Vegas & California

Had arranged with Bro to be at his place for around 1000hrs. We set off after breakfast with the hood down and the mercury already reaching mid 70's. This LA is a huge place with some of the Boulevards 15 miles and longer. We arrived slightly late but safely. After a quick tour of the house we set off to do a bit of serious sightseeing, and what better way to do LA when it's roasting is in a convertible. We set off along Mullholland Drive and the views were absolutely stunning, we got our first views of the famous 'Hollywood' sign all be it from a distance, from the same vantage point we looked over the 'Hollywood Bowl' [large open air venue for concerts and shows].

Hollywood Bowl

We then proceeded to Hollywood Boulevard and had a walk along the 'avenue of the stars', where we spent time picking out our favourites.

Avenue of the stars

We met up for a lovely steak dinner and said our goodbyes, tomorrow we were to end this vacation. In summary we have had an absolute blast on this trip and as it was our first time on the west coast it was all new to us. Memories of which there are plenty would be: -

• Vegas and the sheer scale of the hotels, not to mention how much people love to gamble

• The Grand Canyon, truly one of the wonders of the world

• San Francisco, loved it to bits, oozes class. The history of Alcatraz

• San Diego, is an awesome place and with only 2 nights, couldn't even scratch the surface

• Los Angeles, massive with all the stars and the glorious weather [still only March too!!]

We set off around 0930 after settling my parking bill [raging].
We set on up the i5 covering about 70 miles in the first hour before my map reader
[and wife of 25 years] decided she wanted to proceed along the coastal route, so we deviated from the the more direct i5 and proceeded along the Pacific Highway route 1 which is known as the 'beach city' route. As lovely as it was, it was just a free-way with zillions of traffic lights. We finally arrived in LA around 1330 where we checked into a charming room at the Best Western Gateway on Santa Monica Boulevard.

We freshened up and headed out with the sea front in our sights. We walked approximately 20 blocks and we were on Santa Monica pier [gorgeous].

Stunning

Glorious morning, that skyline last night was accurate. We set off early for Balboa Park [approx 1500acres] there are 15 museum's, garden's, walks and it even houses the San Diego zoo. It was beautifully kept and we wandered round the grounds for hours and could have stayed there all day, however when we planned this trip, 2 days was never going to be enough and we still had lots to do.

We headed south on the i5 to visit Coronado Island which has a US Naval air station. You cross the Coronado bay bridge and on into the island. There are beautiful beaches there and we had a paddle but the Pacific is absolutely freezing. Right on the front is the Hotel Del Coronado, once listed in the top 10 hotels worldwide.

Hotel Del Coronado

Back home to get freshened up, and off to the Mardi Gras.

We drove down [unfortunately] and looked for a parking place, all were snapped up, even the lots were charging 25$ as opposed to 5$ on a regular evening, tut tut. Fifth Street was all blocked off and well policed as to who gets in and with what. It would not be San Diego if there was not a charge and there was. A Mardi Gras for those who didn't know [and I include myself in this] is an opportunity to drink, dance and be merry into the early hours, in the street and legally. There were numerous dancers,

Mardi Gras

We were keen to get on the road early so as to have as much time in San Diego as possible.My calculations had the
journey at around 220 miles and with Alison's map reading skills we were off. Time for a debate first , roof up or
down? Decision made, we paid for it, get it down, so off we went. I genuinely think it is easier to drive over here,
everything is more straightforward. We battered along the 101 at a good clip and covered the first 130 miles in about
2 hours. About 10 minutes later the weather changed and we had to stop and put the hood up. We took the opportunity to
buy some 'gas' and after a good few minutes fiddling with the pump, some nice guy was decent enough to inform me that
you pay first then darw the 'gas', novel idea!

We arrived in San Diego around 1330 hours completing 218 miles getting there. The Hotel is the Hilton Resort and Spa
at Mission Bay and is terrific, however it wasn'tlong before I had fallen out with them. "You have a car sir", "yes"
I said, "then its 25$ a night to park in the hotel car park" robbing *******'*.

We went downtown and it truely is an impressive town, some of the modern architechture is fantastic. The skyline was
a delightful red colour and hopefully a good omen for a fine day tomorrow.

Lovely sky

There is a 'mardi gras' on tuesday evening and we hope to visit and report back. Heading back to the hotel now, taking
advantage of the value parking!!!TTFN.

When we awoke we were disappointed to see it was raining[the top would have to stay up]. We checked out of our hotel, the Abrego, and once we had had breakfast we had a final sortie around Monterey before heading off. First stop was to be Carmel by the Sea[Clint Eastwood]. What a stunning little town this was, with wonderful beaches and views of the famous Pebble Beach [golf course].

Pebble Beach

When we returned to the hotel we met a couple from San Diego who we quizzed of the do's and don't's in San Diego as this was to be our next port of call. We then spent a relaxing hour in the hotels hot-tub and pool before heading off to bed. TTFN.