Coast to Coast...

The USA

2008-07-29T03:16:00.000-07:00

The blue bits above are all the places that I stayed at least one night.

It is over now and it was better than I imagined. People ask me what was my favorite bit, a question I can't answer because the "bits" were all so different; it would be like comparing favorite music to favorite building to favorite food.

Some suggestions...

2008-07-23T03:51:00.000-07:00

I offer some suggestions of hotels in various spots in the USA...

Anna Maria Island, Florida - Seaside Inn http://www.seasideresort.com/

New Orleans, Louisiana - Hotel LeCirque http://www.neworleansfinehotels.com/hotellecirque/

Clarksdale, Mississippi - The Shack Up Inn http://www.shackupinn.com/

Laredo, Texas - La Posada http://www.laposadahotel.com/

Gallup, New Mexico - El Rancho Hotel http://historicelranchohotel.com/

Malibu, California - Casa Malibu http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32676-d78107-Reviews-Casa_Malibu_Inn_on_the_Beach-Malibu_California.html

Santa Cruz, California - Dream Inn http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/centralcoast/dream

I stayed in plenty of nice hotels thanks to Hotwire.com (see Tip No. 5) but the ones listed above were a bit special.

Home

2008-07-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

Back home and ready for it...

The Dark Knight

2008-07-22T01:10:00.000-07:00

Before we flew back we went to see a 10.00 am screening of The Dark Knight... Believe the hype... Heath Ledger's performance is astonishing, I have never seen anything so menacing in a film rated PG and it is difficult to think of anything in any film beyond Jack Nicholson in the Shining or the Haunted Forest in Snow White. But he is not alone, Christian Bale is perfect, Gary Oldman makes a grand Commissioner Gordon, Aaron Ekhart is a wonderful Harvey Dent (that name might ring a couple of bells for Batman aficionados) and Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are delightful. The film is long, a bit too long and becomes less taught in the last 40 minutes but that is a cavil... A morning in San Francisco well spent.

The Castro

2008-07-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last night went up to the Castro district for a wander and cocktails... The cinema has just been restored and the films programmed are always as camp as this pairing to commemorate Sydney Pollack's death.

Food again...

2008-07-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

If you go to San Fran Cisco,
be sure to eat at Swan Oyster Depot

I know it doesn't scan but it is much better advice... The best clam chowder outside New England, delicious crab, marvellous prawn, shrimp and of course the oysters are perfect.

Bug Cemetery

2008-07-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

The front of my car after crossing a continent...

Tip No 8

2008-07-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

If you want to hire a car from one spot and drop off in another... My example would be pick up in Tampa and drop off in San Francisco, choose National Car Rental they charge $199, the cheapest alternative is $599.

The city on the bay

2008-07-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

San Francisco remains one of the most handsome places in the world, blessed with beautiful geography, tall hills, deep bay, which also ensure that it has less than beautiful weather.

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."
Mark Twain

However the sun came out for us on the Sausalito Ferry and we saw this city at its best.

Tip No 7

2008-07-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

It has been a while but here is another tip... With thanks to my friend Moyra... If you find yourself in a place where fast food is your only option, eat at Taco Bell

http://www.tacobell.com/

Farewell

2008-07-14T21:57:00.001-07:00

I have said goodbye to my faithful friend, my constant companion for the last 8,000 miles... My blue Dodge Avenger, not a moments trouble, never missed a beat, kept me cool in Laredo and I'm sure would have kept me warm here in San Francisco had I not let him go...

While we were walking down the pier at Santa Cruz...

2008-07-14T09:11:00.001-07:00

... I noticed this little group having a rest.

Santa Cruz

2008-07-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Is one of my favourite places; good beach, nice pier, boardwalk with a 100 year old funfair and it is a favourite spot for Latin Americans down from Oakland (last night there was a Cuban dance festival).

Here are some photos, starting with the view from our room

Before we left Monterey...

2008-07-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

... we took a trip. Here are some shots of a couple of Humpback Whales diving

These 55 foot monsters do move one, their gentle ease makes you aware of the damage we are doing to our planet (this from one who has flown many times this year).

We also dropped into the middle of an enormous pod of dolphins, here is what we saw

and Lizzy's reaction

On the way back we saw some sea lions sunning themselves

a feast for the eyes and the spirit.

At the gates of dusk...

2008-07-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Sitting by the 18th green of the Spanish Bay golfcourse at Pebble Beach... No really... By the firepits eating tuna and drinking beer when...

As we've now left Cayucos...

2008-07-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

... I can reveal the terrible truth!

The water was bloody cold too, we paddled nothing more. It was just going to be an overnight stop but because of the fires we ended up staying for three days... The town reminded me of Sheringham on the North Norfolk coast, past it's most popular, geographically blessed and inhabited by real people.

The B&B was extremely comfortable with terrifying breakfasts... Orange Pancakes with Apple-smoked Bacon... Blueberry, Creme Brulee French Toast and Melon; afternoon glasses of local wine with an "appetiser" (Local brie yesterday afternoon). This gives an indication of what draws people to the town apart from the wildlife, wine and sleepy relaxation... Food. I won't give you chapter and verse as this blog seems to be turning into an epicurean review but there are three restaurants that we used, Duckies

http://duckies.cayucos.menuclub.com/

cheap, fresh, local seafood served fast but certainly not fast food eg great big oysters on the half shell. Schooners

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g32188-d613059-Reviews-Schooner_s_Wharf-Cayucos_California.html

of the jaw-droppingly good spicy scallops. Hoppe's ("Hoppies") a five diamond restaurant where I ate the best steak of my life.

http://www.hoppesbistro.com/

Wildlife

2008-07-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

On the way up to Big Sur we saw some Elephant seals

and back in Cayucos I managed to catch some Californian Sealion action too

Big Sur... Not

2008-07-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

The last property open on Highway 1 before they close the road to allow the fire-fighters free access is Lucia Lodge

http://www.lucialodge.com/mall/c121/s14406/default1.htm

where we were booked for 2 nights... We went to have a look and it is beautiful but all the beaches and paths were closed too so we turned round and came back to Cayucos.

Seagulls

2008-07-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

A few of the seafront properties have a plastic owl perched on the roof to deter the seagulls (this is the restaurant where we ate last night)... As you can see, they are very effective.

Cayucos CA

2008-07-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Needed a place to stay on our way to Big Sur so dropped off the road here at Cayucos... Clearly this was a place that grew with the surfing boom of the sixties and has fallen back a bit recently. We stayed at the On The Beach B & B and the rooms are fantastically comfortable with open fires as well as Jacuzzis

http://www.californiaonthebeach.com/

our meal next door at Schooner's was memorable but the most remarkable thing about this place is the wildlife... We have grown a bit blase about the Pelicans but the Seals and Sea Otters are completely used to humans and we actually saw a seal chase a kid in the water yesterday... Magical.

Long John

2008-07-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

This is our regular morning visitor, Long John the one-footed seagull.

Not Jonathan Livingstone or George or Steven... His full name is Long John Saliva... He's the living spit of his brother.

Lizzy on dolphin watch

2008-07-08T07:28:00.001-07:00

Difficult to see but there is a large pod that live in the bay. This is an enlargement of the one Lizzy is looking at

Who knew...

2008-07-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

... that pelicans fly in a V formation?

You can't really see it in this picture but it's true... Or perhaps they are a very talented group of circus pelicans doing their impression of geese?

But Malibu is much more peaceful

2008-07-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday in Santa Monica...

2008-07-07T09:22:00.001-07:00

... gets pretty busy

This is Lizzy on the pier, with a cast of thousands in the background

Frank Gehry

2008-07-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

Our hotel in LA is just opposite the Walt Disney Concert Hall... Here's me getting in the way of a decent view.

July 4th

2008-07-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't think that there was such a thing as too many fireworks and I don't know how many megatons were delivered this evening... But after 40 minutes of this hour long show I was ready for the finale. When the end came it was spectacular, the sky seemed full of light.

This was a free show provided by the County of Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Coliseum, so we were surrounded by the people who live at ground level and use the public transport in this city... It and they were great.

Pits Top

2008-07-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

Lizzy and the Mastodons

The Missus' first day in LA... and after a lunch of "fresh as a daisy" sushi we went to the La Brea Tar Pits for a view of

Asphalt (colloquially termed tar, which in Spanish is termed brea) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years, forming hundreds of sticky pools that trapped animals and plants which happened to enter. Over time, the asphalt fossilized the remains. The result is an incredibly rich collection of fossils dating from the last ice age.

Las Vegas to Los Angeles

2008-07-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

The drive offered some interesting detours...

... obviously someone wanted to be the last on the Gazetteer... But the biggest and best known place en route is Baker "gateway" to both the Mojave Desert and Death Valley and home of Alien Fresh Jerky.

In the background you can see the centrepiece of this community, an enormous thermometer

showing a rather balmy 109 degrees.

Seablue

2008-07-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

For those that like a good meal I am going to describe my Seablue meal while the memory is still fresh... It was a set, "Summer", menu with a few choices (details in the previous post), I'll just tell you what I had and the accompanying wines.

An amuse bouche of Bouillabaisse

Spring onion and oyster soup... A marriage made in heaven, and with a little surprise of a fresh oyster which had been quietly poaching at the bottom of the bowl - A glass of Cava

Unleavened bread with little tasters of Feta cheese, hummus and cucumber/yoghurt

Self-designed salad, Seablue is the only place I have seen this; you are handed a list of about 40 different ingredients and half a dozen dressings and choose up to ten of them... I chose spinach, roasted pepperoncino, shaved radish, plum tomatoes, red onion, pine nuts, white anchovies, Parmesan and roasted garlic and anchovy dressing - This came with a glass of Pinot Grigio.

Seared Arctic Char (like a trout/salmon cross... Irate?) with spiced rice, puy lentils and chick peas - With which I selected a glass of Rioja, to the mild concern of the waiter.

Then the Chocolate Mousse Cake, which came up like a rather posh and refined version of a Caramel Magnum ice cream - This came with a late bottled Taylor's port.

A really memorable meal, basic culinary principles recognised but imagination and flair in trumps.

The amount of food was perfect for me, certainly enough but I never felt overfaced (and this in a country where one TV ad's sales line for a TV dinner is "A pound and a half of food" with no specifics) the wines were all great examples of their type and the service was perfect... Amazingly so as I sat down at 6.00 and said to the waiter that I needed to be walking out the door at 6.55 (poker tournament at 7.00 {note to self, you don't play good poker after 4 glasses of wine})... This was achieved without fuss or bother.

Las Vegas Impressions

2008-07-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

This place only exists because it successfully appeals to our baser instincts but it certainly knows how to bait the hook... The MGM for example is not cultured but it has style, these are the photographs that greet you on my (and every) floor

Richard Harris, Richard Burton and Sammy Davis Jr

Frank and Groucho

There is bad food to be found, Hot Dogs, Pizza, Burgers, but it is not easy... There are 3 oriental restaurants, a New York style Deli, an authentic Italian, an authentic Mexican and numerous Chef-branded places. For example, tonight I shall be eating in a Michael Mina restaurant I first discovered with the missus called Seablue

http://www.mgmgrand.com/dining/seablue-mediterranean-restaurant.aspx

I shall be having the Summer Menu

http://www.mgmgrand.com/dining/seablue-mediterranean-restaurant-summer-menu.aspx

with all the suggested wines... Cost £47.50. If it is as good as the meal we ate here a year ago it will be memorable.

All this way and...

2008-07-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

... my hotel seems to be remarkably close to where I started...

... this is the New York New York Hotel with my hotel in the background.

Coming in to land

2008-07-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

I realise that this is the first time since I left Amarillo that I have been below a mile high... And I really feel the difference, especially since the MGM (like all the hotels here) pumps oxygen into the air to keep you awake and gambling.

Another reason to stay at The MGM Grand

2008-07-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

Another reason for staying at the MGM Grand; anyone who knows my tattoo will know that it is based on the 1970's MGM logo, and for those that don't...

Cup Final

2008-07-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Did probably my biggest drive from Kayenta to Las Vegas, about 300 miles as the crow flies but you have to skirt round the eastern and northern rims of the Grand Canyon... Which meant that I was listening to Spain beat Germany in the European Nations Final while looking at views like this.

Viva

2008-07-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Here for 4 days poker playing... Staying in the MGM Grand "The Big Green One" as it is known locally, because I know the geography of the place... Useful as it has 5,000 rooms.

Also because of the lion

By the way I took none of these photographs... It is July, this is the desert and the temperature is about 108.

Pinto

2008-06-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

On my way to Monument Valley I saw this horse munching bitter grass by the side of the road... Just thought that he looked as though he should have an Apache warrior on his back.

Big Girl's Blouse...

2008-06-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

... Monument Valley, sunrise, 28/6/2008.

The hotel I am staying at is half an hour's drive from Monument Valley. I set off at 5.30AM and when I first saw these famous lumps of rock rising up from the horizon I began to sob. I'm not sure why, (here it is only fair to warn you that anyone who feels uncomfortable with a 50-year-old's musings on his response to a geographical feature should just look at the photographs in the right hand column under the heading "Monument Valley") I think it is a combination of things; entering Monument Valley is a bit like going to New York for the first time, it is such a famous movie landscape that it feels as if you have been there before, like coming home in some strange way; it is also a landscape impressed upon me in childhood, even infanthood, and seeing it I felt the years fall away... But maybe it is just that this place is unimaginably beautiful, unforgiving but that doesn't interfere with the splendour. The tears were, as is usual with me, tears of joy and my favourite photograph of the trip so far is this one below, my faithful boots covered in the dust of Monument Valley.

Unbelievably vast...

2008-06-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

... or some views of my drive from Gallup, New Mexico to Kayenta, Arizona

and a film too...

Route 66 in Gallup

2008-06-27T06:52:00.001-07:00

Including one of my Hotel in the evening...

Tip No 6

2008-06-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

A cold beer and a shot of tequila is a very good nightcap... 2 cold beers and 2 tequilas are even better.

Zuni homeland

2008-06-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

Obviously to be kicked off your traditional territory and to be herded into one corner of it is outrageous, but if you had to pick a corner...

The language is extraordinary, lyrical but full of glottal stops... Imagine someone singing the blues while simultaneously drinking from a bottle.

El Rancho Hotel

2008-06-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

I stay here for the next two nights...

http://www.elranchohotel.com/

Each of the rooms is named after an actor that stayed here, I'm in Betty Grable, I guess it must be because of my legs.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

2008-06-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Listen to this...

Isn't that beautiful? A BNSF train makes its way through Gallup, New Mexico.

Public Sculpture

2008-06-25T07:17:00.001-07:00

Even in beautiful Albuquerque the town-planners can't resist putting up appalling street sculpture... I think this is supposed to be inclusive and witty, as you can see it is neither.

Crosby, Stills and Nash

2008-06-25T05:44:00.001-07:00

As Graham Nash said "Now isn't this a nice place"

Well they were certainly playing in front of a home crowd, New Mexico seems to be ageing hippy central, more Native Indian dress and jewellery than you would see on the reservation... Every anti-war or anti-Bush song was greeted with howls from the anti-establishmentarians; I did notice however that when there was a bit of argy-bargy it took seconds for the crowd to call for the police (A.K.A. "The Man") to sort out the troublemakers.

But down to business David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash are old, and it seems that whereas a lifetime's alcohol abuse has pickled George Jones' vocal chords so effectively that they are untouched by time... The various narcotics have really hammered away at these guys' pipes; I suspect that Marijuana, the great dehydrator, is the main culprit. But that doesn't mean that it isn't really nice to see them, the songs are good and packed with personal memories, the harmonies are perhaps even sweeter with the three voices showing the injuries of experience... Nash is the one who seems in best shape and he combined singing, leading the band and his role as Master of Ceremonies with gentle charm, his Mancunian accent untouched by years in the States; Stills is perhaps the one whose voice is showing the most damage, he recognises this and has taken on the role of Guitar God despite his gammy leg; David Crosby, who seemed hell-bent on ignominious self-destruction just a few years ago, is now the smiling, quiet apex of the triangle. They seemed to be enjoying themselves too, Nash said after one particularly boisterous reception "This is great, I think we'll play every song that Crosby can remember"... All very touching, I don't seem to be able to go to a gig without crying these days, "Our House" was the one that unlocked the lachrymal glands last night.

The venue is amazing, a small, low-slung, amphitheatre in the shadow of the Sandia Mountains, I hope that this film gives a hint of it's splendour...

Change

2008-06-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

As I am no longer going to Big Bend National Park (115 degrees Fahrenheit so I would be cowering in a motel) its picture has been replaced with one of New York City, my starting point; more appropriate as the picture at the bottom is of San Francisco, where this trip is due to end.

Tip No 5b

2008-06-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

As we are talking hotels another couple of thoughts... Holiday Inns are always slightly better than you think... and La Quinta Inns are a bit worse than you expect (especially in Houma, Louisiana).

Tip No 5

2008-06-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

If you are coming to the USA and want to stay in luxury hotel rooms and you don't want to pay luxury prices use Hotwire

http://www.hotwire.com/

They sell off the major hotel chains' excess rooms e.g. If you go to the Hyatt site my room tomorrow would be $209... I'm paying $79

Bloody Luxury

2008-06-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm staying in the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque (if you want to know how see Tip No. 5). My definition of a luxury hotel is one with a big comfy bed

reliable wifi and a desk for the laptop

a big television with lots of channels

a nice bathroom with a good selection of products

(notice the massaging bobbles on the bath soap) and finally a good view

Tip No 4

2008-06-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

One industry which has boomed since my last visit to the USA is the gambling business... Most of the casinos are in the Native American lands as they can make their own rules and it is a money spinner e.g. Each member of the Seminole Nation receives $3,000 per month from their casinos (they recently bought the Hard Rock Casino chain).

Casinos have an economy which is not based on reality and you can benefit; they receive enormous amounts of money from working stiffs who "invest" their wages in the slot machines, this allows the Casinos to provide other services at amazingly low prices to draw people in... So if you want a cheap and decent meal, stop at a casino; as long as you don't mind benefitting because poor people are losing their money next door... It's like the National Lottery, the government doesn't want to raise taxes to pay for Sports and the Arts so they get poor people to buy £1 lottery tickets.

Lucky Break

2008-06-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

On my way back from the Sandia Mountains I stopped off at the Sandia Resort and Casino

http://www.sandiacasino.com/

to get lunch and take advantage of the casino economy (see Tip No. 4) and as I wandered in I noticed that they hosted events too... I had a look at what is coming up and I am going to see Crosby, Stills and Nash tomorrow evening at the amphitheatre

Entertainment

2008-06-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Travelling round the States I have learned that there is an occasional form of entertainment in places where people get out of their cars... and it is completely free.

Here are a couple of examples from the Sandia Peak Tramway carpark...

The drivers were nowhere to be seen... This wasn't "stopping" it was "parking", whatever it looks like.

Sandia Peak Tramway

2008-06-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

You have just seen 9% of New Mexico... This is the top of Sandia Peak, 10,678 ft up and 35 degrees cooler than the city in the bowl below.

You get up to here via the world's longest aerial tramway... Here's a bit of the trip back down again.

Last night...

2008-06-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

OK excuses first... I'm in Albuquerque, not drinking for a few days (I have been having too much fun for two months after all), only music around last night was one of those "Heavy Metal Manqué" teen bands and I really can't stand that, so I went to the cinema... My choice; films I have already seen; Zohan (I would need to be paid a substantial sum to see that); The Love Guru (there is not enough money in Albuquerque); The Happening (I have vowed to stop financing M. Night Shyamalan's extraordinary ego trip); Sex and the City (I see enough commercials for women's clothes and accessories on TV) or...

and the truth is that it looks very good; imaginative and stylish animation and I laughed out loud in the cinema for the first time in ages... Three times.

Route 66 in Albuquerque

2008-06-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

Just some photographs... Old Route 66 is, I think, very beautiful and not a little poignant...

Mile High Club

2008-06-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

I have been a little concerned while I have been here that I have lacked energy and been a bit breathless. I have just discovered from Wikipedia that...

Albuquerque has one of the highest elevations of any major city in the United States, though the effects of this are greatly tempered by its southwesterly continental position. The elevation of the city ranges from 4,900 feet (1,490 m) above sea level near the Rio Grande (in the Valley) to over 6,700 feet (1,950 m) in the foothill areas of Sandia Heights and Glenwood Hills.

That would explain that then... Doh!

Rattlesnakes

2008-06-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

I think this says it all...

Loads of snakes, which was fine, one got his rattle out, which was great, but without warning and for no reason at all they also had a collection of tarantulas... Revolting or should I say terrifying?

Tip No 3

2008-06-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

There is almost a complete absence of good, strong coffee outside the major cities in the USA, so if you are staying for more than a couple of days you will need three things...

A mug of a decent size ($1.33 from the supermarket), a filterpaper-less coffee filter ($2.49 from the supermarket) and some coffee of your choice. Almost all hotels/motels have coffeemakers, just ignore their coffee sachets, heat the water and make your own coffee.

The Mall ("Mawl")

2008-06-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Trip to the mall for some necessities...

Notice the four Mall Rats to the right.

You've heard of Pizza Hut and Radio Shack, I offer you...

Tip No 2

2008-06-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

No matter what is on TV you end up watching the Weather Channel more than anything else.

Hot Dog, Jumping Frog...

2008-06-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

... Albuquerque.
In a storm... Along the old Route 66 which is strewn with boarded-up Motels

Tip No 1

2008-06-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

I am starting an occasional series of things I have discovered during this trip that might be useful to others visiting the USA.

No. 1 is...

The luggage trollies you find in Motels/Hotels have a set of fixed wheels at one end and a set of wobbly wheels at the other end (much like those in supermarkets or on old-fashioned, self-made Go-Karts)... The trolley is best manoeuvred by pulling it from the end with the wobbly wheels.

No 1B is... Some, more fancy, hotels don't let you handle the trollies at all because they want you to tip the bellboys and when this is the case they say it is because of "health and safety issues".

Amarillo to Albuquerque

2008-06-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

This trip of about 300 miles drops you off the edge of the Great Plains

into an enormous bowl and then up into the Sandia Mountains, here are some more shots.

And then out of nowhere...

2008-06-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

... Palo Duro Canyon.

Driving along Interstate 27 which drives into the southern segment of the Great Plains (like Norfolk but the size of Western Europe) when a sign appears to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, it seemed so unlikely that I followed the road. The canyon in question is the second largest, after the Grand Canyon, in the American continent... This is the first view I got.

And here are some pictures at the bottom...

From Hill Country to the Great Plains

2008-06-17T13:33:00.001-07:00

My North by Northwest moment...

2008-06-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

...on the road from Lubbock to Amarillo

Lubbock 2

2008-06-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

I went to the Buddy Holly Centre, the only thing to do in Lubbock at this time of year. $5 to get in and I was there about 4 minutes... Therefore I would have to say that there is really nothing to do in Lubbock at this time of year. I have now left to go to Amarillo... And yes I do know the way.

Lubbock...

2008-06-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

... is a dry town.

Abilene

2008-06-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

Came to Abilene to go to the movies at the Town and Country Drive-In...

http://www.towncountrydrivein.com/

The place is pretty unique having two screens and it's so Texas that it has a working oil derrick in the place.

I chose The Hulk rather than Kung Fu Panda and it's a great big overblown thing which lumbers about looking for meaning and philosophy rather than revelling in the smash and crash. There is a clear and refreshing move to put interesting actors in the comic hero roles but whereas Robert Downey Jr's weird dislocation gave the Iron Man/Tony Stark role another layer of interest; Edward Norton, an actor I admire and enjoy, has gone for a level of seriousness which, in this movie, comes across as pomposity. But enough of the amateur reviews... The reason to go to the Drive-In is that it is just about the most photogenic place on earth... Here's a few attempts to capture the experience

ROT Rally 2

2008-06-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

The biker community is a sub (or super) strata of American society... The biker groups, you can't call them gangs any more, do tend to stick together; Mexicans, Vietnam Vets, Blacks, Gulf War Vets and then the more obvious geographical groupings... But the greater community is more important than the trivial differences. The thing that tends to unify is the Harley Davidson Motorcycle with its percussive idle and angry roar... I say "tends" because I did see one group of Preppy looking white guys riding their Suzuki Racers down 6th Street but when they rev'd up the high pitched whine their bikes made sounded not so much like "I'm a master of the universe in charge of a wild beast" but more like "I have confidence issues".

ROT Rally

2008-06-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

The streets are alive with the sound of bikers...

This weekend in Austin we have the Republic of Texas Bikers Rally an enormous event which attracts 200,000, yes that's two hundred thousand, aging Wild Ones from all over Texas and beyond. So the music of the streets this weekend sounds like this...

The main event takes place outside town, went out there yesterday with the intention of seeing Big Brother and the Holding Company (Freddy Krc on drums, filling in because the real drummer was at his daughters' graduation party!) but after 2 hours in the blazing 99 degree heat with no relief from air conditioning I had to make my way back into town.

The atmosphere is unique, the bikers who I am sure were a real and present danger to society 30-40 years ago, are now more relaxed and the attitude is only put on at the weekends and is not at all threatening. I was chatting to a regular attendee who said he'd been coming for a dozen years and had not seen a fight "not like Galveston" which I discovered was a whole different ballgame, "at least one person shot or stabbed each year".

Writing this reminds me of an event 30 years ago in San Francisco which I'm surprised I hadn't thought of earlier... I (young, innocent, confident Englishman) was walking down a street, I think near Fisherman's Wharf, and was marginally aware that people were crossing the road to the other pavement... When I realised that they were doing this to get out of the way of a line of Hells Angels walking towards me it was sort of too late to get away without turning and running, so I went straight on... The Angels didn't make way for me... So there I was facing a line of growling, snarling (well that's what it felt like) bikers... I said to the one in front of me "Hello", there was a moment and then he just started laughing and they waved me through with lots of back-slapping... It took about a minute for reality to set in and my legs to start shaking.

Austin Nights 2

2008-06-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a fine looking piece of architecture, maybe it's the Chrysler Building's younger and fatter brother? I like this place.

Thanks to a friend's (Ian "Barty" Bartholomew) suggestion I made contact with a local, Freddy Krc ("Kirch"), and he in turn designed my evening.

It started at the Lucky Lounge where I saw Ian McLagan (Small Faces, Faces) he lives here and it was a marvellous set... Transported me back to all those day-long festivals of 30-odd years ago, Crystal Palace Garden Parties, the Oval etc etc, where the Faces always seemed to 2nd or 3rd on the bill behind Mountain or, at the Oval, The Who. McLagan in fine musical form but the bits of chat made it clear that he felt he hadn't had a fair crack; "Cindy Incidentally" was introduced as a song he wrote with the "two big-nosed blokes".

Then on to Threadgill's, a restaurant where I had "Chicken Fried Chicken" (they also do that Southern favourite "Chicken Fried Steak", basically it is battered then fried in chicken fat), red beans and collard greens (like sprout tops cooked with bacon). Then round to the back of the restaurant where they have a stage and Freddy Krc's band Freddy Steady 5 were playing (below)... Now for the "small world" moment, three of the band including Freddy on drums are The Explosives who I saw at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans with Roky Erickson six weeks ago.

Austin View

2008-06-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

This region is called "Texas Hill Country" and this is a shot from the top of one of them... In the distance is Austin... See below.

Austin Nights

2008-06-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Last night saw a trip across nighttime Austin to go to The Broken Spoke,

http://www.brokenspokeaustintx.com/

a dancehall which last night played host to Dale Watson who gave us some real smooth Western Swing music... People who were there were there to dance, apart from the Limey, it was like being in a little Texas town on a Saturday night.

A barmaid (I think maybe the owner too), who supported an inprobable and immobile hairdo, got my bottle of Lone Star beer and then told me that a friend had asked her the previous night if they could "snag a fag" and told her that it was an English expression... She was amused, and not a little incredulous, when I told her that the real expression is to "bum a fag".

Bingo...

2008-06-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

Austin is a bona fide music city and, after a few less than satisfying encounters with Elvis cover artists and blue boys playing the whites, it is really refreshing to be back in a lively music community... One where musicians play as much for their own satisfaction as to please the paying punter... Think of Booker T and the MGs playing as Murph and the Magictones in the Blues Brothers and you will get an impression of the music in San Antonio and Gruene.

Austin is also a fine looking place which does lift the spirits, built on a river, The Colorado (the one that gouged out the Grand Canyon further upstream), and has a big thriving financial centre. Which is not where you would find Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon, which is about the size of a Nissen Hut and sits in an otherwise empty lot.

http://www.musicroom.org/ginnys/

I knew it was a place for me when I spotted a sticker on the fridge "Vote Kinky".

http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/index.html

For the first half of the evening we the audience were outnumbered by the band, Jim Stringer and the AM band, but this is no indication of a lack of quality, they were marvellous and funny, ages ranging from early twenties to early sixties... Great fun.

Gruene (pronounced "Green") Hall

2008-06-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

Stopped over in New Braunfeld on my trip between San Antonio and Austin to see Gruene Dancehall "The Oldest Dancehall in Texas"... Great building, it would have been marvellous to have seen Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis or The Fabulous Thunderbirds here; it was fine seeing this Elvis cover artist

But the building deserves better. Gruene itself is proud to announce that it has been "gently resisting change since 1872" but what it has really been doing, at least for the last 20 years, is pickling itself in sickly sweet aspic... Pretty though.

Sam's

2008-06-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

Went to Sam's Burger Joint again last night, with the intention of moving on after a brief stay, but ended up staying at their "Honky Tonk Happy Hour" because of the music provided by The Shake 'Em Ups, young guys from Austin playing old time Honky Tonk Music. The film below illustrates the bar, another one I want to take home, rather than their music but I hope it gives a flavour.

Hat? What Hat?

2008-06-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

A couple of people have suggested that I might have "gone native"... I enclose this photograph to put your minds at rest.

Remember the Alamo

2008-06-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

As Davy Crockett said "You all might be going to Hell but I'm going to the Alamo"

http://www.thealamo.org/history.html

which, as you can see, is right in the middle of San Antonio.

The site is a tourist trap surrounded by many shops all selling the same T-shirts but I found it remarkably moving despite my visit coinciding with that of a bunch of Shriners

http://www.shrinershq.org/Shrine/About/ShrinerPrimer.aspx

who I cannot look at without thinking of The Loyal Order of the Water Buffaloes

http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/fiction/fraternities/buffaloes.html

or The Sons of the Desert

http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/html/home7.html

See what I mean?

P.S.
When I hear "Remember the Alamo" I don't think of the defenders battlecry I'm afraid... Invariably my first thought is of the punchline to Brian Glover's joke in The Slaughtered Lamb pub in American Werewolf in London

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082010/

San Antonio

2008-06-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Before I sign off on Laredo here is one of the gun stores...
And here is a vacant lot full of strange garden ornaments...
Made the drive from Laredo to San Antonio on Wednesday... Pulled over by the Border Patrol and they checked me for illegal immigrants... It's only about a 150 mile journey but the temperature dropped by 15 degrees.
I was tempted to San Antonio by the BBC's coverage of the South by South-West Festival, which happens each March, and I'm beginning to think that it might have been as wise as going to Cannes at Christmas because you love films. Not that it is an unattractive place, quite the reverse, the Riverwalk is a haven of peace in the middle of the city
it's just that the live music available seems unspectacular... Having said that I have a 24-hour Mexican Restaurant across the road (for those irresistible 4 AM Burrito urges) the customers are all Mexican; on my first night I had a drink and a snack there and was ambushed by the sweetest Mariachi band, a source of some amusement to the other customers as I was a solo Gringo, but the harmonies brought tears to my eyes... Which made me seem even more the Loco Gringo.

Last night was Sam's Burger Joint

http://www.samsburgerjoint.com/

for their Blues Jam, OK but as in Clarksdale it was enthusiastic white guys rather than anything authentic.

It's not the humidity... It's the heat

2008-06-03T04:48:00.000-07:00

I'll leave it to the National Weather Service who, this morning, posted this warning...

Special Weather Statement

LA SALLE-WEBB- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...COTULLA...ENCINAL...LAREDO...RIO BRAVO 428 AM CDT TUE JUN 3 2008

...HEAT INDEX VALUES BETWEEN 105 AND 109 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON...

THE COMBINATION OF HIGH TEMPERATURE AND MODERATE MOISTURE CONTENT WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDEX VALUES BETWEEN 105 AND 109 DEGREES OVER THAT PART OF THE RIO GRANDE PLAINS...GENERALLY WEST OF A LINE FROM AGUILARES TO COTULLA... LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THIS AREA INCLUDES THE COMMUNITIES OF LAS TIENDAS AND LAREDO.

RESIDENTS IN THE AFFECTED AREA WHO MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS ARE URGED TO LIMIT EXPOSURE TO DIRECT SUNLIGHT... WEAR LIGHT-COLORED CLOTHING...AVOID PROLONGED EXERTION...AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. INDOOR RESIDENTS SHOULD REMAIN IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED BUILDING.

Enough said, I'll be in the hotel bar taking on liquids.
And this is my hotel, 2 swimming pools, 2 bars, 3 restaurants and loads of fluffy towels... But it's just over the border from Mexico so it costs as much as a La Quinta in Houma where the WiFi doesn't work.

Comments

2008-06-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

I think I have adjusted the settings to allow anyone to leave comments on this blog, whether they are members or not... Please feel free.

Laredo

2008-06-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

As I walked out on the streets of Laredo
As I walked out in Laredo one day
I knew that I'd left Uncle Sam's dominion
I knew that I'd left the old U. S of A

I can see by the faces that I've crossed the border
the streets all lead down the Mexico way
I try the food, I'm assaulted by flavours
chillies enough to make Gringos say "nay"

The beer also comes from south of the border
with names which ring of a Myan past
the glasses it's served in come straight from the freezer
I cannot imagine a finer repast.

Repeat ad nauseam then apologise to all within earshot.

Rodeo

2008-06-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

Sinton is a small town between Smallertown and Nowhere, there is a feeling that about 30/40 years ago a major route passed through here but that has moved elsewhere and it has reverted to being a ranchers town. The arrival of the Pro-riders Rodeo Tour is a pretty big event, part circus coming to town and part agricultural show, if you can imagine a local Point-to-Point with Frankie Dettori and his pals riding the horses you would have a bead on it.

The riders travel around the South-Western states from Spring to Fall in motorhomes which have been extended to accommodate the horses at the back; it seems a pretty punishing life, I didn't see any walk without a limp. Apart from a couple of Black guys the Cowboys fall into two types, the tall, thin Caucasians and the short bull-shaped Hispanics and the audience is the same... The last time I was in Texas, about 30 years ago, I was in a bar when a white guy started joshing an Hispanic pal about being a "Wetback", the guy responded with "Hey I didn't cross the border, the border crossed me" the racial mix in Sinton is proof of that statement.

This mix was spiced up on the Friday night of a two night show, I went to both, with a charabanc load of prisoners from the State Penitentiary (in orange at the back) and their guards.

The events included Barrel Racing, a race with very tight turns, Calf Roping, Bull Wrestling and Bronco Riding but the most exciting is Bull riding, these pictures show a guy getting thrown

... which is what usually happens and that's when the show starts; there are clowns who do fool about a bit but their real job is to get the 2000lb lumps of severely pissed off beef away from the riders (as you see in the picture above, sometimes they get gored anyway). One of these clowns, the guy in the blue shorts and orange leg brace (yeah he limped too) started controlling these enormous, irate beasts by staring them down! He was mostly successful too, it was amazing seeing the bulls switching from gods of vengeance into rather embarrassed pussycats.

There was plentiful beer and food and, this being Small-town America, there was an emphasis on children and plenty for them to do... Things like Mutton Busting (riding sheep) and Calf Stampede (below) which consists of loads of children chasing calves in order to grab a ribbon from their tail and win vouchers for food from "Whataburger" (no really)... It was fun.

Here are a couple of films...

Route 181 Sunset

2008-06-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

When I dreamed this trip, discovering the reality behind the romantic names of my imagination and meandering around Texas with enough time on my hands to make last minute detours, the photograph above is, as near as dammit, the image that formed in my head.

This is Route 181 north of Corpus Christi at about 8 o'clock... and I am on my way to Sinton for the rodeo, more of which later.

Oh Galveston...

2008-05-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

A strip of land off the coast of Texas that was engulfed (literally, the Gulf of Mexico went right over the island) in 1900 by a hurricane that killed between 6,000 and 8,000; even after the San Francisco fire and Katrina it remains the USA's worst natural disaster. Now it is a tourist centre catering to the truck and motorbike crowd. I am staying at one of the older hotels...

http://www.commodoreonthebeach.com/

... and have just about had enough, after two days and about twenty plays, of Glen Campbell's marvellous civil war song. But forget all talk of sea winds blowin' it is brutally hot, temperature in the upper eighties and humidity sending the heat index (what it feels like) into the upper nineties... Not really complaining but it hasn't helped my temper in dealing with the lack of WiFi signal here for the last day or so... A period that has covered the missus' birthday morning which really buggered things up. But, on the bright side, it's up again (fingers crossed) and I now know what a Shrimp Martini is, and it's nowhere near as bad as it sounds, the one I had was an appetiser and seemed to consist of a tomato and Tabasco sauce over a bucket of peeled shrimp, which was then ladled over a couple of lettuce leaves (that's virtually health food here).

The old town is structurally beautiful but ruined by antique and gift shops... I leave on Friday but don't really know where I am going yet, might try Laredo on the Mexican border but will keep checking the weather as it is due to be up near 110 at the weekend.

The pictures are views from my balcony first thing in the morning (above) and in the evening (below).

Deep in the Heart... Well On the Edge of Texas

2008-05-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

Finally made it into the big one, Texarcana, Nacogdoches and now Galveston. The first two were unremarkable and I have just arrived in Galveston... First impressions, think of a really hot Blackpool, ticks my boxes. I think I will be eating here tonight, for the giant plastic crab alone.

Clarksdale

2008-05-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

If you ever find yourself in Clarksdale "Home of the Blues" and site of The Crossroads (where Robert Johnson and others are said to have sold their soul to the devil)...

The photo above is the crossroads itself (click on it to get it up nice and big) On the right you can see the, rather tacky, crossed guitar sign.

There is only one place to stay, The Shack Up Inn; pretty much unchanged, externally, from an old cotton plantation, commissary, cotton gin and sharecropper shacks but internally fitted with modern conveniences for a comfortable stay (my best sleep since I got here).

Michael's Magnificent

2008-05-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving Stax I noticed this barbershop, walked in and asked the guy whether could help with my growing mop, the weather is warming up here and I'm heading to Texas where it is at 100 degrees already... Michael told me to take a seat and proceeded to prove what I've always thought, only black barbers really know how to deal with my stubborn hair. Stylists in salons always feel they can bend it to their will through heat and potions but my hair needs to be cut... What do you think?

Memphis

2008-05-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

The city on the river, the centre of the cotton trade, the home of the Blues, Rock 'n Roll and Elvis... What could go wrong? I haven't really got to the bottom of it but something has; rather than feeling like the bustling and lively Chicago of the South the impression one has is of a dead or dying Southern version of Detroit (There are some photos in the right column). There is talk of rising crime levels and wealthy (white) migration to the suburbs but for a city with so much to offer the empty stores, apartments and office buildings seem an insult to the city's geography and history.

Arriving from Nashville you are left in no doubt that whereas that city is mainly white, Memphis is black. Beale Street offers cheap beer and live music to the tourists, Graceland is a sad and tasteless mausoleum...

But if you'd like to spend a few quiet moments at Elvis's graveside...

have a look at the film above.

Sun Record Studios is a breath of fresh air but one starts to really morn the city that has gone at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music

http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/

a marvellous place full of enthusiasm and heart as well as soul; the words of Steve Cropper (writer, producer and one of Booker T's MG's) stay with one... Talking of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Memphis 1968, he weeps as he remembers "Before that colour never walked through the door at Stax, that day everything changed". Memphis does feel cursed.

George "Show" Jones

2008-05-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

There was a real sense of excitement in the crowd hanging around the enormous tourbuses at the Ryman Auditorium. They pretended, as fans do, that they were enjoying the last of the afternoon's sunshine rather than waiting for the chance to be in the same space as George Jones... No stage, no lights, we could believe that we are of the same species. But this would be a fiction and deep down everybody knew it, George is not one of us, he is more than a mere celebrity, more even than a star, George is the crowned head of country music aristocracy but even this does not quite cut it, given his history and his age he is, a little prematurely, up there with the legends Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.

When he arrived on stage the noise was deafening, the level of which was made even more surprising given the age of the audience.

As the show settled in two things became clear, George's bellows have gone but, when he could summon up the wind, his pipes were in perfect working order. The Jones Boys are pitch perfect and seemed to be encouraging the 77 year old with constant smiles and nods. The chat between songs was designed to reinforce the feeling that we were all cut from the same cloth, talk of family, farms, drinkin', cheatin' and derisory comments about "New Country"... I was happy to be carried along until a rather mawkish song honouring the fallen of the Vietnam War, this was illustrated with a film of the wall of remembrance and photographs of "the boys who didn't come home"... All well and good (only idiots blame soldiers for wars) but as the film progressed I noticed that we were only shown photographs of white people, a distinctly uncomfortable misrepresentation given the disproportionate number of black soldiers.

The show went on for about 2 hours, which I'm sure kept many of the aging and aged crowd up past their bedtime but we all, Nashville nobs to hollering farmers wives, rose to greet "He Stopped Loving Her Today" a deeply sentimental song that could be cloying in less skilled hands than Mr. Jones's... George nailed it.

Nashville Scenes

2008-05-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

There are some photos of Nashville in the right hand column... As before if you would like to see them properly just click on the image and they will come up nice and big.

Nashville Sunday Afternoon

2008-05-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

If you would like to recreate an afternoon in downtown Nashville, in a Honky Tonk (in this case Roberts Western World) I might be able to help...

Sit on a high stool, have handy a very cold bottle of beer and a warm Coney (Hot Dog), then watch the film in the right hand column, under the heading "FILMS" called "Nashville Sunday Afternoon"

NB
You only see the titles of the individual films by getting the cursor to hover over the image of the films.

Jinx?

2008-05-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

After the tornado alerts of earlier this week I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a jinx... Follow this link.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/19053624.html

Friday night downtown

2008-05-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

A few clubs

http://www.tootsies.net/

http://www.robertswesternworld.com/

http://www.mercylounge.com/

many cover versions, a few beers and, as the taxi driver promised on the way downtown, many women (generally hunting in packs as in Liverpool and Glasgow)... There was a theme but I couldn't work out what it was; they were of all ages, blondes, brunettes, redheads, they were of many races, then it struck me... Their hair didn't move, even when they danced; this must be the hairspray salesman's promised land.

The Country Music Hall of Fame

2008-05-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Went here out of a sense of duty... "You can't go to Nashville and not go to the Hall of Fame", it is a marvellous museum, lots of interactive exhibits, lots of musical illustrations, really informative histories all punctuated with extracts from interviews with contemporary stars, I spent nearly 3 hours there. I wouldn't say that it is worth visiting Nashville to go to the museum but if you're in Tennessee...

The website is also pretty good

http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/default.aspx

check the multimedia section for 360 degree views of some of the exhibits, music and video clips.

Nashville

2008-05-17T09:29:00.001-07:00

I thought I would like Nashville but I also thought, as more than half of America's record labels have their headquarters here, that it would be a corporate town... Much in the way that those who expect glamour in Los Angeles are disappointed. But it doesn't feel like that at all, it doesn't work from the top down but from the roots up; don't get me wrong this is a big destination for American tourists.

They head for Broadway, home of Honky Tonk and Honky Tonks, the music which introduced steel guitars and drums to Country Music and the bars in which the music is played. In the bars you will never hear a song you haven't heard before, it is all covers of Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard etc etc. But as John Sebastian pointed out in the lyrics of "Nashville Cats"

Well, there's thirteen hundred and fifty two
Guitar pickers in Nashville
And they can pick more notes than the number of ants
On a Tennessee anthill
Yeah, there's thirteen hundred and fifty two
Guitar cases in Nashville
And any one that unpacks his guitar could play
Twice as better than I will

Even though it could be a depressing experience, it's not. In bar after bar you find singers and bands who have obviously missed the chance of stardom but still enjoy playing the music.

Magic bottle - Spot the difference

2008-05-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

I know it's a gimmick but it gets me... My favourite beer over here, Coors Light, does a trick. When the beer is cold enough to drink, the mountains on the label turn blue.

Left - Ready, Right - Already drunk.

Keeping up with the Jones

2008-05-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

Some background... I arrived at Country Music fairly late, and by that I don't mean the stadium performers who all seem to be called Garth (or "The Anti-Hank" as Kinky Friedman has it), but the ones walking the original path with art and feeling. The chief among these was introduced to me by my friend Ian and is the ex-husband of Tammy Wynette, the man Frank Sinatra called the "best white male singer", George "The Possum" Jones.

http://www.georgejones.com/bio/index.htm

This morning I am doing my washing in the Laundry Room and checking the leaflets as to what I might fancy seeing round here and my eye falls on one for the Ryman Auditorium

http://www.ryman.com/

and George Jones is playing on Sunday, I called the number, I'm going to be in the sixth row. Unbelievable, either I've been living right or I have some bad luck coming to even things out... On the other hand it is worth remembering that Jones' alcoholic past earned him an alternative nickname to "The Possum", George "No Show" Jones, so we will see.