JonLucandJack

26th & 27th APril 2010 Fishys & Fairgrounds Monterey Bay was the first stop of the day for a visit to the world famous aquarium, for those trivia fans - it was built by David Packard of Hewlett Packard fame! The fish, turtles, penguins and flamingos were popular with the little guy as was a small dome that he could sit inside while waves crashed above his head. We stopped for lunch but we should have headed back to the van - it was decidedly average and very overpriced! Something like $35 for three sandwiches a couple of crisps and an apple! Later that afternoon after a driving tour round Santa Cruz we arrived at Seacliff State Park, about ten minutes down the road, for our next stop. A breezy time was had on the beach. ... read more

Friday 23rd April Pismo Beach The journey here reminded us of the Dales back in England, lots of rolling green hills but with cattle rather than sheep. We were close to, but not quite on the coast. We arrived at Pismo Beach just in time for lunch and the mandatory lunchtime sleep afterwards! This was one big site, over 300 pitches, a pool, minigolf, clubhouse, restaurant and store and was fully booked for the weekend. Hardly surprising really given that there was direct access to the beach from the campsite. For the first time we got in a bit of a muddle over the itinery. The booking form for Pismo stated that we had two nights reserved so we had a slow and steady afternoon, I did the washing, Jonathan went for a run and Jack ... read more

19th & 20th April 2010 Hey Mickey you're so fine West from Indio to the outskirts of LA at Pamona, the Fairplex KOA (right by the Los Angeles Showground). Did we strick it lucky or what? After the previous couple of days sitting at the MCC and observing all the 45ft plus Motorcoaches, we pulled into the campground only to find that part of the showground next door had an RV display on! Well, wild horses couldn't have kept us away. It was a two minute walk from our pitch to the otherside of the campground and through the pedestrian gate into the show. The first one we went it was for sale for $239,000 (reduced by $100,000) - it was all a bit bling for our liking, leather ceilings, leather seats and probably a leather ... read more

14th, 15th & 16th April No, the bandits haven't got us! (or otherwise known as Flagstaff, Route 66 & Needles) Well, what to tell you. I think the fact that we only took one photo in Flagstaff says it all! It's not that it wasn't nice, in fact it was quite lovely. It reminded us a lot of Fernie, slightly bigger and a little more tired looking. I think it's just that having got used to taking photos of very beautiful places for the past two weeks, Flagstaff scenery just didn't match up. Fair enough there's a big hill there, with a ski resort and lots of outdoor shops, which we certainly made us of, but it didn't tickle our fancy like the National Parks. All in all, Flagstaff turned out to be a bit of ... read more

Sunday 11th April Capitol Reef National Park to Monument Valley Yeeeeehaaaaaa, wild west country here we come! Monument Valley has been the backdrop for Hollywood movies since 1924. The film buffs among you may recognise the scenery in the photo's from such classics as The Searchers, Fort Apache (John Wayne), My Darling Clementine (Henry Fonda), Easy Rider (Peter Fonda), Back To The Future III (Michael J Fox) and Forest Gump (Tom Hanks). It was a long journey getting here. We set off early after stocking up on pie, scones and coffee from the Gifford Farmhouse (see yesterday's entry) in Capitol Reef and headed out along our planned route. However, the Moki Dugway and a conversation with a Park Ranger made us reconsider. Imagine the scene, you're driving along a regular Highway, 261 in particular, and you ... read more