Kat & Marty

Travelling at 35 knots out at sea is always going to be an experience. In the Clipper that carried us from Vancouver to Seattle that experience was a good one. Due to the 24 arrests that had just taken place in England for suspected terrorists the day before, it took a while to clear customs to get onto the ferry, almost as long as the actual ride itself, but once on board we were quickly made comfortable. The Clipper had complimentary tea and coffee which we immediately availed ourselves of and had great staff whose good service made the 3 hour ride pass quickly.

In Seattle customs once again took a little time, then we were free. We hiked up through the Pike Street Markets to our hotel - the Moore Hotel. This was an old theatre converted into a hotel and we loved our spacious room with a basin in the corner. We did have to share a bathroom with the rest of our floor. After unpacking our bags we went straight back down to the markets. Fresh fruit and produce was everywhere and at a fish stall men threw huge fish around while chanting sea shanties. A monkfish on a string would occassionaly rear it's ugly head revealing a notice saying: 'Hi, I'm a monkfish'. It startled many people to my amusement.

We took some vegetables and cherries back to our room and cooked some dinner. I ate so many cherries my stomach got upset. We were tired after the boat ride so instead of going out on the town, we watched a Lethal Weapon re-run on TV and drank duty free Royal Crown instead.

The morning dawned clear - apparently unusual for Seattle and we wandered downtown to do the Underground Tour. Seattle was built on a tidal flat as a logging/gold town. Houses were hastily thrown up all over the place including the hills that rose right above the flats. Mr Crapper made an invention at this time (guess what...) which was very popular and when the porcelein bowls arrived at the wharf everybody in town purchased one despite the lack of plumbing. A single pipe was installed and everyone attached their commode to this rudimentary infrastructure with dire results. When people uphill flushed, people down hill recieved a surprise and when the tide came in it pushed everything back up from where it had came. The result was carnage. A while later there was a huge fire and the whole town burnt down. The town planners decided to build things properly this time, but the store owners couldn't wait and rebuilt their establishments as before. The town planners then changed the road heights to one story high. Eventually, due to disease, the bottom story of all the buildings were closed off and the first floors became the ground floors. Yes, well, we learnt all about it on this tour we took...

After the tour finished we wandered around the streets and shops of Seattle, meandering our way up to the sky needle where Meg Ryan meets Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle. Near there we visited the EMP (Experience Music Project) which houses Seattle rock memorabilia as well as provides hands on opportunities to learn different instruments or try mixing etc. We saw lyrics handwritten by Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, costumes worn by Kiss and I took a reggae drum lesson. I even convinced Marty to come into a 'recording studio' and sing/murder a Nirvana song with me - you will all be glad you weren't there to listen!

We stopped for refreshment at a Mexican restaurant and ended up staying there for dinner- delicous burritos and soft tacos. We then freshened up and went out on the town for some blues at one bar then some hip hop at another. The Seattle music scene is alive and well and the music we heard was pretty world class. It felt like an honour to listen to that calibre of music for the price of door entry though I never did learn the names of the bands we were listening to.

In the morning we got going early. It was a big driving day. Originally we had planned to stop the night outside of Portland at a golf hostel. Since I don't actually play golf we decided to drive further so our trip to San Francisco the next day wouldn't be so bad. We drove and drove. First along a freeway, then along a winding road out to the Oregan Coast which was once again foggy. In between clouds we caught glimpses of wild and rugged coastline with huge rocks jutting out of the water. Sometimes there would be perfect sandy beaches and other times there would be sheer cliffs dropping away to ferocious waves.

Eventually we stopped in a small town called Florence where we had Chinese takeaways for dinner and watched America's Funniest Home Videos for ages. Our relatively cheap motel room was right on the main road but we saw golden sandhills one or two blocks away from us in the back streets. At this point however, sleep was more important than exploring.

The next morning we started driving again. The road took us through the Redwood National Park. Through the giant trees there were many interesting places to stop at like a visit to the realm of Paul Bunyan - a legendary local figure - but for us we kept on driving. We wound our way down through the wine region of Sanoma and finally near the end of the day drove in over the Golden Gates Bridge of San Francisco. We were excited to be there and I started snapping lots of photos driving over the bridge. Suddenly we were amongst downtown traffic in all it's fury. It was quite intimidating as we tried to negotiate the narrow streets. At one point a teenage girl stepped right in front of the car causing Marty to jam on the brakes to avoid knocking her down although she had time to cross before we reached her. She was showing off to her friends but it gave us a shock and began my uncertainty of how well I was going to get along with this city.

We booked into the HI Hostel. It was expensive, rundown, dirty and worst of all noisy. We decided not to worry too much and immediately booked ourselves onto a wine tour for the Sanoma Napa Valley region the next day. Next we walked out around the streets to get a feel for the city. It was dark and no one smiled at all. Many homeless people shuffled along passed the luxury shops. Disheartened we returned to our room where we had to wear earplugs before falling asleep on our plastic covered mattress.

The wine tour was interesting. We went to 3 wineries. The first was an Italian winery run very successfully though none of the tastings particularly appealed to us. The winery itself certainly did. It captured the romance of wine making with wrought iron vines as door handles and stair banisters, painted tiles telling the story of winemaking from planting to drinking, polished concrete floors and walls finished with bricks and flagstones, and best of all lots of food samples - tapanades, sauces, spices, mustards, olive oils etc. I felt like I could have stayed there forever but the tour bus called so we went to the next place. This was a working winery and practiced organic growing and dry farming. To me the cabernet savignon there was delicous with a deep earthy flavour but Marty wasn't fussed by it. As a working winery none of the romance of the previous winery was shown and it wasn't hard to get back on the bus.

We stopped for lunch at a small village that was based around one of the original winery buildings. We had lunch at a very American restaurant serving mostly hamburgers and sandwiches. I decided on a baked potato while Marty had a burger. After we wandered around the fancy shops and looked at some art galleries before our final winery. This one was an old ranch that had been converted into a winery. The chandelier was composed of antlers and the furniture was covered in cow hides. Looking off the balconey we could see burnt yellow hills with clumps of Eucalyptus and in the distance a farmhouse with wide balconies. It could have been anywhere in Australia.

The drive back was long and sleepy. Once we got back into the downtown area it took nearly an hour for the bus to drop us off back to the hostel. We went to a cheap Thai restaurant that did really good noodle soup before retiring to our room. Once again I was frustrated by the accommodation. The washing machine was out of order, a shower door fell off in Marty's hands and the internet was expensive (though much cheaper than the cafe down the road). Still, at least we had a bed and the semblance of privacy.

In the morning we took a city tour. Our bus driver was extremely entertaining and for the first time I almost began to see a friendly side of San Francisco. The general unfriendliness of people passing in the street had started to get me down. We drove all over seeing the magnificent City Hall, China Town, the Seven Painted Ladies (a famous strip of 7 houses featured on Full House), Danielle Steele's suberb and once again the Golden Gate Bridge.

Getting off the bus and back into downtown San Fran burst the bubble of goodwill the driver had built up and I felt quite overwhelmed. We picked up our hire car from parking and didn't look back as we drove out of town. This isn't somewhere I will be in a hurry to visit again.

Yosemite was our destination and apart from one 13 mile sidetrack, we made a beeline for the park entrance. Once close by we found a quaint motel with a circle of teepee tents off to one side and had a delicous night's sleep in peace and quiet.

In the morning we drove straight into the park and arranged a place to camp - for free! The only condition was the rental of a bear container. We were delighted to take the opportunity to make up a little on our depleted budget. America is a lot more expensive than we had warranted and instead of $30US for a divy hotel it has been more like $60 - $100 depending on the area.

We drove into the friendly welcoming pine forests of Yosemite valley. Almost immediately we were stricken with awe by the beautiful rock walls. We stopped by El Capitan (one of the most famous climbs in the area) and took a while to absorb it's immensity as well as the beauty of the Bridal Veil Falls opposite it. I can well imagine how difficult it would be for serious climbers to ever tear themselves away from such a landscape. After picnicing by the gentle river that wound through the bottom of the valley, we drove past people floating down in inflatable rafts to another area of the park - May Lake - where we had a permit to camp. We enjoyed the drive immensely as it was so refreshingto be in the forest once more. At the May Lake car park we arranged our packs and found a trail head. Disturbed that it didn't mention May Lake we asked around and were reassured it was the right trail. In the face of such advice we followed this trail a mile and a half away to where it met the road! We could see a lake off to our left and assuming that was our destination we decided to cut across country instead of taking a triangular route. It was fun finding a route through pine groves and over large rocks, but were disappointed to discover that we had walked approximately another mile to the wrong lake. We walked up the road back to the track and slogged uphill to get back to the carpark. We discovered another trailhead for May Lake at the opposite end. It was uphill the entire way and even though it was only a one mile track we asked everyone we passed how much further to go. Our easy rest night had just turned into a mission but the lake was peaceful and the serenity made the effort so worthwhile.

We woke and left early to make our drive out to the Grand Canyon. Originally we planned to stay in Las Vegas on the way, but we wanted to catch the off weekend rates which could go as low as half price so decided to chance the Canyon first then go back to Vegas on our way to LA. We came out from the shade and waters of Yosemite to tumble weeds and desert as we drove past the Mammoth Lakes ski region. The desert became drier and drier as we approached Death Valley. Driving through this valley that goes lower than sea level felt a little scary. It was about 40 degrees and with our car and air conditioning we were fine. If anything went wrong with it I hate to think what would happen even though there was a lot of traffic on the road. Coming out on the Vegas side we began to see the Joshua Trees that inspired U2.

We had seriously underestimated how long it would take to drive to the Grand Canyon and ended up staying 80 miles out at a town called Williams. Otherwise unremarkable, Williams was full of Route 66 memoribilia and cafes. We got the last room at a Motel 6 and took the opportunity to finally catch up with laundry and stocking up on food for our two night hike. When we drove out in the morning we found out why it was so busy. One lane of the main street was roped off and a long line of classic cars were parked out on display.

We weren't sure wether we would be able to do our hike as it was meant to be prebooked months in advance. We hadn't decided on what day exactly we would make it on so hadn't booked at all. Fortunately for us a lovely Ranger helped us out and squeezed us in to the campgrounds. Because it is so hot in the Canyon we weren't able to start hiking until 4pm so we had 5 hours to entertain ourselves on the rim, taking in the famous Thelma and Louise views, visiting the info centre and perusing the shops.

At 3 we took a shuttle out to our trail head (easy to find this time) and soaked ourselves with water from a tap there before starting our walk. This trick is advised to keep you cooler and able to conserve energy. The descent down the South Kaibab Trail was steep and we stopped regularly to drink lots as we had been warned to do. Even so we made it down really quickly and made it to the bottom of the canyon in 3.5 hours. At the bottom in the twilight, bats started dive bombing us. To get to the Bright Angel campground we had to walk over the Colorado River on a suspension bridge. Leading on to the bridge was a pitch black tunnel and as I approached in the lead a bat flew out right at me. Needless to say I stepped aside and allowed Marty the honour of going first.

It was difficult setting up camp in the dark and we almost lost a tent peg. Marty cooked up a delicous Jambalaya for dinner and we saw some Californian Cats sneak past our campsite on their way to some sort of mischief. They aren't actually cats but look like possums with racoon tails.

We got up at 4:30am to beat the sun and packed up in the dark also. Daylight was just sneaking in as we made our way out of the campsite and began our walk halfway up the Canyon to the Indian Garden Campground. The Bright Angel Trail we were taking up was not nearly as steep and we enjoyed the walk. We stopped often for Marty to take photos and to drink water. The heat was present but not unbearable at all. Many other hikers were also on the trail early so this walk was quite social. At 8am we arrived at the Indian Campground. We were surprised to be there already and felt a bit lost as we didn't have to do anything else for the day. We picked a campsite then grabbed some food and went down to the creek that flows through the camp ground. The creek was really not much more than a trickle but we sat in it anyway amongst the vividly coloured blue and red dragonflies. Marty built a dam then smashed it. We eventually made our way back to our tent where I managed to nap away a few hours before getting up and journaling as Marty napped. While I did this several deer walked right up to our camp site not at all perturbed by my presence. Squirrels ran through as well. After that there was nothing for it but a few rounds of yahtzee and some Spanish study. We had an early dinner then walked out to Plateau Point for sunset. This is a one mile flat walk out on a plateau that juts out over the Colorado. The view was pretty spectacular and as the only ones out there felt very romantic. We set up the camera on a rock and took a photo of ourselves. After the sun dipped over the horizon I got Marty to start walking back with me. 400 metres down the track we realised my mistake as the sky suddenly lit up with pinks and purples and the canyon walls caught fire. Walking back into camp we were startled by deer just off the trail - they weren't afraid of us at all.

We woke early again - 3:45am - to make our final climb out of the canyon. Our plan was to get out early, stop to fill up with gas and book a room on the strip in Las Vegas then get into town around lunch time. The hike was a series of switch backs up the canyon wall. At one point Marty surprised a scorpion laying out on the path - it was the only bitey we saw. The trail was thick with dust but we had beaten the heat and in a record making moment, been the first to leave the campground. A nice hotel was a great incentive to get me moving. By 7am we started seeing day hikers walking down into the canyon and at one point a mule train came down past us too - the source of all good smells on the track...

We got over the rim at around 8 - around the time we planned but had a terrible time trying to fill up with gas. We needed an ATM that could take our card and it took a long time to find one. Then it took a long time to find a payphone that worked as well. I was naughty and booked a room above our budget at the Bellagio even though it was still a heavily discounted rate. Marty was torn between being annoyed at me and looking forward to a comfortable night. He had said I could stay wherever I wanted and Helen had told me about this hotel before. It took almost an hour to sort that out. Because we were driving back the way we came I didn't pay much attention to the map and we missed our turnoff to Las Vegas. By the time I realised our mistake we were too far on to make it worth turning back so we took an hour and a half detour. I was really upset as this was cutting into the time we were paying for our nice room and I felt guiltier for breaking our budget only to waste it.

We got into Las Vegas around 2:30pm. It was really hot - hotter than it had been in Death Valley. We stopped and got more gas and a bottle of champagne to celebrate our night of luxury. In the last two blocks before our hotel we got caught in traffic and it nearly took another hour to the hotel - oh the frustration. Finaly we parked and went in to check in. It was like walking into another world. The floors of the immense lobby were polished marble and the roof was a mass of glass flowers. As we waited to check in I stared about me like an idiot. When we checked in the gentleman looking after us said we had a saloon room. At my look of confusion he told me we had been upgraded. We went up to our room on the top floor beneath the penthouses. As we walked in I almost screamed - it was easily as nice as the room we hadn't ended up taking at the Empress. You will have to look at our photos to see it for yourself, but after the hostels we had been staying in and our tent, I was in heaven. We were way too pumped to take a nap like we had planned so we popped the champagne and took turns in the spa bath that looked out to the water fountains seen in Oceans 11 for which the Bellegio is famous. Eventually we tore ourselves away from the room to find food and check out the strip which we were right in the middle of. There are too many sights - glitz, lights, volcanoes, tigers, fun rides, glamorous shops and casinos to describe. It was an assault of the senses. By 10:00 I was so tired I felt sick. Marty was pretty wiped out as well so we called it a night and on our big night out in Vegas we were in bed asleep by 11pm.

Waking up was gorgeous. We went down and had an early morning swim and spa in the pools then I lay in the sun on a lounger while Marty went and got croissants and coffee for breakfast. We spent the morning enjoying our room then after checking out had a further look at the strip in daylight - it wasn't quite the same.

After suffering the oppressive heat for long enough, we drove down to LA. We drove out to Venice Beach near Santa Monica and stayed in a cheap hostel there. It was great to finally feel we were paying something more within our budget. The room was only available for one night so we took the second night in a nearby hostel who charged a bit more.

After a good night's sleep we set out to explore the sights of LA beginning with the Tar Pits. Marty has a love for the scientific history of our world and in the middle of downtown LA there are tar pits from which thousands of fossils dating to 40,000 years ago are being found. The muesem was small but good and we could see people excavating more bones from Tar Pit 91 as well as the lab where the bones are catalogued.

Next was more my thing as we went down to the Hollywood walk of fame - it was in a pretty seedy area actually, I was quite surprised. Hollywood is meant to be having a facelift to pick it up again but it wasn't too pretty. The Chinese Theatre with all the handprints and footprints out front was fun and we saw a news crew filming as well as famous characters walking the streets like Batman, Starwars figures and Jimi Hendrix. Still on my vibe we went for a drive down Sunset Boulevard admiring some of the famous star houses (or actually the hedges hiding their houses), then took a turn down Rodeo Drive. I didn't feel up to the occasion so will shop there some other time... Beverly Hills homes are gorgeous but there are only so many hedges one wants to look at so we went back to our hostel and found out why our room was more expensive. We had a view out over Venice Beach and had a huge room with a couch, TV, and the luxury of a private bathroom. After ditching our bags, we headed down to the Beach and saw the Muscle Gym where Governor Arnold Swartzniger used to work out, then walked down the boardwalk filled with art stalls and buskers. I love Venice Beach! I would live there if I could. All the crazy artists and hippies live there and it is so fun! We watched the sun go down with coronas in our room and fell asleep tired and happy. The only thing that hadn't happened was bumping into Angelina Jolie on the street - oh well, another time.

We had a relaxed wake-up knowing San Diego wasn't too far away. We would have stayed another night in Venice Beach if we could have had the same room but it was already booked so we decided to keep moving on. We drove down through Orange County for which the TV program OC is named. The real thing looked nothing like it - or at least not from the freeway. We pulled into the San Diego visitor information center and got stung for $10 when we let them book us a room. We keep getting tricked as tax and other charges are added on after you are told the price. Sometimes it makes me quite mad but it is how things are done here. We couldn't check in until 3pm so we organised our gear then drove around San Diego for a while. Our hotel had a really great glossy pamphlet that made it sound wonderful but as a renovated HI building our bedroom was tired. They boasted a state of the art kitchen but there were no utensils, plates or pans to use, not even kettles and toasters! The shared bathrooms that were reportedly cleaned every 20 minutes were definitely not!

We dropped our hire car off rather than pay the $20 parking fee over night and a lovely gentleman dropped us back off to our hotel - for free! We couldn`t believe it! We cooked pasta in what turned out to be someone elses pot in the kitchen and had a much needed early night. To our relief the bed was superbly comfortable and with earplugs the contingent of men staying in the room next door didn`t keep us awake.

The next day was beautiful. Perfect for a visit to the world renowned San Diego Zoo. We walked all over the place and I saw animals I had no idea even existed. I think my favourites were the cats, there were leopards, lions and tigers from all over the place. The monkeys were as entertaining as ever and the crocodiles and aligators were deceptively complacent. I think due to the heat, most animals were sleeping, but mostly in view so we didn´t miss out on much. It was amusing to see all the children more entertained by a small whirlpool in the polar bear pool than the snoring polar bears.

The next day we spent at the internet cafe and at the last minute, the post office where we sent home our sleeping bags and tent. We decided we aren´t really game enough to camp out in Mexico. At 4pm we showed up to the bus station for our imminent 5pm departure. 5 turned into 6 which turned into 7 which turned into 8pm before a bus driver showed up to drive us the first leg to El Paso. Since we were so late we missed our connection and had a 5 hour wait in a terminal at Phoenix. At 3 in the morning this wasn´t popular but there weren´t any other options. Finally at around 6pm on a Sunday night we rocked into El Paso. It was dead! We were terrified the hotel we planned to stay at wouln´t be open but to our relief it was. The heat was intense but nothing was going to stop us from sleeping. Not even the thought of crossing the border into Ciudad Juarez the next day - the city infamous for over one hundred murdered females being found in the last decade and the killer never found - the city most infamous for it´s drug cartels, kidnappings and gang wars. We slept like babies.