barryandsue

Our 100 day adventure ended in New York which was not as pretty as we remembered when we visited 6 years ago. Many buildings had scaffolding around them and construction work going on within. We couldn't decide whether it was post hurricane Sandy repairs or an upturn in the economy, focused on the building trade. We did the usual shopping and sightseeing and I wandered into Times Square during the afternoon of New Years Eve. Big mistake as the place was heaving and barriers were being erected to prevent vehicular and pedestrian access. As a result I got carried along with the crowd until I got clear of the restrictions. Sue had a similar problem trying to shop in Macy's and gave up in the end. We had a wonderful Gala 5 course dinner at Pera ... read more

Christmas Day, cold but sunny, so what better than a walk to the White House. Not much traffic about, however when we got closer the pedestrian count increased. Jostling for position to take the best photo was fun and there was not a lot of time for posing but people were very courteous. Compared with previous years the Christmas tree was small and disappointing and the traditional yule log fire had been cancelled (I suppose the recession is to blame). They did make an effort with model train sets which appealed to the children and although we had missed Santa (he left the previous evening) his workshop remained. Had a lazy afternoon flicking the TV remote. At least 100 channels and, guess what, "there's nothing on the telly". Last sitting for Christmas dinner was 6pm so ... read more

2 nights and 2.5 days on a train from San Francisco to Chicago. Whilst we had a sleeper compartment, it was smaller than the cells in Alcatraz and by the end of the trip we felt like prisoners as the food was becoming repetitive. We would not however have missed this trip for the world as the views were stunning and so far, it is the most scenic train ride we have ever experienced. We travelled through Northern California, Nevada, where we encountered snow, Utah, Colorado where the snow got deeper, Nebraska, Idaho and Illinois. The terrain changed from plains to forests and mountains with rock formations ranging from sandstone to granite. The canyons and rivers flowing through were equally spectacular since some rivers were partly frozen. The downside of all this snow was that the ... read more

From bad to worse We left SF promptly to catch a flight to Vegas. The booking reference could not be traced so we had to queue for 30 mins to see an agent. After eventually finding the booking we were advised we had to pay $25 per bag checked in, although our UK reference stated 2 bags per person checked in free as had been the case the whole trip so far. We begrudgingly paid to check in 1 bag and proceeded to the departure lounge. After 1 hour we were advised the flight had been cancelled with no explanation. My view is that they bumped people on to later flights to save money (don't fly United Airlines if you have a choice). We then joined another queue (sorry line as we are in the US). ... read more

Left Hawaii in 28C and arrived at our hotel in LA just before midnight. Temperature was single figures and got colder as we headed for San Francisco. No coment about LA as it was just an overnight stop and from what we have seen and heard of it we missed nothing. 11 hours on the train to cover 500 miles to SF. The trains do not travel fast and there are numerous station stops. They even stop for smoke breaks but the route north up the coast of California is very scenic and a slow train is a good way to take it in. Spent the first day in SF sightseeing from an open top bus and even though it was sunny, the wind chill of the sea made it feel like just above freezing. What ... read more