USA Road Trip (17 July 2016) - The Start

Introduction

The halfway mark of July 2016 marked the end of work for a brief two months and the start of a two month sabbatical. So no thinking about work until September. The plan was to travel the west coast of the US for a month cruising slowly taking the sights in. The next bunch of blog post describe our trip, what we did, what we did not do and if you're planning on something similar it may give you some ideas.

The plan ahead

The plan was to start in Las Vegas head north through Death Valley ending up in San Francisco. Then drive down the Pacific Coastal Highway to San Diego. Then back across to Las Vegas. Following which there is no plan for five days and then back to London. The duration of the trip was a month and was with the whole family.

Key things I picked up before the road trip was to do the pacific costal highway from San Francisco travelling south. So you're on the Pacific Ocean side of the road when travelling down the country. Is this significant i'm not sure but I thought that it was a useful tip.

Additionally take a paper map, even with GPS a paper map is indispensable. There are long period of the road where phone signal is non existent. The GPS add ons are pretty useless too.

Arrival and Las Vegas - first day

We arrived in Las Vegas late afternoon from our flight from the United Kingdom. The airport is made for easy access to tourists and is quite efficient. For hire car pick up there is a shuttle bus to take you to a different location. The car hire companies are geared to offer you add on's. Typically these are additional insurance (breakdown and towing), petrol refills (higher rate then standard petrol stations and car upgrades. We had opted for a large SUV for a month's comfort. But we could see a lot of people had opted for Mustangs.

As much as this seems like the ideal west coast touring vehicle the heat makes open top touring prohibitive unless you want to end up a crispy lobster. If you do opt for a Mustang its inevitably going to be yellow. If you're going to get a mustang be specific else you'll end looking like a lemon.

We eventually picked up our enormous beast the Ford Expedition. Automatic and with only 1506 miles on the meter. It was a 2016 model in metallic grey. Sadly no GPS built in, it is an add on you buy when hiring the car. The GPS platforms you get with cars these days are absolutely crap but we fell into the trap and opted for it.

Las Vegas - Strip

Driving to the Las Vegas strip is fairly straightforward and takes about thirty minutes based on traffic. We stayed at the Venetian which was straight forward to get to and easy to park. It was only our second time driving an automatic but the whole process was straight forward.

We spent our first day walking the strip and getting the know the Las Vegas main strip of casinos. After one casino they are pretty much all the same. Uniform dens to draw you in and keep you there. With that said we had a phenomenal time at the Venetian, making maximum use of the pool and shops there.

The city absolutely never sleeps and is microcosm of our world. The city has something for everyone the chancer, the party groups, great entertainment line up and amazing hotel facilities. You lose track of time the longer you are in Las Vegas. The venues are designed to take you in and you never want to get out.

Our first few days were spent relaxing at the Venetian and generally visiting places on the strip.

Tip for long trips

Changing money is an issue so we took out US Dollar card from the post office. You can use the cards as ATM card (fixed charge) and as credit cards (no currency or commission charges). You obviously pay a FX charge when you top up the card but once you've done that there are no further bank charges. This is phenomenal is you are planning a long trip or using a lot of money where the percentage based charging structure will bleed you dry. 

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Cool off with some Coldplay

Introduction

There are a number of experience we have which chill our spine. You maybe surrounded by nature, partake in a magical sunset or have an outstanding holiday. Its rare that entertainment provides this level of experience. The most magical experiences tend to be free and natural, you may need to pay to go to that location but that a matter of choice.

We recently went to a Coldplay concert that rivals these spine chills you may experience in nature. Our date with Coldplay was on the 15th June 2016. The first of their dates at Wembley Stadium. What an amazing experience, I am obviously a fan but most typically of their earlier work, I was less familiar with their last three albums. But what a great experience - if you get the opportunity so see them grab it if you half like their music. They sounds as good live as they are digitally and the guitar line will pierce your veins. In addition your are absorbing and singing meaningful words. I am still surprised by how down to earth and normal individuals the group are. Its obvious that the band members disappear once the light go down and lead a normal(ish) life. But their front man (Chris Martin) seems thoroughly down to earth and genuine person. There is a stage persona but its not too far away from what seems like a normal genuine human.

We got seats high up at Wembley Stadium but hell the sound was great and while we were far away from the action it saved us standing for a couple of hours. You're given these bracelets when you enter and they light up during the concert making for a visual spectacle it doesn't distract from the music. I  do not think I could have stood for two hours and then danced for another two. Probably the signs of age. Interestingly on the sign of age note it was interesting to see the variation of age groups at the stadium. Good music transcends age demographics and Coldplay were a testament to this purity.

Stay down to earth - Coldplay - that is how we like you.

You want to see the best live band of this generation go to a Coldplay concert.

The snippets

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South Downs Way : Seven Sisters Walk

Introduction

The picturesque image of the white cliff of Dover are a key UK attraction. While these cliff are to be admired when travelling on the channel ferries. The south downs way present a similar slightly more accessible attraction. Following my visit to the are during winter we took the chance to do a more leisurely walk across the Seven Sisters with the family. We pick a bright spring day which was in direct contrast to when i walked the spot earlier in the summer. Again we started at Birling Gap and walked west along the South Downs Way.

We didn't follow the recommended walk we did our own thing. But as you can see from the pictures below we picked the ideal time and place to do it. The ethos - get out and do something and it will reward you.

The Seven Sisters

Our route was pretty much Birling Gap to Cuckmere Haven which is where the river Cuckmere meet the sea. It was pretty much the same back. The route has steep inclines and declines so its a bit of interval training. But if you're reasonably fit its easy ! Hope this drives you to get out and do the route. Obviously if you're feeling challenged you can do the other walk in the area that start at Exeat or Eastbourne. There is a bus service that can take you back to where you started.

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West England Winter

Introduction

The gap between Christmas and the next set of holidays seem like forever so with half term approaching and the restrictions of being shackled in the UK due to life commitments we took off to western part of the England into an area of the world that I would typically call my second home given I spent 3 year of my life in Bristol.

The family had to be persuaded to go to Winchester, Stonehenge and Bath but the being bankrupt of Uk destination ideas and time constraints everyone reluctantly agreed. The car was loaded and off.

The first two days around Salisbury and Stonehenge were bone chilling blue skies. But we had a most enjoyable visit to Stonehenge. The place is a magnet for tourists both domestic and international and worth a visit. We we early and during low season which helped.

Stonehenge was followed by a short trip to Winchester with its cathedral and in particular the Magna Carta, the previous years trip was a religious procession to see the Principia Mathematica, Sir Issac Newtons great work. The Magna Carta is arguably the benchmark of a constitutional document. Its been the basis of many a constitutional document. And I'm sure forms the basis of common law in the UK.

Stones and Salisbury

Bath

Well going to Bath was like a bath or rather a cold shower that wouldnt turn off. A great city will lot of interesting restaurants. My primary interest was to go to the Therma springs and if you want to visit these springs then book in advance or go early. There is on average a 2 hour queue. But that have a direct link into the hot springs under Bath and the facility looks top class. So if you want an onsen in the UK this is the place.

I didnt take an pictures of Bath, it was too cold, rainy and miserable. So i promise to go back to Bath and take pictures for you. But its a great city so do go.

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