Getting frustrated that my epic entries keep getting lost, the wifi connections are not strong which surprises us & is annoying too.  I better make some briefer entries then bore you all silly when we return.

LAS VEGAS
We left Flagstaff & rode through more desert.  Visited Kingman, shopping for indian jewellery for Jayne at Cameron the visited the Hoover Dam which was indeed impressive, oh for a box of jaffas to roll down it’s long slope!  Through Boulder City, yes many boulders here then over the hill we saw glittering Las Vegas & the pyramid of our Luxor Hotel – yeehaa, we made it!

Refreshed, we found the Harley Cafe for dinner, then grabbed a cab to Fremont St to see some crazy sights.  Enjoyed the overhead light show & good music, I even had my image projected up there – a ten ft Robyn is a scary sight!

Next day, Roger & I oohed & aaahed & giggled our way through the Liberace museum.  Mirror & crystals covered his cars, beads, gilt, crystals & fur adorned his ever more outrageous costumes & the bizarre jewellery that was given to him!  We had fun at the interactive Mde Tussaud’s wax museum and loved wandering the strip, gambling & losing & being amazed at various hotels.  Bette Midler’s show was Divine, our seats were centrestage so Roger spoilt me well.  We met H&J outside TreasureIsland to watch the pirate show, sinking of the galleon & fireworks, then supper back at the Harley Cafe (bikers!) before wandering back to bed.  Another superb day.

DEATH VALLEY
What an experience!  We began through US Air Force’s Area 51 (think atomic testing & UFOs), Overnight thunderstorms had caused flooding in the valley, a sight not many get to see & the cloud cover was a great relief.  It was actually a series of 3 valleys.  We entered over a mountain pass then descended to sea level, past sand dunes, back up to 6,000 ft, down & up & down -our ears were constantly popping.  Rode past Lake Owen that had been drained, leaving boats abandoned on the lake bed, a sad sight, then confronted by the mighty Sierra Nevadas rising from the desert floor – wow!  Found an expensive & dodgy motel for the night & ordered beer & pizza delivery.

Well, I typed you a lovely long story about our full day in Vegas but it damn well disappeared so I’m a bit peeved about that. Will go back to that later; for now I’ll move on with our story.

We were up early to view the sunrise over the canyon, truly spectacular.  The view across the canyon was slightly misty but I think that’s just because it’s so far.  Photos cannot do it justice as they don’t capture the 3D or should I say, 15D effect.  Reluctantly we hit the road heading for Kingman then on to Las Vegas.

I must say that we all really enjoy the touring.  Scooting along at maybe 70 or 80mph (not k’s) and being passed by all & sundry on the freeways – oooeee!  Drivers are incredibly polite & always wave you ahead or quickly pull over, we’re not used to that but it’s very pleasant.  It’s great to watch the changing scenery – vegetation, buildings, vehicles & geography.  At one point crossing the desert, there was a lane of big rigs, nose to tail as far as you could see – that’s a lot of trucks!

We made good time until close to the Hoover Dam where roadworks for a super freeway slowed the traffic & things hotted up for us pretty quickly, but gladly stopped at a lookout & made the most of the warm breeze.  This dam is another amazing sight, it’s so huge (again) it’s hard to believe that humans made it.  After riding over the dam, we left the bikes in a multi-storey carpark building next to the stylish visitor centre to view on foot.  Had to use the flash loos (big brass doors) and I was dying for a box of jaffas to roll down the curved face of the dam!   It was quite exhilarating but Jayne got vertigo peering over.

At last, back on the bikes & into Boulder City (thinking of Stephen King novels here).  Yes, you got it, boulders everywhere.  Had a giggle at the signs at some lights, one pointing up the hill was “Veterans Home”, the other pointing downhill was “Veterans Cemetery”.  A HUGE tanker dragged us off at the lights … then over the hill for the run into Vegas.  Wow!  We spotted the Luxor’s pyramid from miles away – at last we were here, yippee!

Check-in made us feel like country bumpkins – there was a long winding queue like the airport!  Parked the bikes in the muti-storey garage, then trekked miles to our room but it was flash, own jacuzzi & spacious lounge with lots of comfy seating.

Couldn’t wait to hit the town.  We found the Harley Cafe for dinner, getting used to the oversized meals so often sharing is plenty.  HDs moving around overhead on conveyor & memorabilia & photos galore.  Howard & Jayne were in their element.  Grabbed a cab to Freemont St in the old downtown & strolled up & down, taking in the street entertainers & weirdest sights.  Watched the amazing overhead light/movie show with great music then made our weary way back to bed.  Another perfect day!

First, sorry about the delay in updating you, caused by lack of wifi in the desert & a smidge of exhaustion due to some looong days, but here goes.  You might like to grab a coffee first.

ACROSS THE DESERT

Buggar, just lost this entry so will come back later.

Once H&J had sorted their gear, we set off through Palm Springs to Lake Havasau.  We were in for a bit of a shock as we hit the desert immediately after leaving LA.  Of course, early a’noon was the worst possible time & we copped the end of a heat wave – 120F in Vegas.  We reckon the desert temp was 45C plus!  The guys coped well, but Jayne & I had to contend with extra heat from the engine & pipes, as well as heat from the six lane freeway & endless passing big rigs – phoooeeee!   We were forced to make a couple of stops & eventually had to wait until the sun set.  Quickly we discovered the benefits of wetting our merino t-shirts & jean legs and were very grateful for our gel neckties, camelbacks & gatorade.  I found it ‘cooler’ to wear my facemask, believe it or not!

Our journey to Lake Havasau ended at midnight, rather weary but still very warm.  Desperate for a cooling swim, I convinced the motelier to open the pool & we gleefully jumped in – only to find it was a mere 35C, OMG, nothing cools in the desert.

ROUTE 66

Next day, a very early start to beat some of the heat for our shortened journey along Route 66 to Flagstaff.  A quick ride over the rebuilt London Bridge & we were off.  This was a gorgeous biker ride through amazing desert scenery & high bluffs.  Lots of photo stops – at one point, we spotted several condors circling& thought they were eyeing up H&J!  Oops, no gas at Oatman (in fact, not much of anything) so the guys had to backtrack, leaving all the bags (yes, including R&J) to fill in 30mins watching the mule-poo sweeper in action – I mean, slow-motion.  Had brekkie in a quaint saloon & fed quarters into a pianola that made a dreadful din, despite being warned by the locals.  Met lots of bikers in town & swapped travellers tales.

Loved Route 66.  A changing view with undulating road disappearing across the desert pan and land for sale – what the heck??  We figured they were rock farms.  Kingman was pretty, had vintage railway; Seligman & its cowboy town shop fronts; Williams for America’s smallest snowfreeze – only 75c & piled a mile high!

Fabulous swim at Flagstaff, much cooler at 26C so utter bliss.  Italian for dinner, walls covered in photos of old movie stars so we had fun guessing names.

GRAND CANYON

After experiencing the heat of the desert & some long days riding, we shortened our journey to the Grand Canyon & back-tracked a bit through Williams. This time, to Howard’s delight, we found a great cafe that served NZ style coffee & NZ sized biscuits & muffins – not the SUPERSIZE we were becoming used to.  Very cute taps/faucets in the washroom that worked like oldfashioned water pumps – something different everywhere we go.

Stopped at Cameron for Jayne to enjoy lots of traditional Indian gift & jewellery shoppping.  The restaurant had an amazing ornate pressed tin ceiling & huge sideboard.  Managed to fill the camelback with lots of ice, this was great!  The Harleys drew lots of attention, everyone is keen to chat & tell a tale or two.

WOW!!! Our first views of the Grand Canyon were breathtaking.  Nothing can describe how truly vast this great cavity is – it was awesome.  The a’noon light was magical & we spent quite a bit of time admiring the views after check-in, just trying to take it all in.  Lots of cute squirrels & fairly tame condors (tagged No.21 & No.22) entertained us too.

Met a bunch of Kiwis in the bar before dinner beside a picture window with a panoramic view of the canyon – perfect!

LAS VEGAS
Decided to abandon our optimistic plans to circumnavigate the canyon as 700kms would be a huge day & the bright lights of Vegas were beckoning so we took a more direct route but still managed to fill the day.

… more will follow but time for lights out now.  Our days are full & busy & typing on this mini PC with its sticky keys, especially after a drink or 2 is a tad frustrating.

Mansells had a day of rest & preparation for their visit to rellies in Tucson.

Harveys went south to Long Beach to see what was for many years the world’s largest ship, the Queen Mary & tour the Russian submarine Scorpion that was commissioned in  1972 during the Cold War.  It was fascinating but glad we weren’t part of the 75 cramped crew! Long Beach was gearing up for a big day of celebrations for Fourth of July with fireworks spectacular in the evening but a tad too crowded for us so we headed over to the Marina for a fabulous lunch in the cool breeze.   There were plenty of tourist shops & beachside entertainment and, believe it or not, a real pirate – complete with beaded beard, talking parrot & wench.  He cheekily offered me his weapon and she offered Roger her booty!

The foreshore at Long Beach was spacious & very inviting for the public to use & enjoy, plenty of parking & grassed for picnics.  The immense scale of this port was amazing & we had a chance to stop & marvel at the nuclear power station nearby.

We headed back to Anaheim for a refreshing dip in the pool.  It’s so pretty, 4 pools including a spa & the garden is filled with a menagerie of topiary creatures.  Everyone is well behaved & the adults take great care of their children.  Every group speaks a different language, I’ve lost count but there’s singsong ya-ya Swedish, German, Spanish, Japanese, lots of Mexicans & of course the odd Kiwi.

We dined at a local Italian restaurant but as we’re not accustomed to the American supersized portions yet, we had doggy bags to take home.  Made it back in time to enjoy the Disney fireworks spectacular, then bed after Howard & Jayne finished their packing.

Next morning, farewell to our friends at 5:30am for their flight to Tucson.  After a few more zzzz’s, we headed south again, this time to San Diego.  It was a great feeling for Roger to finally ‘open her up’ on the magnificent 8 lane freeway.  Speed limit is 65 mph but most traffic scoots along at a cool 80 mph!  We noticed the definite temperature change to cooler air along the coast. California is the Garden State & we’ve never seen or smelled so many acres of tomatoes!  Much of the coast is Navy/Defence Force land & we passed another nuclear power installation.

We cruised up to the USS Midway in downtown San Diego, extending her life of service as an aircraft carrier museum.  OMG – it was massive! Yep, maybe even bigger than that.  It was pretty exciting to be onboard, well organised, great audio tour & displays.  There was even a mini amusements area – what the..?!  It’s hard to comprehend the complexity & incredible organisation required for this floating city of 4,500 crew.  That’s 1,000 loaves of bread each day … and like the Scorpion, some very hot, uncomfortable & dangerous jobs.  We enjoyed some fresh air on the flight deck & viewed a variety of fighter planes with their fold-up wings.  Very impressive.

Next to Seaworld where Shamu & friends were waiting to entertain us.  What a show! We especially enjoyed the screaming crowd being showered with gallons of water,  Shamu sliding across the stage & then shooting his trainer up out of the pool for a high dive – ooooeeee! That looked fun.  We had dinner there, they sure know how to feed crowds quickly.  Some weird & wonderful sights, including upside-down tiny black & white porpoises & funny puffins.  We found a great motel at nearby Mission Beach, a popular, casual surfie spot.

On Sunday morning, we made our way further south along the Silver Strand (more Naval land, past US Space & Naval Command Center and the training ground for Navy Seals) to visit the grand Hotel Del Coronado, built 1888, 757 rooms!  The entrance foyer was breath-taking in this fabulous wooden Victorian building.  Coronet chandeliers, brunch for a mere US$69.  (Movie buffs will know it from Marilyn Monroe’s Some Like It Hot).  Wandered the grounds & beach with melting icecreams, then a short trip to Imperial beach to view the surf scene.  Very close to the border, it’s easy to paddle up the coast for illegal immigrants & drug-runners so plenty of sheriffs around.

Back to the city centre, we found beautiful Balboa Park.  This is such a wonderful asset to the city, so pretty & filled with different museums & places of interest.  Gorgeous architecture reflecting the Spanish influence here, apart from the replica of Shakespeare’s Old Globe Theatre.  Couldn’t get a peek inside, but glad we found it. Went to the Timken Museum to view Rembrandt, Ruben & Russian Icons -wow.  Sat in the shade of Spreckels Organ Pavilion, listening to patriotic anthems on the world’s largest organ – I kid you not!

Monday has been an easy day, Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant for lunch(!), a few HD accessories & chillin’ poolside – utter bliss.

After an agonisingly long day waiting to leave Auckland, Robyn & Jayne eventually arrived in LA, met up with Roger & Howard & were introduced to their new bikes.  What bling!! & how cool to go for our first ride around the hotel carpark!  A dip in the pretty pool first, then off for a wee ride to Knott’s Berry Farm & a thrill or two – yee haa!Silver bullet-click to see Apparently Jayne doesn’t ‘do’ heights or loops, so I don’t know how we ended up on Montezuma’s Revenge – backwards & forwards, loop-de-loop! Those adrenaline rushes kept us going until late, fireworks, then dinner & blissfully to bed.  What a perfect day!

Day 2: Getty  Center

Sorted out storage for Mansells for their Tucson sojourn, then headed all the way across LA to the Getty Center.  That was a mission itself, the GPS worked magnificently.  We realised what a challenge the guys had – arriving in LA, straight to Bartells to collect their Harleys, waiting (!) for the paperwork, then finding their way to Van Nuys to dress themselves & the bikes in new Harley gear (very cool ideed)  & making their way back to the hotel.  They had to overcome a few hiccups & jetlag & pressure to have everything ready to go for us, so well done guys.

The Getty Center was magnificent!  Barely 10yrs old, it looked like a mediterranean village perched on the hill overlooking LA and encompassed all the arts, indoors &  out, including the architecture & delightful spiral garden (with many NZ flaxes), such attention to detail, tram ride from the carpark and all at no charge! Roger & I particularly enjoyed the room full of Rembrandts & Jayne & Howard loved the outdoors.

Getty Center Gardens

We needed to cool off so made our way to Malibu where Howard had a dip with the pelicans, then back to Santa Monica pier for more thrills – of every kind. Immediately spotted hot chicks with tiny fluffy dogs in bags, beach volleyball studs & studesses, Elvis singing on the beach & Roger’s first ferris wheel ride! Think Jayne & heights & loops (hehe), higher than a passing helicopter, red setting sun that was easy to view due to smog that clouded the beach and good ole fish’n’chips by the sea.

We had a spot of fun coming home in the dark when both GPSs went on the blink, leaving us totally lost – eek!  but don’t panic, we knew where we were headed & with great signage on the freeway made our weary way home. We’re convinced it was the heavy smog & damp atmosphere that caused it, as we were back online once we moved into clear air.

Beer & bed beckons!

Well, Roger has succcessfully installed Jayne’s well-researched map so  you can follow our travels. 

At last, less than 2wks to go for our departures.  The days fly by but time slows when we’re at work.  The Mansells have now received their fancy new helmets after a weeks delay at the PO but still have to arrange the coms bit coz that was missing – dammit.  Knowing Howard, he will have that sorted out in no time.

Lots of friends & colleagues are wishing us well, wanting to check our progress & are green with envy.  Sometimes I can’t  believe it myself – that we are really going to do this.  We have planned this for over 6 months and D-Day is imminent.

Robyn’s been studying her Lonely Planet Guide & keeps finding more exciting & interesting things to see & do.  Did you know there is an Aircraft Carrier Museum in San Diego??

Robyn’s family are having a farewell dinner on Sat.  Our son, Chris is also off overseas to Dubai for 6mths & leaves the same night as Robyn & Jayne, cool huh?

Mansells & Harveys get together with our good friends, Ken & Jo on Sunday. We wantd them to join us but unfortunately the timing wasn’t good for them this year but next time…. 

A warm welcome to those b/logging -in, we hope you  can enjoy the challenges & thrills of our Big Adventure.

Hi Roger Here

Howie and I leave in three week, Jane and Robyn two days later, getting very excited and putting final touches to the planing, like finding a place for Toby to live for a month.