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End of the road - Las Vegas to the Pacific(Sun 12th- Fri 17th October)
I've been told by more than one person to make these blogs more personal and if possible, more humorous and less like a travel guide. I think that's a polite way of saying it's a bit boring ! -well I'll do my best but I can't promise.
Although not on our original itinerary at the last minute we decided to go to Las Vegas. We were there less than 24 hours staying the MGM Hotel and Casino which has, I believe, over 5,000 rooms. We had a walk along the strip and then spent a couple of hours gambling - blackjack and roulette. I managed somehow to win about $80 but Gwen succeeded in cancelling most of those gains later.
The following day we headed for Yosemite. It was a hell of a long day. It took longer than expected through boring Nevada and Californian desert .We probably made things worse by actually driving through the park to our destination, Oakhurst. It took forever to get through the park and we arrived 10 hours after leaving Vegas. The next day we spent a few hours in Yosemite valley but did not really do it justice. Its a beautiful place but I think we were still exhausted from getting there in the first place. In retrospect one of our bigger errors of judgement. We should have headed staight for the coast.
We finally reached the Pacific on Wednesday (Pismo Beach, 200 miles north of LA). We have driven over 4,500 miles over 25 days (which works out at just under 200 miles per day) through 14 states. For the past 2 days we have done nothing but relax, sunbathe and read a good book.
Driving so far has given me an insight into radio in this country. If you want to hear nothing but country music or jazz or religion, you can find countless channels to cater for your taste. I found at least 3 stations that only played comedy records. I found talk radio very boring - the only topics of conversation are the economy and the forthcoming election. There is a station called American Right which broadcasts only rightwing propaganda. There is an equivalent called American Left. I eventually came across the BBC World Service but even that was disappointing. I suppose I was hoping to come across something like Radio 4 or even Radio 5 live but the reality is that no such equivalent exists - give me the good old BBC anytime.
Well this is my last blog from the USA. On Sunday we fly off to Lima, Peru for the next leg of our journey. See you there.
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