Route 66

Motoring enthusiasts will know that if you ever plan to motor west, Route 66 is highway that's the best. It no longer formally exists - perhaps victim to the American system of unromantic street names. For example, streets in the outer suburbs of small town Visalia were simply numbered. Our campground was on Street 176, near the corner of Avenue 45. And you certainly don't need to be tree-lined to be called an avenue.

Nevertheless, the lyrics of the song mention several of the places we've been to in the past few days. Barstow and Kingman would be little but truckstops without the song - the most memorable aspect was Kingman coffee - weak Nescafe in a milkshake sized container. But here in Flagstaff Arizona is where that all changed - the first town where I thought I could live (Fran would also move to SF). A spectacularly beautiful little town, with a backdrop of magnificent mountaintops wherever you look. Its main industries are skiing and the Uni of Northern Arizona - none of this farming or industry stuff. Makes for a nice vibe. Bye now! PW

We have covered a lot of miles and a lot of climate changes over the past few days. We did an American facts Quiz for the kids which occupied the first two hours of a drive and whilst the desert has pretty amazing scenery (for adults)- the DSi's have pretty amazing entertainment value for kids -no concerns with car sickness on those roads! After a couple of nights in cabins and warm desert heat, we have had three nights here in Flagstaff, back to biting wind and a bit of snow. But, we have been impressed with this town near the Grand Canyon.

Today's trip to Sedona was wonderful -red rock formations surrounding a gorgeous little tourist town and river which Elsie called a "mini canyon" (leaving plenty of scope for our trip to the Grand Canyon tomorrow). The chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona (pictured) is a truly magnificent building and the whole place has a wonderful energy. The kids enjoyed some rock clambering, and a game of mini golf but are beginning to ask if we will ever be able to actually have food cooked at home and we are all pretty sick of eating pasta, fries, sugary cereal, sweetened bread and almost everything eaten from plastic plates and cups. FM xx

San Francisco to Sequoia National Park

What an amazing few days we have had. We left San Francisco and drove South toward Yosemite National Park, staying three nights in the fabulous Tenaya Lodge Hotel -but the real highlight was the excitement on all our faces when we arrived to unexpected, late season snowfall. The kids were in heaven once we managed to obtain a Toboggan and some snow boots -we spent a whole day playing in the snow around the hotel and then enjoying a hot jacuzzi -both outdoor and indoor (Photo is of Gemma in bathers in the snow!).

This limited our time actually in Yosemite to one full day, which seemed more than enough for the kids, though Pete and I would love to have done some longer walks. The weather was clear, sunny and the snow just added sharpness and contrast to the most stunning scenery -mountains, amazing sheer rock walls, pounding waterfalls, and a gorgeous river in the valley in between. Saw squirrels and deer, but no bears despite many warning signs about keeping food hidden! To top off the day we ate dinner in the historic Wawona Hotel dining room, and the kids were serenaded by the piano player in the hotel lobby.

We were all a bit deflated on leaving and arriving here in the smallish farming town of Visalia -where the KOA Kampground (their spelling, not mine!) has been a big step down in ambiance and comfort level! However, we did break up the journey with a visit to the annual Clovis Rodeo which was great fun -hot, dusty and all American cowboy action. The rodeo intro ceremony mentioned servicemen, the American Eagle, freedom and the right to carry a gun in the first 30 seconds.

We spent yesterday visiting the Giant Sequoia trees in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The trees were certainly impressive - enormous and old - up to 2000 years! All set amongst more snow action. Today was the first day we have really struggled with motivating the kids to get in the car AGAIN! They have been such troopers with the travel, but frustration levels were peaking!

Our GPS took us home through the outer suburbs of Visalia. A real eye opener to see urban poverty - not the begging and homelessness of the big cities, but families sitting outside little houses that look like shipping containers. Wages in stores and restaurants seem pretty low - around $8 per hour or less. It is amazing that the service is so courteous and helpful despite all this. Our waitress last night was a single mum with 4 kids, who works the evening shift 5 nights per week. "That's a tough gig" I said, and she had no idea what I was talking about until I translated myself into English.

(On the topic of Aussie slang - I thought it was my accent, but it's my choice of phrasing that's causing my difficulties. I asked the guy in the surf shop how much it cost to hire a board for a day - not such a tricky concept I thought, as he's standing next to a huge sign that says BOARD HIRE. "Oh, you want to RENT a board!" Seems like he hires, I rent. Park volunteers were collecting donations as we entered Yosemite. "Good on you" I said. The lady burst out laughing. "Did you REALLY SAY THAT?" she laughed. Seems like that phrase is reserved for Paul Hogan.)

OK, off to Arizona! Blog soon. Hope you're all well! With love from P& F

Highlights:

• Seals in Santa Cruz
• Cable car ride in San Francisco
• Bike riding to, and across the Golden Gate Bridge
• Art on the walls in Hotel Des Arts
• All the zany people in San Francisco and the beautiful hilly streets and amazing buildings lining the streets of San Fran.

LA to San Fran

Update: Monday April 19

An amazing few days. California is said to set the world’s tempo, and we're not about to disagree.

Hearst Castle

A castle is what we call it. To him, it was just one of his 8 homes. If you don’t know about it, it’s worth Googling it and spending 10 minutes reading the history of the American Dream summarised in the fortunes of the Hearst family. In brief: Grandaddy Hearst makes it big looking for gold and finding silver in the mid 1800’s; buys up a large chunk of California the moment it gains its independence from Mexico; ends up a Senator. His only son William Randolph has expensive tastes and an eye for art. His dad dies and leaves him no money (although perhaps a few handy contacts); he makes his own fortune as a 19^th century Rupert Murdoch, referred to as “The Chief”.

Although he’s rich, mum holds the purse strings to the serious Hearst money. WR pesters her to build a house in the wild Californian coastline where they grew up; she says no because she knows he’ll spend a fortune. Many years later, when mum dies and leaves it all to him, the eulogy is still fresh in people’s minds as he commissions a country house, based on the castles of Europe.

It takes 20 years to complete, but when it is, he’s spent more than a dozen fortunes on it. One of the most powerful and respected/feared men in the United States, he uses it as a weekender and regularly invites a dozen movie stars and/or politicians to spend weekends in the most amazing roaring 20’s style. You can do whatever you want…so long as The Chief approves.

WR ran for president, but missed out. His kids administer the Hearst Foundation, and reading between the lines of what our knowledgeable guide Larry told us, live off trust funds. The house was donated to California.

Daniel was pretty impressed. The girls wanted to know why we couldn’t swim in the pool.

Big Sur

That afternoon, we drove along the breathtaking coastline between Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. In the middle is the forested part called Big Sur, where a lot of tuning in, turning on and dropping out has been going on since the 60’s. It would have been nice to stop for a few days, maybe do a few days therapy at the Esalin Institute, where guests are “welcome to visit the spa from 1 to 3 am, clothes optional”. Or just to chill a while.

The closest we got was stopping for gas and a coffee, where we were served by a 50-something dude, who when not making coffee looks straight out at the Pacific for 8 hours a day. Made us some coffee REAL slow. Those of you who’ve seen Finding Nemo – think Crush the turtle, slowed WAY down.

Fran asked him how he was. He replied:

“ I am………..I was……………I will be.”

Dude.

Then he played some banjo. Picked out a song that went something like “Little ol’ hen, little ol’ hen, laid lotta eggs for the railway men……now I’m pluckin’ the chicken’………”

Turns out 13 people live and work in the little complex of gas station, café, coffee booth. At least 30 miles of craggy one lane highway clinging to the cliff face in either direction; uphill is rocky hill; downhill is rocky cliff to the ocean. Not much to do in town. I asked the guy who sold me my Big Sur T shirt how long he’s been working there (6 months I was guessing would be a long time).

“Bout 10 years.”

“You guys must know each other pretty well?”

Long pause (as I await reflection from the still waters)

“Oh yeah.”

I was sad to see that coastline disappear in the rear view mirror – seems like I wasn’t quite getting the Big Sur experience by doing the trip in anything less than a decade.

Californication

A couple of hours in the car spent listening to Hotel California and threatening the kids led us to Carmel, a mission town from the days when the Spanish colonised the area. We paused to walk around the magnificent old mission building. Experienced parents might counsel against taking time out to walk around magnificent old mission buildings when kids are hungry, the sun is setting, everyone needs a toilet RIGHT NOW, and we’ve no idea where to find dinner.

Just when it looked like dinner would be peanut butter eaten straight from the jar, we saw a place that looked suspiciously like a country club. Suddenly we were sitting at an outdoor table in Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch, looking out across fields to the ocean as the sky changed colour and the stars and moon came out to join us. Everyone loved every bit of it – food, scenery, ambience, flawless American service.

And then we woke up here, in Santa Cruz – a holiday destination an hour or so from San Francisco, which has cliffs surrounding a beautiful beach with a point break; a boardwalk and amusement park; and a cluster of expensive homes. It’s a bit like Point Lonsdale meets Portsea by day, and 1980’s StKilda meets Rye Carnival by night. We booked it from Australia without knowing much, and boy did we get lucky. A room opening onto a lawn, overlooking the bay. We slept with the sound of the ocean, interrupted only by the barking of seals. There’s a living room with an endless supply of coffee and freshly baked cookies. The kids are in heaven – they’re so mature, taking themselves down in pairs and deciding where to sit and what to have.

I parked next to 24yo Travis, trying desperately hard to work out where the right side of our card ended, so as not to scratch his seriously big rig – think bright red monster truck. He’s a rodeo rider, and has invited us to Fresno to watch him train ahead of next weekend’s rodeo. Watch this space.

We had a stroll around yesterday evening, and saw where “Have a nice day” might finish and “Who you lookin’ at?” might start. Lots of tattoos, lots of bling and a few crazies with pierced bits, dressed like characters from the Mad Hatter. Staying in our hotel were an interesting couple in their early 30’s? He has tatts up his neck and over his face; hers are everywhere but her face. Didn’t try the old “What do you folks do?” conversation starter with them.

San Francisco

Dragged ourselves away from SC, after a quick visit to the barking seals along the pier and at the point. (At the risk of intimating that I have the slightest idea what surfing is about, this is close to the perfect break – you walk or drive out to the point, climb down a cliff and paddle straight into the takeoff of a 1+ m endless wave. 50m away is a rock covered in seals. Nothing gentle looking about the surfers, though – get in someone’s way and you might end up as bait.)

Filled up at a gas station, that of course also sells booze. Filling up on booze was a 40-something bloke in a baseball cap and baggy rapper clothes that he’d slept in. He smiled at me with yellow teeth and asked me “Have you got a gun?”

He then showed me his five dollar note and pointed to the serial number. “Aces over eights – that’s what Wyatt Earp had in his hand when he got shot.” I smiled and nodded reassuringly. Back to the car nice and easy, without any sudden movements.

Visited Louise Austin nee Cottrell in her beautiful home in the SF hills. Came to our groovy hotel in downtown SF, with art on the walls. Had 2 wonderful cable car rides, complete with running repairs to the cable on each trip. The second time, we stopped outside the cable car museum as they replaced the entire cable connection apparatus (with what looked like one of the exhibits).

Loving this place. Love to all from PW.

FM's highlights:

• Daniel's journal on Hearst Castle - "we saw a lot of old stuff". (I thought it was an amazing story and another amazing example of fulfilling one's dream - to begin building a castle on a remote hill in California at 40+ years of age!)-
• Seals at San Simeon- no they are not dead, they are moulting.
• Coffee vendor at Big Sur (or somewhere near there) in reply to the question - how are you?...replies... "I was, I am and I will be" and proceeded to play a tune on his Banjo.
• Sounds of barking seals and the ocean from our room at the Sea and Sand in Santa Cruz.
• Finding out about travelling with kids -kids prefer DS playing over the most stunningly spectacular clifftop views driving up Hwy 1 between San Simeon and Santa Cruz.
• Finding out about travelling with kids - kids enjoy taunting each other and their parents and are not able to keep their hands to themselves for very long or to stop asking questions for a few moments while the GPS tries to tell us whether to take the next freeway exit!
• Tree branches on the sidewalk are not always what they seem- in San Francisco there just may be a person hiding and waiting to alarm unsuspecting tourists!

We saw a lot of Disneyland in our three days there. Absolute highlight was watching the fireworks at night in front of the Fantasyland castle -sound and light show extraordinaire with "When you wish upon a star...", Tinkerbell flying across the sky and it truly made me believe dreams really DO come true!

After purchasing a GPS -our new best friend, the trip out went smoothly but much longer than expected and we saw a lot of freeway and nothing much of L.A. We stopped in Santa Barbara for dinner - a fantastic seafood restaurant right on the harbour called Brophy Brothers - picture sunset, boats, great clam chowder, prawns, fish and chips and a welcome relief from Captain Kidd's Buffet that had become our dining room in Anaheim! ($8.49 all you can eat) We are totally impressed with the American service and helpfulness. We finally made it to San Simeon about 11pm -don't know how we will ever get the kids back in to school friendly sleeping patterns -they have learnt to sleep in till 10am!

FM

Agreed.

Disneyland highlights: Rollercoaster in Frontierland - a cross between a Road Runner cartoon come to life and the set of F troop - in and out of mine shafts, tunnels, prospectors' picks and shovels lying around, lots of use of those fabulous words "critter" and "varmint". Jungle cruise in Indiana Jones style was great. The fireworks display was FANTASTIC. Even the corny things won me over - great attention to detail, amazingly well kept gardens, everyone smiling, waving and infectiously friendly. The cheesy claim "the happiest place in the world" might not just be a slogan - there were thousands of visitors loving it. An amazing concept to bring to reality, and a mind-boggling business to run!

Quote of the week: "Eat your fries - that's lunch!" (Disney Day 2 )

In the last 24 hours, we've had Tinkerbell fly overhead, been shopping at the mall, driven 3 hours at 20mph (or less) bumper to bumper on the dishevelled concrete madness of LA freeways; and ended up at sunset at Brophy's, chock a block full of perfect teeth and Ivy League sense of entitlement. With great clam chowder.

Love to you all

PW

Dear friends,

After a small hiccup when we got to the airport in Melbourne on Sunday and found our flight had been cancelled, we finally got away a day late.  After a long trip, we arrived safely in LA to meet our old friend Mickey for a playdate made in heaven!  Space Mountain rollercoaster was a hit with all -dark, fast, scary and a real hoot!  We are pinching ourselves that we are finally here!! FMxx

Hi all.  Highlights of 1st 48 hours: 

1. Inflight entertainment system (although not possible to listen to Pink Floyd while playing computer golf - VA executives please take note).

2. Having someone else drive from LAX to Anaheim  (I've done my homework on LA by watching 2 Dirty Harry movies in the last fortnight, but despite this I didn't feel quite ready to tackle the 4 lane freeways with tailgating at 80 mph and right hand driving on no sleep.  LA is so BIG - how do all of these people find jobs and get fed?)

3. Fran momentarily giving a food vendor THAT LOOK until realising she was trying to pay with an Australian $10 note.

5. Disneyland fireworks in the sky above the castle.

PW