One week later...

Now we have been home one whole week! Some generalised thoughts:

Southern California is an exception in almost every case.

Elsewhere we found incredibly polite people. Sometimes we suspected this to be a somewhat shallow/insincere front but certainly every effort was made to please. Most people we met were truly genuine.

Many people asked us about the political position in Australia (about which we know very little - we were told we had a female PM but an American). They appear genuinely interested in us.

Not as many as on our previous visit, but certainly there is still quite a concern about what Australian's think of USA.

Motorists actually stop so you can cross the road! No need to be an assertive pedestrian! No evidence of frustration because I walk a little slower than many. Even in crowded Manhattan and Washington DC at peak hour not one person bumped into me or expected me to move out of their way. Somehow they manage to walk without collisions...

In every case I was given a seat in a bus or train. Young people immediately stand for anyone older than them and there is never any thought of leaving people without seats while they take 2 for their personal use. Buses did not move off until everyone was seated or stable.

Slower drivers will actually pull over to let others pass. This is expected.

The scenery is awesome. All National Parks visited were unique and stunning. Whilst cities are kind of a mandatory touchdown, it is in the countryside of USA that I truly find I am filled with an inner glow.

I have refined my gun policy. Where there is no likelihood of meeting a bear, cougar, moose, bison, wolf etc that is in a 'bad mood', then guns are not a requirement for life. Where these natives may become a real threat (ie not for hunting purposes), then I absolutely would be having a rifle on hand! I like Australia's policy -licence, responsibility etc. This is the case in some parts of USA, where to threaten or even point a replica gun at a person is an offence.

Up north we encountered responsible environmental talk relating to conservation of forests, animals, glaciers, waterways etc. In Montana, where forest fire is a risk, people take extreme precaution to protect their neighbour.

So, most of my observations are positive.

Just a few negatives:

Tipping. It seems to be a way of avoiding taxation and at around 20% (rounded up and down a little) is ridiculously expected or added in almost every situation where somewhere serves you in any way.

Tax. Prices look lower initially, but don't forget to add the tax because this generally does not show on the price tag. When staying in hotels, sometimes there is also a bed tax, a reservation tax etc etc, which is not mentioned to you when the initial price is quoted. Impossible to predict how much to get out of your wallet or how much will go onto the card.

'You're welcome'. I am sure this is genuine, but we got sick of hearing every time we said 'Thank you'. It seemed to lose meaning because it was so spontaneous and never varied. We would have loved to leave a greater influence with options such as "No worries", "That's fine", "Not a problems". Better still a few Aussie phrases that were a little more ambiguous. We found that in general our regular comments such as "Here you go", brought questioning gazes...."Go...where?". Very literal interpretations.

Last day

The last day is always difficult. Bags are packed and yes, it did fit though we wonder how we will manage to get on and off a shuttle bus once we drop Charlotte back at the airport.

Southern California does nothing much for me and was an unwise choice to end our holiday here. What a downer after such a wonderful few weeks!

Without elaborating - dirty, rude, narrow minded. I cannot think of much about Hollywood or LA that is worth reporting as it cannot be done positively. Hilton Hotel in Glendale is fine, and probably the best place to spend the day - they have a nice pool and spa!

San Diego

The trip from Ojai, south to San Diego would take a little over 3 hours we were told by Tomtom. With a stop for lunch it took just over 4 hours. Not bad! How pleased I was to be heading south, as most of the multiple lanes for most of the northern trip were almost at a standstill. No wonder we were warned to allow 6 hours!

The beaches were packed (it was a Sunday) and really did not look so inviting to us spoilt (in this regard) Queenslanders. The perpetual daytime fogs probably did nothing to enhance this, so we opted instead for a swim in the pool/spa at the hotel.

Unlike last time we visited San Diego, there appears to be little Naval activity, though the civilian planes still fly with an alarmingly low appearance over the city.

A full day at San Diego Zoo was pleasant enough and kept us well entertained until shortly before closing at 9pm last night. The now mandatory open top double decker bus took us on a tour of 80% of the park to start a tour. This proved an excellent way to begin to understand the layout of the extremely hilly location - not unlike, or perhaps even worse than Taronga.

The giraffes do not have the view of their Sydney cousins. We apologised to the lone kookaburra in one enclosure for his loneliness, although there were others throughout the zoo. Many Australian animals were included and were obviously very popular, with each bus guide explaining that the koalas are not actually bears (though I note most clients were overheard to call them bears). The zoo appears to have a successful koala breeding program happening, which is nice to know should some catastrophe eliminate them from Aussie shores.

The wedding

Rolling Thunder was a mixture of relaxation and preparation on the morning of the wedding.

The day was quite pleasantly hot - probably a little over 100 degrees, so most spent some time in the pool. Last minute additions and preparations for the bean salad were made and with little fuss we all groomed ourselves up for the occasion.

A shuttle took us from the house, up the narrow, winding road to the venue - a private property owned by a wealthy benefactor who had donated a part of it for public use. In this section, irrigation had ensured quite lush vegetation/gardens appropriate for this dry climate, which included trees and succulents. Careful timing meant that the ceremony took place when trees shaded the area, though the fans provided were useful for keeping errant insects at bay.

The Mexican theme ran throughout the wedding, with a neat casual dresscode. As I review our photos I note few ties present for a brief period.

Naturally Tess and her 6 attendants looked absolutely gorgeous and a very meaningful ceremony saw her and Tony become husband and wife.

Marguerittas and Mexican food were provided in an abundant feast that followed, before music from the cover band introduced the new bride and groom in their dance, followed by Tess and her Dad. Unlike Australia, where the crowd usually joins in quite quickly, they each completed their dance to an entire song before they were joined and the party began.

Shortly after this point some of us 'oldies' decided to leave it to those of less vintage (who arrived home around 2am after a pretty good night from all accounts) and take a return shuttle back to Rolling Thunder, where we indulged in a quiet cuppa and chat before heading off to slumber.

How wonderful it was to be able to be here with family for this special, memorable occasion!

Rolling Thunder

Secrecy surrounded the location of the ranch rented by Rob and Terry in Ojai. Resourceful Rob had been able to Google it, so was able to give us the address, but was told that he would be given the identity of the high security prior guest upon their departure and when he picked up keys etc....

Laura felt Elvis may be in the building, while Bill and I wagered that Mel Gibson may be hiding out down here. Laura was actually closest. Lisa Marie Presley held her 40th birthday here. We assume she slept in the master-bedroom, where we slept last night.... and there are crumbs of pink frosting around the pool area, as well as a small bead that Laura has collected.

The house is amazing. On a few acres (horse ranch) with a couple of outer buildings as well, it is designed in what I am told is a South-Western design. The bathrooms are made from large river rocks, with a clam shell basin. Loads of dark timber and leather in the furnishings. A couple of goldfish ponds set in the floor beside the huge fireplace in the lounge. Light fittings have surrounds made from elk horns and the walls have various 'wild west' or Native American artefacts.

The grounds are heavily landscaped, so a great deal of shade around the pool and two spas. This may prove handy today, as the temp was over 100 degrees when we arrived yesterday. I guess we will be lounging around in the selection of outdoor furnishings or hammocks today, while final wedding preparations are undertaken.

Big Sur and SLO

It felt so nice to travel the Big Sur coastline on a beautiful, clear day (well there was just a little fog in places). I never tire of travelling this coastline, with its awesome beauty.

The elephant seals at San Simeon gave a wonderful display - the adult and juvenile males being in abundant attendance. Unfortunately the camera was not so abundant - oops, flat battery - so memories in our minds! A couple of sea otters amused us for quite some time as well.

After lunch and a wander through some galleries in the quirky little town of Cambria we headed into San Luis Obispo to catch up with cousin, Rob and Terry. Although busy with final wedding preparations for their daughter's wedding on Saturday, they entertained us to a highly appreciated halibut dinner before Laura and Bill headed off for the cultural experience of Toy Story 3, at the local drive-in.

It feels quite comfortable being here in SLO, where we have previously spent time. The familiar is greatly appreciated for a bit of a 'draw breathe' before we head off to the wilds of Ojai tomorrow. Our hotel is right next door to the famous Madonna Inn, where we shall probably take Laura tomorrow.

Carmel

How did I ever navigate us out of San Francisco previously, without the aid of Tomtom?

What a blessing… oh, and I received many of them whilst in SF! A family reunion was held in the suites where we stayed and I obliged by taking photos of them as they waited, clutching their Bibles to leave for Church the next morning. Also reminded one gentleman he had left his “Mountain Doooo” on the counter. For this I received abundant blessings from the amazingly clad Afro American family! Would have been fun to have looked in on their Church service!

We thought we had it all mastered, until the 6 lanes of traffic turned into a carpark for a while. Ho hum – here we go again. More ‘stimulus package’ roadworks or maybe a ‘wreck’. No – seems like it was routine maintenance on the road, but it was marked with flares, where we would use flashing lights and/or witches hats. Bizarre. How freaky it felt sitting in a traffic jam beside a flare in USA – hoping that it did not do anything more than belch out smoke and flame….

Thankfully traffic cleared relatively quickly and we were on our way to Carmel, with Chrissy awaiting our arrival. Carmel is a somewhat quirky seaside town, complete with narrow, winding, tree-lined streets. A relatively affluent area of which Clint Eastwood is now a business owner, having been Mayor some years ago, the retail section has all the top names along with boutiques and arty shops. The Carmel Valley, about 15 mins away is a major vineyard area.

Fog (as experienced in SF) remains over the coast - it seems almost daily - until mid morning, lunchtime or all day. This was again the case, with the fog lifting by about 2pm. It did not make the day particularly warm, nor did the wind ease until later than night when we were sitting with Chrissy on Carmel beach having a bonfire accompanied by nibblies and wine.

We had eaten a late Mexican lunch (complete with 1/2 taken home in a 'box', which is quite an acceptable practice), so felt no need for another full meal. Previous bonfire managers had conveniently left enough wood for us to scrounge a good quantity and the excellent boy scout fire-lighting skills of Bruce, Chrissy's Dad soon gave us a warming fire. There was not to be the spectacular sunset hoped for, due to cloud cover but nevertheless, little fires could be seen along the beach as darkness fell.

This practice is undertaken nightly and fires are required to be extinguished by 10pm. Dogs (aka little gods) come with their owners and join in the fun. Even given this - there does not appear to be the need for sand to be vacuumed etc as is the case in Australia because, it seems that people are responsible and clean up after themselves (and their dogs). Not a syringe in sight. A unique concept.... One that we note as a difference. The only place where we have noticed rubbish was in the NY Underground. Everywhere else has been noticeably clear of litter.

Further north, it appears that early training in bear safety results in trash being binned. Maybe that flows further south...just because? Or does the patriotism demonstrated with so many flags being flown also run to keeping the country clean and tidy?

Yes - I am becoming quite good at American language. Rubbish=trash, accident=wreck and so on! We do enjoy the blank looks given by the Americans when we use one of our familiar terms! Bill and Chrissy had threatened to comment to the waitress yesterday that "I am so hungry I could eat the arse off a low-flying duck" or "I am so hungry I could eat the arse off a ragdoll", just so we could watch her reaction!

Thankfully I am reasonably familiar with the phonetic alphabet because my email address - 'lizzier' results in blank looks and always requires this. My 'i' = their 'a', 'double zed' = zee zee. I now know to cut straight to 'lima, indigo, zulu, zulu, indigo, echo, romeo'. Rather funny!