Travels in California

 

I'm Hal the Cactus and I went travelling around California with Flyboy who's from Swords in Dublin.  Saw some pretty cool stuff and here are some of my travel pics.

Enjoy!

Hal

 IKEA, off North Gate Blvd, Sacramento.

Hmmmm... It's big. Dunno what more to say....it's really big!

 To the right here is Lake Tahoe.  Really beautiful there.

 Inside Sam Clemen's Cabin

This is the "old, dilapidated tavern" where Sam, better known as Mark Twain, heard the tale which was the inspiration for his breakthrough story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."

 
 

Reno, baby, Reno!

 
I particularly liked the pawn shops, lots of interesting bargains to be had! This used to be the gambling capital of the U.S. up until the 1950s when LasVegas took over. The centre of town is of course dominated by the casinos and you can step inside one and visit the rest without ever setting foot outside thanks to the the interconnecting walkways, tunnels and even an elevated monorail so you've no excuse to leave with even a single penny in your pockets! There is some consolation though, drinks are free while you're gaming.

 Reno Air Races

Black one is a Grumman Tigercat. Silver one is Dreadnought, red one is September Fury(the 2006 Goldcup winner}, both are Hawker Seafuries.

 San Francisco

Alcatraz, San Francisco 

Alcatraz was given its name by a Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala.

Alcatraz prison operated from 1934 until 1963. It closed down as being "too expensive to run".  It has a reputation for being haunted and is a genuinely creepy place to visit.  The 12-acre island opened to the public in 1973. Millions of tourists visit it every year.

Corner of Haight & Ashbury, San Francisco 

 
The epicentre of the Summer of Love! Hippie Mecca, all Hippies must make a spiritual journey here at least once in their lives. This was the destination of the world's first packaged tour holidays, with "civilised" people being safari'ed through on coaches so as not to have to mix with the natives. Today it's much quieter but the aroma of doobage still permeates the air. It's hard to describe the enormous impact the inhabitants of this neighbourhood have had on American and even world culture.