Tombstone Arizona

A day in Tombstone.
We visited museums, a shoot out,and silver mine, it was fun and we met some great folks, here are a few pic.s

The Target Was Pima, reached, and then onward

Day 4 Monday

Nothing much today about a 200 mile drive from Blythe to Tucson.

As we left Blythe we crossed the Colorado River.





Hot 90+ in the desert, this is a picnic and rest area.

Found a motel convenient for the Pima museum and the plane storage facility, but no bar anywhere, well one! that we decided to give a miss, no proper restaurant for a long way, so we dined in an Arbies. It would have been better for lunch than an evening meal. The one saving grace was a liquor store even if it was like getting into Fort Knox.

Tuesday Day 5

Visited Pima and the Aeroplane Storage facility it was “awesome” and HOT.

Tonight we are staying in a motel in Tombstone and will probably stay over tomorrow as well, lots to see and do and eat and a very welcoming American Legion (it’s nice to be in a tourist spot and just be visitors from England)

Going to Blythe through Joshua Tree National Park

Day 3 Sunday 27th to Blythe

Set off back down the I-10 and turned off just passed the Palm Springs turn onto the Highway 62 up to the Joshua Tree National Park ( Half a million acres of desert and fascinating wild life and scenery)

After passing through the Park back onto the I-10 we drove on to Blythe. We found a Motel with swimming pool, eccentric Taiwanese manager, nice rooms and a lovely feel. It was 5 minutes walk from the Legion Post and across the road from a Sizzlers Restaraunt,where we all had seniors Meals and they were just about right.

Before we ate we were made very welcome at the Legion Post, exchanged gifts, learnt a lot more about the community and tried not to pig out on the Sunday snacks of fried chicken.

There has just been a local boy killed in service , in Iraq, the first ever, so a War Memorial has been set up and it is lovely.

The start of the journey

Day 2 Saturday

We all woke early, and did different things. Before 10.00 Chris and I walked down to the Alamo car rental depot and after a comparatively short time we had to go out to choose our car. There was quite a selection of SUVs for us to choose from, Toyotas and Kias were ignored and we left with a 3.7 litre Jeep.

We returned to the hotel, loaded the luggage and set off, after following signs, we nearly went the wrong way on the interstate but we just spotted it in time.

On the outskirts of L A we stopped for a Dennys breakfast and continued our journey.

The decision was to try and find a motel in a place called Palm Springs, so we headed on along the I-10. After a while we encountered very slow traffic for about 10 miles, this we later found out, caused by quite an extensive fire on the central reservation and adjacent land. Clear of this, we turned off the I-10 towards Palm Springs, it was delightful. And the motel was terrific but full. There was a music festival on with special surprise guest artist, Prince, and the whole area was booked solid or else rooms were $200 or more. Plan B, back up the interstate and into a Super 8 just off the road, not picturesque, but reasonably close to a Mall with food and beer.

We ate in a Red Robin (Gourmet Burgers etc. ) we all had a fish dish except Sandy who had a chicken, rice, noodles and vegetables. The Guinness was good as well.

Weather facts, up north near the Great Lakes 19 inches of snow fell in a day, the record for a one day fall ever, and twelve foot drifts. Our maximum temperature on the car instruments 94 F, the weather man is forecasting temperatures in the 100s in the next few days.

Arrived in L.A.

After a good journey to Heathrow, we checked in using a machine. It was a good job there was a nice, probably Polish, girl to help. She pushed all the buttons for us. Next we just checked our bags and headed for security. No trouble there, straight through scanners, no one to look at our passports and we were in the Duty Free.

The boarding was smooth, we had four seats across the middle of the plain, and loads of room in the overhead lockers. We were ready to go early but still took off about twenty minutes late. The flight was uneventful , strong headwinds and a bit of turbulence to break the monotony. The eleven hours the flight took seemed to last for ever.

Immigration and Customs were fine, just a bit of queuing. The immigration officers were being trained and were very nice and friendly.

A shuttle bus took us to the hotel, we checked in, and Chris headed straight for the Jacuzzi and swimming pool, I explored the hotel.

We got together in the Bar, all televisions with baseball and ice hockey,had some drinks and something to eat, they had a sharing platter, I had fish and chips. After that, having been up for nearly twenty four hours we felt ready for bed.


However we thought we should have a quick turn around the block first,which we did. The air was warm and balmy, the sky cloudless and it just made it all worthwhile.

The picture below was taken at the side of the road and it indicates, I think, the environmental concerns over here.
















If you are thinking this is a bit detailed it is because having nearly fallen asleep whilst having a last drink in the room and going to sleep before Sand. was ready to come to bed I woke at 4.30 and could not get back to sleep.

Our next stage is to pick up our hire car about at 11.00, not far from the hotel.

Almost Ready to Go

The tickets were collected on Monday, our inter-island flights are now with Hawaiian Airlines.

We are packed and ready to go.

The car will be collecting us at 5.00 tomorrow morning to take us to Heathrow this should allow us plenty of time to check in and pass the security checks.before our United Airline flight to Los Angeles.
After arriving at L.A. our schedule is:-
1, Overnight stay collecting the hire car Saturday morning then off traveling South East returning to L.A.on the 9th. of May
2, Fly to Honolulu for 4 nights.
3, Fly to Kauai for for 5 nights.
4,Fly to San Francisco for 4 nights.
5, Fly Home

Reason for the delay of our tickets

I have carried out some research ( I Googled Aloha Airlines ) and I found





This is an important announcement from Aloha Airlines

Aloha Airlines - Mahalo Nui Loa.

Link to FAQ Page

ALOHA AIRLINES TO SHUT DOWN PASSENGER OPERATIONS AFTER MARCH 31, 2008, ENDING A 61-YEAR TRADITION OF SERVICE TO HAWAII

HONOLULU Aloha Airlines announced today that it will be shutting down its inter-island and transpacific passenger flight operations. Aloha's last day of operations will be Monday, March 31, 2008. On that day, Aloha will operate its schedule with the exception of flights from Hawaii to the West Coast and flights from Orange County to Reno and Sacramento, and Oakland to Las Vegas. Code-share partner United Airlines and other airlines are prepared to assist and accommodate Aloha's passengers who have been inconvenienced.

For more information on United's accommodation options, contact United at 1-800-UNITED1 or www.united.com. Passengers who do not wish to be re-accommodated by another airline should contact their travel agent or credit card company to request a refund. Effective immediately, Aloha will stop selling tickets for travel beyond March 31, 2008.

The shutdown of Aloha's passenger operations will affect about 1,900 employees. Aloha also announced that its air cargo and aviation services units will continue to operate as usual while the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeks bids from potential buyers. On March 27, 2008, Saltchuk Resources, Inc., announced its intention to buy Aloha's air cargo business.

This is an incredibly dark day for Hawaii, said David A. Banmiller, Aloha's president and chief executive officer. Despite the groundswell of support from the community and our elected officials, we simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for our passenger business. We had no choice but to take this action.

We deeply regret the impact this will have on our dedicated employees who have made Aloha one of the best operating airlines in the country. Aloha Airlines was founded in 1946 to give Hawaii's people a choice in inter-island air transportation.

Unfortunately, unfair competition has succeeded in driving us out of business, bringing to an end a 61-year-old company with a proud legacy of serving millions of travelers in the true spirit of Aloha. We realize that this comes as a devastating disappointment to our frequent flyers and our loyal business partners who have supported this company for many, many years.

###

So now we know why !!!

The time is coming closer

Only just over a week to go before we set off to the States. We still await the tickets and vouchers because there is a problem with our inter island flight between Honolulu and Kauai.