Contiki USA

4th June - 14th June 2006

Working as a travel agent at Flight Centre definitely has it's advantages as far as travel goes. Contiki were offering a trip of your choice for the top 50 sellers of February, March & April & I was one of the lucky winners. I had the choice of a 10 day trip to France, Italy & Switzerland or 10 days in the USA. Because of unforeseen circumstances (ha), I had to take the USA trip despite every part of me wanting to go to Europe.

We flew out on Sunday the 4th of June, flying Cathay Pacific. It was a free trip so we had no choice of the airline we flew with, but at the risk of sounding ungrateful I must say I will NEVER fly to America through Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific again. What should of been a 13 hour flight from Brisbane to LA turned into a 24 hour one way trip. The airline was good, but the trip was way to long for such a small distance.

We arrived into LA at about 8.30PM. As we made our way out of the terminal we were greeted by our American Tour Guide, Jordan. The moment I saw him I couldn't help but see his resemblance to Jason Biggs (The guy who did the pie in "American Pie"). We jumped on the bus & headed out to Anaheim, where we stayed at the Best Western.

The next morning we were up at 6.00am & keen to get the fun underway. As we made our way to the kitchen for breakfast we were greeted by a very average looking meal. We had the choice of some brown fruit, tiny muffins (but only 1) or some stale cereal. Apparently they had run out of bread for toast. Some people ate it & whinged, others just whinged. I on the other hand was hardly going to be defeated by this, especially knowing we were about to drive 2 hours to San Diego (oh & the fact that we all had some beers on the first night). Not more than 10 metres away was a diner that had my name all over it. I waited about 5 minutes to be seated & enjoyed my eggs, bacon & toast. I couldn't help but keep reminding everyone how full I was on the long drive.

This trip was strictly leisure with no hotel inspections or boring talk, they told us they were going cram in as many options as possible for us so we can see what it is their customers do. It was basically a thank you from Contiki for selling their product.

After a briefing of the tour & a shortened introduction of America, we arrived into San Diego. We had a quick city tour showing us Balboa Park, the Gaslamp district & also the Top Gun bar. After this we shot down to the wharf were our cruise boat was waiting. San Diego is located right on the Pacific Ocean and is home to the second biggest naval base in the USA it's also the home of the Navy SEALS. On the cruise you really don't see anything more than Navy Ships, so if that's not your thing I would suggest skipping the cruise.

After our city tour & cruise we made our way to the hotel which unfortunately for us was located on the outskirts of town. I guess that is just typical Contiki style, as the cheapest hotels never seem to be in town. That night we went for dinner at "Dick's Last Resort". As you can probably tell from the name alone, this is a themed restaurant were everyone who works there acts like a DICK. They yell at you for your order, tell you how much of an idiot you are and also throw things at you, even while your eating. The meals were great and in typical American style HUGE. To my surprise though the drinks that came out were even bigger than the meals. They were so big that each beer came in it's own bucket of ice to stop it from going hot before you could finish it.

The next morning we were up early one again & off to the world renowned San Diego Zoo. This place is very big and definitely lives up to it's name of a great Zoo. Every animal looked extremely well looked after and there were quite a few animals there that I had not seen in real life, the most memorable being the gorillas. After 2 hours at the Zoo we made our way down the road to See World. This place was quite good too, but ran a second for me behind the Zoo. There are rides here though which is nice to break up the looking at animals. The main attraction of this place is Shamu the killer whale along with his less than famous friends. While this is a good show the Americana of it all was just too much to handle. Some of the hosts just seem to talk absolute bull shit like "when I was a little girl I wanted to work with whales just like you (you being a pre-organised child), I got this medallion from an ancient Navajo man and I've never taken it off except for now. I want to give it to you little boy". I'm sorry if I didn't get teary eyed, but what a load of shit. I wasn't the only one who felt this way, I'm sure I heard a few other Aussies around the stands let out a bull shit & a laugh .

That night we went to a little restaurant across the road from the hotel and then just back to our rooms. I had bought a brand new Panasonic 3CCD video camera for this trip and was hoping to make a nice video of the experience. As I was walking down the stairs of the hotel with my new camera in my hands I tripped and began to fly through the air. All I could see was the cement at the bottom which I knew had my name all over it. Even though it all happened so quick I instinctively decided to save my camera and hurt myself. In hindsight this was not the smartest of choices. I just figured if I break the camera I will not get to film any of the trip, if I hurt myself the pain will be gone after a few minutes, WRONG! I hopped up from the ground feeling like I couldn't breathe properly, winded maybe, I wasn't sure but decided to lay down & even try to get some sleep.

The next morning I could barley move, not to mention breathe. Unfortunately for me we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us to Scottsdale. I told our tour leader that when we arrived in Scottsdale I would probably have to go to the hospital. This isn't how I envisioned my free holiday turning out. I should of taken the Europe option! Six hours later and it was still no better, so as everyone relaxed around the swimming pool I set off to the hospital, which lucky for me was just 100 meters down the road. I sat in the hospital for a few hours, both in the waiting room & also on a bed. After a few Vicadin & 5 X-rays, it was official, I had broken three ribs and there was nothing they could do about it. They gave me some pain killers & said good luck, it will heal in six weeks. At least my new video camera was in one piece (looking on the bright side). So that evening I caught up with the rest of the group at a lovely little Italian restaurant and then we headed to an Australian pub. After a few beers we all headed home for an early night sleep.

Day 5: We were all up at the crack of dawn and herded into a minivan heading for the open plains to try our hand at a little "Hot air Ballooning". The countryside out this way was lovely at dawn, with a bluey/pinkish sky spreading for miles over the open plains. The red dirt and rock just make the green plants and blue skies look so bright. Everyone on the tour was excited at this opportunity as it was something that most of us had never done before. There were of course a few people that were scared of heights & in no way were they heading up. One of these people was my room mate Walter from France. As we arrived at the take off area we were informed that if the wind didn't die down a bit we would not be able to go. So after sitting around for 20 minutes with our fingers crossed, our prayers went unanswered and we were heading back to Scottsdale. What a bummer!

Once we arrived back at the hotel we all headed to the diner across the road for a tasty American breakfast. With in an hour we were back on the bus & heading for Sedona and then the Grand Canyon where we would be able to take a chopper inside. I couldn't help but hope that the wind wasn't a factor with choppers as I really wanted to do it. Due to my sore ribs I managed to claim the back 3 seats as mine and popped a few pain killers to hit the hay. These things were my best friend on the long bus journeys. 1.... 2..... 3..... sleep.

Our first stop of the day was at Sedona, where we heard a random little fact that more western movies have been shot in this small town than anywhere else in the world. Whether that's true or not I don't know but it sound good. When you arrive you can see why this would be the ultimate western location. There are so many amazing red rock formations here which look even more stunning amongst the millions of cacti. Besides the beautiful photo's we were here for one thing, "The Sedona Red Rock Jeep Tours". Now I know what everyone probably thinks, because everyone said it to me on that day as well, "You can't go on the Jeep tour with broken ribs" but I really had too. I couldn't let a few broken ribs spoil the fun. But let me just say right now, it hurt like crap. After about 2 hours driving through the national park, hearing a few stories, getting our photos taken with the cowboy drivers and having lunch, we were on the road again and heading for the Canyon. After several more hours of driving we had made it to the "South Rim' where we took in a short walk and a few pictures before calling it a night.

The next morning we were up bright and early trying to make it to the canyon's edge by sunrise. The walk was further than we thought and all hope's were fading on making it on time, so we then decided to try and hitch a ride with the only passing car who actually stopped to ask directions. They said "jump in, it's only a rental", so the four of us crammed into the back seat of the medium size sedan. With thanks to our lift, we managed to make it just on time. It's definitely the best way to view the canyon, it was beautiful! The sun bounced off the red rock and brought out the greens and blue's of the Canyon. After clicking off about thirty photos we decided to head back to the lodge and grab some breakfast.

With our tummies full of food and the bus full of gear we were off to get a chopper ride into the canyon. Upon arrival we broke up into groups of five according to our weight then jumped aboard. This was an experience of a life time & it just makes you realise how small you really are. We flew for a few miles before reaching the edge and then suddenly it all just drops away. Absolutely stunning! If you can afford to do this it really does make the trip to the canyon something special. I have no idea how much it would of cost but I'm sure it was worth every cent.

Six hours later we were at Las Vegas. This was my second visit to the "City of Sin" & it just never gets old. The first time I visited we stayed at the Paris Hotel on the strip, but this time we stayed at the grand "America's Best Value Inn". It wasn't anywhere near as nice as the Paris hotel but it still had a theme. I believe they were going with the "not cleaned, you didn't pay f#@k all so whadya expect", look. But really, it wasn't that bad. It definitely lacked the Vegas feel but it was close to everything. That afternoon we did a loop of the street in our bus while Jordan shared with us a little of his expert tour leader knowledge about Vegas. We then went to the restaurant Margaritaville for a dinner and drinks while watching the sunset over the strip. From there Jordan said he was going to take us to see the "Freemont Street Experience", but unbeknown to us he had a little surprise up his sleeve. Our bus pulled over to the little white chapel o'love where he said we could go in and have a look. This just seemed like a cool thing to do in Las Vegas, but before we knew it in walks Elvis letting rip with "Viva Las Vegas". Jordan had planned for us to see Elvis marry someone, but who? There was no bride or groom insight so Elvis just picked two people from our tour and married them right there. The whole ceremony went for about 20 minutes with Elvis breaking into a song at every chance. This experience ranks high in my favourite Vegas moments and looked great in the movie.

From there we made our way down to Freemont Street for the light show which had improved since the last time I was there. We went and saw the golden nugget (a large golden nugget from Victoria , Australia) and sipped beer from large plastic NFL footballs on the street. Our last stop for the night was at the "Studio 54" nightclub in the MGM casino. This place was cool with dancers on podiums and also wire acts dancing on the side of the walls. From here it was just a short stagger across the street to sleep in America's best value bed.

The next day in Vegas was just spent seeing the sights, doing a little bit of filming and just generally taking it easy. That evening we made our way to the Excalibur for a $2 buffet, which was surprising good for $2. Most of the people decided they were going out for another big night but I wasn't in the mood, so as we made through the Belagio I slowly lost the group and went off to check out some last minute sights.

6.30 the next morning we were up and on the road for the final leg of our whirlwind journey. Las Vegas to Los Angeles. This trip took about four hours of driving through pretty much nothing, but we did get to see one of America's most under rated, unknown & biggest sights...... The world largest thermometer. We arrived into Hollywood at about 2.00pm and pulled up just behind Mann's Chinese Theatre. We had one hour to kill by ourselves before joining a walking tour of Hollywood Blvd. I thought this was going to be quite lame, but instead found out quite a few things that I never knew, The history that intertwines with the four blocks we walked was quite amazing.

We then drove out to Anaheim where we stayed at the Best Western once again. After settling into our rooms we made our way over to Downtown Disney for dinner at the ESPN bar. This was a nice bar & once again in true American style they served the biggest of meals. We all said our goodbye's that night and thanked Jordan for his awesome guiding & knowledge.

The 8 days was quite quick to travel what we did but all in all it was a great trip with lots of memories & a little pain (ribs). I got to visit a few places I had always wanted to go like San Diego & Mexico, and saw a few place that I would never of though of like Sedona & Scottsdale. The chopper ride over the Canyon was amazing and I'm glad it was free cause I never thought I would return to see it again. Most of the people on the tour were nice & the ones that weren't were numbed by my pain killers.

Thanks America, I'll be back soon.