Alcatraz

Here is the welcome room of Alcatraz...The communal showers.

North side

South side

If you're going to San Francisco

Be sure to rent some bikes and go for a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge!

We did the ride from Fisherman's Wharf to Sausalito which was fun apart from the crazy pedestrians on the bridge. Also the ferry back made no sense. We had to put out bikes on the lower deck and then to get off we had to carry then up the stairs onto the upper deck before we could leave. Craziness.

Bigfoot

I thought this looked like the place of the famous Bigfoot sighting. Not sure if it is but alas, he wasn't there.

More stuff from Yosemite

Here's a big waterfall.

Barry on his bike

Alcatraz

We went on the tour of Alcatraz prison this evening. The tour was amazing, we saw the cells where three prisoners dug their way out with spoons, Al Capone's residence and the hospital wing where The Birdman of Alcatraz - Robert Stoud - stayed. The nighttime tour was extraordinary, you get to see loads more information than the day tour plus it's a little extra spooky, especially when they tell you about the bad men that were inmates there. Earlier today we hired bikes and cycled over the Golden Gate Bridge. Only one more full day of our Treasuremoon left so ciao for now! E x

Grizzly Giant

Yosemite bears all

Yes that's right folks, we saw a black bear in its natural habitat today.
We had just been to Glacier Point - a spectacular viewing spot overlooking a quarter of Yosemite - and on the way back traffic pandemonium unfolded in front of us. On a tiny, narrow mountain road, cars were double parking and people were leaning out of windows trying to get a glimpse of the bear which was quietly searching for food. Barry pulled over and I leapt out of the car before it had even stopped to get a couple of pictures. I have only go them on our super swish new camera and not my mobile so can't upload them until we get back. Earlier in the day we went to see Giant Sequoia trees, the one pictured is called Grizzly Giant and is taller than a Boeing 747, is 29ft in diameter and is more than 1,800-years-old. Bye for now! E x

Bodie

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

What a day we had yesterday! We woke in the morning at -190ft below sea level in the desert and ended up in snow-capped mountains at 9,000ft. We stayed at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley on Wednesday night before starting our epic journey to Yosemite National Park.
On the route we stopped at Mesquite Sand Dunes (pictured) in the blistering heat. It felt like 1,000 hair dryers were all pointing in our direction but we persevered to trek over them to take a couple of snaps as these dunes aren't just any piles of sand - this is where Star Wars was filmed! Well, scenes from A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. After we made it back to the car and I had a private moment with the air con unit we struggled on to the next destination - Mono Lake.
The lake, one of the oldest in North America, is saltier than the sea an was once a test facility for the US military.
It has two volcanic islands in the middle and strange rock formations surround the rim which, according to Barry, are calcium sprouts.
Continuing our journey we headed to Bodie, a ghost town from the gold rush era.
The mountain top town sprung to prominence in 1859 when prospectors struck gold there. In less than a decade, more than $21 million of gold was mined from the lawless area.
Only 5% of the town remains but it is enough to give you a true feel of what it was like to live in the wild west.
To complete the journey we travelled 150 miles through the incredibly scenic Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, the sun set quickly and we missed a lot of the views, but never mind, more to explore today! Ciao! E x

Get me to the helichopter!

Ella and I had an amazing time at the Grand Canyon. The views from the south rim were exceptional, with views of mountains up to 57 miles away. As we only had one full day there, they guys at LN were kind enough to buy us a helicopter trip the following morning. Here we are about to take off...

A very grand canyon

We spent an amazing day at the Grand Canyon today. The views were spectacular - we had to stop every few minutes to take a new photo. We managed a three mile "hike" around the south trail before giving up and hopping on the free shuttle bus. We have taken more than 400 pics, who's up for coming round to see the slideshow?! We're doing a helicopter tour tomorrow, courtesy of Barry's lovely colleagues and can't wait. Ella x

Lake Mead

On the other side of the dam is Lake Mead. Apparently it is around 400-600 feet deep and has over 500km of coastline. The White rock line show where the high tide is.

Arid Arizona

Edam?

No, Hoover Dam.

After leaving Vegas, we decided to stop at the Hoover Dam for a bit. It was so hot (109 degrees), that my feet were starting to heat up through my trainers! Here's a nice pic of the dam:

Road to nowhere...

We have jumped a time zone and a state today. We left fabulous Las Vegas this morning and made the long journey to the Grand Canyon in Arizona with a stop off at the famous Hoover Dam. The views on the way were breathtaking, it was the best drive we've ever been on. Ella x

Viva Las Vegas!

A dam with a view

Here's a view from the dam looking down to what's left of the Colorado river after going through the power station. Above is the new bridge.

Strip shows...

Or shows on the strip I should say! The Mirage has a big exploding volcano outside and the Bellagio has its famous fountains. The Sirens show outside our hotel was pretty awful but we both had a pint of margarita each in a skull mug so that compensated some what. Here is a picture of The Mirage at night.

The view from our hotel room at Treasure Island

Mojave Desert on the way to Vegas

Mojave Desert on the way to Vegas

How do you like your eggs?

I like mine on the way to Vegas!

Breakfast at Denny's again (I love the has browns here) and then we'll be stocking up on a few supplies before taking the I-15.

Bye bye LA...Viva Las Vegas!

Santa Monica at night

Here's a picture of the Santa Monica pier from last night at sunset. We took a lovely, long stroll from our hotel all the way to Venice Beach to look for muscle beach. We found it eventually but there were no beefcakes available to watch. After watching the sun go down and making a quick retreat back to Santa Monica, we made it back to our hotel for our last night in LA.

War of the Worlds

They bought a real 747 and destroyed it just for this scene. The set cost $750,000 to make and was only used for four minutes of film time. It looked awesome though.

Psycho

We got chased by Norman Bates. He's real quick.

Desperate Housewives

We managed to get to Wisteria Lane an hour before filming so Ella was well chuffed!

1.21 Gigawatts!

The actual Delorean from Back To The Future.

Parenthood

We've never seen the series Parenthood but I think we will after looking around their set

Universal Studios

I love Universal! We went on a VIP tour of their studios yesterday and got to see loads of behind the scenes stuff. I'll put on more posts for each thing we did

Taco salad

I love tacos.

Hollywood

Spent the day in Hollywood today. It was hot. Very hot. We saw some stars on the sidewalk, drove around Beverly Hills and Bel Air, saw the Playboy mansion an Tom Cruise's huge mansion. And we also met this guy. Good day.

Breakfast!

The picture says it all!

Santa Monica here we are!

Got to LA, collected our car (pic to follow) and just checked into our hotel for the next few days - Santa Monica Hilton. Already experienced a lovely bit of LA traffic but at least we're here in our air conditioned room!

Waiting for take off

Here we go then. Nice screens, hopefully there will be some good films so we can use them properly. Flight mode on!

Nice start to the holiday...

Here we are starting our honeymoon in style! Our thanks go to United Airlines for the lounge pass!

And another thing...

This is what we're having for our meal...

Barry Treasure

Only 8 Weeks to go!

In 8 weeks time, Ella and I will be husband and wife!
In 8 weeks and 2 days, we will be in the USA, driving to the Santa Monica Hilton in our SUV. To say we're excited is an understatement!
Anyway, lots of prep still to be done x

A new blog for a new era

So, we've decided to do a drive around the south west of the US. The current plan is:

 - Arrive in LA and spend a few days relaxing and enjoying not having to do any more planning in Santa Monica

 - Drive from LA to Vegas and stay at Treasure Island!

 - Onwards to the Grand Canyon via a stop off at The Hoover Dam

 - Returning westbound through Death Valley and stopping of for a couple of days in Yosemite National Park

 - From Yosemite we travel to San Francisco where we drop off our car and enjoy the last few days of our holiday

Barry x