Last day of the Road Trip was back up to LA from Vegas. We hit the freeway and sat back to enjoy the journey.
Stopping at various points of interest to break the journey.
Baker- Gateway to Death Valley.Part of the historic Route 66.
And so back to LAX and a night flight home. I loved my time in the West. The laid back attitude of San Diego, the dramatic landscape of the Grand Canyon and the craziness that is Vegas and everything in between. East Coast is next on the bucket list.
We set off early today to make the trip down to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, leaving behind the choked freeways of LA for the open road.
It was a long journey; we arrived at our hotel The Grand Canyon Plaza to a significant temperature drop. The rooms were quaint, the main hotel cosy and the food good:
We were up early the next morning to catch sunrise over the Canyon. Freezing at -10 degrees but I had packed for the cold as well as the temperate climate. It was absolutely worth it. There was a peaceful hush as about forty of us gathered to witness a true wonder of nature.
Grand Canyon National Park, in Arizona, is home to much of the immense Grand Canyon, with its layered bands of red rock revealing millions of years of geological history. As the sun came up I was truly humbled at the greatness of nature.
We drove back to the hotel for hot coffee and pancakes dripping with butter and maple syrup then back out for a helicopter trip over the Canyon.
Coming into the Canyon over the South Rim.
To quote one of the Canyon’s many information boards
Gazing upon this view, one is struck by the canyon’s vastness. The mind struggles to comprehend it. Try to describe the canyon’s size in words. Try to measure in your mind the canyon’s depth, width, and length. Measurements like 1 mile (1.6 km) deep, 18 miles (29 km) wide, and 277 river miles (446 km) long leave us scratching our heads. Perhaps the best we can do is just feel the canyon’s enormity. Measure yourself up against it. We are minuscule in comparison, but still, through the keen receptivity of our senses, we can appreciate Grand Canyon’s immensity.
Grand Canyon Information Board. Edge of Vastness.
After a spectacular, bucket list experience we boarded the bus and journeyed on down to Las Vegas, our final destination. I was excited to see that it covered part of Route 66.
The romance of Route 66 continues to captivate people around the world. Starting in Chicago and ending in Los Angeles, “over two thousand miles all the way” in the words of the popular R&B anthem, this legendary old road passes through the heart of the United States on a diagonal trip that takes in some of the country’s most archetypal roadside scenes. If you’re looking for great displays of neon signs, rusty middle-of-nowhere truck stops, or kitschy Americana, do as the song says and “get your kicks on Route 66.”
The iconic American highway would’ve faded into a distant memory of a bygone era, were it not for the excellent work of Angel Delgadillo.
The passion Americans have for their automobiles is inseparable from the thrill of exploring the open road, visiting villages few have seen, and discovering humble hamlets like Delgadillo’s hometown Seligman, Arizona. Dubbed the “Guardian Angel of Route 66” and the “Mayor of the Mother Road,” the 94-year-old Latino American barber still oversees the Angel & Vilma Delgadillo’s Original Route 66 Gift Shop daily, greeting anyone who comes by to speak with the man who saved Route 66 from the sands of time.
I have that same passion for the open road and discovering new places ‘few have seen’.
The Roadrunner Cafe across the road from the barber shop provided a probably unnecessary, but very nice beer stop:
Los Angeles was the base for the first part of this trip. First day was San Diego and Coronado Island. I joined the tour bus and we set off.
Coronado Island is home to the Hotel Del Coronado where ‘Some Like it Hot’ with Marilyn Monroe was filmed.
Elegant and charming the Hotel del Coronado screams old style luxury; an iconic living legend that continues to inspire.
‘Hotel founders, Elisha Babcock, Jr., and Hampton L. Story, along with San Diego developer Alonzo Horton, survey Coronado beach, c. 1886. Although neither Babcock nor Story had experience in the hotel business, they were so inspired by the natural beauty of Coronado that they decided to buy the island and build a magnificent hotel, one that would be “the talk of the western world,” an iconic California destination where “people will continue to come long after we are gone.”’
We then drove through the Gaslamp District and on to the Marina area. The highlight of this for me was the “Embracing Peace” statue by Seward Johnson.
This sculpture depicts one of the most famous and iconic moments in the history of the United States, reflecting the joy of the American people upon learning World War II had ended. It is inspired by the spontaneous war end celebration in New York City’s Times Square.
The Original soldier and nurse., inspiring the statue in San Diego.
San Diego has a huge military history and there are some fabulous commemorations in Tuna Harbour Park.
U.S.S. Midway, #sandiego.Outdoor bronze statues depicting armed forces personnel listening to comedian Bob Hope. Vice Admiral Clifton Albert Frederick (“Ziggy”) Sprague (1896 –1955) was a World War II-era officer in the United States Navy.
We then moved on to San Diego Old Town. Predominately Mexican it has an eclectic, boho, laid back vibe. I loved it.
San Diego old town The Whaley House is deemed as one of most haunted houses in San Diego.
Lunch was the tastiest I’ve eaten in a while; cheese topped boar and chilli bean soup with big chunks of garlic bread and two glasses of Chardonnay, from the Hungry’s Kitchen and Tap.
It was a good first day. Good to be back in America. New states, new experiences.
Following on from my EasyJet post a couple of months ago, another of my favourite holiday agents is Newmarket Holidays- escorted tours, cruises and holidays.
Their blurb states: ‘Discover and explore the world’s must-see, must-do destinations on a vast range of carefully crafted, tremendous value holidays with one of the UK’s most respected, independent escorted tour operators. The best travel stories – yours – begin when you choose Newmarket Holidays.’
I cannot fault them for the quality of their tours, their efficiency and above all their destinations. And I have done a few now:
The thing I really like about Newmarket Holidays is all the little extra trips they slot in, not always in the itinerary, like the Peabody Ducks in Memphis- these world-famous, five resident Mallard ducks, who march daily through the lobby of the Peabody hotel at 11am and 5pm.
I also like the unexpected things that can happen, usually as a result of having local guides: the day we picked up some Indian ladies in our jeep coming down from a hike to a fort on our Golden Triangle travels. It was dusk and they sang to us in the journey down. It was magical. Or the guides excitement on Safari in rural Rajasthan when we spotted and drew close to tigers and then being part of the debrief when we got back to camp.
Milly Space 