U.S.A...The First Five Days

Well, they let us in, and after a few probing questions from the US Border Patrol over the length of our stay, we're now in the final country of our tour.  Fortunately, we're here for just over five months.  From Hollywood, Los Angeles to Tucson Arizona, via the Joshua Tree National Park, the first five days have been incredible...The USA is one of a kind for so many reasons.

Hey, it was two dollars a beer!  Hooters, Hollywood Boulevard, L.A.

Some of the stars on Hollywood Boulevard - it's hard to look where you're going for reading them all.

We met this chap wandering on Hollywood Boulevard.  Tony Stark or the best fancy dress costume EVER?

Like Camden by the sea - Venice Beach

We arrived in L.A. to three days of non-stop sunshine without a single cloud.

Philippe The Original - a hundred year old sandwich deli in Chinatown - as featured on Man vs Food

Perfectly moist, tender slices of beef, pork or turkey, marinated in gorgeous meaty juices and served in freshly baked French bread.  Ask for it "double dipped" and they'll dunk the whole sandwich in the same broth for a juicy plate of meaty paradise

Long queues weave around the dining room, dotted with office workers, L.A.P.D. officers, tourists and local regulars

Joshua Tree National Park - just a couple of hours from L.A. and you could easily think you were on the moon - who knew the desert could be so beautiful?

"On a dark desert highway...."

After a stunning sunset, choose the most kitsch motel you can find...

...and have a man bring a giant pizza to your door.

As a brief Synopsis of Australia:

Likes:  Firstly, the wildlife.  We saw so many weird and wonderful creatures just sat in car-parks and campsites, it would have been difficult not to have taken an interest.  Birds, mammals, insects and reptiles - all scurried, crawled, squeaked, squawked and slithered past our campervan - it was like being on another planet.  The kind of planet on which David Attenborough would be King.  

Also, the Aussies!  A lovely bunch of people - so laid back, easy-going and happy to lend a hand.  Maybe it's all the sunshine?  Australia is a country built for everyone to be outdoors - free barbecues and picnic areas in parks, roadside rest areas and beaches.  It was so nice to see kids rushing into the sea to surf or paddle board after school, rather than locking themselves inside with Playstations and Facebook to evade the cold and rain.  Have you noticed that everyone in England gets a whole lot friendlier when the sun comes out?  It's like that all the time there.

Dislikes:  The cost of EVERYTHING*.  Australians are very well paid compared to the rest of the world, and it shows.  £6.50 for a beer in bar. £1.50 for a pepper/capsicum. £7 for two chicken breasts.  £1.50 for chocolate bar. £15 for a main meal in your average restaurant.  Heck, it was cheaper to buy four kangaroo burgers than it was to buy bread buns to put them in!  Had we not been self catering and living in a campervan (£80-£100 for your most basic motel room), we'd have been broke within days.  Arriving in the U.S. was like winning the lottery.  That beer became £1.60, the chocolate bar 60p and the motel room £35.  

*Special mention must be made to boxes (or goons) of Australian wine - £8.50 for four and a half bottles - it was cheaper than soft drinks so we got our money's worth out of those for sure.

I must also mention the weather.  Although it was a freak occurrence to have so much rain, even in the rainy season, it did mean for a rather different trip to the sun, sea, surf and sand adventure we had expected.

Favourite Day: 

Hiking around the Grand Canyon in the Blue Mountains.  It was like being in a movie set.  "Too beautiful to be real" I believe was the expression used.

Favourite Meal:  That first barbecued (kangaroo) burger on our first night in the van.  After almost six months of mostly Asian food (chicken, rice, noodles, chicken, noodles, rice..etc.), cooking those patties ourselves, smothering them with (real) cheese and barbecue sauce, then sandwiching them in (real) bread buns - it was heaven!  

Favourite Beer:  Despite the cost, we did treat ourselves on a few occasions.  Like the U.S., craft breweries are taking off Down Under.  Our favourite was Fat Yak, although James Squire's Nine Tales (amber ale) came a close second.  These beers make your average lager taste like lightly flavoured fizzy water.  Oh, and by the way, no one in Australia drinks Fosters - try some and you'll realise why.