California 2006

The last days in the OC

Well, here we are, time is running out on our Californian holiday. It's been fantastic, and this will be my last blog entry before the flight back to the UK tomorrow.

The margaritas of last night took their toll, so our morning started slowly. But the weather was fabulous, and after a breakfast of cheesecake leftovers we headed out for a picturesque walk to a waterfall. The road to the trail was classified "suitable for most vehicles", and as most vehicles in the US are monster trucks I suppose this was true. Unfortunately we had to abandon Jim and Gen's small SUV (bigger than any car you can buy in Britain) before the water filled potholes became waist deep, and take our life in our hands as we dodged mad drivers testing off-road vehicles that drive up freeways and to malls 6 days out of 7.

The walk was lovely, in hot sunshine, but we gave up when we got to the second river crossing and couldn't be bothered to take our shoes and socks off again. The great outdoors is fine as long as it doesn't get too uncomfortable. So an hour later we were sat in an exclusive coffee shop by sea, eating cookies.

Hannah and I then wandered down to San Clemente beach for an evening stroll. We came back via the supermarket for a final stock up on junk food, and enjoyed a dinner of even more leftovers from yesterday's dinner and a discussion about politics. It ended in agreement over the futility of it all. That sounds like a good sentiment to take back to work on Tuesday morning.

Orange County isn't all irrigated deserts. Here's some water not stolen from the Mexicans

Hannah assesses her options at our first river crossing

James, in Californian hiking gear

The eventual solution to the river dilemma (just before a monster truck stormed through and soaked Gen)

James follows...

Defeated at the second river crossing

Down on San Clemente beach

The pier

Looking back at San Clemente

The Pacific ocean. It's big

Ahhhh...idyllic beach view

Arty shot of palm trees. I'm quite pleased with that!

Today's cute furry creature: Gen, rarely seen outside of her normal shop habitat. Note the designer distressed jeans and handbag, useful as a pouch to carry provisions

And that's it! It's back to rainy Newcastle tomorrow, via Paris where we have one-and-a-half hours to make it across the airport from one terminal to the other. So thanks to Jim and Gen for being such wonderful hosts, and an especial thank you to my assistant, navigator and photographic model Hannah.

And to my international readership (of three?):

Home on the strange

Southern California did not disappoint in its strangeness! After a somewhat broken night of sleep in a motel in Yuma, Arizona, (the next door room was full of students on "spring break") we found ourselves at the official centre of the world. It's in a place called Felicity which has a population of four, two being the mayor and his wife. They've constructed a stone pyramid to mark the spot, are slowly building huge rows of granite slabs on which the entire history of civilisation is being etched, and are also putting together a church on a hill behind all this. Oh, and they have a section of stairs from the Eiffle Tower.

But the lady who ran it (the mayor's wife) was lovely, and showed us around even though it was meant to be shut for the off season. We watched a DVD on the place, and left with certificates proving we had been there. We can now re-visit for free for the rest of our lives (not bad for $2).

We drove west from there, through huge rolling sand dunes and then across green fields, irrigated by Colorado river water. Finally we reached the mountains, on top of which sits the Jacumba desert tower. It was built in the 40's to allow people to view the surrounding landscape, and across the road the huge boulders that cover the hills around there are carved and painted into strange shapes. The place houses its own museum, with displays ranging from stuffed animals to historic linen bags for carrying water.

Driving west again, stopping only for a Subway sandwich, the land went up and down until we took a detour north through rolling hills that wouldn't have been out of place in England. It was all very rural, with farmhouses seilling their own produce out of their back doors and horses everywhere. An hour later we were back to the ocean's edge, following the Pacific northwards. The week's total mileage was 1,094. That was enough!

What better way to celebrate our return to San Clemente than a trip out with Jim and Gen to "The Cheesecake Factory"? I ignored warnings to skip the starter, and none of us could finish half of our main courses. So we ordered pudding, got it all boxed up, and left with six doggie bags worth of food. That's all the meals for the rest of the weekend sorted. I still feel a bit ill from all the eating...or maybe that's the three margaritas we each enjoyed during the evening.

Down by the border. They have various checkpoints along the American highways too, but if you're white they wave you through with no questions...

We were getting excited by this momentous occasion

Here it is, the pyramid at the centre of the world. You get to go inside too!

Here's Hannah, being congratulated for standing at the official centre (she's facing true north, of course)

And here we are, proudly displaying our certificates

These are the long granite prisms. You can see their church under construction in the background

This has all been hand etched onto polished granite!

Oh yes, and here are the Eiffel Tower steps, because the pyramid and the granite slabs recording the entirity of human history aren't enough for a town with a population of four

Jacumba desert tower

The amazing view from the top

Hannah pets some of the local wildlife

This display was something about Native Americans...

One of the carved boulders, opposite the tower

Hannah in one of the wind-eroded "caves"

David on top of the world

James enjoying a light snack and a mango margarita

Cute critter of the day: a desert squirrel that enjoyed sharing our lunchtime sandwiches

Enough weirdness. I need to get home to nice, normal Britain.

Hoover and Havasu

We left Vegas and the Golden Nugget behind, having stolen as many free soaps, pens and shampoos as we could, and headed south. Las Vegas is a nightmare to drive in, and after being repeatedly beeped by a huge van the driver pulled alongside, opened his window, and asked where we were trying to get to before giving us directions. Perhaps it's not Sin City after all.

We finally made it to the Hoover Dam. It's mind-numbingly huge. They've basically stopped the Colorado river and filled the valley it runs through (just down from the Grand Canyon) with 350 million cubic feet of water. The electricity it produces, together with the water in pipes and aqueducts keeps the entire southwest corner of America lit and hydrated. Mexico, where the Colorado river traditionally flowed to, now receives a trickle after the "water rights" of the US have been satisfied.

Speaking of things stolen from the people, we made our way on to Lake Havasu City. This is the final resting place of London Bridge, brought here stone-by-stone in 1974. When the man who did this couldn't find a waterway the right size for it to span, he built one. The result is Lake Havasu, which exists for nothing more than water sports and boat trips around and under the bridge. Everyone acts as though it's completely normal to find an English stone bridge in the middle of the Arizona desert.

Having had enough of the fake English pubs, tea and gift shops we drove across the sweeping plains of Arizona and into Yuma, 20-odd miles from the Mexican border. It's a bizarre town, where I enjoyed the fusion cooking delight of tagliatelle in a Cajun sauce with char grilled chicken for dinner. Our hotel is pretty scrubby, but it does come with free Internet access. The students who were having a loud party next door have headed out now, but we have our free Air France ear plugs at the ready for their return.

 

One side of the Hoover Dam

The other side

Give this water back to the Mexicans! But not all at once - that would be disastrous

Mohamed and his family, from Scotland. Their camera wasn't working, so I took their photos and promised to email them. Little did they know I only wanted them for my blog! Hahahahaaa.

Liberal bumper stickers!

Yep, it's the real one...

...but what is it doing here?!

The Thames

Another typical London scene

Traffic and roadworks. Even in Arizona, not much has changed for poor London Bridge

David and a friendly cactus

It's still pioneer country out here - up to 30 minutes drive between branches of McDonalds

Creature of the day: a fish in Lake Havasu

Tomorrow we head back to San Clemente, through southern California: the heartland of American weirdness.