Alcatraz/Eureka

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We didnt get to see Alcatraz on our first day because it was fully booked. So we just checked out some places around the city like the cable cars, chinatown, and fishermans wharf. There were loads of street entertainers here doing the usual stuff, but the best one was simple; a guy just holding a bush to hide behind and making people jump as they walked by..including me. He had loads of spectators on the opposite pavement too.

We had Alacatraz booked for our last day. It was foggy over the bay as it had been every other day, and on the island it was really windy. A free audio tour was included which had former guards and inmates telling stories to guide you through which was very interesting. It was a surprise to see how small the cells were and how narrow the corridors are. The audio tour didnt point out all the specific cells that people like Al Capone occupied which I thought it would, but it definitely wasnt a disappointment. Heres a picture of Geo in "The hole", one of the isolation cells.

Yesterday we left San Francisco and headed for Eureka which was a 5 hour 250 mile drive. Its a town on the coast not far from the Northern border of California with Oregon. The weather was sunny all the way until we got to the town where we have more fog. Its pretty cold out so were hoping it will improve again as we head inland. Were visiting a brewery for lunch today and going to the cinema, then going to an rv park near redwood national park.

San Francisco

Not really much to report on this update. We travelled up to Saratoga, which is just outside San Francisco. We had a few days there just to recharge the batteries after Yosemite. Saratoga was a lovely little town, pretty much the first place we've come across where we thought "Yeah, it would be awesome to live here" It's very picturesque. We watched Terminator Salvation here; meh. Definitely not as good as T2.



We're in a RV Park in San Francisco at the moment, we're heading to Alcatraz tomorrow and into SF proper.

Wednesday is Champions League Final day! Cory is almost as excited as me!! We're watching it in a sports bar at about 11AM US time! We may partake in a few ales - Remember, don't pace yourself.

Yosemite

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We arrived at the rv park just outside yosemite on Sunday. We havn't been able to access any wifi until now which explains why the blog hasn't been updated for a while. We also have no phone signal at all in the area.. On monday we drove down to the valley for the first time. We stopped along the way through to take in the sights and took a short walk to Bridalveil Falls which were in full flow. We could feel the spray from far off, but when we got closer, the path was like a small river and the spray was more like a heavy rainstorm. We had no campsite reserved so had to go on a waiting list. Luckily there were 12 spaces available and we were 11th in the list. Just as we were parking up at the site we had a pretty heavy hailstorm which we got on video. Eventually it cleared up and we had another BBQ.

The next day we hiked to Mirror Lake which was a couple of miles from our site. After lunch we visited Yosemite Falls, which are the tallest in North America and in the top 10 or so in the world. We didnt get as close as the other falls but they looked the most impressive due to the incredible height. We had no campsite booked for that day either, so we decided we would head back to our previous park outside Yosemite to make use of the electric hookups, laundry, showers etc.

Yesterday we got up early for a change to use the coin-op laundry in the village near our rv park, Greeley Hill. While we waited we went for breakfast in a small cafe. It was a really local place with stuffed deer heads and such on the walls, but the food was very good.

With the laundry finished we headed back into the valley. We had two nights reserved here so just parked up and got the bikes out then headed to the yosemite village to check out the Ansel Adams gallery and Yosemite Lodge.

Today we drove to Mariposa grove where we saw some more big trees. Some have tunnels cut in them or are completely hollow so you can see right out of the top. There were even some deer right next to the path which didn't seem at all scared of all the people taking pictures.

Afterwards we took the drive to Glacier point which has a perfect panoramic view of the valley.

We have a 4 hour drive tomorrow to San Francisco but before we go we are going to the waterfall again to get a soaking.

Sequoia National Park

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We drove from Morro Bay to Sequoia which took 3 or 4 hours. The road into the park was incredible. It climbed 5000 feet from the park entrance to our campsite in the centre. We could only drive 15-20mph as the roads were constantly twisting with a hairpin every half a mile. As we got higher the scenery changed and we were amongst the giant sequoias, having to drive through gaps in the trees where the road has to split into two levels.

The drive was a challenge but I actually really enjoyed it.

Eventually we got to the campsite only to find that all the RV spaces were closed. After asking other people parked in RVs, we found out that we could park in the main car park for free. The campsite was in a great setting with mountains and rivers surrounding it. There was even some snow/ice still on the ground around the trees. There were warnings of bears in the area. We didnt see any, but we did see a deer close to where we parked the RV.

Next morning we packed up and went to see the General Sherman tree. It was more impressive than I imagined. Photos dont really do it justice.

We got back to the RV and made our way back down the twisty road and out of the park to an RV park near Tulare.

On the road...

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Today was our first day on the road after being mainly in and around L.A.

First of all we headed north to a camping store to pick up a bike rack that would fit our RV. This took a lot longer than we expected but was worth it as we now have a couple of bikes ready for when we go to the national parks.

After some lunch we found an rv park in the area we wanted and then set off. I did the driving from here which took about 3 and a half hours, but it didnt drag at all with amazing scenery along the way. We passed through some of the areas which had been scorched by the recent fires, as well as through valleys and along the pacific coastline.

We arrived at Morro Bay at about 7. Its a small seaside town, with a huge rock on the beach that you can see from all over the town.

We are parked in an rv park right by the beach. We'll be heading in land tomorrow toward Sequoia national park. Another long drive but we have more time than today.

Malibu

So we've left LA, and to be honest, we're glad! We were spending way too much money! Disney, Universal etc, it all starts to add up. Even the RV parks were more expensive.

Today we visited Universal Studios; it was awesome, infinitely better than Disney. First off, there were no queues, hardly any screaming kids, it was cheaper and finally, the rides were better. The Simpsons ride was sensational (http://www.thesimpsonsride.com), it was a simulator rather than a ride but this is what made it sensational. The live Waterworld Show was brilliant, it was far superior to the film Waterworld, which, in case you haven't seen it, is abysmal. We also went on the Jurassic Park ride, this was a conventional roller-coaster set in "Jurassic Park", it was good, the ending especially.

After Universal, we headed to out next RV park. This one is located in Malibu, about a 50 min drive from LA. The park is beautifully located, right on the coast, giving us some fantastic views.



Tomorrow we head on up to our first National Park, home of the largest tree on Earth, the General Sherman Tree (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Sherman_tree)

Baseball/Zoo

Went to watch the dodgers yesterday. We took the metro to downtown LA from Longbeach which took an hour and then had to walk to the stadium which took about as long again. The roads were dead and we should have driven in really. But the game was good anyway and the weather was hot again, ended up with a bit of sunburn.

Went to the zoo today. We drove this time, the roads were really busy but we did ok.

Going to Universal Studios tomorrow and then driving to a new RV park.

Long Beach

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Disney was good yesterday. We went on all the main rides, the best were Indiana Jones and Space mountain. We didnt stay late but we could see the fireworks from the Rv park anyway..


We tried out our bbq and had the nicest burgers , they had jalepenos in them.

Before we left this morning we had a bit of a problem. Our used water tank was full and it overflowed flooding the inside of the rv with water. Luckily it wasnt the toilet water that overflowed! It took us a while to clean up and empty the tanks but then we set off.

Got to the imax near Long Beach and had some lunch in a steakhouse. We had some time to kill so wandered around a shopping mall and then went to see star trek which was really impressive on the imax screen.

After the cinema we made our way to the RV park at long beach. We're here for three nights now.

Anaheim

We got up pretty early today. I think we're still not quite in sync with the time so we were asleep early. It was also our first night in the RV, its really comfy but will take a few days to get used to it I think. We were supposed to be going to a water park but when we got there we found out it was closed. Turns out we should have checked the website in more detail where it showed weekdays in May were closed.

We headed for our next RV park which is in Anaheim. I did the driving today and was pretty surpised at how easy it was. The fact that its automatic makes things a lot better and have got used to driving on the wrong side of the road really quickly.

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Once we arrived at the rv park we went for some lunch at where we both only managed half the pizza we ordered. Never seen so much topping on a pizza! After that we went for another trip to Walmart for proper food supplies. Geo was asked for his ID and when handing over the pink IOM drivers license were told we had the 'prettiest linceses'! We got mostly coke and meat for the bbq we purchased yesterday....

Roasting hot again today. Disneyworld tomorrow. Im guessing that will be open unlike the waterpark!

First Campsite

So we actually have the RV, it wasnt a scam..

Obviously we broke down within the first hour of picking up the RV, to be fair though, it wasn't our fault - the battery went flat while we were shopping in Walmart. We called Triple A and once they arrived and had a look at the battery, they informed us that it was in a terrible condition and shouldn't be in a vehicle...We drove back to the RV rental place using our newly acquired SatNav system and got it replaced!

West Covina

Were finally in LA! It took ages to get through immigration checks, got picked at random to have our bags searched too, and when we eventually got in the taxi it was about 4am to us.

The hotel is good though and have just been for some food at in-n-out burger which weve been lookin forward to for months.

Picking up the RV tomorrow about 9 and then were all set

Terminal 5 heathrow

Sat in huxleys bar sipping a beer and waiting for our burgers..

2 hours til take off


-- Post From My iPhone

Up and at them!

Just getting ready for the long journey to the West Coast of the United States, plane leaves Heathrow at 4pm, 11 hour flight...ouch.