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Published: November 14th 2012
Nine Fine Men Irish Pub, Vegas
We met a group of lads from the R.A.F. having a ball and a Guinness. Sorry lads i was too drunk to remember your names.I didn't manage to persuade Ben to catch up with the blog so it's me again getting up to date with it! Ben's adding a few more photos on the computer in front of me. We've just had a look at the blog and noticed that the photos that Ben put on yesterday are attached to the previous blog...obviously because he was putting the photos on as I was typing the blog. So, have a look at the last one to find the photos.
We're back in the Las Vegas library and I think I got up to San Francisco yesterday?! On Saturday the 10th we left Oakland and drove to Yosemite. On the way we bought some strawberries from a roadside stall. I am not kidding you they were the most gorgeous strawberries we'd ever tasted! Once in the park, we came to the ranger station to pay but found that we might possibly need snow chains as they were unsure of what was happening with the weather. We could've risked going in without them but were told that if the police caught us we'd be fined. Also, it was about two o clock so by the time we
Caesars Palace
Roman Emperors and an ever changing sky projected onto the ceiling would've got to Yosemite Valley and done the three mile trail we wanted to do it would be dark. Decision made, we drove back out of the park to a town called Mariposa. We checked into a motel then went out to explore the town. It's a lovely little town with a nice feel about it and we soon found the local harvest festival celebration going on! They had a live band on outside a bar but as it was a bit nippy we stayed in the bar sampling the local brews! We had a great night as we got chatting to a few lads from Fresnoe, had a bit of banter with the barman and met a guy called Michael who lived in Mariposa. He took us back to his to play records on his old wind up gramophone and have a bit of whiskey. As Ben put it, I 'just went' so we headed back to our room for bed. The next morning, Michael woke us up as Ben had left his jacket at his and it had our room key in it! (apparently I went into reception the night before to explain this and get another key...can't
Drunk as skunks in Vegas
With an even more drunk Chris. remember a thing!) As we were up, I made us some noodles and coffee!
We got going by half ten to head back into Yosemite National Park from the south entrance as we'd been told that we woudn't need snow chains on this road. As we drew nearer to the park the snow was getting thicker but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Perfect. We did the Mist Trail in the park to Vernal Falls...what a beautiful trail. Yosemite is absolutely amazing. The cliffs are enormous and there are huge boulders scattered about. As everything was covered in snow it looked even more scenic as the snow was continually melting and falling off the trees. Stunning. The path up to the falls was a little steep in places and because it was quite icy it became quite slippery in places. There were loads of steps going up to the falls but we got as far as we needed to get a good view without falling! On the way back down, we were cautiously stepping as we knew we could slip and I said to Ben that we'd actually be better off going down on our bum to slide down. With that, he got down and did exactly that! Well, he used his hands and feet to slide, not his bum, so I got down and did the same! We did it a few times on the way down in the steeper parts and soon saw that other people were doing the same! We didn't send much time in Yosemite, just half a day really and I'm sure there's loads more to explore but what a gorgeous place. I could've just sat there all day and just looked! The snow, the sun and the blue skies made it even better, we've been so lucky with the weather on our travels so far!
Leaving Yosemite, we drove on until about eight o clock to get as far as Bakersfield. (when I told my mum this on the phone she said that she'd heard of that place, that there was a song about it, then she proceeded to sing 'winding your way down to Bakersfield...!! Good one Patsy!) We stayed just off the Interstate at the Vagabond Inn for about $48 dollars with a continental breakfast including biscuits and gravy?! We were both shattered so got an early night but had a rubbish sleep. We sampled the biscuits and gravy for breakfast (not convinced!) then drove on to pass through Death Valley National Park. I don't think we could have had a more contrasting landscape from yesterday but just as stunning in its own way. Very barren and dry with small mountain ranges and big, open, flat plains with scrubs dotted about. By late afternoon the sun was casting different light and shadows on the mountain which made them look even more impressive and dramatic...one of the mountains actually looked pink by the time we were leaving the valley. The actual valley itself was massive...I couldn't get a photo to show the scale of the place...you had to see the mountains either side to get a real perspective and I just couldn't fit it all in! Not long after leaving the valley and entering Nevada we caught our first glimpse of Las Vegas. It got dark at about half four so the city was lit up. What a sight! We also saw loads of planes ready to land, I've never seen so many! We'd decided to go straight to the Imperial Palace hotel as our guide book listed it as one of the cheapest and it was in a good place on the Strip. As we drove onto the strip it was senses overload! Well, maybe just sight overload! Lights lights lights! Also, massive themed hotels and people people everywhere! (we've been used to having places to ourself!) We parked up in the Imperial Palace car park and went to the lobby (obviously having to walk throught the casino first) to see if they had a room. We weren't expecting the queue that was there so I waited in the queue while Ben used the computer round the corner to see if he could book a room online. After ten minutes or so I'd found out that we could have a room for about $25 so we stuck to our original plan and booked three nights. The cheapest and biggest room so far! We chilled out in our room for a bit then went for a walk along the Strip to see what it's all about. Vegas Schmegas! We don't like it! We struggled to find somewhere decent to eat and when we tried to get a drink we were asked for id-I didn't have mine on me so no drink! We ate at a fast food chinese place then went to bed!
The next morning, Tuesday, we went for another stroll to get our bearings. Even though the sun was shining, it was still as bad as last night if not worse. People selling stuff and getting right in your face, pavements leading you into places you don't want to go (Ben keeps saying he doesn't like being corralled everywhere cos he aint no goddamn bull!) and no shiny happy people holding hands! (except us of course!) So that's when we decided to find the library! Last night we went out but I just wasn't feeling it. The best thing I could do to snap out of it was get drunk so that's what we both did! We ended up in a bar in the New York New York hotel called Nine Fine Irishmen where they had live music (not exacly authentic and traditional as it wasn't acoustic and the bass guitarist sang, looked and acted like he wanted to be in a rock band) and we got chatting to a nice American lad and a group of lads from the forces. We had a bit of a jig and got a bit merry so a good night was had by all I think! But as for Las Vegas...you can ram it! Really don't like it and cant wait to leave. The people we've come across working in bars, hotels and restaurants haven't got a smile for you and are rude, everyone's after your money, they're all out for themselves and it's soulless. There...got it off my chest. It's the exact opposite of what we're all about and a massive change to what we've been used to over the last six weeks.
So, we'll probably have a look in a few more hotels tonight and then look forward to heading off tomorrow to see the Grand Canyon where we're hoping to do a helicopter ride. That's all folks!
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Peg and Tom
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DITTO ON VEGAS!!
Couple here from San Francisco again. So glad you got to Yosemite. It is one of God's beautiful creations. Haven't been in a long time. Need to re-visit. Once in Vegas is enough. Been there a few times but not one of our favorite places. We stayed at Paris Hotel across from the Bellagio Hotel with the Dancing Waters. Hope you at least got to the top of Paris, saw the water display and got to the Venetian. See any shows? We're headed to the National Parks next year and plan on seeing the Beatles Cirque Souseil in Vegas. Wouldn't even bother going but it's a perfect stop on our road trip. Looking forward to hearing about your next adventure. Enjoy, have fun, and be safe. Peg and Tom