Day 73 - September 30 - Port Stanley - Home Sweet Home (we think)

We arrived home this evening after a easy drive through Ohio, then crossing at Detroit and down the 401 to our new home. We must admit that it feels very strange to be here and not in Kanata. We have a lot of work ahead of us to get the boxes unpacked and making the house feel like our home. Ken and Mel have done a wonderful job in looking after their summer home while we were on our trip. The rest of Marg's family also chipped in, especially Donna and Ron who even poured cement to fix a fault with the floor in the guest bedroom. It made the trip a lot less stressful knowing the house was in good hands.






























Here are some of our fondest recollections

Most fun

Brian - Disneyland with all the grandchildren
Marg - The water cannon ride at Legoland, shooting water at each other and we all ended up soaking wet!

Most memorable

Marg - All of us taking turns playing Jase's new guitar and singing children songs on the rooftop of the house in San Diego
Brian - Having a philosophical discussion about war with Liam while cruising San Fransisco Bay

Most scenic

Brian - The Trans Canada Highway between Banff and Hope BC
Marg - Banff from the hot tub at our hotel

Best restaurant

Marg - Maple Leaf Grill in Banff
Brian - Brix in Napa California

Most interesting discovery

Marg - How large and totally undeveloped many parts of the states are.
Brian - The fun of 4D movies

What we would do again

Marg - Everything. I loved every moment of it.
Brian - Spend more time along US highway 101 along the Washington and Oregon coast.

What we wouldn't do again

Marg - Travel the Highway to the Sky
Brian - Stay in LA. As the expression goes Been there / Done That.

Here are some of the numbers that describe our trip.

Number of days - 73

Number of different beds slept in - 35

Number of pictures taken -1,200

Number of kilometers travelled - 22,033

Amount of gas consumed - 2,410 litres

Cost of the trip - You don't want to know

Number of countries visited - 3

1. Canada
2. United States of America
3. Mexico
   

Number of provinces visited - 3

1. Ontario
2. Alberta
3. British Columbia
   

Number of states visited - 23

1. Michigan
2. Wisconsin
3. Minnesota
4. South Dakota
5. Wyoming
6. Montana
7. Washington
8. Oregon
9. California
10. Nevada
11. Arizona
12. New Mexico
13. Texas
14. Louisianna
15. Mississippi
16. Alabama
17. Florida
18. Georgia
19. South Carolina
20. North Carolina
21. Virgina
22. West Virgina
23. Ohio

Highest priced gas - Vancouver $1.47 / litre

Lowest priced gas - Panama City Florida $ 0.90 / litre

Number of memories - Too many to count

To everyone who took time to read our blog a big thanks

Marg & Brian and of course Gertrude

Day 72 - Sept 29 - Cambridge Ohio - Almost Home

We left Lynda and Ian’s place in Durham this morning and headed north through North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Thanks again for their enjoyable hospitality. We had a great time.

As we approached the North Carolina / Virginia border, we passed through the area made popular in the old TV series “The Andy Griffith Show.” Although there is no Mayberry, we did pass Mount Pilot and Mount Airy, which are mentioned quite often in the series. The main highway into Mount Airy is named after the star of the show Andy Griffith.






























We stopped at JR’s do some shopping. If this store was in Canada it would be closed for false advertising. It was hilarious to see some their “regular” prices that we posted against their supposed sale price. I would guess that their “regular” prices are inflated by 200% or more. Marg did say she got a bargain on some bedding and towels.

The geography is varied. It was flat which was followed by gentle rolling hills that enclosed many large ranches and farms. It then became mountainous as we moved into the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. It became flatter again as we moved across the Ohio river into the Ohio valley, where we are staying tonight.

We did notice as we came north that some of the trees are beginning to change colour. I guess we have to expect that as the summer is truly over.
















Tomorrow we should arrive at home in the late evening. Our final blog will be posted sometime later this week.

Day 71 - Sept 28 - Durham - Coming Close To The End Of The Road

Today was a very busy day. It started early in the morning when Ian and I went golfing at the Duke University golf course. Given that this was my first game of the year and the course is an NCAA championship course, the results were downright embarrassing. I didn’t keep a score but I suspect that I might have been at least 50 over par. The course is very scenic but way beyond my ability.

In the afternoon we all went to an NHL game between Carolina and Philadelphia at the RBC Centre in Raleigh. The arena is a very cosy and the seats offer a great view of the game. Carolina has a couple of former Ottawa Senators, so it was interesting for us to watch the game. Carolina won the game 1-0, so we all went home happy.

After the game we had the grand tour of Durham. Ian and Lynda took us to the American Tobacco Company. These are former warehouses and production facilities that have been renovated and are now restaurants and offices. Next we went to the Duke University campus. The architecture in the Quad is Gothic and the chapel reminds us the cathedrals that you would see in Europe. It even has its own crypt where some of the university’s presidents are buried.

For dinner they took us to Mama Dip’s in Chapel Hill. This is a popular down home southern cooking restaurant that is located not far from where Kari and Jonah lived in 1999.

Tomorrow we are on our way home.

DaY 70 - Sept 27 - Durham - In Familar Territory

This morning Marg got up early to see the sun rise. She said it was very beautiful. I guess I’ll have to take her word for it.

I really missed the Myrtle Beach gals, here at the Palms. I missed the "good morning" from the next balcony, having Linda and Mary Ellen there to have breakfast and lunch on the balcony, the faces in the window from the next building and the game of charades from the balcony in the next building.



We left Myrtle Beach this morning and traveled to Durham North Carolina. We are visiting Ian and Lynda Charlton (AKA - The Lovely’s). They are in great spirits tonight as their beloved Duke Blue Devils won their football game, which was their first interconference win in a quite few years..

This area has special meaning for us. Liam was born, in Chapel Hill, eight years ago. Chapel Hill is a very short ride from Ian & Lynda’ house. In fact we passed the road where Liam, Kari and Jonah lived, when we went out for dinner. It brought back many fond memories.

Lynda has been telling us many amusing stories. The one which we through was especially amusing was a story involving Hockey Hall Of Fame coach Scotty Bowman. It turns out that many years ago, Lynda, her sister Anita and a friend went by train to Montreal. The Canadiens had just won the Stanley Cup and they arrived in time for the party. On their return trip they took the train and Scotty Bowman was sitting with them in the same row of seats. Their friend took out what she thought was a wad of Kleenex to clean her glasses. From the look on Bowman’s face they knew something was wrong. It turned out she had taken out a sanitary pad.

Tomorrow, I’m going golfing with Ian and then we are all going to a hockey game.

Day 69 - Sept 26 - Myrtle Beach - Sunburned

Today we spent the day in the pool. Although it did not seem to be hot, we both got sun burns from the reflection off the water. We met the former head chief at the Firestone Golf Club, which is one of the most prestigious clubs in the USA. He is currently head of product development for a firm that supplies soup bases and other ingredients to the major restaurants in the USA.















Tonight to we went to Drunken Jacks where we had our first dinner date. The food was still as good as we remember it.

Tomorrow we're off the Durham North Carolina.

Day 68 - Sept 25 - Myrtle Beach - What A Storm

Myrtle Beach is being hammered by a tropical depression today. The wind has been howling around the hotel since we arrived yesterday and today around 2pm the rain started. It came down in sheets and the wind got even stronger. Of course it started just after we walked down the beach to the pier for lunch. It made for a long wet walk back to the hotel.

The eye of the storm passed over us around 9pm tonight. We were having dinner in the shopping district known as "Barefoot Landing" when it arrived. It was very strange to go from heavy rain and wind to no rain and wind and then back to heavy rain over the space of 10 minutes. The waitress didn't seem to concerned about the storm. She told us the water temperature is still warm enough to support hurricanes. Her only concern was that when she got home she would have to take her puppy out for his nightly walk in the rain.

The winds finally died down tonight around midnight.

Hey Myrtle Beach Gals, yes we are staying at the Palms Resort! We have a one bedroom in the South building. Brian likes our one bedroom condo! Even though the wind howled at the bedroom window all night. The open space near the elevators is a real wind tunnel. I even debated on sleeping on the murphy bed (Linda S's bed) in the living room. It is hard to believe the living room was quieter.

Wendy the front desk clerk is not here because she broke her foot. She will be back next week. I was disappointed I didn't get to see Wendy!

Day 67 - Sept 24 - Myrtle Beach - Fond Memories

Today we left Savannah and traveled to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. We traveled along highway 17 which took us through the "low country", which consists mainly of pine forests and swamps.

Myrtle Beach has changed quite a bit since we meet 20 years ago. It has expanded south and west and is now a large city with many restaurants, theaters and of course gold courses to attract the tourists. Most of the small motels along the beach have been replaced with large condos or major hotels. We are staying at The Palms Resort.
















The beach is still magnificent. Unfortunately Myrtle Beach is having a NorEaster, which is a wind storm from the North East that creates large waves and gale force winds.

We went to Dueling Pianos tonight. This is a nightclub where two pianist play continual music, mixed with comedy. The music tends to be 60s and 70s oriented but they do play everything including Rap. The large crowd really gets into the act and it is very enjoyable. It appears that this night club has taken over from Studebaker's as the place to go in Myrtle Beach.

Day 66 - Sept 23 - Savannah - In The Heart Of The South

Today we went on a city tour of Savannah Georgia. Both our impressions of the city are the same. It is very friendly and unpretentious. It does not have the snob attitude of Charleston South Carolina. The tour centered on the cultural and commercial history of the city. There was little information on its role in the American civil war, which was the central theme of the Charleston’s tours.

Many of the main streets in the old part of the city are tree lined boulevards. The old city is built around 24 squares or parks. Each of these squares is also full of large trees with many of the trees covered in Spanish Moss. The squares have statues or fountains and are dedicated to a historical figure in the development of Savannah. One of the squares was used in the shooting of Forest Gump, where he sits on a bench and offers candies to people who he is talking to.













































One of the most impressive fountains can be found in Forsyth Park. The fountain was bought through a mail order company at the turn of the last century















Some of the more impressive houses in the old city include the Juliette Gordon Low house, the Sorel Weed house, and the Mercer house. Juliette Gordon Low was the founder of the Girl Guides and the Mercer house is the main house in book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

The Sorel Weed house is one of Savannah’s many haunted houses. It has been featured on the Homes and Gardens Channel and SCI-FI Channel on TV. We took a tour, where the guide explained how the current owner has restored the house to its original design by removing plaster from walls, knocking down partitions and opening up enclosed stairwells and passages.
















As we walked down the sidewalk, we were approached by an elderly lady, who asked us if we needed any assistance. In the course of the conversation she disclosed that she had lived most of her life on a plantation, but that her husband had left her after 50 years for her cousin. She now lived in an expensive condo in the old city and looked after a garden in one of the near by squares.

We then went down to River Street which had been the main road in the harbour during the time when cotton was king. Savannah was the main cotton trading centre in North American during the 1800's. Now they have renovated the buildings and they are hosts to many excellent restaurants. We had lunch and did some shopping along River Street.

In the restaurant where we went for lunch, they had discovered that during the civil war General Sherman’s troops had used the building and drawn maps of their plans for the war after the capture of Savannah on the walls of the building. Over the years the walls had been plastered over, but luckily the current owner had the walls stripped and had discovered the maps.

During the evening we revisited River Street for dinner. There were a couple of street performers, including a blues singer who was accompanied by a jazz clarinet. It was interesting music that was produced.


















































































Tomorrow we are off the Myrtle Beach for a couple days of rest and relaxation.

Day 65 - Sept 22 - Savannah - GPS for Sale - CHEAP

Today we traveled from Panama City Beach in west Florida to Savannah Georgia along the Atlantic coast. It was a long uneventful trip through some very poor rural counties in northern Florida and Georgia. Many of the homes along the route were trailers that were in direr need of repair. What was especially disturbing was the number of homes that flew the Confederate flag, including one that was across the street from an Afro-American church. I guess some people will never learn.

We decide that the quick route would also be the geographically shortest route. We went northeast along back roads and secondary highways, instead of east on I10 and then north on I95. We had originally thought that this was a good idea. This was interesting for a while, but after a couple of hours it became annoying as you had to slow down to 35mph for each small village or town, which seemed to occur each ten miles or so. After awhile, each village looked the same. Each had a gas station, corner store or hardware store, church and a fast food restaurant. I'm sure that it added at least an hour to what was going to be a very long trip.

Hey Wendy B, you’ll be very proud of me. I finally started to watch Oprah’s twentieth anniversary dvd’s and it made the trip seem a lot shorter for me.

Gertrude, our GPS, was especially annoying today. At least four times, Gertrude tried to make us turn on nonexistent roads. A couple of other times we went where she told us to go and she immediately started her “recalculating” voice and told us to go in another direction. When we decided that we would finally take the direct route on highway 82 to I95, Gertrude still wanted us to take the back roads into Savannah. We had to mute her before I threw it out of the window.

Gas in Georgia is 80 cents more expensive for a gallon than in Florida and Texas. They are blaming it on the hurricanes but the refineries that supply the east coast are also the same refineries that supply the gulf coast, so someone is lying.

Day 64 - Sept 21 - Panama City - Along The Emerald Coast

Today we continued our trip east along the Gulf Coast. We passed through Mississippi, Alabama ending up in the Florida panhandle where we are staying the night in Panama City Beach. This was uneventful trip along the coast. What we did notice was the swamps turned from low scrubs to the Cypress trees covered in Spanish moss.

Along the coast we traveled across many long causeways, including one on Mobile bay that asked you to check your gas before you went on the bridge.















We saw many birds along the way, including Sandpipers and Pelicans.






























For dinner we went to the pier on Pineapple Jacks on the Panama City Beach to watch the sunset. It was just as spectacular as the sunsets on the Oregon coast.

Hey Anita, this sunset was not the same without the blankets and wine as in January 1992!


























































Tomorrow we are on our way to Savannah Georgia.

Day 63 - Sept 20 - Biloxi - The Gulf Coast, 3 years after Katrina

The most interesting aspect of a trip like ours is talking to the locals about their lives and cultures. Some of these conversations will stick with you for the rest of your life. Yesterday was one such experience. At dinner we struck up a conversation with the waitress, a middle-aged lady who told us to grab the crab as it was the best item in the buffet. During the course of the evening she told us of her experience with Hurricane Katrina.

It turned out that she owned a mobile home in New Orleans. She knew it was doomed and went to her daughter's house in Biloxi because it was made of brick. When she got there her pregnant daughter had already left for the inland. Unfortunately, she decided to ignore her daughter's warnings to come inland and decide to stay at her house to protect it after the storm. When the hurricane hit, the house was completely flooded and she was forced with her husband to escape to the roof of the house and wait for rescue. During this time she did not expect to make it through the storm. She told us of how the furniture inside the house was ripped through its windows. She also told us how the water became a hazard because of the dangerous currents, and how she fully expected to either drown, be bitten by one the poisonous snakes that infested the waters or be dragged under by an alligator.

What made the conversation even more interesting was her passionate belief that her deceased parents were acting as her guardian angles. It seems that through the years, during times of trouble, she has come to associate her parents with yellow butterflies. At the conclusion of the hurricane two yellow butterflies appeared and flew around her while she was on the roof. She believes that they wanted to make sure she was safe and then they left. Who are we to question her beliefs?

During the afternoon we took a trip along the coastal highway. Three years after Katrina, the only buildings that have been rebuilt are the hotels and casinos with the occasional house and store. Some work has been done on the roads and bridges. Imagine, if you can, that for miles and miles and four blocks in from the ocean all the homes and stores have disappeared. Along the highway a veterans hospital and large college site vacant and totally destroyed. You can see some of the partial foundations from the road and as one reminder that it was not all property damage their is a large cross in a lot as remembrance to the inhabitants we suspect perished in the storm.

They are trying to rebuild, but it is going to take a long, long time.

Day 62 - Sept 19 - Biloxi - Into The Deep South

Today we traveled from East Texas , across the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, through the Louisana Bayou and then on to Biloxi on the Gulf coast. It was a very long drive that took us from 9:30am until 8:30pm. It was over 500 miles.































It seems strange but even with all my trips to Myrtle Beach and Florida, this was the first time that I've actually seen a cotton field.

On trip south we saw the after effects of hurricanes Gustaf and Ike. There were some trees down, mostly in small clusters and some of the houses still had tarps on their roofs because they've lost their singles. Given the conditions of these homes, we suspect that they are very poor and may have to wait for government assistance before getting a new roof.

The hotel we are staying at is the Treasure Bay Casino. The room is like a small apartment and overlooks the pool. We wanted a gulf view room but they were all taken when we got here. It is just as well as the weather is supposed to be cloudy. Tonight I was again the big winner bring in the grand winnings of $6.50 and 2 free drinks. Marg was not so lucky.

Day 61 - Sept 18 - Terrell Tx - A Small Detour

Today we had to make a major detour on our way to the Gulf Coast. Houston is still off limits because of the damage inflected by hurricane Ike, so we went north and are staying in Terrell Texas. Terrell is small rural town about 30 minutes east of Dallas.

We had dinner in a authentic Texas BBQ house. It reminded both of us of the old TV show Mel's Dinner. The waitress was very friendly with a big southern accent like Flo from that show. The food was so/so but Marg did like their home made peach cobbler. One part of the restaurant was being used by a time share salesman to give his spiel to the locals. We couldn't tell if he was making an impression or not, but Flo didn't seem to be too impressed.

Our van was parked under a tree at the hotel in San Antonio. It turns out that this must have been the birds private outhouse. The van was completed covered in bird droppings. Marg says that this is a sign of good luck.

We almost didn't make it to Terrell. The car battery was dead this morning. The hotel staff quickly boosted the battery and we were on our way. I was going to get the battery checked when we got to Terrell. I didn't think that the battery was charging so I didn't stop the van until we got to a Ford dealership just outside of Terrell. When they opened the hood, they got this panicked look in their eyes and told us to move away as the battery was ready to explode. That would explain why for or the final 20 minutes before we arrived at the repair shop, we had a strong smell of sulphur coming from the engine. I don't want to contemplate what would have happened to the engine had the battery blown. I guess all that bird poop is good luck after all.

Tomorrow we have a long drive in front of us as we are going to Biloxi, Ms for the weekend.

Day 60 - Sept 17 - San Antonio - A Walk Along The River

Today we spent the afternoon visiting the sites in San Antonio. There are two major attractions in San Antonio. The most famous is of course the Alamo. The story of the Alamo is well documented by two movies, the most recent having been released only 5 years ago. It was interesting to get a feeling for the size of the mission/fort and to see some of the weapons used at the battle.














The other main attraction is the River Walk. American president Roosevelt sanctioned the construction of a walkway along the San Antonio river in downtown San Antonio as part of his depression era program known as the New Deal. Over the years it has been expanded and improved. It is very scenic and it is the place to see people or have a drink and a good meal. You can travel down the river and the connecting canals on one of many tour boats or river taxis. Liam you would be happy to hear that we got our exercise today by walking for about two hours. One of the more interesting aspects of the walkway is how it is incorporated into a large shopping mall and major hotel at the northern end of the walkway. (see the second picture below)

























































Liam and Jonah, you would be interested in this Hilton Hotel, pictured below. For the 1968 world's fair, Hilton built each hotel room off-site and then shipped it to the San Antonio site where they were stacked on top of each other as you would build a shelter with Lego. It only took them 220 days to build the hotel which is still a record today for a hotel of this size.

Day 59 - Sept 16 -San Antonio - A trip through a very barren land

Today we traveled from El Paso to San Antonio. It was a very boring drive through the Edwards Plateau along I10. The standard joke about Saskatchewan is that your dog could run away and it would take 3 days before it was out of your view. Well the same joke could apply here. It is totally flat with no tall vegetation to break the view. You can see windmills on the horizon as clear as if they were in the next field. On the west you could see the Guadalupe mountains, so there was some variety.

There is no population along I10 from El Paso until you reach San Antonio. It seems at times that I10 is your own private race track, because there are periods where you can go 10 minutes without seeing another car.


The hotel in San Antonio, where we are staying, is host to many evacuees from Houston because of hurricane Ike. We meet two families and we both admired the way they are handling this horrible situation. One gentleman who has 3 young boys, including one who has severe medical difficulties, is treating it as a vacation while his work is look for a new furnished home for him and his family. His two older boy's major concern is that they are going to miss playing in their school's next football game. We also meet two teenage girls who lived in Beaumont. Their homes had received damaged from flooding but they were taking it in stride and were enjoying the days off from school. They thought they might be displaced for up to 30 days.

Day 58 - Sept 15 - El Paso - We've Arrived In The Lone Star State

Tonight we are in El Paso, the first time we've been east of the continental divide since July 29. We were very surprised when we found out that El Paso and its sister city Juarez on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande have a population of over 2,000,000 people. Also it cames a bit of surprise that the temperature tonight is actually cold.

The day started with us leaving Phoenix and heading out on the I10 through the Saguaro desert. This was a very dry and dusty area with a cactus, know as the Saguaro cactus, which is only found in this desert. This cactus can survive for up to 4 years without any water.


Can you top this in Ontario Ken ?





















At a rest stop along the way we decide to snap some pictures of these cacti. While off the walkways about 50 feet, there were lots of holes in the ground. After we shot the pictures Marg found the following sign outside of the restrooms.



After we left the Saguaro desert, we entered east Arizona and New Mexico which is the homeland of the Apache Nation. There we monuments to Cochise and Geronimo. Although it is considered a desert there was plenty of varied vegetation and grazing pastures for cattle. At one point along the I10 we crested a large hill and were meet with huge rock structures that were quite unlike anything we've seem before.

Day 57 - Sept 14 - Phoenix - On Our Way to the Alamo

A few quick thoughts about LA from our tour yesterday.

1. One of the most popular restaurants in LA is a hot dog stand called Pinks. It has lineups that stretches around the store even at 2:00 in the morning.
2. Madonna's home in Beverley Hills is up for sale. It went up for sale the day after her brother, who was the principal resident, published a tell all book about his sister.
3. The owner of Ralph's, which is the owner of one of the largest grocery chains in California, is the neighbour to Tom Cruise. He has stated that if the Republicans are re-elected as president he will pack up and move his billions to Canada.
4. We saw an actual police take down of a shop lifter in the Kodak theater shopping complex. One of the cops, who is the size of of Darren, had his knee of the thief's head as they were handcuffing him. Needless to say the crook offered little resistance.
5. The jail in Beverley Hills has a parking space of limos and the prisoners have perks that you would expect in a high class hotel
6. Elvis Presley's favorite restaurant was Carney's, which is a burger joint on Sunset Blvd that is housed in an old street car.
7. If you want good pizza, go to Micelis off Hollywood Blvd. Marg says it is the best she has ever tasted.
   

Today we traveled from LA to Phoenix. The geography was pretty boring. It was flat desert with small rocky mountains on each side of the I10. We passed Palm Springs in the desert but you couldn't see it from the highway because of the sound barriers. In that area it has some major windmill farms for generating electric power. At one point Marg estimated that there was at least 100 windmills in a field.

We also passed Yuka Flats. This was an area where they tested atomic bombs underground in the 50s. I was reminded of some parties we had with the people from work in the late 70s, where a colleague named Ken Ikle mixed up a punch called Yuka Flats that was very potent.

Tomorrow we are on our way to El Paso.

Day 56 - Sept 13 - Los Angeles - Our Tour Of La La Land

Today we went of a 7 hour tour of Los Angeles, where we got see many of the major cultural sites of Los Angeles county, which includes Hollywood, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Brentwood. Our tour bus picked us up at the hotel and took us downtown Hollywood close to Graumans Chinese Theatre. Our first stop was the Hollywood Bowl, where concerts are held in the outdoors. We could see the Hollywood sign from the top of the Bowl, but it was very foggy and we could not get a very good picture.
















Next we went to Hollywood Blvd. The world premiere of IGOR was taking place at the Graumans Chinese Theatre when we got there. It is a cartoon with the voices of John Cusack, John Cleese and Jay Leno to name a few. From the number of photographers some of them must have been present.

















We then went on for a walk on the Hollywood walk of fame where we saw some plaques for some stars such as Roger Moore. We decided that we would return after our tour to see the older major star's plaques with their foot prints and hand prints.

We then went down Sunset Blvd where the major night clubs for rock bands, such as the Whisky A Go Go, are located. Our guide's name was Pepe, who was quite the character. He claimed that he was in the rock musical Hair in the 70s and he pointed out clubs where he partied with the cast members and the rock groups of that era, such as the Doors. He also pointed where John Belushi and River Phoenix died of drug overdoses.

Next we entered Beverly Hills and went to Rodeo Drive where the stars shop for all their expensive designer clothing and jewlery. These include Tiffany, Armani, Gucchi. We did some window shopping but of course none of the prices were displayed. I guess if you have to ask you can't afford it.







Hey Ruthie D, I finally made it to Hollywood




























Next we went to the La Brae tar pits where their low grade oil and methane gas bubbles out of a pond in downtown LA. This was followed by lunch in the Farmer's Market. We were told that we should go into a building where there were there many fast food resturants. It reminded us of Granville Island in Vancouver. After we finished eating we went outside only to discover a very modern and clean pedestrian mall.















After lunch our tour took us past Paramount and CBS studios before we went to the business downtown of LA. Here we saw the major conference centre for LA including the Staples Centre and the Disney concert hall.






























After the downtown tour we went through Chinatown. We then returned to bus depot for our tour of the "Star's Homes". During this tour we saw the homes of many stars including, Dr. Phil, Brad Pit, Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone, Madonna, Mick Jagger and Michael Caine. We both had a good laugh when we were told that the biggest manison belongs to a divorice lawyer. All of these homes are well in excess of $1,000,000.
































Tomorrow we start on our way home. We will be traveling to Phoenix on our way to the east coast.