USA -1986

Don't go by the dates in the corner of my pictures, as my camera was still set on Australian date, it took me a few days to work it out.

I spent a good week in LA. Taking in the sights, I stayed at the Ambassador Hotel on Wiltshire Boulevard Avenue, West Hollywood, for 9 nights. I hired a car and drove to Venice, Santa Monica, Huntington and Malibu Beaches, walked down Sunset and Hollywood boulevards, spent a day at Disneyland a day at Universal Studios and went to a baseball game.

I met a lovely girl on Sunset Boulevard while I was having dinner, she showed me a few nightclubs and had a great night, she rode a bike around LA, so I thought what a better way to see the USA, and so I bought a bike, a Honda Shadow 750 to make my trip.

Some fanatics on Venice Beach, California, also know of the famous muscle beach. Every weekend they're there to show their thing, from weights, skateboarding, rollerblading and side freak shows, men eating glass, juggling chain saw, egg and a bowling ball and other crazy stuff.

Venice Beach, California.

Roller skating and skateboarding down on the boardwalk, Venice Beach. Picture quality was poor in the 80's.

Roller dancing on the boardwalk, Venice Beach.

Crazy skateboarders and Rollerskating.

I hired this car to get around for the first 6 days.

I drove to Universal Studios for the day. Back to the Future was big at the time picture of the DeLorean.

I went to see a stunt show.

Next few pictures are of the A-Team stunt show, you all remember the A-Team?

This is a flash flood at Universal Studios.

ET, phone home.

Look who I met!  Laurel and Hardy.

The next day I went to  the TV and Movie Car Museum in Hollywood, and walked around and drove up to the Hollywood sign.

6925 Hollywood boulevard, Chinese theater

The car in Bonnie and Clyde movie.

The car from the movie Bladerunner.

I spent the day at Disneyland.

The Moody Blues were playing live at Disneyland.

Santa Monica boardwalk.

I walked out to the end of the Santa Monica Pier, looking south to Venice beach

The Chateau Marmont Hotel, Sunset Boulevard, where John Belushi died in 1982 from a drug overdose.

Later I drove down to Huntington Beach, there they had a massive skate ramp and some sort of contest.

Before I left LA, I thought I better go see a ball game, LA Dodgers Vs Atlanta Braves. A slow game 13 innings LA won 1-0.

I met a girl Christy while having dinner on Sunset Boulevard, she showed me around L.A by night. She took me to the main night clubs, the Rainbow Bar and the Whiskey a Go Go, on Sunset Boulevard West Hollywood and that were popular at the time. She rode a bike which gave me the idea, what a better way to see a country. So i went out and bought a Honda Rebel 750cc.

This picture is the bike I rode around the USA, at the Ambassador Hotel on Wiltshire Boulevard Hollywood.

I left LA, rode through the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15 to Nevada, stopping in Vegas for the night, through St George, Utah, then took the Highway 59 east into Arizona to stop and look at the Grand Canyon North Rim. I had to back track to get back on the Interstate 15, I rode north into Utah and stopped at the Zion National Park, then through Cedar City, taking the Interstate 70 east through the Rocky Mountains.

I arrived at the North Rim Grand Canyon, what a magnificent view of the Canyon.

I set the camera up climbed the fence to get this shot on a timer

Mojave Desert on Interstate 15 to Nevada

I stopped in the Mojave desert to get a picture with a Joshua Tree.

Zion National Park Utah.

Interstate 70 east through the Rocky Mountains.

I stopped at a youth hostel at Julesburg, Nebraska, absolutely nothing here so decided to press on to Lincoln, Nebraska for the night. I couldn't find a youth hostel there either, it was pouring down rain, I was soaking wet and found a church group who took me in for the night, it was a little weird, they sat in a circle chanting and hugging each other, so I left to get some dinner, had a early night and up at 5 am for an  early start.

Lincoln, Nebraska, city hall.

   I left Lincoln, Nebraska, on the Interstate 80 through Des Moines, Iowa, stopping at Davenport, Illinois for the night. Leaving Davenport, got on the Interstate 90, through Indiana, Michigan, through Cleveland, Ohio making my way Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Karl, a Canadian was here in Australia working with us, so he told me to call in to see his parents and stay a day or two, and to meet up with his mates, who would show me around, so I did

 Mississippi river, Iowa.

I got to Toronto, late, so I booked into a hotel for the night. Finally, I found Karl’s mum and dads house in Mississauga, on the outskirts of town, they were great people, took me in for 3 nights.  So I took in the sights, I went down on the Lake Ontario, which is one of the 5 great lakes, went up to the top of the CN Tower, (Canadian National Tower), the City Hall and Ontario Space Centre

The light rail around Mississauga, Ontario.      Karl's Mum and dads house Mississauga

Lake Ontario, Toronto,Canada.

Went to the top of the CN Tower.

Views of Toronto city, Ontario, from the CN Tower.

City Hall, East Tower, Toronto, Ontario.

Ontario Space Centre.

     I went to Smidy’s house, (Karl’s friend) for a Bar B Q and stayed the night, the next morning Smidy and his flat mate took me down to London, Ontario, and stayed at Mike’s house for the weekend. We went to a few bars, Barny’s Bar and the Firehall. I met a nice girl, Tracy, we all had a great night, Tracy offered me a place to stay for the night, I wasn’t going to say no.

      Steve came to pick me up the next morning; we went to a University Football game, Toronto Uni Vs Western Uni, that afternoon we went to another Bae B Q to meet Karl’s sister, Erica. Later we went to Joe Kool’s bar where I met up with Tracy again, spending the night before the boys picked me up the next morning and driving back to Toronto.

Mike, Smidy, Steve and I at Mikes house London Ontario, Canada.

This is the view from Mike’s backyard.

They took me yto the local drinking hole, I got a box of matches from the place,Joseph Koolisky Bar (Joe Kool’s Bar).

 The few days I stayed with Genny, another friend of Karl’s, Tracy drove up from London to meet me and took me out to see more sights. The Kavalkade was great, you get a passport, and all around the city, there are places, each was a different country, where you can listen to that country music, watch their dance and eat the countries local food, you get a stamp in the passport each place you go to. I found Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and a few of the Asian Halls the best. I would like to thank all of Karl’s friends who helped me out and showed me around. Also big thanks to the people who gave me a place to stay during my travels.

      After spending the week in Canada, I rode down to Buffalo, New York State, and spent the day at the Falls, the Canadian Horseshoe falls and the American Falls.

At Niagara Falls, Canada.

     The top of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.

On the Canadian side looking down to the American falls.

I went down to the bottom of the falls, you can go under the falls in a cave and look out of the man made holes into the falls.

View from the USA side, the American falls on the left, and the Canadian falls in the background.

Time to hit the road again, got back onto the Interstate 90 through New York State, stopping for lunch in Syracuse, New York State, which is a big Uni town, then back on my bike down on the 87 south to the big apple New York City for a few days.

The Hudson river NYC.

You can take a helicopter trip from the Brooklyn Bridge, around NYC.

I took a tour on the Hudson river over to Liberty Island to climb the Statue of Liberty.

I got off the ferry and walked up hundreds of stairs to the torch on the Statue of Liberty.

The World Trade Centre, Financial District.

I got the train to Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Brighton Beach, Pier, Brooklyn, NYC.

 I stayed in a penthouse youth Hostel on 34th Ave, Manhattan. I parked my bike just around the corner at Maddison Square gardens, as you turned around I bumped into a guy which looked drunk, but he had a friend with him and he got me in a full nelson head lock while his mate went through my pocket, lucky I only had a $20 in my pocket.

The view from the penthouse Hostel.

Looking down towards Time Square, 42nd Street.

The Dakota Apartments, Upper west side Manhattan. This is where John Lennon lived and was shot dead, back in December 8th 1980

I got the train to the Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx,  161st St, Bronx.

      I met a guy on the train, thought I was a goner, but he was a cool guy, he showed me around the Bronx for a while.

   I headed south down the 95 through Philadelphia, then took a short cut through Delaware, down highway 13 and across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the toll was like $22 but saved hours to ride around and my butt was getting sore, I think it's time to get a fan for a while. I found a great hostel in Virginia Beach, Virginia, stayed for about 6 days looking for a van to drive for the rest of the way back to California. I met a great bunch of people here; Dave was going the same way as I was, so I got a van, put the bike in the back and headed south.

A few of the guys at the Hostel.

The Virginia Beach Hostel, right across the road from the beach.

I got the van for $400.

I took the front end of the bike to get it in the van, tossed a mattress in the back, and we got on our way down south.

We took the 95 and headed to Florida State, stopped at Daytona Beach Florida

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for a night, just slept in the van on the side of the road, we had a shower down on the beach the next morning. Through Jacksonville, stopping at

Daytona Beach Florida. We spent a few nights there, as the night life on the beach was great, and many females wanting to party.

Daytona Beach and a view from the Daytona Beach Pier.

We backtracked up the 95 then cut across to the 75 heading north, we stopped at Ormond Beach, and it had white soft sand, well worth the stop. Stayed the night at Myrtle Beach South Carolina.

   We got to the Interstate 10 and went west, running out of time, so had very few stops. Went through Tallahassee, Pensacola, stopping in New Orleans, for the night, we walked around the French Quarters and hit Bourbon Street bars that night.

The French Quarters New Orleans, Louisiana.

A bridge over the Mississippi River, Louisiana.

Leaving New Orleans, we went north up the 49 to Shrevport, Louisiana, then west on the 20 to Dallas, Texas, spending a few days in Dallas. Dave and I stopped at a creek under a bridge set up a little fire and relaxing, when a cop came down with his hand on his gun and told us to raise our hands, so we did. Later finding out there was a triple murder where we set up camp, 3 weeks ago, so the cop was on edge, he told us it might be better to move on to another place, so we did.

Dave and I at the bridge just before we set up camp.

The city of Dallas, Texas in the background.

Dave and I hit the bars in Dallas, having a good time, we both decided to go see the Southfork Ranch, as seen on the TV show Dallas.

Southfork Ranch Dallas, Texas.

 Spent a week in Texas, stopping in Dallas for three days, (another big city), we left Dallas in very heavy rain, not knowing the van I bought had no windscreen wipers (now that was funny) we stopped to try to fix them, and that we did, tying two strings on the wiper blade back through to each window taking turns pulling the string back and forward, IT WORKED!

      Then we took the 20 to El Paso, which is on the boarder of Texas and Mexico, staying  50 meters from the Mexican border, we met an American (Jim) from Colorado, we all went over the boarder to Juarez to the markets for the day, the next 3 days back and forth into Mexico for the cheaper and better tasting food and beer. To go to a night club in Mexico they put you up against the wall to frisk you for knifes, guns and god knows what else.

The Rio Grande, it divides the US and Mexico.

   We left El Paso, Texas, through the Roosevelt Canyon and along the Apache trail, 32 miles of dirt road, I tell you, the van didn't take well to the dirt track, but it hung in to get us where we were going.

    Theodore Roosevelt Dam is a dam on the Salt River located northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The dam is 357 feet high and forms Theodore Roosevelt Lake as it impounds the Salt River. Roosevelt Dam was originally constructed between 1905 and 1911 to control to the erratic flow of the Salt River and to harness the water for irrigation. The dam turned the Arizona desert into land that could be farmed.

Theodore Roosevelt Dam

 Finally arriving in Phoenix Arizona, just stayed 1 night, the next morning we headed up north on the 17 to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We checked in the Y.H and walked around part of the South rim, what a view. At the youth hostel, you have to do house work from a roster, which is good you get to know each other and their travels, meeting an English girl (Rebecca) and a few Americans from Colorado, we all went straight to the pub for a few drinks. 

A little squirrel in my bag looking for food.

Dave and I decided to trek down to the bottom of the canyon, going down the South Kaibab trail to the Colorado river, it took 3 hours to the bottom, we then walked another 5 miles to Phantom Creek Canyon to have a wash, the water was absolutely freezing, having a quick wash then back to the camp site.

  It was a clear night, and I've never seen that many stars in my life, something I will never forget.

Another picture of me at the South Rim, Grand Canyon.

  What magnificent views of the Canyon.

The bridge, which takes you to the North rim of the Canyon, over the Colorado River.

We came across a waterfall, the Phantom Creek Canyon and a little water hole, so time for a wash.

 We left the next morning, it was around 30 degrees, taking about 5 hours to get to the top and it was -2 degrees and a bit of snow on the ground.

We got back to the youth hostel, we met up with two Germans, Burnetta and Peter, who were sharing a car to get to L.A. Didn't have much to do with Burnetta, but Peter, well what can I say not much English spoken, but it came back to the old “let’s go to the pub for a beer”. It always works. It was Halloween night, but very quiet, we teamed up to go to L.A together. We left the canyon the next morning to Vegas, arriving late afternoon, we went to a few casinos, the Sahara and Peppermill, and I did alright, up about $170.00. We just stayed the 1 night, Peter and Dave had to get to LA.

Burnetta, Dave and I were looking for a place to stay in LA.

We got to L.A. Peter left for Tahiti, Burnetta know idea, and Dave went back to Australia. I stayed another month, sold the van and got back on the bike and headed up north to San Francisco. I arrived in San Francisco; the youth hostel is right on the bay looking at the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. It’s just up from the popular fisherman’s wharf.

The winding road, Lombard Street, as seen in many movies.

This is the view at the top of Main Street, with views of San Francisco bay and Alcatraz.     

  Alcatraz Island is 1.5 miles (2.4km) offshore in the San Francisco Bay, also known as the Rock; it was a Military prison in 1868, and then a federal prison from 1933 to 1936. So i got the ferry over to have a look.

Alcatraz Island, (the rock).

I got a few photos inside a few cells.

  The June 1962, 3 prisoners escape attempt, Clarence Anglin, John Anglin and Frank Morris left Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island using an inflatable raft.

This is me on Frank Morris bed in his cell.

The courtyard for the prisoners, the top step is where the top dog sits.

I walked across the Golden gate bridge, with San Francisco in the background.

     I got back to the Youth Hostel and met a nice Danish girl, Vivi. The next couple of days we took in San Francisco. We walked down and over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Vivi, at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Vivi, on ther streetcar. We went up to Chinatown for the afternoon. 

     Spending the next 6 days around San Francisco, then Vivi and I rode to east on the 580 to Merced, which is a Uni town north of San Francisco, I left Vivi there, I then rode up to Turlock for 3 days, staying at a youth hostel, where I met Joanna, her mum and dad ran the youth hostel. Spending time in Turlock was quiet an enjoyable stay.

Joanna, at her parent’s youth hostel. Playing the guitar for me.

I was running out of time, so I went back to L.A. to sell the bike, I got a good price; I got half my money back. So I decide to go south to San Diego, to see some guys I met in Bali last year, Mike and Bill, two brothers, so I hired a corvette for the last two weeks of my stay in the USA.

Me, in the Corvette at Malibu beach, California.

Spending 5 days in San Diego, Mike and Bill had to work, but took me to a Bar B Q and a party, the last day I stayed at a youth hostel and met an English guy (Peter), he was going up to L.A. so he shared the petrol cost.

Me at mike’s house in the Corvette, Cardiff, San Diego

I spent a day at San Diego Sea World.

It was time for me to head back up north, driving back to L.A. with Peter, the English guy i met.

I spent the last week around L.A. with some backpackers from the Venice Beach youth hostel, we all went to Six Flags Magic Mountain for a day, did a few more things and then it was time to fly home.

Some crazy rides, at Six Flags.

The guys from the youth hostel, Rob (kiwi), Kelly (pom), Julie (ozi), grace (pom) and peter (pom). At Six Flags.