Extraterrestial Highway

Thursday 30 October
The Extraterrestial Highway actually exists and we took it by mistake - at midnight! We now know that this highway is famous for the proximity to the elusive Area 51, and the most UFO sightings in the country, while surrounding a military base.
After leaving Yosemite at around 5pm we penciled a route to get us on the way to Cedar City to see Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon. Our planned route took us north back through Yosemite then west to Benton Hot Springs, Tonopah and then thought we would stop at Warm Springs. There was nothing, nada, zip, at Warm Springs, and then thought we would just keep going on the 375 and surely we would find something soon. This road was dead! Oh accept for the cattle wandering the highway in the middle of the night, along with sign posts that we were now on the Extraterrestial Highway with Alien Sightings next 51 miles ahead, and to follow a speed of Mac 7. Did we just enter the twilight zone? Eventually we found the town of Rachel, at midnight, nothing open, and the only lights lit up were by the Little A'Le'Inn (i'm sure pronounced Little Alien) Cafe/Restaurant. It was closed, but we thought we might try and sleep in the car a while. We had parked beside a big ute, which ended up having a huge dog in it starring at Pete (obviously the dog is kept in the car to protect it from Aliens), along with the one light in town beaming down into the front of the car. 5 minutes passed, and as we pulled away we wondered what it was actually like during the day time. About another 40 minutes down the road there was finally a flat area on the side of the road to pull over, so thats where we stopped for a couple of hours and had some proper sleep. Only occassionly waking to red lights zooming past the window in the desert, heart skipping a beat, and realising it was the reflection of a truck driving down another road off in the distance. Finally made it into Cedar City unharmed and unabducted at 9am.

Yosemite Pete

Tuesday 28 October
Took us about 4 hours Mariposa where we checked in before heading off to Yosemite which was another hour down the road. Accommodation is hard to get, and pretty expensive in Yosemite so this was to get this accommodation here. We headed straight for Curry Village where there is a climbing school and Pete booked in for a personalised climb the next day at Yosemite Falls, on climbs called Commitment (5.9) at 350 feet with 3 pitches and Selaginella (5.8) at 550 feet and 4 pitches. Did a short walk to Bridal Veil Falls and watched the sun go down on El Capitan before heading back for the night.

Wednesday 29 October
Left Mariposa at 7am to get back to Curry Village where Pete was met with by Nat, a lead climber with some great experience where they talked about the climbs they were going to do during the day. By 9am they were off into the wilderness with Pete climbing into 7th heaven. I spent the day driving to different view points and doing short walks, and by 3pm I was back at the carpark waiting for Pete to come back, and cracked a bottle of champagne while sitting and watching the animals and the wildlife all around. The animals hunt in groups, manned with a camera in hand, hoping to spot some wildlife to capture on film. The wildlife on the other hand, wait until an animal has finally put down the camera, then they run out in front of them, do a little dance, then run away and laugh.

"If you're going to San Francisco"

Sunday 26 October
No flowers were worn in the hair, but we had a wonderful time all the same. Sunday afternoon we took a Cable Car down to Fishermans Warf, and Pier 39 where all the shops were having a Halloween theme, and children were running around all dressed up and going from shop to shop to get candy. We reclused into a Wine Bar, already missing Napa, and sampled some more wines from Napa and Sonoma. Then on the way home we dropped into a little cafe just down from the hostel which had a Japanese/Chinese Blues Guitarist playing. He was great and we stayed there for ages listening to him get into his tunes.

Monday 27 October
Next day we got on a double decker bus and saw the sights of downtown and the golden gate from up top. Great views and the guides really know there stuff. We were really surprised at how many gum trees were in the area and found out that they were brought over from Australia with the belief that they were hard wood and they could use them for building materials ... but they brought over the wrong species - now they are everywhere, and can't be used to build anything.

Went back down to Pier 39 for dinner, where they were serving 'Oil Can Fosters' and refreshments. We have seen these around a few places, but still amazes us that Americans really love it. These are cans of Fosters that are 750ml. Its like having 3 beers in one. Tried to get a tour over to Alcatraz, but unfortunately tours were sold out for a couple of days. Would have loved to have done, particularly the night tour, but thats okay. Cable home, and early start off to Yosemite Tuesday morning.

Bottling Wine & Off to San Francisco

Saturday 25 October
On Saturday morning Peggy was saying that she was going to a friends house (Linda & Roger) to help her bottle some of her wine, and thought we may be able to go along with her. A quick call, and a quick driver later and we were at Linda & Rogers house in the middle of a vinyard, and setting up to bottle a couple of barrels of wine. Linda & Roger grow Pinot grapes and sell them to local wineries rather than having a winery themselves, but at the same time keep a little on the side for themselves. So there we were, bottling wine in Napa. There were about 10 of us, all lined up with different jobs, squirting nitrogen in the bottles, filling, corking, polishing, and stacking. Heaps of fun and had to pinch ourselves a few times. We were then offered a wonderful lunch, and given a couple of bottles to take with us. Very special day.We then followed Peggy to one of her and Adams favourite wineries Chateau St Jean http://www.chateaustjean.com/ and shared a lovely bottle Pinot. After a couple of hours it was time to hit the road driving through Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, to Bodega Bay. Beautiful drive, but unfortunately there was no accommodation and headed back to Santa Rosa for the night.

Sunday 26 October
Early start next morning to head back on the trail to head to San Fancisco. Once again and beautiful drive with a stop at Point Reyes for breakfast and then down the rest of Hwy 1 past Stinson Beach, and finally over the Golden Gate to San Francisco where the fog was rolling in over the bridge like a fog machine. Found our way to USA Hostel on Post Street. It was like the best hostel we've seen. Movie theatre downstairs, all you can eat pancakes for breafast, rooms were really clean with tele, mini fridge, microwave, great showers ... highly recommend a stay if you're looking for a place. Plan is to head off to Union Square, get a cable car down to Fishermans Warf and take it from there.

Ho Hum, Lets Go To Napa For The Weekend

Thursday 23 October
So our last post was coming into Monteray Bay. The next morning we went to the Aquarium and stared at the Jellies for ages, they look magnificient. So colourfull, so graceful, and they are set in front of a royal blue colour which makes them stand out even more.We then did a little wine tasting on the main street which set the scene for the next couple of days. The wine was good and we took some 'Gerty' and goats cheese on the road. We then contined along the #1 for a while, until we got some direction to Adam's house on the 280, 380, 101, 80, then 29 into Sonoma County into Napa ... anything make sense yet? Well we ended up at Adam's house (Pete & I have done some Kinesi studies with Adam, just your general legend! - aren't you Adam!) along with his beautiful partner Peggy. We arrived a late in the afternoon and were soon whisked off by Adam to go to a jam session with some guys he rehearses with. Adam plays keyboard, and the group has drums, 2 guitars, and bass. They sound great, sensing pink floyd and electric light orchestra, along with a jazz/blues feel ... sorry if I have offended you guys - trying very hard to articulate how great you are!

Friday 24 October
The next morning Adam pointed us towards a few of his favorite vineyards, stopping at a local deli for some cheese and crackers on the way up, we arrived at Pride Mountain where Tim showcased some beautiful wine. He then gave us some glasses, cutlery, plates, water, and chocolate to take up the hill to a picknick area where we drank our favourite bottle and nibbled on our recently acquired cheese. Oh this is the life. Some folk joined us close by, care of their chaffeur, dressed appropriately with white shorts and pastle polo shirts talking about how much weight 'jenny' had lost, but she was still looking fat . Of course we were probably not dressed appropriately with jeans and t's, but on another at another table was Lisa. Lisa was meant to be in Napa with a friend but all plans had changed and she decided to come up by herself (good for her). She was lovely, and it was refreshing to see someone enjoying a beautiful day just because they wanted to be there. They don't have gardens as such but Cheryl you would just love looking out over the mountain top!We eventually left and dropped into Naibam Coppola Winery, this is Frances Ford Coppola's winery. Absolutely beautiful gardens, and not bad wine either. And then after a wonderful day, Adam & Peggy took us to dinner for some Tapas. Magnifico.

Help Me Dr Phil

Yesterday morning we headed off to LA and ended up staying in a hostel right beside the Kodak Theatre, yes the one for the Academy Awards. Played tourist for the afternoon walking up and down Hollywood Blvd, to the Chinese Museum where stars put their foot and hand prints in cement, along with the avenue of stars. Then, last night we went to a live taping of 'Rules of Engagement' with David Spade, in Sony Studios. It was lots of fun, and I have a greater appreciation for David Spade now - he is really funny, and as the writers would re-write lines to make them even funnier, he would do them perfect on the spot. The studio also gives you Pizza while the taping is on, bonus! Cruised Sunset Blvd on the way home but didn't catch any celebs in any indecent acts :(. This morning we got a bit more of the the 'Hollywood' stuff in and went off to Paramount Studios for a live taping of Dr Phil - 'My child wont stop eating' episode. Who knows when it will be on in Australia, but it was all a bit of fun. Pete & I were in the tiered seating, 2nd row, 2nd bunch of people looking at the stage.

Drivers are absolutely crazy in LA, swerving in and out of lanes and going 20-30 mile over the speed limit, however, in general people seem to be a bit more laid back than in New York. All in all, 24 hours was enough for us though, and we were ready to move on.

By lunch time we were heading north on Highway 1. Bit slow out of LA, but after a while the houses disappear and its more open, beautiful scenery with the magnificent pacific ocean. At sunset we were about 1.5hr from Monteray Bay and stopped at the side of the road to watch the sun go down over the water, then noticed below us a colony of sea lions, amazing. An hour later and we were in the dark going around the tight hairpin bends, and stopped on the side of the road to look up at the stars - no moon, no lights, so a very bright glittering sky. One of the state forests we drove through was also on fire. We weren't in any danger, plenty of forest fire brigades going up and down the highway, but it too looked magnificent in its own way, this blazing red in the darkness of night.

For the night was have stopped in Monteray Bay, and will go down to the pier and maybe the aquarium in the morning. Then will be hitting the road again, heading through San Francisco to Sanoma near the Napa Valley to visit another friend, Adam.

B!

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

Travelling from Vegas heading toward the Canyon we hit the Route 66. Kept looking out for places to get some kicks but not much around in the desert. The road up to the Hoover Dam took forever to get through as traffic was stop start all the way - lots of tourists want to see a big dam. Unfortunately being on the dam, you can't actually see it in all its glory. Arrived into Williams about 7pm last night. Little town of about 200 people about 50mile from the Grand Canyon. Had a local dinner and early night, for an early 4am wake up, and off to the canyon for an early sunrise. Absolutely spectacular. Today was also our first McDonalds day, as we bit the bullet for a breakfast of scrambled eggs and hash browns. Very exciting. By lunch time we hit the road again, back onto Route 66, this time heading for LA. Again, the kicks must have all been happening on the other side of the road. We were however stopped at the border by police, don't know they were looking for weapons, drugs, or they too were looking for some kicks. We found a cheapish place about 60mile from LA, and have crashed for the night. Pete is saying hello everyone while snooring.
Bec x

Leaving Las Vegas

Vegas has been very interesting to say the least. We have been staying at Bally's (www.ballyslasvegas.com). Its in the middle of the strip across from Bellagio and Ceaser's Palace. Got a wrong number on my $10 mobile phone and ended up with accommodation for 4 days for $109. Pretty cool. Did a time share tour for 90 min, said no, and then they gave us $100 for going! We've seen a couple of shows, but the stand out thing for Vegas would have to be the buffet's and the people going to the buffet's, that's a show in itself. I think some just go from one buffet to the next. The casino's themselves of course are enormous, and once inside are cities within themselves, with cobblestone pathways, shops, high ceilings painted like the sky with clouds that actually look like they are moving. No wonder you can get confused if it is day or night. We are also right beside Paris, a casino with a replica Eiffle Tower to exact half scale, incredible. Tonight we went to Stratosphere at the top of the strip, it has an amazing view of Vegas (www.stratospherehotel.com) along with rides off the top of the its tower with people hanging over the edge. Not a ride for you Nicky! Plenty of chapels to get married for $200, it amazes me how you can do that. And $1 Margarita's are going down a bit too well ... actually funny that they serve $1 Margarita's across the road from the Chapels. Are they in business together?

Park City dusted with Snow

Late back last night in Park City with our flight delayed from JFK. Woke up and the air was cool and brisk and the mountains were dusted with snow, very beautiful sight. Having a cruisy day before we head off to Vegas tomorrow, sitting in Starbucks having a Chai and using their free wireless (yay!). We'll be on the road for the next couple of weeks but will try to keep our blogging up to date.
Also, you may notice a link to photo's on this page. This links to Flickr where we are downloading our photo's from our trip. We haven't had time to make comments etc, but at least you can get an idea of the beautiful sights we are seeing.
Big Happy Birthday to Chris for yesterday (our time), hope you had a wonderful day!

xxx

Bye Bye Hamilton

Its about 1.30pm and we're sitting at the airport waiting for our flight to JFK, to connect to Salt Lake City, then transfer back to Park City. Will probably get in around 1am tonight so a bit of travelling.

We had a wonderful time with Karin, Scott and Julian and have certainly embraced the Thanksgiving tradition with Karin & Scott creating a feast of home made trimmings with Turkey, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauces, Mashed Potato, and Gravy ... followed by homemade Pumpkin Pie. This was our second indulgence of Pumpkin Pie as we had tried some in Butler and we are warming to the spices quite nicely. I've never seen a turkey prepared to be cooked either and didn't realise it required so much wrestling, before, during and after the cooking process. No wonder this is only done once a year.

This morning as we were leaving the leaves were gently falling, and it was sad to say goodbye. Thank you to you both for a lovely time and will certainly chat soon.

Bec & Pete. x

Canadian Thanksgiving in Hamilton

So now we are in Hamilton, near Toronto in Canada staying with Karin Humphreys and Scott Watter my friends from High School. They are professors at McMaster University down the road, and have a delightful 2 year old boy called Julian. Hamilton is very pretty and the maples are collaged into green, yellow and red. Today is Karin's birthday and we went to Nigra Falls, and tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving and Karin and Scott are going to do a traditional thanksgiving feast for us pilgrims that have arrived. We leave on Tuesday heading back to Utah, and then will hit the road heading to Vegas. Bec

Happy Birthday to Pete in the Big Apple

Arrived in New York yesterday and our hostel is in the Upper West Side near Broadway and 101st Street West. Couldn't check in until 3pm so put our luggage in a locker and went wandering. Ended up at the Museum - the one that was in 'Night at the Museum'. It is spectacular. Our grand hotel room is exactly that ... a room, a bed, a sink. We also have a room with a view, which is great until you decide you want to sleep - we are in the city that never sleeps including cabbies that like horns (there is a threatening $350 fine for honking horns, but no-one gets fined so everybody keeps doing it) and a heating system that sounds like a jackhammer is hitting the pipes in your room. Down the hall we are also blessed with 2 bathrooms with showers that don't work. Its all part of the experience!

We were up early today, and headed off to Times Square to see if we could get a tour of sorts. We ended up with a 48hr voucher for $50 each to get on/off all the tours in downtown, uptown, brooklyn, + cruise around liberty. Did the downtown tour thismorning which was great, then wandered around broadway looking at all the shows that are on at the moment - Wicked, Greese, Jersey Boys, Shek, Legally Blonde, Chicago, the list goes on. 2 hours before any show they have cheaps tickets on sale. With it being Pete's birthday and him loving the music of the 60's we had to go for Jersey Boys and we ended up getting 'standing' tickets for $27 each for the matinee. It was fantastic - story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

Pete's just come back from having a run around the park, and we'll catch the subway downtown to see the city at night.

Bec

I'm in...thank goodness

Hi Bec and Pete, I couldn't accept at home but fine at uni.
I'll have to work out what I'm doing though....

Here we are in Butler, Pennsylvania

Now in Butler, Pennsylvania. Arrived on Saturday into Pittsburgh where they were celebrating their 250 year anniversary. We were greated with a concert down by the river with Jazz playing and stalls of food where you could get all sorts, including fried zucchini's and deep fried oreo's! We were also interviewed by Pittsburgh TV, and asked what we thought about Pittsburgh being 250 years old, umm really good, congratulations - what do you say? Pretty cool though. We wandered around through the city, and walked through Market Square to a beautiful achitectured city block of glass buildings. I got my camera and did a 30sec scan of the buildings before I had a security guard come over and sternly say, Madam, please keep your camera at eye level only, do not photograph the buildings! They mean business.

Headed off to Butler late in the day, and got into town about 8pm checking into the local Days Inn, where when we told the waitress we were from Melbourne, she gave a strange look and said, what the hell are you doing here! Explained that Jeannie and I had been writing for 20 years and never met, and this was where she lived, and was excited to be here. She explained that there were 6 things to do in Butler, get drunk, get saved, get drunk, get saved, get drunk, get saved - there is one bar to every church.

Crazy night at the Days Inn with a wedding in the reception centre, and guests having fights in the hallway from 2-4.30am. Pete slept through the whole thing ... he was counting on getting saved in the morning.

Bill & Jeannie met us in the morning at the hotel and it was very exciting to finally meet. Headed off to a great breakfast and was shown around the other things to do in Butler for the rest of the day, including going to a winery - my cup of tea. I think we might need more saving.

Today we are going to do a little more exploring with Bill & Jeannie, and will be heading off very early for our flight to New York.

Off to not get saved. Bec & Pete

Canyonlands are Amazing

Yesterday we went to the Canyonlands for the day. Absolutely incredible. It is like the Grand Canyon, just spread forever. Its all around Moab if you happen to google it. You can't help but stay still and quiet being in awe of the amazing scenery and the canyon's pearing down upon you. Took a walk to some lookout spots. It would be great to spend a month there. Today has been admin time, getting things sorted for the next week. Tomorrow we leave at 4am for our flight in Salt Lake City to head to Pittsburgh. Wish us luck. B&P xxx

Greetings from Park City

We are now in Park City, Utah 7000 feet above see level, staying at Wendy and Andris' Hotel Room at Westgate Hotel Resort. It is beautiful and right on the side of a mountain where the ski fields are. The address is 3000 The Canyons Resort Drive, Park City. Google Maps it, and you'll see where we are. We were warned about altitude sickness being this high up, but so far we've been pretty good. Pete had a blood nose this morning, but that had nothing to do with me. We will be here until Saturday morning when we fly to Pittsburgh, heading to Butler to see Jeannie, a penpal of mine for 20 years and we've never met ... very exciting. Tomorrow we are going for a drive to see more of the 'Canyon Lands' the area is just magical, and because we have come at autumn the mountains are turning red and yellow, just amazing. We are planning to head off from Pensylvania on Tuesday and onto New York for a few days. Then back to Utah, to drive to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Los Vegas and the like. Still having fun, interesting driving on the right hand side of the road though! Bec & Pete xxx