Days 21 and 22 - LA and Home
Life: Time to go back to the real world Victoria
Me: But I dont want to
Life: Tough
Our final day started very well indeed, we went to the Warner Bros Studios to do the VIP tour. It was great, only 12 people go on each tour so it is pretty intimate. We got to see lots of the places used in a lot of film and tv, K got so excited an time the phrase 'Gilmore Girls' was used. They had started to take down the ER sets but they still had some up, it was weird - it was actually like being back in Chicago. We also got to go in the Central Perk set which they have kept for the tourists, we got to sit on the couch!
After the tour we went a drive up on Mulholland Drive, we saw Deb from Dexter out jogging and we are pretty sure we saw Jake Gylenhall too. The views from Mulholland drive are amazing and because it goes round both sides of the mountain you really get to see a lot of LA. We also saw a lizard, which appeared to be doing press ups. The most exciting thing about our Mulholland Drive drive was that we went to see the Chemosphere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemosphere) in the flesh (well concrete), it was amazing.
Then we drove out east of Hollywood to Silverlake which is a more independent area. We had lunch at a brewpub and grill called Good, it was. I took the opportunity to get a final pulled pork sandwich and K had chicken tenders, it was de-lish! We then went to a comic store that K was excited about called Secret Headquarters, it was different from other comic stores, it was clean and there were actually girls both working and shopping there. K bought some comic or other. After that we browsed the shops of Silverlake for a bit, K bought a bit of Gemma's birthday present (are you intrigued baby sister?).
We then went on a drive about Silverlake to look at the architecture, specifically that of John Lautner who had built his own house in the area, is was great the streets were so windey and a lot of the houses were amazing. After that we went to a really nice coffee shop near the actual body of water that the area is named after. We both had an iced vanilla latte (made with actual vanilla - fancy) and a red velvet cupcake, yumo.
After we were fuelled up we went over to Echo Park where I bought some 2 layer LA converse - with my Vegas winnings, so they were free. We went to a street market, K spoke Spanish to some people then we cruised around for a bit.
We then went back up to WeHo and sat outside at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on the Sunset Strip for quite a while. Sadly, we then left LA behind, we decided that we would stay at a motel near LAX because our flight was so early.
We found a motel near LAX, checked in then discovered that it was GHETTO. The room itself was ok but there were a lot of people hanging about, loud music, arguments and im pretty sure drug dealing was going on. When we left at 5am people were still hanging about, I was very glad to get out of there!
We checked in to our flight and amazingly everything went very smoothly, very different from our last LAX experience. The first flight was fine but there was a bit of turbulence and at one point I did see fork lightening out of the window - terrifing!
The time between flights went really smoothly too, we didnt need to do anything, go through security or anything. We got some dinner and it was soon time to get on the next flight - it was really weird hearing Scottish accents everywhere.
The second flight was good too, it even got in an hour early and both of our bags turned up!
So that is that, it is over and we are home. We will just need to decide where to go next!
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Friday, 22 May 2009
Day 20 - LA (day 2)
Today was an awesome day. Awesome.
We started the day by tooting down to The Grove shopping centre which is all outside and is done kind of like a village with fountains and stuff. We then walked next door to the Farmer’s Market which is ace. K spent some time in a sticker shop (boring). We got some watermelon slush drinks and went on our way.
The Farmers Market is about a mile away from the Beverley Centre and the street joining them (3rd St) has lots of wee shops on it so we wandered down it. It was too warm to go on the sunny side of the street though so we missed out a few things. The best stop was at Flight 001 which is a travel accessory shop.
When we got to the Beverley Centre we hit the food court, it was a step above the food courts that we are used to. I had pasta with pesto and chicken, they actually cooked the pasta from dried and cooked the sauce in a pan right in front of my very eyes. K had Japanese, noodles, sushi and gyoza - she was very happy with the selection.
After we had a wee peruse we jumped in a taxi back to the Grove. It was handy cos we left the car there all day cos it was next to the CBS Studios which was our next stop. We had to put everything in the car before we went to the studio cos you weren’t allowed to take any bags in.
We then went and queued outside the studio for a while, luckily it was in the shade. Then we went through security and then we sat on a bench for a long time waiting til we could go in. Finally, we went up to the studio to see the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson being filmed. It was pretty good, John Waters was brilliant - it was amazing to see him in the flesh (I am actually watching it on TV at this very moment). There was a brilliant bit where John was reading a bit of Craig Ferguson’s autobiography out loud and it was a bit about Kelvingrove park - ace!
After the show we got the car and hit the Sunset Strip where we sat outside Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and had a beverage and did some prime people spotting. We were sitting next to another celeb but again we didn’t know who it was - but people were walking past giving her rounds of applause and stuff.
After that, K got to go to a big Comic Book store, she was like a kid in a sweet shop, I’m not sure how I feel about this new obsession - I have been in more comic shops this holiday than my whole life combined.
We then decided to go to Universal Studios City Walk for the evening. It is the bit next to Universal Studios where all the shops, restaurants, bars and the cinema is. It was brilliant, more neon than you could shake a fist at (why you’d want to shake your fist at neon I don’t know). We parked in the Curious George Parking Lot. K went crazy in a sweet shop - she was like a kid in a sweet shop! We went to the pictures to get tickets and there was some sort of screening on with a red carpet and press and everything but again we didn’t know who anyone was ! Anyway, we got tickets for Wolverine which was great and it had reclining chairs!!!!!!!! We had cinema snacks for dinner, popcorn where you got to put on your own melted butter, mmmmmmmmmm.
After we left there we went for a wee toot about Hollywood Boulevard but everything was closing . We drove down to pinks hotdogs (an institution) and queued for about 20mins to get a dog with chilli and sour cream to share. The last time we went we queued for about an hour and half so it was pretty good. It was about midnight though, shows how popular the place is I guess.
On the way back to the hotel we popped into the supermarket and bought some chopped up melon to get some all important vitamins.
Tomorrow we are going on a studio tour of Warner Bros which should be good, we get to see the set from the Gilmore Girls!!
Today was an awesome day. Awesome.
We started the day by tooting down to The Grove shopping centre which is all outside and is done kind of like a village with fountains and stuff. We then walked next door to the Farmer’s Market which is ace. K spent some time in a sticker shop (boring). We got some watermelon slush drinks and went on our way.
The Farmers Market is about a mile away from the Beverley Centre and the street joining them (3rd St) has lots of wee shops on it so we wandered down it. It was too warm to go on the sunny side of the street though so we missed out a few things. The best stop was at Flight 001 which is a travel accessory shop.
When we got to the Beverley Centre we hit the food court, it was a step above the food courts that we are used to. I had pasta with pesto and chicken, they actually cooked the pasta from dried and cooked the sauce in a pan right in front of my very eyes. K had Japanese, noodles, sushi and gyoza - she was very happy with the selection.
After we had a wee peruse we jumped in a taxi back to the Grove. It was handy cos we left the car there all day cos it was next to the CBS Studios which was our next stop. We had to put everything in the car before we went to the studio cos you weren’t allowed to take any bags in.
We then went and queued outside the studio for a while, luckily it was in the shade. Then we went through security and then we sat on a bench for a long time waiting til we could go in. Finally, we went up to the studio to see the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson being filmed. It was pretty good, John Waters was brilliant - it was amazing to see him in the flesh (I am actually watching it on TV at this very moment). There was a brilliant bit where John was reading a bit of Craig Ferguson’s autobiography out loud and it was a bit about Kelvingrove park - ace!
After the show we got the car and hit the Sunset Strip where we sat outside Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and had a beverage and did some prime people spotting. We were sitting next to another celeb but again we didn’t know who it was - but people were walking past giving her rounds of applause and stuff.
After that, K got to go to a big Comic Book store, she was like a kid in a sweet shop, I’m not sure how I feel about this new obsession - I have been in more comic shops this holiday than my whole life combined.
We then decided to go to Universal Studios City Walk for the evening. It is the bit next to Universal Studios where all the shops, restaurants, bars and the cinema is. It was brilliant, more neon than you could shake a fist at (why you’d want to shake your fist at neon I don’t know). We parked in the Curious George Parking Lot. K went crazy in a sweet shop - she was like a kid in a sweet shop! We went to the pictures to get tickets and there was some sort of screening on with a red carpet and press and everything but again we didn’t know who anyone was ! Anyway, we got tickets for Wolverine which was great and it had reclining chairs!!!!!!!! We had cinema snacks for dinner, popcorn where you got to put on your own melted butter, mmmmmmmmmm.
After we left there we went for a wee toot about Hollywood Boulevard but everything was closing . We drove down to pinks hotdogs (an institution) and queued for about 20mins to get a dog with chilli and sour cream to share. The last time we went we queued for about an hour and half so it was pretty good. It was about midnight though, shows how popular the place is I guess.
On the way back to the hotel we popped into the supermarket and bought some chopped up melon to get some all important vitamins.
Tomorrow we are going on a studio tour of Warner Bros which should be good, we get to see the set from the Gilmore Girls!!
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Day 19 - Rialto to LA 89 miles (2969 miles so far)
“So we’ve come to the end of the road…”
We woke up this morning really late with only 20mins til checkout time because we stayed up late last night to buy Skunk Anansie tickets at 9am UK time.
Basically the street the Wigwams were on went all the way to LA even though it was over 60 miles. It was essentially the greater LA metropolitan area so it was just town after town of the Inland Empire area and they were all the same, will the same shops, the same fast food joints and the same scenery as it went along the south of the mountains.
K was very excited to get to San Dimas cos she thought that she would get to see Bill and Ted - there was no sign of them sadly. We hopped on the Interstate for the final part of the journey and then we arrived at Santa Monica where we parked and took loads of photos. The we did a bit of shopping and I got a Pinkberry to cool down - FroYo with mango and blueberries on top, yum.
Then we left the ocean behind and headed back into LA to check in to the hotel. We drove down Santa Monica Boulevard the whole way which was great, we drove through Beverly Hills, Century City and West Hollywood before arriving in Hollywood proper. The hotel is great, it is about a five minute walk down to Hollywood Boulevard and it is quite fancy but not too fancy so that it is uncomfortable.
After we checked in we walked down to Hollywood where we went to the historic Mels Drive In (no longer a drive-in) for dinner. It is a proper old school diner just off of Hollywood Boulevard that has been there since the 50s. I had a cheeseburger and K had a burger, they were really good but the real excitement of the meal was that a celebrity came in for food - with a bodyguard! We don’t know who he was but other people were excited and did I mention - he had a bodyguard!
After that we strolled down Sunset to Amoeba, the most amazing record store in the world - and the largest in the US. Before our visit we went to a coffee shop across the road that we went to on our last visit called Groundwork - very nice and great for people watching. We went to Amoeba and went a bit crazy on ‘new country’ compilations and got the Sugarland album. Even though we brought our ipods and itrip with is for the journey we haven’t used them at all - it has been country radio all the way and we are now connoisseurs of the genre so we wanted to stock up before we went home.
Our next stop off was at an arty shopping/entertainment complex called Space 15 Twenty which had a brilliant design/architecture bookshop where we perused for a bit then went to the bar for a wee (soft) drinkypoo. We walked up the trashy end of Hollywood Boulevard feeling sorry for the people who have their stars down there then went to Starbucks - it is important to keep hydrated in the heat is my excuse. Then we got to the nice bit of Hollywood and we went into the Hollywood and Highland Centre for a little walk about. After that I am ashamed to say that we came back to the hotel to watch the end of the American Idol Final, I am ashamed but glad because I am knackered!
The wifi in the hotel is just in the lobby so I will upload this in the morning.
Tomorrow we are going to see the Late Late Show being filmed, the guest is John Waters!!!!!!!!!!!! I am excited, we better get in (one time we had tickets to see something being filmed at the BBC and didn’t get in cos it was full, this better not happen tomorrow).
(sitting outside at a coffee shop on sunset strip - how cool are we?!)
“So we’ve come to the end of the road…”
We woke up this morning really late with only 20mins til checkout time because we stayed up late last night to buy Skunk Anansie tickets at 9am UK time.
Basically the street the Wigwams were on went all the way to LA even though it was over 60 miles. It was essentially the greater LA metropolitan area so it was just town after town of the Inland Empire area and they were all the same, will the same shops, the same fast food joints and the same scenery as it went along the south of the mountains.
K was very excited to get to San Dimas cos she thought that she would get to see Bill and Ted - there was no sign of them sadly. We hopped on the Interstate for the final part of the journey and then we arrived at Santa Monica where we parked and took loads of photos. The we did a bit of shopping and I got a Pinkberry to cool down - FroYo with mango and blueberries on top, yum.
Then we left the ocean behind and headed back into LA to check in to the hotel. We drove down Santa Monica Boulevard the whole way which was great, we drove through Beverly Hills, Century City and West Hollywood before arriving in Hollywood proper. The hotel is great, it is about a five minute walk down to Hollywood Boulevard and it is quite fancy but not too fancy so that it is uncomfortable.
After we checked in we walked down to Hollywood where we went to the historic Mels Drive In (no longer a drive-in) for dinner. It is a proper old school diner just off of Hollywood Boulevard that has been there since the 50s. I had a cheeseburger and K had a burger, they were really good but the real excitement of the meal was that a celebrity came in for food - with a bodyguard! We don’t know who he was but other people were excited and did I mention - he had a bodyguard!
After that we strolled down Sunset to Amoeba, the most amazing record store in the world - and the largest in the US. Before our visit we went to a coffee shop across the road that we went to on our last visit called Groundwork - very nice and great for people watching. We went to Amoeba and went a bit crazy on ‘new country’ compilations and got the Sugarland album. Even though we brought our ipods and itrip with is for the journey we haven’t used them at all - it has been country radio all the way and we are now connoisseurs of the genre so we wanted to stock up before we went home.
Our next stop off was at an arty shopping/entertainment complex called Space 15 Twenty which had a brilliant design/architecture bookshop where we perused for a bit then went to the bar for a wee (soft) drinkypoo. We walked up the trashy end of Hollywood Boulevard feeling sorry for the people who have their stars down there then went to Starbucks - it is important to keep hydrated in the heat is my excuse. Then we got to the nice bit of Hollywood and we went into the Hollywood and Highland Centre for a little walk about. After that I am ashamed to say that we came back to the hotel to watch the end of the American Idol Final, I am ashamed but glad because I am knackered!
The wifi in the hotel is just in the lobby so I will upload this in the morning.
Tomorrow we are going to see the Late Late Show being filmed, the guest is John Waters!!!!!!!!!!!! I am excited, we better get in (one time we had tickets to see something being filmed at the BBC and didn’t get in cos it was full, this better not happen tomorrow).
(sitting outside at a coffee shop on sunset strip - how cool are we?!)
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Day 18 Las Vegas, NV to Rialto, CA 230 miles (2880miles so far)
Normal service resumes.
We left Vegas, not so bright and not so early and hit the road.
Not much happened today as it was basically just hitting the motorway getting back down to California. It was good to get away from the crazy heat of Vegas, it is actually quite cool tonight for the first time in ages.
(Note - Toerzy says cool, but its actually still quite hot outside even tho it's 10.30pm!- Kir.) We stopped for lunch in Baker which is in California not far from the Nevada border and is home to the world's tallest thermometer! Woo fancy etc. We went to Taco Bell as K was complaining that she had only had one this trip. She had tacos and I had a dang quesidilla.
We hit the road again and we were soon back in Barstow where we stayed a few nights ago and we were back on the track of route 66. We pushed on as we had booked our motel for tonight.
We went throught the San Bernadino forest which was weird since there was suddenly actually greenery about us.
Finally, we arrived at the motel, or should I say the wigwam! It is amazing, see above, it is actually very spacious inside and the bed is really high off the ground - k has to get a punty up!
We chilled for a bit then went to the local laundromat where we hung with the local (mexican) peeps and watched jeopardy. After that we grabbed some dinner - a subway for me and K got a huge bag of crisps - then we came back to the wigwam to watch the American Idol final. It was weird watching it live, for once I wont find out who the winner is before I see it!
We then watched the premier of a new series called Glee - it was amazing, it is about a school Glee Club (basically a choir) and ticks all the boxes of brilliant tv. However, the series doesnt start here properly til 'the fall' so god knows when we will get it at home.
We also sorted out our LA accomodation, we used Priceline where you choose the area you want to stay, how many stars minimum you want and name a price and then it finds you a hotel. We got the Hollywood Heights Hotel for £62 a night - score! It is right in the middle of Hollywood and seems pretty fancy.
We will get to the end of Route 66 tomorrow which will be really weird.
Apparently, there was another earthquake in LA today, the second since Sunday so we will be holding on to our hats.
Monday, 18 May 2009
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Day 15 Kingman to Barstow 220 miles (2650 miles so far)
First I have to mention a few things I forgot last night, firstly we saw a guy coming out of walmart just wearing a gun!!! Secondly, K ate some crab salad thinking it was coleslaw and was a bit ill - she wasnt ready for me to talk about it last night.
Today started well as there was a free hot breakfast in the hotel, I had waffles! Then on the way back to the room a giant (about 5 inches) flying cricket thing landed on me, not good, K didnt even save me!
We drove to Oatman round the scariest mountain road (with no barriers) that I have ever been on, K quite enjoyed the driving but I was terrified - I was the one next to the huge drop. There were various cars that we could see that had fallen off on the way just to add to my fear.
Oatman is what is known as a living ghost town, it used to be a very busy mining town and now it is pretty empty. Wild donkeys and mules roam the streets as their decendants worked in the mine and were freed when it closed. They are so cute and completly tame, you can buy bags of carrots to feed to them which they pretty much just steal from you greedily. The baby ones had stickers on their heads to say dont feed them cos it will make them ill, did I mention that they were cute. The town is like a proper old west town, its claim to fame is that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard had their honeymoon there.
At high noon there was a reinactment of a gun fight in the main street, it was pretty good and I jumped every time they shot their guns (the donkeys however did not). We had to leave after that though cos it was unbearable being outside - it was up to 111f today which is 44c! We then drove through the desert and through the Black Mountains til we hit California!
We had lunch in Needles, our first ever Dennys. We had to go somewhere with air conditioning. I had a chicken and avocado salad and K had the most food ever, it went over 3 full size plates - I kid you not. She ordered the breakfast where you get 4 things, she went for sausage, eggs, pancakes and cheese grits. Firstly they bought her a huge bowl of cheese grits which she scoffed while waiting for the rest then they brought a plate with 2 huge pancakes on it and anther with 2 sausages, 2 fried eggs and they had accidentally brought her hash browns too! To be fair she didnt eat the hash browns and left half a pancake but she looked so funny sitting with 3 huge plates. Also, she didnt have dinner as she is still full.
We then battered on through the heat and the desert. It was beautiful but hot. We went through about a million mountain ranges, each higher than the last. It was all pretty hazy because of the heat which gave it an other wordly quality.
Eventually we arrived in Barstow (in the middle of the Mojave Desert) where we have booked into the California Inn which is pretty nice, we have a balcony overlooking the pool but it was too hot to go out on it. Our room is massive and we have the air conditioning on full bung.
The old train station is converted into a sort of mini mall with food places, complete with McDonalds trains that people actually sit in and eat their food, very weird.
We had a good old time in a massive supermarket sized 99cents store, they sold everything from frozen food and fresh fruit to flip flops. We have stocked our fridge up with water and juice.
We are having a chillax night tonight in preperation for Vegas tomor so we just sat and watched Eurovision on Youtube. That Norwegian song that won was rubbish and I cant believe that Germany were 20th! I think Greece were my favourites.
Anyway, I am too tired to try and upload photos because I have been in front of youtube all night, just imagine desert.
First I have to mention a few things I forgot last night, firstly we saw a guy coming out of walmart just wearing a gun!!! Secondly, K ate some crab salad thinking it was coleslaw and was a bit ill - she wasnt ready for me to talk about it last night.
Today started well as there was a free hot breakfast in the hotel, I had waffles! Then on the way back to the room a giant (about 5 inches) flying cricket thing landed on me, not good, K didnt even save me!
We drove to Oatman round the scariest mountain road (with no barriers) that I have ever been on, K quite enjoyed the driving but I was terrified - I was the one next to the huge drop. There were various cars that we could see that had fallen off on the way just to add to my fear.
Oatman is what is known as a living ghost town, it used to be a very busy mining town and now it is pretty empty. Wild donkeys and mules roam the streets as their decendants worked in the mine and were freed when it closed. They are so cute and completly tame, you can buy bags of carrots to feed to them which they pretty much just steal from you greedily. The baby ones had stickers on their heads to say dont feed them cos it will make them ill, did I mention that they were cute. The town is like a proper old west town, its claim to fame is that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard had their honeymoon there.
At high noon there was a reinactment of a gun fight in the main street, it was pretty good and I jumped every time they shot their guns (the donkeys however did not). We had to leave after that though cos it was unbearable being outside - it was up to 111f today which is 44c! We then drove through the desert and through the Black Mountains til we hit California!
We had lunch in Needles, our first ever Dennys. We had to go somewhere with air conditioning. I had a chicken and avocado salad and K had the most food ever, it went over 3 full size plates - I kid you not. She ordered the breakfast where you get 4 things, she went for sausage, eggs, pancakes and cheese grits. Firstly they bought her a huge bowl of cheese grits which she scoffed while waiting for the rest then they brought a plate with 2 huge pancakes on it and anther with 2 sausages, 2 fried eggs and they had accidentally brought her hash browns too! To be fair she didnt eat the hash browns and left half a pancake but she looked so funny sitting with 3 huge plates. Also, she didnt have dinner as she is still full.
We then battered on through the heat and the desert. It was beautiful but hot. We went through about a million mountain ranges, each higher than the last. It was all pretty hazy because of the heat which gave it an other wordly quality.
Eventually we arrived in Barstow (in the middle of the Mojave Desert) where we have booked into the California Inn which is pretty nice, we have a balcony overlooking the pool but it was too hot to go out on it. Our room is massive and we have the air conditioning on full bung.
The old train station is converted into a sort of mini mall with food places, complete with McDonalds trains that people actually sit in and eat their food, very weird.
We had a good old time in a massive supermarket sized 99cents store, they sold everything from frozen food and fresh fruit to flip flops. We have stocked our fridge up with water and juice.
We are having a chillax night tonight in preperation for Vegas tomor so we just sat and watched Eurovision on Youtube. That Norwegian song that won was rubbish and I cant believe that Germany were 20th! I think Greece were my favourites.
Anyway, I am too tired to try and upload photos because I have been in front of youtube all night, just imagine desert.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Day 14 - Williams to Kingman 148 miles (2430 miles so far)
Woke up quite late and rushed about a bit as check out was 10am. Then we tooted about Williams for a while taking some photos etc. We had breakfast in the Red Garter Bed and Bakery, it is an old bordello that has been converted into a b & b, Gem would love it. The woman that was working there loved having some chat with us, she asked if we had ever been to Surrey and if it was nice cos she had just watched ‘The Holiday’ - I think American peoples views of the UK are slightly skewed by movies.
After we hit the road we hit the longest stretch of interrupted Rt 66, it was a great road, surrounded by mountains and canyons. The first town we hit was Seligman, I cant really describe the town other than to say it is ‘wacky’. Two brothers called Angel and Juan basically organised the whole Rt 66 thing in the area and because of this the town is Rt 66 crazy. Juan ran the Snow Cap Drive In and Angel the barber shop and both are now temples to Rt 66. The Snow Cap is still running even though Juan has passed away and the barber shop is now a shop. We got some shakes and onion rings at the Snow Cap and they came with a happy face potato thing! The whole place was like a joke house, the door had two handles, he squeezed fake mustard on K, gave our change to someone else and said do you want a straw and then handed us a pile of straw! Cheesy but cute. A coach load of Germans had arrived at the same time as us and they were loving it, some of them even got a ride in the special Snow Cap car (picture to follow).
On we went, we even got to see the Grand Canyon again in the distance. Then we arrived in Kingman where we are spending tonight. On the way in to town the car in front of us had their tyre blow up! K stopped to see if they needed help but they said they were ok. We went to the Rt 66 museum and they were going to let us in for free since we didn’t have change but in the end we gave them the $5 that we did have in change - bargain. It was a great museum with loads of stories from people who travelled Rt 66 out of necessity during the depression.
We checked into the Quality Inn for a bit of luxury then K fell asleep for an hour before dinner. Lightweight. We went to the Golden Corral for dinner which was AMAZING! It was a buffet and it had everything in the world, including steak that you got to say how you wanted it cooked. K went a bit crazy with the pork chops, I think she might get the swine flu!
After that (we were in there quite a while) we cruised about a bit then went to a borders type store where K spent ages browsing. We bought a book with photos of funny signs, I was crying in the shop whilst reading it - not a good look.
Now we are back in the room watching Save the Last Dance - wild eh?!
(still having photo trouble)
Woke up quite late and rushed about a bit as check out was 10am. Then we tooted about Williams for a while taking some photos etc. We had breakfast in the Red Garter Bed and Bakery, it is an old bordello that has been converted into a b & b, Gem would love it. The woman that was working there loved having some chat with us, she asked if we had ever been to Surrey and if it was nice cos she had just watched ‘The Holiday’ - I think American peoples views of the UK are slightly skewed by movies.
After we hit the road we hit the longest stretch of interrupted Rt 66, it was a great road, surrounded by mountains and canyons. The first town we hit was Seligman, I cant really describe the town other than to say it is ‘wacky’. Two brothers called Angel and Juan basically organised the whole Rt 66 thing in the area and because of this the town is Rt 66 crazy. Juan ran the Snow Cap Drive In and Angel the barber shop and both are now temples to Rt 66. The Snow Cap is still running even though Juan has passed away and the barber shop is now a shop. We got some shakes and onion rings at the Snow Cap and they came with a happy face potato thing! The whole place was like a joke house, the door had two handles, he squeezed fake mustard on K, gave our change to someone else and said do you want a straw and then handed us a pile of straw! Cheesy but cute. A coach load of Germans had arrived at the same time as us and they were loving it, some of them even got a ride in the special Snow Cap car (picture to follow).
On we went, we even got to see the Grand Canyon again in the distance. Then we arrived in Kingman where we are spending tonight. On the way in to town the car in front of us had their tyre blow up! K stopped to see if they needed help but they said they were ok. We went to the Rt 66 museum and they were going to let us in for free since we didn’t have change but in the end we gave them the $5 that we did have in change - bargain. It was a great museum with loads of stories from people who travelled Rt 66 out of necessity during the depression.
We checked into the Quality Inn for a bit of luxury then K fell asleep for an hour before dinner. Lightweight. We went to the Golden Corral for dinner which was AMAZING! It was a buffet and it had everything in the world, including steak that you got to say how you wanted it cooked. K went a bit crazy with the pork chops, I think she might get the swine flu!
After that (we were in there quite a while) we cruised about a bit then went to a borders type store where K spent ages browsing. We bought a book with photos of funny signs, I was crying in the shop whilst reading it - not a good look.
Now we are back in the room watching Save the Last Dance - wild eh?!
(still having photo trouble)
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Day 13 Flagstaff to Williams (via the Grand Canyon) 196 miles (2282 miles in total)
(this website is playing up and wont let me upload photos - bumper special soon)
We got up ate cereal and hit the road, the road up to the Grand Canyon was pretty beautiful, looking towards the San Francisco Peaks (they arent in San Francisco Geography buffs) a lot of the way. We arrived at the Canyon and pretty much just looked at it from different angles and locations for a few hours. We got the free shuttle bus along to different view points that you cant drive to as well as walking along the rim. It is massive you really cant prepare yourself for just how big it is, and even though it is about a mile deep there was a litttle boy saying "mommy it doesnt look like that big a hole to me!".
It really was amazing, I will upload photos but they wont do it justice. The only bad thing is there were flies - EVERYWHERE, landing all over you, im not exagerating it was pretty horrible. There were also big mutant blue bottle things - eugh! There was good nature too, I saw a lizard and condors were flying over head. There were signs about saying things like "let the squirrels feed themselves" fair enough they are cute, people might try to feed them but surely "let the coyotes feed themselves" is a bit of a no brainer. (on a similar topic K saw a roadrunner today and I missed it - gutted!)
We had our leftovers from last night in the car for lunch, yummy and (practically) fly free.
On the way back down we came all the way to Flagstaff again so we didnt miss any of Route 66, and also K wanted to get some more chocolate that we got yesterday.
The 30 miles from Flag (as the locals call it) to Williams (as everyone calls it) was pretty cool, it was mostly through the Kaibab Forest and park of the way was just dirt road.
Williams is a pretty cute little town, it is like the way you imagine old towns 'out west' to be. We are staying in a lovely motel called the Westerner. These motels really are by and large pretty good for the money you pay, we have averaged $50 a night and have had 2 queen beds most of the time and fridges in the room.
We went for dinner at a place called Cruisers Rt 66 Cafe, 50s stylee. There was a huge patio where there was a guy playing the guitar but sadly the wait was quite long so we sat inside. We lucked out though and got a booth near the door, near the windows which were open so we got to enjoy the breeze and the music. We both had bbq pulled beef which way pretty nice but as usual we only managed to eat half - we really should start sharing meals.
Then we went to a square done up like an old wild west town where a band were playing country songs, so we sat outside there for a while and had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the tunes. It was pretty much awesome, they played Garth Brooks - Friends in Low Places when we arrived, I was singing along like a local.
Then we walked back to the motel and we are about to book our rooms in Vegas for Sun and Mon night - yee haw (as the locals say).
(this website is playing up and wont let me upload photos - bumper special soon)
We got up ate cereal and hit the road, the road up to the Grand Canyon was pretty beautiful, looking towards the San Francisco Peaks (they arent in San Francisco Geography buffs) a lot of the way. We arrived at the Canyon and pretty much just looked at it from different angles and locations for a few hours. We got the free shuttle bus along to different view points that you cant drive to as well as walking along the rim. It is massive you really cant prepare yourself for just how big it is, and even though it is about a mile deep there was a litttle boy saying "mommy it doesnt look like that big a hole to me!".
It really was amazing, I will upload photos but they wont do it justice. The only bad thing is there were flies - EVERYWHERE, landing all over you, im not exagerating it was pretty horrible. There were also big mutant blue bottle things - eugh! There was good nature too, I saw a lizard and condors were flying over head. There were signs about saying things like "let the squirrels feed themselves" fair enough they are cute, people might try to feed them but surely "let the coyotes feed themselves" is a bit of a no brainer. (on a similar topic K saw a roadrunner today and I missed it - gutted!)
We had our leftovers from last night in the car for lunch, yummy and (practically) fly free.
On the way back down we came all the way to Flagstaff again so we didnt miss any of Route 66, and also K wanted to get some more chocolate that we got yesterday.
The 30 miles from Flag (as the locals call it) to Williams (as everyone calls it) was pretty cool, it was mostly through the Kaibab Forest and park of the way was just dirt road.
Williams is a pretty cute little town, it is like the way you imagine old towns 'out west' to be. We are staying in a lovely motel called the Westerner. These motels really are by and large pretty good for the money you pay, we have averaged $50 a night and have had 2 queen beds most of the time and fridges in the room.
We went for dinner at a place called Cruisers Rt 66 Cafe, 50s stylee. There was a huge patio where there was a guy playing the guitar but sadly the wait was quite long so we sat inside. We lucked out though and got a booth near the door, near the windows which were open so we got to enjoy the breeze and the music. We both had bbq pulled beef which way pretty nice but as usual we only managed to eat half - we really should start sharing meals.
Then we went to a square done up like an old wild west town where a band were playing country songs, so we sat outside there for a while and had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the tunes. It was pretty much awesome, they played Garth Brooks - Friends in Low Places when we arrived, I was singing along like a local.
Then we walked back to the motel and we are about to book our rooms in Vegas for Sun and Mon night - yee haw (as the locals say).
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Day 12
Day 12 - Holbrook to Flagstaff - Guest blog by Kirsty
Miles done today - 125, total miles so far - 2086
Welcome to the guest edition of our route 66 blog, written by me. Toerz is really tired so I’m writing it instead. My own travel journal is about 3 days behind - oops!
So, we didn’t cover as many miles today but we still managed to pack a lot in. This morning we left Holbrook and our first stop was the Jackrabbit Trading Post - a gift shop which dates from 1947 and has a famous “Here it is!” billboard outside it. Next we arrived in Winslow and “stood on the corner”. For those of you who don’t know, the Eagles song taking it easy has a line that goes “Standin on the corner in Winslow Arizona”. We had a coffee then set off again. On the way to Flagstaff we passed a ghost town called Two Guns, and a deserted trading post called “Two Arrows” with 2 giant arrows sticking out the ground.
A wee detour took us to Walnut Canyon, a national park with amazing views of the canyon. Much smaller than Grand Canyon, but still breathtaking. You could do a trek down to the bottom of the canyon but we chose to do the easier walk along the rim. There were cave dwellings you could see all over it.
At last we got to Flagstaff, after a quick stop at Old Navy for me! It is a really lovely town, with an old historic district and a University district. We had lunch at a nice wee diner in the historic part of town then had a look about the shops. There was this one shop, selling stuff similar to urban outfitters, that had a “do not shoplift” sign next to the door. Underneath it there were loads of letters of apology from people that had shoplifted, with their names etc tippexed out!
Then we booked into the Arizonan Motel and got settled in to the room. It was at this point that we realised we didn’t have the cable for my netbook. We searched everywhere but couldn’t find it! We didn’t use the cable last night so we think we have left it in El Rancho in Gallup, New Mexico. I phoned the hotel but they said I need to phone back tomorrow morning to speak to the head of housekeeping. So we set out on a trail to find a replacement and eventually got one in “Best Buy”. It cost a pretty penny! (cent?). And turns out its not that great cos it has a universal adaptor which is a bit wobbly.
For dinner we went to a pizza place. Vic had chicken pizza and I had veg lasagne. Both were yummy but we could only finish about half of it. So we got it to take away and will have it for lunch tomorrow.
Well it’s getting on so I’ll finish this now. The wireless connection here is rubbish so no pictures until tomorrow.
Miles done today - 125, total miles so far - 2086
Welcome to the guest edition of our route 66 blog, written by me. Toerz is really tired so I’m writing it instead. My own travel journal is about 3 days behind - oops!
So, we didn’t cover as many miles today but we still managed to pack a lot in. This morning we left Holbrook and our first stop was the Jackrabbit Trading Post - a gift shop which dates from 1947 and has a famous “Here it is!” billboard outside it. Next we arrived in Winslow and “stood on the corner”. For those of you who don’t know, the Eagles song taking it easy has a line that goes “Standin on the corner in Winslow Arizona”. We had a coffee then set off again. On the way to Flagstaff we passed a ghost town called Two Guns, and a deserted trading post called “Two Arrows” with 2 giant arrows sticking out the ground.
A wee detour took us to Walnut Canyon, a national park with amazing views of the canyon. Much smaller than Grand Canyon, but still breathtaking. You could do a trek down to the bottom of the canyon but we chose to do the easier walk along the rim. There were cave dwellings you could see all over it.
At last we got to Flagstaff, after a quick stop at Old Navy for me! It is a really lovely town, with an old historic district and a University district. We had lunch at a nice wee diner in the historic part of town then had a look about the shops. There was this one shop, selling stuff similar to urban outfitters, that had a “do not shoplift” sign next to the door. Underneath it there were loads of letters of apology from people that had shoplifted, with their names etc tippexed out!
Then we booked into the Arizonan Motel and got settled in to the room. It was at this point that we realised we didn’t have the cable for my netbook. We searched everywhere but couldn’t find it! We didn’t use the cable last night so we think we have left it in El Rancho in Gallup, New Mexico. I phoned the hotel but they said I need to phone back tomorrow morning to speak to the head of housekeeping. So we set out on a trail to find a replacement and eventually got one in “Best Buy”. It cost a pretty penny! (cent?). And turns out its not that great cos it has a universal adaptor which is a bit wobbly.
For dinner we went to a pizza place. Vic had chicken pizza and I had veg lasagne. Both were yummy but we could only finish about half of it. So we got it to take away and will have it for lunch tomorrow.
Well it’s getting on so I’ll finish this now. The wireless connection here is rubbish so no pictures until tomorrow.
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Day 11 - Gallup NM to Holbrook AZ - 170 miles (1961 miles so far)
Another late lie this morning, planned this time as we didnt have very much ground to cover.
We went to the cafe in the Gallup Cultural Centre for brunch, I had a breakfast burrito and K had a croissant with bacon and egg, we both had ice lattes to drink (did I mention it is warm here?!).
Then we went an unintentional detour (read the wrong way) through the desert for about 20miles, oops! However, we did get to see some prairie dogs since we were in the middle of nowhere so it wasnt too bad. Once we got back on the road we were soon in Arizona, we stopped at a giant TeePee (see above) to do some browsing.
Then we pushed on to the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park. We did the 28 mile scenic drive that goes through the park, it has loads of parking places for views, little walks etc. It took us about 3 hours to do the 28 miles! The Painted Desert bit was amazing, it was kinda like being on a different planet. The rocks were all stripey, and we saw the badlands and a lot of mountains. We also saw another group of Pueblo ruins, this time though they were older and had a lot of petroglyphs on the rocks (drawings by the indians), especially on Newspaper Rock.
The Petrified Forest part wasnt as exciting although it was pretty cool, much more impressive than Fossil Gove in Victoria Park.
Eventually, we arrived in Holbrook (via Buckets of Blood Dr!) but sadly the wigwam motel was fully booked - gutted! We booked into a America's Best Value Inn in a huff. We then walked down to Joe and Aggies cafe, a route 66 institution. Walking was a bad idea as although there are pavements in Holbrook there are no pedestrian crossings. Joe and Aggies has fun murals on the side and a lot of Rt 66 tat for sale inside. The menu was massive so I couldnt decide on what fun thing to get so I just got a cheeseburger, what a loser! I also got a ranch side salad, it was actually all very nice. K got fried chicken with mash, gravy and veg and a ranch side salad. It was massive, she said she ate loads but there was still millions on the plate at the end. She then had a sopapilla with honey ( I had a wee bit of it). After that we went a wee walk again then went for our first ever Dairy Queen experience for pudding. I had a strawberry shortcake sundae and K just had a hot fudge sundae malt, good times.
Then we just went to Safeway (!?) and got some water and now we are back at the motel. It is way too warm, the electric shocks have started!
Monday, 11 May 2009
Day 10 - Santa Fe, NM to Gallup, NW - 232 miles (1791 miles so far)
We left Santa Fe behind after a bit of lie in and headed south to Albuquerque. Most of the way there was through different reservations and we saw quite a few ‘Indian casinos’ - just like in the Simpsons or something.
Nothing much to note about the drive down but the scenery was lovely, lots of mountains.
We arrived in Albuquerque just before noon and went a bit of a drive about the different areas of town, it seems like a really nice city, lots of nice looking cafes and shops.
We had decided to go to the Route 66 Malt Shop, as recommended by our Lonely Planet book, but this was a mistake. The first sign was that as we entered there was a sticker that said ‘One Big Ass Mistake America’ (Obama in case you are a little slow). The guy that owned it then had conversations with about 3 different customers about politics, gosh! He HATES Obama, the first point was about how Obama hates capitalism and is a bloody socialist. Then they talked about Guantanamo Bay and how shutting it was a bad thing and torture was a legitimate thing to do, he also said they would probably release the terrorists to become New York taxi drivers. His final conversation was about the death penalty, he LOVES it. He also had a minute man flag on the wall. He seriously seemed like some sort of plant. This would have been fine, I quite enjoyed it if I’m honest but the food wasn’t good. I had a grilled cheese sandwich which I’m pretty sure was made with squeezy cheese! It came with potato salad which was pretty rank too. K had a cheeseburger which she says was nice but I’m not convinced. What were good were the milkshakes, in fact they were fantastic. I had a butterscotch shake and K had a peanut butter malt, yum.
Back on the road and we crossed the Rio Grande, which like the Mississippi was brown. All was going well until part of the road was shut off because a big van was on fire. We could not find any way round, which sounds ridiculous but it is true, we tried loads of streets but none of them got us where we wanted to be. So we just kind of hung about at the park next to the Rio Grande, but it was so hot we both got headaches. Eventually we got out of Albuquerque and we were on the road once again.
The landscape changed once again and we got into ‘red rock’ country, it is quite beautiful. We basically drove along side about 100 miles of canyons and mountains. We also passed ‘the continental divide’ which was pretty cool. We stopped at an Indian Trading Post next to it and took some photos. We don’t have as many photos of today though as we were mostly on Native American land where there are strict rules about taking photographs, mostly with people in them but we thought it was better to be safe than sorry.
We took a wee detour into Red Rock State Park which was pretty cool, I had been saying all day that I thought some of the red rocks looked like churches and then the famous one in the park was called Church Rock, so they obviously agree with me.
We are staying in Gallup tonight which is the capital of Native American country, especially for the Navajo people. There are hundreds of shops here selling Native American handcrafts. We are staying in an amazing hotel/motel which is called the El Rancho (www.elranchohotel.com). It has a fancy hotel and a cheaper motel (guess which we are staying in) and its claim to fame is that all the movie stars from ‘the good old days’ stayed here - Katherine Hepburn, Kirk Douglas and Spencer Tracy to name a few. The hotel is very nice with each room having the name of an old movie star that stayed there on the door. The motel is nice too, the room is pretty huge and is decorated nicely.
We went to a really nice place for dinner called Ranch Kitchen which represented the many cultures in this area, New Mexican, (old) Mexican, Native American and (non-native) American. I went for New Mexican and had a stuffed Sopapilla, which as sort of pillowy dough thing which was stuffed with mince and beans and served with guacamole and sour cream. I had to answer the famous New Mexican question for the first time - red or green? Everything here is covered in a sauce made from either red chillies or green chillies, if you want a mixture of both the correct answer is Christmas! K had a BLT, boring! My dinner was fantastic, the red sauce wasn’t too hot thank goodness and K said her BLT was good too.
We are now back at the motel as we need to do some laundry - boo hiss etc. There is no WiFi in the room so I need to take the laptop to the lobby so I can upload this.
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Day 9 Santa Rosa NM to Santa Fe NM - Part 2Miles today 155 (1559miles so far)
After K's nap we went back into town. We went to the Plaza bakery and hung out for a couple of hours, people watching etc. We werent hungry for dinner so we both just had a bagel and cream cheese. The bakery was fun as it was really busy and a lot of 'interesting' people were in and out. A guy sat and the table next to us and created his own ambience by putting a cut flower in a water bottle, weird. I think all the hippys now live in Santa Fe.
After the bakery we went down to starbucks as we still hadnt managed to get a green tea frap (thanks isi!), mostly due to K's commitment to sweet iced tea.
On the way back to the motel we went 'cruising' (k's word, not mine) again mostly cos K wanted to get herself some sweet tea, she is nothing if not committed! In the end she got about a litre of it from McDonalds for less than $2, she is sipping it currrently.
I am so tired, I think that it is because of the heat and also I have been waking up way too early for 'holiday mode'.
Photos: Santa Fe, Pecos Pueblo, Pecos Pueblo Mission, New Mexico Rt 66, New Mexico Scenery, Las Vegas NM
Day 9 - Santa Rosa to Santa Fe - Part 1
K is having a little nap so I thought that I would get a head start on this but because we havent finished today yet I will update and add mileage and pictures later.
We woke up in Santa Rosa quite early because of the time zone change yesterday so we lay about and watched tv for a while. Then we checked out and bought a pint of milk (more on this later) and hit the road.
Today was a chilled day driving wise so we headed up to Santa Fe, we stopped at a rest point high in the hills overlooking the desert and had some cereal (hence the milk), you can buy cereal here in little tubs that you just add milk to.
Our first stop was Las Vegas, New Mexico which is very different from its Nevada namesake. We stopped in at this cute cafe for some iced tea to sip as we walked round town and chatted to this really cute old woman. She had just got her first guestbook for the cafe and we were the first people to ever sign it (we have signed a lot of these!). The town was really cute and old fashioned, its claim to fame is that Butch Cassidy and Doc Holliday both lived there.
Back on the road we just enjoyed the scenery until we got to Pecos where we went a hike round an old indian Pueblo complete with Franciscan Mission from when the Spanish arrived and converted them. It was a nice walk but there was signs everywhere saying watch out for rattlesnakes so I was pretty scared. Mostly it was just wall outlines that were left except the Mission cos it was a lot newer.
Our next stop was in Santa Fe where we are staying tonight, it is at an altitude of 7000ft so the air is pretty thin, the guest book recommends taking a couple of days to get use to it before doing anything! It also very hot, very very hot. We strolled about town for a while looking at all the mexican and indian trinkets. The building styles are really mixed too with quite a lot being in the traditional adobe style which we arent used to seeing. We went for lunch in the Plaza Restraunt right on the main Plaza. It was really nice, K had nachos and I had a chicken breast in a tortilla with guacamole, yum-o.
We have now checked into our motel which is called the Cottonwood Court and we have 2 bedrooms with an ajoining bathroom, fancy! (and it was only $48)
K is napping which I think is because she has got too much sun, she has sun burn and i dont, will wonders ever cease!?
Anyway, I am off to have a pre dinner shower to cool down and I will update the rest later.
K is having a little nap so I thought that I would get a head start on this but because we havent finished today yet I will update and add mileage and pictures later.
We woke up in Santa Rosa quite early because of the time zone change yesterday so we lay about and watched tv for a while. Then we checked out and bought a pint of milk (more on this later) and hit the road.
Today was a chilled day driving wise so we headed up to Santa Fe, we stopped at a rest point high in the hills overlooking the desert and had some cereal (hence the milk), you can buy cereal here in little tubs that you just add milk to.
Our first stop was Las Vegas, New Mexico which is very different from its Nevada namesake. We stopped in at this cute cafe for some iced tea to sip as we walked round town and chatted to this really cute old woman. She had just got her first guestbook for the cafe and we were the first people to ever sign it (we have signed a lot of these!). The town was really cute and old fashioned, its claim to fame is that Butch Cassidy and Doc Holliday both lived there.
Back on the road we just enjoyed the scenery until we got to Pecos where we went a hike round an old indian Pueblo complete with Franciscan Mission from when the Spanish arrived and converted them. It was a nice walk but there was signs everywhere saying watch out for rattlesnakes so I was pretty scared. Mostly it was just wall outlines that were left except the Mission cos it was a lot newer.
Our next stop was in Santa Fe where we are staying tonight, it is at an altitude of 7000ft so the air is pretty thin, the guest book recommends taking a couple of days to get use to it before doing anything! It also very hot, very very hot. We strolled about town for a while looking at all the mexican and indian trinkets. The building styles are really mixed too with quite a lot being in the traditional adobe style which we arent used to seeing. We went for lunch in the Plaza Restraunt right on the main Plaza. It was really nice, K had nachos and I had a chicken breast in a tortilla with guacamole, yum-o.
We have now checked into our motel which is called the Cottonwood Court and we have 2 bedrooms with an ajoining bathroom, fancy! (and it was only $48)
K is napping which I think is because she has got too much sun, she has sun burn and i dont, will wonders ever cease!?
Anyway, I am off to have a pre dinner shower to cool down and I will update the rest later.
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Day 8 Amarillo to Santa Rosa – 197 miles (1404 miles so far)
Woke up nice and refreshed after a great nights sleep in the Big Texan, comfiest beds yet! Took some last minute photos of things such as the pool which was in the shape of Texas. We hit the road and visited the Cadillac Ranch on the outskirts of Amarillo, a row of cadillacs buried nose first in the dirt and all spray painted. Apparently they are sticking out of the ground at the same angle as the pyramids.
We then drove along enojoying the scenery til we got to the Midpoint of Route 66 in Adrian, Texas. We stopped for elevenses (we had no breakfast in anticipation) at the Midpoint Cafe which is famous for its ‘ugly crust’ pies. We both had the banana cream and it was heavenly, so much so that we bought their recipe book (the owner and all the staff signed it). The staff were all so nice and chatted endlessly, lots of y’alls. There was a group of middle aged women who were doing route 66 together, complete with matching route 66 jackets, tshirts and bags!
Our last stop in Texas was the ghost town of Glenrio on the border, it has an old ruined motel which famously has a sign which says last motel on texas on one side and first motel in texas on the other, sadly it has fallen apart a lot and it wasnt really legible.
Our first stop in New Mexico was a huge tourist info centre just over, they loaded us up with lots of leaflets and set us on our way. The landscape changed a lot almost instantly, it was suddenly very mountainous wtih canyons all over the place, quite different from the flat ranchland of western texas.
We stopped in a town called Tucumcari for lunch - time went back an hour on entering New Mexico so we were in good time for lunch even though it was later for us. We went to a place called Del’s Restaurant and I had a BLT and K had the salad and soup bar. Tucumcari is a town of much neon and a lot of the old motels have great signs so it was snap-a-rama. We visited a dinosaur museum which was pretty good as it encouranged touching things (kid and v and k friendly). There was some really cute families, including a little girl with the biggest hair ive ever seen and one with a geek kid who kept saying things like ‘rocks are my favourite mineral’! The museum was part of paleontology centre so there was a sort of lab thing you could see and the geek family got taken on a special behind the scenes trip. There was also a lot of amazing murals in Tucumcari.
We then tooted on to our destination for this evening, Santa Rosa. The road here was littered with abandoned gas stations and ghost towns, pretty awesome. Santa Rosa is ‘the city of natural lakes’ so we checked some of them out, including the Blue Hole which is what is says on the tin, a pretty small 80ft deep hole where people go scuba diving. Today it was just full of local families throwing themselves off the rocks into it and swimming about to cool down. After that we went for a walk round a local park and went to see a dam. We then went to an amazing mexican restaurant for dinner, we werent very hungry but it hit the spot perfectly. I had a wrap with slow cooked pork in a chilli sauce with salad and guacamole and K just had zuccini fritters (about a million of them I kid you not).
Now we are on a Wifi hunt, we cant find any but the owner of the cafe we are in (the Silver Moon, we are having pie) said just to go sit outside one of chain motels and use theirs, so we will but we wont have time to upload photos.
Our motel here is lovely, it so 50s, it is called the Sun n’ Sand Motel and our room is massive with 2 king size beds – for $44 dollars!
Ps We have no phone reception in this state thus far!
PPS We heard a song on radio today called ‘An ode to Susan Boyle’ – I kid you not, it was I dreamed a dream with lyrics about ‘our Susan’! First line, I dreamed a dream of Susan Boyle. We were also asked about her in by our cave guide.
Woke up nice and refreshed after a great nights sleep in the Big Texan, comfiest beds yet! Took some last minute photos of things such as the pool which was in the shape of Texas. We hit the road and visited the Cadillac Ranch on the outskirts of Amarillo, a row of cadillacs buried nose first in the dirt and all spray painted. Apparently they are sticking out of the ground at the same angle as the pyramids.
We then drove along enojoying the scenery til we got to the Midpoint of Route 66 in Adrian, Texas. We stopped for elevenses (we had no breakfast in anticipation) at the Midpoint Cafe which is famous for its ‘ugly crust’ pies. We both had the banana cream and it was heavenly, so much so that we bought their recipe book (the owner and all the staff signed it). The staff were all so nice and chatted endlessly, lots of y’alls. There was a group of middle aged women who were doing route 66 together, complete with matching route 66 jackets, tshirts and bags!
Our last stop in Texas was the ghost town of Glenrio on the border, it has an old ruined motel which famously has a sign which says last motel on texas on one side and first motel in texas on the other, sadly it has fallen apart a lot and it wasnt really legible.
Our first stop in New Mexico was a huge tourist info centre just over, they loaded us up with lots of leaflets and set us on our way. The landscape changed a lot almost instantly, it was suddenly very mountainous wtih canyons all over the place, quite different from the flat ranchland of western texas.
We stopped in a town called Tucumcari for lunch - time went back an hour on entering New Mexico so we were in good time for lunch even though it was later for us. We went to a place called Del’s Restaurant and I had a BLT and K had the salad and soup bar. Tucumcari is a town of much neon and a lot of the old motels have great signs so it was snap-a-rama. We visited a dinosaur museum which was pretty good as it encouranged touching things (kid and v and k friendly). There was some really cute families, including a little girl with the biggest hair ive ever seen and one with a geek kid who kept saying things like ‘rocks are my favourite mineral’! The museum was part of paleontology centre so there was a sort of lab thing you could see and the geek family got taken on a special behind the scenes trip. There was also a lot of amazing murals in Tucumcari.
We then tooted on to our destination for this evening, Santa Rosa. The road here was littered with abandoned gas stations and ghost towns, pretty awesome. Santa Rosa is ‘the city of natural lakes’ so we checked some of them out, including the Blue Hole which is what is says on the tin, a pretty small 80ft deep hole where people go scuba diving. Today it was just full of local families throwing themselves off the rocks into it and swimming about to cool down. After that we went for a walk round a local park and went to see a dam. We then went to an amazing mexican restaurant for dinner, we werent very hungry but it hit the spot perfectly. I had a wrap with slow cooked pork in a chilli sauce with salad and guacamole and K just had zuccini fritters (about a million of them I kid you not).
Now we are on a Wifi hunt, we cant find any but the owner of the cafe we are in (the Silver Moon, we are having pie) said just to go sit outside one of chain motels and use theirs, so we will but we wont have time to upload photos.
Our motel here is lovely, it so 50s, it is called the Sun n’ Sand Motel and our room is massive with 2 king size beds – for $44 dollars!
Ps We have no phone reception in this state thus far!
PPS We heard a song on radio today called ‘An ode to Susan Boyle’ – I kid you not, it was I dreamed a dream with lyrics about ‘our Susan’! First line, I dreamed a dream of Susan Boyle. We were also asked about her in by our cave guide.
Friday, 8 May 2009
Day 7 – Chandler, OK to Amarillo, TX 336 miles (1207 miles so far)
We woke up bright and early in Chandler to the news that where we were this time yesterday morning was having crazy storms and tornados and the chance of thunder and lightening where we were was 60% so we decided to power in the opposite direction. So we left the Pecan capital of the world behind and headed west.
Our first stop of the day was at Arcadia where there is a famous round barn and POPS which sells over a thousand different bottles of fizzy juice, it also has a 66 ft high pop bottle sculpture outside, ace! We settled for 6 bottles of juice, a tshirt each and a bottle opener and headed on our way.
We were heading towards Oklahoma City and K finally got her drive through Starbucks that she had been wanting since our California road trip 2 years ago.
Next, we headed to Garth Brooks home town of Yukon, which has a main street simply called Garth Brooks, poetically we did hear Garth on the radio when we were quite close by. As we are in the heart of ‘indian country’ we went to a MASSIVE shop called Cherokee Trading Post that sold lots of authentic native american handycrafts and a lot of tat.
We were going to stop for lunch in a town called Hydro but sadly the place we were going to go has shut down. It wasnt a wasted trip though cos we saw a tortoise crossing the road, faster than you would think too. Our next stop was Clinton home to the Route 66 Museum which was only $3 and really good, lots of old fashioned things and photo ops combined with facts. We also had lunch in Clinton at a diner called Dairy Best where we sampled the Oklahoma speciality of Fried Onion Burgers, and K got her new fave drink sweet iced tea (I had homemade limeade, scrummy).
We drove through a lot of cute little Oklahoma towns, there were constantly eagles flying over head and at one point there was one sitting in a field at the edge of the road. Also, the song isnt wrong, Oklahoma is home to a lot of ‘waving wheat’.
We went into Texas via a ghost town called Texola where there were a lot of abondoned buildings and gas stations. We then drove though a town Shamrock which was home to a beautiful Art Deco motel/cafe called the U drop Inn. We passed a museum dedicated to barbed wire called the Devil’s Rope Museum but sadly it had just shut for the day.
The next town that we came to was Groom which features a leaning water tower or ‘the Leaning Tower of Texas’ and the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere! This was essentially a Jesus theme park, we found it very hard to keep straight faces as the americans somberly took pictures of it. There was a statue to represent each of the stations of the cross and also one of the last supper. There was a wishing well thing which I threw a coin in, but it landed on a rock, I think that sums up my relationship with God.
We stopped at Bug Ranch which is a homage to Cadillac Ranch which we will see tomorrow, 5 beetle cars buried nose first in the dirt. It looks cooler than it sounds!
We then arrived in Amarillo, sadly Route 66 took us all the way around town and it took us ages to find the Big Texan steak house and motel where we are staying tonight. This place sums up Texas, our room has saloon doors into the bathroom, the beds have big cow print throws on them and the motel is done up to look like a western town. We have been looking forward to this for months and it has not disappointed! We then mosied over to the Steak House, home to the free 72oz steak dinner , if you can eat it and all the sides in an hour (2 guys tried and failed whilst we were there). Picture a Texan steak house and you have this place – exactly! K and I got a 21oz sirloin prepared for 2 and I can honestly say it is some of the best meat I have ever eaten, it didnt have ANY fat on it all. We also got our drinks in souvenir cowboy boot shaped glasses to take home.
Now we are sitting in the bar trying to connect to the wifi, but it isnt working so well so i will have to attach this later.
As of tomor we are going to be cutting down on the miles.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Day 6 - Lebanon MO to Chandler OK (via Kansas) 339 miles (868 miles so far)
I've not added photos for today or yesterday cos the internet connection isnt very strong and it keeps timing out, I will add them tomor hopefully.
Today was a ROASTING day, sitting at about 30c all day, which in a car is almost unbearable.
We slept in a bit so decided to hop on the interstate til after Springfield, we were glad we did though as we came upon a massive gift store called Ozark Village which was tacky as a tack in tackland. We were listening to Swapline on a local radio station, it was amazing, people were calling in giving their home telephone number and offering to sell stuff from lifejackets to houses to guns!!
Our first stop of the day was at Carthage which was a lovely wee town with a square arranged around a courthouse. We had lunch in the Carthage Deli and Soda Fountain where the last 50 years did not happen. We each had sandwich melts for lunch (K with turkey me with beef) and I had a cherry italian soda and k had a root beer. One of the booths was a whole car!
Then we went into Kansas, only 13miles of Rt 66 go through Kansas but they make them all count, we saw van like Mater from Cars which even had eyes put in it. We stopped at a really old fashioned store in Riverton where we got some souveniers for you guys!
Next, we were into Oklahoma, we went through loads of cute towns but the first place we stopped was a tiny cafe called The Top Hat in Foyil where we got some Shakes to try to cool us down and then headed up to the Totem Pole Park which was pretty cool, the main Totem Pole was massive. As we wanted to cover a lot of ground today we powered on til we got to the Blue Whale in Catoosa which used to be a water park, you will understand when i upload pictures.
We then encountered our first problem of the day which was trying to get into Tulsa, we eventually found the right way and it was a very pretty city but we didnt hang about. We stopped at Dan's Bar-B-Q Pit for dinner and I had amazing pulled pork with coleslaw and a baked potato, K had chicken fried steak with coleslaw with mash and coleslaw but she wasnt loving the chicken, the lesson being 'when in a proper bbq joint, order bbq'.
Finally we arrived in Chandler where we checked into the very old Lincoln Inn, the room is nice and massive but there were some ants on the bathroom wall so we are super paranoid.
We have had a great time so far, it is weird being somewhere so different than you are used to. We have seen about a million dead armadillos by the side of the road, they must be very stupid and there must be loads of them.
I've not added photos for today or yesterday cos the internet connection isnt very strong and it keeps timing out, I will add them tomor hopefully.
Today was a ROASTING day, sitting at about 30c all day, which in a car is almost unbearable.
We slept in a bit so decided to hop on the interstate til after Springfield, we were glad we did though as we came upon a massive gift store called Ozark Village which was tacky as a tack in tackland. We were listening to Swapline on a local radio station, it was amazing, people were calling in giving their home telephone number and offering to sell stuff from lifejackets to houses to guns!!
Our first stop of the day was at Carthage which was a lovely wee town with a square arranged around a courthouse. We had lunch in the Carthage Deli and Soda Fountain where the last 50 years did not happen. We each had sandwich melts for lunch (K with turkey me with beef) and I had a cherry italian soda and k had a root beer. One of the booths was a whole car!
Then we went into Kansas, only 13miles of Rt 66 go through Kansas but they make them all count, we saw van like Mater from Cars which even had eyes put in it. We stopped at a really old fashioned store in Riverton where we got some souveniers for you guys!
Next, we were into Oklahoma, we went through loads of cute towns but the first place we stopped was a tiny cafe called The Top Hat in Foyil where we got some Shakes to try to cool us down and then headed up to the Totem Pole Park which was pretty cool, the main Totem Pole was massive. As we wanted to cover a lot of ground today we powered on til we got to the Blue Whale in Catoosa which used to be a water park, you will understand when i upload pictures.
We then encountered our first problem of the day which was trying to get into Tulsa, we eventually found the right way and it was a very pretty city but we didnt hang about. We stopped at Dan's Bar-B-Q Pit for dinner and I had amazing pulled pork with coleslaw and a baked potato, K had chicken fried steak with coleslaw with mash and coleslaw but she wasnt loving the chicken, the lesson being 'when in a proper bbq joint, order bbq'.
Finally we arrived in Chandler where we checked into the very old Lincoln Inn, the room is nice and massive but there were some ants on the bathroom wall so we are super paranoid.
We have had a great time so far, it is weird being somewhere so different than you are used to. We have seen about a million dead armadillos by the side of the road, they must be very stupid and there must be loads of them.
Day 5 – Litchfield IL to Lebanon MI 285 miles (527 so far)
We got up bright and early and had an apple and a fresh orange for breakfast for fear of getting scurvy! We then hopped in the car and powered on to St Louis where we crossed the Mississippi River and entered the state of Missouri.
Our first stop was the gateway arch, we drove round for a while working out how to get to it even though we could see it the whole time, the Mississippi had been flooded so the road by it was closed. The first thing you notice about the arch is that it is MASSIVE! The second thing we noticed was that there was a large group of amish people visiting, ace.
We went in to the visitor area under the arch and went to the free museum, we love free stuff. There was also an olde fashioned shop where we bought some fudge. We then hit the road again, staying on the interstate til we got out of town so we didnt get lost. Then we went on to Route 66 where on the way to Stanton we went the wrong way 3 times! Crikey, this doesnt bode well.
Our second stop of the day was at the Meremec Caverns near Stanton, we had a guided tour that lasted 80minutes and was pretty amazing, we were stalactited and mited out our nuts. It ended with this bizarre music and light show projected on to this huge rock formation called the stage. Jesse James hid out in the caves at one point so they were selling a lot of merch of that ilk. Much as the caves were awesome my fave thing about them is that outside was a giant lorry that said ‘Jesus Christ is Lord – not a swear word’. They love Jesus here, they have billboards at the side of the road that just say JESUS in huge letters, nothing else, I dont know what their point is. Every car has jesus bumper stickers or anti abortion stickers and there are about a million jesus radio stations.
We hit the road again and went past a lot of little towns including Cuba. My favourite part of Route 66 today was an area called devils elbow where the road was really old and the scenery was beautiful. It is weird that almost as soon as we crossed the state line the scenery changed, it was suddenly green and hilly and interesting.
We had a late lunch in a Steak and Shake, it is a fast food chain but it is table service and the food is served on proper plates, also the food is good. The steak in the title refers to steak burgers, as it is their 75th anniversary they have meals for $4, score. We both had cheeseburgers and chips, the burgers are amazing, they arent pre frozen and you can tell. We thought that since we had the steak of the title we may as well have the shake, I had a banana shake and K had a butterfinger malt, cheeky! It was happy hour so the drinks were half price, all in $12 for an amazing lunch.
We hit the road again and enjoyed a lot of pretty scenery, and didnt even get lost again. We arrived in Lebanon (?!) where we are spending tonight, we checked in to the Munger Moss Motel which is one of the most famous on ‘the Route’, pretty exciting. The room isnt as massive as before and there is no wireless but it is worth it for the ace retro decor and route 66 photo gallery on the wall, also it was pretty cheap. There is a bowling alley across the road where we were going to go for a game but it was packed out cos it is family night, we stayed a while and played air hockey and bought some lottery cards, we won a couple of 50cents but our fortune wasnt made. We also went a drive about Lebanon and got some ice based drinks from a coffee shop, nice cos it is still roasting but not so sunny anymore. We had a ‘small dinner’ from a proper old school drive in where you park and place your order through a microphone system then a car hop brings it out to you and you sit in your car and eat it, it is like the 1950s. K had a corn dog and I ordered a side portion of tater tots with chilli and cheese, it was massive! (but yummy) Now we are back in the motel and I am writing this to upload tomor when we find an internet connection. (i will add photos later too)
We got up bright and early and had an apple and a fresh orange for breakfast for fear of getting scurvy! We then hopped in the car and powered on to St Louis where we crossed the Mississippi River and entered the state of Missouri.
Our first stop was the gateway arch, we drove round for a while working out how to get to it even though we could see it the whole time, the Mississippi had been flooded so the road by it was closed. The first thing you notice about the arch is that it is MASSIVE! The second thing we noticed was that there was a large group of amish people visiting, ace.
We went in to the visitor area under the arch and went to the free museum, we love free stuff. There was also an olde fashioned shop where we bought some fudge. We then hit the road again, staying on the interstate til we got out of town so we didnt get lost. Then we went on to Route 66 where on the way to Stanton we went the wrong way 3 times! Crikey, this doesnt bode well.
Our second stop of the day was at the Meremec Caverns near Stanton, we had a guided tour that lasted 80minutes and was pretty amazing, we were stalactited and mited out our nuts. It ended with this bizarre music and light show projected on to this huge rock formation called the stage. Jesse James hid out in the caves at one point so they were selling a lot of merch of that ilk. Much as the caves were awesome my fave thing about them is that outside was a giant lorry that said ‘Jesus Christ is Lord – not a swear word’. They love Jesus here, they have billboards at the side of the road that just say JESUS in huge letters, nothing else, I dont know what their point is. Every car has jesus bumper stickers or anti abortion stickers and there are about a million jesus radio stations.
We hit the road again and went past a lot of little towns including Cuba. My favourite part of Route 66 today was an area called devils elbow where the road was really old and the scenery was beautiful. It is weird that almost as soon as we crossed the state line the scenery changed, it was suddenly green and hilly and interesting.
We had a late lunch in a Steak and Shake, it is a fast food chain but it is table service and the food is served on proper plates, also the food is good. The steak in the title refers to steak burgers, as it is their 75th anniversary they have meals for $4, score. We both had cheeseburgers and chips, the burgers are amazing, they arent pre frozen and you can tell. We thought that since we had the steak of the title we may as well have the shake, I had a banana shake and K had a butterfinger malt, cheeky! It was happy hour so the drinks were half price, all in $12 for an amazing lunch.
We hit the road again and enjoyed a lot of pretty scenery, and didnt even get lost again. We arrived in Lebanon (?!) where we are spending tonight, we checked in to the Munger Moss Motel which is one of the most famous on ‘the Route’, pretty exciting. The room isnt as massive as before and there is no wireless but it is worth it for the ace retro decor and route 66 photo gallery on the wall, also it was pretty cheap. There is a bowling alley across the road where we were going to go for a game but it was packed out cos it is family night, we stayed a while and played air hockey and bought some lottery cards, we won a couple of 50cents but our fortune wasnt made. We also went a drive about Lebanon and got some ice based drinks from a coffee shop, nice cos it is still roasting but not so sunny anymore. We had a ‘small dinner’ from a proper old school drive in where you park and place your order through a microphone system then a car hop brings it out to you and you sit in your car and eat it, it is like the 1950s. K had a corn dog and I ordered a side portion of tater tots with chilli and cheese, it was massive! (but yummy) Now we are back in the motel and I am writing this to upload tomor when we find an internet connection. (i will add photos later too)
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Memo from Kir...
V forgot to mention the car - it doesn't have a key! It has a button to lock/unlock it obviously, but then you just need to have it somewhere in the car (or in your pocket) to work. So you just get in and press a button and off you go!
Day 4 - Hit the Road Jack 240 Miles down
Well the big day arrived, it was time to hit the road. The first thing that we had to do was have the traditional pre-route 66 breakfast at Lou Mitchells. We headed down and were not disappointed, as we went in we were given a tiny donut and a little box of milk duds, score! We then both ordered the eggs served in a skillet, k had fried with bacon, I had scrambled with sausages, this was served with hash browns, toast and a wee fruit plate with a wedge of orange and a prune! Healthy. We both left tons but it was very yummy.
We then went to pick up our car, even though we booked a compact we were given a full size, white, nissan altima, it is lovely (with a beige interior).
We drove up to the hotel and picked up our bags and then drove about in circles for a while trying to get on the road out of town.
We stayed on the interstate til Joliet then hit route 66, even though we werent that far out of Chicago it was like a different (small town america) world. We went through numerous small towns and then stopped at the Launching Pad Drive In in Wilmington, home of the Gemini Giant (there he is above) the drive in was ace, we just shared some mozz sticks but it such a typical route 66 stop.
We hit the road again and continued on our way, nothing much was coming up so we hit the interstate again to cover some distance. We stayed on for a wee while, including missing out the town of Normal?! Our next main detour was the town of Lincoln which was Abe Lincoln crazy, a really pretty town though. Then we went to the capital of Illinois, Springfield - home of the Cozy Dog Drive In, where corn dogs were invenvented! We had one cozy dog each and shared some fries, we washed it down with some Route 66 Route Beer! Next door was a drive through pharmacy and across the road was a drive through atm -Americans sure do love their cars!
We battered on til we hit our destination for the night, Litchfield! We booked in to the Best Value Inn and got a massive room for $50, see the bed above. We also have a reclining chair, a table and chairs, fridge and microwave. We then popped out on the town, we went a wee drive about, sadly the Drive In isnt on 7 nights a week yet. We went to the biggest Walmart ive ever seen and got some stuff for breakfast and K got 120 Crayola, she is a geek but a very happy geek!
For dinner we went to the 'must do' route 66 hotspot the Ariston Cafe, and we didnt regret it, it was amazing, the staff were so nice and made us sign a guest book etc. I had the special chicken fried steak with the most amazing mash I have ever tasted, sweetcorn and sausage gravy, I thought that this was a gravy for sausage but it was actually a creamy gravy with sausage in it! K got chicken tenders with honey and mustard sauce. You got to use the soup and salad bar too, we both had tortellini soup and salad with ranch dressing, I was pretty much full after this and couldnt eat much of my main course, I made sure i ate all the mash though! I was so full that I didnt even take away my leftovers, K has a couple of chicken tenders though. We then seemed to genuinley upset our waitress Gina by not having any dessert, they looked amazing but I couldnt do it. On the way out the manager came and spoke to us and asked us if we knew Susan Boyle! She was very impressed that we had seen the audition live.
All in all a great day but Illinois is not a state with beautiful scenery, it is very flat and boring between towns which is why powered on down the interstate a bit.
On to St Louis and Missouri tomorrow, an early start I think.
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