Day 7 - Muir Woods, Sausalito, & Ferry Building Markets

Another day in paradise with a beautiful sunny and fine day in San Fran. Our now typical start to the day occurred as usual with the alarm getting our day going at 6:30. We had decided to check out another diner for breakfast as Carly had done a lot of Trip Advisor research and this one also looked promising. We were not disappointed - the bagels and fruit salad were just awesome! One half was peanut butter, bacon and apple and the other half cream cheese, strawberry and blueberries. Yum yum!! 

After such a great start to the day we knew we would have a great day. We had pre-booked a tour to Muir Woods and Sausalito and met our driver Kenneth who called us "Australia" all day. The drive across the Golden Gate Bridge was my first close look at the bridge and also afforded Carly an opportunity to appraise the idea of the bike ride over the bridge. She was also considering walking over the bridge if the bike ride seemed too scary but in the end decided against both...she is not a fan of heights. (The time I made her climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge has apparently scarred her for life.) 

Muir Woods is a national monument and quite amazing. Lots and lots of redwoods with some nice boardwalks and trails to view them. It was very pleasant spending an hour or so wandering about. It reminded me a bit of Sea Acres at Port Macquarie...but obviously different types of trees (though we saw quite a few gum trees on the way that were planted here over a hundred years ago and Kenneth told quite a few stories about how dangerous they are - limbs fall and kill people, they burst into flame etc - not painting Australia in a great light!) Kenneth was a pretty good guide and told many stories about celebrities who lived in the areas we drove through including Otis Redding (showed us where he was when he wrote Sitting on the Dock of the Bay), Robin Williams, Janis Joplin and many more.

It was then on to Sausalito, a lovely little town opposite San Fran, across the bay. We had a yummy burger for lunch as we were surprisingly hungry and just wandered along the waterfront for an hour or so before rejoining Kenneth and the group for our trip back to San Fran. There was much procrastination over what to do for the afternoon. In the end we decided to walk towards the Ferry Building where we meet our shuttle transport to get to the 49ers tomorrow. As we set out Carly googled the place and discovered there was a Farmers Market there today that finished at 2pm. She determined if we hurried we would get there before it closed and went into overdrive. The "flash" had been engaged and I pretty much had to jog to keep up! As it is Saturday, crowds lined the sidewalks and we ploughed our way through to arrive at a bustling building with many food shops that certainly did not look like they were going to close any time soon. There were some markets as well and a piece of pecan pie was purchased before we (at a somewhat more leisurely pace) returned back to the hotel. 

Carly has been fighting a cold for a few days so we decided a rest was in order and luckily another NFL movie was on TV - the Longest Yard with Adam Sandler. I'm not sure this is our best education for the 49ers game tomorrow...but it's all we've got! We popped out again a bit later to grab a few snacks for dinner and drop off some laundry to be washed and then it was back for more TV and an early night.

Also heard the sad news about the Jets...but it looks like the Aussies are doing pretty well in the cricket! The WiFi here at the hotel is fantastic (as it also was in Vegas) - heaps faster than at home so I've been able to stay in touch pretty well. Travelling is so different in this day and age!

I'm getting excited to go to the game...only one more sleep!

Day 6 - Alcatraz

After another good night's sleep we were awoken (well I was anyway - I think Carly would sleep through a bomb) to the dulcet tones of the alarm at 6:30 again. It was off to a nearby diner - Joanie's Happy Days Diner - for an authentic San Fran breakfast. It was awesome - blueberry pancakes and eggs over easy on toast. We had both forgotten how sweet the bread is over here. Anyway, great food, great service, clean and quick...so we'll be back!

The weather was perfect today. A top of about 19, sunny, light breeze only and exceedingly pleasant. After a tidy up back at the room we then wandered about a bit, grabbed a tea and a latte, and then we were off on the ferry to Alcatraz. We spent a couple of hours on the island - it was really interesting and made me want to watch the old movie "Escape from Alcatraz" - I'm not sure if I've ever seen it. They have a great audio guided tour - learnt a lot in a short time. 

We were back in San Fran by about 1pm and decided to walk into Union Square and check out the city area. 

Of course we detoured slightly to stop for a small sweet treat and another cup of tea at a bakery in Little Italy. It was then back pounding the sidewalk (see, I'm learning he lingo) via Chinatown and finally we made it into the main shopping district - Bloomingdales, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and much much more. Woo hoo! A little more shopping...that won't hurt, will it?

We were both getting a little hangry so headed back to Little Italy for our linner at about 4pm where we consumed an amazing pizza (very similar type of place to Napoli Centrale in Newcastle). We have pretty much stuck to 2 meals a day and a snack in the hope we won't put on too many kilos! We wandered down to the same sports store we were in last night to grab a special "clear stadium bag" and a couple of 49ers hats. There are so many rules about what is allowed and not allowed to be taken in to the stadium I decided I was leaving nothing to chance and would purchase an officially sanctioned bag...didn't want a repeat of the famous Gary O'Shea 2008 US Open Tennis incident (I'm sure the security guards that day have still not recovered from Gary's sledging lol). 

While we were in the store, we saw a big guy in a 49ers jersey signing books, having photos taken etc. We had no clue who he was so Carly googled him - William "Bubba" Paris - and the first hit was that he had pleaded guilty to tax evasion. I was so tempted to go up and introduce myself lol. Further investigation found that he had 3 championships (his hands were covered in rings) and he was a 49ers legend and motivational speaker. We didn't buy the book but we did hide behind the baseball shirts and listen to him chatting with people - talking about Hayne quite a bit. He actually sounded like he knew what he was talking about! Funny that... 

We were back in the room by about 7pm and found some random movie about NFL on TV. So right now we're watching that and hoping to learn a bit before the game on Sunday. Tomorrow we are off on a half day tour to Muir Woods and we are thinking about hiring bikes to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge in the afternoon...if Carly decides it's not too scary.

Day 5 - Travel to San Francisco

Got to sample our third casino buffet this morning and Carly voted it (the Luxor) he best yet. After our scrummy breakfast we packed up all our stuff which now seemed to include considerably more stuff, perhaps due to all those shopping expeditions. A quick check out, cab trip to the airport, and it was farewell to Vegas. We had a great time and both agreed that although we had both been before (seperately) this was such a different experience. I reckon you could visit Vegas yearly and never do the same thing twice...so much to do and see.

A fairly uneventful trip to San Francisco had us land there a bit after 1pm. We then pondered how to actually get to our hotel. We stumbled upon a shared ride shuttle bus that was just what we needed. The driver was very chatty and told us of his plans to visit Australia next year. We promised to say g'day when he arrived. He was raving about our cute accents and said he loves the way Aussies say "she'll be right". We've had a few people comment that they love our accents - I always find that so surprising...it sounds jarring to my ears, especially here. Anyway, he got us to the hotel and that's the main thing.

After checking in at about 2:30 we were starving so by 3pm we were off to The Pub at Ghiradelli Square. While at Vegas airport we had googled their menu so we had picked out our choices and were raring to go. Carly was approaching her "hangry" phase ( it had been a while since brekky) and she was ready to eat ribs! The food was amazing and totally lived up to expectations.

After our linner (or is that dunch?) we spent a couple of hours wandering around Fishermans Wharf just checking out the souvenir shops and at least six chocolate shops (which seemed to be everywhere). One sports store shop was particularly amusing with lots and lots of Hayne 38 San Francisco 49ers jerseys reduced in a big sale. Poor Jarrod! Poor us! We rearranged our whole trip to watch him play and he's been dumped back to the practice squad! Oh well, we will enjoy the game anyway, I hope. 

So, with our chocolate purchase to share for supper, we decided on an early night. Good first day in San Fran even though I battled Microsoft for 2 hours tonight as they had blocked my email because someone was accessing it in Vegas and then San Fran...well, der! Hopefully it's fixed...but I'm not quite convinced...

It's off to Alcatraz tomorrow and I'm really excited to check it out. 

Day 4 - Hoover Dam & Tournament of Kings

The alarm blared away at 6:30 am and we discovered it was raining. Raining in Vegas? Nevada gets 4 inches of rain each year and 1/2 inch of that fell today. We decided to try out the buffet here at the Excalibur and were not disappointed. Special kudos goes to the yummy waffles...I love American breakfasts!

We waited for our tour bus to the Hoover Dam with me sending Carly chasing back to the room at the last minute to grab our big coats as it had got quite cold...and it was raining...did I mention that? She sprinted back to the room in admirable style and made it back just as our mini bus arrived and our name was called. We had a great driver/guide called Gary who was very informative as he drove us out to the Hoover Dam - he had a very endearing habit of saying "ladies and gentlemen" about a thousand times - but did a great job. He even stopped at the famous sign so we could get a better photo lol.

It took about an hour to drive to the dam which has an amazing history of how it was built during the depression. We did a most informative tour that took us 53 storeys down into the bowels of the dam structure where we saw the massive electric turbines. Lots of stats on how massive a job it was to build the dam, how much concrete was used etc.

Back on top of the dam we checked out the fantastic views - Carly from somewhat of a distance from he edge - I walked out onto the dam wall, we grabbed some (Lipton!) tea, and then it was back on the bus. Unfortunately one of the other passengers took a tumble getting on the bus and twisted her ankle quite badly. It reminded me to be careful - that would be a disaster on a trip!

Our next stop was Lake Mead, created by the damming of the Colarado River. 

It was then on to Boulder, the town created when 5000 workers arrived to build the dam, where we spotted some long horned wild sheep. There are thousands of these in the neighbouring mountains and they wander down into the town park at this time of year to feed on the grass...quite a spectacle.

Then it was time to go to the chocolate factory - yay chocolate!!! There was also a great cactus botanical garden there, all set up for Christmas lights, which would be cool at night.

After arriving back in Vegas at 2:30 we spent the afternoon checking out some nearby casinos, shopping, and then it was onto our evening entertainment - The Tournament of Kings. It was quite funny - lots of horses, jousting, we got to eat our meal with our fingers, lots of yelling out etc. lots of shouting Hazzah, cheering and booing.

A bit more browsing about afterwards in some other casinos and then back to the room by 9:00 for a somewhat early night of packing, ready to farewell Vegas tomorrow for our next stop, San Francisco.

Day 3 - Shopping & Le Reve

We had a fantastic nights sleep! The alarm woke us at 5:50am as tickets to a show in Nashville went on sale at 6am and we planned to be in the queue to get some...and we did...we got tickets to The Bluebird!!!!! If you're not a country music fan or indeed a fan of the TV show Nashville this will mean nothing to you...but if you are you will know why we are so excited. We're going to The Bluebird!!!!

Carly kindly went downstairs and grabbed me a cup of tea (not Lipton!) which was lovely and then she initiated me into her morning routine of crunches, squats, push ups and tricep dips...suffice it to say I'm starting to feel a bit sore tonight...hope I can walk tomorrow. We set off down the "strip" and had a fabulous buffet brekky at Aria - and just as well too as it was to be a big day. We lined up for a while to buy tickets for shows tonight and tomorrow but decided we were missing precious shopping time so postponed that activity in favour of heading off on the bus to the outlet shops. We shopped til we dropped...almost literally. By 3:30 Carly was growling - could have been her tummy but I think it was actually her - so we abandoned our original "ribs" plan and found a really cool sports restaurant called Buffalo Wild Wings where we feasted on...buffalo wings.

Suddenly realising we were running really late we ran to the bus stop, negotiating what Carly termed the "death crossing" - a pedestrian crossing across a 6 lane highway where you press a button that starts some lights flashing and this is supposed to encourage cars to stop. Let me tell you the person who thought that one up was very optimistic! Anyway, after a successful crossing (ie we didn't die), we waited at the bus stop only to be told by a kind local lady that we were at the wrong stop and needed to be on the other side of the street. Yes, that's right - we needed to once again attack the "death crossing". Twice in one day seemed to be pushing our luck, yet I'm here tonight so somehow we made our way back where we found the puny sign that we should have read earlier to know that we needed to be on that side...darned sign. 

On our way back to Vegas we did drive past the famous Las Vegas sign and I managed a quick photo through the bus window. There is a whole parking lot there for people to stop and take a photo and a bride and groom were posing as we sailed on by.

Great shot, huh?

Anyway, the next hour was taken up with us bungling about and going to buy show tickets from what turned out to be the furthest booth we could have found. We had to line up for ages and then we ran (literally) back down the strip to our hotel, passing many other, much closer, booths with no lines on the way. D'oh! We ran into our room, threw down our parcels, ran back out and luckily ran and jumped on a bus heading back up the strip to make our 7pm show - Le Reve at Wynn Casino, the absolute other end of the strip. No worries we thought - we have plenty of time. Wrong! Firstly traffic was heavy, secondly the bus kept stopping to let heaps of people on and off (didn't they know we were in a hurry?), and lastly there was some incident/road rage that resulted in the bus just stopping for an unknown reason for 15 minutes. We met some other people who were also going to our show and we were all freaking out that we wouldn't make it. Finally off the bus, we raced in and were seated at 6:59...never in doubt!

The show was FABULOUS! Everything we had heard it would be. I took heaps of photos, but here is a sample...

After a great show we walked back through various casinos, played the pokies, put a (losing) roulette bet on for James, grabbed a bite from the famous Carlo's Bakery, and then walked and bussed it back to our room...exhausted. Another big day planned tomorrow, so I'd better get some sleep. Carly's already out to it.

Day 2 - Travelling to Vegas

It's after 8pm, Monday, and it has been the LONGEST day ever. We followed the early morning wake up strategy and I'm here to say...it didn't work. We didn't sleep any longer on the plane because we'd been up for a greater time to allow our body clocks to adjust...we're just more tired! Anyway after travelling for about 19 hours counting airport time we arrived in Las Vegas one hour before we left Sydney - gotta love the international date line. Our mission was to stay up, awake, and active until the appropriate time in the evening to go to sleep.

After checking in at 11:30am we gleefully paid an extra $28 to have immediate and early access to our room. Showers and teeth brushing never felt so good! We then ventured out into the casino where we're staying - Excalibur - and discovered many cafes, restaurants, and indeed a food court, that allowed us to grab a quick bite to eat. It was then out into the "strip" where we explored and walked and shopped and explored and walked and shopped. We were sooo tired we had to stop at the Cheesecake Factory to sample their wares...it was not a choice, we could walk no longer!

Sufficiently rested, we found the bus that takes you to the "old" downtown part of Vegas. I was so glad we made the effort. It was everything you would expect - glossy, shocking, exciting, and well lit up! 

After more trudging around, we both agreed we were literally about to drop and so high tailed it back via the bus to our room. Another quick snack (we had clearly got used to airline food) helped to boost the blood sugar levels and we made it back to the room to discover a double header on TV of Sister Act and Sister Act 2 - hopefully this will help us to stay awake long enough to finally declare our body clocks are in sync.

Day 1 - Leaving on a jet plane

Hard to believe it's been 3 years since Carly and I last jetted off into the wide blue yonder and yet here we are again. It's 3.22am (Monday) and our grand plan is that if we try to adjust our body clock to our destination we will sleep at the appropriate time on the 14 hour plane trip we have this morning. So here we are in our airport hotel room in Sydney and it's the middle of the night yet we are trying to be on Las Vegas time (8.22 am Sunday). Let's hope it works! Now we just have 8 hours to kill until our flight leaves at 11:40am...

So this 3 week adventure will be taking in a range of random places in the US that we either were keen to re-visit or see for the first time - Vegas, San Francisco, Nashville, Boston, and New York. Gary & Rhys have stayed at home so it is a girls only trip once again. Some bits are planned and some will be spontaneous exploring - there are planned historical elements, sporting arenas, music and entertainment, and of course, general sightseeing...and we will make the rest up!

At the moment Carly is putting me to shame doing her morning routine of sit ups, stomach crunches, push ups etc...and all before 4am! What a shame I didn't pack joggers - we could have accessed the 24 hour gym... Looks like we might have to find a movie on TV or read a book or google places to see or repack our bags or wash our hair or make cups of tea or do anything to stay awake until it's time to go.