7th December- Reflections on the trip

Well we were away for 50 nights and stayed in 20 different Hotels plus staying with friends in Austin for five nights and that meant we had twenty one separate beds. We used two cars as the hire car company do not allow contracts longer than 30 days whilst we travelled 6115 miles and at average fuel consumption of around 27.5 mpg (US mpg) which is not bad for a car this size. 
Fuel costs ranged between 50 pence  and 63 pence per Litre, different states have different rates of tax whilst the problems in the North-east of the USA, also affected fuel prices.
Highlights, well perhaps to many to mention but the Austin GP was great  and so was Elton and the the various parks and although were were not sure about Monument Valley as it was about 600 miles out of our way it was well worth it.
Would we do it all over again not arf!
However, there are quite a few places in the world still to go and see and so perhaps we will not be back in USA for a while but then again that could easily change as well.
Well this is the last on this USA visit and now we have to adjust to not only driving on the other side of the road but the cold wintry weather as well.
We have a large party planned for Sat 15th December to celebrate the BBC comedy series Allo Allo, and this should be great fun, no doubt photos to follow.

Wednesday 5th December- Leaving Las Vegas

A quiet morning around the Hotel although we did leave to go for breakfast in the village rather than sit in an empty restaurant with staff hovering about not knowing how to fill their time.
The late morning and afternoon we spent enjoying the comforts of the Hotel with the odd coffee and whilst we read our books their was no one to disturb us. When you consider that this Hotel has 493 bedrooms and an occupancy of about 2% you can understand why it is so deathly quiet and we loved it.
We planned to leave the Hotel at pm and take a slow drive to the Hire Car Drop off point as the deal we had with the rent-a-car people was they gave? us a full tank of fuel but we should return it empty. So over the last couple of days our driving style had reflected this and this and the on board computer said we had enough fuel for 71 miles when we first arrived at the Hotel on Monday.  When using the car to the mall on Tuesday we calculated the mall was 5 miles away times 2 which meant that the car should have sufficient fuel for the 14 mile drive to the airport only when we got back to the Hotel the computer had dropped to 52 miles, whoops how did that happen. Anyway we drove at a fuel efficient pace to the airport and of course the RED light came on and bells clanging saying short of fuel and the needle looked low whilst the computer said 38 miles however we now only have four miles to go in no traffic and so it should all be fine but cutting it a little close. Approx half a mile from our destination their had been rather a bad accident and there  were police and ambulance and fire people everywhere and so we were stuck in the traffic for twenty minutes whilst the computer clicked down and then eventually we started moving and we made it with the computer showing 12 miles left, phew that was close and not to be repeated.
Our flight was a little late leaving but this was due to strong headwinds for the aircraft on the way out but this meant our flight back was quite fast, just about nine hours compared to the scheduled 10.5 hours.
Boy it was cold when we got out of the aircraft compared to our past few weeks and we had to turn the heating really up in the house to get it warm.
An easy night watching TV and to bed, that is if we can sleep with the time difference.

Tuesday 4th December- Time to recover

The last few days had left us a little tired and so today was all about taking it easy, well that is apart from having to completely repack our stuff for travel as we have with us kettle, plates and cutlery and a rather large car plug-in cooler box.

This completed we took a trip to the large mall nearby but actually did not buy anything just wander around and had a soup and a sandwich at Panera Bread which was very good. The Hotel is so empty its difficult to find any other guests and apparently the timer between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a great time to visit Las Vegas as all the Hotel prices drop through the floor, our included. As a result many Hotel staff now take this time to holiday as also staff were not so plentiful around the place.
Having had many in room meals we decided as we did not have any microwave etc. that we would eat out and so we took the Hotel shuttle bus down to the Village and went to a nice restaurant called Sunset & Vines and the food was very good and actually, for what we had, not bad value either. The same would have cost us at least 30% more in Weybridge.
Then home to bed

Monday December 3rd- A long drive day today

We got up early just as the sun was rising outside our window overlooking the Sonic hamburger 24 hour restaurant as we have a long way to go today.
We have to leave Monument Valley and head back to Lake Las Vegas via Flagstaff and Kingman and then via the Hoover Dam and finally to our Hotel.
So after a quick brekkie, courtesy of the Hotel we departed around 0800 and Jennifer drove the first stint down through the mountains and again with roads stretching out for miles and we believe you could see up to 100 miles away sometimes.

Just outside of Flagstaff we stopped for a coffee and then changed drivers and Noel did the Intestate as we thought that would be busy but no it was remarkable quiet really. At about 13.30 we arrived at Kingman and from the distance we could see the Airport where they apparently store commercial aircraft which are not required currently or going to their graveyard in the sky. As time was with us we drove the five miles to the Airport, I say airport as my garage is slightly larger than their passenger hall and . we wandered around for a while and took  photos of about 100 aeroplanes owned by Delta, American Airlines, Spanair, SAS and lots from DHL and Continental. It was a little difficult as their were fences and in the way but few security guards.

We also used there airport terminal for a light lunch and then departed the 80 odd miles to the Hoover Dam where we had thought the new road would allow some good photos, but no, you need to go to the Dam and look up to see the new road,, oh well perhaps next time.
We arrived at the Hotel one hour earlier than anticipated as the clock changed by one hour back about half a mile from the Hoover dam to Pacific time.
When we arrived at the Hotel we noticed that the car park was virtually empty? and the doorman informed us that due the time of year they have about 5% occupancy, wow that cannot be good. Anyway as a result of us being a Starpoints member and the hotel being quiet they upgraded us which was nice.
We took all our goods and chattels from the car and wondered how we had got them to the USA in just four cases, oh well some work to be done tomorrow.
We stayed in the Hotel for dinner and went to Ricks cafe and sat by ourselves however we did not mind as after covering about 420 miles today we were not looking for the disco.
Tomorrow will be a relaxing day, repacking and then a little shopping and then some more relaxing, perhaps go in the pool if its warm enough.

2nd December- Monument Valley Utah

A nice blue sky greeted us this morning which hopefully meant the weather would be kind for our trip to Monument Valley. We are staying in a town called Kayenta which seems to live off the Monument Valley tourism trade and as a result the have not a bad small shopping centre. We stopped by here to collect some snacks for lunch and then took a slow drive out to the park which is about 15 miles from.
We went at first to another Hotel we had looked at called Goulding's Lodge which is motel style but with not bad views we thought. This place has been there so long that John Wayne use to stay there when making his cowboy fils and there is a small museum dedicated to his ilk. We also visited the Navajo gift shop but prices seem a little steep and so we departed with nothing.

We were due to meet our tour guide at the View Hotel which when we first checked for Saturday night they wanted $ 250.00 for a double room, not from me will they get this, but is clearly a very nice Hotel with amazing views and far better than those from the Goulding's Lodge. 
We had our snacks and then met with our tour guide who turned out to be a very nice young and very intelligent 19 year old who conducted us around the park in a GMC 4x4 Saloon which was most comfortable considering the appalling road conditions. Our Ford rent-a-car would have given up at the first bump and so we were glad we had decided to spend this money and this gives us the opportunity to go off the beaten track for sights not available if you drive yourself. We had a most enjoyable two and half hours touring and learning about the Navajo beliefs whilst perhaps taking to many photos.

It was a most enjoyable afternoon and well worth the expense.
We got back to the Hotel around five pm and showered off all the red dust and went for dinner in the Hotel restaurant and ordered food which turned out to be far to much for the both of us and so now it is sitting in the boot of car in doggy boxes and will no doubt be enough for lunch tomorrow.
So then an evening to relax and watch TV, last night the Monty Python Film 'The meaning of Life' was on which did surprise us.
Tomorrow we must leave quite early, around 8am if we can as have a long distance to go and we do not want to be driving around Las Vegas area in the dark.

Saturday 1st December- Back on the road again

We had originally booked four nights at the Legacy Golf Resort at Phoenix but as we enjoyed it so much we added another day and and a result would not now be stopping in Sedona overnight.

We have about 320 miles to cover today and we plan stops in Cottonwood and Sedona. The roads out of Phoenix were quite busy and we used the interstates to get going and eventually cam to the turn off for Cottonwood, We arrived first in the new part of town, just like any other US City sprawling malls and gas stations,and then followed signs to the Historic part of town. Within a few minutes we noticed the hundreds of people that had come to welcome us, they were lining the streets with their chairs and food and drink and we though what is really going on. It turns out to be a Christmas parade that will start at 11.00 and finish around four and will travel several miles right through the middle of the old town. Damn. So we were able to take a quick walk, have a coffee and then get back in the car and followed the Police diversions which sent us in the wrong direction but finally we made it back to correct roads. It was a shame as the town looked very nice  and worth a visit but we could not take the risk if being hemmed in.

We arrived in Sedona which is a beautiful town which unfortunately has become a major tourist attraction and holiday destination. The saying goes 'That God designed the world and lives in Sedona', and you can understand why with the fantastic mountains surrounding the town. We were planning to have lunch there but as they were wanting a merer US 15.00 for a basic hamburger we said no carried on walking and eventually left town around 2pm after Jennifer had bought a new cowboy hat.
After a while we arrived in Flagstaff after a rather nice drive through the mountains and then a Quiznos sandwich place and the food was excellent.
After locating an ATM we then left and headed north in the direction of the Grand Canyon but after two hours turned off toward a place called Kayenta where we are booked tonight at the Hampton Hotel for two nights. It was getting dark at 5 pm and that slowed us down a bit but eventually checked in around 6 pm.
It is unusual for a Hampton Inn to have a restaurant but this one does and although the service was a little slow the food was good. In this Navajo controlled area their is no alcohol allowed at all and if the locals get caught the punishment is severe to say the least. If they find booze in your car they confiscate the car or if they find some in your house they then evict you and confiscate the building , boy this is tough.
Tomorrow afternoon we have booked a tour in a 4x4 in Monument Valley rather than risk damaging the hire car. The roads are dirt roads with lots of holes and bumps and the last thing we need is a broken car, miles from anywhere.
Anyway a nice day but just a little tiring

Monday 26th November- The Bone Yard and then to Pheonix

A slow start and latish breakfast today and over breakfast we had a chat with the Hotel mine host, a very nice lady whose husband had at one time become addicted to gambling but seems to have got over it. There was also another guy whose mother had just arrived from Kent for about a week and so our speed of breakfast today was rather slow as we also talked about the US elections, poverty in America and a few other items.
We left the Hotel around 10.30 and drove through the side roads back to PIMA, where we were yesterday, but today we wanted to visit the Bone Yard where the US send many of its old and very old military aeroplanes to die and be cut up for scrap. This a separate bus tour and passports are required as you are going in to a military base.

The bus was full with about 40/50 people and a short drive later we arrived and there were aeroplanes everywhere. The guide was a retired Military pilot and naturally so much about all the aeroplanes there. They currently number around 4000 aircraft of everything from small fighter jet aircraft up to Hercules freighters and B 747 and even an old TWA Constellation. The aircraft they used for teaching the NASA space crews weightlessness was also there and this was a converted B 707.
After about 80 odd minutes we had seen enough as they were going to show and we went back and had a light snack in the cafe before heading off again avoiding motorways to get to Phoenix four our next stop where we plan some R & R for a few days after so much travelling.
We arrived in the rush hour and finally got to the Legacy Golf Hotel and Resort around 5.30 pm and just a little to late for us to go shopping and so we tried the on site restaurant where the food was very good.
This resort is very nice and similar to area we have stayed at a friends house in Sarasota, with various size of apartments and houses surrounded by a golf course.
So over the next three days we shall swim, rest and generally take it easy until it is time to move on to Sedona and then Monument Valley which is about six to seven hours by road.
So there will not be any Blog updates until the end of the week as we will be doing the same everyday in and around the Hotel.

Sunday 25th November- Jenson and Pima day out

JB with is well earned Champagne

We were up early to watch the Brazilian GP from Sao Paulo and needless to say it did not dissapoint and was one of the most exciting races of the season. We had rain,good and bad tyre choices and a few accidents but Jenson Button won the race in brilliant fashion which we were both delighted to see.
We had a light breakfast and then departed to the PIMA Museum which host the third largest display of historic aircraft in the USA. The have over 300 aircraft either within the various buildings and outside on rather a large site.
We opted for the trolley tour as the walking trip is 2.5 miles and as it was rather warm, around 28 degrees C, and this gave us a great tour with a very informative commentary.
For lunch we used the on site cafe and the food was very good but not cheap.

Trailer Park on outskirts of Tucson

The journey to and from the site enabled us to see how some of the poorer and also richer people live, some great big beautiful houses and lots of people living in RV's and Trailer parks.
Anyway, we will have to return to the museum on Monday as we wish to do the 'Boneyard' tour which is on a military base where they store almost 4000 aircraft of varying types.
Tonight we enjoyed the Pork Chops and then watched a film on TV called, Lost in Translation, we actually own this movie and it is all filmed in Japan.
And so to bed.

Saturday 24th November- Tombstone or bust

In yesterday blog I mentioned the extortionate price of fuel here, but let me put this in perspective  The US drivers are paying currently around $ 3.50 per US Gallon which equates after conversion to Sterling and US Gallons to Litres to a price of £ 0.63 per Litre, this is hight as it is usually around £ 0.50 per Litre.  So its not to bad compared to the around £ 1.40 we pay or almost three times as much.
The drive form Deming to Tombstone on the Interstate took about three and half hours after a fuel stop and the road was straight and with lots of mountains in the distance. The wind was quite strong at times and there were signs saying watch out for sand storms. Jennifer spotted several birds of prey but from the distance it was not clear what they were.
We arrived at Tombstone at around 13.00 and walked around for about two hours or so and had lunch in a saloon. This place is like a theme park or as Jennifer put it, a living museum. There were many people dressed the part with their guns hanging down, but this is American History,
The place was packed with holidaymakers following the Thanksgiving holidays and so we decided to leave about 14.45 as we had about a ninety minute drive to our hotel in Tucson and then we have to do some food shopping for the next two nights.
We arrived at the Hotel around 4.45 and checked in to our room which this time comes with a complete kitchen and then headed off to a local store for some food.
Perhaps we were a bit late but the fish did not look so good and so we bought some crab cakes and a bottle of wine. Tomorrow we go to the PIMA Aircraft museum  after we have watched the Brazilian GP and lets hope the Jenson wins.
The weather here is fine at around 28 degrees C and a lot of blue.

Friday 23rd November- Alpine to Deming New Mexico

A quick breakfast at the Hotel and then down the road for 30 miles to a place called Marfa which turned out to be closed as it was still rather early in the day at about 0900. We had planned to have a coffee and walk around but it was very windy and at 7 degrees Centigrade was a little on the chilly side.
We purchased some petrol at the extortionate price of US 3.49 per gallon, it was US 3.09 earlier in the week, the price must have gone up due to the Thanksgiving Holidays when everybody travels, 45 million people were expected to travel on the couple of days leading up to Thanksgiving day.
The road was quiet and flat and straight for mile after mile and we nearly knocked over a dear and her fawn, we also saw several coyote's and then an airship, so quite an interesting drive really.
We eventually had to leave the slower roads and head for the Interstate 10 which goes through El Paso and it was a short while before we reached here that we remembered that we would cross to a new time zone and gain one hour.
By one pm, or 12 really, we reached El Paso and was a little peck'ish and did not fancy the usual sandwich and then we saw a sign for a Texas BBQ and so in we went. The girl explained their process and what you can have which is largley brisket of beef, pork loin or ribs and turkey and variants on that. We chose the Turkey and Pork Ribs and both were delicious together with new potatoes, coleslaw and Jennifer had the Corn on the cob.

El Paso is a huge place and at times the interstate runs 300 yards from the Mexican Border and we did encounter two Border Patrol road blocks en route today. After leaving El Paso on the Interstate we decided to leave it after about ten miles and took the country roads which was much nicer. We also passed through a small town called Hatch which names them selves the Chile capital of the world. We also passed mile after mile and Pecan Nut trees until final we arrived in a place called Deming where we plan to break the journey for the day before heading off to Toombstone and Tucson tomorrow.
Having had a good lunch we will have only a light snack tonight and although we did think of going to the cinema we decided we were too tired after the 380 mile drive.

Big Bend National Park on US Thanksgiving Day

The alarm went off at around 06.30, too early really but needs must.

The road to Big Bend straight as far as you can see

A quick brekkie in the Hotel and after buying some very expensive, for the US, fuel we were on the road by 08.00 or perhaps earlier and we drove in to the centre of Alpine and looked for the US 118 to the park and then the signs were saying BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK 105 miles and then we were on our way. At first the road is relatively flat and as the minutes went by the road began to change with large mountains in the distance and roads stretching out for miles in front of us. We stopped a couple of times for some photos and passed a couple of small villages. There are a lot people who live in RV's in this area, actually lots in the USA all over, as its cheaper than buying a house.
So after about a 100 minute drive we arrived at the main gate and then showed our pass and we were inside. We drove three of the mail routes in the park and stopping to read the various bits of information and also for some photos. We finally visited the famous river of the Rio Grand which is the border between USA and Mexico where Jennifer went down the boat ramp and checked it out.

Jennifer in the Rio Grand River

We also went to the visitor centre and chatted to the staff and had a coffee of indistinguishable taste and a snack to keep the taste buds happy. We then went to the main visitor centre where they were serving a special Turkey Lunch to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and when we looked at the all you can eat buffet we were not impressed and decided to stick with our Brie and biscuits outside in the fresh air rather than in the rather hot and airless dining room.

The scenery in and around the park is fabulous with great mountains and canyons wide sprawling areas with mountains in to the distance. There are mountain Lions and bears, not that we saw any, although we did see several birds of prey. By 14.30 it was time to head back and we took it slower this time and eventually came to another Border Police Control Post where they checked out our passports, thank heavens we had them, and asking question about our past travels, presume they had noting better to do.
The weather was fantastic today with a solid blue sky and a final temperature of around 25 degrees Centigrade.
We arrived back in Alpine around 16.30 and drove around to see the town but most of it was closed due to the Thanksgiving Holidays but the town is not inspiring. The back to the Hotel where thank heavans the internet was working again and so Noel booked Hotels for the next few days of out journey and Jennifer plated a ham salad.
Tomorrow we again must leave early for Marfa and then on to Deming in New Mexico as a technical stop en route to our next destination Tucson , Arizona.

Wednesday 21st November- Del Rio to Alpine Texas

Following our late evening we were a little slow of the mark this morning. We had to fill up the car with gas, oops Petrol which is always a challenge as most of the pumps are automatic with self serve, just add your credit card and give us your zip code. We don't have a Zip and so by the time you have found out you need one then its back to the attendant, leave the card then fill up the car and then return to settle up.
The road to Alpine is just one long straight road called US 90 which at times passes close to the Mexican Border. There are quite a few trucks going up and down marker Border Patrol and and at one point we came to a road block where the Border guys checked us out for II's.
We came across a sign saying Judge John Dread Museum which we duly visited and it the real stuff this time (the real hanging Judge) with original buildings and lots of history  and well worth the visit. The saloon he had was very small and would only accommodate about 12 to 14 cowboys and the signs saying' no spittin on the floor' so we didn't.

We actually saw three large moving cargo trains today, usually we see only carriages or bulk carrying units and no tug but this time, boy three complete trains under way and one very long one of about one mile long being pulled by four engines.
We arrived in Alpine at the Holiday Inn, looks new from the outside and more expensive than it should be but this is due to the Thanksgiving Holidays we guess and lack of other goodish hotels. We weren't sure whether to visit the diner across the street later but the the girls at the front desk were not impressed by this place so then we decided to cater in and one hour later we had Tilapia fillets, mashed potatoes and peas and a bottle of Chardonnay ready for the evening meal, thanks to the microwave in the room.
As time is beginning to run out we held a board meeting to plan the rest of the trip so as to ensure we do everything we want to but also have a couple of days in Scottsdale taking it easy whilst a quick rush in to Phoenix to collect Noels new Amex card.
The fish tasted Ok, not like the fresh stuff but better than nothing we guess.
Tomorrow we have to be an early morning as to get to the Big Bend Park which is 90 miles each way to get there plus quite a bit of driving around the park and so it promises to be a long and perhaps tiring days but certainly interesting. Unfortunately all of the accommodation in the park is full up due to the holidays.
See you tomorrow

Tuesday 20th November- Austin to Del Rio

It was hard leaving our friends in Austin but we have places to go and things to see and in view of the Thanksgiving Holidays it was necessary to book Hotels in advance and so with three nights of Hotels booked and paid for, the offer to stay for Thanksgiving had to be rejected this time. Oh yes we shall be back to Austin as there is an awful lot to see and do.

As before we took the main roads rather than the Interstate (Motorways to you) and passed through some great looking towns called Bertram and Llano both of which need to be revisited. We also passed by the Buchanan Dam which is extremely large and very impressive. Our target was to reach Fredericksburg where we had visited once before and is a German Immigrant town like New Braunfels but much, much nicer. When we visited their last time it was wet and grey and nobody on the streets. This time it was blue and very warm and their were loads of tourists wandering around. We stopped for a coffee and a cake and took some photos and then left there about one pm and stopped one hour later for a 'leftover from yesterdays lunch' lunch by the side of the road at a picnic area overlooking a stream. Suddenly we were approached by some wasps and Jennifer thought she had been stung as it had gone up the trouser leg of her jeans and she thumped it and it fell down and then perished under the full weight of her foot.
The journey so far had been really nice with hills and trees turning to an Autumn shade and together with some rather nice ranch houses, and ranches of course, it was a very pleasant drive. 
After a while the nice bits peter'ed out and it became flat with some undulation and not to many trees but never mind we are en route to a nice place. We located our Hotel in Del Rio and decided that we would eat out and located not a bad steak house where we enjoyed a New York strip and a glass of wine and then back to the Hotel for another glass of wine provided free by the Hotel in their bar.
We then did some blogging and emailing etc and then a bit late to bed perhaps.

Monday 19th November- A quiet day at the office

A good long in was called for this morning but this only lasted until about 0830 and we were ready for breakfast.
John was having to work today and so Noel did emails and photos in the morning whilst Jennifer did the washing. We departed down town to a rather nice food store http://www.centralmarket.com/Home.aspxwe we had visited last time we were here for a few odds and ends, we could could have gone to any supermarket near the house but this place is fantastic.
We wandered around and stared at the choice of fish, shrimps and all the other goodies and then looked at the meat counter which made you think, how could we not do this in the UK. The choice of cheese and then the wine selection was excellent, although a little pricey.. We had a light lunch, well that was what we thought it would be, and but had to keep half of the salad and wrap as there was far to much and this would do us for tomorrow en route to Del Rio, close to the Mexican border.

We did some sorting in the afternoon to prepare us or our departure tomorrow and then went to a new Movie and eat in establishment where we watched the new film called Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis where we were served meals at our cinema seats whilst watching the film and it was a truly amazing and new experiences. All details at http://themoviehouse.com/
The food was very good and the staff did and excellent quite service with customers although Jennifer found it a little disconcerting.
We are going to try a house swap with John and Denise sometime as we like Austin and the surrounds and need more time to experience the place.
As mentioned before the film is extremely good and the director was Steven Spielberg and he always does good stuff.

Sunday 18th November- Its the big day today

A very quick journey to the race track at about 50 minutes for the 40 odd miles from Georgetown. There were more cops and one way streets and the car park was not so full as yesterday, but this would not last.
We agreed with John and Denise that they should take the DHL box tickets as just sitting next to us we would not be able to communicate at all for the the noise of the formula one cars. So they went off and we and walked to took our seats and met up with a group of three very large Austin Texas Cops and had a chat to them about the day and they were pleased to be there for the fun and the extra money they were getting.
The people on the stand around us were good fun, a father(70 ish) and son (40 ish) were great to talk to and discuss the finer points of Formula 1 racing and who would win etc. The race was excellent and Hamilton trailed Vettel for about 40 laps then took him well but Vettel complained, rather silly really about the manoeuvre, which looked good to everyone else. JB dropped from 12th grid position to about 17th then pulled him self  together and finally reached 5th position which was good, clearly something wrong with the car of the driver, or both?

THE US AIR FORCE HISTORIC FLYPAST

The traffic leaving the circuit was rather bad and took quite a while to extract ourselves and then they put us on a road in completely the wrong direction which made us rather late to get back to Georgetown and also tired for the concert that John had booked with the ‘Wallflowers’ Bob Dillon’s son and his group and so after a brief discussion we decided to forgo the concert which in one way was a shame but quite frankly we were all dog tired after a day of sun and 78 degrees of heat.

So we had a light snack and watched TV and then went to bed rather exhausted. A brilliant day indeed. 

Saturday 17th November- Qualifying today

An early start for the 50 minute drive to the COTA (Circuit Of The Americas) track which looks in pretty good shape considering the time they had to prepare the place. There were plenty of cops, sheriffs and military personal to control the crowds and it looks pretty busy today with more cars than yesterday. According to news info  there was 65000 at the Friday practise and more expected today.
After watching for a while John and I made our way to the DHL box to watch the qualifying and left the girls to watch from the other seats. We both felt a little guilty but did press for if there was any empty places but none were available. The noise is amazing from these cars and you need ear plugs or noise reduction headphones a and we were lucky to have both.
We watched qualifying through a glass of Chardonnay which seemed to i, improve their performance and was disappointed the JB had not done better but  he has the race to prove himself.  The three stages of qualifying was good to watch and Vettel pulled off his usual trick and with Mark Webber second and Hamilton third, and this should be a good race as Hamilton has nothing to lose and with Vettel with everything to lose and this is now set up for a good race tomorrow.
We left the track and headed home to Georgetown and what with the fresh air and sun all were a little tired, and Denise made some excellent pizzas and then we watched TV for a while and departed to the bedroom ready for an even earlier start tomorrow.

We would mention that the track and environs are well prepared and there is ample choice of food outlets and and all very expensive as you are not allowed to take food in to the track. It would be good for another time to get parking near your seat and then walk back out of the track to the cart park for your own food. oh well perhaps another time

Friday 16th November- Lets go racing

We left home around 0800 for the track and arrived with plenty of time to spare as the cops were controlling everything and doing not bad job.
Our hosts had though connections been able to obtain four tickets for us to go to the VIP lounge which we did as apart from great views their was also free booze and food.
We spent the day watching the cars practise and the sound is quite exhilarating and you definitely need ear plugs to keep the sound away. The teams were all testing tyres and set ups and it was a really a great place to watch the action. By late afternoon the action was slowing and we were all invited to other friends of John and Denise who we had met earlier as they have one of these big American RV's about 40 feet long and this thing contains everything you possibly need. We stayed for some  while and enjoyed some chile  and beer before getting a lift back to the car park on their buggy. Dick you to have a senior role at Dell and now he is retired he spends time in his RV and also has two cars for racing.
We got back home to Georgetown and pretty much went to bed straight away after watching a little TV.

Tomorrow we have to be up a little earlier so ass to get to the track on time.

Thursday 15th November- Austin we are on our way

We planned a late'ish departure from San Antonio to miss the morning commuter traffic but soon after 1000 we left the hotel for the approx two hour drive en route. We planned a little shopping on the way to our friends who live in a very beautiful house in a lovely area called Georgetown where we arrived around 1400 pm.
Not long after we were checking out some Chardonnay and shrimp before heading down town to see a show called Esther Follies , which we have visited last time we were here, but wanted to go again. Friends of John had suggested meeting at a farm which was holding a special event but the food was not available when we arrived and so we left for a nice Italian restaurant in town. 
We had a really great evening at the Follies and boy could they do well in London and it has a real fixture of current and historic content, not really rude but near the knuckle sometimes.
Then a quick diversion to pick up some special tickets for the GP from DHL who have a box and so we did this and headed home for an early night as tomorrow would be an early one as well.
At least the weather for the next few days looks good with blue skies and temperatures around 20 degrees C, Ideal for watching sport.

Wednesday 14th November- Not a good weather day

River Walk in San Antonio

Apart from being made to jump out of bed as the rubbish men came to collect junk at around 05.30 it became clear later on that the weather had not watched last nights Weather Channel which showed grey at first and then by 11.00 sun. After waiting around for the sun to appear we gave up and went to plan B which is to go to New Braunfels but take the long way round to get there. San Antonio river walk is well worth it if the sun is shining but it looks unlikely to happen.

New Braunfels 

So we took toe long way round going first south, the east and finally north until we reached our goal at around 13.30. We did try to stop for a coffee en-route at a Cafe, it said outside, only it was a bar and they only do coffee on weekends?
We arrived in New Braunfels and found a cafe for lunch and had good sandwich and across the room there was one, eventually two, younger guys looking after very young babies. Jennifer made beeline and it would appear to be a gay couple who have come from Sweden to adopt these two kids who were born only two weeks ago and and they were hoping to get passports soon so as to be able to take the babies back to Sweden. No the ideal of arrangements as far as my views are concerned, but I guess that is life.
We walked around the town which is named after a town in Germany North of Frankfurt where many of the original residents came from but we have been to Braunfels in Germany and the one here is USA is not a patch on the one in Germany.

Yes we were here

We took a slow route back to the Hotel where we arrived around 16.30 and decided we would try the Hotel light meal which tonite would be Chefs Salad and Hamburgers and also German sausage. The food was fine , perhaps a little on the cool side but accompanied by a glass of red wine. I decided to have en extra hot dog and asked Jennifer to squirt some tomato ketchup on the roll and sausage and unfortunately she pressed it so hard it shot over the roll and down all over my trousers, oh well some washing tonight then.


Tomorrow we head back to Austin for a long weekend of Motor Racing and pop concerts and so the Blog may be delayed a little but I will see what I can do.

Tuesday 13th November- Dollar Rent a car/The Alamo & American Express

It was rather grey and overcast this morning when we awoke but never mind we said, as we had been requested by Dollar Rent a Car In Las Vegas that after approx one month we should change the car and update the contract and so first thing this morning I phoned Dollar and explained the position and she said, Yes bring the car to the San Antonio Airport facility to update the contract and change the car. In the past when visiting airports in the US there have always been large signboards saying 'rental car this way' and so we did not check on the address, big mistake. We arrived at the Airport and NO signs referring to rental cars and so we looked up Dollar on the Sat Nav and hey its no problem except when we got there is showed Advantage Rent a Car and No its not the same company but Dollar moved from here last year and if you take a left and a right it simple to find except that it wasn't but one phone call to Dollar had us sorted. we arrived and checked in and the girl on the desk said is there something wrong with the car, I said NO , then she said why are we changing it? I said because we have been requested to, Oh she said well then you see that line of Ford Crown Victoria's over there go and choose one and then we can swap over which we did. A few minutes later the guy checking in the cars said, is there something wrong with your car and we said NO, then why did you change it over he asked and we said because you told us to, Oh well but we now have the same type of car only this time its silver in colour only more miles on the clock than the other one.
After this we headed down town and parked up for $4.00 per day, a little cheaper than London, and then walked the streets of San Antonio only it was rather cool and windy and so as we had read from the information books about a film covering the history of the Alamo and so we went to find it at the Imax and and the 50 minute film was quite well made except this was a disaster just like Dunkirk  and from the jaws of defeat they found success. Thank heavens for Hollywood as they made it seem like the greatest victory ever.
During the film it had started raining quite heavily but after we did a trolley trip around town and then decided that as it had started to rain, just like it did when we visited here two years ago, that we would call it a day and return tomorrow when better weather is forecast.
En-route back to the Hotel we visited a  the HEB Supermarket and purchased some salad stuff to be used with the prime rib steaks we have  and after battling the evening traffic we arrived back at the Hotel and went to the rooms to check email only to find two emails  from AMEX saying your card has been compromised and please call urgently, which I did.It would appear that somebody has run amok with Noel's Amex card in Europe and so it had to be cancelled immediately. We need a new card and so after some lengthy discussions, where its not like the advert where a girl arrives in a skimpy dress five minutes later with your new card but are you near Dallas or Houston?.I said NO but there appears to be a an AMEX office in San Antonio, but it is not a card issuing office they said, and so after further discussions we will collect a new card for Noel in Phoenix Arizona in about ten days and in the meantime we will use Jennifer's  Amex card. 
Oh the pleasures of travel.
On the the bright side the rib eye steak from Costco and the Malbec from the same source were superb whilst the Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream finished the dinner off extremely well. Oh well lets hope the weather is better tomorrow and then perhaps we can get some reasonable photos.

Monday 12th November- En Route to San Antonio Texas

A bright sunny but cold start to the day, it was about 6 degrees C at 0930 but never mind. We packed the car followed the route through the middle of Dallas on the Interstate (Motorway) and then headed initially in the direction of Waco, Texas ( you must remember the Waco Massacre) and then followed the route via Austin and finally to San Antonio some 6.5 hours later after a lunch and fuel stop. At the gas ooops mean petrol station Noel went to discuss the payment process as some petrol stations when using a card at the pump allow you to put in your credit card but some require a US Zip code which my credit card does not have and so each time you have to visit the cash desk and explain the matter. I had to wait a couple of minutes whilst two teenagers purchased their sweets etc and then they left at which time I started talking to the attendant and no problem but as I left the shop the two teenage girls were waiting for me outside  and said , Excuse me Sir , if you do not mind where do you come from?, I said London and they both said Awesome!! which seems to be an important word in this part of the world based upon the amount of times it is used.  
The traffic in San Antonio was very  slow due to a couple of minor road accidents but we arrived at our Hotel around 4.30 pm and settled in for the evening and had the lamb chops and Caesar salad for dinner with a couple of glasses of 'Fat Bastard 'French Chardonnay.
There are about 100 TV channels available and when you flick through to see what on at least 70% are showing adverts whilst the rest are showing  a load of rubbish, thanks heavens for UK TV.Tomorrow we plan to visit down town and do the river walk which we could not do last time as it poured with rain whilst we were here.

Sunday 11th November- Just messin about

Having walked about five miles yesterday we decided to have a slow day. After the full groves breakfast of home prepared bacon, fried eggs , mushrooms and tomatoes together with toast and coffee Jen did some washing whilst I did some planning for the next couple of weeks.
This morning it is grey and it started raining quite heavily and so the tourist bit was out and after sorting out some photos etc  we headed off to the  British Emporium in Grapevine to purchase some genuine English tea bags as our supply is beginning to run a little low and it might be difficult elsewhere to find.
The British Emporium has been operating for over 20 years and an area wher there appears to be quite a bit of money based upon the houses surrounding the area. We changed the Sat Nav settings to avoid motorways and this way we could travel via the quiet  and more interesting areas of Dallas.
We also did a little grocery shopping and ended up going to the cinema to see the latest Bourne film which was extremely good if not a little confusing. The cinema was not of the best quality but for £ 2.00 for two one cannot complain.
We hate the smell of the food that people seem to think is necessary to have when watching a film from hot dogs to half a ton of popcorn of which half ends up on the floor where it seems to remain for the rest of the night, ugggh.
After the cinema back to the hotel via the side-streets where we decided to have a ham salad which was most enjoyable and then an evening of listening to music on our I pods.

Saturday 10th November- Down town Dallas

The sky was a bit hazy this morning and strong winds have been promised for later today and overnight and, until midday tomorrow, and with some risk of heavy hailstones of the car damaging type, lets see. We tried the Hotel breakfast and not bad really, the Homewood Suites part of Hilton have got a good formula which seems to please many people.
Whilst returning to our room from the breakfast room we noticed a railway track and asked reception if we could get down town by train, she said she thought so and we should go down the road, turn right and take the bus to the DART station which was not to far away. We obediently followed her instruction and found the bus stop which said no buses on Saturday and Sundays and so we kept walking for what eventually turned out to be a mile and half to find the Dart station  DART stands for Dallas Area Rapid Transit and encompasses Trams and buses and all for what appeared to be good prices. As we arrived at the station the train was arriving and so we hurriedly bought two tickets, not quite the same tickets in the rush, and jumped on the Tram and just hoped it would go where we wanted and by pure luck it did.We did ask a guy about the routing but he did not have much of clue and stood studying the map for a few minutes and he then said he thought so, the opinion we had already come to, Oh well.
We arrived after about 40 minutes at the Historic (but the unsafe part of town we had been warned) to try and find the famous square where JFK was assassinated just about 50 years ago.

From the 6th Floor of the Library building JFK was shot

We found the square and took some photos and looked at the famous 'grassy knoll' where rumours still abound that JFK was shot by three gunmen, one from the 6th floor of the Library , one from the grassy knoll and the last from a storm drain which had a good spot to shoot from, but who knows?
We had discovered that there was a tram, free of charge, which runs back and forth from the old part of town up to the better part and so we rode up and back and stopped for a about half an hour for a walk around and an ice cream. Then back to the station to pick up the tram back to Las Colinas and this time we tried a different way back from the station  which was about half the distance compared to getting there.

The free tram

Tonight we are having shrimps to start followed by Lamb Chops a'la Noel and then finishing with some fresh strawberries, boy its tough on the road.


The weather is thought to be poor tomorrow so Jen will probably do some washing  and then perhaps we may go to the cinema.

Friday 9th November- Move to Dallas

A slow start was required as we did not want to leave a car full of our belongings in an unknown car park and so we left the Sheraton at around 1030 and went for a coffee down the road and checked on emails etc.
A 25 minute drive took us to Costco where we had a good look round for about an hour and then had a snack lunch before grabbing a trolley and doing the isles for the food we needed for the next few days. Tonight we have in our hotel the capability to to fully cook our own meals again and will have the same when we move down to San Antonio on Monday.
Our walk around Costco was interesting to compare what they sell in USA compared to what we get in the UK, there is certainly a difference  between their wine bottle prices and other places we have been to a significant degree. So we purchased some of their excellent rib eye steaks and some other goodies and departed for our Hotel in Dallas. Gosh the traffic and Interstates were flying and it was a challenge to keep up with everybody who new where they were going and with cars over and under taking it could have been a disaster but as I had drunk half a bottle of scotch and half a bottle of Gin I took it my stride, Liar!!!
We arrived at the Homewood Suites and checked in with our goodies but then needed the essentials and back on to the Interstates looking for Albertsons which we eventually found hampered by road works and new road which the Sat Nav did not recognise. With our latest purchases we headed back to the Hotel after re programming it to avoid anything with a car on it we got back after two diversions, three sets of roadworks and Fire engine blasting past us.
Dinner tonight was however spectacular with shrimp to start with a chilled Chardonnay followed by a Rib Eye steak to make your mouth water and salad, magnificent. In the meantime we have checked out the Pink Floyd and they sound pretty awful and so we will give this a miss and perhaps do something else.
The TV news is till a lot about the serious problems in New Jersey and elsewhere with still so many people without electricity  After having a serious storm ten days ago they have now been hit with very cold weather and snow, it really is not fair.

Thursday 8th November- The names Bond, James Bond, Day

I forgot to mention that last night on TV there was an hour long documentary about the global supermarket chain called COSTCO of which we have been members for quite some while. This company now has a 90 Billion turnover each year and with two very important philosophies and they are. One to serve only the best products with the lowest mark-up (15% only) of any supermarket, and to keep stock lines reduced so as to avoid waste. The latter works on the basis that most of their stores only sell about 4000 lines whilst their competitors have as many as 100000. The 15% mark-up means they have to have tight ship whilst most other global supermarkets work on 25/30% and sometimes more in which they have to allow for significant waste. A really fascinating programme and one important fact is that Costco sell more wine in USA than any other organisation and are pretty much responsible for the introduction of good foreign wines to the US.

Anyway, today we had a very slow start and then departed down to Whole Foods for a coffee and check our email, as mentioned the Hotel want $ 17.00 for wireless internet, and whilst checking the usual Bank Accounts and other bits and pieces I used my IMDB (International Movie Data Base) to see what movies were on locally and it turned out to be the first day of the new 007 James Bond movie called ‘Skyfall’ and it is being shown at an IMAX Cinema about 8 miles away and so off we toddled listening to the strict instructions from the Sat Nav and we arrived at this massive area, the size of Weybridge, where ‘The Parks at Arlington’ Super size Mall was. It’s so large that you drive for at least mile around the outside looking for the major store, Sears, JC Penney, Macy’s etc so that you can park and enter the complex.

We found the cinema and purchased our tickets and had a chat to the cashier who recognising the foreign accents said where you guys from?, we replied London and he said ‘Awesome’   

In the food hall there was the usual selection of food outlets and we chose the Sarku Japanese style food and we had an excellent chicken and shrimp teriyaki with fried rice and steamed vegetables and enough food that quite possibly one serving could have been enough, but then, this is America.

The film ‘Skyfall’ was excellent and it had more of a story than previous films and perhaps less action and travelled between Turkey, Shanghai, Macau and of course London and finally a wet and damp Scotland which featured quite a bit and ended with James taking on about 50 insurgents and killing the lot. It was then end of M, played by our good friend Lin, and enjoyable afternoon. After the film we then walked the Mall for about an hour or so and had a long chat with the salesman in Radio Shack who tried to sell us mobile phones and was disappointed to discover that we One , did not them and Two we come from the UK, Awesome he said.  So we talked to him for about ten minutes about various living conditions and then moved on to a very nice ice cream shop.

Back to the Hotel at around 7.30 pm and we spent the rest of the evening watching a Public Broadcasting Station which was showing UK productions and WITHOUT ADVERTISEMENTS  wow this was great however the programmes were at least 15/20 years old and one programme was perhaps the first series of Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect. However it is much better than watching advertisements which are occasionally interrupted by programming.

Tomorrow we move Hotels from Fort Worth over to Dallas and this time we have a room with full kitchen so that we can properly cook.

Just noticed in the local free rag that there is a Pink Floyd tribute band show on in Dallas on Saturday night, so may try to get tickets if it’s not too late.