To those of you who think that Disney could not possibly have an attraction called Tower of Terror, I have some bad news. Unfortunately, it does exist.

We started off our day in Disney by getting soaked on Splash Mountain. It doesn’t take too long to dry out in the California sun so we continued on to the Haunted Mansion. It wasn’t all that scary so the big kid then wanted to visit the Tower of Terror. This attraction had a long line with a 60 minute wait time. The big kid insisted on getting their terror quota so we waited in line. Somewhere along the way, I chickened out and waited in the gift shop instead. After hearing the screams coming from the tower, I think it was a good move for me!

Luckily, everything else in Disney more than makes up for the occasional terror attraction. We walked all over the park, saw it all, fitted in as much of the attractions as we could and got ice cream. In short, we had a fantastic day 😀

C

Hi from always sunny California. We arrived into Anaheim, where 60 years ago a guy called Walt, decided to open a theme park. I decided before leaving I would be good and limited myself to one theme park, so it may as well be the happiest place on earth (although Las Vegas would probably have something to say about that).

We didn’t waste any time and hit the park soon after arriving, we got the two day pass and as the park was open until midnight tonight we used that to our advantage.

The place was very crowded, but we got on a few of the attractions and in true Disney form, the fireworks display was amazing, so we’re looking forward to visiting again tomorrow.

So as most of you may have figured out, we’ve arrived at our last state :-(. We’re not at the coast yet, but all going well, we should be there sometime on Monday.

We have a few more nights to play around with in California before heading to our final stop so we’re planning on making the most of it 🙂

J

As most of you have probably figured out, we’re in Las Vegas. The entertainment capital of the US, possibly the World 😀

Everything is bigger here, the biggest shows, world class restaurants, anyone for a 42 oz margarita, you get the idea.

We’re staying at the Bellagio, bang in the middle of Las Vegas boulevard (the strip). They have the entire place done up for Fall, it looks amazing.

We were not expecting Vegas to be too busy given the time of the year, but the place is heaving and the weather is perfect, blue sky and a temperature around 24C all day and night, which is important here, as nothing sleeps in Vegas, it’s a 24 hour party if you want it.

After arriving, we treated ourselves to some French pastries, which were very tasty, we then hit the strip and did a little shopping. Later that evening we went to a place called Delmonico for dinner, it’s a steak restaurant, serving some of the best prepared steaks in the world. The service and food was impeccable.

This evening, we’re very excited, going to see Cirque Du Soliel’s MIchael Jackson ONE. Yeah the tickets costed the price of a small car but eh, it’s Vegas baby 🙂

The only problem with Vegas is, no matter how long you’re here for, it’s never enough time 🙂

J

Hi from Santa Fe, New Mexico. So yesterday we wandered into the visitor centre in the main plaza in Santa Fe. We asked where would be a good place to try Mexican food. In a polite manner we were told by the lady behind the counter, you can’t get Mexican food in New Mexico, only New Mexican food, who would have thought, eh.

After checking out the Georgia O’Keeffe art gallery and browsing in a few of the 100’s of craft and art galleries, we went to a place called The Shed for lunch, to sample some New Mexican cuisine. Neither of us could really see or taste a difference, spicy with beans, rice and two types of chile sauces, except for one item, blue tortilla wraps, made from blue corn kernels.

After a splendid day wandering around Santa Fe we popped into Wholefoods to grab some bits for our evening meal, then we just had a quiet evening and went to the cinema

Today it’s on the road again, heading to Arizona and getting back on Route 66 and I’m looking forward to standing on a corner, at one of the stops 🙂

J

We stayed in a picture postcard town called Ouray (pronounced U-Ray) high up in the Rockies 😀 The whole Main Street is designated as a historic area. Walking around, it’s easy to imagine a bustling mining community in the late 1800s.

Today, it’s all tourists and it’s easy to see why. Surrounded by high mountains coated in spruce trees and speckled with gorgeous bursts of fall colour from deciduous trees and snowy peaks in the distance, Ouray is mountain wonderland. The welcome sign when you enter the state is “Colorful Colorado” and that’s definitely true.

Some more photos from our Colorado drive …

We didn’t get to see any bears but there are lots of reminders that they’re out there. There are signs reminding you that there are no problem bears only people who create the problems for them. And signs on dumpster like this one …

Driving through the Rockies was fantastic and we had to resist the temptation to stop for all the Kodak moments. Otherwise, you might never leave Colorado. Next stop is New Mexico.

C

Hi from Colorado Springs. Before arriving we were in Amarillo. It’s one of the old Route 66 stops, although it’s a small city these days, without any skyscrapers. There’s a very famous stop that’s been here since the 60’s it’s called Big Texan steak ranch, the adverts for it start over a 100 miles away, advertising the “free” 72oz steak, yep, 72oz’s. The catch, you have to finish it in an hour, with 2 sides and a dessert or you pay 72 dollars. I admit, a part of me was tempted, but I wanted to enjoy my steak dinner and C talked me out of such a crazy notion, so I was happy with my 18oz ribeye, C went for the slightly smaller 12oz.

Another strange attraction in Amarillo is the Cadillac ranch. It’s a bunch of Cadillacs buried in a field just off the old Route 66. When they were placed there in the 70’s they had to be buried at an angel that mimicked the pyramids in Egypt, which makes no sense whatsoever, then again, Cadillacs buried in the dirt is strange anyhow. These days they are covered in spray paint, the idea is you leave anything from a small note or drawing, I guess just to say you were there.

Once we left Amarillo we continued along the old 66 before veering off and continuing north to Colorado. The scenery and weather have changed quite a bit, it’s much cooler, around 20C and it looks a lot like Connemara!?! There’s nothing but farm land as far as the eye can see, miles and miles of corn and wheat fields.

Today we’re off to one of the parks to enjoy the scenery and outdoors, later we’re back on the road continuing in a south-west direction through the mountains to our next stop.

J

Nice place, very compact and easy to walk around the centre. Plenty of places to eat and drink. However it’s the Stockyard area, which is the main draw for visitors. It’s what the real Wild West looked like. They have rodeo shows and cattle rustling all put on for visitors,

It’s very touristy but as we are here out of season, it’s not busy. It also has loads of stores and bars, you can buy anything for the cowboy, or cowgirl in your life.

This morning we’re visiting a few more places before hitting the road and continuing north and briefly turning on to the legendary Route 66. We may decide to make a slight detour and visit “the” Southfork Ranch but we’re not too bothered.

Weather is still fantastic not as warm as San Antonio but still hitting the high 20’s.

J