Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: United States

  • Amtrak Pacific Surfliner (San Juan Capistrano to Los Angeles)

    Not many photographs of this train journey unfortunately……

    So, the time arrived to leave the delightful Alexis and Jose in San Juan Capistrano to go back to Los Angeles and then back to Boston. The train arrived on time and was a double decker Pacific Surfliner, Dylan would have been very pleased with the size of the train as well as the loud ringing and general noise.

    The train was only moderately busy, so it was easy to get a seat. The staff were their usual very friendly selves and everything was clean and comfortable. The wi-fi didn’t work the other day on my trip here, but fortunately it was functioning well today. I had thought that the train went to northern California, but it actually stopped at Los Angeles, so everyone got off and at the time expected.

    The journey is a simple one, lasting under 90 minutes, with the usual spacious seats and also the option of the cafe bar on the train for those who want it. The on-line tracking of trains on the Amtrak web-site also works well, so I could see the train coming towards San Juan Capistrano.

  • California – Whale Watching Trip (Captain Dave’s Tours)

    I initially thought that whale watching was a good suggestion from Alexis, although I then decided that there was a risk that I’d get seasick…. Fortunately I didn’t, and I got better photos of the whales and dolphins that I had anticipated before the visit. So, Captain Dave’s Whale Watching in Dana Point it was.

    There is no guarantee that whales or dolphins will be seen on any particular trip, although the company do post up on the boards what has been seen recently. The tour is 2.5 to 3 hours long, so there’s plenty of time to see something.

    The boarding ticket. One thing that was reassuring about this company is that they don’t do discounts with Groupon or similar sites. There were some other companies that flog off cheap tickets on Groupon, but to me it’s a huge sign of desperation and so I disregarded all those competitors who did it.

    The staff member suggested buying some Pringles to eat something salty to minimise being seasick. So I did.

    Boarding the boat.

    The mast things.

    I was pleased to discover that I had accidentally selected one of the two seats which let me lie down and recline. I initially thought that this was useful to avoid seasickness, but when I discovered that I didn’t get seasick then I decided that it was just comfortable.

    A view from the back of the boat. There were two crew members on the boat, one was up above looking around for whales and dolphins (and maybe polar bears, although I doubt they see many off California) and the other remained on board with everyone else. He was conversational and engaging, giving us lots of information about the dolphins and whales that we were seeing.

    After around 90 minutes, the crew member suggested that I leave my comfortable lying point to stand at the front of the boat, which I decided was a good idea. This coincided with the others moving back as they thought most of the excitement was over, but it gave me the ideal opportunity to see the dolphins towards the second half of the trip.

    Everything seemed very professional and I noted that the ticket office didn’t sell tickets to a group of three people saying that there were only two spaces left. However, the boat could have taken more, so there was a decision made to ensure that the boat wasn’t too crowded. If it had of been, then the experience wouldn’t have been as positive.

    Overall, this was an excellent experience, the staff were friendly, the boat was comfortable and we got to see a fin whale and hundreds of dolphins. All very lovely.

  • California – Whale Watching Trip (Whale Photos)

    OK, I’m not a wildlife photographer, these aren’t great photos….. These are the whale photos   🙂

  • California – Whale Watching Trip (Dolphin Photos)

    Photos from my whale and dolphin adventure in the Pacific….

    Here are the dolphins….. (quite a lot of photos of these)

  • California – One Way Sign

    An artful One Way sign.

  • Laguna – Evening Photos

    Beautiful and peaceful.

  • California – Pelicans in Flight

    Pelicans in San Juan Capistrano….. Or over it.

  • Las Vegas – The Venetian

    I always see something new in the Venetian every time I visit, and the interiors are some of the best in Las Vegas. The hotel is of a ridiculous size, it’s the second largest in the world and has just over 4,000 rooms and just over 3,000 suites. I’ve never stayed at the hotel, it’s always been too expensive, but maybe one year.

    It’s though the shopping areas, decked out to look like Venice, which are the star of the show for me. The painted ceilings which makes it feel like you’re outside and the gondoliers floating around carrying passengers. All excessive, but so very Vegas.

     

  • Las Vegas – Betting Statistics

    My final betting statistics….

    Video Poker

    Spent $7

    Won $6

    Keno

    Spent $1

    Won $0

    Although bear in mind that (other than the tip) the drinks are free, so this wasn’t a bad result for the week. I must be on the verge of being classed as a high roller with this level of betting.

  • Las Vegas – Raising Cane’s Chicken

    And with my last post being about fine dining in a French restaurant (or if not fine dining then close enough) it meant that the next meal needed to be one which I could tick off my fast food chain list. And this was Cane’s, a Louisiana based chicken restaurant where they claim that their chicken fingers are always fresh and never frozen. They have, according to Wikipedia, 432 locations across the United States which have mostly opened over the last few years. They’re started an international expansion, although there aren’t yet any in the UK.

    The four piece combo meal, although the lovely staff gave me five pieces of chicken for reasons unknown. I like to think it was because they thought I deserved it, but they probably just miscounted. The chicken did seem freshly cooked and was moist and tender, with the coating being crispy and flavoursome. The crinkle cut chips were sufficiently salty and the American style coleslaw added texture, taste and some colour to the proceedings. The Texas Toast, which seemed to be some form of soft garlic bread, I wasn’t so excited by though, although I later realised I could have swapped it for more chips. Anyway, always worth trying…

    Service was friendly, although it’s one of those places where you give your name and they call it out. I prefer numbers, avoids any issues with spelling names, although it all worked out on this one. The restaurant was surprisingly cold in terms of the temperature with a gale running through it from the back door to the front, but I like cold, so this suited me. The drinks were self-pour and unlimited refills, as with most of the US, which again suited me as I like binge drinking sugary soda drinks.

    Anyway, as fast food chains go, this gets my seal of approval. I don’t actually have a seal to make an impression to give to the restaurant, but I liked it and it all seemed well managed and clean. The quality of the chicken was excellent and this is another restaurant that is much better than KFC, perhaps one of the most inconsistent chains that there is (especially in the UK). I hope that they open in the UK in due course…..