The significant other (TSO) got himself invited to a wedding in Cohasset - a blip of a town on the east coast 20 miles south of Boston. We attended the wedding which turned out to be a rather emotional affair, with much wailing and gnashing of teeth (personally I didn't think the food was that bad - but hey, what do I know?)
We spent 3 days in the east taking in Nantucket, Province Town and some smaller places on Cape Cod before driving up for the nuptials.
This was a great intro to the main part of the holiday, a road trip in the west starting out in Las Vegas, then on through Death Valley and the Sequoia National Park to the Wine Country and a few days in San Francisco.
With 4 days dedicated to Las Vegas we managed to pack in almost every conceivable activity that it had to offer, losing on the slot machines, drinking vast quantities of alcohol and eating steak 'til TSO and I were mooing. We visited the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The former being very impressive (but I still wonder what they did with the bodies of workers that died during the construction), the latter being somewhat under construction. The Skywalk is situated on the West rim of the GC, and is a transparent bridge type thing which juts off the edge of the canyon. Although the Skywalk was complete to walk across, there is nothing else in the area (at the time of writing). Although it is the US and therefore you can buy over sized fizzy drinks and hot dogs.
We also watched a show one evening, Penn & Teller, which was magic! Pun intended. TSO even got to go up on stage to help them out with a trick.
In Vegas we hired a convertible Mustang and drove out Sonoma and Napa Valleys via Death Valley and the Sequoia National Park. It was verily a holiday of extremes: temperature in Death Valley (v hot ) and size in the national park. TSO says not to be so kind, but I am talking about the trees. The General Sherman Tree, the most massive living thing on the planet, is a noble and stately beast. The funny thing is that it after you have been awed by the size of the trees you see before you get to it, The General doesn't seem so mind-bogglingly impressive.
It took us 3 days to get to Sonoma in the Mustang. We booked a charming bed & breakfast , and spent 3 days tasting sumptuous wines and 3 nights bubbling ourselves in the open air hot tub.
There were probably over 200 vineyards/wineries within 20 miles of the B&B, some notable mentions of the ones include:
Pappapietro Perry - small family winery, excellent Pinot Noir
Korbel - champagne under the trees
Benziger - one of only 3 bio dynamic wineries in the world.
Our road trip ended in San Francisco with a mad dash to return the car before the Avis office closed.
We had 3 days in SF before returning home, taking in Alcatraz, the SFMOMA, Coit Tower and a ride on the Mason-Powell cable car. I suppose with most sight-seeing trips in a big city, the last part was really a box ticking exercise. The highlight for me was the visit to Alcatraz. TSO and I took a night tour with the secondary intention of getting some photos of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. TSO was scoffed at when he revealed this intention to his American colleagues since SF is also famous for its massive fog that rolls in off the sea at a moment's notice.
Without being too smug, we had a clear night and got the photos we wanted, so thank you lady luck! Below are some of the photos taken on the trip.
Brant Point Lighthouse,
Nantucket
We spent 3 days in the east taking in Nantucket, Province Town and some smaller places on Cape Cod before driving up for the nuptials.
This was a great intro to the main part of the holiday, a road trip in the west starting out in Las Vegas, then on through Death Valley and the Sequoia National Park to the Wine Country and a few days in San Francisco.
With 4 days dedicated to Las Vegas we managed to pack in almost every conceivable activity that it had to offer, losing on the slot machines, drinking vast quantities of alcohol and eating steak 'til TSO and I were mooing. We visited the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The former being very impressive (but I still wonder what they did with the bodies of workers that died during the construction), the latter being somewhat under construction. The Skywalk is situated on the West rim of the GC, and is a transparent bridge type thing which juts off the edge of the canyon. Although the Skywalk was complete to walk across, there is nothing else in the area (at the time of writing). Although it is the US and therefore you can buy over sized fizzy drinks and hot dogs.
We also watched a show one evening, Penn & Teller, which was magic! Pun intended. TSO even got to go up on stage to help them out with a trick.
In Vegas we hired a convertible Mustang and drove out Sonoma and Napa Valleys via Death Valley and the Sequoia National Park. It was verily a holiday of extremes: temperature in Death Valley (v hot ) and size in the national park. TSO says not to be so kind, but I am talking about the trees. The General Sherman Tree, the most massive living thing on the planet, is a noble and stately beast. The funny thing is that it after you have been awed by the size of the trees you see before you get to it, The General doesn't seem so mind-bogglingly impressive.
It took us 3 days to get to Sonoma in the Mustang. We booked a charming bed & breakfast , and spent 3 days tasting sumptuous wines and 3 nights bubbling ourselves in the open air hot tub.
There were probably over 200 vineyards/wineries within 20 miles of the B&B, some notable mentions of the ones include:
Pappapietro Perry - small family winery, excellent Pinot Noir
Korbel - champagne under the trees
Benziger - one of only 3 bio dynamic wineries in the world.
Our road trip ended in San Francisco with a mad dash to return the car before the Avis office closed.
We had 3 days in SF before returning home, taking in Alcatraz, the SFMOMA, Coit Tower and a ride on the Mason-Powell cable car. I suppose with most sight-seeing trips in a big city, the last part was really a box ticking exercise. The highlight for me was the visit to Alcatraz. TSO and I took a night tour with the secondary intention of getting some photos of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. TSO was scoffed at when he revealed this intention to his American colleagues since SF is also famous for its massive fog that rolls in off the sea at a moment's notice.
Without being too smug, we had a clear night and got the photos we wanted, so thank you lady luck! Below are some of the photos taken on the trip.
Brant Point Lighthouse,Nantucket
Road through salt pan in Death Valley
Sunset over the sequoias
Golden Gate Bridge at sunset
The Rock
2 comments:
Love the pics write a journal about your trip.. your writing is very entertaining.. love Dad
Alcatraz - what a monument! Great photo you should blow it up ... the photo that is :)
Post a Comment