2014 USA Trip # 1 (93c =1 USD)
Las Vegas NV to Los Angeles CA to Seattle WA Purple Map 5000Km.
Las Vegas NV # 1
This journey started in Las Vegas the city that never sleeps, here we stayed in Circus Circus Hotel at $25 a night ( weekends $100/Night). Hotels are always cheaper Monday to Thursday so try and arrive there then, because every night is party night. The drive West to LA is about exciting as watching paint dry but its 5 hours of getting used to left hand driving skills with minimal traffic in four lane comfort, before getting to the maze of overpasses and 13 million population that is called Los Angeles.
Los Angeles CA
The main things to see in LA are the theme parks mainly Universal Studios for older kids and Disneyland if you have small kids who love the teacup ride and goofy. My best advice on Universal Studios is save your pennies before you go there because unless you buy Universal Express tickets at $250 each you spend all day in line waiting in the California heat, no thanks. We managed to do every ride in the park 3 times its so much better than the crappy theme parks we have here in Australia. Get there at 10am and buy tickets at the ticket booth, that way you’re not wasting time on silly coupons that ever work just to save ten bucks.
Hollywood CA
The next interesting thing to see was the Hollywood Walk of Fame if you’re into looking at stars embedded into concrete and having a selfie with someone famous. While you’re there you can go to Madame Tassauds Wax museum for $25 its well worth it. Next you hop in your car and drive to the Hollywood sign Beachwood Canyon, North Beachwood Drive and Franklin Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90068. The residents of Beachwood Canyon in the Hollywood Hills are begrudgingly accustomed to tourists and locals snaking through the winding streets to park and then hike up the mountainside for a quick snap of the camera.
Its worth mentioning to get a hotel bit further out and use your hire car to get around, the car virtually pays for itself with cheaper digs 10km away.
Malibu CA
Malibu is a city west of Los Angeles, California. It’s known for its celebrity homes and beaches, including wide and sandy Zuma Beach. To the east is Malibu Lagoon State Beach, known as Surfrider Beach for its waves. Nearby is the Spanish Revival–style Adamson House, with local history displays in its Malibu Lagoon Museum. Inland, trails weave through canyons, waterfalls and grasslands in the Santa Monica Mountains. Its an easy short drive and plenty of free parking available.
Monterey CA
5 Hours north from Los Angeles is the seaside city of Monterey, there you will find the home of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co as in Forest Gump 🙂
Pebble beach golf club on the ocean is something out of this world, you can drive around it or go to the clubhouse and feel like a high roller all for free.
Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the worlds only display of jellyfish and electric eels, as well as the usual marine life. Admission is $70 for adults and $40 for kids, it’s expensive because of our weak Australian dollar.
San Fransisco CA
Two hours North of Monterey is one of the United States oldest cities with a plethora of history and fun stuff to do. This city is known for some past baseball legends and gangster mafia greats from a forgotten era. Catch the tram into the city and absorb the culture, go to the Levies or Oakley factory outlets on Market Street and save a fortune.
Go to Alcatraz jail for a day trip for $40 per person leaving from Pier 33, taking 15 minutes to get to the island. The jail was decommissioned as a prison in 1963, but all the cells and amenities are still intact, it’s kinda creepy.
Hire a bicycle from Blazing Saddles bike rentals on 2555 Powel street near pier 39, bikes cost $12 per hour or $50 for 24 hours. Ride the bikes through the prescidio and across the Golden Gate Bridge all the way to down Moore Road pier Sausalito and catch the water taxi back to pier 39 to return the bikes.
Seattle WA
13 hours North of San Fransisco is the grunge music capital of the world Seattle.
Check out the EMP Experience Music Project with the worlds largest display of Nirvana memorabilia, entry is $50 and $40 for kids. The space needle tower is close by and I highly recommend you take a tour to the top 184 metres up, cost is $40 per person.
The Boeing aircraft assembly plant is about 45 minutes drive north from the city but it boasts the worlds largest building by volume measuring 99 acres. This is the home of the biggest passenger carrying aircraft in the world in a moving assembly line employing thousands of people.
From here we returned the hire car to Seattle International Airport in Tacoma and we flew 45 minutes to Vancouver Canada, this is detailed on the Canada Page.
