And That's All She Wrote

Bravely stepping forth, to the departure gate. Farewell America, home of the brave, land of the free soda refill.

Last Day in Long Beach

With one last day of holidays to enjoy, we decided to explore part of LA neither of us had seen before - Long Beach. 

The weather was extremely obliging for strolling around the shore, shops and cafes.

Our last meal in America had to be something spectacular, and the Starling Diner sure didn't disappoint.

JUST LOOK AT THIS FRENCH TOAST - a marscapone-stuffed baguette, broiled to delicious perfection, with apples in brandy butter and cream. I DIE just thinking about how tasty this was!

I'm not going to be able to use quite as many adjectives about the feta cheese and mushroom omelette, but it really was excellent. A perfect final meal before 24 hours of aeroplane food!

Ok, before I go - look at this french toast again. OH LORDY!

Payday for Everybody!

What better way to start the last full day of the trip than with a final visit to Cinnabon?

Look at that roll-y goodness. Mmmm! Thank the lord that there isn't one of these in Sydney, because I would DIE.

I maintain the sustenance of Cinnabon is justified when one is about to cross the Mojave Desert on a hot summer day. 

A few hours of driving, and the desert transformed into downtown Los Angeles. Credit is due to Paul for not killing or being killed by any LA drivers - it seems changing lanes is regarded as a contact sport around here! Of course, after a few hours in the car, our first thought is of snacks:

My final root beer of the trip, SO delicious.

And the most amazing sandwiches from Mendocino Farms - here we have half a Drunk'n Goat in Paris and half an Heirloom TBL with vegie bacon. These guys have a few locations around LA so if you're in the area, The Earl of Sandwich commands you to GO THERE GO THERE GO THERE GO THERE!!  

Next up, Friday night baseball.

I love me a good dispensing crank!

It wouldn't be baseball without snacks, would it?

The Dodgers, looking Dodger-y

Raccoon in attendance, of course

It wasn't a super exciting game as the Mariners weren't playing, so we got a bit distracted

The Houston Astros, who, contrary to my predictions, kicked some Dodger butt.

After the game, the crowd was allowed on the field...

... to watch the Friday night fireworks. The home team didn't win, but the fireworks were sparkly and spirits were high.  The bus ride back downtown was certainly lively - among other hilarious outbursts, when we nearly collided with a wayward pedestrian one of our fellow commuters announced "Woohoo, payday for everybody!". Not sure they're clear on how accident compensation really works, but I'm totally using that as my catchphrase from now on.

Back in Nevada

Almost on the home stretch now, back in the sandy state of Nevada. But first, look at this place we found on the way out of Grand Canyon National Park - definitely putting this on the list of must-visit accommodations for next time!

Ah, Nevada. Staying in casino hotels mid-week is really cheap. We wound up staying in Laughlin, which is right on the border of Arizona and Nevada - I gather the town only popped up to accommodate some casinos and an outlet mall, so the citizens of the Arizona borderlands can pop over state lines to gamble whenever they feel like it. The heat out here was IN-FREAKING-TENSE, way hotter than even the deserts of Utah, so it's really no wonder that all people want to do is sit in the air conditioning and play slot machines.

The view from the room. Glam, no?

Appropriately pastel resort wear

The view again - more inviting by night, perhaps?

The casino did have some appealing stylistic touches

 And cocktail swords were plentiful, much to Raccoon's delight.

Got Canyon?

If you thought we'd be sick of looking at big red rocks by now, you'd be wrong. Early Thursday morning we queued up on the highway to drive along the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

Next time we do this, it better be in one of these!

There was a bit of a wait to get onto the canyon road, so we kicked back in the car with coffee and a book - pretty sure Edward Abbey, with his hatred of people, cars, maps and established roads or trails of any kind, would entirely disapprove of our whirlwind driving tour of the desert, but I'm enjoying this memoir of Arches National Park anyway.

Heading into the park.

The first lookout point along the canyon, coming in from the east side.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, it is windy when one is standing on the edge of a cliff.

Climbing the Watchtower for even more scenic views

Raccoon bravely poses on the precipice

As well as the epic vistas, there are also 800 year old Tusayan ruins to tour. Roughly 4000 artefacts have been found in the park, and only 5% of it has been surveyed - it's mindboggling to think of how much there still is to learn about this area and its inhabitants over time.

Raccoon was more interested in the photo ops than the history, though.

The colours are incredible, and I gather they change over the course of the day. Next time, I'd love to be able to camp here (in my refurbished 1950's Airstream, obviously) and see the sights at sunset.

Smooching ravens

Phew. So glad we got to stop by and see some of this - it truly is quite grand!

Leaving Utah

On whatever day this was (I've completely lost track of time now!), we said farewell to our new bestie, the state of Utah, and headed south to Arizona. The red cliffs of Moab gave way to the vast deserts of the Navajo Nation, the area of southern Utah, Arizona and New Mexico governed by the Navajo Nation Council. 

Along the way, we stopped in the town of Mexican Hat - so named because of the above sombrero-wearing rock formation.

A little baffling, but I guess technically yes, eagles are wireless.

After an hour or two of desert, the cliffs of Monument Valley suddenly loom on the horizon.

You may recognise this landscape from the many John Ford & John Wayne westerns that were filmed here. There are a couple of towns out here where almost every member of their small populations between the 30s and the 70s worked on these films, either as extras or crew.

After soaking up as much as we could handle of the desert ambience (ie, insane heat), we fled to Flagstaff, Arizona, a hip little college town (a little bit like Corvallis, with a bit more California-style hippy-ness thrown in - ie, hacky sack seems quite popular here).

Historic Route 66 passes through town.

The unofficial grilled cheese tour of the West continues apace.

We retired to Rendezvous for whiskey-infused chai teas to digest our dinner and catch up on some correspondence.

I sure am going to miss the cafes of America when I return home.