Day 1
We
arrive in LA after a gruelling 10 hour flight. Of course that doesn't count the
time it takes to sit on the tarmac, get through immigration (a very cheery chap
this time) get our mountain of bags (golf clubs had to be left at home as we
couldn't get them in the car) and to make dash from terminal 1 to terminal 7 to
get our connecting flight. Once we managed to get our bags checked in without
incurring extra charges we found the flight had been delayed for 2 hours. So plenty of time to cool down. We join yet another line
(I'm into the lingo already) for security and eventually find a food court. Of
course the body is a bit confused as it is 3 in the afternoon but still 11pm UK
time. I get my first shock when we have to pay $9 for a sandwich and I feel a
bit worse about that when I see Sterling has fallen to a new low of 1.55 during
another day of carnage in the markets. We console ourselves with our first
Starbucks of the trip and find somewhere to sit while we wait for our flight.
After LAX this trip can only get better.
We
finally arrive at our hotel after further queues at the car rental about 21
hours after leaving home the previous day. We had
booked our hire car 3 months ago. After queuing for 20 mins
at the desk we went down to the garage only to be told that the car was just
going for a wash and vac. Did we mind waiting another 10 mins? By then we were too tired to complain.
More on
Vegas later
===================================================
Day 4
I am
returning to my blog after a couple of days break. A break
which seems to be much longer than the 2-3 days that it is. A time which has been filled with the business of not doing very
much. We spent most of the first day relaxing by the pool. By evening we
ventured to the strip for the first time despite feeling like we should be
going to bed. Sitting by the pool in 85 degrees can be tiring but we are still
suffering from the timezone change.
Carol
and I were last here in 1987 and we hardly recognize the place. Back then it
was a general election in the UK. Now we have to contend with election fever in
the US. If you thought the coverage in the UK was bad just try flicking though
the 70 cable channels here.
As ever
America is full of contradictions. You have to be 21 to gamble or even watch
the gambling but it is OK for people to stand in the street advertising the
availability of girls on their t-shirts and handing out pornographic calling
cards. On Sunday we went to the Treasure Island hotel to see the free pirate
show. It was a cross between the type of
show you would see at DisneyWorld and Kenny Everett’s
controversial TV show with the dancing girls – I tried not to enjoy it. We again wonder about the wisdom of bringing
Sian and Anthony here but in reality there is a lot for families too. You just
have to be a bit more selective than in Florida.
On
Sunday night we went to a Cirque du Soleil show. It was truly spectacular. All
the shows here are very expensive but this one was probably worth it. We have
also booked to see a magician on Tuesday and Carol is going to see Barry on
Wednesday. The concierge is now our best buddy.
Yesterday
(Monday) we did a bit more for the US economy and visited Hoover Dam and the
West Rim of the Grand Canyon. On the way we were lucky enough to drop in for
our second Starbucks coffee and came across a server who knew the route
intimately (much better than our concierge friend) and proceeded to tell us in
detail each turn and each traffic light. I smiled thankfully. She took all the
fun out of it. The Dam is an amazing
place to visit if you know some of the history. A while back I saw a
documentary about it. The place is highly security conscious and we all went
through another x-ray machine and had some dangerous items confiscated - 3
apples. The Dam is nearly 700 feet thick
at its base - solid concrete. Amazing. In the 30's it
was the biggest dam in the world but is now well down the pecking order. Like
in so many other ways the US has been overtaken by the developing world.
From
there we drove another 2 hours to the Grand Canyon including 14 miles on a dirt
road where our 4WD came in very handy. Our concierge doubted whether the hire
company would like us taking this road but we didn't check. Ignorance is bliss.
Besides there are no other routes. We visited a site
controlled by native Indians. These are not the ones that still live in teepees but the ones that sit behind a cash register and
charge you $20 to park and then another $200 to look over the edge of the
canyon. One was also reassured that a visit to one of the 7 wonders of the
world is accompanied by the heights of American cuisine. Yep, burgers, hot dogs
and corn dogs. For the sophisticated diners there was Chinese food on offer. We
stepped out onto the Skyway which is a glass walkway which sticks out 70 feet
over the canyon's edge and had our picture taken (another $30). Even Mrs K was
persuaded to let go of the handrail and lie down on the glass with us, risking
a 2500ft drop to the Colorado river. There was a
section of broken glass just to add a bit of doubt to our English sense of
faith in US safety standards. Four
rather overweight tourists decided to test the claim of 10,000lb strength by
all jumping up and down on one pane of glass at the same time. The guides seems
unperturbed but did say that the glass was due to be replaced. The Keen family decided not to take that
particular challenge to a new level.
Seriously though the views were stunning and we will definitely go to
visit the South rim next week.
More to
come…food and other excesses in Vegas
Day 6
I write
this on Thursday afternoon sitting by the pool in about 85 degrees – sorry!
Yesterday
we did a bit of shopping. As the boys
didn’t have the appetite for a full session we sent the girls off in a taxi in
the morning and joined them later on. Left
alone with a credit card and some real bargains, Caroline can do some real
damage so after having heard nothing after 3 hours, Anthony and I rush over to
the mall to see if there is any credit left at American Express. Carol’s taxi driver told her that he often
takes tourists (with no luggage) direct from the airport to the outlet malls
where they buy what they need (including of course suitcases). The Keen family have almost got this worked
out except for the bit where you leave your luggage at home. Our 4x4 will be a bit more crammed now on the
way to Phoenix. But we saved so much
money!
How can
I have taken so long to talk about food?
The only way to prepare for the experience is to try and repeat the
luggage trick i.e. don’t eat for a couple of weeks
beforehand. Unfortunately this isn’t
possible so it takes just a couple of days for the waistline to start showing
the effects. On the second day we
experienced our first Vegas hotel buffet – all you can eat and drink for a set
fee. Due to fatigue we felt we didn’t do
it justice so we went back to another at Circus Circus
last night ($14 a head) and performed much better. A few nights ago we had our cheapest meal so
far in IHOP (International House of Pancakes but they call themselves
IHOP). We all ordered light meals but
they served us with enough food for a family of 6 and all for about $40. Every meal seems to come with pancakes with
whipped cream on the side. I didn’t see
many thin people in the restaurant.
Anthony
and Sian enjoy the free refills. In fact
the waitresses seem to be almost telepathic.
As soon as you start to think that another drink might be nice, one
arrives in front of you. From my point
of view, the attention you receive is sometimes over the top but it is always
good, wherever you eat. Unlike in the UK
they earn their tips.
Now I
must turn to the subject of ‘Raising Canes’ which is a place that Sally had
recommended most highly, nay pleaded with us to go to. Previously it had been discounted by Mrs K as
just a fried chicken fast food place.
But like most eateries it was an experience all in itself. We sat in a corner booth where I doubt if the
average clientele would fit and enjoyed the combo meal. If you can think of the size of a KFC box
then imagine something about twice the size. It includes ‘side’
orders which is where these restaurants compete – KFC boast 8 sides in
their combo boxes. The one that confuses me is the biscuit which is actually a
roll – but Caroline now tells me that it was called toast – either way it was a
half roll. The place was named after the
owner’s dog but that is another story.
Sally, here is the proof that we were there. It was fun.
Now
a bit about gambling. Mrs K has a belief that she is lucky. I must admit that over the years we have been
quite fortunate to win a couple of raffle prizes including a TV and a trip to
Amsterdam but my scientific mind refuses to believe in luck. As we have wandered through various hotel
casinos (you can’t avoid them – they are right there in the lobby) we have had
to drag Caroline away from the slot machines. Having the kids with us has made
this easy as they are not allowed to stand and watch. The other day I went with the kids on a
roller coaster ride at the New York/New York hotel (more on that later). We left Caroline in the casino for a few
minutes. When we returned she had turned
$3 into $27. I’m not sure she really
understood what was going on except that you feed money in and press buttons
and hopefully some money comes out. But
thankfully I managed to convince her to quit while she was ahead and be in the
minority of gamblers that leave on a profit.
Of course now we can’t go past a casino without her wanting to go and
repeat the magic. No doubt we will have a
go tonight if we can park the kids somewhere. (Saw something on the news last
night where parents left their baby outside a casino in a pushchair while they
went inside to gamble – both now in jail)
Last
night Caroline was stood up by Barry Manilow! Having gone to great lengths to get a ticket,
he feigned sickness and cancelled his show.
Obviously he didn’t realise that his no.1 fan was in town. Mrs K was devastated (almost as much as when
earlier in the day when I said it was time to leave the mall) but she
thankfully has got a ticket for tonight.
The kids and I will amuse ourselves elsewhere.
We have
already tried out the NY rollercoaster which was excellent. Sian and Ant went on twice. There was no queue. That’s because unlike the normal theme parks
you have to pay for each ride – Disney take note. There are some other thrill rides at the
Stratosphere hotel which operate from the top of its skyscraper. I like these rides but even I am thinking
twice – it must be age.
The
hotels in Las Vegas have to be seen to be believed. Each is a theme park on its own and can
occupy half a mile of Las Vegas Boulevard frontage all on its own. The Bellagio has a huge lake in front where
they do a fountain display to music several times every evening where the water
shoots what must be hundreds of feet into the air. Words can’t describe it.
Day 9
We set
out from Vegas on our drive to Scottsdale (posh Phoenix suburb) at around 9.30am
on Friday. According to Google the
journey should take about 6 hours but I don't plan to keep strictly to the
speed limit. Unfortunately about 45 mins from Vegas,
as we are crossing the Hoover Dam, we are flashed by a car behind and when we
pull over a cowboy tells us that one of our rear tyres looks flat. My first
thought is that it is something to do with our extensive luggage (which is
increasing by the day) but on inspection I see that we definitely have a flat.
So I proceed to change the tyre in a viewing spot of Hoover Dam, with curious
glances from tourists.
We get
back on the road after 45 mins or so and ring the
hire company to find out where we can get the flat repaired. The trouble is we are heading across desert
and the towns are few and far between but we are directed to Kingman which
looks like a fairly major town on the map. Mrs K takes the directions from the
lady on the phone at Dollar Car Rental. Needless
to say the combination of 2 females means that we get lost in Kingman but
eventually find a tyre place but not the one recommended by Dollar. Our local tyre fitter (Andy) inspects the
tyre and guess what, the nail is in the tyre wall and
it cannot be repaired and we will have to buy a new one. Isn’t that always the case? But Andy is a friendly chap and, while we
wait for Dollar to authorise a purchase of Andy’s own brand of tyre (Big-O) instead
of a Dunlop, he tells us of an occasion when a 100 Harley-D riders stopped by
for some repairs (we are on Route 66). Must have been a good day for him. When we are all fixed up, Mrs K asks for
directions to the nearest Starbucks.
“Not out here M’am”. We really are in the middle of the desert but
thankfully on the way back to the freeway we find a McDonalds and fortify
ourselves for the 3 hour drive for Scottsdale.
We are already 4 hours into our journey.
I should
finish off our Vegas story before I move on. Remember that Carol was stood up
by Barry. Well it happened again the
following night. Apparently the mega
star is getting old and cannot hack it.
Either that or his nose fell off.
Obviously Caroline was very upset but was cheered up by winning $100 on
a 1c slot machine, thus reinforcing her conviction that she is naturally lucky. Later that evening in our last casino visit
we sat the kids in a coffee shop so yours truly could try his luck on the
one-armed bandits. Can you believe I had
been in Vegas for 7 days and not had a single try? Unsurprisingly I won a bit and lost a bit and
ended down about $3. Mrs K installed
herself on a stool again and started to exercise the lucky finger (which
coincidentally is giving her pain now).
After a few minutes a huge cry was heard across the casino. Roulette and Baccarat tables stopped and looked
over. Yes, Mrs K had hit the jackpot
again, winning $6. That seemed a good time
to quit and we dragged her out of the place kicking and screaming. Total profits in Vegas –
about $125. Will they let us come
back?
Back
to the drive to Phoenix. I let Carol take over driving on a section
which looks to be straight road for about 100 miles. She is up for the challenge but the kids ask
her why the car seems to weaving all over the place. They get short shrift and I take my chances
and get some kip. When we hit the only
town between Kingman and Phoenix we get to a junction where we have to turn
left. This creates pandemonium and after
much shrieking and swearing we manage to navigate the complex manoeuvre and get
back onto the straight road to Phoenix.
We swap over again at a place called ‘Surprise’ just before we hit the
Phoenix ring road. Our hotel is on the
other side of the city but the fantastic road system means that we find it very
easily. In fact after they built the
highways and flyovers it’s amazing they had any space left for buildings.
This
week we are in a Westin villa which is really comfortable. We have adjoining apartments, each of which
has kitchen, living room, bathroom and large bedroom each. Also the internet is free. Heaven. (Jason and Holly are seething now). On our first morning, the kids join us for
breakfast and manage to lock themselves out of their apartment. Fortunately, a quick call to service and two
guys turn up on those 2-wheeled contraptions that you stand on (bit like an old
fashioned lawn mower without the blades).
They get into the room with unnerving ease.
We spent
Saturday with Caroline’s cousins (2nd or 3rd I’m not
sure). Lisa and Kirk have 5 kids and 4
of them turn up with their parents, having driven up from Tucson (about 1˝
hours) including Dillon the second eldest at 17. Later on Tammy makes the same journey with 2
of her kids, just to have dinner with us.
Distances are nothing to these people.
We last saw Lisa and Kirk on their wedding day in Tucson in 1987 and
needless to say we don’t immediately recognise them and neither they us. It is frightening how time has passed but as
Carol said, we have been busy! The day
is a lot of fun. We go to the Arizona
Science museum and then move on to the local amusement park for the afternoon
before having dinner in one of the best burger joints I have ever been to. (The Cookies ‘n Cream shake was
awesome!). It’s sad that the people who
brought a bit of Malta to Arizona have passed on now but their descendants are
really nice people and we will try to keep better in touch for the next 21
years!
Sunday
is a day of rest which is why I am here again by the pool writing. Mrs K has refreshed her supply of books (we
visited Barnes & Noble last night which was the size of a City library) and
is well into her series of books called Twilight – film out soon. Bad news however is that the weather is
forecast to deteriorate. Down to 77 degrees by Wednesday. Good opportunity for Anthony and I to get out onto the golf course without getting fried.
Day 14 –
(Thursday by the pool again but temperatures now down to mid 70’s)
I can’t
believe how quickly this week has gone.
Time flies as they say.
Let me
start this next section of our tale on the subject of ‘Sports’. On Monday, I ventured out onto the golf
course here at West Kierland Villas with Anthony
along for the ride as my caddy. It is
allegedly a very good course as they play some kind of tournament here at some
point during the season but with that comes the
price! I am happy to enjoy the guest
discount which brings the cost of the round including the rental of clubs down
to only $140. It worked out to about $1.50 per shot! But I won’t bore the non-golfers with details
of the round. The best material here concerns
our golfing companions Dan and Karen from Illinois. Dan is playing and Karen his wife is along
for the ride just like Anthony so it is a good pairing. Karen is I suppose a typical American but she
is soon into her over the top celebrations of my rather middling golf. Cries of ‘Oh my God!’ and ‘Jeff, that was goood’ or ‘how did you do that?’ and ‘great shawt(shot)’
are some examples – and that was just on the putting. Karen’s best though is reserved for Dan who
she runs after like a puppy, carrying his clubs, fetching other clubs from the
buggy and patting him gently after good and bad shots. Her flip flops can be heard across the course
as she rushes to tend the flag and will the ball into the hole, on one occasion
thanking Jesus for Dan’s skill (or luck).
Karen asks Anthony if he grew up with ‘Thomas the Train’. I point out it is ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’
but she goes on to tell me in detail about how her grandchildren are obsessed
with him. At least we have one export
that is popular in the US. There were other eccentric utterances but you
probably had to be there. But Dan and
Karen are a really nice couple and we enjoy our time
with them on the course. This is why we
like to come to America. Meeting people
like this is fun – in small doses.
I could
go on to tell you about the uninterrupted fitness regime that has taken me to
the well equipped and sparkling gym here at the resort – but that would be a
lie. The
most I have done is a few laps of the pool.
There
are a few things American that I have always wanted to do or own. I would love to drive one of those massive
trucks with the luxurious rig and 40 ton trailer. Secondly I would like to own a convertible
Mustang (Sian wants one too) and finally I always wanted to have a go in a
batting cage. Sadly the first two remain
unfulfilled as yet but we did manage to do the third here in Phoenix. Sian and Anthony both had a go too. You get a choice between soft ball and
baseball and can select your speed.
Anthony went for the baseball option at 50mph (you could go up to
70mph). Fortunately he was not in the
way of the first ball which could have taken his kneecaps off and then after
that the next 10 balls constituted a lot of swishing through the air well after
the ball had thudded into the mat behind. I did no better myself – you almost
had to anticipate when the ball was coming to complete your swing in time. But we all did pretty well on the soft-ball
mode. How the professionals hit the ball
so far I don’t know. For the following
two days I could hardly clench my fist.
On
Tuesday evening we went out to eat at a place called ‘The Cheescake
Factory’. If you have been to the US you
may know it. It was our first visit and
we were overwhelmed by the size of the menu including about 35 different types
of cheesecake. If you are curious try
this link – its quite neat. http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu.htm
Yesterday
was our big trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Really this was the raison d’etre for our trip.
We set off at 7.30am from Phoenix on what promised to be a 4-5 hour
drive to go and see a big hole in the ground.
We stopped in Sedona on the way for breakfast at Ken’s Creekside Diner which was a very pleasant establishment
(probably better than it sounds – they had tablecloths). Mrs K said it was probably the nicest
breakfast that she has had in the US, which is probably saying quite a lot,
though it might have had something to do with the fact that she thought the
waiter looked like a young John Travolta.
We sat eating overlooking the green valley and red mountains and it was
a shame to leave there and head on to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon
Village. However the breathtaking
scenery en route did not disappoint.
At the
entrance to the park we stopped to buy our park permit and watched an IMAX film
all about the canyon. Yes it seemed a
bit ironic to travel thousands of miles to see one of the wonders of the world
and go to the cinema to see it but it was a very spectacular show and gave us a
real sense of the history and mystery of the place. It was probably the closest we will get Mrs K
to flying over the canyon or running the rapids – two more things I will have
to add to my list of things to do. We have heard the word ‘awesome’ used an awful
lot while we have been here (and I have slipped into using it myself a few
times) but the Grand Canyon is definitely a sight that merits its use. Unlike the West Rim, we found the South Rim
much less commercial and unspoilt.
Temperatures were only about 3-5C so even though we had come prepared
with several layers of jumpers, we envied other tourists with jackets and
coats. The kids and I had fun winding up
Mum by standing close to the edge but we did manage to get some nice shots with
breathtaking backdrops. It is about 15
miles across the canyon at the narrowest point so one has to be well prepared
for a hike across to the North Rim (people do die trying) and have a lot more
time than we had. By 5pm it was getting
dark so we took our last glances across the canyon and set off again on our 4
hour drive back to Phoenix.
The
election is now over and Obama will have to convert
all those banal sound-bites into actual policies. We’ll see.
Many people we have spoken to have been looking forward to when they
will be able to switch on the TV without being bombarded with election stuff or
get late evening phone calls asking for their support. But from what I have seen so far the TV
stations cannot let go – a bit like a junkie.
They have the same panels of experts lined up to discuss what Obama will do next.
Now we get that period of limbo when Bush is still in charge until
January. Mrs K can’t understand why Obama doesn’t just move in straight away ….. and neither can I. Maybe something to do with how long it takes to get new drapes.
This is
probably us signing off from the US now.
We have to check out tomorrow and fly home in the evening, arriving back
in the UK on Saturday afternoon. Hope
you enjoyed hearing about our trip. See
you soon.
Jeff,
Carol, Anthony & Sian.