| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 17/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 39 |
| Copyright: Other |
Coast to coast
Don your stetson and head to the Wild West
Driving from New York to Los Angeles in 10 days was not up there in my list of dream holidays but my partner had written a book set along this route and announced one evening that he needed to do the journey again, only more quickly because his deadline was approaching. Would I come along too?Three weeks later, I was staring out of the aircraft window as it bounced onto a snow-covered runway at New York JFK. My partner grinned at me, waving the Rand McNally US road map and declaring unconvincingly, “this will be fun”.
Day one
Hertz car collected and snow wiped off windscreen, we consulted the map – forward planning was never one of our strong points – and set off for Washington DC (237 miles). This first part of our epic journey, it must be said, was not the most interesting and it was only the constant need to remain vigilant for toll booths and scrabble for loose change that kept me awake.
En route, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland presented only featureless urban landscapes punctuated by the ubiquitous fast-food joints and motel signs.
Day two
After a night’s rest at Laurel, Maryland, we set off for DC to experience a day in my partner’s old haunts. The city’s grandiose buildings make it the most beautiful of US cities – and there is so much to do it cannot be achieved in one day. Washington used to be thought of as a dangerous place at night but we didn’t find any trouble and spent some happy hours in the bars of Capitol Hill.
Day three
We departed for a day on the road, taking in Interstates 95 and 85 through Virginia and the Carolinas all the way to Atlanta, Georgia (632 miles).
The journey took us through Fredericksburg and in the bat of an eye we were whizzing through the state line to North Carolina through Durham, Greensboro and Winston-Salem where we met the I77 and travelled south to Charlotte and on into South Carolina. A short hop across the left hand tip of the state on the 85 and we crossed into Georgia, the home state to our next stop, Atlanta.
Day Four
A trip to the CNN headquarters in downtown Atlanta seemed a perfect start to a survey of US culture. As you emerge through the sliding doors into Ted Turner’s vast empire, the full force of his powerful media presence hits you. For a few dollars, a guide will take you to view harassed journalists banging together the news at the speed of lightning and perfectly coiffed presenters calmingly relaying it on screen.
Days five and six
We travelled through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to get to Dallas (792 miles) in order to visit the famous Dealey Plaza, home of the Sixth Floor Museum, the former book depository building from where Lee Harvey Oswald is believed to have shot President Kennedy.
You need strong willpower to start the museum trail where you are supposed to and not dart through all the exhibitions and carefully crafted explanations to the spot right in the corner where Oswald purportedly crouched among boxes, took aim and fired.
A trip to Texas is incomplete without a visit to one of the Lone Star State’s most enjoyable nights out – the rodeo.
Texas is fiercely independent and the rodeo encapsulates the emotions of the stetson brigade beautifully. Seated behind a group of ageing men in maroon felt fezes with The Mooses of Shreveport spelt out in sequins on them, we knew we were at something special.
Day seven
The literary one said it was imperative we visit the museum in Roswell, New Mexico, (487miles), that charts the infamous incident in 1947 when aliens supposedly crash landed in scrubland just outside the town.
Given America’s love of hype, we were a little disappointed by the fact that Roswell hasn’t capitalised on its alien connection.
Bar the hilarious and fascinating museum and the local music shop which had a window display of five little green men clutching guitars, there was little to give away its extraterrestrial past.
Day eight
Seeking good old American hype, we headed for Tombstone, Arizona, (402 miles) where we aimed to catch a gunfight at the OK Corral.
Gunfights are staged daily at “the town too tough to die” and are packed with laughs. A walk up the main street also offers a chance to visit the original Crystal Palace saloon, the authentically rigged-out Big Nose Kate’s bar and the Bird Cage Theatre among others.
Day nine
At more than one mile deep and four to 18 miles wide, the proportions of the Grand Canyon (275 miles) were too much to take in. The Canyon is a must-see. The feeling you get when you first set eyes on it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so savour it.
Day 10
Las Vegas. It had to be done. Cruising goggle-eyed up the Strip, a giant billboard told us David Cassidy at the Copa was the biggest deal in town. The glitz, the glamour, the out-and-out tack factor was huge and alluring. Hit the shows, gamble your petrol money, eat the free buffets the casinos offer – after you’ve almost spent your life savings. It has to be done – but only for one day in our case. LA here we come.
Day 11
It should be a state law that if you go to Los Angeles (275 miles) you have to buy a map of the stars’ homes’ and tour around Beverly Hills gawping at 10ft-high iron gates.
The maps you can buy will point to the most bizarre areas such as the park George Michael was arrested in. You can take a coach tour, buy a guided tour tape for your car, or just use the map.
We were still giggling about Angela Lansbury’s stone cladding when we landed.
Driving from New York to Los Angeles in 10 days was not up there in my list of dream holidays but my partner had written a book set along this route and announced one evening that he needed to do the journey again, only more quickly because his deadline was approaching. Would I come along too?
Three weeks later, I was staring out of the aircraft window as it bounced onto a snow-covered runway at New York JFK. My partner grinned at me, waving the Rand McNally US road map and declaring unconvincingly, “this will be fun”.
Day one
Hertz car collected and snow wiped off windscreen, we consulted the map – forward planning was never one of our strong points – and set off for Washington DC (237 miles). This first part of our epic journey, it must be said, was not the most interesting and it was only the constant need to remain vigilant for toll booths and scrabble for loose change that kept me awake.
En route, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland presented only featureless urban landscapes punctuated by the ubiquitous fast-food joints and motel signs.
Day two
After a night’s rest at Laurel, Maryland, we set off for DC to experience a day in my partner’s old haunts. The city’s grandiose buildings make it the most beautiful of US cities – and there is so much to do it cannot be achieved in one day. Washington used to be thought of as a dangerous place at night but we didn’t find any trouble and spent some happy hours in the bars of Capitol Hill.
Day three
We departed for a day on the road, taking in Interstates 95 and 85 through Virginia and the Carolinas all the way to Atlanta, Georgia (632 miles).
The journey took us through Fredericksburg and in the bat of an eye we were whizzing through the state line to North Carolina through Durham, Greensboro and Winston-Salem where we met the I77 and travelled south to Charlotte and on into South Carolina. A short hop across the left hand tip of the state on the 85 and we crossed into Georgia, the home state to our next stop, Atlanta.
Day Four
A trip to the CNN headquarters in downtown Atlanta seemed a perfect start to a survey of US culture. As you emerge through the sliding doors into Ted Turner’s vast empire, the full force of his powerful media presence hits you. For a few dollars, a guide will take you to view harassed journalists banging together the news at the speed of lightning and perfectly coiffed presenters calmingly relaying it on screen.
Days five and six
We travelled through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to get to Dallas (792 miles) in order to visit the famous Dealey Plaza, home of the Sixth Floor Museum, the former book depository building from where Lee Harvey Oswald is believed to have shot President Kennedy.
You need strong willpower to start the museum trail where you are supposed to and not dart through all the exhibitions and carefully crafted explanations to the spot right in the corner where Oswald purportedly crouched among boxes, took aim and fired.
A trip to Texas is incomplete without a visit to one of the Lone Star State’s most enjoyable nights out – the rodeo.
Texas is fiercely independent and the rodeo encapsulates the emotions of the stetson brigade beautifully. Seated behind a group of ageing men in maroon felt fezes with The Mooses of Shreveport spelt out in sequins on them, we knew we were at something special.
Day seven
The literary one said it was imperative we visit the museum in Roswell, New Mexico, (487miles), that charts the infamous incident in 1947 when aliens supposedly crash landed in scrubland just outside the town.
Given America’s love of hype, we were a little disappointed by the fact that Roswell hasn’t capitalised on its alien connection.
Bar the hilarious and fascinating museum and the local music shop which had a window display of five little green men clutching guitars, there was little to give away its extraterrestrial past.
Day eight
Seeking good old American hype, we headed for Tombstone, Arizona, (402 miles) where we aimed to catch a gunfight at the OK Corral.
Gunfights are staged daily at “the town too tough to die” and are packed with laughs. A walk up the main street also offers a chance to visit the original Crystal Palace saloon, the authentically rigged-out Big Nose Kate’s bar and the Bird Cage Theatre among others.
Day nine
At more than one mile deep and four to 18 miles wide, the proportions of the Grand Canyon (275 miles) were too much to take in. The Canyon is a must-see. The feeling you get when you first set eyes on it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so savour it.
Day 10
Las Vegas. It had to be done. Cruising goggle-eyed up the Strip, a giant billboard told us David Cassidy at the Copa was the biggest deal in town. The glitz, the glamour, the out-and-out tack factor was huge and alluring. Hit the shows, gamble your petrol money, eat the free buffets the casinos offer – after you’ve almost spent your life savings. It has to be done – but only for one day in our case. LA here we come.
Day 11
It should be a state law that if you go to Los Angeles (275 miles) you have to buy a map of the stars’ homes’ and tour around Beverly Hills gawping at 10ft-high iron gates.
The maps you can buy will point to the most bizarre areas such as the park George Michael was arrested in. You can take a coach tour, buy a guided tour tape for your car, or just use the map.
We were still giggling about Angela Lansbury’s stone cladding when we landed.