Travel to United States, Florida, Tampa.

What a wonderful and winsome day! Our wonderful and great friends, Diane & Walt, drove over from Tropical Palms today to see us. What better meeting place than at the Hard Rock Casino. It surpasses sharing a Morning Joe at any local coffee shop. It has only been a couple days since we have seen them but it seems like a month. It was terrific being with them again. We met at the Lobby Bar at 10:00 AM....yes, a bar; yes, 10:00 - however, we did not imbibe (Jack Daniels over cereal...yuck!). Calling this reunion another glass of lemonade from our vat. We just chatted in the comfy chairs, catching up on everything even though it has only been two days. Then the gambling urge hit us and we headed off into the maze of sparkling slot machines. For a couple hours we worked those possessive, bewildering machines...sometimes they like you, sometimes they don't. Fortunately, we were on the "Like List" today. We met for lunch and carried on with our chatter. We are accustomed to meeting Walt & Diane for dinner every Wednesday at the Ale House....this was a pleasant substitution. Then, back at it in the maze. My finger
Dear Diane
Her Song Posted on Casino Wallwas getting weak and tired and cramping from all the "bet button" pushing. I wish that motion could count for exercise but I guess not. If it did, I would be the size of a pin. Cory & I eventually decided it was "time to fold them" and headed off to one of the many bars to check our tickets. Now it is around 3:00 PM: okay to imbibe...so we did. Diane & Walt joined us. We bid a fond farewell @ 4:00 - hoping to see each other back at Tropical Palms in a week or so (probably more like "so"). I don't want to jinx anything so I'm sticking with "so" but things seem to be progressing quite well at Lazydays. This morning we got real excited because Cory found an unpainted compartment door in the vicinity of our RV. It was short lived; our bubble was popped:

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Travel to United States, Colorado, Rocky Mountains.

A 6:30am rise to have our routine continental breakfast of cereal & juice before we hit the road again. Cornflakes seems to be the flavour of our trip. Bree has also discovered ‘coated cornflakes’, no extra sugar sachet needed.

Our scheduled drive today was 5 hours + an extra hour to visit Mark’s Aunty & Uncle’s old ranch just our of Fort Collins and take a few photos.

In our 6 days and 3,500km’s we have discovered that RV-ing is America’s favourite pastime. Most RV’s carry a combination of their car or boat. We have also discovered that everything has a drive-thru. Why walk to an ATM when you can just drive straight up to one? Mark had to struggle awkwardly out of the driver’s side window and position himself away from the sun in order to see the screen, but hey!

A first on our American road trip was booking into a hotel for more than 1 night in Greeley, near Fort Collins, Colorado. After settling into the lodgings and trying unsuccessfully to use the free Wi-Fi provided we decided to take our car and give it a well deserved bath.

On a more sombre
The Rocky Mountainsnote we happened to arrive in Colorado just days after the fatal shooting at a midnight screening of Batman 3 in Aurora, just out of Denver. We had followed this on the radio the past 2 days, so many stories of people who were meant to be at the screening or knew someone who was, 12 lives were taken. May they rest in peace.

Ahhhhhhhhh, our first sleep in, nice to just wake up and not jump straight in the car. We had the morning to relax before heading into Fort Collins to meet up with friends of my aunty & uncle. We grabbed some lunch and stopped at our favourite shop (Wal-Mart) to grab a jumbo-sized salsa dip and went on our way to meet Mark’s Aunty & Uncle’s friends Donna and Frank.

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Travel to California, San Diego.

Another beautiful morning in Escondido. Overcast initially turns into bright sunshine. Ducks are floating in the pond and waiting for handouts!

Bob attended the allegedly hilariously funny resort preview this morning. The only thing hilarious about it was how bad the event itself was. Coffee and pastries (of course early birds got there early and gobbled them up--seriously folks, they weren't even that good! Oh well, I left early and grabbed the refills that were intended for after the event. After 40", I had enough!

We ventured into San Diego for a GREAT MACY'S HOME FURNITURE STORE, with a great great selection and have narrowed down a couple possibilities.It's nice to sit on furniture before order, don't you think? Macy's will let you order, ship and setup and let you sit in it, and then if you don't like, send it back on the spot and you're never charged. Not quite as good as Costco, order it online, deliver, use it indefinitely then send it back for a refund.

The evening ended with a visit to Bertrands Music. John and Bob were college music mates and best friends. By way of a
imageblind date, he introduced Barb and John, they dated and married within 6 months. John has built a very successful music store business. He helped us identify and order a cowbell, cymbal, sound block, and support strap for Susan's Washboard musical interest and maybe a Washboard itself. It is becoming actualized! Then out to dinner and a tour of their new home (still under renovation).

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Travel to Miami, USA.

Country/Town visited: Miami, USA
Date of stay: Sep 2011
Where you stayed:  Motel Bianco
Travelled with: Wife
Tour or pre planned: Pre-planned

I’d been to Miami before way back in 2007, but only spent several hours near the beach so didn’t get a chance to fully immerse myself into the city. This time, I got to spend a couple of days there so the feel and vibe of the city really started to sink its teeth into me. One thing I do have to warn though, this was not a very touristy stay.

Sure, there are plenty of touristy things to do in Miami (such as the safari & water park, boat & bus cruises and day trips out to the Keys)  but unfortunately this blog won’t really contain that sort of stuff. I can however tell you about some good places to walk, chill out, go shopping, and give you a few recommendations on how to get around, where to eat etc.

We stayed at a place called Motel Bianco which was super cheap at only 60 bucks a night (accommodation is generally expensive in Miami, so this was a bargain). The room was clean, spacious, had air con and free Wi-Fi and included a breakfast of champions which consisted of bagels and donuts. The staff weren’t all that knowledgeable about how to get around, so it’s not really catered for tourists as such. It is a motel after all, so it’s just a place to lay your head and explore on your own. All in all, a recommended place to stay if you’re on a budget.

One thing you have to keep in mind is that Miami is a huge city, so it can take a long time to get around, especially if your hotel isn’t on South Beach and you plan to spend a lot of your time there (as we did). Any map you have in your hand won’t really be of much help, as the scale is too small and distances can be deceiving. Unless along the beach, don’t try and walk to get to where you want to go, or you’ll be walking for miles on end.

Unfortunately Miami doesn’t have good metro system, so you’ll probably have to rely on buses which are not that frequent, or taxis if you have deeper pockets. We were in a location that seemed quite central, but it sometimes took over an hour and a half to get to South Beach. Buses will cost you $2 each trip, but there are no tickets to speak of; you just slide your $1 notes into a machine. However, no change is given so make sure you have a decent wad of $1 notes with you.

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Travel to Los Angeles, USA.

Country/Town Visited: Los Angeles, USA

Los Angeles is home to almost 4 million people and is one of the richest and most powerful cities in the world… to everyone else, it’s known as the largest entertainment capital in the world, and some people dream their entire lives to come here. 

Let’s just say, this is not going to be one of those blogs describing the best and cheapest things to see and do, in the shortest amount of time, on a mini budget, staying only in hostels. 

I’ve lived in Los Angeles (and the suburbs of Los Angeles) my entire life. This city review will outline some of my favorite things to do and see while visiting. It is by no means the gospel on what there is to do here, as you could live here your entire life (like me!) and still not have seen everything. My biggest tip is to read about Los Angeles, and find the things that interest you and visit those things. 

Things to Do and See in Los Angeles:  I will start with Hollywood, since I know it best: 

One of my absolute favorite places to visit (which I had never been to until just a few years ago) is the Magic Castle on Franklin Ave, in Hollywood. This place is literally a castle with various rooms (and bars!) with different magic shows each night. Unfortunately, you have to be a member (or know someone with a membership) and you have to have a reservation for a pretty pricey (but delicious) dinner. Keep in mind, there’s a pretty strict dress code as well, but that just makes it more fun!

Just imagine visiting a castle that looks much like something from the Harry Potter movies, and getting to see various magicians do some really rad tricks! There is also a Magic Castle Hotel, located directly next door. I’ve never stayed there, but I’ve heard great things about it (though I think it can be pretty pricey!)

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Travel to Las Vegas, USA.

Country / Town Visited: USA - Las Vegas, NV
Date of Stay: June 2012
Where You Stayed: Four Queens Hotel and Casino
Tour or Pre-Planned: Pre-Planned

I finally decided to take the plunge and head to Las Vegas to see if the city lived up to its hype, and by and large I have to say that it delivered.  If your main objective in going to Vegas is to play casino games, you will obviously have a great time but you will miss out on a lot in the city.

Most of the major casinos and even some of the smaller ones have shows ranging from world renown entertainment to acts you will only see in Las Vegas. One of my favorites was the Tournament of Kings over at the Excalibur.  It is essentially a dinner theater and the "play" is a jousting tournament.  Yes, it is choreographed, but it is still a ton of fun.

Downtown Las Vegas has a lot of history for those that like to get away from the tables for a while.  The Fremont Street Experience is also something that you should see at least once in your life.  It is an amazing sound and light show that goes off every half hour starting at dusk overtop Fremont.  In addition, there are live band performances, street vendors, and more.
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