We enjoyed our Starbucks coffee along with a sample of maple latte and some kind of egg on english muffin.  I guess Starbucks is getting into the healthier breakfasts.

Again we had a beautiful sunny day and it was a lovely drive through Monterey.  Along the beach we saw Dennis the Menace Park.  So we stopped and let monkey play.  He drove the train and then monkeyed around with Dennis.  We stopped at a park next to cannery row.  This is where John Steinbeck wrote about ordinary people.  I have read some other Steinbeck novels but not any about the canning of sardines in Monterey.  I read the history of this business and it is not such an easy thing to do.  I have a new appreciation for sardines.  There were several very expensive hotels with lovely gardens.  Our lunch was prepared for us at a small family mexican restaurant.  We got it to go and ate near one of the fountains in the flower garden of the nice hotel.  I had a chicken taco and blips had a chicken burrito.  Both were the best we have ever had.

We had been told that the 17 mile drive on a peninsula was worth the $8.75 fee.  This is a gated community and includes Pebble Beach Golf Club.  I’m not a golf fan but even I have heard of that golf Club.  There were a few houses(mansions) for sale.  Most had a sign that said, “by appointment only” but one had a sheet so I got out and looked.  9.4 million.  And it was not even one of the fancy or modern ones.  The view was wonderful and we spent an hour on the drive.  Next was Carmel.  We had spent alot of time on the 17 mile drive so we did not stop in Carmel but we could see it is just as beautiful a place on the seaside.  No spottings of Clint Eastwood.  I guess he was at City Hall acting (heheheheehe) as mayor.

I thought I knew what Big Sur was.  I thought it was a lovely drive along the coast.  HOWEVER, I was in for a big surprise.  It is an area where the mountains meet the ocean and a road has been blasted along the cliffs.  And yes, the view is spectacular and at times we were ohhhhhh at least a quarter mile up from the ocean with just a drop off at the edge of the road.  There are many many turnoffs where you can pull your car off the road and take pictures or just enjoy the view.  And they often put big boulders there to stop you from driving over the edge.  My camera will not really take a decent picture of such a distant view.  But there were these “feathers” on a stem that looked like arrows all over the hills.  They were about 5-6 feet high and were so interesting looking.  We saw a sea lion on one rock and I thought I spotted a whale but without binoculars, I could not be sure.  Whales migrate south for the winter along the coast.

We watched the sun set on Big Sur and were one hour out from our sleeping destination.  Ten minutes before we got there, blips said, “I have an idea…Let’s drive all the way to LA tonite so we have a full day tomorrow”.  That’s 219 miles and it is 7PM.  OK, blips gets the true meaning of a roadtrip now.  You get an idea and sell it to the others and walla…new plans and you are on the way.  Monkey and I talked it over with some officers. One said he drives that all the time at night.  So, walla…….3 votes to keep going.

We get to LA at 11pm and I thought there would be hotels along the freeway that we could pick from.  Nope.  We have to get off the freeway and pick Santa Monica Blvd.  Bars on the windows, bail bonds and payday check cashing spots.  Geezzzzz does all of LA have bars on the windows?  We see a Shell that has gas for $2.65 which is cheap here.  It is normal for $2.89.  We tried to use the two $25 gas cards I got for free for test driving a 2006 Grand Vitarra.  One worked and one did not.  I hope that is an innocent mistake and not a scam.  Send me a gas card and I can’t tell it is not good until I try to use it.  BUT, the kid at the gas station says there is a Days Inn just down the road.  We find it and they want to charge us $50 more than we have been paying.  In the end, he gave us $10 off for booking two nights.  We did not want to spend Thursday looking for a hotel.  I guess part of a roadtrip is paying extra for a hotel at last minute.

There is a Starbucks just 5 blocks from here…..at least we won’t have to search for that and there was no one waiting in bed for us this time.  Not that that is boring or anything Tomorrow….Universal Studios, The Entertainment Capital of LA.

We checked out of our hotel and went directly to Starbucks.  We sat outside on the patio in the beautiful sunshine.  It was already noon when we came across the bay bridge.  This is a smaller bridge that connects San Francisco and Oakland.  It is just south of the Golden Gate Bridge.  There is a toll of $3 to enter San Francisco but no fee to exit on the same bridge.  We drive through SF along the bay and get almost all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge when we see a lovely spot for our lunch.  We take monkey along and give him a little lecture on where bad monkeys go when they don’t listen. (see Alcatraz in the background)

Monkey wanted to rent one of these gocarts but at $40 an hour, he will have to do a little more around the house first.  We did allow him to sit in one and feel like a big boy.  You can’t see it but he is smiling very big

 The same toll policy applies to the Golden Gate Bridge.  $5 to enter SF but nothing to leave on the same bridge.  Going across the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB)only takes a few minutes since it is just 1.7 miles across.  There is also a fenced in pedestrian/bike path to walk/bike across the GGB.  You cannot do that on the bay bridge.  But the GGB is so enormous.  Huge Huge Huge.  We stop at the usual viewing spot and monkey meets “flat Stanley” from Philladelphia.  Try saying that twice…flat Stanley from Philadelphia, flat Stanley from Philidelphia(FSFP)…….ehhehehehehe.  FSFP is getting his picture taken at the GGB also.  A doubledecker tour bus pulled in.  The stop is timed and some of them have to pick…toilet or pictures of the bridge.  Beep beep , time to go. 

I had talked to a local guy who recommended we go up a little known road on the other side of the hiway from the normal viewing spot.  OMG was he right.  Just a few cars were there and we had fun taking some pictures.  A guy took this picture of us and it is so perfectly spaced that it looks fake.  But no, it IS real.  We sat for a long time on a bench overlooking the bridge, the bay and SF in the background.  Sitting there I was so overwelmingly grateful for everything I have.  Good friends, the love of a good man, my health, our children and grandchildren.  I gave thanks and said an extra prayer for the restoration of the health of one daughter and one brother.  It felt good to know they are in God’s hands. Then we headed out of San Francisco to end our first trip here.  We were in rush hour traffic at 3pm in the afternoon.  The only good thing is I advanced 8 numbers to 043 from the thousands of cars we traveled with.  wooohooo

We went back to the Days Inn in Salinas because it has great internet connection and a great shower.  They gave us 10% off as return customers.  That’s nice.  Is there such a thing as California nice?  We took the key and opened the door to our room and there were two people in bed!  I am not sure who was more surprised, them or us.  I was going to ask them if they called for a taxi but decided to just say SORRY! and shut the door.  No, I don’t have a picture but she had on a lovely pink sliky thing.  You are just going to have to take my word for it   We got upgraded for free to a king bed….I wonder what he did for the other surprised couple???

Tomorrow we go to all the nice beaches along Big Sur and Monterey, Carmel, Pebbel Beach……..  We are taking two days along the beach,

Here’s a picture of blips as he films the GGB from the other side yesterday.  That was when were not too close.  I was standing just to the right of him (DUH) when I took the pic I put on yesterday. 

Having a blast, feeling blessed and now on to where Clint EAstwood is(was?) mayor of Carmel, CA.

Blips had great directions for Twin Peaks. That is a very high spot in San Francisco. The view as we wound our way up the hills is spectacular but when we got to the top it takes your breath away. You can see the whole city, Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz and the bay. It is hard to see but just at the bottom of the curve on the street(Market Street) is the Castro District.This is where the main Gay and Lesbian community is. We met a California family and took pictures for each other. Here is the mom and dad, who are about to become great-grandparents. Grandson is about to set out on a 5 week trip to India. What a nice family to chat with.

 

 

It is behind a hill on the left but is called Haight-Ashbury. Named after the two streets that intersect. This is where my role models hung out in the 60′s…Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jim Morrison and the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead.  I got all sentimental to see the area that these people at one time called home. We had coffee at the Peoples Cafe and an ‘alternative, wonderfully addictive vegan cookie’. That’s what the wrapper says. I had Double Chocolate Decadence and blips had Pistachio Mystique.  The coffee was nice and strong. Haight-Ashbury is rather normal now with a Gap and Ben&Jerry’s. But it is still colorful and unique only to San Francisco. I did not have the address of where Janis lived so I picked out this house. It is actually way more purple than the picture shows. Can’t you just hear her laughing as she did at the end of “me and Bobby McGee”? Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose. The first album I remember from her was Cheap Thrills.  It is a good thing I left Worthington for LA in 1968 instead of San Francisco. I never would have left San Francisco! I love it here.

We then drove along Pacific Coast Hiway. There is the ocean and beach on one side and Golden Gate Park on the other side.

 Suddenly we spotted the Dutch Windmill we had read about in a book. There we had a great talk with Samuel, (originally from China) and Susan, originally from Hong Kong. We had so much in common. Queen Wilhelmina Garden is absolutely beautiful. I noticed the flowers were red white and blue. The blue were just done blooming so do not show in the picture. A very peaceful relaxing and romantic place. And I noticed that mothers let their children run and play and have fun. Because of the design, they did not have to be too careful of the traffic.

We then met two people originally from Chile. She now lives in NY and he lives in SF. They stopped at Queen Wilhelmina Garden within Golden Gate Park to take pictures with their surrogate family. She is holding a brother (with the big mouth) and he is holding a friend(with the pink hair). The brother and friend could not make the trip. So, these are their stand-ins. We really regretted leaving monkey in the hotel room. A pic of monkey, pink hair and big mouth would be priceless

Ok, the pictures do not match the text but it is really late here, so you have to match them youself. You can play that game where you match text with picture. Have fun

Tomorrow Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped at a lovely spot on the hiway but it was getting dark. Here is one pic of the bridge far away.

 

We got an early start to Fisherman’s Warf and good thing.  As we read the map, our BART train route was color coded blue or green.  So, yesterday when we got our tickets and the first train was a “blue” BART that pulled into the station, we hopped on.  Well, we soon realized that yesterday, we got lucky that we even got to Fishermans Warf.  That is NOT how the trains run.  The trains are labeled by their END destination and you watch the board for the announcement which track and how many minutes until it arrives.  So, when we got on a “blue” trian on Sunday morning, by the announced stops, we knew it was not going to our destination.  CRAP!  We got off downtown and after talking to a few locals, got on the correct one.  Our BART’s final destination is Daly City……so we ride the Daly City BART.  To return to our hotel we need the Dublin BART.  And later we  got a big laugh when we noticed ALL BARTs have a blue stripe down the side.  No wonder yesterday the first train to arrive was a blue one! hehehehehe

We found a Starbucks downtown San Francisco and it is even cheaper than  Salinas.  Heck, each time we buy it, it gets cheaper.  Now it was $6.30 for two latte’s.  We did alot of walking…downtown is the equal to Peer 1 and Fisherman’s Warf is Peer 39, and the marina is Peer 45.    Of course, the best spot to film the Blue Angles is up some steep hill and what would be Peer 60 (if there was one).  So, thank goodness for my new Birkenstock clogs.  Not ONE blister or complaint.  Blips was not happy that 11 hours before our flight, I came home with new shoes.  He has since said, the shoes were a very good idea.  Even at $130.00… gulp, yup, but worth every penny so far.  The Blue Angles were awsome and good thing, since I have a $25 souvineer hat.  We went to a different Starbucks and ……walla….it was. $6.10 for two lattes

We took an early evening ride on the cable car.  It is exciting to look back and see the hill you have just come up.  It stopped at Chinatown.  I wanted to eat at a Chinatown buffet but blips was afraid it would be all fish.  So, we just looked but did not eat in Chinatown.  We did find a place on the warf where I had a fresh salmon salad and blips had a B-B-Q pork sandwich.  Again, we were both very happy with our dinner.  We also saw Nob Hill but did not walk the hills because we had walked for hours already.   We knew EXACTLY which BART to take back to our hotel   Saturday and Sunday we were gone from early morning to late night.  The day goes so fast.  We are having a blast.  Flowers are downtown San Francisco and sign is from a little shop where they were selling fleece jackets.  And blips is so thrilled that we each have our own computer but here is a shot of what he has to go through to make it happen.  I wondered why his suitcase was so heavy.

If your going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.  I put some flowers in my hair and we set out to learn how to ride BART. Bay Area Rapid Transit.  One station is close to our hotel and the hotel has a shuttle every 1/2 hour to the station. You find the price of the ticket on the wall to the destination from your location, buy a ticket and go to the the train level.  BART travels above gound, below ground and under water.(under the bay between Oakland and San Francisco).  It costs about $30 to park a car, and BART was $6.70 round trip per person.  We took BART to Fisherman’s warf because that is where the Blue Angles were going to do their air show at the marina.  It was quite crowded because it is Fleet Week.  Fleet Week is when many military ships dock and the Port of San Francisco shows it’s appreciation to the sailors for their service.  We talked with a couple sailors in Starbucks and they said so far they went to a movie and were not allowed to pay.  It was free. And at Starbucks, their normal coffee price is $4.50 and they were charged $1.50 instead.  They were feeling very appreciated.  Our best laugh of the day was when I said to a group of sailors, “gentleman, may I take your picture?”  And ..flash, in two seconds they lined up perfectly for a picture.  I was so stunned that I pushed zoom instead of click.  They started to move on and I said, “I pushed the wrong button!”….and slam…back in perfect place in two seconds.  Blips said it was so fun to watch.  I pushed click this time and they fell out again and another woman said, “wait, I want a picture too”…and slam, back into perfect place.  It was a once in a lifetime moment and I hope you can imagine the scenerio I described.

We then looked very hard for a place where blips, who does not like fish, could eat at Fisherman’s Warf.  We did, find a spot.  I had Calamari and blips had a meatball sandwich.  We both were very happy with our dinner.  What a great beginning.  This picture is inside our return ride on BART, each car was crammed full, every seat and every square inch of standing room and sitting on the floor.  The sun is strangely bright here.  It shined directly down on you instead of at you.  Sunglasses don’t do any good, since the sun shines behind them.  So, I had to get a hat.  And of course the only one available is a $25 Blue Angles souvineer hat.  There are flowers all over the place just like the middle of the summer.  Here is just one such spot at Fisherman’s Warf on the beautiful 80ish day.

We left LA today for a few days in San Francisco.  Specifically, blips wants to go to the Blue Angels air show which is over the bay and should be quite spectacular.  I mistakenly thought it was a four hour drive to SF but instead it is FOUR hundred miles.  So, I got the four correct but in the wrong category.  Ooops!  We started out rather early (for people on vacation) at 9:30am and pulled into a Days Inn in Salinas, CA at 4:30pm.  We are 100 miles south of SF and stayed here because it is less expensive and we can be there by noon tomorrow anyway with time to explore a little before we booked a hotel in SF.  BUT we like this Days Inn so much that we booked one in Oakland for 3 days.  Now we won’t have to search tomorrow for a place to stay.  Done deal.

 

Here is a picture of monkey(the first one of my collection.  And he has no name, just monkey) playing one last game by the pool and sitting on the stairs that went up to our room. 

We stopped on the way to SF at San Luis Obispo at an Applebee’s.  I asked for a no smoking table.  SHE SAID ALL OF CALIFORNIA IS NO SMOKING!!! What the heck?  At our hotel with no address, we had to sit at the pool to get wi-fi.  We have been smoked on with cigars and as many as 9-10 cigs at a time.  Now we find out they are all criminals also.  They can smoke in their room but not at the pool in our air.  It is California law.  I thought they had a clean air act!  Our motel room here in Salinas is really nice because there is no smoking in any room at any time.  So it has never been smoked on and then perfumed and called clean. 

Anyway, I woke up this morning to chanting.  I thought maybe those boys actually were Jehovas Witnesses, since we saw them going door to door.  And they were having a service.  But I also heard them using the F word last night and that did not fit.  So, I opened our door and listened.  It was a motivational coaching meeting.  Some guy said something and they said HARDER HARDER, as if to remedy their missed quota the day before.  And then they chanted “I can do it” (also twice).  Those poor kids are hooked up with some creep that is using them to make money.  I knew it was something weird.  I wonder what they get out of it.

Tomorrow I am about to go to SF for the first time.  I am so excited.  The scenery on the way here today was breathtaking.  The mountains and the ocean and sometimes the combination in one view.  I can’t wait to see what it looks like tomorrow in SF.   They have muffins for breakfast here.  I am going to count the blueberries. 

We took a different street today and found a Starbucks just a few miles away.  And it is a dollar cheaper here in the ghetto.  Grande skim sugar free vanilla latte.  Then we went hunting for the HOLLYWOOD sign.  Blips had directions and we got lost a couple times because it is on streets that are not marked.  Here is a typical house on a hillside.  It iust sits on sandy clay.  YIKES!  No wonder when it rains, these houses slide right off the hill. I also spotted on the same hill a really neat garage door.  I decided that this person had too much time on their hands.  But it is really cool.  At first glance, I thought they had an outdoor bookcase.  Which is cool to begin with but, this painting is even more special.

We were near Forest Lawn, the cemetary of the stars, so we spent some time there.  I know it sounds strange, but it is a very peaceful placeful and beautiful place.  We saw a funeral and it is just like in the movies, with everyone in black and standing in groups around the burial site.  We did a little looking to see if we could spot anyone famous and we did see Sandra Dee (she just died last year)and Bette Davis.  We did not have a map and there are 10′s of thousands to look through.  Oh yah, we also saw Liberace(a very famous gay piano player.)

Then we drove around in Beverly Hills where the really rich people live and down Rodeo Drive…remember where Julia Roberts shopped when she was in Pretty Woman????  And we ended up in Santa Monica on the beach.  We had dinner outdoors and blips ordered b-b-q chicken and got this salad with pieces of b-b-q chicken in it.  His little chin nearly hit the floor, even though he said it was ok.  We went for a walk along the Pacific Ocean and watched the sunset.  (Krista, I think i heard it sizzle)  Then we went for a walk along the peer which goes out over the ocean quite a ways.  We had an ice cream cone which was way too cold an not very good.  We could not find a freeway back to the hotel(?) so we drove city streets all the way back.  It was such a lovely day. 

This place is really busy.  I can’t explain it.  I just saw a guy walk in wearing a Fred Flinstone outfit.  And there are alot of Russian speaking musicians.  When we left today, we did see two black boys door knocking across the street.  It is kind of an alternative lifestyle gathering place.  Like beatnicks or something.  There are about 150 rooms and a security guard cruises through the pool area.  That is where we have to sit to get internet access.  There are alot of young people checking each other out.  And they all seem a little bit shy.  What is up with that?  They all stick with their own groups but keep eyeing each other.  Well, maybe after we go to bed, things change.  And while I was typing, 2 cats and 4 kittens ran through the lobby.  Right now everyone is speaking Russan so I am going to go read a good book.

Tomorrow we go to SF.  We did get our return flight changed to LA.  So, that problem is solved.  So, off to SF for about 5 days , then back to LA until we go home.  I’m going to skip the (fake) blueberry muffin tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

 

I forgot to tell you that last night at 4:30am the 1962 phone rang.  I picked it up and the front desk said my taxi was here.  Well, I was not sure I was dreaming or what the heck, and I did not say a word.  She then said, did you order a taxi?  I said no.  Then we both hung up.  I’m gonna kinda miss this place.  It’s been a real trip.

Remember that old joke, you can call me anything you want, just don’t call me a taxi….hehhhehehehhe, expecially at 4:30am!

Well, I am not sure where to start…..so let me go back to the lovely dinner we had at a casino buffet.  We went to our favorite casino buffet and they had seafood night and blips said Absolutely NOT!  So, we picked another very nice one and a busy one so we did not have to worry about bad food.  It even had ‘reasonably’ good coffee.  Then we went up to the top of the Stratosphere.  Words cannot describe the view of Las Vegas and how romantic to be standing there with someone you love. 

Then the fun really began.  I started wretching about an hour after we got back to the Luxor.  I ‘ralphed’ 5 times.  I hope that is not TMI (too much information).  That was not so romantic.  The only thing that I ate that blips did not eat was collard greens.  So, there must have been something in them or they were not prepared safely.  I finally fell asleep at 4am and woke again at 6:30am and started sipping on water because we had to check out at 11AM and fly to LA.  Blips packed everything and checked out of the Luxor using the TV.  Nice.  I wanted my usual Starbucks but he forbid me from having coffee until the airport.  I knew he was right but that did not prevent me from giving him dirty looks. 

When we got to the airport he did such a fantastic job checking us in electronically while I sat on the luggage.  The flight was only 46 minutes and of course everything looked better now that I had had my coffee and we split a subway sandwich with potato chips.  I was craving salt.  I have not had chips for months.

Our hotel….ok, we are not ‘exactly’ at a hotel.  We are in Marguaretaville.  I am not sure how to spell that but here in Marguarettaville……nobody seems to care about anything.  We booked this place from the internet.  We are in the middle of another ghetto with bars on the windows, and bail bonds on every corner.  As we got a few blocks from the hotel address, unemployed men stood on the corners.  About 15 to a corner.  We drove by the hotel 7 or 8? times because it has the WRONG address on the internet.  THAT address does not exist.  It is betweed two boarded up buildings.  It is actually across the street and down the block.  Blips refused to check in(we prepaid) until he saw the room.  Then he showed me the room and …..ok, can I say it has been molding since 1934!  So, we knew it would be hard to find another room this late and since it was paid for, we would stay one night and the first thing in the morning find another place to stay.  So, we went to the desk and she asked how the room was.  Not being able to keep my mouth shut I told her it had a smell and we needed another room on the second floor.  Now, you have to get the picture that everyone walks around here like normal.  The airplanes fly overhead every 90 seconds and at first you duck because they are so low.  I don’t duck now but I do bust into laughter.  I was not able to watch CSI NY because the airplanes interfer with the CBS channel.  NOT the other TWO channels, just mine.  We park the car behind a barbed wire fence that is duck taped together.  I imagine somebody tried to cut it.  And for some reason, there are kittens everywhere.  Whenever we open the duck-taped gate, a kitten crosses our path.  I get a bit freaked out because I don’t want to kill any kittens.

We do have a great car.  We got that on the internet too.  Sometimes you are the windshield and sometimes you are the bug.  ohhhhhhhhh Van Morrison just came on the juke box.  I am sitting (duck there was another airplane) by the pool with some recovered alcoholics and foreigners.  Mostly eastern european and a few asian.  I bet they got this hotel on the internet!  Then there are about 30-35 black kids/men ages 15-24? in white shirts, black pants and assorted ties.  None of the clothes fit. Like they are all somebody elses.  Reminds me of Jehovas Witnesses but in clothes that do not fit.  I wonder if these are the kids they drop off in the suburbs and go door to door asking for donations to ‘help them got off drugs or poverty’ or whatever they make up.  Ok, back to the car.  It is a Pontiac Grand Prix.  Really cool and believe it or not……does not stand out in this neighborhood.  Everybody seems to have nice cars.  Do you think they are all drug dealers?  And I spotted 030 when we were lost.  Well, we were not lost just looking for an address that did not exist.  The car has no words for the instruments just pictures and we were a little slow with figuring things out.  I finally figured out the air conditioning was on.  I could feel it but then I figured out the symbol that looks like an angry sunshine is actually a snowflake and that must mean a/c to some dummy at Pontiac.

Everybody here smokes.  At least it seems like it.  I guess we are just spoiled in Minnesota by the clean air act.  I thought CAlifornia had a clean air act also.  Or maybe here in Marguaretaville there are different rules.  It really is like being dropped into a South American country where disabled vets go to live on their Social Security checks.(get a vision of Born on the Fourth of July, if you can remember Tom Cruise in that movie).  Oh, did I tell you about the “world famous blueberry muffins”?  We sat for a longtime, 20-25 minutes?, before being waited on.  And yes, the blueberry muffins are probably world famous but NOT for flavor but because this is the ONLY one I have ever had that was missing the blueberries!  Yup, it was purple(or grey rather) but not one blueberry.

We do have a refrigerator in our room so we went to a grocery store last night.  I am afraid to eat restaurant food now.  We were the only white people in the store.  I saw a guy with not curly hair and got excited until he turned around and I saw his face and realized he was Mexican.  I kept thinking there has got to be ONE white person here……nope.  But we had a sandwich for dinner and yogurt for breakfast.  I am not counting the grey thingy I am calling an unforgetable blueberry muffin.  World famous is a stretch.

Ok, today we are going to try to find the Hollywood sign.  We are spending only 2 days here in LA and then heading for SF.  We ran into a problem with turning in the car in SF.  Although it was not supposed to happen, we are being charged $150 for turning in the car in SF when we rented it in LA.  So, we are attempting to get our return flight changed to LA.  As soon as I get off the internet, I will try to make the change.  Blips has it all scoped out and I make the call.  We make a good team.  Overall we are having a great time now that I have my head out of the toilet and we are used to the bars on the windows.  It was quite a shock from the Luxor and the pampering we got there.  Duck there was another low plane.

ok….off to find the Hollywood sign and maybe Clark Gables grave.  You remember Rett Buttler.  Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!  That is my perspective regarding the spelling of Marguarettaville.  And I don’t think anyone else around here does either

Oh gawd I gotta go….some black guy just put on one of those records where it sounds like they are making it skip backwards.  eeeuuuueuuwwww

eeeeuuuu  eeeeuuuwuwwwwwI don’t even know what that is called….I just know it drives me crazy.  Bye.  

 Here’s a pic of the bathroom light.  It has 8 of those replacement bulbs for low wattage and of course, only two of the eight work.

 

Here we are on the 25th floor of the pyramid.  I don’t know how they do it but at night the windows are all dark and there is a white light outline on the corners of the pyramid.  My favorite spot is in front of the sphinx(see it on the right) at night and there is a blue light magically coming out of the top of the head-dress that goes so high it disappears into the sky.  You actually feel like you are in Egypt long long ago….then you hear Japanese talking and cameras clicking. hehehehhehe  But I looooooove this hotel.