After a 10 hour flight and a 90 minute slog through customs we arrive in the US of A!
Our hire car picked- a sleek black jeep, our ride for the next 2 weeks. We set off for our motel in Hollywood and make good time, with only a few wrong turns! The motel (super8) is pretty basic, but clean and in a superb location with views of the Hollywood sign.
Our first afternoon we explored Hollywood, gobbled down a American style sandwich ( by which I mean huge!) and tried to stay awake as long as possible. We didn't last past 9 o'clock!
The following morning we woke up at 5 and decided to go for a not so gentle run up to the Hollywood sign. It was about 2.5 miles to the top of Mt Lee and uphill the whole way! The atmosphere was amazing- serene. The sun rose behind the hills and the whole of LA was engulfed in the early morning low cloud. When we reached the top, views of the rest of the mountain range and the iconic Hollywood sign were worth the lung bursting climb, and as the sun melted away the cloud, glimpses of LA peeked through. A definite recommendation for anyone visiting LA!
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing- coffee on rodeo drive, lunch overlooking Santa Monica pier, sunbathing and gasping at the surfers wipe outs in Malibu and dinner in Paradise Cove. We tried to go out in Hollywood but the jet lag got us... Stupid jet lag.
Day 3 and another early start so another run, this time along the infamous Venice beach. Definitely disappointing. Lots of homeless people and their poor dogs, someone getting arrested and worse of all no fitties at muscle beach! The actual beach looked lovely and perhaps the atmosphere would be better in the day but early morning it was depressing.
Onward and upward-driving east of LA for 2 hours we hit the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs. We stopped off for lunch here and were hit by the heat in a big way! The other striking thing about Palm Springs is the GLBT community, the has-been rockers and the little old men and women enjoying their retirement. We didn't stay long here and instead jumped back into the Jeep and turned up the AC to the max!
We ventured out to Joshua Tree national park where we found amazing rock formations and outstanding scenery. I got stuck trying to climb up a very tame boulder while Rob hopped between them like a pro...annoying! We saw an abundance of desert wildlife and took the obligatory jumping pictures!
Back in the car and a 2 hour drive through vast open mountainous desert...incredible! The heat from the religiously straight road kept tricking us that there were oncoming cars, where in reality we only passed a handful.
Checked in to our motel (desert mirage inn) in a small town called Needles. This place is surreal. It feels like a pop up town built at the intersection of two freeways and with nothing else going for it. The motel was clean but felt like there could have been some seedy goings-on here once upon a time. That's probably just our overactive imagination though and the aftermath of watching too much CSI!
Driving further east and stopping for breakfast in the American equivalent of centreparcs (except everyone has a powerboat or jet ski and gorgeous tanned bodies) we headed for Flagstaff. With eagles circling the road and multi-coloured cargo trains almost a mile long weaving through the mountains we turned into bird spotting, train spotting geeks for a couple of hours!
Just outside of Flagstaff our home for the next 2 days-a secluded cabin in the middle of national praire land. We found the place on a website called airbnb where people rent out their spare rooms/holiday homes for guests. Our host was lovely and her house completely out of this world! The cabin backs out onto thousands of acres of land, the San francisco mountains in the distance, with antelope and inky black cows grazing nearby, humming birds buzzing around the back porch and a hot tub to relax and take it all in...breathtaking! Only 2 days here- I could happily stay for 2 years!
Monday morning and off to the Grand Canyon. Epic. We hiked a 10 mile route along the south rim and then dropped 3 miles down into the canyon to skeleton point. One of the best things we've ever done. Away from the tourists and barriers near the visitor centre, the south kiabab hike took us off the beaten path and to numerous fantastic viewpoints of the canyon. The light changed constantly and highlighted different stacks of rocks and cracks in the canyon, giving it a whole different depth each time we looked up from our feet treading the steep path. We considered hiking to the river at the bottom, but the extra 6 miles might have seen Rob having to drink his own urine as his water supply diminished, so we decided against it! With aching limbs and about a hundred photos captured we headed back to the cabin for a starlit dip in the hot tub.
Our first 5 days in the US have exceeded expectations. From the glitz of LA to the peaceful calm of the national parks our overwhelming impression is the sheer scale of everything. The food, the trucks, the trains, the wide open expanse of land, everything here is huge. And we love it!
The bright lights of Las Vegas are calling... If we can remember any of it we'll update you in the next instalment of The Lob Blog!