park via the hippy area of Haight Ashbury. This was a mix of tramps and incense burning - one tramp even exclaiming ‘it’s $20 a look’. No thank you, smelly man. Not giving up though, he then shouted from his seated position on the floor ‘What about your wallet?‘ That has to be the worst, laziest attempt at a mugging we have ever witnessed! We actually chuckled as we sauntered away! This was a very relaxing afternoon, in preparation for the Napa Valley wine tour we have booked for tomorrow! We meandered back through the dodgy part of town, including passing a mental man who still had his hospital pyjamas on! Feeling quite traumatised by the amount of mental illness and smelly tramps in San Fran, we headed to a bar for an aperitif while deciding where to eat in our San Fran guide. Deciding on an Asian themed day, we headed to an Indonesian restaurant just up the road. After the waiter’s recommendation and Lynne’s excellent choosing skills, we had a delight of a meal. Matthew even stated it could possibly be his #2 of the trip (Helen’s steak being #1). Off to bed, after watching a DVD from reception.

Day 25

5.30am - “Matt, wake up, there’s a bear outside my window.” Matt had already been woken by the banging on the tent frame of the people next door in an attempt to scare it away. The bear had come back. Peering out the window mesh in the dark, we saw that this time it was even closer - literally right outside our window! We could actually hear its heavy breathing and sniffing as it searched for more food (it turns out, when we went to investigate in daylight, that it had been chomping on a bag of pistachio nuts that some moron had obviously left lying around. Not sure if it took the shells off first, though.) Eventually, the banging from next door (and then us) scared it off, but there was no way we were going back to sleep now!
An early start, therefore, allowed us time to go and see the giant sequoia trees in Mariposa Grove, before heading off to San Francisco. On the way, we continued with this theme (Spanish for butterfly, you know) by stopping for lunch in the cute little town of Mariposa. This was another of those fantastic unexpected finds: a quaint tea room, very English in some ways but with its own quirky style, where we had afternoon tea - the first time Lynne has done so! Ironic that her first experience of such an English thing should be in America! Gorgeous sandwiches (quartered with the crusts cut off, naturally) and scones made this a real pleasure after some of the obscene portions we’ve eaten on this trip. However, Matthew, faced with a choice of so many teas, reverted to stereotype and went for English breakfast tea, forgetting from his time in Spain that this is not always a good idea abroad, and receiving a pot of tea-coloured water to drink.
Satisfied, and having chatted for a while to the lovely people who ran the tea room, we were on our way again. After a couple of hours, we saw it - the Pacific Ocean. Finally, after 3600 miles and approximately 60-70 hours in the car, we had reached the West Coast! Excitement that our directions told us to drive over the Bay Bridge soon turned to disappointment upon realising that this was not the Golden Gate. The bay, however, is beautiful. We had read that fog is a common problem in summer, but we weren’t quite prepared, when we stepped out of the car, for how cold it was! People were wearing coats; one or two were even wearing scarves! Having checked into San Francisco’s first official green hotel, with its ‘revolutionary’ system of having to insert your key card into a slot to operate the lights (I.e the standard practice in most hotels in Europe) we went looking for food and liquid refreshment.
Now, California is famously non-smoking and had a ban in place long before most European countries. However, when a guy next to us in the first bar we entered lit up, we discovered that we had managed to accidentally stumble upon possibly the only bar in San Francisco where you can smoke (apparently because the only people who work there are the owners)! We also began to sense it was a gay bar (though perhaps just one with an unusually high proportion of men), which made Lynne’s excited English outburst of “Well in that case I’ll have a fag!” all the more embarrassing. More bars followed, ending up in Vesuvio - a favourite haunt of Jack Kerouac and the Beats - where Lynne was able to relieve her margarita withdrawal symptoms having not had one for several days. Finally it was off to bed, another day filled with memories behind us.
Photos as soon as we can, promise!

Day 24

Not having had the most comfortable of nights, Lynne was up with the sun, just in time to see a bobcat duck under the tent cabin opposite ours! Still no sign of any bears though. The plan for today was to hire some bikes, so we duly reported to the hire centre at 9am sharp to pick up our steeds - magnificent machines with handlebars resembling those of a Harley Davidson!
Feeling just like Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider - apart from the ‘easy’ part, and the fact that we were riding what were essentially adult versions of a Chopper - we set off to explore the valley, the sun on our faces and the wind in our hair! This was a fantastic way to see what is a beautiful place, and made a lovely change from being cooped up inside a car. It did have the disadvantage of not being able to listen to music, so we weren’t able to get our daily dose of Brad Paisley - our new country music hero - but this was compensated by having ‘Born to be Wild’ running on a constant loop in our heads.
Having completed a 10-mile round trip around the valley floor, we stopped on the shore of a mountain stream for a picnic lunch. Hot and sweaty from our exertions, we decided that said stream looked very inviting, so pulled up our bikes at a small beach area where other people were paddling, swimming and kayaking, and happily ran down the sand into the FREEZING water! Not really surprising in hindsight, considering the stream was probably the product of snowmelt or glacial run-off, but ‘refreshing’ is hardly the word!
By the time evening came around, we were exhausted after probably the most exercise we’ve done all trip, although not so exhausted that we couldn’t enjoy yet another all-you-can-eat-buffet! Not up to the standards of Vegas, however - Matthew didn’t even go back for seconds, let alone the five return trips he made at the Paris hotel buffet! Returning to our tent cabin for the second night, we now considered ourselves Yosemite veterans, all fears of bears banished from our minds. Matthew even declared that he thought their presence was overplayed and that the measures we had been required to take were more precautionary than anything. Not so the guy we overheard walking past our tent, however, who announced he was imposing a 7pm curfew on himself the following night, or possibly going to stay in the Hilton. Following a game of ‘Backpacker’ (thanks Paul and Liz), we got into our single beds to read for a bit before going to sleep…
It took a while before it registered with Lynne that the crunching sound outside her window had been going on a bit too long - “What is that sound?” Matthew, who had assumed when it had begun that it was just a fellow camper sorting out the contents of their bear-proof locker, picked up the torch and shone it out the mesh window, straight onto a big hairy arse. No, he wasn‘t looking in the mirror; “It’s a bear,” came his measured response. There followed a brief period of trying to convince Lynne of this fact, but eventually she plucked up the courage to take a look herself, in time to see it disappear around the tent one row back. So much for the ‘precautionary’ measures and the ‘exaggerated’ threat of bears! A little scary, but at the same time a great privilege to get to see one so close. Not that we would have wanted it to come back…

Day 23

Rising early, we took advantage of the little time we had at Lone Pine to have a dip in the motel pool, the contrast of the grey granite mountains of the Sierra Nevada with the clear blue sky providing a gorgeous backdrop in the morning sunshine. As soon as the kids began to arrive at the pool, it was time to pack up and head to Yosemite National Park.
First stop, however, was Mono Lake - a salt basin in North East California that sports a bizarre collection of calcium-carbonate spires (known as tufa) rising from the water, caused by spring water bubbling up through the bottom of the lake, which is high in salt and minerals and “makes for a delightfully buoyant swimming experience” according to the park literature. Braving the brine shrimp, as well as the thousands of flies buzzing around the shoreline to lay their eggs in the water, Matthew therefore waded out to enjoy bobbing about on the surface of the lake like a poo that won’t flush away.
Following a picnic lunch by the lake, it was off to Bodie State Park to explore a real wild west ghost town - a gold rush boomtown with a population of 10000 at its height. After a tortuous drive up yet another winding mountain road, the last 3 miles of which were unpaved, we arrived with only half an hour to spare before the park closed - a real shame as this was a unique experience and it would have been great to have had more time to explore the eerily deserted streets and abandoned, decrepit buildings. As it was, we rushed about snapping pics like a pair of Japanese tourists, before jumping back in the car to head to Yosemite Valley.
This, we had worked out, was only about an hour away, and sure enough after about this time we found ourselves entering Yosemite National Park. What we hadn’t realised is that the Valley is only a small part of the National Park, which is massive and involves yet more twisty mountain roads! By the time we finally arrived at our destination it was dark - not the best conditions in which to unload absolutely every food/drink item and scented product from your car to lock in a bear-proof locker outside your tent cabin! Having done this, checked in and signed a form to say we were ‘bear aware’, we went for a surprisingly good pizza in the camp lodge before retiring to our single beds to shiver in the dark, a sheet of canvas the only barrier between us and a potential bear. Fortunately, the only wildlife we encountered on the walk back to the tent were a raccoon and a skunk, but at least, if one does come knocking, we are bear aware.

Day 22

After checking out, we had one last taste of Vegas for breakfast. No, not a margarita - Lynne had a curry and Matthew had a Philly cheese steak! Lovely start to the day. Following that, Matthew finally gave in to Lynne’s retail cravings and drove to the outlet shopping center. 2 hours later, he appeared with a handful of shopping bags while Lynne only ended up with one little jumper. We are beginning to switch roles in our relationship!
Such a busy morning meant that we now had to drive through Death Valley - one of the hottest places on earth (and, incidentally, the lowest point in North America at 86m below sea level) - in the heat of the afternoon. Very sensible! Pulling up at the information kiosk to purchase park permits, only to find it manned by an automatic ticket machine, we toyed with the idea of not paying but, terrified of the wrath of the desert Gods, dutifully fed $20 into the slot. Luckily we made it through in one piece and were privileged to once again see some incredible scenery en route - sand dunes, unearthly rock formations and a breathtaking view of the valley behind us as we climbed out of it up a twisty, somewhat hair-raising mountain road. What’s more is that our late departure enabled us to witness a beautiful sunset over the Sierra Nevada as we pulled into Lone Pine - our stop for the night.
We had originally planned to press on to Bishop, about an hour further north, but it was dark and Lone Pine looked lovely. And so it turned out to be - one of the most unexpected pleasures of the trip so far! We found a quaint, charming beauty of a motel - the Dow Villa - where, it turns out, John Wayne was a regular guest when filming in the nearby Alabama Hills. Our room was like something from an old people’s home - antique furniture, a separate living area, and a kitchen complete with cooker from the stone age. We headed straight out for food and had a lovely steak by lantern-light on an outside terrace, the warm evening air a perfect antidote to the stifling heat of Vegas. This is one of the many things we looked forward to on this trip - rolling up spontaneously at an unplanned location - and Lone Pine has proven to be everything that Roanoke wasn’t!
N.B. Photos to appear shortly - Blogger's playing up again.

Day 21

We had many things to do today after accidentally spending all of yesterday by the pool. We got up early so that we could do the touristy things up and down the strip before the heat really kicked in. First stop was MGM Grand to see the lion habitat. They were amazing - little lion clubs playing about in their 9 million dollar home. Lynne has decided to change career and become a lion tamer; the avenues will be investigated on our return! A quick trip across the road and we were on the rollercoaster in New York New York. This was so much fun, hurtling around the hotel at 65mph! As we were walking to the Bellagio for another all you can eat buffet lunch, the lure of the $3 margarita was too much for Lynne and we entered Diablo’s for an aperitif. After this, and another obscene amount of eating at the buffet, it was naptime.
Next item on the agenda - buy some champagne to have in the Jacuzzi in our room. After pricing it up in the hotel, we decided to walk to the bargain booze shop down the road to purchase it at a more reasonable price. On the way back, we had a margarita at the front of Caesars before going to get ready for the show we were off to see: Mystere, Cirque Du Soleil, at Treasure Island. We had to arrive an hour early to pick up the tickets, so we had a bit of time to kill. Luckily, Lynne spotted a tequila bar so the margarita addiction could be fed a bit more. Matthew, being more sensible, stuck to the beer and had a go at the computerised poker game built into the bar. Lynne was trying to learn the game, and just as Matthew was about to collect his $8 winnings she touched the screen asking ‘what does that one do?’ Neither of us realised that the game was actually touch screen, as Matthew had been pressing the buttons. It plays again, is what it does! However, Lynne's mistake turned out to be a blessing as we drew four tens and won $57! Margaritas all round!
Mystere was probably the best show that either of us have ever seen. A mixture of acrobats, trapeze artists, tumblers, pole climbers, clowns and strongmen left us in awe of their strength and talent. Matthew has also decided on a career change - he wants to be an acrobat.
On to the casino for Matthew’s final bit of gambling and a nightcap for Lynne’s margarita addiction. Matthew was up (finally) and when a nasty man told Lynne she couldn’t sit down unless she was going to play, Matthew took his $92 and left the game - hooray! We watched some big money gamblers for a while - one guy throwing down $1000 within ten minutes - before heading off to sleep. Absolutely love the decadence of Las Vegas and are planning a return trip very soon!

Day 20

We decided to have a look around the pool area first off, seeing as there are seven of them! This was going to take twenty minutes and then we were going to explore the strip a bit more. What actually happened was that while walking through the pool bar, they happened to be showing Man Utd vs. Newcastle live on TV. Matthew became a football widower while Lynne started the painful journey of supporting the Toon back in the Premiership. We had a few beers with the match and Matthew decided he wanted to play on the swim-up blackjack tables. Before the gambling began, we thought it would be a good idea to have a cocktail to help us. Kevin, the friendly bartender, laughed as he freely poured the tequila into the margarita. May I add that it was purely done so that when we were betting, the free drinks they would provide us with would be the same as what we were already drinking. Off Matthew swam to lose some money while Lynne floated around in the waterfalls. Within ten minutes Matthew had already lost forty dollars so Lynne decided to join in the action to win some of it back. This worked well and Matthew even started to win - then the free cocktail arrived! Matthew started losing again, but Lynne, being sensible (and not really a gambler) took her winnings which meant that we broke even, more or less. This little exploration of the pool and its facilities had ended up taking all afternoon, so it was time to get changed and head out to Paris, for an all you can eat buffet. The amount of food that Matthew can consume in one sitting is obscene. That is all that needs to be said about that.

Day 19

The day began watching the sunrise over the Grand Canyon at 5.30 am, the plan being to watch it then go back to sleep. As usual though, Matthew’s stomach was in control of our plans and with the restaurant opening at six, you can probably imagine what we did - breakfast! Poached egg on muffin, potatoes fried in butter and lots of juice saw us ready to walk along the rim. The guide book did warn that you must eat hearty meals and that ‘now is not a time to go on a diet’. Matt has taken this literally, even though I pointed out that this advice is for people going on treks into the Canyon, not us who are going along the rim for 8 miles, mainly on the shuttle bus provided! Anyway, along the rim we went. The sheer scale is difficult to grasp, especially when you see a helicopter that looks like a fly! We have decided that we should come back one day, do said helicopter ride and then raft down the river - let us know if you would like to join us! We appreciated the Canyon much more this morning with less tourists! A quick shower after saying hello to the deer who was curiously hanging around the car and we were off, although not before Lynne had discovered yet another mosquito bite; the total is now eleven. Painful, nasty ones as well, from the vampires in Canyon de Chelly.
On the road to Vegas - woo hoo!! Stopping to take a photo of the Hoover Dam, we realised that the guide book wasn’t lying - this is what 110 degrees feels like! Luckily we weren’t impressed enough by the dam to stay out in the heat for very long. Matthew's summary: "it's just a big concrete wall." Entering Las Vegas Boulevard, we were like two excited children, mesmerised by the lights of the casinos and hotels. We were hopeful when we went to check in to Caesar’s Palace that an upgrade or free bottle of something would be ours. This is because Lynne had cunningly phoned 3 days previously to advise the hotel that her ‘friends’ would be honeymooning there. It didn’t work. Still, the room has an amazing view of the strip; we can watch the volcano of The Mirage explode from our window on the 25th floor, which is what we did before heading out. We soon realised how knackered we were though and, after walking to New York New York and back in the still stifling heat, we called it a night.

Day 18

We started the day watching the sunrise over the mittens. Lynne was especially pleased as the view from the bedroom meant she didn’t even have to leave the bed to watch it! We headed down to our Navajo guide for an 8am start, although this was delayed to 8.30am waiting for the only 3 Germans that have ever been late for anything!
At first, we were dubious about the cost of the trip, but it turned out to be money very well spent. We explored parts of the valley that are only allowed to be seen with a Navajo guide, so got to see much more than we would have done on our own. We saw where John Wayne set up camp for numerous westerns and also the cliff from which Thelma and Louise drove off! Apart from the film locations, the scenery was spectacular and unlike anything either of us have ever seen. At one point, the guide told us to lie down on a rock, close our eyes and just listen. Never before have we heard such silence, which was only to be broken by Lynne’s rumbling tummy!
Three hours later we were dropped back at The View and it was time to head to the Grand Canyon. The first sight of it was awesome (in the correct sense of the word, not the American one) although the amount of tourists does ruin it somewhat. Especially the French ones. This is probably because we’ve been spoilt by the tranquillity and emptiness of the last two places we’ve visited. After reaching our cute cabin, we decided to do a little exploring - the more you see the more amazing it gets. What also lifted our spirits was being able to have a beer after a few days of being dry in the Navajo nation. A beer at altitude after a few days of nothing does have its effect though! Two drinks and a meal and once again it was time for bed - not even a Bruce Willis film could keep us awake!

Day 17

We got up early as there is much to be done today. A quick swim before attempting the laundry again. It turns out that they have moved the laundry room, so the place we were trying to get into last night wasn’t even the correct one. Probably because it is now a bat colony. Anyway, exercise completed (Matthew even managed 20 lengths today), laundry done and it was time to trek into the Canyon.
Canyon de Chelly, probably lesser known than its grander cousin, but beautiful and interesting as it contains ancestral Puebloan ruins and is still inhabited and farmed by the Navajo. A 2 hour trek saw us at the bottom of the canyon, awed by its majesty (Matt wrote that bit). Check out the photos to see what we mean although they probably don’t do it justice.
Next stop, the secret place that Matthew had planned for Lynne. Unbeknownst to him, Lynne had already guessed where it was! A paltry two and a half hour drive took us through the most breathtaking scenery we have encountered thus far: Monument Valley. Our hotel, aptly named The View, had iconic views from the bedroom window, and we couldn’t have felt more like John Wayne unless we had ridden up on horseback! We booked an early morning jeep tour with a Navajo guide, had a fantastic meal and went to bed (after watching Die Hard 2 and star gazing).