Day Twenty Eight

We only had one activity planned for today, so the only decision was what time to go. In the end we left at midday and arrived just before 1pm at http://www.sdzsafaripark.org/

First up, we needed to eat as we hadn't had breakfast. We went in the first café place we saw within the park and ended up sharing a burger and chips for brunch. The seating was outside and it was 102F, so we soon got quite warm. We had a safari booked at 5pm, so we decided to wander around the rest of the park before that. First up we saw this.

The Eye of the Tiger

Luckily there were lots of mist machines creating cooling areas as we got very hot walking just short distances. We made sure we drank a lot as we were sweating skips not buckets. It hit 108F/42C by late 4pm.

Next we happened upon a show which happens once a day. A cheetah running 100m in 5 seconds. Here it is.

We then headed up to see the gorillas. There were lots, this is one.

King Kong

 Saw this near it.


Simples

By now, we didn't have long until our safari trip, so we headed into the air con luxury of the gift shop. We cooled right down knowing we were going to be stuck out for sometime.

Then it was time to check in for the trip. We got in the caravan (Think jeep with a bigger open back) and away we went. It was a two hour trip amongst the animals in the open plain type area. Our host seemed to be Seth Rogen. He told us about the animals. He was thinner than I expected.

We saw lots of animals out and about and took a lot of photos and videos. Here are the highlights.

I nose you

 

Mrs Simba

Nellie

We also had the chance to feed giraffes and rhinos.

It was a fabulous afternoon with the highlight being feeding the giraffe. By the time our safari had finished it was 7pm and the park was closing.

We started the journey back to San Diego thinking what a great way to finish the holiday. We were hot, we were sweaty but it didn't matter.

We stopped at Denny's near the hotel for dinner. For once the service was good.

We then went to 7-11 to get some more drinks to replenish our fluid levels.

Now trying to work out what we will do tomorrow after we have checked out. Need to be at the airport at 4pm to return the car, but hotel check out is 12pm, so four hours to kill.

Giraffes fed - 1

Lion Watch - High

States Visited - 18

Day Twenty Seven

Had a really lazy morning. We headed out for brunch at about 12pm. Went here, http://www.pointbreakcafe.com/.

Food was ok, service was dreadful.

Next we headed to the beach, specifically the beach on Coronado Island. Mainly as Ann wanted to see the Hotel del Coronado.

Hotel

It was the setting for 'Some like it Hot' and it was hot. Very hot. And the sea was full of sting rays, so we didn't stay long. Lifeguards kept telling people to do the stingray shuffle in the water. Basically slide your foot, don't step to avoid treading on the stingrays.

The traffic was very heavy going and coming back, so it was 5pm by the time we got to the hotel. We cooled off for a while.

We then set off for an evening at http://www.belmontpark.com/

We ate pizza and had a look around. We saw a mini golf course, so we had to have a game.

Scores were:

Roffe - 53
Knightley - 51

Have to mention that Ann got two holes in one.

We then decided to get some ice cream. Whilst queuing we saw everyone else's and got worried. They were the biggest ice creams ever. I got the smallest possible cone and Ann got a bowl.

Look at the size of my hand!

It took 25 minutes, but I got there in the end. Ann never made it through her bowl. We then headed back home.

Now watching Wild Hogs and I happen to be in my Del Fuegos t-shirt I got in Madrid.

States Visited - 18

Day Twenty Six

First up, forgot to mention that we saw a roadrunner yesterday when we were driving. Meep meep.

Had breakfast in the hotel in Yuma. The quietest breakfast ever as the hotel seemed to be the Mary Celeste. Eventually some other people did turn up.

Headed back to the room to kill time as check out was 11am and we only had a three hour journey and check in was 4pm.

Spent time Skyping Ermington, before we packed up and left.

Saw Mexico. My phoned welcomed me to the country even though we didn't actually go there. Entered California. Drove up some small mountains and then back down the other side.

Arrived in San Diego at 2pm, so decided to see if we could check in early. We could, so we did http://www.halfmooninn.com/

Unfortunately our room isn't quite like the ones pictured. Our Tropical view is a wall. The room has no main light either and therefore is quite dark.

Went out for dinner here http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/corvettediner. It has a 50s vibe as in the décor, the music and the staff all are dressed up.

Happy days

It was slightly surreal. When the waitress, Tracy Turnblad, came to take our order she threw a load of straws at us. Later on they all started dancing.

We left and sat out by the waterfront watching planes take off from the airport, knowing it would be us on Monday.

Eventually we headed back to the dungeon.

States Visited - 18

Day Twenty Five

Grabbed some breakfast and took it back to our room to eat. Packed up and headed out. Fuelled up and started the journey south west to Yuma.

The only incident of note was the unfortunate death of a chipmunk which decided to run into our front tyre when we were travelling at 75 mph. I hoped that it had missed us but when I looked in the wing mirror, I saw the two halves of it flying through the air.

For lunch we stopped at a rest stop and ate a packed lunch we made using the leftovers from last night. Saw this.

Don't get this at Gordano or Taunton Deane

Arrived at the hotel in Yuma at about 4pm. The temperature was 113°F or 45°C. We sat in the room for a while. Skyped Paul and Helen.

We then went out for a swim. It hadn't cooled down at all. The water in the pool was boiling hot as well. Spent a fair time swimming before going back inside to air conditioning.

Hot tub

Headed out to Penny's diner for tea. I drank two milkshakes.

Yum

Felt like I was going to explode. Went back to the hotel to die. It was still 107°F/42°C at 9pm.

Last proper drive tomorrow ending at San Diego. It is cooler there.

States Visited - 17

Day Twenty Four

Before I start, here is the view from our room as promised.

Red Rock

Got up late. Missed breakfast at the hotel, although the reports are it isn't that great anyway. Instead we headed out for breakfast at the Red Planet Diner. It is a sci-fi themed place, hence the name.

It was out of this world

It looks like it is owned and run by men. It lacks that bit of finesse that having any woman involved in any capacity would bring. Food was ok, staff were pleasant enough.

We headed back and then went for a wander around Sedona. It became apparent very quicker that there are only two types of place here, restaurants or places selling tat. Not much else of any note. Lots of places offered psychic readings and the like. What a load of absolute bollocks. Really is a tourist trap.

After getting bored of looking at the same old bloody thing we went back to the hotel. We had decided to keep today as a low key day, so we went for a swim in the hotel's outdoor pool.

Cool Pool

It was lovely, the sun was out, the water was just the right temperature. We stayed out for quite a while, before retiring.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV as the sun had gone in. Went out later to get some food from the best Safeway in the world. Now watching some film in Japanese.

States Visited - 17

Day Twenty Three

Got up late and spent some time using the Jacuzzi in our room. There was no breakfast included with the room, so we eventually packed up, checked out and went for breakfast at Denny's. On the way we nipped to a street corner just down the road from the hotel where we saw this.

Taking it easy

This has been put in place by the city purely as a tourist destination. The song 'Take It Easy' by The Eagles has the line 'Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona', so they have finally decided to cash in. It is actually very good. The mural on the wall is all painted, there are no windows. You can see a reflection of the flat bed red truck being driven by a blonde that is also in the lyrics. The irony is that neither of the two men who wrote the song had ever been to Winslow.

Anyway we carried on to Denny's and as ever with the chain, the food was fine, the service was terribly slow.

We fuelled up and then headed east for a change. We drove towards a massive thunderstorm which happened to be hanging around our destination.

We ended up at the Petrified Forest National Park.

http://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm

To describe it in a quick and simple fashion, millions of years ago trees fell down, got covered with water enriched with volcanic minerals, they gradually replaced the cells of the trees, leaving tree shaped coloured rock. You drive through the park and can stop at points to see things.

A big log...er....rock

It is quite fascinating to see all the colours of rock trapped in tree shapes. There are other things to see as well. Petroglyphs (Rock carvings) and ruins from 600-800 years ago as well as the painted desert.

Say what you see

We left the forest and headed back west, past Winslow and then stopped off again. This time we stopped to see another famous site, Meteor Crater. Formed about 50,000 years ago by an estimated 150 metre wide meteorite the crater is 3/4 mile wide and 550 feet deep. We watched a film and looked at the museum before heading out to see the crater itself.

Big hole

There were lots of annoying French people there. They seemed to follow us about. Got annoying. We stayed for a good while before setting off towards the next hotel.

Our journey along I40 took us past another thing we wanted to see, the iconic Twin Arrows Trading Post. It is situated on Route 66 and was a major attraction back in the day, but when the Interstate took over it gradually lost business. It has been abandoned since the late 1990s and the arrows had all but disappeared, but in 2009 they were replaced. It is another Forrest Gump tick for us, as it was used as a location during the running scenes, specifically the one where he wipes his face on the yellow t-shirt.

Run, Forrest, Run

We carried on west, passing our old friend, Flagstaff, before dropping south towards our target of Sedona. I'm not sure what I expected to see on the route but it certainly wasn't the steep drop down in between cliffs that eventually took us to the town. There were hairpin bends and everything.

Rocky Road

Eventually we made it to our destination http://www.orchardsinn.com/ in Sedona. It was dark by the time we arrived, so tomorrow I will include a photo of the view from our room. Sedona seems a very pleasant, picturesque town. Ann tells me it is a very expensive place.

Ate the final remains of food from our stay at Pagosa for tea, cheese rolls, crisps and cookies. Waste not, want not as they say.

Now watching more films as I type this. Tonight it has been Armageddon and The Dark Knight.

Not sure what we will do tomorrow, but there are plenty of options.

Hole Watch - Large

Arrows seen - 2

States Visited - 17

Day Twenty Two

Had to say goodbye to the perfect cabin this morning, which wasn't easy. We could have easily stayed for another couple of years.

As if to say thank you, a couple of deer turned up to wave us off.

Oh dear, Oh dear

We headed back down to the town to fuel up and then we set off. It seemed to take an age to cover the first sixty or so miles due to traffic and road works, but eventually we started moving.

We travelled all the way to the edge of Colorado, in fact the edge of New Mexico, the edge of Utah and the edge of Arizona as well.

It was the Four Corners monument where the four states all convene. There is nothing there other than the monument and a few stalls selling tat. We stopped and had a look.

Monumental

We then sat in the car and ate our packed lunch we had prepared with our leftovers from the cabin.

We soon set sail again and only stopped once more very briefly before we reached our destination.

That stop was to use the facilities at a Burger King in Chinle. The plan was to walk in, use the toilets and walk out again as we didn't want to buy anything. As we parked up, Ann noticed some suspicious characters lurking about not far from the car park, for example, someone lying asleep in a doorway but also others more active. We thought about moving on as we had all the stuff in the car, but knew how unlikely we were to see another place to stop for another fifty odd miles.

We decided to be quick. The first part was fine, but as we left, some bloke wandered over to us and introduced himself. He was called Carlos. We didn't care. We ignored him and walked to the car. A quick glance over my shoulder showed that he was following us across the car park. We got in the car, locked the doors, started the engine and put it in reverse in about one second. He appeared by my door and started to talk, as I floored the accelerator and shot back, put in drive and burnt off.

He probably was harmless, just begging or something, but it being America where everybody is seemingly mental, we took no chances.

We carried on and eventually made it to our destination of Winslow, Arizona. We are staying here http://www.laposada.org/ . It is a hotel that was built in 1929, closed in 1957, gutted and used as offices for the Santa Fe Railway company before they left in 1994 and it was going to be demolished. The current owners bought it in 1997 and have gradually renovated it.

It is a very nice place, looks great at night from the outside, but it is a bit odd on the inside. The wife of the couple who own it is an artist and her crap artwork is all over the walls. Not really in keeping with a Mexican inspired building. It even has a museum of her work and a documentary about her playing on loop all day long. Talk about blowing your own trumpet.

Anyway, we checked in and then went out for dinner.

Back now, and ready for bed. Arizona is on Pacific time in the summer, so we have gained another hour today and are now eight hours behind the UK.

States Visited - 17