Category: North America

So we had arrived at the wrong Jackson, not only at the wrong one but probably at the most secluded Jackson in the USA – And there are many; Although not as many as there are Martin Luther King jnr Highways – Of which there are several billion.
Jackson became pretty much a sorting out day, we did the laundry, planned the next few stages of the journey and relaxed by the pool soaking up the Tennessee lifestyle and weather.
The next morning we set off for one of my favourite places in the whole world – Lynchburg Tennessee, the home of Jack Daniels.
Lynchburg is pretty much the typical old Tennessee town. It is literally a square set around the city hall in the centre. The building are all still in original old style wild west look. The town pretty much existed and now exists for the Jack Daniels distillery. The Distillery itself is the original place JD’s was first distilled over a hundred years ago and is the only JD distillery in the world. Every drop of JD comes from that distillery.
Free entry for all, the tour of the distillery takes on every step of the process and is done in a true Tennessee style. The guides all wear straw hats and low slung dungerees, they have worked their years and their fathers before them etc… The whole feel is of a family run business which still works by the age old traditions that made the whiskey famous over a century ago. As part of the tour you visit Jack’s actual office. In that office is a large black safe. Basically what happened was that one day Jack came to the office early and tried to enter the safe. He could not remember the code so he kicked the safe in anger. He broke his toe and didn’t bother seeing a doc. When he did bother he had gangerine and to cut a long story short that was what killed him. So naturally – Charlie and I kicked the safe that killed Jack Damiels! The tour took about 90 minutes and was excellent. Since Lynchburg is in a dry county – Which means no alcohol is allowed then all we could have at the end of the tour was fresh lemonade. However there is a store which sells only 3 different bottles of Jack Daniels Whiskey. Each bottle is exclusively sold by the distillery and is not sold anywhere else in the world. Only a certain number of each bottle is sold. So I bought one, it cost $35 and there is about 1litre, I plan to save it for the kids until my youngest (Jack) reaches 18. So in 16 years the kids will be able to share it.
Our next stop was Chattanooga, still in Tennessee Chattanooga is nestled deep within the forests and mountains. Aptly named ‘Lookout Mountain’ the world famous mountain is the host to many activities from caving, to waterfalls to – well, looking out from the mountain. Sadly I would have had to remortgage my house, sell my car and work for a few decades to afford some of the activities so was miffed. Not that I couldn’t afford but as an example it would have been $100 to spend a day at the aquarium. An amount I simply refused to pay. Now, we had actually planned to spend 2 days in Chattanooga and then head North with a few stops up toward Washington DC and finally New York city via Niagara Falls in Buffalo. This was changed.
I was laid in bed on the morning of the first day and I could hear the gushing of water every few minutes. It wasn’t long before I realized that every time someone in Tennessee flushed their toilet it was connected to the cistern in my room. So I decided to head down for the Continental Breakfast – The only thing continental about it was the sign ‘continental breakfast’ In fact, I am certain I could have called trading standards that the hotel was trying to pass off a slice of toast as a Continental Breakfast.
Walking back to the room an idea came to me. I am certain a light bulb appeared above my head and went ‘ting’ I decided I was going to sack off the East Coast of the USA and go spend a week in Orlando, Florida. The sat nav assured me it was just less than 600 miles. About 30 minutes later we were packed up in the car heading South toward Atlanta and then the I-75 all the way down until we almost hit Tampa. A total of about 9hrs later and we were in Orlando.
It was about 9pm and we literally checked in and then hit Old Town. I always stay in Kissimmee when in Orlando, simply because I love the place and everything there is to do. Our hotel is pretty much a 10 min walk from Old Town which for me is perfect for a few beers and a good laugh. By 10pm Charlie had his usual Tattoo in that ink that lasts about a month, by 11pm Abi had a braid in her hair, come midnight we were sat watching the classic cars cruise by and by 10am the next morning I was wondering how the heck we ended up back at the hotel and why the tables were littered with Burger King boxes.
Since Orlando is a place I have visited extensively and a place I feel I can advise on I will update the blog next with Orlando……
(Thanks for hanging in there, I know the blog has been toned right down since we arrived in the USA but I have been exhausted!)

When I planned the trip which was to be driving right across the USA I always knew that there would have to be the odd day of hardcore driving. It would have been far easier to fly but would have meant that we couldn’t have bought things for the duration and we wouldn’t have had the whole road trip experience.
So the idea was we had to get from Flagstaff to Jackson Tennessee. Once in the deep south we could start excursions such as Jack Daniels in Lynchburg, Six Flags in Atlanta and start to see some great things in and amongst Southern and Eastern USA.
The first day was to be the heaviest; it was a 630mile drive on a single road (the I-40) from Flagstaff to Amarillo, Texas. I planned to stop of in Albuquerque New Mexico for lunch which conveniently would have been about ½ way. Now, 630 miles is a long way, but on the same road with cruise control it is a very very long way. Anyway we set off and headed east. I would absolutely love to say that the scenery was breath taking, but in reality it was simply rocky desert for the duration. We were stopping about every 100 miles or so and when we finally reached the half way point of Albuquerque I decided that rather than stop for lunch we would continue on to Amarillo. I mean, we did stop at a service station for Chicken Quesadillas and Soft Taco’s at Taco Bell but a long – very very very long 9 hours later and we were in Amarillo, Texas.

I was tired and couldn’t even muster up the energy for a few cold beers. The following morning after a quick viewing of Cadillac Ranch (where some millionaire got bored and so planted a dozen or so Cadillac’s in the ground) and we were on our next stretch to Oklahoma City which is of course in Oklahoma. The drive was about 350 mi and again the plains of Texas are not mind blowing and the day passed pretty slowly. Gutted that we realized we had missed a huge Rodeo the previous day and we called it a day over a Logan’s Steak and a few cold ones.

The third day and it was headed for Little Rock, Tennessee. However, before setting off we decided to visit the Oklahoma City memorial museum. Basically in the Nineties the US government decided to do something which a certain 2 individuals didn’t agree with. They headed for Oklahoma and drive a 20ft lorry into an unloading bay under a building in the centre of Oklahoma City. The bomb killed over 160 US citizens. The building is no longer there but a pristine and beautiful garden has been created. There is a single chair for every single person who died that day and on the fence at the front hundreds of personal memorials left by loved ones and friends. Quite a somber place I was very proud the kids showed such respect.

Another long drive at 300 or so miles and we were at Little Rock. Now, we were staying in a proper dodgy hotel. It was in the middle of a really dodgy area, I have no idea why I booked it, and I must not have researched it properly. Anyway whilst sleeping the hotel phone rings, I looked at my clock and it was 1.20am, I answered the phone and could barely hear someone on the other end of the line. I couldn’t understand what he was saying. I kept saying “what? Eh? I don’t understand” The words I did hear and understand were “we’ll come for you” I put the phone down and rolled over to go back to sleep, but I kept playing through in my mind what I had heard, I got up and checked the car from the window and then laid back in bed. The kids were sound asleep but I couldn’t stop thinking about what was said on the phone. In the end I decided to get out of there. I packed our things and within 10 minutes we were getting in the car. A woman approached me, she was saying how she was in labour and could I help her by giving her some cash for Gasoline, I told her she should call an ambulance and she was saying how she had a vehicle and could drive, in a rush to get out of the hotel and Little Rock I just told her “Look, the best thing I can do for you is advise you to call emergency help” As I left I was convinced she was trying it on, but it all seemed just too weird.

Back on the I-40 and within minutes the kids were fast asleep I as I was comfortably heading out of Arkansas in the small hours of the morning. The kids had asked why we were leaving and I told them I had seen cockroaches.

Although the journey was 260 miles it didn’t seem to take long to cross the bridge between Arkansas and Tennessee with an illuminated Memphis to the right at we were cruising through the night. Having actually been to Memphis the year previous I can say that it looks a lot better at night than it does during the day!
Another 80 miles and we were at our hotel in Jackson Tennessee. It was 5.30am and I went to check in to see if I could pay extra to check in early. To my absolute astonishment the guy said we could check in now at no extra cost. We went straight to bed and awoke about 11am.

I had visited Jackson Zoo a year previous and loved it. So there I am in the car trying to find it on the Sat Nav, it was having none of it. I got out the laptop and could not find it anywhere. Then I realized, we were at the wrong Jackson. For whatever reason I had booked Jackson Tennessee when I should have booked Jackson Mississippi. A bit gutted we simply headed for the pool. We relaxed a little and did some laundry. Then we went to Wal-Mart where I bought Charlie a Blue IPod and Abi a Pink one. Hopefully the long journeys might become that bit more bearable for them.
That said we are now 2/3 of the way across the States. It’s been long and tiring, but we are still loving every minute.

Next Stop Chattanooga and Atlanta…

Whilst in Laughlin at Wal Mart I was talking to the cashier who asked if I’d been to Lake Havasu, I had heard of the place but never been. She claimed it was a huge touristy place and well worth a visit. So upon leaving Laughlin we decided to head for Lake Havasu (LH). Basically the whole story behind the place is that some guy in the 60’s visited London and saw the Tower Bridge – which as we all know is locally called London Bridge. Anyway he decided he was going to see if he could buy it. After a few enquiries he eventually found someone who owned London Bridge. Paying a hefty price he had the bridge dismantled piece by piece and shipped out to LH and then re built. To his disbelief it was not the bridge he had bought, it was then explained to him that he had asked for ‘London Bridge’ and that was what he had got. Not Tower Bridge like he had assumed. Word quickly spread and before long people from far and wide came to take the piss. These days hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to LH yearly to see the bridge and in doing so have pumped millions into the local economy.
The bridge itself actually looks like a bridge you would see in England, it is now completely milked and there is an English Pub and a few other things. After about an hour mooching about we headed for the State National Park. LH is literally a town set around a lake. We paid $10 and entered the beach which essentially is an exclusive area set around the lake. It was empty and we were alone as we had a BBQ by the side of the lake as we watched all the rich kids float past blaring their cheesy pop from their speed boats. After the BBQ we had a swim in the clear fresh lake, it was great to cool down in the 120 degree heat. A great day.
We then headed for Kingman AZ; Kingman is basically a truck stop on the old route 66. About 20 miles out we were hit with hail stones and very strong winds. We made it to Kingman and I asked the woman at check in what was going on and she explained there is a Hurricane in New Mexico and we were getting the tail end of it. She advised me to go keep an eye on Channel 9 which was the weather channel and from there I saw severe weather warnings which included ‘deadly thunderstorms’ and ‘flash flooding’ A few beers later and all was forgotten.
The following morning and we had the true American breakfast – Blueberry muffins, nutri grains, a piece of fruit and luke warm tea.
We set out to reach Flagstaff via Grand Canyon. Now, pretty much you simply drive across the I 40 and then turn left at Williams. But I had decided we was going to go the route 66 way. To cut a huge story short the Route 66 doesn’t really exist anymore. Back in the day it was the road to be on, but when traffic increased it just didn’t cut it anymore and Interstates took their place in the modern world. But the Route 66 keeps its place in history. Now, anyone with kids will have seen the Disney film ‘Cars’ the basic jist is that ‘Radiator Springs’ becomes a ghost town because of a highway built nearby. The reality is that ‘Radiator Springs’ was actually set on ‘Peach Springs’ which is on the route 66. When the I 40 was built Radiator Springs was no longer the thriving and vibrant truck stop it once was. And it is true. It is nothing more than an old town whereby 90% of the place is boarded up and rotting, cars sat abandoned and falling to pieces all over the place. It really is a ghost town. From there we headed further down the 66 to Seligman which claims to be the birthplace of Route 66 (even though it is halfway along it) all the same it milks it big time and the place is littered with everything Route 66 including old Cadillac’s and the odd Harley. It is gift shop cheese fest central but well worth a visit.
We then headed up to the Grand Canyon. I was robbed $25 entry, I asked what the $25 was for when all I wanted to do was visit a natural phenomenon and was told “40 million people visit here each year, that’s a lot of wear and tear” The reality is like most things in Western USA the tourist is exploited and completely shafted, usually the US Government shift the blame to the Indian tribes who for years didn’t want anyone on their holy land – Until of course they realized people were willing to pay – Of course then their arms could be twisted and their holy land was suddenly accessible.
The Grand Canyon is one of those places that you could visit every day and it would still have the same breath taking effect as it did the first time you was there. The first thing that hits you is the size of the place. It brings a whole new meaning to vast, it is so big it just does not look real; the human mind is unable to comprehend such size. And then you notice the depth, 7,000 feet and all that is stopping you from stepping over the edge is your common sense. It makes for some amazing yet unnerving photographs. But the reality is, sitting here now trying to describe how amazing the Grand Canyon is simply is not possible. There are not the words.
We decided to go for a BBQ and headed to a campground within the park, we started to set it up and some park ranger busted us and explained that actually we was on someone’s camp site, I noticed the tent but had assumed it was a free for all. He directed us toward and empty area and within no time the BBQ was sparked up and our Bacon Cheddar Angus Burgers were sizzling away. It didn’t take long for the black clouds to get above us and within minutes I had bailed the kids into the car and was anxiously trying to finish our burgers off before the rain started. It caught me out and I shut the BBQ and legged it to the car. A short while later and all was sorted but not before I was wet and the hail had started.
Driving on to Flagstaff and it became very clear very quickly that we were in the centre of a huge thunderstorm.
Still, we made it to Flagstaff 
Next stop the 600 mile trek to Albuquerque and Amarillo…

The best thing about driving to Vegas is that not only do you get the amazing views the desert has to offer, not only can you sit at 100mph with nothing but a trail of dust behind you but you also get to almost descend upon Vegas. The road is much higher than Las Vegas and in the distance you see the hotels all nicely collected together.
Our first night in Vegas was the same as every other time we have been – The Plaza hotel at Freemont Street. It costs about 6gbp for a midweek night and the rooms whilst basic are fine. But come 7.30pm the place comes alive, Freemont Street is a covered street lined with casinos, bars and gift shops. There are many other things going on such as artists, fire-eaters, live bands, circus performers etc. But the whole ceiling is one huge TV. There is nothing in Vegas quite like getting hammered on $1 Coronas and then joining in the thousands of others all singing American Pie whilst staring in awe at the show above you. The kids loved it and in no time at all it was suddenly 1am.
The following day we moved down to the strip to the Luxor. Now, many people don’t seem to favour the Luxor claiming that it is too far down the strip. Rubbish is my response. I have stayed all over the strip and I still go to the Luxor, why – The pool. The problem with most Vegas hotels is that because the hotels are so tall for half the day the pool is in shade. Not only that but it is too deep for kids. The Luxor is perfect, it has sun all day long and the pool is 3ft throughout – Not only that but there is a Panda express across the road for a quick tasty lunch. We spent the whole of the day by the pool. Come the evening we hit the strip – I remember very little except for the fact we had an amazing time. The kids loved it. But still I wondered what all the fuss about the Bellagio Fountains is all about (just like I have every other time we have visited)
The final day in Las Vegas and we headed for Laughlin via Hoover Dam. I know it is the long way round but even though I have been to Hoover Dam several times before I am still amazed by it. The bridge they started building about 5 years ago is almost finished and it’s great to see how it has progressed.
Now, Laughlin is about 90mi South of Vegas, in cruise control at 90mph I was flashed by a mobile speed camera, ill update on the outcome when I find out. The speed limit was 55. Anyway, Laughlin is basically a small collection of Casinos all set at the side of the Colorado River. Each has their own private beaches. We stayed at the Avi resort which is slightly out of the way but we loved it. Normally we stay at Harrah’s but we opted for a change and we were glad we did. The pool was as perfect as it gets for kids. And we spent pretty much the entire stay at the pool doing very little.
I know it sounds like we have gone from doing loads to very little since arriving on the shores of the USA, but it was intentional. I had always planned that the first week be a relaxing one. I knew Asia and then the flight was going to hammer us and I was right. The last few days of relaxing and chilling out in my opinion was perfectly timed and much needed.
Laughlin was to be the last place of solstice and relaxation before we head east and begin the trek across the USA. We didn’t half make the most of it!
Next stop Lake Havasu, Kingman, Peach Springs, The Grand Canyon and Flagstaff…

I am no fan of LA; I think the city is hugely overrated. For those who haven’t been essentially all there is to do is Disney (which is really snide) and Universal studios which are far better than the one in Florida, it’s a great day out. But I have been to it twice so wasn’t about to go again. The whole Hollywood thing is nothing like you would imagine and the Walk of Fame is a normal everyday sidewalk littered with cheesy and tacky shops. Santa Monica beach is nice, but it’s certainly not worth staying in LA for. So we headed straight for the desert.
100 odd miles later and we were in Barstow. Now, whilst we were fine and the drive not particularly difficult, for anyone who hasn’t driven in the US before you may find it difficult. The road out of LA (US 15) is up to 8 lanes wide at times and very busy so I suppose some may find it a bit daunting. Still it passed slightly south of the huge fires raging right now in the Los Angeles Hills, the car had ash all over it and the smoke covered the sky.

Driving in the USA
Having drove many times in the US its second nature to me now, but here are a few differences to UK driving:

Driving on the Opposite side of the road – An easy way to know if you are on the right side, or which side to pull out on is to know that you will always be sat next to the centre of the road.

Turn right on a red – 99% of the time if you are turning right and the light is on red you can turn, however look out for the odd sign which says ‘do not turn on red’

Stop sign at junctions – If you come to a stop sign you must stop, basically it works on a first there first to go basis. So if you are the first there expect the other drivers to wait for you to go, unbelievably this works the vast majority of times.

Roundabouts – There are none. In fact I think I have only ever driven on one in the entire USA and it is in Clearwater, Florida.

Speed limits – Different to the UK, usual speed limits are from 55mph on the highway up to 75mph. Generally though in most places the maximum speed tends to be 65mph on the highway and 45mph around town.

U Turns – A huge part of US driving, most are marked with an arrow light, if there isn’t one just turn.

Indicating – No one in the US indicates, but increasingly more and more insurance companies require drivers to have cameras fitted to their vehicles. If an accident occurs and you didn’t bother to indicate you will almost certainly foot the bill.

Roads – Most roads are in a very good state and often far better than the UK. However don’t be surprised if suddenly your nice tarmac road becomes a sand trail. Not all roads are paved, particularly those in the deserts and plains.

If you get it wrong
Don’t worry, before long some 5 ton pickup will be up your arse showing off how loud his horn is.

Refueling

Petrol (Gas) is always pre paid in the USA. If you use a credit card they will authorize up to $100 and then about 10 days later refund the unused amount. Cash is the most common way to pay and you simply go and pay the cashier prior to using the fuel. If you don’t use what you paid then go back and get the change. If you have hired a car you can be pretty much 100% sure you use gasoline, there are 3 grades – 87, 89, 91. Just like the UK we have premium unleaded excellium street fighter two turbo (that actually makes no noticeable difference) here is the same. 87 is the cheapest and at current rates is about $2.49 per US Gallon which is about 3.8 litres. (The UK gallon is more at 4.5 gallon) So the cost of petrol is about 40pence a litre. But this varies massively, the cheaper gas stations tend to be terribles and am/pm. It is worth noting that sometimes when you use the fuel nozzle you have to lift the arm it sits on to activate it, other times you press a button. The great thing is you don’t have to hold the lever when you refuel, they handle has a lock whereby you can simply stick it in the car, lock the handle and go chill whilst you car gets filled up.

Car Hire advice

Insurance – If you have hired a car from the UK then UK law requires that the price you paid include all the insurance you need. It is basically CDW (Collision damage waiver) LDW (Loss damage Waiver) UDW (Uninsured driver waiver) which covers you for theft and a crash. The car hire companies tend to allow for a maximum of one chip per day, so don’t worry about the odd few stone chips, scratches etc. Previous experience has proven that the car hire companies couldn’t really care that much.

Pick up

Ok, you’ve got off a long flight, the kids have done your head in, well get ready for the hard sell. Everything from fuel pricing plans, to a Sat Nav to accident assistance to an hour with their wife. The best thing to do is simply say “I am not interested in anything other than what I already have thanks” If you are convinced you need the sat nav, then go to Wal-Mart and buy one. You can pick a cheap one up for $89 maybe less.

Payment

You will have almost certainly prepaid for your vehicle. Increasingly in the US the car hire companies have started to levy a tourism tax upon drop off. Its a few dollars. But you will need a credit card to hire. They usually secure the cost of any extras, for instance on my current hiring they have secured the cost of the one way drop off ($250) In terms of Debit cards I am led to believe that you will struggle if you are from the UK. Cash deposits are accepted I think it’s about $500 but you should check with the hire company.

Car Seats

Kids under 6 in the US need a car seat and the hire company will provide these – at a cost. Well, at the time of writing this I don’t know of an airline that will not carry a Childs car seat additional to your luggage allowance and at no extra cost.

Problems

The cars always tend to be nearly new and in very good condition – In my case without exception. If you have a problem simply take the car to the nearest location of the company and they will either fix it for you on the spot or exchange it for another.

Anyway, once in Barstow we went to Wal-Mart to stock up on what we would need for the 3 week cross country journey:

Cooler (All hotels have a free ice machine)
2 Crates of water (24 bottles of water cost about $3)
Crate of Bud (32 cans cost about $20)
Portable BBQ and stuff for it ($15)

I save an absolute fortune on water and I know that if I fill the cooler with ice each morning/night my beers and water will always be cold. I have a few burgers in there and a few hot dogs/sausages and we just randomly pull up and spark up the BBQ. For instance right now as I write this we are in Laughlin Nevada, this afternoon we were sat on the bank of the Colorado River surrounded by desert having a BBQ – Amazing (will update later)

We left Barstow and headed for Vegas via Death Valley. It was a day’s drive through amazing scenery, we arrived at Vegas about dinner time and we did what I always do when I get to Vegas – The first night up at Freemont and the remainder on the strip – All the debauchery will be updated tomorrow!

We got to Changi Airport in Singapore a few hrs early which for me is unusual, normally I’m there last minute rushing through security and legging it to the gate.
Anyway, we were there well in advance. It was the first time I had flown Japan Airlines (JAL) and I have to say – I was very impressed. The cabin crew were excellent (and gorgeous) It was actually a lot better than I had expected and I had video on demand so the flight didn’t drag so much, still, 9hrs is 9hrs whatever way you look at it. But not for Abi, she slept pretty much the entire flight.
We landed in Tokyo on time and it was raining heavy, so – rather than go into Tokyo Central I decided to head for a hotel where we could hopefully get a few hours before our next flight. Tokyo is ridiculously expensive and is much higher than even Western Standards, but I managed to negotiate a decent price and away we went. Last thing I remember was lying in bed thinking to myself how I wasn’t actually that tired. The next thing I remember is waking up at 2pm when the alarm went off.

The next flight to LAX was with American Airlines. As we taxied down the runway the pilot explained how there was a Tropical Storm over Southern Japan and we may feel a few bumps as we flew through the tail end of it.
He lied. It was horrific, the plane was being thrown around in such a way that I doubt there was anyone on the plane who had high hopes of getting off. It was like nothing I had ever experienced, I have absolutely no idea how the plane managed to stay airborne. The entire flight was on lockdown. It was awful, and whilst it wasn’t at its worse for the whole duration, out of the 12 hours the seatbelt sign was on for at least 10 of them. It was by far the worst flight I have ever taken.
Still, we landed in Los Angeles only a few minutes late.
Now, anyone who has been to America within the last 5 years will all know exactly what American Passport Control are like. In fact, if I thought of a word that described them I doubt the word ‘knobs’ would be far off. You know the deal; you get off a hefty flight only to be greeted with some arrogant, ignorant and obnoxious person who appears to hold you in contempt for daring to visit his country.
Well, the recession has clearly changed things, the fiscal Emergency in California has obviously made the American Passport control realize that tourism is not a dirty word – In fact it’s like getting something for nothing – You lay nothing out except for the beauty of your country and a tourist ploughs money into your economy. It’s a win win situation for any country.
This time I was greeted with smiles and “welcome back” short of reaching over and giving me a kiss he couldn’t have been more welcoming. I understand how exceptionally difficult that may be to appreciate but it is true.
Anyway, we got out of the airport, on the bus to the car hire (LAX car hire is all offsite, about a 10min connection) we got the car and headed straight for Denny’s in Inglewood – Priorities and all that 🙂

(The photo is at Death Valley – Ill update shortly)