ROUTE 66 AND THE LONDON BRIDGE AT LAKE HAVASU

We wake up to a misty morning in Flagstaff, a place described to me by our host as a travelers meeting spot near the top of a mountain. It is a ski town that he believes really has no more to offer than accommodation, good food and supplies as well as a base to head off to the snow capped mountain nearby. It is so strange how you are in the desert landscape one minute and seeing snow the next, what an amazing part of the world, it is all about elevation.

The mist soon rises and a blue sky awaits us as we head off to our next destination. We plan our way to take in a scenic byway, not just any byway, but the famous Historic Route 66, this being the longest stretch of the old road to be preserved. Thank goodness that it’s dedication in 1987 by the Arizona State will assure that this stretch of road will not just fade away into the landscape.

We had spent a short time traveling this famous roadway back near Chicago, but now was the time to get the feel for, Route 66, so famous to the world. It was amazing to travel along and try to imagine what it was like back in the 1920’s when people were traveling west to live the dream, reaching the Californian coast. This stretch makes its way through the frontier towns and it is a long baron road that must be scorching in the summer.

We eventually stop in the town of Seligman. This town is surrounded by some of the largest cattle ranches in Arizona, such amazing rolling country. We wander along the main street taking in the tourist shops, mainly to see the old cars and bikes, and purchase a couple of mementoes from some of the nicest people we have met. We stop at the Roadrunner Café though having just had lunch don’t partake in the “steaks’ on offer, sure they are very good though. Such a fun short break to stretch the legs and on we go toward our destination for the day, our time on this fabulous stretch of road an enriching experience.

What a contrast awaits us in a strange and interesting place that is Lake Havasu City. From out of the desert a city was born largely due to one man, Robert McCulloch. From 1934 to 1938 the Parker dam was built creating a lake with 450 miles of shoreline and a unique eco system within this parched world. In 1963 Mr McCulloch, owner of McCulloch Motors, was flying around the countryside looking for a site to test his outboard engines. Dare I say it, the rest was just history. He must have been a crazy but forthright man in his day, managing to create a city out of sand and rock. He and his friend CV Wood, designer of Disneyland, planned a community centred around the Lake.

McCulloch’s biggest brainchild was the purchase of the old London Bridge in 1968 for the cost of US$2,460,000. London had put the bridge on the market because it was basically sinking under the weight of traffic. I am told by a reliable source, my cousin Graham, that he originally thought he was getting the Tower Bridge, though I am sure he was not disappointed in the end. It took 3 and half years to reconstruct the bridge we see today. Firstly a steel framework was built on dry land and the granite bridge placed around it, creating a solid functioning bridge, stronger than the original, this London Bridge wasn’t going to be falling down. The land around it was then dredged creating “the Channel” of water over which it now spans to a newly formed island. It is just like stepping back to London for a moment, as it is complete with all the things that make it British including the vintage lamps that are made from the melted down cannons of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. It is the second largest tourist destination in Arizona after Grand Canyon. Locals will tell you that the bridge is seemingly haunted, by a police ‘bobby’ patrolling and by a woman dressed in black. What we do know for sure is that it is a home to many bats living in its hollow structure. Back in Cortez we spoke to an older lady who has lived in the lower southwest her whole life. She described the bridge as very bizarre, saying ‘one minute there was nothing for miles and then there was a city’. She was right by all accounts.

All in all, the coming of the bridge and McCulloch’s enthusiasm gave birth to the thriving community of Lake Havasu, it is a popular retirement town and romantic getaway tourist destination. It has a very pleasant climate all year round. Right now it is home to more RV’s than we have seen anywhere, all the travellers, (in Australia we call them Grey Nomads), roosting for the winter and catching up on their golf game I guess. Though glad we came to see it, this is not somewhere we would choose to come again. We are running out of light so find a camping spot in the outskirts of town, on Bureau of Land Management ground, and settle down to a spectacular sunset and sleep.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album ARIZONA.

LONDON II

We are experiencing everything we possibly can in London. Including the mostly never on time public transport. Pretty much every time we get to the train station ready to jump onto a train we hear the same message over the speaker system, “Southern regrets to announce that the (insert service here) to (insert destination here) is delayed by (insert number of minutes here)” Grrrr. In saying that most delays haven’t been too long and since we’re on holiday we don’t really have any time limits so it doesn’t affect us too much. Although it is very annoying for the people who are trying to get to work on time or home from a long day at work. Kelly has said that, luckily, most employers are quite forgiving about the former.

Our day started at London Bridge this time and our first stop was The Monument, erected after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Sir Christopher Wren’s Monument is the tallest isolated stone column in the world. It was completed in 1677 and repairs are carried out approximately every 100 years. It stands at 202 ft high and is positioned 202 ft from the spot in Pudding Lane on which the Great Fire is believed to have started. We climbed the 311 spiral steps all the way to the Monument’s observation gallery. Luckily our camera was charged enough to take some photos (I thought I’d charged it the night before, I obviously hadn’t). Once back down the bottom we received certificates, so worth it!

Next was a quick visit to Saint Paul’s Cathedral, huge and beautiful! Then along to The Royal Courts of Justice, where our camera kindly died! Walking along heading to The Strand we stumbled upon the High Commission of Australia, I may be biased but I think our embassy has the most beautiful building in the whole of London! We have been told that the Gringotts Wizarding Bank scenes of the Harry Potter movies were filmed there. We also came across Somerset House where there is an ice rink, it looks stunning set inside the courtyard between the buildings. We contemplated skating but Mum and Mikayla decided against it in case of injury and I decided against it because it wouldn’t have been very fun going around in circles on my own. There is also still a Christmas market there with a few more bargains to be had. Once at The Strand we did a little shopping at Mountain Warehouse, grabbing some bargains in the sales! And when we emerged from there it had been dark a while so we decided it was time to start the trip home again.

We are really loving walking around and enjoying whatever sights we stumble upon. We think the best way to see a city is walk, providing you walk in the right areas! You see so much, and find little shops, cafes and views that may have been missed otherwise. Our night was finished watching a couple of TV movies (Ice Age and The Matrix Reloaded) and another one of Matt’s delicious dinners. He really is a good cooker*! And Mum did really well to stay awake again!

*When my Aunty Di was little someone must have criticized Nans cooking, she put her hands on her hips and said, “My Mummy is a good cooker!” Now whenever we come across someone who can really cook, like Matt, we say “Matt is a good cooker!”

LONDON

The 1st of January, or what was left of it when we woke up, was another relaxing day. It was Matt’s birthday, Happy Birthday Matt! We joined the family for Matt’s birthday dinner at an Indian restaurant called Yak and Yeti in Crystal Palace. The food was delicious! Another great night with everyone.

On the second we hit London again! How amazing to be starting our year here! We started with a train trip to Victoria and walked around all day from there. We aimed to get some matinee tickets to Billy Elliot, to see it with Chloe while she is on holidays but all the tickets available had a restricted view and we didn’t think it was worth the risk this time. Instead we thought we’d try the theater ticket booth at Leicester Square. On the way we walked past Buckingham Palace again, and couldn’t resist taking more photos, then up Haymarket and saw the original Burberrys sign and clock. I’ve wanted to see this for a while and though there is no store there anymore this is the sight of the first Burberrys. Fashion history!

Upon arriving at Leicester Square we noticed M&M World. I was quite excited, mainly because I thought they’d have free samples, but upon entering realized it’s really another money grabbing tourist attraction. Who needs M&M mugs, t-shirts, tea towels etc? No tickets at Leicester Square either, so off through Soho to Oxford Street we went. On the way we also walked along Shaftesbury Avenue, another Harry Potter moment. upon arriving at Oxford street we went straight for TopShop. I’ve seen a jacket in TopShop that I love but it was the wrong size and I haven’t seen one like it since so every time we pass a TopShop I go in to scan for it, no luck yet. We went into HMV, who are closing down on Oxford Street, and had a good look for movies to watch when feeling lazy in Vincent. Only bought one movie, Anna Karenina, the movie adaptation of the story Mikayla is currently reading.

After deciding we wouldn’t see Billy Elliot we organised to meet Chloe in the afternoon so she could take us to Choccywoccydoodah, a beautiful chocolaterie originally based in Brighton that has now branched out to London. Oh my gosh the place was amazing!! They do chocolate and cakes, but not just any cakes, amazing one of a kind, stunningly decorated, exceedingly yummy cakes! It’s one of Chloe’s favourite places from her time in Brighton during university and now in London. We entered the store and were in awe, so many pretty (and yummy) things to look at. We then queued for about 30 minutes to get up to the cafe area to taste some of the deliciousness on offer. It was well worth the wait! Chloe warned us that we would only need to order two dishes between the four of us and though we a bit skeptical we took her advice. So glad we did because we ate as much as we possibly could and still took the leftovers home. We had the chocolate cake (a huge slab of crumbly chocolate cake layered with scrumptious white chocolatey icing and a hard casing of white chocolate on the outside…with ice cream) and a chocolate fondue with chocolate covered popcorn, honeycomb, strawberries, pretzels, chocolate straws, chocolate brownie and shortbread cake. Did I mention how yummy it was? Well worth visiting when in London!

After this we did a little more shopping and went past Fortnum and Mason and their beautiful windows (sorry Harrods, you’ve been outdone) and Christie’s on our way back to the train station. Past Buckingham Palace again and then home again after a walk through Crystal Palace.