Cheesecake-Factory

18th October 2009 Our last day in the States and we were determined to see the Hollywood sign before we left. We took the Mulholland Drive scenic road to a view point overlooking the Hollywood Bowl and downtown LA (rising out of the smog). Then we went to the Hollywood and Highland Shopping Centre which is another good place to see the sign and also includes the Kodak Theater and Mr Mann’s Chinese Theater, so we relented and parked up to wander along Hollywood Boulevard, where Claire found Anthony Hopkins (from Port Talbot!) and we popped into Mr Mann’s Chinese Theater to star spot the hands and signatures in concrete. ...

3rd & 4th October 2009 One final drive through the Ponderosa Pines, Cedar Pines and Sequoias of Yosemite before leaving the park through the north west exit and heading for Sacramento. We followed scenic highway 49 through many small towns set up during the gold rush including Sonora where we stopped for a lovely sandwich followed by a massive cinnamon bun (between us!). We headed off again, passing through a tiny settlement with just a camp site and garage and surprisingly flying the Welsh flag - of course we had to stop for a photo :). ...

22nd September We headed out to the Hoover Dam today, which is about a half an hour journey out of Vegas when the traffic is clear, which it was for us. We’d read that it could get busy as the day went on, so decided to get out there fairly early. It was easy to get to, and by crossing over to the Arizona side of the dam we were able to get free parking, as opposed to the $7 parking on the Nevada side - bargain! ...