HOLIDAY 2006 (CALIFORNIA)

This year I decided to go out to California to visit with a couple of very dear friends. I landed in LA and hired a car, this year it was a 4x4 because I wanted to explore the more inaccessible parts of the Joshua Tree National Park. I spent a couple of nights in the LAX Plaza, Culver City, just a few minutes drive from the Car Rental facility, in order to acclimatize and get used to being on the wrong side of the road, then over to Palm Springs for 3 nights, 4 nights in Vegas, Up the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains to Lone Pine, (Where most of the old westerns were filmed, Lake Mono, over the Tioga Pass to Yosemite, Santa Cruz, Monterey and then up to the Napa Valley to stay with Lowell & Janet Herrero, two very dear friends whom I met back in the 80's when I was driving tours on the Mainland. 

I'll put a few photos on this page but if you fancy seeing all of them, go to the main page and click on the 'Album' link.

click on thumbs for full size picture. (some are pretty big so may take a long time to download if you aint got broadband)

Venice Beach, LA	My hotel in Palm Springs, breakfast by the pool.	Venturing off road in the 'Joshua Tree Nat. Park'. This easy section gave no clue as to what lay ahead.	Fish at Lake Mead.	My breakfast table on Mt. Charleston, about an hour North of Las Vegas.
Another view on Mt. Charleston	Yet another,	The water fountains at Bellagio's, Las Vegas.	Las Vegas Boulevard.	Caesar's Palace
The 'Valley of Fire' in the Mojave National Preserve, Las Vegas.	My friends, Lowell & Janet's house in the Napa Valley.	Their front room.	The dinner table laid up for 'Thanksgiving'	My Chalet for a week
Sonoma County	Sonoma County Winery Cellar	The building they used as the school in the film, 'The Birds'. My mate Lowell on the steps.	The Sierra Nevada mountains.	The car I hired for the trip....and boy what a car!
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.	Alcatraz. The building at the top of the hill was the Governor's house but was burned down when the Island was occupied by Indians who wanted to reclaim the Island as their own.	The 3 storey main cell block, known by the inmates as 'Broadway'.	A shot of the Golden Gate bridge from Lincoln Park, San Francisco.	This is where Jimmy Stewart rescued Kim Novak in the film, 'Vertigo'.
Jennifer Lopez heard I was in town and showed up for a photo.	The Eiffel Tower, Las Vegas.	Christmas Tree at Pier  39, Fisherman's Wharf. San Francisco	The Hoover Dam	Yosemite National Park.