Out into the Desert

---

---

Day 114 - Los Angeles - San Diego

We left the Ghetto in good time as we wanted to get to San Diego in time to watch the Champions League Final, which was an 11.45am kick-off our time. We found a good little sports bar after being rejected from the only English Pub in the city that we had in mind (it was apparently to busy, although it would have had room for at least another 100 people had it been in England!) and settled down in front of the screen to watch the game. There were quite a few Mexicans supporting Barcelona but it was a fairly relaxed and friendly affair. Rob still insisted on getting very angry at the "diving" of some of the Barcelona players and I had to calm him down!
Once the game had finished and Rob had finally calmed down we set off down to the sea front and along to the USS Midway Museum, an old Aircraft Carrier that is now a floating exhibit. It was really interesting, especially as it had only been decommissioned in 1991 and had fought at the beginning of the Iraq war. I was amazed at how big these US boats are (it could hold 70 modern planes) and I certainly did not appreciate the conditions that enlisted men had to live in. The audio tour was excellent and the all the different fighter jets on the top deck could have kept Rob amused for days! We also saw the newest aircraft carrier in the US fleet moored on the other side of the harbour.
After we had spent a few hours exploring the ship we took a walk into the centre of San Diego and found a bar to stop for a drink in the Gaslamp Quarter while watching the world go by. It is a very multi-cultural city with an unsurprising Mexican vibe.

Day 115 - San Diego - Palm Springs

We hit the famous San Diego Zoo today. It was a very impressive set-up with tour buses, a gondola over the zoo and informative talks throughout the day. I think the highlights would have to be the giant panda bears and polar bears - both of which we had never seen before. The zoo-keepers were always looking for ways to get the animals out for the public to see them which meant that we got a good view of most of the animals. We have taken note of what a grizzly bear looks like for when we head to the wilderness up north!
We spent the majority of the day at the zoo before making our journey to Palm Springs, which is where we were spending the night. It is basically a town in the desert nestled between desert mountains and is a good base for exploring Joshua Tree National Park tomorrow morning.

Day 116 - Palm Springs - Las Vegas

We got up super early as we wanted to get out to Joshua Tree NP before it got too hot. We got to the park around 7am and entered through the south entrance. We headed up to the Cholla Cactus Garden and as soon as we got out of the car the early morning heat slapped us in the face. We had a walk around the garden which almost feels like you are on another planet with the strange Cacti and views of the mountains in the distance over the desert. We carried on through the park and had a short walk around White Tank before heading up to Keys view which is one of the highest points in the park. The view is fantastic and you can see back over the planes to Palm Springs and even Mexico, you can also see the San Andreas fault running through the lowlands. Our final stop was the Barker Dam where we took a short walk around the area which had some really weird rock formations and really cool groves of Joshua Trees. By this time it was midday and ridiculously hot so we made our way out of the north of the park and on to Vegas.
It was quite an empty drive until we joined the main highway which was rammed full of Friday afternoon traffic to Vegas. We arrived in town at about 4.30pm with overcasts skies and a light spitting rain. We cruised up the strip and we found the place quite underwhelming and scabby and arrived at the rather shabby Riviera hotel a little bit disappointed. It was an incredibly seedy old casino full of some really scabby people but at least the room was really nice. After we had sorted ourselves out we headed out to take the rental car back and then spent the evening exploring some of the strip.

Day 117 - Las Vegas

We woke up nice and early to watch the FA Cup final which we thought was on ESPN 2, but as we later found out because we had moved from California to Nevada, it wasn’t on. After this little disappointment we decided to go to one of the bargain ticket booths to see what they had for that night and decided to get some KA (Cirque du Soleil) tickets for that evening. We had to go all the way down to the end of the strip to get our seats allocated at the MGM grand so we had an explore of the bottom end before going back to get ready for the show and hitting the gym.
The show itself was a slight departure from the traditional Cirque du Soleil Experience and was a story driven affair. The set focused around this giant platform which was used as the sea with a boat on it, a giant sandpit, and a climbing wall for a battle. The theatre itself was also purpose built and had platforms above the audience. I really enjoyed it but Sarah was a little disappointed as “it had too much fighting” and wasn’t “the huge spectacular” she thought it would be. On the walk home we explored a few more casinos.

Day 118 - Las Vegas

We woke up and checked out of the Riviera so we could move up the strip to the Stratosphere. This was a vast improvement and we spent the rest of the day going to the gym and chilling by the pool. In the evening we had a little treat and went out to a nice Italian restaurant located in the maze of Caesar’s Palace. It was super tasty and as always, the portion sizes were nice and filling.

Day 119 - Las Vegas

We had a lazy morning and watched some of the French Open on TV. We then decided to go downstairs and brave the brunch buffet which cost about £8! We got our moneys worth and stayed for 1 ½ hours and then went to the gym before another afternoon of relaxation by the pool. In the evening we did a spot of gambling and then headed up the tower of the Stratosphere. Before we went up we succumbed to the frozen cocktails (from Fat Tuesdays) that seem to be everywhere in Vegas and they are good!
The view from the top of the Stratosphere was really cool, especially at night. You can see out into the desert on all 4 sides as well as the lights of downtown to the north and the main strip to the south.

---

Photos

San Diego
USS Midway Museum

San Diego
San Diego Zoo

Joshua Tree NP
Cholla Cactus Garden

Las Vegas
Mirage Volcano

Las Vegas
The top of the Stratosphere

Las Vegas
Belagio Fountains

Las Vegas
Outside the Ka theatre