Welcome - to Jan and Kaja's travel blog about our trip to the Western United States in May - June 2012. This is our first visit to the United States and we have spent the last few month planning and preparing for our dream trip, which will take us to the following states - California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada - a distance of approx. 3500 km.


We have planned and organized the trip ourselves and we have expectations of a lot of great and exciting experiences - hopefully they will be honored. You can follow our journey here in the blog which - when needed - will be updated with text and images. More pictures can be seen in the photo album USA Road Trip 2012.
 

Monday 21. May 2012
Then finally came the day where we should begin our journey to God's own country - it had been awaited with eagerness and anticipation for long time. We went to bed early Sunday night, hoping to get a good night's sleep before the long flight, but - just as expected - we both woke up early at 04.30 hrs. although the alarm was not scheduled to wake us before 5:45 hrs. We had teamed up with Grandpa, who was persuaded to take us to the airport.
We traveled via Copenhagen - London Heathrow - San Francisco, where we arrived at 01:50 hrs. - a total of more than 17 ½ hours of travel and a distance of approx. 8.800 km. The time difference between U.S. and California is 9 hours, local time was 16.50.
Everything went according to plan, until we went through Custom & Border Control at the airport - this was not at all geared up to receive a load of passengers from a jumbo jet Boeing 747 - it took 1 ½ hours to get through the needle's eye. During the check we had our fingerprints and photos taken for the archives.


After the long - and sometimes - tedious trip, squeezed into a narrow plane seat, standing in line was not what we needed the most.
Eventually we managed to find our way through the border control and finally we could pick up our rental car, a brand new Chevrolet Captiva V6 - rented for 3 weeks for € 600 including a full tank.


From the airport we went straight to our motel "Town House Motel", centrally located for most of the attractions we are going to see in San Francisco.
At that time we were very tired, but we held out a few hours more, before we finally went to sleep - I think we were sleeping before our heads touched the pillow.

Tuesday 22. May 2012
Up early the next day - at 06.45 hrs. we were awake and excited to get out and have a look at all the sights. Breakfast consisted of a thin cup of coffee with a piece of pastry and a banana.
The days program was largely determined from home, since we had already purchased ticket for a trip to the prisoners island "Alcatraz", which is a must see when you're in San Francisco. It is advisable to book tickets well in advance, otherwise you cannot be sure to go to the island the day you have planned.
The sun was shining from a sky without clouds and it was a beautiful boat ride across the San Francisco Bay to the island, where - on the way - we also had a view of another of San Francisco's major attractions - Golden Gate.


Alcatraz was in 1853 - during the American Civil War - fortified with artillery to protect the entrance to San Francisco. Because of its isolated location, the island was a few years later adapted also to house prisoners of war. In 1933 the island was transferred to the civilian prison system, and for the next 30 years Alcatraz housed some of America's most dangerous prisoners - including Alcapone "Scarface" and "Machine Gun Kelly".
An exciting and at the same time terrifying testimony about the conditions criminals at that time had to endure. Definitely worth a visit.

The afternoon was spent on a drive over the Golden Gate and, at the same time, use the opportunity to take some pictures of the beautiful bridge.


The bridge was completed in 1937 - it is 211 m high and 2737 m long

Wednesday 23. May 2012
We started the day with a solid American breakfast at a nearby restaurant and then we challenged our stomachs, by driving up and down the steep streets of San Francisco a la Steve McQueen in "Bullitt".


We also took a drive through the beautiful hairpins on Lombard Street surrounded by beautiful old Victorian houses.


Later, the transport was in a more relaxed pace with one of the old cable trams. A one-way trip costs $ 6 and lasts approx. ½ hour from downtown to Fisherman's Wharf.


It's also highly recommended to visit the beautiful military cemetery in the Presidio National Park, in the NW corner of San Francisco.
We ended the day with a visit to an Indian restaurant - a very hot and spicy experience.

Thursday 24th May 2012
Early morning we set course south on Highway 1 along the Pacific coast. Today's aim was Carmel-by-the-Sea approx. 200 km south of San Francisco - a nice trip, but nothing compared to what we would experience the following day. Along the way, we made stops in Monterey - where they were preparing for the annual "Clam Festival" - and Santa Cruz with the rollercoaster "Giant Dipper" on the beach.


We arrived in Carmel early afternoon so we had plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful town and beach - recommendable.


 

Saturday 26th May 2012
After a good night's sleep we started the day once again, with a solid American breakfast at "Ellen's Pancake House."
Then we went to Solvang which is a reminiscent of a bad backdrop for a Hollywood movie, but still interesting to see - if for no other reason to say that we've been there.


From Solvang we went for a walk on a windswept beach promenade in Santa Barbara, where we saw herons dive for fish, and we had a walk around the city's beautiful courthouse.


After that we went further down the coast directly to Hollywood, LA, where we have accommodated ourselves on Sunset Boulevard for the next 3 days.

Sunday 27th May 2012
Another day full of experiences. First we went to Warner Brothers, where we were at a VIP Studio Tour and went backstage and saw how they make movies - including the series "Friends".


After that a visit to the nearby Forest Lawn Memorial Park.


The afternoon was spent at Venice Beach.


We finished the day with a visit to Griffith Observatory and a spectacular view of Los Angeles.


 

Wednesday 30th May 2012
Kaja used the morning to explore San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter with old restored Victorian houses and lots of shops.
Meanwhile, I got a really boys experience when I entered the aircraft carrier USS Midway, which is converted into a museum ship.


The afternoon we spent in the famous Sea World - a beautiful but expensive experience.


Tomorrow Wednesday we drive into the country - our next stop will be Yuma.
We are now approx. halfway on the trip and the days just fly by - it's damn scary :-(

 

Tuesday 5th June 2012
Our round trip in the U.S. canyons is coming to an end for now. Today we went north to Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not a canyon, but a giant natural "amphitheater".


Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by wind, water, and ice erosion.
Again a very beautiful sight.

Wednesday 6. June
The morning was spent once again enjoying the beatiful sight of Bryce Canyon and take the last pictures before we headed for the "City of sin" - Las Vegas.


Later we passed a small western town with the Danish flag flying from the flagpole - not an eye was dry. Fair to be said that it was not the only flag :-)
Later we passed through the outskirts of Zion Canyon which looked very interesting for the photographer, but Kaja said stop - she was getting canyon haddock.
Late afternoon we drove into Las Vegas and checked in at our hotel The Imperial Palace where we will stay for the next 4 days. The view from our suite, is very nice.