Mark's observations of west coast Canadian culture

1. TIM HORTON'S!!!
2. Canadian flags everywhere.

Mark's observations of American culture

1. Tipping. Not good. Annoying. Why do you have to tip everyone????? enough already!
2. Ding Dongs. Yummy.
3. Starbucks everywhere. Cheaper than at home. We like that!
4. 'How you doing, FOLKS?' ....folks???/ what is THAT??
5. Everything is big. Cars. Meal portion sizes. People. Enough said.
6. Options with meals. What kind of dressing with that? What kind of toast? Cream or milk with coffee? etc etc etc
7. Walgreens and Walmart. Yay!

more Yosemite!

We rented a Jeep Liberty, a 4WD, and also rented snow chains as it was a requirement for entry into the park. Leaving San Francisco, I finally worked out how the GPS was going to help us, and we got there no problem. We stayed at Cedar Lodge, about 40mins from Yosemite main village. The park rangers were super friendly, the roads very well maintained, and I can see why it is such a popular place. Mark made a snowball and threw it at me (thank you very much).

Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite is the most AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL place, we were just gobsmacked. Mark got to see snow falling, and since there was a fresh snowfall overnight, we lucked out and saw Yosemite in its glory. The rocks, the trees, the streams...WOW. We had lunch at the Awanhee Hotel in the park, a historic lodge with floor to ceiling windows in the dining area. We did some short walks but mostly revelled in the beauty. I only wish I was a better photographer as I did not do this place justice!

San Francisco, California

San Francisco is a gorgeous amazing city. People watching is a lot of fun, especially the homeless/panhandlers, who are sometimes insane. We met up with our FB friends Athens and her man, Kevin, who kindly picked us up at the airport. Mum arrived not long after we did, and we spent the first day wandering about Chinatown, North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf. OH and, riding the cable cars! There is a Starbucks on every corner (at least). We have also discovered Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, a totally delicious American junk food delicacy.

Tofino, Vancouver Island

Tofino: on the west coast of the island, apparently the 'storm season' which is quite spectacular, has just passed. The weather for us was a mix of cloud/cloud/cloud and COLD. We did a few short hikes in Ucluelet and the Tofino area, had fish and chips at Big Daddy's, enjoyed the fireplace in our hotel room and walked on the beach. We think that we are spoiled for beaches in Australia where we live, but had fun anyway.

Vancouver Island: Victoria to Tofino

The drive from Victoria to Tofino takes about 4 hours non stop, but we took basically all day, stopping all along the way to see the beautiful sights, including Cathedral Grove and coastal communities. It was bloody cold so we also made stops at Walmart (gloves, hoodies and trackies and warmer socks!) and Tim Horton's Donuts (to get Timbits!). Mark thinks it's hilarious that there's a Tim Horton's on almost every corner.

Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver weather was surprisingly not that rainy! We arrived at the airport to find my brother and my niece Forest (6) waiting for us. Decided to rent a car for the week and proceeded to visit Cypress Mountain, where the snowboard half pipe events were recently held for the Olympics. There was SNOW up in the mountains, which Mark absolutely loved. We also checked out Lynn Canyon, a suspension bridge in the midst of a forest. Our planned gondola car up to Grouse Mountain was cancelled due to high cloud (not much of a view).
The next day we drove down to Tswawassen to catch the ferry over to Vancouver Island. The scenery was just beautiful! We stopped in to one of my oldest friend's (Vida) to visit, and then off we drove towards Tofino.

What happens in Vegas....

The bus from Anaheim to Las Vegas took about 4.5 hours, the scenery was wonderful: desert, mountains (even some snow-capped ones!). About halfway we stopped in Barstow, a giant truck stop selling deep fried everything, plus the most tackiest kitschy souvenirs imaginable. Luckily the 20 minute break went fast!

Arriving in Las Vegas on St Patrick’s Day – plenty of people wearing green T-shirts, beads, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol on the street (public drinking seems to be quite acceptable here). There is a buzz in the air: fun, drinking, and more fun. Every street corner has mostly Mexican touts handing out photo cards for escorts/hookers. (We have quite a collection now: of cards, not hookers). The lights, the noise, the music, the video screens, the mix is intoxicating. We LOVE Las Vegas! We have seen Elvis, Rick James, and silver painted ‘statues’ that are actually real human beings. People watching is a lot of fun: couples young and old, young guys in groups, girls all dressed up with nowhere to go it seems. The casinos are packed with all kinds of people, pole dancers on stage, scantily clad waitresses. Most hotels have almost ‘hidden’ lobbies – mainly you walk through the casino to get to check-in. I have noticed a lack of seating in public areas- no lounges or chairs to relax in. I suppose they want you to be spending money (gambling or drinking).

After walking for over an hour (don’t believe the maps you get here), we gave up and waited for a bus to take us to an Outlet Mall, where we spent a lot of money, especially in the Billabong shop (with even regular prices being cheaper than in Australia, the discounts were great). Tonight we just walked around the Strip a little, enjoying the fountains at Bellagio show (fountains spurting to the music soundtrack). We have even enjoyed our free bottle of hard liquor at the hotel (one free bottle per day). Our room at Planet Hollywood looks trendy, is missing lightbulbs and the existing lightbulbs are so dim I thought it was my eyesight. Our window is tiny, but the bathroom is big with a nice big tub (which Mark is enjoying at the moment). However, today we went to Kim’s hotel (Wynn’s Encore) with a much nicer room, floor to ceiling windows and a great view of the city night lights. The Strip is so busy traffic-wise, 4 lanes either way. At most intersections there are pedestrian bridges to be able to cross the street.

So far, on our trip, I would give Disneyland 3/10 and Las Vegas, 10/10. We are booked on a Grand Canyon tour tomorrow, plane flight, helicopter flight, and a couple of hours inside the Grand Canyon National Park. Dinner tonight is the Wynn’s Buffet (it will be the only buffet I’m going to enjoy here as we are conscious of eating so much).