Day Eighty Three: The Road To San Francisco... 30/12/08

We woke up this morning, packed everything away, and embarked on our final road trip. It was our last time on the Interstate and, we arrived in our final destination of San Francisco in the early afternoon. The Interstate was one of the roughest we've experienced yet... but some of the scenery along the way was really gorgeous. Between Sacramento and San Francisco itself, we drove through some beautiful orchards, and over the luscious green hills of California. The most appealing thing of all, was the fact that the sun was shining, and there was absolutely no evidence of snow on the ground. A most welcome sight indeed.. We are parked in Mill Valley, which is just at the far end of the Golden Gate Bridge. We didn't do much this evening, although we did find a World Market five minutes away that sells., get this... Barry's Tea.. We couldn't bloody well believe it!! We've been making do with Lipton for the last few weeks!! Bluugh.. It was $8 for a box of eighty, and seeing as we have less than a week to go, we figured it would be a bad investment at this stage. It was only 'oul Gold Blend anyway...

Day Eighty Two: Still In Bordertown, NV...29/12/08

We had a change of plans today.. After more extensive research, it seems Yosemite National Park is too far off the beaten track, so we decided we'd just spent another day in Bordertown. We'll make our way to San Francisco in the morning. The drive tomorrow, will essentially be the last of the "On The Road" adventures of our trip. San Fran marks our final port of call.. It is from there we will bring in the New Year, and it is from there we will board that much dreaded flight home. It's not that we don't want to come home... but it's a pretty long flight!! Although I have to say, all the doom and gloom stories we're hearing from back home are not exactly encouraging.. Thanks a bunch everybody!! I guess we'll have to face the reality of it all sooner or later, but for now, we still have a week left, so we'll sure as hell make the most of it. We intend to enjoy everything San Francisco has to offer us...

Day Eighty One: Bordertown, NV...28/12/08

We were awakened this morning, by the sound of revving engines, from the huge trucks that had been our neighbours for the night. I guess time is money to those boys, so they were more eager to get on the road than we were. When we were finished breakfast, we filled the tank with gas and hit the road ourselves. Reno was only three hours away so, it was a relatively short journey in comparison to what we've done before. We're actually parked up about 10 minutes outside of Reno, in a town called Bordertown, and we're only here for one night. We're not too bothered about going into the city itself, it's only full of casinos, and sure what would we be wanting with casinos... No.. this time around, we'll give the tables a miss I think. At this late stage in the trip, it would be wise of us to hold on to every last quarter and dime. We're only passing through Reno.. and tomorrow we'll be back in California. We're making our way to Yosemite National Park, which will undoubtedly be, the last piece of the American great outdoors we'll get to experience...

Day Eighty: On The Road To Reno...27/12/08

We said farewell to Park City around noon, and we made our way west on the I-80... There's not much to write about today, except we parked up in a Walmart car park for the night. We spent about seven hours on the road, and we decided that was enough for one day. We're not too far from Reno here, so we'll ship out in the morning and complete the journey. There is still snow on the ground, but it's nothing like we experienced at the Grand Canyon, or in Park City. The weather is definitely becoming milder as we journey further west. When we crossed the border back into Nevada, we also crossed back into Pacific Time. So we're once again 8 hours behind Irish time. The next time we adjust our watches, we'll be in Dublin airport.

Day Seventy Nine: St Stephen's Day...26/12/08

Just a quick note on this cold St Stephens Day.. We went to get some more propane and a bit of milk in the afternoon, and just spent the rest of the day recovering from our over indulgence in Christmas treats! Christmas is over and, we're moving out tomorrow. We're leaving Park City and Utah, and we're heading back to Nevada. Our next stop will be Reno... We'll be spending a couple of days there, but it's going to be another long drive. We'll be checking out of here at noon tomorrow, and we plan to boondock in Walmart tomorrow night. I'd say we'll be on the road for at least seven or eight hours. Living in the snow these past ten days has been fun, but the novelty is thawing, and we're all looking forward to what will hopefully be milder weather. It'll be nice to have running water again...

Day Seventy Eight: Christmas Day...25/12/08

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!! Yes, it's officially Christmas here in Park City... Oh, wait no, it's nearly 1am. Dammit Christmas is over! Ah well, it doesn't matter, because we had a very enjoyable Christmas in Utah. We weren't out of bed until after 11am, as we were up quite late on Christmas Eve. We just sat around for a few hours watching movies, and waiting for the turkey to defrost (We forgot to take it out of the freezer before we went to bed). Dinner was delayed, but when it was finally ready... it was bloody great!! We had a four course meal with all the trimmings, and boy did we eat ourselves silly. So much so, that after we were finished the main course myself and Aidan had to lie down for ten minutes before we were ready for desert. Then we went and lay down for another ten minutes. As I'm writing, this we're all still trying to digest... A great day had by all, although I imagine we'll all be making use of the parks gym facilities tomorrow...

Day Seventy Seven: Christmas Eve, Park City, UT...24/12/08

Christmas Eve in Park City, Utah. We spent the day doing absolutely nothing, and that's the way we wanted it. Resting our feet and watching more Christmas movies on the TV. I'm writing this a bit earlier than usual, as we have to dig the RV out and make our way a few miles down the road to St Mary's Church, where we will attend a traditional midnight mass. As you are reading this, it is already Christmas back home. I hope you all have a wonderful day..

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...

Video Blog: Malibu Ca + Hollywood + Las Vegas + Grand Canyon

Day Seventy Six: Park City UT, Day Four...23/12/08

Yeah... Another lazy day in Park City. We're really getting in to the Christmas spirit at this stage... The tinsel is hanging around the pictures on the walls, and we even have a 2ft Christmas tree sitting on the dashboard. It pretty much snowed all day again, and temperatures tonight will be much the same as last night. Only a 30% chance of snow though... Hurra!! We have a load of movies on file and ready to be watched. So we started into them today.. As I'm writing this, it's already Christmas Eve back home... Happy Christmas Eve everyone! Oh.. and Aidan wants me to mention that when he was walking back from the showers earlier.... his hair froze!! It's only a 2 minute walk, and it's really that cold!

Day Seventy Five: Park City UT, Day Three...22/12/08

Another day, another layer of snow... Well, to be perfectly honest, it hasn't stopped snowing all day, so there are many layers. We did venture out of the park to get propane, as was our intention. It's a good thing we did, because temperatures tonight are set to drop to -15 degrees Celsius!! As if it wasn't cold enough!! The weatherman also predicts an 80% chance of snow tonight. Well that's a real surprise... thanks for the update Mr Weatherman! As I said, we went out earlier and got our propane, and we also took the opportunity to do a bit more Christmas food shopping, The turkey is in the fridge, and ready for the oven. Well it's actually sliced turkey breasts... Do you really think any of us are going to attempt to cook a full bird in a crappy RV oven?! In fact, do you really think any of us are going to attempt to cook a full bird, even if we had the oven of all ovens?! It's just a risk we're not willing to take (We want Christmas dinner to be edible at least). Aside from our shopping excursion, we just spend the day sitting around with our feet up. More of the same predicted for tomorrow...

Day Seventy Four: Park City UT, Day Two...21/12/08

Not much to write about today... We just hung around the RV, watching TV and surfing the net. It only snowed for a little while, but it's still damn cold. Ronan and Aidan did brave the hot-tub earlier, and I'm sure they got a few strange looks from passers by. Temperatures tonight will drop as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or -7 degrees Celsius, and we expect a fresh blanket of snow to be covering the ground by morning. We have to drive to the nearest RV store and get propane tomorrow, as the tank is nearly empty. We're hoping it lasts the night for one very important reason... It controls the thermostat!! No propane, means no heat!! We might have to wear the 'oul gloves and woollen hats to bed tonight...

Day Seventy Three: Park City UT... 20/12/08

For backdated entries scroll down to Day Seventy.

We woke up early, had a bit of breakfast and vacated Walmart car park, before the snow ploughs mowed us down. The reason we drove so far yesterday, was so we would be close to our next port of call. Thirty minutes on the road and we are now in Park City UT... Park City is just east of Salt Lake City... It was the venue for many events of the 2002 Winter Olympics, it hosts the annual Sundance Film Festival, and now it is where we will celebrate Christmas 2008.. We didn't do much today except park up. We'll be here for the next 7 days, and we've officially started the Christmas holiday part of.... well our holiday.

Day Seventy Two: The Treacherous Road to Salt Lake City... 19/12/08

We were up bright and early this morning, as we had a long journey ahead of us. It took a bit of effort to dig the RV out, but we were on the road shortly after 9am. While the snow still lay heavy on the ground, there was the most welcome sight of a bright blue sky. We decided to take advantage of this, and drove past the Grand Canyon viewing point, where we were yesterday (It was on route). Third time lucky, we got to see the canyon in all it's glory... It took our breath away yesterday, but today we were absolutely speechless. Amazing... We didn't hang around too long though, and continued with our journey. We drove more than 500 miles and spent 13 hours on the road. The time flew in with myself and Aidan took shifts driving. Ronan and Brian shared the co-piloting duties. Myself and Ronan seemed to get the raw end of the deal.. We took the first shift, and had to crawl for the first 50 miles, as the roads were extremely dangerous. It took us a full 2 hours to do the 50 miles, but we did get to enjoy some beautiful scenery along the way. We were also in command for the last shift, and this time it was much worse!! We were a good distance along the Interstate, and as soon as I jumped behind the wheel, it started... A bloody blizzard!! Once again we found ourselves crawling... It was dark and we could hardly see the road in front of us. Normally we'd be doing 75mph on the the 'oul Interstate, but it was so bad, everybody was doing 30!. Aidan and Brian had all the luck... all day, they got to enjoy dry desert roads and had the best of the Interstate. Nonetheless, by the good Grace of God we arrived safely in Salt Lake City some time after 10pm. We're not booked in to the RV park until tomorrow, so for the first time since New Jersey, we decided to boondock.. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, boondock means to dry camp, IE we park somewhere and make do with standard RV equipment. We found a Walmart and made it's car park our home for the night.

Day Seventy One: The Grand Canyon...18/12/08

First of all, I'd like to point out, that today was Brian's birthday, and I don't think he'll forget this one in a hurry. The Grand Canyon is a very special place to celebrate a birthday... We came all this way to see it, and after we jumped out of the shuttle bus at a viewing point 2 miles from the RV park, we were more than excited. The only problem was, as we looked out over the Canyon, we couldn't see a damn thing. The snow clouds were too dense to see 20 feet in front of us... It was still quite early in the day, so we went for a bite to eat, and came back a couple of hours later. This time around, the clouds were beginning to clear, and while the view still wasn't fantastic, we sure as hell could see a lot more than we could earlier. What we did see, absolutely took our breath away.. The Grand Canyon is considered one of the natural wonders of the world, and I would most definitely agree. As you can see from some of the pictures, it's like a real winter wonderland here. We're a long way from hiking down by the Rio Grande in the sweltering heat... Happy Birthday Brian...

Day Seventy: A Slight Change In The Weather...17/12/08

Once more, I find myself writing backdated entries. We've had no Internet for a few days, so here I go again... I suppose dramatic would be a better word to describe the change in weather... This time when we woke up and opened the blinds, we were looking out at a blanket of snow covering the ground outside. We packed up and made our way North towards the Grand Canyon. Aidan took the first driving shift, and the road conditions weren't so great for the first few miles. However, as soon as we got on to the Interstate we were flying along. By the time it was my turn to jump behind the wheel, conditions grew much worse. When we arrived in Grand Canyon National Park, the last few miles of the journey were done at a snails pace, as it was incredibly slippery. We parked up in 13 inches of snow and battened down the hatches for the evening. Up here, there is not just a blanket of snow on the ground, but a few extra thick duvets thrown on top for good measure. Temperatures here are well below zero, so for obvious reasons we have no running water in the RV. As fun as it is been parked up in such conditions, it's no picnic having to battle you're way through snow that goes up past your knees, just to use the bloody bathroom!! We did bring out the sleighs that we purchased for the sand dunes back in New Mexico, and once again we behaved like a bunch of 10 year olds. We waited until it was dark though, so we didn't let ourselves down that much.

Day Sixty Nine: A Lazy Day In Kingman...16/12/08

The rain finally ceased, and left in it's wake, a real freshness in the air around Kingman this morning... Unfortunately, there is very little to do in this town. That said, we didn't venture too far from the park to really find out. We did plan to go to the cinema, but we were informed that it was closed, for reasons unknown. So we spend the day hanging around the park making use of some of the facilities. It was no great surprise that the pool and hot tub weren't open either, but we did get to enjoy a spot of mini-golf. Most of the course was waterlogged, but we played anyway... The news of the day... the dollar is weaker than it's been since we got here. Not good for America... but great for us!! We're on the road again tomorrow, and making our way north to the Grand Canyon.

Day Sixty Eight: Across The Hoover Dam... 15/12/08

When we woke up this morning and opened the blinds, we were greeted with a sight we haven't seen for quite some time. We all thought of home as we gazed out the window, it was miserable, and it was raining... We shipped out of Vegas just before noon, drove east for about two hours and arrived in a town called Kingman, back in Arizona. 130 miles and 12 hours later, it's still raining, and it hasn't stopped for even a minute. It really feels like home alright... When we pulled up at Kingman's Walmart, it was bitterly cold and there was even a bit of sleet falling from the heavens. Myself and Ronan must have looked a rare sight to the locals, as we walked into Walmart wearing our shorts and sandals. We all invested in winter-wear, and sadly put the shorts and sandals to rest. Winter has finally arrived... As you can probably guess from the heading, we crossed the Hoover Dam earlier. Unfortunately, it was just too wet to stay outside of the RV for more than a few minutes. We didn't really get to appreciate it for the wonder that it is, but at least we've seen it, and we can always say.... we drove across the Hoover Dam. The time changed as we passed the Nevada/Arizona state line, and we're now seven hours behind Irish time.... or at least we think we are. As we changed timezones, every device we have that tells the time did something different. So we arrived at the RV park today at 1,2 or 3pm... Whatever time it was, we haven't left the RV since.. Confined to our living quarters, we spend the afternoon and evening enjoying a movie marathon. Depending on the weather, it's likely we'll be doing much the same tomorrow.

(You'd think between the four of us we'd be able to work out what time it was, well it's only taken about 10 hours or so. As I started writing this post we all thought it was 11pm... and we've just realised it was actually 1am. It was all very confusing, but we got there in the end... Idiots!)

Day Sixty Seven: Circus Circus...14/12/08

Today was our last day in Vegas, and it has to be said, we've really enjoyed our time here. Having already spent two days on the Strip, on day three, we decided we wouldn't venture too far from base. As I mentioned before, our RV is parked in the Circus Circus complex, so we just spent most of the day in our host casino. Unfortunately, after the final day, I have to admit defeat.. the house won. Although there was no great financial loss, it claimed victory over myself and Brian... Aidan was satisfied leaving Circus Circus with the $18 he took from the house, and Ronan is more than pleased with his $2 profit... Go Ronan!! We did have a fun last day, and even got to enjoy some actual circus acts. It's the least you could expect from a casino called Circus Circus... As Hunter S. Thompson wrote in his novel from the early 70's, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... "The Circus Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war"... Although he was only referring to Circus Circus itself, I think it's a good way to describe the madness that is Sin City... Las Vegas. It's an absolutely crazy town, with it's bright lights and 24/7 carnival atmosphere. It is not to everyone's taste, but there is most definitely fun to be had here, and as we're leaving Vegas in the morning, that's how we'll remember it. A great time had by all... Next stop, Hoover Dam.

Day Sixty Six: Back On The Strip...13/12/08

It was yet another go-slow morning, and we decided to hit the Strip around noon. We hopped on the shuttle bus this time, and got off at the far end of the Strip, where we hadn't been yet. We visited some more famous casinos... MGM Grand, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. We spent a while in the MGM Grand, and they even have a lion enclosure inside. Once again we were wise with our money (if that's possible in Vegas), and after day two we're still up on the house. Although the house has gained a bit of ground alright... We came across a mad store along the strip.. Four floors dedicated entirely to M&M's and M&M themed accessories. Yeah, I'm talking about those chocolate and peanut flavored sweets. Four floors!! It was crazy... You could buy everything from M&M toothpicks, to M&M leather jackets. There was even a small theatre showing a 3D movie... about bloody M&M's!! Who the heck loves M&M's that much?! By the evening it actually started to get cold, and it was incredibly windy for a while. I hate to say it, but we might be putting away the shorts and sandals very soon. We've one more day in Vegas, and then we're making tracks for the Grand Canyon. It's below zero and there is a 90% chance of snow. Oh joy...

Day Sixty Five: We'll Have Our Own Las Vegas...12/12/08

It was another slow start this morning.. We came to Vegas to experience life on the Strip, and considering we're basically parked on it, we were in no hurry to get moving. We had our usual extended breakfast, and eventually left the RV around noon. There is a shuttle service from the front of the Circus Circus that travels the length of the Strip, but we opted to walk, just so we could see everything. Our first impressions.... Vegas is bloody awesome!! We wandered down the strip and stopped in some of the top casinos as we went along... Palazzo, The Mirage, Caesars Palace and Bellagio. They really weren't what we expected.. There was no tacky or cheap decor, everything that looked plastic was actually real!! It seems attention to detail is paramount when it comes to designing a Vegas casino. Apart from that, the buildings themselves are unbelievably huge!! There is most definitely money to be made in Casinos. Maybe "Las Vegas in the hills of Donegal" isn't such a bad idea after all. Sure doesn't everybody have money to flutter away these days... Yeah right! We're all familiar with the term "the house always wins" when it comes to casinos. Well, while we're by no means spending large amounts of money, after day one in Vegas, it's The Lads 1 - Vegas 0. Aidan says he wants to leave Vegas with the satisfaction of having beaten the house... In that case we better leave first thing in the morning! Although, I don't reckon we'll get a refund for the RV park, so I guess we better just hang around until Monday...

Day Sixty Four: The Road To Las Vegas... 11/12/08

For backdated blog entries please scroll down to Day Fifty Eight.

We left our rural campsite just before noon today, and set off on a scenic drive right through to the far side of Death Valley. It was a pretty cool journey, and we stopped along the way for some photo opportunities. Although the place is called Death Valley, it's not altogether as scary as it's name suggests. It's actually really quite beautiful. Although if we wanted to take the RV through there in the summer, we wouldn't be insured. It gets incredibly hot during the summer months. Four hours on the road and we crossed into Nevada, which marks State number fourteen. We're now in the wonderful city of Las Vegas and we're parked up in the grounds of the famous Circus Circus Casino, right along the Vegas Strip. We already took a wee dander into the Circus Circus, and it's bloody mad in there. Not like Bundoran at all!! Tomorrow should be interesting... Rest assured though, we know our limits, and I'm sure if we're smart about it, we're bound to come away millionaires...

Day Sixty Three: A High Point In Death Valley... 10/11/08

We took our time getting out of bed this morning, and after our two hour breakfast, we were looking out the window of the RV at a big hill off in the distance. We decided we might as well have a crack at climbing it, so as to get a good view from the top. As we got closer to the foot of the hill it became obvious that we slightly misjudged the size of the thing. It was more of a mountain than a hill.. I'd say it was similar in height to Muckish. Undeterred, we battered on anyway, and when we got to the top we were indeed treated to some spectacular views. Unfortunately when I took my camera out, I discovered a major problem. I left the damn memory card all the way down in the RV! There was no way in hell I was going to go back down to get it, so you'll just have to imagine the views we saw. We must have sat up there for an hour and a half just taking it all in. Although I have no Photos, I don't think any of us will forget it. It was truly breathtaking...

Day Sixty Two: Long Beach to Death Valley...09/12/08

We hit the road before lunch and set course for Death Valley.. The RV park we're staying in cannot be found by satellite navigation. The address they give us over the phone was a PO Box address. We were a long time on the road and by the time we got to our destination in a town called Ridgecrest, it was dark. Naturally we all assumed that the RV park would be somewhere near it's PO Box address. Unfortunately, we couldn't have been more wrong!! It was another 70 odd miles through the desert and over windy mountain roads before we finally got here. We're back in the middle of nowhere again, and apparently they don't even have phones around here! It seems nice all the same, and for the first time since North Carolina we had the luxury of a nice campfire. It's good to be in the great outdoors again.

Day Sixty One: For Those About To Rock...08/12/08

As I mentioned when we were back in Malibu, we had a very special event to attend tonight... I'm talking of course, about AC/DC live in concert!!!! Well what can I say about it. It was so unbelievable, there are no words I can use to describe it. It was everything we expected it to be.. For so long, we have greatly desired to see AC/DC live.. And now we have seen them, and in LA of all places!! Brian, not being a fan, opted to stay behind in the RV. Myself, Ronan and Aidan had the time of our lives... Most definitely a highlight of our road trip. The support band were a crowd called The Answer, and they kept making the point that they were from Belfast. It was really funny to hear the northern accent coming from the stage at an AC/DC gig. For anybody back home who failed to get a ticket for the sold out show in the RDS, never fear! There's is talk of them playing a second show in Punchestown Racecourse next June. Fingers crossed...

Day Sixty: We Finally Made It To Hollywood... 07/12/08

Yes indeed... Who ever said we weren't gifted enough to make it to Hollywood. Well here we are, we've finally hit the big time!! Yeah right.. It was another long 'oul journey on the Metro and we hopped off on Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn't quite as glamorous as we expected, but the pavements were lined with stars. I don't mean celebrities, I'm talking about the Walk of Fame, with painted stars on the ground. In fact the only so called celebrities we actually saw were Danny DeVitos wife, Rita Pearlman, and some rapper called Baby Face... Yeah we never heard of him either, but apparently he's one of the top ten rappers in the world. Great! We paid $25 each and got on an open top mini bus. It took us right down the length of the boulevard and we saw such sites as Johnny Depp's club, The Viper Room, where River Phoenix met his untimely demise, as well as the place where Michael Jackson had all his plastic surgery done. After that, the bus took us up to the famous Beverly Hills where we got to see many celebrity homes, including Julia Roberts, Jack Black, Tom Cruise and the Beckhams. In fairness, the tour guide could have pointed to any house and told us a movie star lived there, we wouldn't have known any better. The only house we did actually recognise was up in Bel Air. I'm talking of course about the Fresh Prince's house!! (Will Smith made his break as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, for those of you from different generations). When the tour was over, we had a bite to eat and set off for the Hollywood sign before it got too dark. It was more difficult than expected, there's a lot of steep hills in Hollywood!! We did make in time, and when we were done we just jumped back on the train to Long Beach. I apologise for the quality of some of these pictures, it wasn't easy being stuck on that wee bus, even for a professional like me... Unfortunately none of us can actually remember who lived in what house.