The tour is over.
We're in a waiting lounge at the Toronto airport at the moment, following a flight from LA, and waiting for the flight that'll take us to Tel Aviv. Seems like a good time for summaries.
We drove a total of 3890 miles (about 6300 kilometers) through four states: California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
Five national parks: Yosemite, Death Valley, Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon, and two national monuments: Devil's Postpile and Montezuma Castle.
We spent 26 nights, in 16 different hotels. The best were The Argonaut in San Francisco and The Mirage in Las Vegas. The worse was Panamint Springs Resort in Death Valley.
We spent a whole lot of money, but we'll leave the exact sum out.
And most of all, we had tons of fun and can't wait to do it again! See y'all on next year's blog of next year's tour.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Day 26
All good things must come to an end, and so the last day of our vacation has arrived. To give a great vacation a fitting ending, we decided to go and have a very fun day.
We went to the Universal Studios theme park and did just that.
After that we went to a nice restaurant on Hollywood Blvd, where Elad had a very tasty rack of ribs.
That's it. Tomorrow morning we're driving over to the airport, and then we'll spend something like 18 hours in an airplane. We guess the big fun ended today.
All in all it was an excellent vacation, full of beautiful views, sparkling cities and a lot of food. We hope you enjoyed the ride. We sure did!!!! See you soon.
The (officially) newly weds.
We went to the Universal Studios theme park and did just that.
After that we went to a nice restaurant on Hollywood Blvd, where Elad had a very tasty rack of ribs.
That's it. Tomorrow morning we're driving over to the airport, and then we'll spend something like 18 hours in an airplane. We guess the big fun ended today.
All in all it was an excellent vacation, full of beautiful views, sparkling cities and a lot of food. We hope you enjoyed the ride. We sure did!!!! See you soon.
The (officially) newly weds.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Day 25
We don't have much to write today (and no photos either), since we didn't do much. The first half of our day we spent in San-Diego. We wanted to visit the art museum, which is supposed to be very good, but unfortunately for us it turns out that on Mondays most of the museums are closed to the public. We ended up at a museum of anthropology, which wasn't very interesting. It was quite small and mostly for kids.
After our (short) museum visit we drove to the antique district and walked around for a while, window shopping.
At around noon we started driving to LA, at first on freeway no. 5 and then on a more scenic route along the seashore (highway 101). We drove through many places, like Orange County and Laguna Beach and other places named after teenage soap operas (sorry, we meant drama series).
We got to LA at around 4 pm and checked into our hotel near the Hollywood blvd.
We decided to finish our trip in style and so tomorrow we are going to Universal Studios, to have a final day of fun before we return…
After our (short) museum visit we drove to the antique district and walked around for a while, window shopping.
At around noon we started driving to LA, at first on freeway no. 5 and then on a more scenic route along the seashore (highway 101). We drove through many places, like Orange County and Laguna Beach and other places named after teenage soap operas (sorry, we meant drama series).
We got to LA at around 4 pm and checked into our hotel near the Hollywood blvd.
We decided to finish our trip in style and so tomorrow we are going to Universal Studios, to have a final day of fun before we return…
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Day 24
Today was Sea World day. Just like yesterday, the day was kind of gray and drizzly, but that worked for us because there were less people and thus – less lines (it was a Sunday, and we were afraid it would be crowded).
We got there just as they opened (can you detect a pattern?) and were a little surprised at the price of the ticket (about $50 per person), but we didn't let that stop us.
We went to all the shows: we watched Shamu and his family, we watched the sea lion show, and we watched the dolphin show. Those animals are amazing, and as you can see in the photo they can jump really (really!) high. Also they're really cute. We saw some weird fish like white arctic whales (that have necks, unlike the killer whales) and Commerson's Dolphins, which are black and white and like to swim upside down.
We rode some roller coasters and got quite wet, and we got to touch Ray fish and Bottlenose Dolphins.
Don't be surprised to see some horse photos. The Anheuser-Bush beer company, that sponsors Sea World, has a team of Clydesdale horses (the second largest breed of horses in the world) that pull it's beer wagon and some of them are kept in the park (along with a tiny donkey that did a TV commercial with the horses).
One last comment: if you want to be a sea world trainer you have to be blonde, white and have a name like Gretchen, Liz or Stephanie. If you're a Maria, a Lucia or a Juanita, you'll probably be selling ice cream or cleaning the toilets…
We got there just as they opened (can you detect a pattern?) and were a little surprised at the price of the ticket (about $50 per person), but we didn't let that stop us.
We went to all the shows: we watched Shamu and his family, we watched the sea lion show, and we watched the dolphin show. Those animals are amazing, and as you can see in the photo they can jump really (really!) high. Also they're really cute. We saw some weird fish like white arctic whales (that have necks, unlike the killer whales) and Commerson's Dolphins, which are black and white and like to swim upside down.
We rode some roller coasters and got quite wet, and we got to touch Ray fish and Bottlenose Dolphins.
Don't be surprised to see some horse photos. The Anheuser-Bush beer company, that sponsors Sea World, has a team of Clydesdale horses (the second largest breed of horses in the world) that pull it's beer wagon and some of them are kept in the park (along with a tiny donkey that did a TV commercial with the horses).
One last comment: if you want to be a sea world trainer you have to be blonde, white and have a name like Gretchen, Liz or Stephanie. If you're a Maria, a Lucia or a Juanita, you'll probably be selling ice cream or cleaning the toilets…
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Day 23
Elad: Today was Noa's big day. Forget the wedding – today was even better…
We got out of bed at 6:30 am so we can arrive before the opening to… the San Diego Zoo!
I'll let Noa tell the rest.
Noa: From the way he puts it you would think he wasn't excited about it…
Anyway, luckily for us the motel where we stayed had tickets for the zoo, so we bought them there and saved ourselves the need to stand in line. Because it was a Saturday we were sure there would be many people there so we got there rather early, and to our surprise there weren’t that many. Maybe it was because of the weather – it wasn't exactly raining but it was drizzling all day and the skies were gray.
We actually got there 20 minutes before opening time. Dad – does that remind you of anyone?
So we spent the entire day (from 9 am until about 4 pm) walking around looking at all the animals. It's a huge place and there were animals there that we didn't even know existed (like some weird animal from Africa called a bearcat).
At around noon we watched a short half hour show about training some of these animals. At some point to our surprise, the trainer brought a dog (a Golden Retriever) up on the stage. She explained that they use him to train some of the animals. Since dogs have the ability to remain calm and collected in many situations that other animals would find frightening, it helps the animals in training to overcome their fears. This specific dog grew up with a cheetah ever since he was 4 months old and she – 3 months old and they still live together. As you can see from the photos they get along very well and the amazing thing is that the dog is the dominant animal in the pair. The trainer said that they have to be fed separately, or the dog will steal the cheetah's food.
Later that day we saw the trainer walking the same dog around the zoo along with a massive white wolf. At first glance we thought she was walking two dogs, but something about the big dog seemed strange, and then we realized it was a wolf. Good thing we didn't try to pet it…
We got out of bed at 6:30 am so we can arrive before the opening to… the San Diego Zoo!
I'll let Noa tell the rest.
Noa: From the way he puts it you would think he wasn't excited about it…
Anyway, luckily for us the motel where we stayed had tickets for the zoo, so we bought them there and saved ourselves the need to stand in line. Because it was a Saturday we were sure there would be many people there so we got there rather early, and to our surprise there weren’t that many. Maybe it was because of the weather – it wasn't exactly raining but it was drizzling all day and the skies were gray.
We actually got there 20 minutes before opening time. Dad – does that remind you of anyone?
So we spent the entire day (from 9 am until about 4 pm) walking around looking at all the animals. It's a huge place and there were animals there that we didn't even know existed (like some weird animal from Africa called a bearcat).
At around noon we watched a short half hour show about training some of these animals. At some point to our surprise, the trainer brought a dog (a Golden Retriever) up on the stage. She explained that they use him to train some of the animals. Since dogs have the ability to remain calm and collected in many situations that other animals would find frightening, it helps the animals in training to overcome their fears. This specific dog grew up with a cheetah ever since he was 4 months old and she – 3 months old and they still live together. As you can see from the photos they get along very well and the amazing thing is that the dog is the dominant animal in the pair. The trainer said that they have to be fed separately, or the dog will steal the cheetah's food.
Later that day we saw the trainer walking the same dog around the zoo along with a massive white wolf. At first glance we thought she was walking two dogs, but something about the big dog seemed strange, and then we realized it was a wolf. Good thing we didn't try to pet it…
Friday, October 21, 2005
Day 22
We drove nearly 500 miles today – from Flagstaff to San Diego.
Originally we thought we'll get tired from all the driving, so we planned to stop somewhere along the way and continue tomorrow. However, we noticed that we can go on driving without a problem so we stopped only when we got to El Cajon, which is about 10 miles east of San Diego.
In the morning, on our way from Flagstaff towards Phoenix, we stopped in a place called Montezuma Castle. It turns out that at around the same time that the Notre Dame was being built in Paris (1200), the local Indians (called "Sinagua", which means "no water") managed to build a "masterpiece" of their own – a mud dwelling on a cliff's face (that's Elad being sarcastic…). Still, it's pretty interesting. We got some pictures for you. Unfortunately you can only view the place from the outside.
It is called Montezuma castle because the first white people that discovered it thought it was a sanctuary built for the Aztec Leader and the name stuck.
At the end of our long drive, when we got to El Cajon, we looked for something to eat, and accidentally stumbled upon a great seafood restaurant, called "Anthony's". We really enjoyed our Friday night's dinner. We had crab cakes, seared Tuna fish, Shrimp Scampi and a Cajun style Catfish. Delicious!
Tomorrow we are planning to go to Sea World or the San Diego Zoo. We'll keep you posted.
Originally we thought we'll get tired from all the driving, so we planned to stop somewhere along the way and continue tomorrow. However, we noticed that we can go on driving without a problem so we stopped only when we got to El Cajon, which is about 10 miles east of San Diego.
In the morning, on our way from Flagstaff towards Phoenix, we stopped in a place called Montezuma Castle. It turns out that at around the same time that the Notre Dame was being built in Paris (1200), the local Indians (called "Sinagua", which means "no water") managed to build a "masterpiece" of their own – a mud dwelling on a cliff's face (that's Elad being sarcastic…). Still, it's pretty interesting. We got some pictures for you. Unfortunately you can only view the place from the outside.
It is called Montezuma castle because the first white people that discovered it thought it was a sanctuary built for the Aztec Leader and the name stuck.
At the end of our long drive, when we got to El Cajon, we looked for something to eat, and accidentally stumbled upon a great seafood restaurant, called "Anthony's". We really enjoyed our Friday night's dinner. We had crab cakes, seared Tuna fish, Shrimp Scampi and a Cajun style Catfish. Delicious!
Tomorrow we are planning to go to Sea World or the San Diego Zoo. We'll keep you posted.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Day 21
It was a beautiful day in Northern Arizona today – sunny and warm. At first we wanted to go to a place called "Wupatki National Monument", which is the ruins of an old Indian settlement. However, we decided that we had enough of this kind of stuff, and instead decided to drive to Sedona. It's about 30 miles to the south east from Flagstaff, and famous for its red rocks, woods of Ponderosa pines, and art galleries. The road there (89A) is beautiful and the town is really nice. We even liked some of the art that we saw in the galleries, which is uncommon for us (not that we can afford buying $20,000 paintings, but still). In short, it was definitely worth the drive.
We returned to Flagstaff early afternoon, and planned to go to the Lowell Observatory (from where Pluto was discovered early last century) in the evening. Unfortunately it is closed today. It looks like we'll spend the evening in the hotel, reading and watching TV.
We returned to Flagstaff early afternoon, and planned to go to the Lowell Observatory (from where Pluto was discovered early last century) in the evening. Unfortunately it is closed today. It looks like we'll spend the evening in the hotel, reading and watching TV.
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