Last Day of the Trip

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California, San Fransisco, USA

We got up at a reasonable time time and back on to the bus heading off to Lake Tahoe, out of the mountains and towards the coast,San Francisco. Closer to the city we were kindly greeted by the first traffic jam of the entire trip and also the roaring of the Navy’s Blue Angels shooting ahead above us. We ended up at a hotel and we were all unceremoniously unloaded from the bus alogn with all our bags. I went down to the hostel to sort my self out before joining the rest of the group at Pier 39 (the one with all the Sea Lions( for a boat trip.

The boat trip went right around the bay – around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate bridge as the sun was setting and I managed to get some beautiful shots.

After that went to eat clam chowder in a bread bowl which was horrendously expensive.  Went for a few drinks and said bye bye to a few people of the group and bye bye to our Tour Leader. The girls got chatting to some Navy Officers and got a cool pic in a Navy Officers hat.   whom I found out were here for Navy Day, hence all the ships in the docks and the Blue Angels earlier in the day. Went back to my hostel for a night in a real bed an not on the floor.

 

More pics from today and the route

Lake Tahoe and Catamarans

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California, Catamaran, Cold, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA

Got up late after having a nice cozy bed for a change and saw snow outside.

The group and I wasted the entire morning watching the Never ending story (still find it incredibly surreal) then went on a catamaran called the  Windwalker 2 round the lake.

As you can tell from the pictures it was, bitterly cold and freezing and the wind didn’t help either. We had plenty of drinks on board to try to warm us up and got plenty of pictures of the mountains around the lake.

 

After the trip some of us were dropped off in Tahoe Town itself and we had a walk around. It was absolutely freezing but it looked great place to be in the Winter (if any one has been let me know). We were picked up and greeted with a roast dinner in the cabin by some of the other Brits who cooked it for us . Went for a walk on the beach, and went back in after I could no longer feel my toes as it got too cold.

The route and more pics from today

The Las Vegas Story

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Guns, Las Vegas, Shooting, USA

Sorry this post is short on photos (I think there are a few on Facebook however from some of the others in the group – if there are enough requests I’ll copy them to here). With “common” agreement the itinery was changed and this was to be an extra day in Vegas. Having got bored of the strip a few of us went and did something that is pretty much impossible in Europe – pay money to shoot real guns ( yes I know there are places)!

The shop we went to (I still don’t think my mum knows about this) would be a gun nuts dream. We all pretty much opted for the  “Coalition Package”, expensive but very entreating. Having a go on a M16, a berretta and a M249 SAW machine gun. (YES A MACHINE GUN!) The target on this was put upside down as the force of the bullets made it fly upwards, and it kept jamming hmmm never mind. I also paid to have a go on a bolt action police sniper rifle. It was surprisingly easy to use. I didn’t;t anticipate the recoil and it bashed me in the head on my first shot . I’m definitely  more of a thinker and a flyer then a fighter. Once out of bullets and money we returned via the laundrette to the hotel.

. Spent the rest of the day in the pool. In the evening got to a free show by “The Mentalist”  Gerry McCambridge (no I never heard of him either). It was a bit like the TV programme of the same name except without the crime solving and all in room in the hotel with a stage.

We all then went for a foul buffet dinner at the Tropicana Casino that looks like a relic from the 80′s (with added Phil Collins background music).

The route and any pictures not here

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

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Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Vegas

Nah, I’ll tell you any way. Maybe not some of the things that happened to some of the group however!

In the morning walked a bit of the strip some of and some of the the group went on the indoor roller coaster in New York New York (I can’t stand roller coasters but I don’t mind doing aerial aerobatics – I think its the screaming and the fact I have no engine). I was content taking pictures.

Saw a few more of the horrid casinos, some a bit less horrid then others and stopped for a drink in the Venetian. All the casinos have no clocks and are all dark and air-conditioned so you can’t look outside and tell whether it is day or night! Went back to the hotel and spent some time in the pool with the rest of the group. Once you see all the Casinos there isn’t really much to do!

In the evening we went to a classic diner in the base of the Stratosphere were all the waiting staff sang Broadway style and classic 50s songs and audience participation was compulsory.

The rest of the group went to throw away their money, I went up the stratosphere alone got some good views and pics. I walked back and took some photos along the route. I stopped outside the Treasure Island Casino to see an entertaining if a “little revealing” show outside the Treasure Island Casino

Yeah the picture above was taken in the middle of the night!

See more pics and where I walked

Viva Las Vegas

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Nevada, USA, Vegas

We got up in the morning and headed back onto the road and onto Las Vegas. As we got close to Nevada it finally got warmer and landscape more flat and arid and we stopped off for lunch on the way. No longer a need for hats, jackets and woolly hats.

We were introduced to Vegas by driving down the strip in the middle of the day. The enormity and the novelty strikes you straight away.

We eventually stayed in the “Hooters” hotel. Despite the stories of this particular chain surprisingly wasn’t as lurid as is reputed in Urban Legends (maybe I didn’t hang around in the bar long enough). Inside on the ground floor as expected was a casino and in the back a pool.

In the evening we were picked up by this horrid looking stretched truck limousine. By point many of the group had filled up before hand! We had a fantastic tour of Vegas at night and all the gaudy lights. Even my little IXUS was able to get some respectable photos (not of the group however!)

We stopped off and saw a light show in the old part of Vegas (can’t rembmer the exact name) with some images below.

We also made a compulsory stop to the Welcome to Vegas sign.

We were dropped off at Bellagio’s where we saw the famous light show (seen in Ocean’s 11). We went in and some of the group were far better at this gambling malarkey, I annoyingly lost $10 on a black jack table but made $7.5 on a slot machine. At that point I called it quits. They don’t make these casinos out of marble because people make lots of money! After a while I headed back to the hotel (last photo). (on a side not the people on the slot machines in the casino in the hotel would still be the same people, on the same machine in the morning, just with a glummer look.)

More pics and the route