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USA 2016,
April-May, Spring time in USA |
File= |
USA2016.htm |
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Introduction. |
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The original
plan was to go from LAX in a Nth East direction, via Sault St Marie,
then East to Halifax, in |
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Nova Scotia then
return in a Southerly sweep, via St. Louis, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona and
California. |
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After we crossed the Rockies, we got tired
of the FLAT plains, so we decided to head West at Sault St. |
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Marie as per the
map below. This allowed us to spend more time in coastal and mountain areas,
which |
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were more
appealing. Some of the Mountain Passes were still closed by snow, but
skirting around these |
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proved no
problem. This time of year had several advantages, particularly with
accommodation availability |
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and lighter
traffic than peak summer holiday periods. |
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We planned on 5
weeks, 35 days |
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away from home,
and 32 days in |
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car travelling,
for about 10,000 |
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miles. Actual
miles travelled was |
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9,000, no
accidents and only one |
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speeding ticket
in Canada.(wow !!) |
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We had covered
some of these |
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areas on
previous trips, but it was |
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still worth the
great scenery, roads, |
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and cheap fuel,
feed and motels. |
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It was easy to
change our plans |
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on the run, as
the only constraint |
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was the return
airline date. |
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Rental Car. |
Had some misunderstandings with ALAMO initially,
but after checking out other |
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rentals,
realized that the ALAMO deal and procedures were un-beatable. We chose a
"COMPACT" car. |
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The price,
including all insurances, unlimited mileage was AUD $48/day. At LAX Alamo,
you can choose |
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any vehicle
lined up in the "compact" range, about 50 or so vehicles, coming in
and going out, constantly. |
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We tried and
rejected 2 cars, one had no spare, other had bad brakes. Ended up choosing a
near new |
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Nissan Versa,
with only 3,252 miles on the clock, virtually a brand new vehicle. This
proved to be |
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extremely
satisfactory, and as good as a Hyundai i30 or Kia Rio. On check out, they ran
a scanner over |
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the vehicle
which read all the details, and return was a 5 min inspection, and all done.
The whole Alamo |
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operation and
procedures were efficient and well done. The daily rate we paid was cheaper
than our |
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previous trips
in 2005 and 2008, incredible ? Can recommend ALAMO without hesitation. |
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Took two (2) of
our Garmin Sat Nav's with us, with the latest pre-loaded US and Canada maps,
and |
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pre-loaded
destination towns. (from Trip planning, at home) This, together with the
latest USA/Canada |
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AA Big Road
Atlas made navigating a breeze. Don't know how we managed before Sat Nav's ? |
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Boot took 2 large suitcases + ESKY and more. |
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Nissan Versa,
AUD $48/day, all inclusive. Took |
Plenty of power, and 35 mpg. Could exceed |
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our pick of 50
odd cars in the Compact class. |
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100 mph easily, but handling was average. |
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Airlines, Virgin
Australia. |
We were sceptical about using Virgin because
of poor experiences |
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with previous
domestic flights. (poor service, cramped conditions, everything was extra
cost !!) |
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I suppose having
to please USA passengers, the service, baggage limits, seating and costs were
good. |
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We paid 2 times
$1060 returns, Brisbane to LAX, or AUD $530 each leg. Hard to believe, but
the plane |
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had few (if any)
spare seats. No complaints about Virgin check in or cabin crew. We were
allowed 2 |
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checked in bags
at 32kg each, which was more than enough. Allowed us to take our trusty ESKY |
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so we could buy
our beer and wine in the Liquor stores cheap, and drink at our leisure in
hotels/motels. |
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Had to get US visas at Brisbane airport at
exorbitant charges. This was an unexpected and a new req't. |
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Yollie found a
novel way to JUMP the airline |
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Airport security is quite savage. They make |
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check-in queues
! She told the staff she had |
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you take your shoes and belts off, and empty |
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difficulty
standing and got wheel chaired to front. |
your carry on bags. |
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Hotels, Motels |
Generally used medium quality tourist
hotels/motels, such as Holiday Inn, Days |
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Inn, Travelodge,
Best Western and Cabins. Costs ranged from AUD $100 to AUD $200, avg,
say=$130. |
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Many of these
wanted to swipe my credit card, which I refused from past experiences. I
always offered |
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to produce my
drivers license, passport, and produce a USD $200 cash security deposit. If
this was |
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refused, went
looking for another place, as we had had many instances of credit card
overcharging, in |
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the past, after
leaving the motel. At one resort, they wanted to give me a cheque, when
checking out, in |
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lieu of my USD
$200 cash security deposit I had paid in the day before. I quickly persuaded
them that |
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this was NOT the
way it was going to work, and they had better produce my $200 cash quick
smart, which |
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they did. We
learnt that credit card fraud was rife in the accommodation industry in USA.
Once they have |
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overcharged you,
after you have left, it is difficult and time consuming to rectify. |
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Best Western,
Cajun Pass, Cal. (traffic noise) |
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Needles motel, at edge of Mojave desert. |
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A BEAR cleaned
up our garbage bin here at an |
Typical tourist motel, all conveniences. |
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Ouray resort,
Colorado, overnite. Didn't see it. |
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Nearly all had ice, for Eskies. |
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