We wish!! The United State’s West Coast gave us everything we could hope for. We gave our everything too. We had the time of our lives :) ♥
The route we ended up taking has been taken by many before us. Arriving in Los Angeles, we drove directly to Long Beach. Came very late, and had we known, we could have just slept in a hotel near LAX instead before we drove off to Williams, Arizona. But it was nice to see Long Beach too.
Williams, a small city just an hour from Grand Canyon. With only 3000 or so people living there, it’s mostly tourists who crowds the one-way street. It lies on the historic Route 66, so we got a little bit of that old American style. (not to forget the all american food we got served there!) We loved it there. It could be our best experience in our entire stay in the US, that and Grand Canyon.
You’ve seen the pictures, perhaps you’ve even seen Grand Canyon on TV, but the moment you step out from the street, and the trees which are blocking the view from the great Canyon, and when the orange mountains comes upon you, it leaves you speechless. We were in Grand Canyon South Rim, near the villages. We took tree or four stops along the Canyon, before we parked our car and took a short bus ride to Mohave, where you can see the Colorado river paving its way through the Canyon. There are lots of things to do there, and most things should have been booked six months in advance, but the view itself is worth the visit. We even had a chicken salad just inches away from the non-secured edge in Mohave over the Great Grand Canyon!
We planned it so that we would arrive in Las Vegas when it was dark. All of the lights! We stayed at Stratosphere hotel. although it was a great hotel, it was too far away from where the real action was, By that I mean, where the real PRETTY hotels was. It does blow your mind when you see all those hotels with its different styles and themes. Las Vegas was great. Two nights. We should have stayed longer. We are SO going back!
Extra Terrestrial Highway. Area 51 and Rachel Nevada – Little ALEINN. Yes. Yes. Yes. Just do it.
Yosemite National Park. We found a very nice place to stay by luck. Tioga Lodge, right across Mono Lake. In fact, Mark Twain wrote about Mono Lake calling it “lifeless, treeless, hideous desert… the loneliest place on earth.” lol, I guess so when it’s all salty! The park itself was beautiful. High mountains. Waterfalls. Animals. Breathtaking :)
San Francisco. Hello fog city and hello wind. We thought that we should only have 90 + F for three weeks, so when we arrived in San Francisco, we froze our butt off! I guess when you come from the desert where it’s like a 100 F and then you find yourself in a climate where it’s suddenly 69 F, it feels like you’re about to turn to ice. Apart from that shocking cold, Pier 39 was a place I loved. Shopping, food, adorable seals and a great atmosphere. The highlights of our trip was the helicopter ride we had gotten as a wedding gift from some friends. We flew UNDER The Golden Gate Bridge. Twice! We got a complete view over San Francisco. A very beautiful city. Romantic.
Highway 1. Take that road when you’re driving from San Francisco and south. The coast. A bit like Norway where my husband comes from (Vesterålen) but more exotic-looking. Lots of cute places to stop.
Lompoc was the place we decided to stay for a night while on our way to San Diego. I didn’t know that it was just a 20 or so minute drive from Lompoc to Neverland until a friend of mine told me when I talked about where we were going. (Neverland was Michael Jackson’s home for many years) So before we drove off to San Diego we visited Solvang (the Danish city) and had a Danish breakfast (hehe) and drove to find Neverland. (Finding Neverland, get it? lol) I of course knew exactly what I was looking for. The wooden fences. Peaceful. Beautiful and a thought that I finally was in front of those gates, but I kinda came too late, for those of you who’ reading this knows what I mean. But it WAS beautiful.
We arrived late in San Diego, so when we came to our hotel we jumped into the sheets and watched TV. (They have so many TV channels in the US, OMGOSH!!!!) We loved San Diego a lot. Decided to stay for one more day. We went to the beach almost everyday. Mission Beach and Pacific Beach. (Which is the same right?!?) We ate a lot of great food. Went to the beautiful Balboa park. Space museum. (woot woot) The US Hangar ship. (which was cooler than I thought) and watched some airplanes. (my husband loves airplanes!)
Our last stop was Los Angeles. We decided to stay at The Dixie Hollywood in Hollywood Boulevard. Loved the hotel immediately since it got a pool (LA was heated when we were there!) and cool palm trees with lights! and fun artworks on the wall from different movies. It was like we lived in a small studio, hihi :)
Disneyland. DONALD DUCK! Magic Mountain Six Flags SUPERMAN which my husband loved!! Walk of Fame. Museums. Friends ♥. Forest Lawn on the 29th (I actually managed to drive to the wrong Lawn at first… it’s interesting to have to stop twice at the wrong Lawn and ask where Michael Jackson was…burried.) Hollywood and that poor Tarzan guy who never seemed to get a fan, but the muscle dude seemed lucky enough! And not to forget all those shops were you can buy lots and lots of junk you don’t need! I love it!! And the food. Pancakes everyday. Bacon. Bacon everyday. With pancakes. Maple Syrup. Lots. And drink Corona (everyday) without the feeling of getting ruined!
British Airways was kind enough to give us 1300$, each, a night at Radisson hotel which included lunch, dinner and breakfast due to the fact that they had overbooked. We got one extra day in Los Angeles. We love the US :) ♥ (and the British Airways)
PS: More honeymoons for my husband and myself to come ^^,
