Monday 1 June 2009
Highlights: Citadel Shopping
The very last long drive of the trip saw as go to Los Angeles. We stopped in a small missionary town on the way but I didn’t find it particularly interesting.
Nathan's Insights
World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas
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Sunday 31 May 2009
Highlights: San Diego Trolleys, San Diego MarathonAfter travelling by bus around San Francisco we moved to a trolley (tram) in San Diego. A great system that saw us go from one end of the blue line (Old Town) to the other end (San Ysidro – a border town with Mexico). On the way we saw the San Diego Marathon (they had marching bands as well).
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Saturday 30 May 2009
Highlights: Spectacular Sea WorldToday has a theme park day, something I was looking forward to. My mum wasn’t happy with the $12 car parking fee but I told her in advance this is how it is done.
Sea World highlights:
- Shamu Show (whales performing people got very wet on a cold day!!)
- Dolphin Discovery (brilliant, they are lovely creatures)
- Sea Lions Show (basically send ups of shows like survivor, idol etc – very funny)
- Pet’s Rule (American’s are pet crazy over here)
- Cirque de la Mer (circus on water – the best)
I also went on a few rides, Shipwreck Rapids, Journey to Atlantis and Wild Arctic (a motion ride which was very good).
My mum got her photo with the muscled acrobats from the circus show and I think she had a great time. This didn’t stop her from wanting to go back to the shops later a buy Reagan a gift. For the first time she is concerned she has too much to bring back. I sense a story when she tries to check her bags in later!!
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Friday 29 May 2009
Highlights: Las Vegas Outlet, Chula Vista Shopping MallAnother big driving day (about 5.5 hours), but first we had one more go at gambling and somehow we both won, my mum won about $20 and I finished up $1 (hey it’s a win).
My mum then used her winning to buy more presents at the Las Vegas Outlet on the way out… I really don’t want to see her credit card bill. The Good Nite Hotel Chula Vista in San Diego is fairly basic but I believe in a good location. My mum likes 4 star accommodation but at 2 star cost, as I said it’s just a place to sleep.
She got much happier once she saw the Chula Vista Shopping Mall. This was her first real chance to see the big stores i.e. Macy’s JC Penny and others, anyway this turned out to be another big buying day, the grandchildren are going to get spoilt when she gets back.
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Thursday 28 May 2009
Highlights: Hoover Dam, Hitting and winning at various Casinos on the StripHaving cut the Grand Canyon visit out of the trip we still got to see the enormous engineering achievement that is the Hoover Dam. It’s hard to imagine how they built this; I guess they had problems since they lost 300 men during the construction.
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Wednesday 27 May 2009
Highlights: Shopping at The Vegas Outlet, The Phantom of the Opera performanceToday saw another shopping outlet visit this time The Vegas Outlet which has about 130 shops. I think I bought my recently departed leather jacket from this place many years ago. I almost bought a couple of Reebok runners, it was a great deal but the thought of carrying them around the world put a stop to that. I’d ask my mum to take them back but I think she’ll have enough problems carrying everything she has bought already!
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Tuesday 26 May 2009
Highlights: Premium Shopping Outlet, Legends in Concert PerformanceToday was my mum’s dream day, well maybe tomorrow is but today came close. We spent maybe 5 hours at the Premium Shopping Outlet complex, it is HUGE. In the walkways you are exposed to the environment but they have this kind of fans that shoot out water / mist that keep you from drying up (but not getting hot).
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Monday 25 May 2009
Highlights: Minor car accident, Free Treasure Island Outdoor ShowBefore setting off from San Francisco I noticed on the TV that Vegas was expecting temp of 92, way higher than what we have been experiencing so far so the shorts made their first appearance 🙂
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Sunday 24 May 2009
Highlights: Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman’s WharfToday we headed into the CBD to visit the attractions in the Wharf district. Catching a local bus mum was surprised at the number of homeless people she saw on the route and some of the locals, as I told her you see the real side of the city when you go on public transport.
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Saturday 23 May 2009
Highlights: Sausalito, Muir Woods, Golden Gate BridgeAfter a long sleep of about 10.5 hours (waking up a few times) I was over my jetlag and ready for the first day of seeing the local area. We started with a good breakfast included with our stay at Best Western Grosvenor Hotel located next the airport (very good for the price) and headed out at about 10 am.
Nathan's Insights 