August 9th 2014 – Day 8, flight to LA, Santa Monica
So with a bit of a heavy heart we left Grand Canyon at 8:30 this morning. I drove us to Flagstaff airport and made full use of Cruise Control, as well as driving in sports mode, as there was a lot of gas in the tank left. Which is where are now, waiting for 11:55 flight to Phoenix, where we will wait for an hour, then fly to LA. From there pick up car and go to The Georgian, Santa Monica.
If the Grand Canyon was a bit nearer England I would spend a couple of weeks there every year. I feel really rejuvenated, in so many ways. All the walking and nature were so good to me. I think we all loved it and it will be hard to top it!
About to board, smallest plane we have been in, about 50 seats
The first flight to Phoenix lasted a grand total of 19 minutes! And as we left we were told a thunderstorm approached. View from Daniel’s window…
The flight attendant was a bit of a comedian… He was glad not one of us in the flight is staying in Phoenix. We are all on connecting flights. Some Phoenix aerial views
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14:27, sat on the plane to LA, listening to Mestre Boca Rica. Really missing playing the berimbau so I have been listening to music and visualizing myself playing it.
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We landed at 3:30ish in the afternoon, got our luggage. I need a new suitcase, mine is falling apart. We then found out we needed to get a shuttle bus to the Hertz car hire place. The air felt dirty and I just wanted to go back to Grand Canyon. We got the car, we asked for the same one as we are used to driving it now: Nissan Centra, this time red and with sat nav, just as well. We can drive around Grand Canyon without it, but it’s helpful in LA! We were driving in the rush hour at five, but soon got to The Georgian hotel. And OMG, Jeff booked this bit of the trip (actually the only bit I booked was Grand Canyon) and we were speechless! It’s basically a massive 1 bedroom flat, without a kitchen!
Then we went for a wander, down the beach, which can only be reached via crossings over a road as wide as the M25. It was windy, so we came off and went back up, ending up at 3rd Street Promenade, where Daniel got excited about the shops and I got excited about all the street performers. I think Jeff got excited about the food. We ate at an Italian restaurant called Bravo Cucina where I had a very tender filet mignon with spinach and very creamy mash potato, washed down with a really nice Pinot Grigio.
Watched a couple of street artists, Daniel asked me to film Gueto Cirque du Soleil
Gueto Cirque du Soleil and street dancing
Back to our ‘palace’ and then in bed by 11, the latest so far. Living the life 😀
Five million people visit the Grand Canyon every year, but the only time if felt a bit busy was waiting for the bus at Hermit Point, always a queue there. Apart from that, it never felt busy. Las Vegas was the polar opposite. Santa Monica is somewhere in between, closer to Las Vegas. Gran Canyon is about the landscape, LA is about the people.