monterey to vegas...

Well, well, well....what a long time it's been! Hope you are all still reading and haven't got...
A. Bored of the content
B. Bored of waiting
C. Just bored!

If anyone's reading perhaps you could just give us a little tickle to let us know you're there! (AKA a comment on the blog!)

The last 2 weeks have been very busy indeed, I think last time we spoke we had just left Monterey, home to Steinbeck and Jack cheese! After leaving said town, we journeyed south (like 2 English pseudo wannabe cowboys!) to the town of Baywood Park. Before I launch into the delights of back bay, I must tell you that the journey down Californian route 1, through Carmel and Big Sur is beautiful....we're talking waterfalls on the white beaches, wild elephant seals and high cliffs that look out to the bluest ocean.

Baywood park is a tiny town about 10 miles west of San Luis Obispo (or SLO as the locals call it). We stayed in a place on an inland bay behind the beach which was very peaceful and a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco. We walked right around the bay and through some sand dunes to a deserted beach....it was lovely but too cold to swim. In the evening we went to SLO for a delightful veggie dinner (California provides the U.S. With most of it's fruit and veg so consequentially has loads of fresh veggie options - a far cry from those 14oz steaks back in the Mid West!)

I won't hover for too long as have a lot of ground to make up but the next few days consisted of a day out in Santa Barbara (lovely) and 2 days in Camarillo (north L.A) - no celeb sightings as yet!

After leaving L.A, we drove inwards to Nevada towards the bright lights of Vegas. It was here that we spent 3 hours driving through the Valley of Death AKA Death Valley. Now we are on the subject, I will quickly get a little story in before Matt resurrects his (currently resting) literary might and puts a spin on the whole issue! Death Valley is one of the most inhospitable, inhuman, scary places in the world...temps regularly top 100F, it is desolate, remote and you wouldn't want to get stranded across the 80mile stretch of desert. As a result of this, all guidebooks suggest drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration....given that the day we visited it was only 85F and our car has air con, the 6 litres of water I drank during the trip mearly served as somewhat inconvenient in an area free of habitation, nevermind toilets! I don't know why Matt thinks I should use my own discretion when reading guidebooks! Aside from the toilet situation, the valley was great, especially as we were there during sunset. There is a place called Dante's View, named by the Mormon's and used to describe Death Valley's hell like qualities...I can certainly see the potential resemblance..

I will leave you all now and let the captain (or Blogtain) take his helm and lead you all through a literary minefield of humour, puns, text, and delights.......I introduce Mr Mattie Hill! (No pressure there then!)

Love to you all - Jo xxxxx



Howdy all, long time no speak. To be honest I've had no motivation to write anything, as we've been having such a nice time and have been so busy. For example on the first night in baywood park, it was a choice between updating the blog or looking at the stars through a telescope on a cool crisp evening from our patio on the edge of a huge lake. Tough choice! But, due to wifely pressure, I'm updating again. I think Joey missed out a couple of key points. Firstly, it's not possible to explain in words just how stunning big sur is. Secondly, it's not possible to explain in words how much time we wasted in Malibu looking for Jennifer Anniston or any other 'celebs'...

Vegas was superb. Whoever named New York as the city that never sleeps had obviously never been to LV. It's just mad. The hotels and all their features are all larger than life. From new york new york's roller coaster to bellagio's fountain and Rio's dancing girls. It's madness, 24 hours a day... We stayed in the luxor for a few nights, and saw people playing slot machines whilst drinking shorts early in the morning. Who knows how long they sit there...

We met up with lu & chris for four days in LV. Not only was it really nice to see a couple of familiar faces, but somewhere like vegas is better in numbers! Whilst there, our guests took us out for a big curry and took us to see a show - Penn & Teller. For those that don't know, penn and teller are magicians who include comedy and also explain all their tricks. Most excellent.

Lu was also thoughtful enough to plan a little scientific experiment (she is a scientist after all). Her plan was to see how much ice cream I had to eat in order to be sick on the NY NY rollercoaster. Unfortunately, the experiment did not get past the ethics committee (joey). So, the revised experiment was whether I would be sick on the rollercoaster after consuming the following breakfast items: orange juice, granola, yoghurt, tea, croissant and a banana. I had to be careful not to be sick just eating those items together. Anyway, the rollercoaster swept to the left and to the right. It went up and down. It even went upside-down, but my stomach refused to budge. Experiment result: Failed. The hill stomach would not be so easily beaten...

I don't have time to mention the build your own burger bar, the bodies exhibition, the shopping, or even the horrific cover version of phil collins' "land of confusion", but I will update you on our gambling successes:

Jo = About $10 up over four nights, mainly playing blackjack.

Matt = About $150 up over the same time. Could've been about $70 more, but I got cocky...

Lu/Chris = An undisclosed loss. Let's put it down to experience...

Rosie = $5 loss on roulette. It did not land on 5.

Henry = likewise, it did not land on 14.

Andy = it did land on red, but we did not take your advice and "put it all on red".

We're down in san diego now, but these adventures will have to be saved for another time...

Until then... Hasta luego...