13^th November 2016

Dear All,

Where to begin? American is another country – they do things differently there! We started in Los Angeles after an almost 11 hour flight. We did not rate LA too highly as it is so large and constipated by traffic jams. We had a tour round Hollywood which seemed a bit run down and then travelled to Venice Beach and Santa Monica and had a paddle in the Pacific. We opted out of the full tour of Universal Studios but did a short one when we picked the others up later. Instead we found a Nature Park in the hills above the city which demonstrated the local flora and fauna.

Hollywood Boulevade

Next stop was San Diego which was better, especially Balboa Park, where we could have spent longer, and then onto Coronado Island where only millionaires can afford to live. Later we had a boat trip round the bay taking in the Maritime museum, sea lions, pelicans and considerable military presence.

San Diego Bay

Next day we drove inland to Arizona passing close to the fence on the Mexican border and travelling through acres of desert eventually arriving at Scottsdale on the outskirts of Phoenix staying at the marvellous Carefree Resort surrounded by impressive specimens of cacti and spotting a Javelina (no we hadn’t heard of them either – it is a bit like a wild pig but in fact a peccary).

Saguaro Cacti

Sedona Red Hills

We got up early next morning to explore the area before departing to Sedona to explore the Red Rock area by jeep. This was a really rough ride in spectacular scenery.

We stopped that night in Flagstaff and departed next morning for our first look at the Grand Canyon at Tusayon and Grand Canyon village. We visited three different view points on the south of the Canyon and as someone said “photos make it seem incredible but the reality is better”.

Grand Canyon South

 We travelled next day on Route 66 stopping at Seliman to visit the famous barbers shop before proceeding via the Hoover Dam to Las Vegas. We had a night tour of Las Vegas including Freemont which is like Sodom and Gomorrah rolled into one.

Our highlight was probably the next day when five of us rose at 4.30 am to be driven to Bolder airport to take a flight in a small plane to the Grand canyon west, picking up a helicopter to touch down on the floor of the Canyon swapping to a boat for a trip up the Colorado river. Back at the airport we picked up a bus for another three viewpoints including the “Skywalk” which is a bit scary - looking down from the glass bottomed walkway!

Grand Canyon Guano Point

Back in Vegas we toured round some of the hotels by day, some of which are mind blowing. Our verdict on Las Vegas was “great to see it once, but will not be in a hurry to return!”

Las Vegas

Next day we drove through the Mojave Desert on the way to Selma where we stayed before visiting Yosemite National Park where it had rained so the waterfalls were running.

Yosemite, El Capitan

Our final stop was San Francisco which was our favourite city by far. We were staying near the Fishermans Dock and Pier 39. We had a tour round Chinatown, Golden Gate Park and Golden Gate Bridge before taking a boat trip round the bay and Alcatraz. After we took in the Aquarium and the Crooked Street before dining in Chinatown. On our last morning we explored the city via a cable car and street car visiting Bloomingdales, Maceys, the Railway museum and the farmers market.

Golden Gate, San Francisco

On the plane home we were able to watch the election result in excruciating detail before eventually arriving home at 2 pm on Wednesday. Our planning had not been ideal as I had a garden Club talk at Shepreth on Thursday night and we were on Street Pastors on Friday night. Our time clocks are still adjusting!

Esther is back in Bulgaria helping with OT training this week and Ben is running in the Athens marathon.

Love

Mike & Kate