Los Angeles and adieu

Our Delta flight was a B767 with winglets, a 4.25 hour flight across the country. It seems a cheat to be retracing the path of two weeks' drive in a few hours.

I love the view of the land from the air across western USA, once the fields give way to the desert country. The colours are rich and the folds, wrinkles and canyons are a masterpiece.

We landed on time, collected baggage and headed off to a new (for us) car rental company, Fox, to collect our Chevy Camero. And then we hit serious traffic on our way down to Long Beach. After several thousand miles, this is the first traffic of the holiday.

Checked in, car parked, out into the LA sunshine to the Yard House again. We keep returning as the food is tasty, the beer plentiful and it has a great atmosphere.

Saturday. Last day in the USA. We depart at 2355hr on the Virgin Australia flight direct to Brisbane, so have plenty of hours to spend in LA.

As we've come from the east coast with 3 hour time difference, we were awake early, and set off for Malibu for breakfast.

I'd found Coogie's Beach Cafe on the internet, and thoroughly enjoyed the drive there and back via the beginning of Highway 1. It was a gorgeous morning and the traffic was light.

From there we did a little shopping and a little LA driving.

Re-packed and off to the airport. No trouble checking in or dropping off the car.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope that you enjoyed the journey with us. It was 3912 miles all up. And we enjoyed almost every mile.

I'm always really grateful to the gods if travel when we get to this point on trip and we've been well, not delayed, no flat tyres, and no other dramas.

Not quite looking forward to home, but I guess there's the next adventure to plan.

Americanisms

Just some notes for people travelling to the USA for the first time.

Whenever you use your credit card, expect to have to show ID. A drivers license is fine.

Buying fuel usually entails paying first, then pumping gas (unless you have a US credit card). It means you have to make an educated guess as to how much you need, but they will refund any overpayment.

Doms's tip: hire the biggest car you can afford. A big, domestic vehicle is the most comfortable way to travel. The fuel is cheap, and as we found at Monument Valley, small cars can't access all sites.

A GPS is invaluable. Some hire cars have them built in, and you can definitely hire them. They are available in Walmart at all prices, depending on whether you want traffic updates or not. Ours was ready to go out of the box, and always knows the speed limit, which we find handy.

Free wi-fi is everywhere. Every Starbucks and fast food joint has it, Walmart has it. Hotels offer it for free as well, in general. The Westin in St Louis charged $10.95 for 24 hours, but that's the first time on the trip that I've paid for Internet. Wi-fi was a little less present on the drive since Kansas City, mostly as there were no Starbucks during the trip.

There is a constant police presence in the USA, whether State Troopers, Sheriffs or Police. And they have some fabulous vehicles. My favourite is the Dodge Charger, but they also drive Volvos, Crown Victorias (of course), Suburbans, and Tahoes, Chevy Impala, Taurus and even the occasional Mustang and Camero. In Atlanta we saw police on Harley-Davidson motor bikes!

If you're travelling by plane, leave lots of time for check-in, bag drop and security. Atlanta security took us about 40 minutes to clear. Into LAX for departure, on the other hand, was a breeze.

Atlanta to LA (the fast way)

I had found a great deal online the day before for our Atlanta hotel. I thought the drive from Charleston would take all day and I wanted to know where we were headed in such a big city.

I booked a room in the Westin Peachtree Plaza for $95, and they gave us a king room on the 62nd floor of the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere. Amazing view.

Arriving late, we asked the concierge for a recommendation for dinner and found 'Ray's in the City' a few doors away. Excellent dinner, great service.

The next morning we went for a run around the city, seeing the CNN building (headquarters), the home of Coca-Cola, the stadiums, parks and interesting city streets. They were even filming a movie in the city!

We saw policemen on Harley-Davidson motorbikes. Nice.

So why are we in Atlanta, home of the Braves? One way hire fees for the car are greatly reduced if you can return it to a major hub. And coincidentally the airfares back to LA were much cheaper from here than from Savannah or Charleston. So, this is the end of the road trip for us.

We're off to the airport, and will be in LA by mid afternoon, local time, for one last look at the beaches.

Air travel in the USA requires a lot of patience. Leaving the car was no problem, and there is a handy train from the car return to the check-in hall, and another train underground to the departure gates. There is a very long line to get through security, however - it took us about 40 minutes.

Dinner at 'Ray's in the City'

View from our 62nd floor room

Charleston to Atlanta

As gorgeous as Charleston is, I was ready to move on and see a little more of America.

We were on our way early and after a few failed attempts to find Starbucks, settled at Denny's for breakfast (best breakfast so far!).

I wish I could bottle the air today. It's warm, sun-filled, slightly smokey and textured by the smell of warm grass and spring flowers. Happiness.

We're on the old highways today, rather than the huge 4-lane interstates, and it is very pleasant driving. Old America. Light grey tarmac with the yellow centerline, forest on either side, big blue sky.

The houses are a mix of huge southern mansions made of weatherboard, with large verandahs and kept gardens, and trailer houses. Side by side.

There has been a lot of swamp beside the road, but not swamp as I had imagined. This looks like flooded forest, with still, black water beneath tall hickory trees.

Dom expects to see guys in stripey overalls and shackles, splashing through the swamp, pursued by baying bloodhounds. (We haven't seen any).

South Carolina is our 11th and final state for this trip, after California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia.

Charleston, South Carolina

After a relaxed start to the day (such a comfortable bed) we drove out to Middleton Place, one of the old plantations on Ashley River Road.

Entry was $28 each, tours were extra. The pamphlet issued with the tickets was enough information for a self guided tour of the property.

It was a beautiful day for a walk, and it is a huge property with substantial gardens, lakes and historic buildings.

We unexpectedly came across some alligators! They didn't seem too concerned by us, and they were magnificent up close.

We had a great lunch at the restaurant on the property and the drive back to town for another walk around the streets to check out the amazing houses and lanes.

There were lots of people about as there was a cruise ship in port. It was a hot, sunny day and happy hour beer and oysters at 'Pearlz' on East Bay Street were very enjoyable. $7 for a dozen large Texan oysters and $2.50 schooners of local ale, and a sidewalk table.

I retired for a quick nap and Dom chatted to some friendly gentlemen at the cigar bar.

We'd spied an Italian restaurant that had jazz music so we took a seat at the bar and enjoyed the tunes, a glass of red and some spicy calamari.

We've really enjoyed Charleston. There are so many restaurants and bars that you'd need a lengthy stay to even get through your top choices. The prices are about the same as in Oz, but the serves are quite large.

Gates to the old house at Middleton Place

Spanish moss

Savannah to Charleston

Charleston is 100 miles north of Savannah, and the last true stop on our cross country journey, the easternmost town we'll visit.

This area is called the low country, with marshland, rivers, creeks, swamps and forests.

We've passed Parris Island Marine Corps Base, and Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station, and were buzzed by a trio of low flying jets.

The weather has turned showery, and cool again.

We found an old but comfortable room in the French Quarter, and left the car in their hands to wander the streets.

Hungry and thirsty we stopped in at the Southend Brewhouse for a late lunch and a local beer.

Charleston is a beautiful town, filled with elaborate, sturdy, majestic houses with beautiful gardens and intricate wrought iron gates.

The air is heavy with the intoxicating scent of jasmine.

There are quite a few roof top bars in Charleston - the average building height is only about 3 floors. We celebrated our anniversary under the evening sky and then settled in the window side bar of 'Social' on East Bay Street for some excellent wines and tasty pizza.

Breakfast - cheesy grits and a 'biscuit' at Hilton Head Island

The other side - the Atlantic Ocean

Our sitting room at Lodge Alley Inn

Savannah, Georgia

We arrived at about 8pm and checked in to the Andaz, a Hyatt property, a block from the historic riverfront.

We've stayed in Andaz Liverpool Street, London, and Andaz Wall Street, New York. All are fabulous - great staff, beautiful furnishings and relatively spacious rooms, free wi-fi and minibar (non alcoholic).

Dinner was at the Sapphire Grill, recommended by the concierge. Fabulous service, ambience and food.

This morning we set out along the cobbled waterfront, under beautiful blue skies, watching the ships move around the port and checking out the souvenir shops.

Wandering the streets under huge Live Oaks dripping with Spanish moss, we saw beautiful southern colonial architecture at its best. There was a square every few blocks, with a fountain or statue and garden benches to rest upon.

We came across the Colonial Park Cemetery and read the old headstones, surrounded by the breathy perfume of white magnolias.

There were some magnificent vintage shops in town, seriously underpriced by Australian standards (to the order of 10!) with beautiful clothes, crockery, cameras, and almost everything else imaginable.

We had to change our car over as it was indicating that it needed an oil change. Alamo at the airport gave us a Chevy Tahoe, which is very comfortable as well.

On the way back to town we stopped at the famous Bonadventure Cemetery at the edge if town, to find it closed for the evening.

Dom located a joint called 'Beers of the World', a laid back Yard House, and tried some local beers. He also spotted a great tapas joint for dinner.

'Sage' had excellent staff and tasty tapas at a very good price. $20 bottles of Californian wine and $10 dishes - we had a taste extravaganza.

I've found that I respond to excellent hosts to draw me in, and to staff who ooze enthusiasm for their tasks. I know that waiting on people has its moments, but great staff are worth spending time with.

Nashville to Savannah

I'm very glad that we decided to stay in town last night, meaning that we could walk home. There were plenty of parking stations if you wanted to stay further out and drive in for the evening.

Back on the road again, heading south east to Chattanooga, light rain falling. The weather channel predicted 6 inches of rain over the Smokey Mountains, which was our intended route, so we recalculated to try to get south of the system again.

We're usually so lucky with weather on our holidays, but this weather has the locals confounded. Coldest day on record for that time of year yesterday, and widespread flooding!

It was a long drive south east today, all on wide concrete highways. Sunshine and blue skies have appeared at last.

Blue sky again

St Louis to Nashville

We stayed at the Westin last night, which was very comfortable. We even went to the gym this morning - it's always a laugh that we take gym gear on holiday and rarely use it.

We didn't get the chance to look around last night as it was pouring with rain, but this morning we checked out the Gateway Arch before heading south.

St Louis looks appears to be a very attractive city, with many old red brick buildings renovated into hotels and apartments. The mighty Mississippi River appears to be in flood.

Much discussion and review of weather reports has us on the I55 towards Memphis, rather than to Nashville as planned. After three days of driving in sleet, snow and rain we have had enough and are driving south to get around the bottom of this incredible weather system.

The weather was much better, with no rain since leaving St Louis. The scenery was lovely - very green fields and beautiful forests. Excellent highways, and flooded rivers everywhere. Sunshine even appeared! With 80 miles to run to Memphis we decided to cross the Mississippi again and travel east for awhile, destination still unsettled.

Today we've traversed Missouri, Illinois and in to Tennessee.

We stopped for lunch in Jackson, at a BBQ cafe, a tiny building on the outskirts of town. Inside we found the pleasant 69 year old Mac who loved cooking BBQ, and family photos and pictures of the Obamas on the walls. Dom enjoyed his spicy brisket sandwich and my catfish and coleslaw was tasty.

The weather was still good, so we set off for Nashville, 200 plus miles away to the east. It was a very pleasant drive along a wide highway with low traffic, and beautiful forest views.

We found a hotel in town (very full hotels, and what's available is expensive), settled and headed out into the (rainy) evening.

We walked the busy, bustling streets until we found a bar called Roberts, recommended by the concierge. There was a band playing and the place was packed. We tried some domestic IPAs, and absorbed the atmosphere.

Dinner was at a joint called Rippies, which had 4 bands playing, all in different rooms. You could eat in any of them, watching the bands. They were all very good, as was the dinner - pulled pork and ribs. I even ate the side of beans and they were delicious (my girls will fall off their chair at that, as I steadfastly refuse to eat beans at home!).

There are lots of boot shops here, all open late on a Saturday night. One of the boot shop guys even complimented my new boots!

Nashville is another pretty town with old buildings beautifully renovated, similar to St Louis. I'd like to come back here too, one day.

The Gateway Arch, St Louis

Pulled Pork and ribs at Rippy's