Time for the February ACN convention.We are back in California this year, in San Jose this time. San Jose is only about 30 miles from San Francisco,m a city that I have always wanted to see, so we decided to come down early and do some sight seeing. I am totally "blown away" by the unexpected beauty that is part of this area and this state - it is more than just a pretty face.
We flew down on Saturday , finally arriving at our hotel about 10:00 Saturday evening, California time!!
Sunday was a rest and get ready day.
Monday we spent the day doing a 47 mile self-guided driving tour of San Francisco. You know those movies that you watch where people are driving up and down impossibly steep and long hills and you think to yourself "hmmm, looks like some camera funny-stuff". Believe me, there is absolutely NO "funny-stuff" involved. All I could think about as we drove through some of those neighbourhoods where the streets are really as steep as thet look was that there is NO WAY that you could build a city like this somewhere where it snows - you would not be able to get up and down those hills. San Francisco is a very unique and beautiful city and those hills just add to it's charm. It is a city of contrasts. The downtown area is very modern (so are the people). In the core of the city, most of the available housing appears to be town homes. One thing that has struck us here is that people do not seem to have enough room for their cars. They have a garage (whether they have a car in it or not is anybody's guess), they have 2 cars in the driveway and then the streets are lines with parked cars!
Anyway, during this tour there were several times when it appeared that we had left the city - beautiful parks and green spaces - then we would turn a corner and would be back in the middle of the city again. We just had to ndrive over the Golden Gate bridge - it is as amazing as it always appears in film and pictures. I will post a bit of a slide show of our tour. San Francisco is everything that I had imagined it would be and more.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
New Orleans
Seems that it's about time that I got around to this!!!!! We actually did make it to New Orleans!! Like just like just about everywhere else that we went, New orleans was colder than we would have liked it - especially when walking the dogs first thing in the morning and last thing at night!!
Someone forgot to tell us that the Sugar Bowl was being played in the Silverdome on New Year's Day and that meant that getting to downtown New Orleans on New Year's Eve would be absolutely impossible. Disappointing as we had hoped to spend the evening in the French Quarter. We ended up spending the evening in a small casino about 10 miles out of downtown. There we soon discovered that New Orleans has "Saint Fever"!!!!! Even the dealers were all wearing Saints' jerseys.
We actually arrived in Covington, which is on the north shore of Lake Pontchatrain on New Year's Eve at about 6:00. To get into downtown New Orleans, we had to cross the causeway across Lake Pontchatrain - this causeway is 22 miles long. What a feat of engineering!! Again we stayed at our favourite - Residence Inn. Since most of our activities in the Big Easy were not "dog-friendly", we were able to leave the dogs in their crates in the bedroom and housekeeping was still able to clean the rest of our suite (they were, however, quite appalled that we would consider making our own bed!!)
We spent time at the New Orleans Riverwalk - quite different from the San Antonio Riverwalk. This one is a mall on the Mississippi River - just when you think that you've hit the end, there is another bend, a few more stairs and a whole other level to explore. We took a carriage ride through the French Quarter - just about froze to death doing it. The carriages are pulled by mules in New Orleans. Our mule's name was Pumpkin and our guide was David, a born and bred native resident of New Orleans.
We found it more difficult to put in full days in new Orleans because our hotel was so far away from the city and we couldn't leave the dogs for long periods of time. Generally we would make the trip into the city just once a day and find something else to do (like relaxing) the rest of the time.
All too soon, Monday arrived and it was time to head home so that we would be back in time for Jamie's surgery on Wednesday morning. We packed up the car and the dogs and managed to get home from New Orleans in just 2 days with a stop in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
It was an amazing trip and as hectic as it was, I would do it all again. We certainly saw some awesome scenery and witnessed the site of some heartrending history. We also took time out to play.
Someone forgot to tell us that the Sugar Bowl was being played in the Silverdome on New Year's Day and that meant that getting to downtown New Orleans on New Year's Eve would be absolutely impossible. Disappointing as we had hoped to spend the evening in the French Quarter. We ended up spending the evening in a small casino about 10 miles out of downtown. There we soon discovered that New Orleans has "Saint Fever"!!!!! Even the dealers were all wearing Saints' jerseys.
We actually arrived in Covington, which is on the north shore of Lake Pontchatrain on New Year's Eve at about 6:00. To get into downtown New Orleans, we had to cross the causeway across Lake Pontchatrain - this causeway is 22 miles long. What a feat of engineering!! Again we stayed at our favourite - Residence Inn. Since most of our activities in the Big Easy were not "dog-friendly", we were able to leave the dogs in their crates in the bedroom and housekeeping was still able to clean the rest of our suite (they were, however, quite appalled that we would consider making our own bed!!)
We spent time at the New Orleans Riverwalk - quite different from the San Antonio Riverwalk. This one is a mall on the Mississippi River - just when you think that you've hit the end, there is another bend, a few more stairs and a whole other level to explore. We took a carriage ride through the French Quarter - just about froze to death doing it. The carriages are pulled by mules in New Orleans. Our mule's name was Pumpkin and our guide was David, a born and bred native resident of New Orleans.
We found it more difficult to put in full days in new Orleans because our hotel was so far away from the city and we couldn't leave the dogs for long periods of time. Generally we would make the trip into the city just once a day and find something else to do (like relaxing) the rest of the time.
All too soon, Monday arrived and it was time to head home so that we would be back in time for Jamie's surgery on Wednesday morning. We packed up the car and the dogs and managed to get home from New Orleans in just 2 days with a stop in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
It was an amazing trip and as hectic as it was, I would do it all again. We certainly saw some awesome scenery and witnessed the site of some heartrending history. We also took time out to play.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Back in Time
Today, we started the day at The Alamo. Although there is actually very little left of the mission, there is enough to touch your heart and bring a lump to your throat. The mission chapel still stands as well as part of what is called the longhouse. Unfortunately, much of what is still in place is indoors and photograpthy is not allowed. Throughout the site are flags from the states and the countries where the Alamo defenders came from. Surprisingly they came from Denmark, England, Ireland, Germany and Scotland. Many, many states contributed to the last defense of the Alamo. There was also a gentleman named John, a black freedman. The entire compound is a very fitting memorial to the 13 days that the garrison of approximately 200 men held out against overwhelming odds.
Next we headed for the Riverwalk. For those who have never heard of the Riverwalk, it is a beautiful walkway designed in downtown San Antonio which follows a loop created in the San Antonio River. The walk encompasses restaurants and small stores and some beautiful greenery and landscaping. The pictures of the small knobbly looking trees are part of the root system of cypress trees. In some places, they look like a forest of little people. At night, right now, during the holiday season, all of the trees and bridges are draped with Christmas lights which twinkle constantly. The stores and restaurants are all decorated beautifully for the holiday season.
The weather today -- sunny and 12 degrees!! This evening, we ate on the patio of a restaurant called The Salt Grass Steak House. Graham was in his shirt sleeves and I just had a sweater on.
Tomorrow we are off to New Orleans. Another day in the car, but, a beautiful city at the end.
Next we headed for the Riverwalk. For those who have never heard of the Riverwalk, it is a beautiful walkway designed in downtown San Antonio which follows a loop created in the San Antonio River. The walk encompasses restaurants and small stores and some beautiful greenery and landscaping. The pictures of the small knobbly looking trees are part of the root system of cypress trees. In some places, they look like a forest of little people. At night, right now, during the holiday season, all of the trees and bridges are draped with Christmas lights which twinkle constantly. The stores and restaurants are all decorated beautifully for the holiday season.
The weather today -- sunny and 12 degrees!! This evening, we ate on the patio of a restaurant called The Salt Grass Steak House. Graham was in his shirt sleeves and I just had a sweater on.
Tomorrow we are off to New Orleans. Another day in the car, but, a beautiful city at the end.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Life is Interesting in Texas
For the second time on our trip, we woke up this morning to snow on the ground and our car - nothing like last week in Flagstaff though and we were soon on our way.
Another 9 hour day on the road. Life is interesting in Texas. The first thing we discovered this morning shortly after leaving El Paso -- the speed limit on the Interstates in Texas is 80 mph!!!!! According to Graham, driving at 80 mph is pretty scary. Next, we discovered that there are a lot of mountains in Texas and that a lot of the Interstate has been blasted out of sheer rock. There are palm trees and massive cactus everywhere. The trees are full of leaves, except for the dead trees - they are full of tumbleweeds.
Arrived in San Antonio safe and sound, despite the fast speed limit!
Another 9 hour day on the road. Life is interesting in Texas. The first thing we discovered this morning shortly after leaving El Paso -- the speed limit on the Interstates in Texas is 80 mph!!!!! According to Graham, driving at 80 mph is pretty scary. Next, we discovered that there are a lot of mountains in Texas and that a lot of the Interstate has been blasted out of sheer rock. There are palm trees and massive cactus everywhere. The trees are full of leaves, except for the dead trees - they are full of tumbleweeds.
Arrived in San Antonio safe and sound, despite the fast speed limit!
Flagstaff to El Paso
Strictly a travel day -- 9 hours on the road traveling from Flagstaff, Arizona to El Paso, Texas. A long day, but we are half way to our next objective which is San Antonio.
The interesting part of our drive occurred shortly after it became dark. The driver in front of us narrowly missed hitting a deer that darted into the road in front of him (her). Shortly after that , Graham murdered the tumbleweed that came rushing out of the darkness at us!! He did manage to miss the second one that camenout of the darkness shortly after.
The interesting part of our drive occurred shortly after it became dark. The driver in front of us narrowly missed hitting a deer that darted into the road in front of him (her). Shortly after that , Graham murdered the tumbleweed that came rushing out of the darkness at us!! He did manage to miss the second one that camenout of the darkness shortly after.
Grand Canyon
With sadness we left Las Vegas this morning and headed back to Arizona -- the site of the blizzard on our way to Vegas. The closer we got to Flagstaff, the deeper the snow. It took us about 5 hours to finally reach the Grand Canyon. Because of the one hour time change, we arrived in time to watch the shadows of the sun climb the canyon walls. Again some absolutely spectacular scenery. The walkways at the canyon were covered with snow and we watched several people tumble on the ice. Getting to the edge of the observation areas was quite tricky, but well worth the effort.
Regrettably, because of the time it takes to get to the canyon, it was too late to take advantage of the scenic drives or other overlooks.
After leaving the Canyon, we headed back to Flagstaff for the night -- none of the snow has melted!!!
Regrettably, because of the time it takes to get to the canyon, it was too late to take advantage of the scenic drives or other overlooks.
After leaving the Canyon, we headed back to Flagstaff for the night -- none of the snow has melted!!!
Valley of Fire
Dedicated in 1935, Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest State Park. It is located only 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The rough floor and jagged walls of the park contain brilliant formations of eroded sandstone and sand dunes more than 150 million years old. These features, which are the centerpiece of the park's attractions, often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. The park is located in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada.
Wow!!!!!!! A day filled with colour. The hype is right -- the rocks look like they are on fire. The slide show basically says it all -- please enjoy.
This evening we returned to the strip. We tried to visit The Flamingo, however, the parking lot was full so.... back to Harrah's. The thing that kept us returning to Harrah's us single deck blackjack -- you actually get to touch your cards!!! A very interesting game in which the odds should belong to the players. This time, I did alright while Graham lost a little. All in all, out time in Las Vegas has been full of fun and stunning beauty. We will be back!
Wow!!!!!!! A day filled with colour. The hype is right -- the rocks look like they are on fire. The slide show basically says it all -- please enjoy.
This evening we returned to the strip. We tried to visit The Flamingo, however, the parking lot was full so.... back to Harrah's. The thing that kept us returning to Harrah's us single deck blackjack -- you actually get to touch your cards!!! A very interesting game in which the odds should belong to the players. This time, I did alright while Graham lost a little. All in all, out time in Las Vegas has been full of fun and stunning beauty. We will be back!
Christmas on the Road
It was very different celebrating Christmas in Las Vegas. We slept in this morning and then called Ryan, Deb, Austin, Alex, Krista and Jamie who are all celebrating today and tomorrow at Ryan & Deb's -- brave souls Ryan & Deb. I'm impressed. I understand that Austin (the almost 4 year old) who was last up???? I'm pretty sure that at 4 years old, his father was up around 5:00 opening his stocking. Maybe next year retribution will strike. When I asked Austin what he got for Christmas, his response was "presents". He sounded extremely excited. Alex, of course, was excited, however, she only said "hi", "love you" and "bye".
We spent the afternoon casino shopping. We started at the Paris hoping to get something to eat -- apparently the Paris has the best food in Vegas -- the lineups for all of the restaurants there certainly attest to that. We ended up at Harrah's where they were celebrating the day by giving out Mardi Gras type beads for every Blackjack and a deck of cards for every suited Blackjack -- we walked out with 17 sets of beads and 8 decks of cards!!!!!!!
After a break to feed, water and walk Emma and Abby nand grab some dinner we returned to the Strip and ended up back at Harrah's. This time Graham was the winner and I was the loser. We had a lot of fun though. A wonderful but different Christmas Day.
We spent the afternoon casino shopping. We started at the Paris hoping to get something to eat -- apparently the Paris has the best food in Vegas -- the lineups for all of the restaurants there certainly attest to that. We ended up at Harrah's where they were celebrating the day by giving out Mardi Gras type beads for every Blackjack and a deck of cards for every suited Blackjack -- we walked out with 17 sets of beads and 8 decks of cards!!!!!!!
After a break to feed, water and walk Emma and Abby nand grab some dinner we returned to the Strip and ended up back at Harrah's. This time Graham was the winner and I was the loser. We had a lot of fun though. A wonderful but different Christmas Day.
Monday, 28 December 2009
Red Rock Canyon
Today, our adventure was to visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area. This awesome park is about an hour west of Vegas and is located in the Mojave Desert. There is a 13 mile scenic drive through the park with many outlooks which allow for amazing photographs.
The most significant geologic feature of Red Rock Canyon is the Keystone Thrust Fault. A thrust fault apparently is a fracture in the earth's crust where one rock plate is thrust horizontally over another. About 65 million years ago, it is believed that two of the earth's crustal plates collided with such force that part of one plate was shoved up and over younger sandstones. This thrust contact is clearly defined by the sharp contrast between the grey limestones and the red sandstones. The Keystone Thrust Fault extends from the Cottonwood Fault 13 miles northward to the vicinity of La Madre Mountain.
The photos in the slide show do not do the beauty of this park justice - it was breathtaking!!!
This evening, of course, we were off to the Strip - tonight we visited Caesar's Palace. I won a little - Graham lost a little -- we came away about even.
The most significant geologic feature of Red Rock Canyon is the Keystone Thrust Fault. A thrust fault apparently is a fracture in the earth's crust where one rock plate is thrust horizontally over another. About 65 million years ago, it is believed that two of the earth's crustal plates collided with such force that part of one plate was shoved up and over younger sandstones. This thrust contact is clearly defined by the sharp contrast between the grey limestones and the red sandstones. The Keystone Thrust Fault extends from the Cottonwood Fault 13 miles northward to the vicinity of La Madre Mountain.
The photos in the slide show do not do the beauty of this park justice - it was breathtaking!!!
This evening, of course, we were off to the Strip - tonight we visited Caesar's Palace. I won a little - Graham lost a little -- we came away about even.
Saturday, 26 December 2009
The Morning After
When we awoke the following morning in Flagstaff, it was -7 degrees AND there was 8" of snow on the ground!!!! It seems that we brought our weather with us@^)**(^%@@!) Arizona, surprisingly, is very good at removing the snow from its interstate highways and once we removed the snow from the car (without snow brush or gloves) we were on our way. It took us about an hour and a half to get out of the snow.
We opted to take the scenic route along the original Route 66 -- little traffic and interesting scenery. Every 5 or 6 miles along the route there would be a series of 5 small red signs. The first 4 signs would tell a short whippet of wisdom (Graham's phrase because I couldn't come up with one) and the 5th sign always said Burma Shave.
Despite a significant delay at the Hoover Dam related to heightened security and vast numbers of cars, we arrived at our hotel in Las Vegas at about 3:30 this afternoon.
Once we were unpacked and settled we headed out for dinner and our first night of gambling - at Caesar's Palace. What an amazing place - 2 casinos, over 200 shops, I'm not sure how many resaturants -- HUGE!! We discovered already that you do NOT; EVER drive on the Vegas Strip. It is just a glorified parking lot.
We opted to take the scenic route along the original Route 66 -- little traffic and interesting scenery. Every 5 or 6 miles along the route there would be a series of 5 small red signs. The first 4 signs would tell a short whippet of wisdom (Graham's phrase because I couldn't come up with one) and the 5th sign always said Burma Shave.
Despite a significant delay at the Hoover Dam related to heightened security and vast numbers of cars, we arrived at our hotel in Las Vegas at about 3:30 this afternoon.
Once we were unpacked and settled we headed out for dinner and our first night of gambling - at Caesar's Palace. What an amazing place - 2 casinos, over 200 shops, I'm not sure how many resaturants -- HUGE!! We discovered already that you do NOT; EVER drive on the Vegas Strip. It is just a glorified parking lot.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Albuquerque to Flagstaff
This morning we had to be up and on the road early - they were doing some upgrades to the hot water system at the hotel where we were staying and were going to turn the water off at 8:00 am. There were some stops that we wanted to make today, so leaving early fit right into our plans. Do you believe that the latest that Graham has slept til on this vacation is 8:00 am ~ an unheard of feat!!
First stop today was The Petrified Forest National Forest near Holbrook, Arizona. What an amazingly breathtaking place ~ The first stop on the road was for some long-distance vistas of the Painted Desert. The Mesas nin the distance were a spectacular mauve colour which contrasted with the closer red rocks.
Peurco Pueblo is a partially stabilized 100 room pueblo built around 1250 CE. It probably housed nearly 1200 people. Looking down the cliff are black rocks that are covered in petroglyphs. More petroglyphs were to be seen at Newspaper Rock ~ they are very primitive, but at the same time very expressive.
Next on the road were The Tepees. These are layered blues, purples and grays caused by iron, carbon, manganese and other minerals. The Tepees stand in massive cone-shaped formations over a large area of the park.
Last but not least are the petrified logs ~ most of these logs have fallen out of the surrounding rock and lie strewn across the floor of the formations. Now and again we would get a glimpse of a log still encased in the surrounding rock. The colours are bright and beautiful.
Once we left the Forest, we headed for the Meteorite Crater at Winslow, Arizona. Apparently this crater is one of the largest in the world and so closely resembles the moon surface that it was used by NASA to train the Apollo astronauts. As we got closer and closer to the crater, the sky became darker and darker and visibility started decreasing. We decided that it was likely safer to head for our hotel in Flagstaff. Good thing we did ~ we drove to Flagstaff in the midst of a blizzard!!!!! It was so bad that the police closed the interstate, stranding many motorists. The hotel where we are staying is unexpectedly full for the night. We have traveled over 3400 km to escape the cold and snow and here we are in the middle of New Mexico in the midst of a raging blizzard. I felt like bursting into "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" -- NOT!!!!!!
First stop today was The Petrified Forest National Forest near Holbrook, Arizona. What an amazingly breathtaking place ~ The first stop on the road was for some long-distance vistas of the Painted Desert. The Mesas nin the distance were a spectacular mauve colour which contrasted with the closer red rocks.
Peurco Pueblo is a partially stabilized 100 room pueblo built around 1250 CE. It probably housed nearly 1200 people. Looking down the cliff are black rocks that are covered in petroglyphs. More petroglyphs were to be seen at Newspaper Rock ~ they are very primitive, but at the same time very expressive.
Next on the road were The Tepees. These are layered blues, purples and grays caused by iron, carbon, manganese and other minerals. The Tepees stand in massive cone-shaped formations over a large area of the park.
Last but not least are the petrified logs ~ most of these logs have fallen out of the surrounding rock and lie strewn across the floor of the formations. Now and again we would get a glimpse of a log still encased in the surrounding rock. The colours are bright and beautiful.
Once we left the Forest, we headed for the Meteorite Crater at Winslow, Arizona. Apparently this crater is one of the largest in the world and so closely resembles the moon surface that it was used by NASA to train the Apollo astronauts. As we got closer and closer to the crater, the sky became darker and darker and visibility started decreasing. We decided that it was likely safer to head for our hotel in Flagstaff. Good thing we did ~ we drove to Flagstaff in the midst of a blizzard!!!!! It was so bad that the police closed the interstate, stranding many motorists. The hotel where we are staying is unexpectedly full for the night. We have traveled over 3400 km to escape the cold and snow and here we are in the middle of New Mexico in the midst of a raging blizzard. I felt like bursting into "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" -- NOT!!!!!!
Monday, 21 December 2009
A Very Long Day
This morning, we woke up in Tulsa, Oklahoma (0 degrees Celsius). Tonight we are sleeping in Albuquerque, New Mexico ( 8 degrees Celsius). In between, we traveled through the Texas panhandle and enjoyed a daytime temperature of 20 degrees and beautiful sunshine. As soon as the sun goes down here, the temperature plummets.
Oklahoma was very flat with lots of scrub. The people are very friendly and accommodating. As we entered Texas, we stopped at an Indian Trading Post where we took the pictures of the bison -- the state animal of Texas. These bison were somewhat reminiscent of Mel Lastman's moose. Texas is vast with very large ranches of cattle. Sometimes we would only see one or two head -- apparently the cattle are permitted to roam free until it is time to head for the stockyard. They also grow cotton in Texas -- there are places where the edges of the road look like they are piled with snow when it is cotton bolls that have blown in the wind. We saw a couple of tumbleweeds, but not soon enough to get a picture. Again, the country is very flat with lots of scrub. Suddenly, we turned the last corner in Texas and saw the first mesas of New Mexico. What an amazing site - the pictures do not even begin to do justice to the beauty of the New Mexican scenery.
Unbelievably, the speed limit in both Oklahoma and New Mexico is 75 mi/hr. In Texas, the speed limit is 70 during daylight hours and 65 at night.
The dogs are holding up very well. Emma has adjusted to the long car rides by curling up in the back seat and sleeping except for stops when she has to take a look to see what's going on. Abby, on the other hand continues to fret -- she has to know what'[s going on at all times. She sits and watches out the window and only rarely sleeps in the car.
Another busy day is scheduled for tomorrow -- our last day before arriving in Las Vegas.
Oklahoma was very flat with lots of scrub. The people are very friendly and accommodating. As we entered Texas, we stopped at an Indian Trading Post where we took the pictures of the bison -- the state animal of Texas. These bison were somewhat reminiscent of Mel Lastman's moose. Texas is vast with very large ranches of cattle. Sometimes we would only see one or two head -- apparently the cattle are permitted to roam free until it is time to head for the stockyard. They also grow cotton in Texas -- there are places where the edges of the road look like they are piled with snow when it is cotton bolls that have blown in the wind. We saw a couple of tumbleweeds, but not soon enough to get a picture. Again, the country is very flat with lots of scrub. Suddenly, we turned the last corner in Texas and saw the first mesas of New Mexico. What an amazing site - the pictures do not even begin to do justice to the beauty of the New Mexican scenery.
Unbelievably, the speed limit in both Oklahoma and New Mexico is 75 mi/hr. In Texas, the speed limit is 70 during daylight hours and 65 at night.
The dogs are holding up very well. Emma has adjusted to the long car rides by curling up in the back seat and sleeping except for stops when she has to take a look to see what's going on. Abby, on the other hand continues to fret -- she has to know what'[s going on at all times. She sits and watches out the window and only rarely sleeps in the car.
Another busy day is scheduled for tomorrow -- our last day before arriving in Las Vegas.
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