• Mark Shelley
  • Mark Shelley

US West Coast

Et 15-dags eventyr af Mark Læs mere
  • Start på rejsen
    23. maj 2024
  • New York New York T&T Wedding Day

    25. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The most amazing wedding for Tommy and Terence. Getting married at the NYNY Coaster is so them! Once the ceremony finished, we all hopped onboard the coaster and screamed all the way around, ha!

    We went on to Tom Urbans in the hotel for the wedding breakfast and photos. Then, onto The Paris Hotel down the strip where we had excellent food and the perfect view of the Bellagio Fountains. Terence's speech was heartfelt and had us all shedding a tear. It was lovely to see two of our closest friends so happy together and dedicate the rest of their lives to each other.

    In the evening, we went to the NYNY Times bar for dualing pianos, which was complete madness and had the most amazing night singing and dancing along to some classic songs.
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  • SHANIA TWAIN

    26. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Going to see Shania at Planet Hollywood was another (non-wedding) highlight. I think sometimes you forget how many good songs an artist has. We had a great time, with Emma sporting her light up Shania cowboy hat 🤠Læs mere

  • San Fran Arrival

    27. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We have left Vegas behind, and we are starting the next leg of our journey in San Francisco. This time, Kelly's case made it!

    We are staying at the Kensington Park Hotel by Union Square, which has an Elks Lodge and The San Fransisco Playhouse in the same building. It's an amazing building inside.

    We have had dinner in the cheesecake Factory, the biggest salad I've ever seen (even bigger than one of Wertho's!), and are off out to explore the city.
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  • San Fran Day 2 Alcatraz Tour

    28. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today, we went on a walking tour of the old Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz.

    The wharf is packed with restaurants and cafes selling the local delicacy, Dungeness Crab. This is one of the oldest surviving parts of the city as it wasn't touched by the fires after the 'Big One' in 1906. The area was also home to the old Del Monte canning factory, which has now been converted into apartments, hotels, and a restaurant.

    The wharf is where the prison train left from to take the prisoners to Alcatraz, the train car having been craned over to the waiting ship from the arch.
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  • Big Bus Tour

    28. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The Big Bus Tour took us around the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge, which has some spectacular views. One fun fact (apparently) is that the bridge was supposed to be black, but when it turned up, it was already painted orangey red to stop it rusting. The engineer liked it, so they stuck with the colour. We passed the beautiful City Hall, which is modelled on the Capital Building, with its gold and lead dome.

    Before going on the bu, we had Crab Chowder in a sourdough loaf for lunch at Bourdin, one of the most famous bakeries in SF.

    We had our tea in the Stinking Rose, a restaurant that had garlic in everything. On the menu, they had a 40 garlic clove chicken and garlic martinis. Not for the faint hearted!
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  • Yosemite Valley Trip

    29. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    It was a bit of a last-minute decision, but I'm so glad we did this trip to Yosemite. Steven decided to have a coffee and bookshop day, and Kelly and I ventured out to Yosemite Valley National Park.

    It was a bit of a hike out to the park, taking a good few hours in the minibus, but we had our completely bonkers guide, Chati and her Banana Slug, Carl, to entertain us along the way. We teamed up with Tristen, who was from Adalade, who was travelling down the west coast for the day to explore the Valley. There is nothing quite like hiking with a 6'3" 31 year old to remind you how unfit you are, ha!

    When we arrived at the Park we were met by Ranger Karl, who Chati was flirting with outrageously (Kelly got his number for Chati and they had arranged a date by the time we left - excellent work KW!). The first stop was the Giant Sequoias. They really do live up to their name! Then, on to the swing bridge, then the falls, which are at two levels of the rockface.

    The final stop was El Capitan. I'm in awe of anyone who attempts to climb this granite rockface, especially freestyle with no equipment
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  • San Fran Day 4 Trolly & Explore Day

    30. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today, we took the cable cars (Torlly's) to explore the city. After a hearty breakfast at The Pinecrest Diner after our marathon walk yesterday!

    We started out by Union Square and went over to Lombard St. It nearly killed us walking up the street as it was practically vertical. Next was Coit Tower and climbed 234 steps to the top because the lift was off, Ste was the smart one and took himself off to Washington Square to read his book in the park! The views were amazing, after we recovered, ha.Læs mere

  • Our Sophie - who knew!

    30. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We discovered that the legend that is Sophie Ellis Bextor was not only playing in the theatre in San Fran, around the corner, but was also staying in our hotel!

    The question is, who did the elevator pose best...? (As if there was any competition, lol!)Læs mere

  • Costal Drive to Monterey via Santa Cruz

    31. maj 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We drove down the coast instead of going direct to Monterey today. The coat is stunning with loads of snall beaches along the way, stopping off at a few along the way. The view from Bean Hollow Beach is very calming, and we watched the waves for a bit.

    We stopped off further down the coast at Santa Cruz, which is a lively seaside town with a massive pier and beachfront fair. Inevitably, where there is a pier, there are sealions. You can hear them from a mile off.

    We got to The Monterey Hotel in the early evening, and the streets were already lit up. The hotel is like something out of Fantasy Island! We had our tea at Turn 12, which had a load of vintage Italian racing bikes.
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  • Monterey

    1.–3. jun. 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Monterey is very chilled. We definitely did this in the right order! We went for a walk around the town and Old Fisherman's Wharf, where we stopped for dinner. The crab 🦀 cakes are a big deal around here, and every place has its own recipe.

    The two had a thriving fishing industry, and the main expexports were canned tuna, anchovies, and sardines. These buildings have now been changed into restaurants and shopping malls.
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  • Monterey Aquarium

    1. juni 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We all enjoyed the aquarium.

    The sea otters were huge, I really didn't expect them to be so big. We also watched them out in the bay hunting crabs and cracking them open on their belly.

    There was so much to see, including feeding time at the penguin and the ray enclosure. We could have stood and watched the jellyfish for hours. It was so relaxing watching them float around.

    I was also geeking out because I realised that it's where Star Trek IV The voyage home was filmed 🎥 😀
    AND we got to see Godzilla, ha!
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  • 17 Mile Drive to Carmel by the Sea

    2.–4. jun. 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    It's a 13 min drive direct from Monterey to Carmel. So we decided to take the scenic route and do the 17 Mile Drive around the coast.

    We stopped off at a few locations, including Lovers Rock Point, which had a family of Squirels living at the rock. Also, Bird Rock Point, where the sealions have taken over one of the small islands. With the wind blowing inland, it smelled like the camel house. It absolutely honked. We also stopped off at Lone Cypress Point, and the views are amazing.Læs mere

  • Carmel by the Sea

    3. juni 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    If Monterey is chilled, then Carmel is practically catatonic. The hotel is great and very 70s and has outdoor fire pits where we had some more bottles of Line 39 red 😀

    We had breakfast at the hotel (in the case of man vs. food, food won!) And then went to the beach and the Mission - which was closed...

    We also found a couple of bookshops to mooch around and had tea in Carmel Town.
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  • San Fran - Last Day!

    5. juni 2024, Forenede Stater ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    The last day! I feel like we've been away forever, but we have crammed in so much. It's been the most amazing time exploring the West Coast with Ste and World Wide Woffitt. There are many highlights and good times that we have had.

    This journey has left us wanting to come back and see more...
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  • Slut på rejsen
    6. juni 2024