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So today we managed to leave the hotel, just as the fire alarm was sounded and all residents were ejected due to an incident. Been to Cathay and tried to checkin for the 6.30pm flight (ah sorry 7 hours too early), so 23 circuits of the concourse later we are gonna call Guiness and see what the world record is.
Hong Kong here we come, 12 hours later we will land in the wonderful city and make our way to yet another hotel, the Metropole in Kowloon (claim to fame on their website is that this is where SARS broke out, ah choo).
Okay a few hi's - Alan, Bel and Hazel, enjoy the camping and to Stu and Jen, enjoy Canada. And lastly the folks, speak to you a little later on.
Last day in Las Vegas we went to see Cirque de Solihull and Ka, nowhere near as professional as La Nuba, wouldn't recommend Ka to anyone, sorry.
Average flight (shame that Virgin seemed a little less good this time).
Time for a long sleep then on the flight to Hong Kong tomorrow. More updates to follow.
So this morning was the UFO conference at the Inn so of course, not wanting to associate with potential Geeks we high tailed it out first thing this morning. Back in Vegas we already miss the wide open spaces, but we sure don't miss the huge Mormon Crickets who managed to commit mass suicide all over the front of the car - jet washes just don't remove them either!
We fly back to the UK tomorrow, but tonight we are about to go and experience Ka the latest offering from Cirque Du Soleil which looks pretty good. Next stop London then of course on to Hong Kong, so the adventure continues.
A big goodbye to everyone we have met on this trip, and we do plan to return in the future.
We managed a 250 mile round trip from Tonopah, to Scotty's Castle, down to Furnace Creek, turning up to Beattie and then from Beattie to Tonopah. A very pleasant day.
Today we head to Rachel and to see Pat at the Little Ale'Inn. Cant wait. The plan will be Beer, food, conversation, beer, food, get the idea?
A big hi to Hutchy and all the best for the future.
The drive up from Hawthorne was about 2 hours, across some very impressive scenery, mountains, flatlands and some awe inspiring views along the US 95.
Food last night was at the Ramada and the Stage Stop Cafe and boy did it suck, typical yuck! we should have remembered from the last time we were here, oh well.
Today sees us taking a 280 mile round trip through Scotties Castle in Death Valley and round through Beattie before coming back up to Tonopah for the evening.
Tomorrow its Rachel, the ET Highway and Area51. Video camera in hand just in case we see any lights in the sky or Aliens (beside me after a few beers). So far we have about 6 hours of video tape to look through when we get back (sorry to the folks cos you gotta sit through the lot as well, along with our babbling).
Hi to Andy M and all the best with the new sprog when it arrives (just dont call it Dominic whatever you do).
So last night we spent the evening in Hawthorne, a reasonably sized town with a huge US Army base here storing Amunitions (or so the map says). This is a very patriotic town, lots of American flags proudly displayed from every possible window, door, roof etc.
The previous afternoon and night we were at Lake Tahoe, a beautiful location on the edge of a pretty lake with snow capped mountains on each side. Lake Tahoe is quite commercialised and modern, a contrast to some of the smaller towns we have visited on this trip. We drove the scenic route down the side of the lake (past all the huge log cabins for the ski crowd, now ready for the summer vacationers).
The drive from Lake Tahoe to Hawthorne was pretty and once again took us through the real America, past ranches, small towns, cattle, horses.
The weather here has changed slightly from the last time we updated. The bright sunshine has been punctured by clouds and even some light rain at times, more like the UK summer at the moment, but we are expecting the temperature to climb as we head towards Las Vegas.
Tonight we hope to return to familiarity and Tonopah, a pretty little place we stayed at last year so we are looking forward to that.
Hello to all and have a good holiday Christina!
Nope its a dump, sorry folks but picture Vegas maybe 30 years ago or even worse Redcar by the Sea with gambling. Its tiny, uninviting and horrible.
The Holiday Inn lost favour on this occasion due to overbooking and bumping us to another hotel. Lorna let rip at the Manager (get this, his name was Britt Cheek), so much so that we got a free night in another hotel and 3000 priority points for nothing. Dont ever get on the wrong side of her (or forget anniversary, birthdays, etc).
So today we drive down to Lake Tahoe, the only foray in to California this trip. We are stopping at a cabin by the lake, so this should be really nice.
Hi to Stu, Jen, Al, Bel, Hazel and Zoe.
Bye for now Y'awl.
So four days later we have moved on from the Ranch and Roger & Nancy (and the dogs and goats).
We had a really nice time in probably the most beautiful and secluded area we have ever stayed. The accomodation was rustic, charming and surrounded by horses and nothing else.
Nancy and Roger were the perfect hosts (Nancy you are a star, the food and hospitality were second to none).
Roger is an excellent horseman, skilled and fun to be with. But we dont want to Brag on Ya now!!
The riding experience was excellent (Craig on Jake the mule and Lorna on Ellie the horse) as was our very first attempt at fishing (which tasted so good on the BBQ).
After having such a fun and relaxing time with Roger and Nancy we were sad to leave today and drive up to Reno. We hope to return back to see you guys real soon.
COWBOY UP!!
Well where have we been since the last update?
Eureka on Fri 12th, enroute we met Helmudt from Germany, who has spent 2 years going across the US, we bumped into him cycling from Vegas to Reno this time. Nice to meet you and good luck with the rest of your trip. We stopped at the Best Western and had a comfortable nights sleep (after a really nice Chinese meal). There must have been some kind of fire since the town sirens were blaring away for a long time. Managed to do our laundry in Eureka before heading for Austin.
Austin on Sat 13th, enroute here we had to stop and see Hickison Petroglyphs, well what can I say, there aint nothing there but some scratches on the walls and barely readable (apart from Becky Loves Brad 94). Going down in to Austin we managed to kill several hundred crickets who decided to play chicken across the road. Austin looks nothing from the road other than a few shacks, but it is a pretty place with really friendly people (Hi to Jim at the Mountain Motel and Alice at the Trading post an the most wonderful dog).
We also bumped in to Si & Bob from Reading who were cycling from Vancouver to Tempe in Arizona. We had a nice chat in the International Cafe, all the best of luck with your cycle. You can see their details on www.getjealous.com/sibob
Battle Mountain on 14th May, nice run up here on US 305, we saw a deer (woo hoo), then spent 3 hours driving up dirt roads looking for a Ghost Town that doesn't exist.
And today we head on to the ranch to spend 4 days doing who knows what, apprehensive, hell yes. The next update will probably be on Fri 19th May. Have a look at the ranch we are stopping at www.wildhorsecountry.com.
Next time we update will have to be standing up, cos our butts will be sore from horse riding (or horse falling off more like).
We scoffed ourselves silly at the BBQ next to the B&B last night (well ok Craig did on 2 turkey legs, one corn on the cob, 2 sweetbread, beans, coleslaw, potatoe salad and cherry pie with icecream, YUM YUM), Lorna just ate half that amount.
Hi to Ronnie and thanks for a very warm welcome and fantastic cooked breakfast this morning.
Today we head on to Eureka, seeing what comes along the way.