USA Road Trip

I’ve never had LA at the top of my list for places to visit in the USA but circumstances made a visit essential in 2014. So, with my tourist hat on I set about going and finding out why so many people stay there. We were based in West Hollywood for a week without transport and did the usual things such as the ‘Stars Homes’ tour in Beverly Hills which also took in several iconic movie locations including the Hollywood Hills, Rodeo Drive, Carney’s on Sunset Strip, the Saddle Ranch and Whisky a Go-Go (which helped launch bands such as Guns ‘n’ Roses). Just round the corner from our hotel was the world famous Chinese Theatre, home to the historic Hollywood forecourt featuring handprints of the famous. We were all set to buy tickets to see a film there when we realised that a film premiere would be taking place instead – red carpet and all, so we waited outside. The security built up during the afternoon and around 6pm the limos and huge black 4x4’s with tinted windows started to arrive. Everyone seemed to be in good humour and Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, Terry Crews, Jason Statham and Antonio Banderas were all happy to work the crowd and sign autographs to promote ‘Expendables 3’. Sadly this was the same day news broke that that Robin Williams had died. We visited his star on the Walk of Fame before we left and each day the tributes mounted as people paid their respects to this much loved actor and talented comedian.

Another day we made our way out to Burbank to the home of Warner Bros. The VIP Studio tour was approx £40 and worth every penny. We covered the 110 acre site in a Batman themed golf buggy and heard how so many of our favourite films and TV programmes had been filmed there. We visited the set of Friends & Ellen, the exhibitions of Batman and Harry Potter and saw the studios for Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men from a distance as they were both in use. The workshops were in full swing making sets and the prop shop is an Aladdin’s cave of memorabilia – all for hire. All in all, a great day out and it can be done by bus if you haven’t got a car and don’t want to pay for a taxi. On our last day we went riding in the Hollywood Hills – next stop Las Vegas!

Las Vegas is much like New York – a city that never sleeps! I’ve visited before but felt that it was time to return and see what 10 years has done to the place. The recession has left some projects unfinished but it has also got some amazing new properties. Vegas also has top class entertainment so if the casinos, quality dining and designer shopping aren’t your thing, there are bound to be several shows you’d be pleased to see. We chose Veronica Voices at Bally’s and it was everything it promised to be – a great new talent in town. If you book in advance you can get to see headline artists such as Elton John, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith & Madonna and staying in a 5* hotel here is a fraction of the cost you would pay in any other city. Very few visitors go to Vegas without taking a trip out to the Grand Canyon so after a couple of days we headed out to the Hoover Dam and the Canyon which was stunning. Once you’ve paid entrance to the park, there are free shuttle buses that take you to the best viewpoints which allows people to walk between them quite easily.

This part of the world is also one end of ‘Route 66’. The legendary road passes through the heart of the United States running from Chicago to Los Angeles. Long since decommissioned, much of it has been either built over or bypassed, but most of the towns are still there. In recent years there has been a movement to preserve its history, highlighted in 2006 by the Pixar film ‘Cars’, so we made a point of driving on part of the old highway and visited Williams which was the last town bypassed by the I-40. It had to be done – we ate in a 50’s style Diner and the town has great atmosphere at night so we were pleased we made the detour!

The next big city on our hit list was San Francisco. We only had time for a fleeting visit but we took a trip out on one of the numerous boat trips from Fisherman’s Wharf. Getting a trip out to Alcatraz wasn’t possible so that’s something you should definitely book in advance if you definitely want to go. We were happy just to cruise past it and hear some stories from the guide in the headset. Luck was on our side and we saw the Golden Gate Bridge without her frequent misty cloak. The bridge was painted 'international orange' to enhances the bridge's visibility in the frequent fog. We spent some time at Pier 39 wharf admiring the sea lions. This is a free nature centre as they're free to come and go as they please, but they have been living in the bay since 1990 and a visitor centre has been built to educate people on keeping the area a suitable habitat for them. We had dinner overlooking the pier at the ‘Bubba Gump Shrimp Company’ which was started after the success of the film Forrest Gump. The whole area has a fairground atmosphere with street performers, a mirror maze and a even a carousel for the kids ,so it's a great place to just sit and soak up the atmosphere. Another thing that has to be done in San Francisco is to ride the cable cars. These are the last manually operated cable cars in the world and they cover just three routes. The gripman who operated ours was more than happy to chat on the way up and tell us how everything worked , which was great value for a $6 ride.

Once we left LA we covered 2,500 miles in two weeks and tried to see a bit of everything. Valet parking is expensive but worth every penny in the cities. Sat nav is an absolute must and made the journey relatively stress free. I hate the fact that everything is priced up 'excluding tax' - but would be happy to do it all over again another year to see some more of the bits we missed.....