OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: Simo63 on November 26, 2012, 12:06:36 pm
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Hi everyone
As I have mentioned once before in a previous post, my wife, myself and our 3 kids are heading to the USA for a white Christmas. We leave this Thursday 8)
This is our first visit to the good ‘ol US of A and we have made numerous plans once we land in LA. Once we do Disneyland for 3 days we are then planning to tour (in our motorhome) up to San Francisco, out to Sacramento and then Utah for a week skiing. Then head to Colorado for Christmas before heading south to Vegas, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Then return to LA to fly home 10th January.
Along the way we have some things we want to do and aside from those and the few things we have booked, we intend to just follow our noses. However as we have a reasonably open and flexible itinerary, we were looking for ideas on “must see” things (that are reasonably close to our intended route) based on other people knowledge or experiences. VMX related things would be awesome ;D.
Anyone able to give us some good tips?
Cheers
Simo
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Dang Simo - y'all left it a bit late ..... Day in the Dirt was this past weekend.
I will ask my boys what is upcoming & let you know.
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Dang Simo - y'all left it a bit late ..... Day in the Dirt was this past weekend.
I will ask my boys what is upcoming & let you know.
Story of my life Rusty .. always a day late or a bit too short ;D
Look forward to hearing back from your boys ;)
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Simo, when in So-Cal here are some places off the usual tourist trail
*Knotts Berry Farm http://www.knotts.com/ (http://www.knotts.com/) which is kind of a low key Disneyland situated not too far from Disneyland in Orange County.
*The Queen Mary http://www.queenmary.com/ (http://www.queenmary.com/). While in Long Beach check out and drive the Indy Car GP course http://www.gplb.com/ (http://www.gplb.com/) and where I lived for 6 years, Belmont Shore, a great little 'locals only' beach community with both bay and ocean beaches and a very cool restaurant street, 2nd street http://www.belmontshore.org/ (http://www.belmontshore.org/) and maybe have a margarita and a mexican feed where I worked for a couple of years.http://www.panamajoescantina.com/ (http://www.panamajoescantina.com/).
*Olvera street in downtown LA http://www.olvera-street.com/ (http://www.olvera-street.com/) is the oldest street in Los Angeles and the place to get the best Mexican food outside of Mexico.
* Farmers Market is a market not frequented by many tourists, well worth it for street food and tourist trinkets. http://www.farmersmarketla.com/ (http://www.farmersmarketla.com/)
* For the best beer in California, drop in for a 32oz schooner or two at Joe Josts on Aneheim street Long Beach. It's the oldest bar in So-Cal and was my local when I lived there. Hasn't been decorated or changed since 1928. The t shirts are legendary as are the hot dogs. http://www.joejosts.com/ (http://www.joejosts.com/)
*Mullholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills is a great place to get an ariel view of LA and to watch the knee scraper bikers and rich guys in their Ferrari's racing up the hills.http://www.latourist.com/index.php?page=auto-tour-mulholland (http://www.latourist.com/index.php?page=auto-tour-mulholland)
*Santa Monica and Venice Beaches are worth a visit. Santa Monica is the LA equivalent of Surfers Paradise, Bondi, St Kilda or Glenelg http://www.smgov.net/ (http://www.smgov.net/) and is the home of the best fish'n'chips I've ever had at an English pub called the Ye Olde Kings Head which is frequented bt many expat actors. I actually witnessed Michael Caine and Rod Stewart having a few beers together here back in the early 80'shttp://www.yeoldekingshead.com/ (http://www.yeoldekingshead.com/).
*Venice Beach is busy and full of freaks but it's fun. Check out Golds open air gym for the steroid show off gym junkies.http://www.venicebeach.com/ (http://www.venicebeach.com/)
*Griffith Park observatory is a good place for space nuts http://www.griffithobs.org/ and good views of LA.
*The Peterson Museum in Hollywood is a must for any car nut http://petersen.org/ (http://petersen.org/)
*Take a liesurely drive south along the Pacific Coast Hwy to Sandiego (and Tijuana, Baja Mexico), stopping at Seal Beach http://www.sealbeachca.gov/ (http://www.sealbeachca.gov/), a nice little 'locals' beach that's a bit more low key than Huntington Beach http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/ (http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/) or further down the Hwy at Newport Beach http://www.newportbeachca.gov/ (http://www.newportbeachca.gov/) and Laguna Beach http://www.lagunabeachinfo.com/ (http://www.lagunabeachinfo.com/). I don't know San Diego all that well so try and get some local knowledge. Check out the old Carlsbad motocross track http://www.vintagemx.us/carlsbad_remembered.htm (http://www.vintagemx.us/carlsbad_remembered.htm). Tiijuana is worth a look for some duty free but it's a shit hole so if you want a more authentic glimpse into Mexico drive a bit further down the coast to San Felipe http://sanfelipe.com.mx/ (http://sanfelipe.com.mx/) and Ensanada http://www.ensenada.com/ (http://www.ensenada.com/). Many desert races started in San Felipe and ended in Ensenada. Have a cold Margarita at the spiritual home of the margarita, Hussongs Cantina http://cantinahussongs.com/ (http://cantinahussongs.com/). There is also Cabo San Lucas http://www.cabosanlucas.net/ (http://www.cabosanlucas.net/) which is nice but is a favourite with Summer Break kids...the US equivalent of Schoolies, so pick your time.
*If you're driving from LA to SF go via Hwy 1, you won't regret it. On the way up have a look at Hearst Castle in San Simeon (http://www.hearstcastle.org/) (http://(http://www.hearstcastle.org/)), have lunch at the Danish community town of Solvang and visit the Andersens Pea Soup factory/restaurant (trust me on this one)http://www.solvangusa.com/ (http://www.solvangusa.com/) http://www.peasoupandersens.com/ (http://www.peasoupandersens.com/). Have a good look around Monterey http://www.monterey.org/ (http://www.monterey.org/) and hope you can check out Laguna Seca raceway near Monterey http://www.mazdaraceway.com/ (http://www.mazdaraceway.com/). It's also worth dropping into Carmel http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/ (http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/).
Sanfrancisco is a beautiful city not unlike Sydney. It's not over crowded with tourist stuff like LA is but if you look closely you'll find some very cool places.
*Marin County is worth a trip over the Golden Gate bridge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_County,_California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_County,_California) Sausolito http://www.sausalito.org/ (http://www.sausalito.org/) is a quaint little bayside community with some great restaurants and views of San Francisco Bay as is San Rafael which has a reasonable expat Aussie and Pom population who all seem to drink at http://www.themayflowerpub.com/ (http://www.themayflowerpub.com/). I had great roast beef and Yorkshire pudding there vthe last time I was in town.
*Napa Valley is well worth the drive for some great wines http://napavalley.com/ (http://napavalley.com/) but there are some other less well known wine areas such as the sweet little town of Los Gatos in the Santa Clara Valley near San Jose http://www.losgatosca.gov/index.aspx?nid=63 (http://www.losgatosca.gov/index.aspx?nid=63) and Santa Cruz Mountains http://www.calwineries.com/explore/regions/san-francisco-bay-area/santa-cruz-mountains (http://www.calwineries.com/explore/regions/san-francisco-bay-area/santa-cruz-mountains)
*Take a cruise through Golden Gate Park and observe the last of the hippy hold outs in the Haight Ashbury district where you can get a great boutique beer at the Toronado Pub http://www.toronado.com/ (http://www.toronado.com/). Check out the birthplace of the beatniks in the North Beach area. Whenever I'm in town my friends take me to this great old Beatnik Jazz pub where Jack Kerouac allegedly drank and is mentioned in 'On the Road'.http://www.vesuvio.com/index2.html (http://www.vesuvio.com/index2.html).
I could go on and on with more and more places of interest but I've run out of time. Have a great trip and make sure the credit cards loaded for Christmas in the Colorado Rockies ::).
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Ooooo OOOOO Oooooooooo
Anaheim1 is Jan 5th ;D
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after san francisco must go to yosimte national park.its great.watch out on some of those mountian roads they might be closed with snow drifts.
been there done all that
also you must go to fresno
Dan Rouit Flat Track Museum
309 West Rialto Ave
Clovis, California 93612-4331
Please call between 11 AM and 7 PM for hours open information.
559 291-2242 [email protected]
Dan and Kathy Rouit
its great even my wife enjoyed it and she hates me racing bikes
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Dan Rouit Flat Track Museum
http://vft.org/rouit.html (http://vft.org/rouit.html)
I forgot Dan's museum, when you're in Sacramento take a drive south to Fresno and visit the museum. Dan's a quadraphlegic and his museum is a credit to him. He and his wife Kathy are good people who'll really impress you with their dedication to the museum. Ditto Yosemite Park and Jims right about the mountain passes in and out. If it's snowing forget it. We were snowbound in the park for four days back in the 70's which was great for us but my boss wasn't impressed. Mammoth Mountain and all of the towns on Hwy 395 leading to it like Bishop, Big Pine and Lone Pine are great places to experience the high desert. The natural hot springs in the hills near Big Pine are one of those 'locals only' attractions that never make the tourist guides.http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGS271-233 (http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGS271-233) http://www.monohotsprings.com/ (http://www.monohotsprings.com/)
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Thanks guys .. some AWESOME information above .. keep them coming pleeeeease ;D
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If you have a spare half an hour while you're in LA drop into Mick Felders body shop at 210 Pacific Coast hwy at Hermosa beach. Not VMX but he has a great collection of old Triumph, Guzzi, Matchless bikes etc and some unique old cars.
Mick is probably on the other side of 70 but still crawls around the workshop floor restoring old things. A lovely old bloke who has lots of mates down under and doesn't mind a chat.
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Hi everyone
As I have mentioned once before in a previous post, my wife, myself and our 3 kids are heading to the USA for a white Christmas. We leave this Thursday 8)
This is our first visit to the good ‘ol US of A and we have made numerous plans once we land in LA. Once we do Disneyland for 3 days we are then planning to tour (in our motorhome) up to San Francisco, out to Sacramento and then Utah for a week skiing. Then head to Colorado for Christmas before heading south to Vegas, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Then return to LA to fly home 10th January.
Cheers
Simo
Lucky bastard ;D
After a week of ski in ski out in Utah everything else will be very mundane, you can ride VMX bikes anywhere but the metres of fluffy dry powder snow Utah is blessed with will be experience you won't forget ever. I dunno if you have skied powder before but as close as I got to it here, there is like a cushion of air or duck down underneath you.Harder than what you think and you have to try to keep your momentum up(if I have the right bloke you rode a RS125 so you should know about that) I would have some lessons and get some confidence and go on a backcountry 'between the trees' ski like you see on the Warren Miller films.
Then there is the really fun stuff beg borrow or steal a ride on a powerful snowmobile it's a cross between surfing and riding a jetski or motorcycle when the snow is deep, you should be able to get a full/half day safari
http://www.utah.com/ski/
has snowmobile stuff on the 'outdoor recreation' tab
Beats looking at old bikes ;)
http://www.racebikerentals.com/news.asp
Take a Lonely Planet guide book.
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/usa/california-trips-1/
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It's worth a trip to Pro Circuit to check out all the championship winning bikes on display as well as a few vintage bikes.
Troy Lee Designs has 5 or 6 of Jeff Wards championship works Kawasakis on display as well as other cool bikes and memorabilia.
Malcolm Smith Motorsports has a big display of vintage Husky's (some are Malcolm's race bikes) and other cool stuff.
These shops are all within a few minutes of each other in LA.
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* If your kids are into dinosaurs, check out the La Brea tar pits in downtown LA....http://www.tarpits.org/ (http://www.tarpits.org/)
* Yet another LA theme park, Magic Mountain is pretty good though.....http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/info/parkInfo.aspx (http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/info/parkInfo.aspx)
* Get out to Irwindale for some drag racing or maybe some oval action....http://www.irwindalespeedway.com/speedwayschedule.php (http://www.irwindalespeedway.com/speedwayschedule.php)
* Go to the speedway at City of Industry......http://industryracing.com/schedule.html (http://industryracing.com/schedule.html)
* Check out the indoor flat track in Las Vegas or Nor-Cal at Sears Point.... http://www.wcfts.com/ (http://www.wcfts.com/)
* You might be able to fit in a vintage motocross at Glen Helen.... http://calvmx.net/ (http://calvmx.net/)
* Here's a good motorsports museum in Henderson Nevada, just down the road from Vegas..... http://www.fabulousracers.com/index.html (http://www.fabulousracers.com/index.html)
* This wildlife park near the Grand Canyon is recommended by my ex.....http://www.bearizona.com/ (http://www.bearizona.com/)
* We stumbled upon this old ghost town not long after a hippy commune re-opened it in the 70's, worth a look on the way back to California from the Grand Canyon......http://www.azjerome.com/ (http://www.azjerome.com/)
* The weird history of this place in San Jose makes it worth a lookee, it's pretty cool in a touristy kind of way....http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/ (http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/)
* Lakewood Center,the first shopping mall in the world, built in 1951 and huge. I used to live down the road, it's a good place to suss out suburban LA society.... http://www.shoplakewoodcenter.com/ (http://www.shoplakewoodcenter.com/)
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Enjoy Simo! ;) Yep I am so wanting to do the same!
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Have a friend that is a bit busy right now, but after the 8th can probably show you around for a tour of Pro Circuit and Troy Lee. Maybe even a tour of the Lucas Oil TV facilities.
Have a few people fire up that this wekend is the final round of the CALVMX/AHRMA series for the year. Highly recommended is Tom Whites - The Early Years of Motocross Museum. You need to email him to arrange, but I am told overseas visitors are generally welcome. On that subject there is all the Primm Museum in Vegas.
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On that subject there is all the Primm Museum in Vegas.
The Primm Museum has shut up shop and the majority of the bikes sold to a private collector in Illinois.
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Fast passes are are must at Disneyland, go to the rides at the start of the day get a pass and come back at a certain time to avoid the long ques My daughters were 11 and 12 at Disney a couple of years ago and spent too much time in the old disneyland and ran out of time to spend in California Disney which has the bigger rides, three days wasn't enough! Spent 3 days in Vegas, no where near enough time. Have plenty of $1 bucks in your wallet for tips :) :) Enjoy Nob
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Hi Simo,
It's been awhile, but Hearst Castle was definitely worth seeing, and the drive up the Pacific coast is brilliant. Check out Bixby bridge. Also Bryce canyon in Utah, it's a bit of a sleeper but spectacular ( colours ) in the dry season, would pay to ask what it's like under snow. All the Best for a great trip and remember, from '' The World's Fastest Indian,'' '' The driver should ALWAYS be in the middle of the road.'' ;D
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Watch weather conditions as us Aussies aren't used to driving in sleet and snow. Weather conditions can turn quickly when you start heading to snow country.
Keep in mind that in the U.S. the bigger the hype, the lamer the product.
The kids might want to eat at Macca's but try to eat in as many independently owned family diners as possible for some great meals.
Drink bottomless cups of coffee with pecan pie as often as you can.
If you like Mexican, the best ones are when you go to order, they have to get the young son/daughter from out the back to translate for them.
The Campo's chain of Mexican cantina's around L.A. do good cheap fast Mexican food.
If beggars approach you hit them up for some change before they do. Might sound miserly but about the time you get hit up for the 10th time in one day you'll be onto it. Especially when you see them sitting in the bar an hour later drinking mixed spirits.
Watch your money, my missus had a checkout woman hand her her bags and wish her a good day. My missus had to remind her for her change from a $100 bill. The red faced woman had to pull the bill out from under the till and ring it up. Another time she went to a Notary public (Their version of a JP) and they did their best to seperrate her from her handbag. Another time my mate left a tip on the bar and a bloke came up to the bar and went to pay for his beer with it. I went to pull him up but I wasn't 100% sure and he turned the situation around to make it look like I was trying to scoop it up.
We're not used to that kind of stuff here so you tend to be off gaurd. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen and usually from people and places you wouldn't expect it from. Don't by anything from anyone on the street.
When driving through western states, pull into one of those big western outfitters and outfit the whole family in cowboy gear.
If you see a Farm King store, go into it.
If you get to Boulder, check out McGuckin hardware https://store.mcguckin.com/inet/home.html
Don't take any wooden nickles.
The U.S. is a great place with amazing countryside and lovelly people who are generally warm and friendly.
Try to travel some of the back roads rather than the freeways.
Do every national park or scenic drive. Much better than theme parks.
Buy yourself a pair of Redwing boots.
Go to Wallmart and buy an air pistol. Have fun with the kids shooting tin cans every night and then throw it away when you leave.
When you see those yellow buildings with 'fireworks' written all over them. Stop, buy heaps, just make sure you let them off before you get to the next state. Not like we did and had to hide from the cops in our motel room with the lights off.
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Being nervous, and embarrassed about my upcoming colonoscopy on a recommendation I decided to have it done while visiting friends in San Francisco , where the beautiful nurses are allegedly more gentle and accommodating.
As I lay naked on my side on the table, the gorgeous nurse began my procedure.
"Don't worry, at this stage of the procedure it's quite normal to get an erection," the nurse told me.
"I haven't got an erection," I replied.
"No, but I have," replied the nurse.
Don't get a colonoscopy in San Francisco
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If you get pulled over by a cop DON'T reach for your wallet . leave your hands on the wheel . Happend to me in the 80's scared the shite out of me big wheel gun stuck in my ear . After the cop found out we where Aussies he gave us this advice . funny now but almost had to change my pants then . Iain
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If you get pulled over by a cop and he asks you “don’t you have speed limits in Australia” just look him straight in the eye and say no.
Walk into a car yard and scab some demo rides...
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a393/gmcloa/Vette-USA.jpg)
Squat yourself on some ones bike when they're not looking...
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a393/gmcloa/Misc%20bike%20stuff/Goats-SR-me.jpg)
But remember your ambassadors for Oz ;D
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:D :D :D :D :D :D :D Oh Geoff i just can't work out whats more hilarious, your wit or the old photo's of that strange looking, skinny fella you keep dragging out from time to time. Who is that bloke anyway? :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D ;)
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If you get pulled over by a cop DON'T reach for your wallet
*The cops don't have a sense of humor....until they realise you're Australian. They'll often ask you if Aussie cops carry guns (confusing us with Poms).
* Speak slowly and try not to flow each word into the next making a sentence one big word like most Aussies do.
* On your way up Hwy 1 to Sanfrancisco, drop in to see the gian California Redwood trees in Big Sur...magnificent. http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/redwoods.html (http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/redwoods.html)
*Avoid calling San Francisco "Frisco", the locals hate it.
*Avoid Budweiser and Coors beer at all cost, there are much better beers available than those pisswaters. Try local boutique beers especially Anchor Steam Beer in San Francisco, Eagle Rock or Angel City in LA.
*When you park your Winnebago, make sure you take your passports, tickets and portable valuables with you. A Winnebago spells out "rich folk" to dodgy street people.
*Grab a coffe and danish on the rooftop of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art..very cool www.sfmoma.org (http:// www.sfmoma.org)
* I know it's a bit hokey but you have to ride on the cable car http://www.sfcablecar.com/ (http://www.sfcablecar.com/)
*Crash'n'bern suggested avoiding the big hamburger chains and try local places. My old local burger joint was Hamburger Henry's in Belmont Shores, Long Beach. Open air, watch the beach people walk by.
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If you want skiing when you are in Sacramento you are only about 2 hrs from Lake Tahoe which has about 15 resorts within a 2 hr drive including Squaw Valley (former olympic site) Heavenly ( supposedly some of the best powder skiing) Northstar and more.
South Lake Tahoe has smaller versions of the Vegas experience with Casinos and shows.
The drive around the lake is beautiful if the weather is good.
Maurice
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Oh - and Firkos first post lists a lot of the places I used to take visitors when I was OC based. Always used to travel SH1 between San D and San Fran as there are some aweome sights along there and lots of good tourist stuff that is often overlooked. SH1 is also known as El Camino Real http://www.cahighways.org/elcamino.html is worth a read - some of those missions are amazing.
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Just a quick word to say many thanks to those members that have either responded here in this post or sent me PMs with advice. I know it takes time to write responses, particularly detailed ones with www links, and for that, my family and I are sincerely grateful and wish to say a big THANK YOU to all involved.
Kind Regards
Simo
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You'll have to stay 3 months now............ ;D
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Firko's on the money about the beer. Remembet too that their light beer is low carb not low alcohol. Beer is a personal thing, I prefer the Mexican Tecate. Mexicans wont touch Carona.
Watch L.A. you can be in a good area, take a wrong turn and be in the hood. You can be looking at fancy houses and the next minute be driving around burnt out car wrecks in the middle of the street. There are some areas that white folk aren't welcome.
If you have a Cirius eftpos card it will work everywhere.
Don't go to Rock Springs Wyoming.
Get a Telstra prepaid international phone card, it's the cheapest way to call, or buy a cheap mobile phone over there. Just check for coverage where your going. I went to buy one in LA and they said it wont work in S.F. That was some years ago though.
When you come back, bring 250ml more booze than you are allowed and some choclate bars. Declare them. They'll think your a good bloke and overlook the $2,000 worth of bike parts.
I wish I could go, but probably wont get around to it until the dollar drops back down to 50cents.
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Beer is a personal thing, I prefer the Mexican Tecate. Mexicans wont touch Carona.
So true, Mexicans treat Corona like we treat Fosters, it's for tourists with no taste buds. I prefer Modelo or Carta Blanca when it comes to Mex beers. The best supermarket cheap beer in the US to my taste is Mickey's Big Mouth from Wisconsin. Cheap but good.
I wish I could go, but probably wont get around to it until the dollar drops back down to 50cents.
I'm planning on going over for a friends surprise 50th birthday party in Oakland, Ca in June.
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as for the phone just buy one ther cheap as i have lent mine out its been to the usa about 5 times now more than me.at%t bought it in la still worked in new york city.just top it up at at&t make sure its a cheap one no data as that can suck the pre paid
jim
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Beer is a personal thing, I prefer the Mexican Tecate. Mexicans wont touch Carona.
So true, Mexicans treat Corona like we treat Fosters, it's for tourists with no taste buds. I prefer Modelo or Carta Blanca when it comes to Mex beers. The best supermarket cheap beer in the US to my taste is Mickey's Big Mouth from Wisconsin. Cheap but good.
I wish I could go, but probably wont get around to it until the dollar drops back down to 50cents.
I'm planning on going over for a friends surprise 50th birthday party in Oakland, Ca in June.
Mickey's - can't believe that Mark. Great beer, used to get a six pack on the way home from work ($3.99). One of the only beers over there with a screw top. Screw the top back on if required to avoid getting pinged for an open container. ;D
My advice on top of all the other great stuff is to be careful crossing the road, particularly your kids. Look left, then right, then left - not the other way as we do here. Lots of tourists get seriously injured or worse just crossing the road.
Definitely travel some back roads and eat at the diners along them. Not only is the food good and cheap but the locals, many of whom have never been to a big city, will be fascinated by the accent. Not only will you have a good time but you will be great ambassadors for Australia (or Austria, England, New Zealand or wherever else they may think you are from).
Enjoy.
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My first advice is to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. ;)
Lots of local beers that taste great. Not much VMX going on this time of year. :(
Santa Barbara, Moro Bay, Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Carmel/Monterey, Santa Cruz (for the goofiness), Hopefully Maverick's is running when you go through (just north of Half Moon Bay), Golden Gate, Napa/Sonoma, Lake Tahoe.
Enjoy and please forgive us if you run into an idiot or two. ;D
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Mickey's - can't believe that Mark. Great beer, used to get a six pack on the way home from work ($3.99). One of the only beers over there with a screw top. Screw the top back on if required to avoid getting pinged for an open container.
It's gotta be a Klub Kevlar taste thing Pete ;D. When I first arrived the US in early 1975 I stayed with friends of friends and the old granddad who lived with them gave me his 'American Beer 101' lecture and demo, all in the name of education of course 8). Because the old bloke was living on a GI pension he didn't have a lot of dough so he could only afford cheap beer, even Bud, Coors and Olympia were out of his price range. He introduced me to such delicacies as Lucky Lager, Eastside and Mickeys. Mickeys was $1.99 a six pack when the popular beers were $3.99. Lucky was 99c a sixer at my local Alpha Beta supermarket!
Well I got a real taste for Mickeys and loved the big mouth re-sealable bottle, often for the reason Yamaico Pete said. For the next six years there was rarely a time that I didn't have at least a six pack of Mickeys in the 'fridge as well as my beloved Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Ale. There was another beer that I liked called Ranier Ale which was an old fashioned ale not unlike Resches DA. Old time beer drinkers in the US called it 'The Green Death' because it came in a green can and was considered crap beer (usually by folks who thought Coors Lite was good beer, go figure ::)).
Just writing this post has made me all nostalgic....I wonder if Dan Murphys sell Mickeys. ???
(http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k495/firko2/mickeys.jpg)
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This has been a great post lot of info. that will help a lot of people .Mark to answer your question about mickeys malt is no you can,t buy it here any more you used to but they stopper importing it i tried to get some about 3year ago. think dan murphy and first choice sell there own boutique beer. i allways get this in the states and ghirardelle chocolate great stuff.
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This has been a great post lot of info. that will help a lot of people .Mark to answer your question about mickeys malt is no you can,t buy it here any more you used to but they stopper importing it i tried to get some about 3year ago. think dan murphy and first choice sell there own boutique beer. i allways get this in the states and ghirardelle chocolate great stuff
For such an obscure beer I can't believe the response Mickeys has got on here ;D. It truly is one of the best kept beer secrets in the world.
*There are a few things that I got a taste for besides Mickeys and Ghiradelli chocolate. Kathy my ex had a passion for Sees Candy stores which are very much like our own Darryl Lea http://www.sees.com/ (http://www.sees.com/)
* Schats Sheephearder bread from Bishop California. Try this and you'll have a hard time eating sliced cardboard again. We spent a lot of time in Bishop and would go to the bakery early in the morning and buy hot loaves of this great bread. Great with real butter and Vegemite for some cross cultural eating delight http://www.erickschatsbakery.com/ (http://www.erickschatsbakery.com/)
* I always bring home Jelly Belly jelly beans for trinkets for the natives. I'm a bit adicted to Pina Colada and Buttered Popcorn flavours ;D.http://www.jellybelly.com/ (http://www.jellybelly.com/)
*I miss decent Mexican food. The stuff you get here has no resemblance to anything remotely like the real thing except maybe for Cafe Pacifico in Riley st Darlinghurst http://www.cafepacifico.com.au/ (http://www.cafepacifico.com.au/) and then it's only equal to a Joe Average suburban Tex-Mex joint in the USA. There's a great Mexican place in the Mission district of San Francisco ( sadly I can't recall the the name) that I visit every time I'm in town. You know it's got to be good when everyone in the place is a local and they're all speaking Spanish, the food's to die for. I also miss a decent Caesar Salad with anchovies. Most Aussie versions have crap creamy dressing and chicken....a proper Caesar doesn't come with chicken. Thankfully I can get Caesar Cardini Caesar dressing in Coles and Woolies so I can make my own.
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Top stuff here fellas. I'd like to think that I can put some of this great info to good use
here and hopefully if I get over to the U.S. We have Canadian friends and when they visit they bring Cheese Wizz and real maple syrup ,...yum
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cheapest way to call home is to actually buy a phone card from the US to your respective country - absolutely cheap as chips and we couldn't use all ours up talking - well the wife could!
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Now I am gunna ask a silly question - but in light of all the information flowing through here and will take it off thread so it isn't a hijack - have any of you guys been to France - taking my wife there in May?
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you must go to normandy the d-day beaches are good
st malo is a nice little city on the water south of normandy.
try and learn some french as not all french people are tolerant to non french speaking people.
beware of pickpoctets in paris
.dont take taxis unless it is an official cab.
and the gypsies they will rob you blind
.long line ups at the tourist spots
went there for a week did normandy and south the drive on the lhs but used to that now.see some of the country side its lovley.you can see when you are comming up to a small town they all have huge churches.stay in a old castle if you can the 1 we stayed in was firat built in the 14century
jim
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Now I am gunna ask a silly question - but in light of all the information flowing through here and will take it off thread so it isn't a hijack - have any of you guys been to France - taking my wife there in May?
Which part of France do you want to go to how long are you going to stay? The Loire Valley would be a place to go the culinary heart of France. Cote d'Azur coast is very nice as are the Alps.
Pickpockets/gypsies are all over Europe, forget learning much French, your French will be unintelligable to most of the French. Older people will tend not to speak Engish but most young people will. A French phrase book and learn the phrase "I'm Australian can you help me please", but the 2 times I have been to France the stereotype of the French refusing to speak English is nonsense. Most French think people who live in Paris are snobs so don't worry about them. If you have time hire a car and drive or a ride on the TGV sounds good as well. May will be very nice in the Alps and warm most other places.
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Has anybody done the So-cal trip to the USA, 6-7 top the race tracks, take your riding gear and they supply the bikes or the Cape York Trip, which one.
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lozza
went to a seafood jount in southern normandy girl spoke french to us and then did not return yes it was full and yes they were short staffed but if it was a bloke he would have got a blast from me after 45min now 9.30 pm no drinks or food orders taken just about to walk when another girl came over and was nice as pie to us.went to mischeln restrant in st malo they even had an english menu they gave us the french one first though.
jim
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It's been a lot of years since I was in France but I found the Parisians rude and not all that willing to speak English, even though I suspected that they understood me. I had a much better experiences once away from Paris, especially in the Burgundy wine district. We had a hard time with the language when we first got to Beaune but by a stroke of luck met an Irish born local Catholic priest in a bar who took us under his wing and showed us the Beaune the tourists rarely see and the language barrier seemed to disappear the more bars we visited. We stayed in a little village near Beaune in a B&B for 4 weeks and still didn't put a dent in the wineries and restaurants. I stayed in contact with the priest for years, in fact he stayed with us when he visited California....a real piss pot Irish skallywag.
The Champagne-Ardenne region is also worth visiting, once again for the wine and food. I met an Aussie who worked at the Mumms Champagne winery who hooked us onto a tour of the cellars that stretched for miles under Reims. She showed us areas which the WW2 French Resistance used as their regional HQ, it was so bloody interesting and the Champagne beautiful, I recall that we drank a 60 year old vintage.
France is a great place once you get used to the people. I've long had the dream to go back and may include it in my UK trip in 2014.
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Has anybody done the So-cal trip to the USA, 6-7 top the race tracks, take your riding gear and they supply the bikes or the Cape York Trip, which one.
I have done both and the USA experience is awsome. If you like cutting laps on a MX track, there is no question which one to do. We did Glen Hellen, Milstone park, Lake Elsinore and Cahuilla Creek. Cahuilla Creek was that good we did it twice. Huge sandy motocross track on the side of a hill.
Cheers Neil
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Thanks Neil, My Son rang me last night and asked if I would be intrested in going to the USA to do exactly what you have said, I have never been outside Australia and we are looking at August this year, so its an organised tour.
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cheapest way to call home is to actually buy a phone card from the US to your respective country - absolutely cheap as chips and we couldn't use all ours up talking - well the wife could!
If heading into the south, Nice airport (next to Monaco BIG boats :P ) via Dubi is a good way to go.
one of many river cruises and tours available
http://www.francecruises.com/riverboat-cruises.html
and one for Vicki ;D
http://gofrance.about.com/od/travelplanning/ht/toilet.htm
and this great site,suggested by a Fatboy Racing Member
http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/
cheers A
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lozza
went to a seafood jount in southern normandy girl spoke french to us and then did not return yes it was full and yes they were short staffed but if it was a bloke he would have got a blast from me after 45min now 9.30 pm no drinks or food orders taken just about to walk when another girl came over and was nice as pie to us.went to mischeln restrant in st malo they even had an english menu they gave us the french one first though.
jim
French people speaking French in France what's the world coming to ;D Nobody in France is obliged to speak English, my faithful 'Lonely Planet Phrasebook' got me everywhere I needed to go. We stopped a fellow in the street to help us with directions, I stummbled out some jibberish out of the phrase book , he just asked where I was from and in perfect English gave me directions and then whipped out a book he was reading(in English) and asked me to explain the meanings of half a dozen words. A friend was 'detained' by French officials at a airport, he was using his best French , 3 officials were just giving him Galic shrugs and turning their palms up when ever he said something. After 10mins they all just burst out laughing and said that hearing him 'murder' the French language was the best laugh they had that week.
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lozza
normandy d-day 6th june most people speak english in the service industry as the place is full of yanks and poms.just a few who dont like that.
just like when my dad went there last some french were shooting at him so he fixed them up with a canon not like we have that takes pics.
just some can be rude as
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French people speaking French in France what's the world coming to Nobody in France is obliged to speak English
not all that willing to speak English, even though I suspected that they understood me
Perhaps I should have written not all that willing to speak English, even though I suspected that they understood my rough attempts at French. In many (not all) Parisian attempts to communicate with French people in guidebook French away from the tourist traps I was met with shrugged shoulders and turned backs, they didn't have the patience to even try. In the provinces however the locals put in great efforts to communicate, them in broken English, me in broken French.
I back packed in Mexico and Guatamala for six months and initially met similar resistance to my feeble attempts at Spanish but once they realised that I was at least trying to use their language rather than insist they use mine, life became a lot easier. At the end of my time there I could speak and understand normal conversational Spanish and can still get by today although they have to be speaking pretty slowly for me to understand. If Parisians had shown the same patience that Mexicans had with my basic language skills I'd have better memories of Paris.
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totaly agree with you mark the country people seam to want to help you.i had a gerat time in normady ans south france just a few dumbarse french people didnt worry me.for all the bad ones there were a lot of good ones as well.i found if you try and comunicate in french as lozza says most will help you.
rossco
good luck
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I like the "murder" story. I have 2 years worth of French studies to try and waste - will see how we go - thanks fro the info. Ally - tripadvisor gets hammered whilst looking for accommodation in Paris.
thank you