So here we go! \240It’s Vegas baby and the Bernies are in town!

Ok, ok a little jaded after an 11 hour flight and the 100 degree heat, but still...

The rain in Manchester was (almost) a distant memory and our summer ‘19 adventure was about to start.

Just a quiet one today. We arrived at the Wynn hotel and the kids were blown away by the glitz and glamour surrounding the foyer and casino floor. \240We just about had time to unpack and squeeze in a quick bite before we took in cirque de soleil’s O which we had booked to try and keep us awake. We struggled! The show displayed incredible acrobatics in a water environment and left us in awe of their skill and bravery when plunging/swinging from great heights.

We eventually crashed around 10pm, a full 24 hours after we had woken up to get ready to leave for Manchester airport.

A very early start this morning. We were collected at 6.50am to go back to the airport, this time to a special helicopter terminal. Our flight left at around 7.45 and we had an exciting ride to the Grand Canyon. For three of us it was a first ever helicopter ride 😬.

After a hair raising takeoff, the flight was around 45 minutes, taking in Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. We touched down, had a drink and a snack, a quick explore of the Canyon (which was hot but incredible) before we made our way back to Vegas, flying over the famous Las Vegas strip. In all honesty, the trip felt a little rushed, \240it was still very special and a real thrill.

We arrived back at the hotel around 11-30. Tracy, Mark, Dina and Shira arrived shortly afterwards and we spent a lovely afternoon chilling (ironic) by the pool.

Dinner that evening was delicious, but we were flagging so had a relatively early night.

Our 2nd full day in Vegas. A huge American breakfast followed by a trip to Freemont which was the original area of Las Vegas before the strip was developed. It’s rather seedy now, but interesting to see nonetheless.

Next up, the outlet malls for the girls and the Mob Museum for me and Mark. The mob museum was very interesting and a good insight into the role the mafia played in normal American life, both political and regular. What was particularly fascinating was the amount of Jews who were involved with organised crime. What struck me most was that they were determined for their children not to follow the same path; almost as if this was their sacrifice for their children to have a better life.

Mark and I joined the girls and Oli at the mall, before going back to the hotel to watch some baseball in the fantastic sports bar at the hotel.

We had a fun dinner in one of Vegas’s mega hotel malls, followed by a wander around the Vegas strip at night. It’s an extraordinary place and has to be seen to be believed. Rather like the first time I went to New York, I felt like I’d been there before, probably because I’ve seen it in so many films.

Time for us to say goodbye to Vegas and start our road trip. Our cab driver that took us to the car hire place suggested that we might need to hire a van instead of a car! We Bernies don’t travel very lightly.

The enormous car at the airport was perfect for our huge quantity of luggage! We set off for a fabulous day of sightseeing in one of Americas vast deserts. We drove through very isolated places and at times barely saw anyone for miles.

We did drive through a couple of ‘pop up cities’ just out of nowhere. At one stage we stopped at a fuel station for a loo break and bumped into a frum Israeli couple also queuing for the toilet! Jews get everywhere it seems!

We were glad to be in the car and enjoy the air conditioning as the temperature outside was mainly over 120 degrees, peaking at one stage at 125 degrees (51.5 degrees C)! \240We got out for brief moments to take photos and enjoy the stunning views. \240The sun was so dry that we didn’t notice that the heat was as intense as it was. \240There were plenty of switchbacks (hair pin bends) but mainly surprisingly smooth roads.

Death Valley was formed mainly by volcanoes between 3 and 5 million years ago. Parts of it were mined around 100 years ago as it was rich many sorts of minerals. This has left behind some incredible sights. \240The photos don’t really do it justice. Death Valley is a national park which includes the lowest part of the USA (282ft below sea level).

Frankly I was keen to get away from there without seeing any snakes!

We eventually made it to our hotel in the centre of Death Valley at around 7.30pm after a lot of driving. There are two hotels in this area, so not much to choose from. \240Not the finest hotel we’ve been to by any stretch...

This was to be a very long day of driving; only around 250 miles, but it takes about 6 hours. We stopped several times for pictures or refreshments, so it took us nearer to 8 hours!

We saw some of the most incredible scenery on this section of our journey as we travelled north through the rest of the valley and past Mammoth on our way up to Yosemite. Unbelievably the temperature dropped to a ‘mere’ 75 degrees having been 117 degrees as we left the hotel at 9.45 that morning!

The landscape was getting greener and even more beautiful as we headed north towards our next destination.

Somewhat unbelievably we bumped into the Blazers, who had an extra day in Vegas, as we took a break at the Mobil station and Whoa Nellie Deli - a famous landmark on the Tiogo path before you arrive at Yosemite.

Upon entering the park we stopped a few times, relieved at the temperature which was now ‘just’ 70 degrees.

Yosemite is absolutely breathtaking. Formed mainly by glaciers thousands of years ago, the rocks are sublime. I was here 30 years ago but I had forgotten how stunning it is. It has to be seen to be believed. Mark showed us some wonderful views before we eventually made it down to the valley floor at around 8pm, tired but excited for the next few days of our adventure.

This is truly an awesome place. We are staying on the valley floor, which means that we are surrounded by the most stunning views and rocks. We can see the famous Half Dome and El Capitan from the hotel. Amazing.

Today we took a walk up to the top of Yosemite Falls. \240We are used to walking in the Lakes of course, but this is something else. It was rather warm for such a steep climb (3.5 miles uphill). Oli and I made it about half way, but Sam and Talia persevered and made it to the top. \240The round trip takes around 7 hours! The views are something else and the treat awaiting us at the top was well worth the grit and determination that it took to get us there. Again, the photos don’t really do it justice.

A slightly more relaxing day today. A short (but very steep) walk to the Vernal Falls (part of the Misty trail) which is a beautiful trail up a river with a lovely waterfall at the top.

A bit of relaxing river rafting in the afternoon before we would enjoy our last meal with the Blazers 😢

Our last morning in Yosemite. We had some visitors right next to our room as we were packing up the car. First sight of wildlife for us.

We had a four hour drive to San Francisco, taking in some wonderful views as we left Yosemite

San Francisco. What a fabulous city! Very cool in many different ways.

A little overcast for our trip across the Golden Gate Bridge on bikes. Fabulous views en route to the bridge from fisherman’s wharf. We cycled across the bridge and then into Sausalito which is across the bay from SF.

Sausalito is a charming little town, although quite touristy. We spent the afternoon having lunch and shmying in all the little shops before taking the ferry back to San Fran by the Bay.

A quick walk up the massive hill to the world famous Lombard street before going back to the hotel to rest up before dinner.

This was a day to remember. If Carlsberg did days and all that...

We left the hotel early for breakfast at Mama’s near fisherman’s wharf. Meh! A bit overrated.

A short walk down to pier 35 where we were to board a boat to Alcatraz. This is something again that I did 30 years ago and I don’t remember it being anything like it is today. The Americans really do museums well. We took the excellent guided audio tour which really enhanced our experience. We also got to meet an ex con, one of only 6 prisoners still alive today to have served time in Alcatraz.

By the time we got the boat back to SF, the morning clouds had lifted and it had turned into a beautiful afternoon. We spent the afternoon at Fisherman’s Wharf which was very buzzy and had a great atmosphere. It was soon time to take the San Francisco cable car back to our hotel so we could prepare for our evening adventure which was a surprise for the kids...

Sorry in advance if this post goes on a bit, but this really was an amazing evening and a wonderful experience.

We took the Bart train out to Oakland which is just across the bay from SF and it was only when the kids could see a stadium from the train did they twig what we might be doing. Even then they weren’t certain.

We went to see the Oakland Athletics play against the New York Yankees in a Major League Baseball match. When you go into a sports stadium it’s normal if you’re neutral to try and find some kind of affinity with one of the teams. It’s fair to say that we all probably wanted the Yankees to win. We’ve been to NY and the Yankees, those of Babe Ruth game, are world famous.

We were wrong. The kindness and warmth of the ‘A’s’ fans and staff was like nothing I’ve ever experienced and I have watched a lot of live sport in many cities and countries around the world.

We found our seats which were on row 28. We asked a steward if we could go down to the front to take some photos. She took the photos for us of course. The game started and it got off to a great start. After about an hour, our friendly steward came over with a ball that had come into the crowd for Oli! In baseball they use around a 100 balls per match as once the ball has bounced it can’t be used again. When it goes into the crowd it doesn’t get thrown back.

20 minutes later she returned. This time to tell us that she has 4 seats on the 2nd row for us... we followed her down to pitch side seats where we were now given free drinks and snacks! Incredible kindness. Everyone around us was so friendly we couldn’t stop grinning as we couldn’t believe our luck. \240We were treated like royalty - must be a British thing I guess...the man behind us in the food queue even let us use his discount card!

The A’s went on to win, and we made our way back to SF very cheerily. Sam is thrilled that we have a new team to follow!

And so bye bye to San Fran by the bay. What a fantastic few days! Not much to report for today as we woke up late and went for a really nice brunch at Honey Honey. Then back to the hotel to pack the car and we were off to our next stop- Carmel by the sea.

So you now have your 3rd blogger of this holiday, Oli. \240After a late night we had a lie in and went to breakfast where we spoke to an ex - professional football player (proper football though), Kevin McCullough who had played in England and America and had been lucky enough to play on the same pitch as great players like Delroy Scott! \240Oh, and he’s also played against some random blokes called Pele and George Best. \240Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of them, I wouldn’t be surprised as they’re a bit irrelevant. He’s also great friends with Rod Stewart and told us some amazing stories about him. We stayed with him until we had to pack up to move to a different room.

We were exhausted but nevertheless we still set off on our 17 mile drive. \240We were origanally going to cycle this part, but still jaded from the night before, we decide against that idea.

First off was Spanish Bay where we got completely soaked from the ocean. \240After a long time spent drying and cleaning our legs from the sand we set off again and found the most fantastic ‘scenes’ with sea lions and seals in them. \240We carried on and saw some spectacular houses overlooking the sea. \240Dad then declared that he would love to live in one of them. \240To be honest it’s probably just because of the ‘scenes’.

We stopped off for lunch at the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Course (where the most recent US Open was played). \240That concluded our drive and meant we needed to get back to our hotel to relax for a bit before going to a great Italian restaurant for dinner. \240This was in Carmel and very close to our hotel, therefore it was a perfect opportunity for mum and dad to get drunk, and believe me, mum took full advantage of that.

That concludes the journal for today. It was now time to retire for the evening and rest for tomorrow’s adventures. \240Speaking of retiring that is my part finished for the blog.

Signing off, O.Ber.

Friday morning and it’s time for us to leave Carmel behind, somewhat disappointed that we didn’t get to meet Clint Eastwood. Oh well. It’s his loss!

We headed back on to the Pacific Coast \240Highway with much more success than Paul & I did 30 years ago. No arguments about how to pronounce the word ‘route’ with any locals this time. Having packed up and left our charming little guest house, we were in for a treat as we headed south on a spectacular route to Santa Barbara.

I don’t think my vocabulary has sufficient adjectives in it to describe the views we marvelled at on this journey. The kids even looked up from their phones a couple of times. This could be because they thought I was in pain; my yelps were in delight however. \240Honestly, we could have stopped at every vista point, but we were already going to have a fairly long day of driving. The pictures will do most of the talking today.

One thing to add from today; I’ve had a long held desire to travel the US in an RV (recreation vehicle or a large mobile camper home). No more. We drove past an enormous park with hundreds of these things parked up, with people barbecuing and hanging their washing out etc. Far too many of the hoi polloi for me there.

Finally, a rest day!

Having arrived in Santa Barbara before sunset, we rewarded ourselves with a day by the pool.

The climate in this part of the world is beautiful. Not too hot and almost guaranteed clear blue skies. The hotel gym also had a couple of Peloton bikes, which gave me and the kids an opportunity to try it out. It was just as awesome as I expected.

We wandered into Santa Barbara town in the evening, where we had a dinner in a fun restaurant watching our favourite baseball team on the telly. \240What’s not to like?

And so it’s time for our final destination of this wonderful trip 😟.

Before that, it’s only right to comment on the cricket. \240I woke up at around 4-15 am and of course I had to check to see how many runs England had lost by. \240I will resist the temptation to give you all a blow by blow account of what transpired to be the most extraordinary sporting achievement I can remember. \240Safe to say that I was nervously glancing at my phone for the next 4 hours, desperately trying not to wake Sam who was ‘snoozing’ by my side. My superstitious side wouldn’t allow me to start engaging with anyone so I kept myself totally engrossed. \240After hours of nerve inducing torture my phone went ballistic towards the end. To those who said I wouldn’t mention them in this blog, hello Mike (Mesrie).

We set off for Malibu to the Beach Cafe, personal recommendation (kind of) from Claudia Winkleman. \240After nearly sixty miles, and no fuel (not one fuel station on that journey) we arrived at this very cool (not temperature) place. With an hour wait for a table, we decided to play Matcot on the beach. Shame that Oli is the 2nd best in our family at this! \240The meal was fine and we spent a lovely hour or so on the beach afterwards, before setting off to Santa Monica. It wasn’t long before we hit the LA traffic

Los Angeles. \240The city of angels. I think it should be Los Traffico. It takes forever to get around this place.

We had booked an open top tour of Hollywood this morning. Unfortunately our bus had flat tyre (as opposed to tire - more of that later) so we had to change buses. The driver managed to get Sam very irritated by stopping very early on so we could take pictures of the Hollywood sign. \240From about 4 miles away. He tried to kid us that it was as close as we can get! \240The rest of tour was average to say the least. The highlight was when he showed us Sacha Baron Cohen’s house. Apparently he’s an Israeli actor from the UK!

A brief wander around Hollywood Boulevard checking out the stars on the pavement before we hotfooted over to Burbank to see the fabulous Warner Bros tour.

This more than made up for the morning’s activities. \240I’ve done a few of these types of tours before, and this was really excellent. It’s a vast site and we got to see many different aspects of the production making process including the woodworking shop (not too dissimilar to a kitchen factiory) the huge shed housing all the props (not too dissimilar to my house before Sam met me).

A quick shmie around Melrose Avenue in Beverley Hills before things started to close up, so we headed to Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach for supper at a very trendy vegetarian restaurant. We have been introduced to Impossible burgers whilst here. They are a veggie burger that tastes very similar to meat, hence the name. As meat lovers we Bernies loved this addition to our holiday pleasure.

A quietish day.

Sam & I wandered around the part of Santa Monica we were staying in to get bagels for brekkie. It’s very clean and lovely. \240Definitely a place you could live in. Nice shops and restaurants and a very good climate. A touch too hot for me, but when you head to the beach there is a lovely breeze.

And so after breakfast, we went to Venice Beach; our first beach day of the trip! It wasn’t a full day as we met Tracy and Shira in the afternoon to go shopping (yea!) and have dinner.

Our last day 😢😢.

We gave the kids the option of what to choose on the last day and the resounding winner was a full day at the beach. Shame we woke up to clouds then. Not the end of the world as we are to leave the apartment at 5-45 am on Thursday so it was a good opportunity to pack. This is the part of the holiday where I realise that I am terrible at deciding what to bring on holiday! \240Every time I bring back far too much clean stuff.

Our (not quite a full) day at the beach was excellent. Tracy had got boogie boards for us and we had a brilliant time riding the waves. I can really see myself as a Californian surfer dude. I felt just like David Hassellhoff as I came out of the water with my tiny surf board. People were definitely looking at me. Couldn’t see Pamela Anderson anywhere though.

Lunch was to be our final Impossible burger, and then Talia went on her first ever roller coaster. The pier at Santa Monica is very like Blackpool. Pretty tacky and not much to write home about. \240But the beach itself was lovely.

Our last night dinner was in Santa Monica and we very excited when we saw a restaurant called Hummus bar with a mezuzah on the door. Sadly it wasn’t kosher, but we resisted the temptation of yet another Impossible burger. Dinner was delicious and we met a couple of very nice blokes who sat on the next table from us.

Americans love talking to Brits, and as we know from our experience at the baseball, it does no harm to give them what they want! \240It does always strike me how unworldly so many of them are though. Their knowledge of things outside America is shocking. One of these guys was a school teacher and he didn’t know what currency we have.

Time to go back to the apartment for that terrible nights sleep that one always seems to get when we have an early start the following morning.

Hometime.

After nearly 3 weeks, over 1000 miles of driving (Sam didn’t drive 1 mile of it!), way too much junk food, huge amounts of fun, some awesome views, it’s time for us to come home.

So many incredible highlights from this wonderful trip.

Many fabulous memories and I don’t think I could choose one in particular. \240I don’t think we would change anything if we were to do this trip again. There are a few places I’d really like to go back to.

So now we must come home, and I MUST go to the gym. Race ya...

Bernie out.