USA Blog 2022

Mrs K has made me promise that I won't whinge about the volume of our luggage for the entirety of our 3-week holiday.  Given that we are staying in 9 different places, that will be a challenge.  But I might develop my biceps in the process.  No more about luggage. I'm also going to try not to complain about the travails of travel. All self-inflicted. That's already a lot of material off the list for discussion but given our itinerary I am hoping there will be lots of new experiences to relate. 

If you are new to the blog, welcome.  I am not sure how this became a thing.  Years ago, I started emailing extended family with stories of our travels and now there is catalogue of blogs going back to 2005.  It has become a diary of holidays and mostly a lot of happy memories and so they are very precious to me. They can all be found on www.maple3.co.uk/Blogs/ and there is one there for Malta in May which I didn't send too widely.  If you are interested, have a look. Equally I am very much aware that this is akin to asking friends to sit through a presentation of your holiday photos, so if you find yourself on this distribution list and would rather not be, just let me know.  I won't take offence.

On day 1 of 24 (Thursday afternoon), I have officially signed off from work for almost 1 hour and am already part way through my first G&T at Terminal 5.  Strap in and enjoy the ride. I will do my best not to think about droughts, strikes and energy prices for 3 weeks.

Our port of arrival in the US is Nashville and on our first morning we are looking for a signature American breakfast. We walk into a diner called Puckett’s. Hey y’all! It seems like this labour shortage is really a global issue.

This is music city, so our first visit is to the Country Music Hall of Fame which is a few blocks walk from our downtown hotel.  As we wait on street corners for the lights to change, speakers blare out music.  We are not massive country fans, but we learn a lot about the history and the different genres of country and western music over the decades. Mrs K can't stop singing Joleen.  Heard a good story from the trolley bus driver.  Dolly Parton went for her first audition with RCA in Nashville and when she parked her car, she didn't put it in park, and it rolled into a wall.  The dent is still there.  Dolly describes that as her first hit....boom boom.

Every past country musician is honoured here. I spot Jim Reeves who was my Dad’s favourite. What happened to all his old LPs? Elvis features too even though he was more rock ‘n roll. His Cadillac is an exhibit including the television and telephone installed in the back and the paint job which had gold, crushed pearls and fish scales in it. If you haven’t seen the recent movie, I would recommend it, but don’t expect it to be uplifting.

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The trolley bus takes us along Music Row where all the record labels have their original recording studios.   They are basically large houses adapted for the purpose but apparently some recording does still go on here.  Nashville is one of the older cities in the US, so it has a real mix of architecture - old and new.  That includes this building which is an exact replica of the Parthenon in Athens.  It was originally built in 1897 out of wood and plaster for an exposition but the people of Nashville regard themselves as the Athens of the South so rebuilt it in 1925 out of stone.

Americans love to borrow history from other countries because they don't have much of their own. Remember London Bridge?

People in Nashville also think of themselves as well educated.  They had the first state funded school system in the US here and they have several colleges, including several medical schools, financed by wealthy benefactors.

The other thing notable about Nashville is that it is regarded as the “buckle of the bible belt”.  This hits home on Saturday when Mrs K and I head down to the Bridgestone arena.  It’s the home of the Nashville Predators but the National Hockey League season doesn't start for a few weeks yet.  We are there for Professional Bull Riding.  It’s our first rodeo, if you like.  At first, we wonder whether we have taken a wrong turn into a revival meeting when the announcer opens the ceremonies with a full-on evangelical prayer.  At the end, the whole crowd voice an ‘Amen’. Not very inclusive I might say. That's followed by a rousing rendition of the national anthem (hand over heart). We are feeling a bit under dressed.  I am missing my Stetson and Mrs K needs a short denim skirt and some calf length boots. A top with tassels would finish it off nicely.

I am asked for ID when I try to get myself a drink. Ha, only in America.

We watch 6 state teams of 5 riders each go head-to-head.  These guys are professional athletes, we are told.  Having watched them I will attest to that.

You can watch a 30 second clip of some of the action here.

Apologies if you disapprove of this 'sport'.  But I will say these bulls can look after themselves. Some of them have the distinction of having a 100% record of throwing their riders off within 8 seconds.  Amazing spectacle. 

From there we walk down to Broadway. Municipal buses are not to be seen downtown but you will see dozens of open top buses roaming the streets with large groups of screaming girls on board.

It seems like all those busloads of girls have turned up at Broadway to party the night away. There is line dancing going on in the street which is closed off to traffic and every bar has a live band belting out its sound, competing for customers.  Everywhere is packed.  One young lad is being carted off on a stretcher but I would say most people seem to be well behaved. The night is still young.

On our tour on Friday, we visit Belmont Mansion which was famously owned by Alicia Acklen – her first husband was businessman who made a fortune out of slavery. The house is now part of a school and university complex and has been restored to close to its original splendour. The tour guide apologised to us for the fact that the house was built by slaves and they maintained it for several years. But as far as I can tell this whole city was originally built by slaves. At breakfast the next morning, Mrs K orders and then the black waiter says to me “….and what about you boss?” How am I supposed to react to that?

Mrs K has been expressing her disappointment with the quality of our hotel.  A quick check on our next one in Memphis tells me it is a step down rather a step up and the reviews aren’t great. So for about the 10th time we alter our itinerary and go for an upgrade. 

On Saturday, during our city walking tour we visit the Stationairy Hotel which was recently converted from the old railway station.  Amazing transformation. They retained a train information board which clicks over every few minutes. It’s a sticky day so we stop for a cool drink and for the second day running there is a thunderstorm, so a drink turns into lunch. Mrs K wants to know why we are not staying here.

Saturday was the highlight of our stay in Nashville. We attended a concert at the Grand Ol’ Opry. It’s actually a radio show and TV show at the same time, in fact the longest running radio show in the world according to them. This is how country music really started to spread - through the media of radio and anybody who is anybody in country has performed here. 50 years ago it moved to its current location and now performers are honoured to stand in the circle on stage which has the original wooden boards from the previous theatre. There was a line up of acts performing including Restless Road, Trace Adkins (deepest voice in country), Matthew West (gospel) and ending with the top recording star in country at the moment, Carrie Underwood (winner of Pop Idol in 2005). The audience were an average age similar to us (old) and they seemed to know the words to every single song. You realise how big country music is in the US, engrained in the southern culture. An amazing experience.

The Grand Ol’ Opry theatre is on the outskirts of town and we order a Uber back to the city. Our driver is Joe. In many ways he is a typical Uber driver. He is wearing a flat cap and what look like pyjama bottoms but I’m guessing he doesn’t like awkward silences. For the 20-minute drive back he hardly stops to draw breath. I do not engage but Mrs K can’t help herself but she can only insert ‘ah’ and ‘OK’ in the momentary pauses. He keeps asking us questions but then answers them before either of us has a chance to speak. Joe tells us about his job as an Uber driver, the relationship with his grandmother, the fact that he is gay and , wait for it, his second job as a psychic. He tells us about the ‘realm’ which is the aura that sits above the world that he connects with. To be honest, he is talking so fast I can’t even understand what he is talking about, but I reckon it was mostly gibberish. Poor Joe. We hit traffic a couple of blocks from our hotel and decide to make a run for it.

It's Sunday. Today we pick up a car and make the journey to our next stop, Memphis.

Part 2

I can confirm that there is no drought in the southern states of the USA. The water level in the Mississippi river looks higher and after a deluge on Tuesday on our drive to New Orleans, it will go much higher. It is a 6-hour drive from Memphis to New Orleans (cue disapproving look from Mrs K) but, in my defence, there is no direct flight

But before that, the story of our 2 nights in Memphis. Our 3-hour drive from Nashville to Memphis turns into more like 4 hours due to a huge accident on the interstate. We have to leave the main highway and work out a different way round.  I decide to just follow the trucks.  Hopefully they know the best route.

We stop off in Jackson (which is about halfway to Memphis) for no better reason than the fact that I like the sound of Jackson, Tennessee. But not to be confused with Jackson the capital of Mississippi. This version provides a tumbleweed moment as we roll into town.  But we find a diner to get some refreshment.

In Memphis we dump our bags and head for Beale Street.  It's not quite the same in daylight but we settle into the BB King Blues Club and listen to some live music including Leroy Hodge Jr who is enrolled in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Mrs K had a treat in the Nashville Apple shop. I get my turn here - another T-shirt.

Everywhere we go, servicemen are called out.  "If you are serving, or have ever served this great nation, please stand up." There follows a guaranteed standing ovation.  We might roll our eyes, but you have to say, Americans are so proud of their servicemen and their country. But, as we know they do have a few problems!

On Monday, it's a big day in Memphis.  We start our day with a visit to Graceland.  Mrs K is pleased as punch when we report to the VIP tour desk, until she realises there is an Ultimate VIP desk.  Gloria is behind the counter and she tells us she has been working there for 40 years and knows Priscilla VERY well.  "If we look tired, we are", she says. "We just had Elvis week".  But isn't it Elvis week every week? There is a lot to see but having seen the recent movie (which Gloria says is very close to the truth) it just leaves me with a sense of sadness.  Fame and fortune just ended up in tragedy – a familiar story. We get to see his fleet of cars, his 2 planes and of course the house, but not upstairs 'to respect his privacy'. But you made his home a museum?

From there we visit the National Museum of Civil Rights which is located on the site of the Lorraine Motel where Dr Martin Luther King was shot and killed.  Heavy stuff.  In 1968, 100 years after emancipation ("five score years"), the blacks were still fighting for equal rights and another 54 years later they are still fighting.  So shocking. First time I have watched the "I have a dream" and the "mountaintop" speeches in their entirety. Where are the leaders that can measure up to that today?

The view from the window that James Earl Ray was said to have used to shoot MLK across the road from the Lorraine Motel.

That’s a very sobering experience but then we go from the very serious to the slightly ridiculous by visiting the Peabody hotel to watch the duck parade. Every day there is a ceremonial procession of ducks from the roof of the hotel to the fountain in the lobby and back again. It has been going on for 87 years and draws a big crowd.  We arrive early and have ringside seats.  Thank you to all of you that tipped us off that we had to see this.

Our drive to New Orleans is long but without incident. The six hours passes quite quickly thanks to Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis” and a few of Louis Theroux’s podcasts.

By the way, New Orleans is pronounced “New Or-lens”. We have also learned (on youtube) that you never visit in July or August which are the hottest and most humid months. The city is built on an island in the middle of a swamp. The freeway into the city is on concrete stilts above the water for the last 20 miles or so. It’s hot and sticky. But we had some hot weather training in the UK before we came.

This is a special part of the US as it was owned by the French, given to the Spanish and then passed back to Napoleon who immediately sold it to the Americans in 1812 for $15m to fund his war in Europe with Britain. New Orleans remained mainly French speaking until the 1920’s when it was made illegal to speak French, but of course the language is still here.

Mrs K approves of the New Orleans choice of hotel – she is still a bit traumatised by the experience in Nashville. Our bell boy is very appreciative of his tip (which he calls a blessing) but I think he deserved it. By contrast, Mrs K tries to give a man on the street a few dollars ‘for his kids’ but he isn’t satisfied and asks for more. Maybe if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

We are a bit caught out on our first evening in New Orleans. We pop out for a quick look round and it turns into a long walk, in search of somewhere suitable to eat. No umbrella and we experience out first New Orleans soaking. We enjoy our meal but leave a small puddle under the table.

We are situated on the fringes of the French Quarter which I think is a good spot judging by the noise coming out of Bourbon Street and Chartres Street. Not that we have properly adjusted to US time yet and I am sure it gets even noisier well after we are safely tucked up.

On our first full day we take our own walking tour of the city, taking in Jackson square where we go in the oldest catholic church in the US. There is a lady there to give us a bit of history but when she finds out we are from the UK she spends even longer telling us about her uncle who was a GI in Europe during WW2, injured in battle and sent to Cornwall to recover. There, he knocked up a young girl and took her back to the US, where she remains to this day.

From there we see the famous Café du Monde where they serve beignets and walk round the French Market. It’s a long walk to the National WWII museum in the heat but we take it slow like real southerners. The museum is absolutely vast across several buildings. We focus on the exhibit of the Normandy landings which is harrowing. I took my Dad and my son Anthony over there a few years ago – a very real experience. This exhibit was equally as powerful. You can only take so much of this kind of thing, so we find refuge in the museum bar where we meet Hunter, who gives us his very own tourist guide to the city via a QR code. We try out his cocktails and his restaurant recommendation later that evening in Bourbon Street.

On Thursday, we head out of the city on a tour of two plantations – Laura and Oak Alley. Our driver is Rene and he gives a running commentary for the whole 1 hour drive (he should be on the radio). At the Laura plantation, our guide is ……Renee. Getting the French influence here? She takes us back 200 years to the time when sugar plantations flanked all the way along the Mississippi river, owned by wealthy families. Naturally most of these large colonial style houses were built by slaves and those that remain today are the ones that were built well, using bricks made on site. Those same slaves worked the plantations with very little machinery. Their lives were intertwined with those of their masters, which meant that when generations passed away, slaves were often sold off, separating them from their families forever. Even after the abolition of slavery, workers were trapped by poverty and some level of exploitation. Some were still working these plantations in the 1970s. This is heavy stuff – again.

We are now on day 8 of our trip. We have another day here Friday, with some exciting stuff planned and then we fly to San Francisco. I know, but someone has to do it!

Part 3

We have been walking all day around quiet streets in the Garden district but now we are walking along Poydras Street with hundreds of others.  It's a rare sight in a major US southern city to see so many pedestrians.  These people are mainly dressed in black and gold.  We are on our way to the Superdome to watch the New Orleans Saints take on the LA Chargers in a pre-season game.  We were prompted to come to the game by Rene, our driver from the plantation visit. He said that New Orleans were the Superbowl champions.  Well yes, in 2009 they were.  In our excitement to book tickets and thanks to poor 4G signal we managed to book 2 sets.  No refunds allowed and selling them on without a permanent US address and bank account is tricky so we resolve to enjoy the game from 2 different vantage points. The security at the incredible indoor arena is tight with long queues.  Judging by comments in the queue around us the security has been tightened since last season.  Two guys in front of us are causing a hold up because they are carrying things which are not allowed.  I could call them pen-knives but they look like they could do some damage.  As we are shaking our heads, Mrs K is told she can't bring her handbag in.  What?  The old biddy is not for persuading.  "What can I do with it?" asks Mrs K. "You could hide it somewhere". After a quick review of the surrounding foliage we decide there is no option - we have to go back to the hotel. Fortunately, it's only a mile away and we are there and back quickly, only missing a few minutes of play.  The Saints are already ahead and score again before too long, so the partisan crowd is happy.  I reckon the 75,000 capacity stadium is about half full but there are queues for everything throughout the evening.  A very mixed crowd with a lot of young kids and the nature of the game is that everyone is constantly popping out for more food and drinks. In the picture below, some of the famous beignets, which are like crispy hollow doughnuts.

Earlier in the day we go on a guided tour of the Garden district, just a few blocks away from the central business district.  Our tour guide is Angie with her short pink welly boots and she is a force of nature.  It wears me out just listening to her.  If you come to New Orleans, I would recommend one of these tours.  We get a tour of the old houses that were built in the early 1800's, most of which are undergoing some sort of restoration.  Almost every house has an interesting story attached to it.  As Angie unleashes her amazing knowledge of New Orleans history a construction worker breaks off from his work to listen and at the end gives her some praise for accuracy about the house on which he has worked on for 3 separate owners.  These projects are long and expensive and owners often don't complete the job.  Nicholas Cage gets called out (in a bad way) for completely modernising a classic house. John Goodman on the other hand is a long-time resident and is the nicest man you could ever meet.

We take a streetcar back to the city, but it turns into a longer than expected journey due to a breakdown on the track.  Uber comes to the rescue.

We have to say goodbye to NOLA.  Our next stop is San Francisco.  Too far to drive, the flight time is just over 4 hours.  While at the newly refurbished Louis Armstrong airport we enjoy a snack before our flight.  Our waiter tells us that our meal has been paid for.  What?  Is that a joke?  No, someone paid for our meal!  If I had known, I would have had a cocktail.  Bit weird.  We have no idea who it could be and have not spoken to anyone since arriving at the airport apart from the check in attendant. Maybe they liked our accent or our matching hats? I would have liked to know who it was, if only to invite them to accompany us for the rest of our trip.

Mrs K goes shopping with the saved cash.  "Do you have that hoodie in other sizes?" "What size you looking for m’am, large?"  Bit rude.

For the aviation enthusiasts out there, does this count as a near miss?

We arrive in San Francisco.  A grumpy taxi driver takes us into the city but we are upgraded at the hotel into a junior suite on the 19th floor. Nice.  Our room number is 1906 which has a familiar ring to it. Sure enough, it is the year of the great earthquake which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, killing 3000 people. It was the fires rather than the earthquake that caused most damage, wiping out 80% of buildings.  Hoping San Andreas is quiet this year as we plan to drive most of the way down the coast.

We only have one full day in SF so Mrs K is straight onto organising our activities. We were here in 2007 with 2 of the kids so have seen most of the city. Mrs K books us onto a tour of the Muir Woods and Sausalito with Dylan Tours. I am not best pleased with the early start time 7.50am but we gained a couple of hours from New Orleans so it isn’t too bad. We meet our tour guide. His name is Dylan. He hastened to add that he isn’t the Dylan, more like a Dylan 2.0. I am thinking more of a Dylan 0.5. It looks like he just got out of bed and Mrs K remarks that he hasn’t got up close and personal with a hairbrush for a while. Dylan is a university student but as it turns out he drives the bus along some dangerous mountain roads very safely so no complaints. Muir Woods is a drive across the Golden Gate bridge, which fortunately for us today is not covered in fog. We stop for some photos with the city and Alcatraz in the background. Muir Woods is a short drive further along the coast where we take a 3.5km trek through a valley with some very tall Redwoods. Very peaceful. Then Dylan takes us into Sausalito where we have a massively overpriced lunch overlooking the bay. But this is a very nice neighbourhood. Mrs K gets her hoodie and me too.

Dylan drives us back to the city where we make a tour of the main districts. This is a much prettier city than Nashville, Memphis or New Orleans and maybe a place where I could think about living. That would be a first in the US.

Did you know that it is legal to be naked on the street in San Francisco?  This was nicely demonstrated by a very large black man somewhere in the Castro district.  Dylan said don't look, and in the panic to see the spectacle, Mrs K missed him.  It's also legal on public transport but you cannot sit on a seat unless you cover the seat with something like a newspaper.

Our tour ends but we make our own journey to the Coit tower, mainly due to the fact that Mrs K wants to see the murals by Diego Rivera (after our trip to Mexico City last year). The tower sits on the top of a hill and has 236 steps to the top. There is an elevator but unfortunately it is out of order. The good news is that there is no queue. The deal is we pay half price ($5 each) and climb the 236 steps. Not sure that is a good deal but we do it anyway. The views from the top are stunning, including Alcatraz in the bay. It turns out that Diego didn’t paint any of the murals – he supervised the 25 artists that did. We are told about a journey down some steps from the hill to North Beach, which we also brave. Thanks Jim, my knees are done in now for the rest of our holiday.

This is one of the oldest things in San Francisco…and the Palace of Fine Arts, built in 1915. Ha ha.

Tomorrow is Monday (day 12). We will be driving down the coast to Monterrey for our next stop.

Part 4

"I like your T-shirt sir", says the valet as he takes our car.  "Thanks!", I say, glad that someone is admiring my new Monterrey top.  "You still have the size sticker on it", he says.  Apparently, I have been walking round all morning with XL on my chest. Thanks Mrs K.

Mrs K might be in a downbeat mood because she is 6-2 down in scrabble. (I am on a roll). But she is cheered up by 3 people who compliment her for her hat or her hair.  Not all of those were looking for a nice tip to be fair.

On highway no.1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) there are some sections with tight hairpin bends with sheer drops down the cliffs to the sea, so the average speed is low.  But the scenery is stunning. Mrs K is closest to the edge and hangs on tight. We are still on our musical journey with country music playing all the way down the coast.

Monterrey/Carmel

Tuesday (30^th Aug) was one the nicest days of our trip so far.  From our hotel we drove a few blocks down to Cannery Row which is where all the sardines used to come in. Now it is a collection of boutiques, shops and restaurants.  Not too much to interest me except there is a Pebble Beach Outlet store. I pick up a few things there.  Then we drive to the start of the "17 mile drive" which is a beautiful drive around the headland which houses several great golf courses including the Pebble Beach Golf Links. The US Open was last played here in 2019.  It’s public so in theory anyone can play, providing you book enough in advance and can afford the $595 (plus $50 for the golf cart) for a round.  I content myself with lunch in the Lodge overlooking the 18th hole.  This whole golf estate is just so nice, a bit like Disney for golfers, close to Augusta.

From there we head into Carmel-by-the-sea which has been very carefully preserved.  No fast food.  Cars cruise up and down the main street at a max speed of 20mph.  No homeless here, unlike everywhere else we have been.  The average house price here is very high and so is the average age.  We have dinner at Clint Eastwood's ranch restaurant which is very popular.  We start with drinks seated at the piano while we wait for our table.  When seated, we can look out on the wetlands as the sun goes down.

We decide that we should brave the waves and try a whale watching boat trip.  I am worried about sea sickness and Mrs K just has a phobia about boats full stop. She is pleased when we get the call that the trip has been cancelled due to windy conditions.  We will have to try from Santa Barbara instead.

But we can watch the seals at Fisherman’s Wharf for free. They have to be seen to be believed.  A few hundred congregate on the sand and rocks, making a cacophony of sounds - barks, honks, grunts, growls and roars. It is continuous. I am guessing 24x7.  In fact, from our hotel room (about 1/4 mile away) I think I can hear them during the night.

Pismo Beach

The drive to Pismo on Thursday is about 2 ½ hours but we take almost a whole day due to various stops along the way to admire scenic spots. The Big Sur bridge was one of those, though the mist is rolling in from the sea which slightly spoils the photo opportunity.

William Randolph Hearst was one of the richest men in the US during the 20’s and to this day Hearst Corporation is still a major media company (newspapers, magazines, TV and radio). You might also have heard about Patty Hearst, one of his granddaughters who was famously kidnapped in the 70’s. That’s another story. Hearst spent about 25 years building a palace in the hills, miles from anywhere, now known as Hearst Castle. It was previously a ranch owned by his father, a Democrat senator. Hearst also served as a Democrat congressman but failed in several attempts to win the race for Mayor of New York, Governor of New York and the Democrat nomination for US President in 1904. The estate became known as a castle and houses works of art to rival many European museums and galleries. The guide (John) has been working there for 43 years and says that this is like Disney except that there is real history here. Hearst entertained the rich and famous including Chaplin, Clark Gable, Roosevelt, Churchill and many more. Hearst seems to have been a decent guy, paying his workers decent rates and even travelled to Europe to plead the case for the Jews with Hitler. Like many he lost a lot of his wealth in the 1929 crash but remained wealthy and managed to keep spending an insane amount on his castle project. Not really sure what I made of the place, to be honest.

Holly says I look like an American.  I have my 17-mile drive T-shirt, my Sausalito hoodie and my pebble beach hat.  I should have dressed down last night in the same outfit. We went along the beach here at Pismo to a place recommended by the hotel   The clientele seemed to have mostly stepped over from the RV parking lot next to the beach. There is a live band and the dance floor is jammed.  We are bringing the average age down a couple of years and we later discover there is an ‘active over 55 mobile home resort’ across the road too. But these people really want to rock!  Mrs K asks for a prosecco.  "No hun, we don’t have that". We sit at a table with hot coals in the middle and watch the sun go down listening to three pensioners play their stuff.  A really fun place.

We wish we had more time in Pismo.  Not much here except the beach, the pier, the sea and a peaceful town but we like it.  We take a quick walk on the pier before we hit the road again.  Has been tiring doing the driving since San Francisco but I guess we won’t get much sympathy!

Santa Barbara

The drive to Santa Barbara is across a peninsula that was originally explored by the Spanish in the 1500’s.  They overthrew the local Indians, including the Chumash tribe, and built a number of missions which survived until the 1800's when the Mexicans took over and then shortly after became part of the US. Sadly, earthquakes have destroyed most of the early buildings and disease nearly finished off the Chumash in the 1800’s. There are about 5,000 Chumash left, enough to keep some old traditions going…..and to run the local casino.

We are in 'Sideways' country (if you have seen the film starring Paul Giamatti – “no f**king Merlot!”).  Mrs K navigates us to Solvang which is a town created by the Danish. There are a few windmills, clock towers and quite a few toy shops. Maybe time for a pastry?  Lots of buildings are in Danish style and we end up in a restaurant in a booth which was in the breakfast scene of the movie. We have a Aebleskiver which is another version of a doughnut. This one is hot and thick and eaten with jam.  Not my favourite, prefer the Beignets from New Orleans. This is not a day for too much walking around town – it is 37C, a massive contrast to the 28C on the coast.

We have 2 nights in Santa Barbara and the whale watching trip has been booked. Save that for next time.

Part 5

It’s a very difficult time to be away from the UK. We get the very sad news while on the road.  We are halfway across the desert on our way to Las Vegas.  We arrive at our hotel just off the strip and have to wait for the check-in system to come back online.  In the bar, there are 10 screens showing different channels. Not one is covering the Queen's death.  I can't think of a more inappropriate place to spend our last couple of days in the circumstances, but there it is.  We spent the whole 4-hour drive listening to BBC/LBC instead of country music and there were tears shed. What a remarkable life of service she gave. Hard to believe she was receiving our new PM just 2 days before she died. Our time in Vegas will be a little more subdued than anticipated.

Last Saturday, we rearranged the whale watching trip in Santa Barbara.  The good news is that the weather seems good.   The bad news is that this is a longer voyage on a smaller boat.   But we are dosed up and both have the voodoo travel bands. No seasickness and Mrs K even let go of the handrail once (with one hand anyway).  We saw a Minke whale close to the boat which is apparently quite rare and several humpback whales.  Loads of dolphins too.

Most of our drive to Santa Barbara was across farmland where we see hundreds of pickers out in the fields, harvesting strawberries.  Other crops are lettuce and artichokes and further up the coast we saw a lot of garlic and avocados.  7 avocados for a dollar was the cheapest we saw - about 20% of the price in Sainsburys.

The main Santa Barbara seafront is a line of restaurants and boutique motels.  They are all full to capacity.  We are on the edge of the central area and our small motel room costs over $400 a night.  We struggle to find a table in a restaurant without waiting over an hour and it’s definitely not a cheap place to eat.  No sign of economic slowdown here.

As we leave Santa Barbara there is an 11C differential in temperature with Monterrey, just 235 miles north.  It's 30C here.  We are heading for Newport Beach which is just south of LA. We will stick to the coast road and take in the Malibu beachhouses as we go.

Californians are having a tough time.  Their gasoline price is about 50% higher than Louisiana.  They have a drought and a shortage of electricity.  The state says that fossil fuel powered cars won't be sold after 2035 but they have also asked electric car owners not to charge their cars during the day to prevent power outages.  On Tuesday afternoon we get an emergency notification via text accompanied with an alarm sound. Wow.

Not sure that has the desired effect. Mrs K is quick to use the hairdryer before the power goes off.

But worst of all, Malibu beaches were closed on Labour weekend because they were full to capacity with temperatures at Long Beach reaching 109F.  This was a major problem as everyone out here with a surfboard was heading for the beach, most of them driving a Tesla.

We have our first day by the pool in Newport Beach.  It is day 20 of 24.  After a few days of driving, we feel we need a day of relaxation.  It’s tough out here.  The hotel is right next door to the local golf course. Torture.

We were just attacked by a giant bug. Mrs K says, "was that from Jurassic Park?". 

Monday was a day of hotel hopping (long story) and a day in LA for a bit of shopping and seeing Alicia Keys in concert at the Youtube Theater. This is a World tour of 49 appearances which was rescheduled from 2020. She has another 11 to go across the US finishing in Nashville where we started our trip.  Not sure how those country fans will take Alicia's recent rap and DJ technik stuff. Wasn't my cup of tea to be honest but she also did her well known hits and the 6000 capacity crowd loved it. There was a lot of luv in the room.

Newport Beach was a late alteration to the itinerary. We had previously planned to have a few days of rest in Palm Springs but temperatures of 45C caused a rethink.  We haven't been to Newport Beach before and it is quite different to what I expected.  It's obviously an upmarket suburb of LA.  Holly tells us it was the location of 'The OC' which I haven't seen but is about rich kids.  The town is very spaced out with wide streets and everything is pristine and manicured.  Down by the bay area we drive around Balboa island which is closely packed with holiday homes on very narrow streets, accessible only via a small bridge or a ferry.  The residents seem to get around on golf carts. It's labour day Monday and Airbnb prices for a holiday house are $3k per night.  Again, such affluence here but we also drove through towns on the way here which are very poor. Such contrasts.

On Wednesday, we head to Crystal Cove just along the coast from the famous Corona del Mar. We pull up to the gatehouse where a ranger is not rushing to finish her phone call, despite a line of cars behind me. “OK, you are going to do a U-turn – parking is across the street”. We suffer the shame of being turned away and cross the 6 lane ‘street’ to the parking lot. There is a walk from there in 35C heat but it’s worth it. It’s a small and well protected beach (hence lack of parking). We enjoy lunch and then while away the afternoon watching the waves crash on the sand. The restaurant even has beignets on the menu.

After a pint of Pims and a baileys coffee, Mrs K takes full advantage of me and is thrashing me at scrabble for a game and a half. I am saved by lack of phone reception on the beach and pull it back later at the hotel. 7-3, game over.

We haven’t watched much TV during our trip (obviously) but a couple of programmes have taken my interest.  Mrs K has been enjoying America's Got Talent, which is a bit of a contradiction in terms, I think. I particularly enjoyed Dr Phil who managed to help a woman realise she was having an affair with a fraud.  What did she do? She carried on the affair (via telephone), re-mortgaged her house and gave the guy all her money.  Judge Mathis is one of a genre of TV court room shows.  A guy was suing a girl who dropped a bowling ball from a roof onto his nuts.  Not because she did it. He had asked her to do it. Her wrongdoing was that she didn't turn up to a rehearsal and she didn't drop it in the right way.  He ended up in hospital.  Shocker.

I've been in need of a haircut, so given that Newport Beach seems to be a very civilised place, I decide today is the day. As we are driving, Mrs K spots a place. We stop and I go in.  Carlos is there waiting. "Talk to me man" he says.  I settle back into his chair and he spins me round from the mirror so I can see the screen which is running Youtube clips.  "I like watching the street hustlers" he says.  We have the usual exchange about the weather.  I am able to talk with authority about the contrasts in temperature as we drove down the coast.  I get the impression that Carlos hasn't been out of LA all that much. But then he starts telling me about living on the street from the age of 9 after his mother kicked him out.  Then 2 of his 'bros' arrive and they are talking about kickboxing fights they saw the previous night and then onto camping where 'buzz' and 'syrup' are consumed.  I am no longer contributing to the conversation.  I am looking forward to getting out of there but the haircut is one of the longest I have ever had.  Finally, I ask how much.  $18? I ask.  "No bro, $80".  "Are you joking?"  I can feel 2 other pairs of eyes on me.  We settle at $60 and I leave in search of the escape vehicle.  Mrs K hasn't missed me. She has been on the phone.

We end our musical journey in Las Vegas.  Once again, I am seeing girls dressed in boots.  We are in the line for Shania Twain at the Planet Hollywood theater.  We are made to parade around the whole complex which is absolutely huge, I can't tell you.  Security is tight again with everyone having to be scanned.  Fortunately, Mrs K's bag is allowed through this time.  Inside the theatre, we join a long queue for a drink and I am charged $38 for a rum and coke.  Mrs K decides to save her dollars for the slots. She doubled her money earlier and is feeling lucky tonight. We are talking about the Sunday morning events in the UK that we will have to watch on youtube catchup.  A young girl in front of us in full Shania get up overhears and we start a conversation about the Queen.  Mrs K is in tears (again).  There are hugs.  I am crying too after I pay for my drink.

On our last morning we return to Circus Circus, just curious to see how it has changed since we came here in 1987. It hasn’t changed much. Mrs K has a ‘big win’ on the slots which pays for our gambling losses over the last couple of days.

This has been an amazing holiday. We have covered 1600 miles and have been on a musical and cultural journey. Some of the scenery was stunning and most of the food was really good, providing we were prepared to pay for it. We found the US much more expensive than previously and not just due to the exchange rate. The US has lots of issues (4 people killed in a Memphis shooting yesterday) but it also has an incredibly vibrant economy and a heck of a lot to see. We will need more trips here to see it all.

Thanks for reading y’all.

Jeff