The Grand Tour...Day 15 LA to Phoenix

charly77 · 3 Apr 17, 09:57 PM

We landed around 6am. Everyone was shattered and it was here that we regretted an overnight flight. However when planning it is so tricky knowing what to do for the best. We just wanted to maximise our time in each place, guess next time we’ll have to go first class!

We collected our luggage and headed to the hotel shuttle stop, we had pre-booked a dayroom in an airport hotel so headed there. We were told we could access the room from 7am which would be great as we could get our head down for a couple of hours the shower before collecting the car. On arrival it became apparent this was not the case… The reception was over flowing with fed up tired tourists all expecting a room. We checked ourselves in and went and ate breakfast. The breakfast was fine, not amazing but did the job. We went back to the reception which was heaving to check when our room would be available, they told us they would call us when it was.

However there was nowhere to stand let alone sit in the reception so we said we would sit in the breakfast area. Luckily it had emptied out so the kids and DH got there head down on the seated benches and I drank coffee, lots of coffee! It was fast approaching 9am so I thought Id check on the room…as I walked in they said “last call for…[our surname]! ” I did get a little annoyed at this point as we had told them where we would be! Lucky I went in isn’t it! Anyway we check into room which actually was quite nice, basic but nice. We didn’t really have enough time to sleep so we all showered and the boys went off to collect the car.

It’s gonna be a loooooooonnnnnng day…

The boys were very quick and we were waiting outside the hotel for them coffee at the ready! We now had a Toyota Sequoia 5.7 V8, it was HUGE. My first thought was this is going to be juicy (*It actually cost under £100 in fuel for 6 days) It was so comfortable, even the rear seats reclined so the kids were happy and slept well in them.

Our final destination was Phoenix but we wanted to break the journey up. We headed to Palm Springs as we wanted to go on the aerial tramway. We stopped off at a Target on the way to stock up on water, snacks and luckily we found some of the trail mix we lived on in Yosemite! Ah, it was here that DS complained that his legs felt stiff…remember the suncreaming in Hawaii…this was the result…

So we also purchased every numbing after sun lotion we could find, the lady in Target was very helpful. We also purchased some advil for pain relief, think he’s going to need it!

We arrived at the aerial tram, it took us just over two hours and was quite an easy drive. It was so hot, like humid hot. Once inside the building the air con thankfully regulated us again! We were lucky as we were able to jump on the next cable car so we didn’t hang around too much.

It was a wobbly ride up and for someone who is petrified of heights I’m unsure whether or not I let out a squeal of fear every now and again..! The cable car rotates so you get a 360 degree view, it is pretty amazing if you can stomach the jerks and jolts!

Once at the top the views are amazing, it was so hot there was a visual haze of heat, quite spectacular to witness. You could climb higher if you wanted to. There was a café so we grabbed an ice cream. I am glad we got to experience this but seriously if you’re wary of heights just be aware of the ride up and down.

The kids were desperate to see ‘Coachella’ so we popped that into the satnav and went to explore, it wasn’t particularly exciting but they were happy to have seen its location.

From here we headed to Joshua Tree National Park, it was quite a trek off road and both the kids slept. I can’t remember exactly where we visited, it was lovely but unfortunately not fully appreciated.

We left here and headed to Phoenix for a one night stop over. We stopped at Carl Juniors for dinner in Glendale, a rather bizarre meal but cheap and cheerful!

We checked into our hotel and it was one of the worst hotels we have ever experienced, it claimed to be a Best Western but it was not. It was meant to include breakfast which they weren’t offering anymore so we quickly researched and found a waffle house down the road. As we were so tired we just unloaded car as we didn’t want to leave anything in the car and got our heads down.

Steps today; 13,345

Floors climbed; 21

*Tip of the day * Be realistic when planning the driving routes

daytonababe · 3 Apr 17, 10:12 PM

I need to catch up on yours when I've finished mine :-)

Every year we go from Phoenix to LA.. god it bores me to tears..

I like Glendale though.. We go to a Walmart near the Tanger outlets.. People of Walmart would have a field day in there ;-)

daytonababe · 3 Apr 17, 10:13 PM

What hotel was it btw? I know the hotels around there quite well as its where we've stayed the last 6 years.

charly77 · 3 Apr 17, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by daytonababe

I need to catch up on yours when I've finished mine :-)

Every year we go from Phoenix to LA.. god it bores me to tears..

I like Glendale though.. We go to a Walmart near the Tanger outlets.. People of Walmart would have a field day in there ;-)

Originally Posted by daytonababe

What hotel was it btw? I know the hotels around there quite well as its where we've stayed the last 6 years.

Sorry its taking me ages! I've got two weeks off now and am determined to finish it!

Haha! Yeh it wasn't the most exciting journey...

The hotel was Best Western Metro Centre Inn but its now called Homewood Suites I think...

Melbatb · 4 Apr 17, 05:55 AM

Fabulous photos from the cable car!

How annoying at both hotels

**WileyCoyote** · 14 Apr 17, 01:22 PM

Oh that was a long day and ouch that sunburn.
The aerial tramway looks terrifying !
Glad you had a good drive - you certainly have stamina !

k4ti3-x · 20 Apr 17, 09:00 PM

That aeriel tramway looked amazing but scary! Don't know how you managed all that driving with no sleep i'd have been dead to the world. Cochella didn't look too exciting - I'd have been gutted!

Jake71 · 21 Apr 17, 01:52 PM

Fab views but I don't fancy the cable car ride up, I'd be a bit anxious I think!

3 Apr 17, 09:57 PM	#1
	3 Apr 17, 09:57 PM charly77 Very Serious Dibber
charly77 Very Serious Dibber Join Date: Feb 08	The Grand Tour...Day 15 LA to Phoenix We landed around 6am. Everyone was shattered and it was here that we regretted an overnight flight. However when planning it is so tricky knowing what to do for the best. We just wanted to maximise our time in each place, guess next time we’ll have to go first class! We collected our luggage and headed to the hotel shuttle stop, we had pre-booked a dayroom in an airport hotel so headed there. We were told we could access the room from 7am which would be great as we could get our head down for a couple of hours the shower before collecting the car. On arrival it became apparent this was not the case… The reception was over flowing with fed up tired tourists all expecting a room. We checked ourselves in and went and ate breakfast. The breakfast was fine, not amazing but did the job. We went back to the reception which was heaving to check when our room would be available, they told us they would call us when it was. However there was nowhere to stand let alone sit in the reception so we said we would sit in the breakfast area. Luckily it had emptied out so the kids and DH got there head down on the seated benches and I drank coffee, lots of coffee! It was fast approaching 9am so I thought Id check on the room…as I walked in they said “last call for…[our surname]! ” I did get a little annoyed at this point as we had told them where we would be! Lucky I went in isn’t it! Anyway we check into room which actually was quite nice, basic but nice. We didn’t really have enough time to sleep so we all showered and the boys went off to collect the car. It’s gonna be a loooooooonnnnnng day… The boys were very quick and we were waiting outside the hotel for them coffee at the ready! We now had a Toyota Sequoia 5.7 V8, it was HUGE. My first thought was this is going to be juicy (It actually cost under £100 in fuel for 6 days) It was so comfortable, even the rear seats reclined so the kids were happy and slept well in them. Our final destination was Phoenix but we wanted to break the journey up. We headed to Palm Springs as we wanted to go on the aerial tramway. We stopped off at a Target on the way to stock up on water, snacks and luckily we found some of the trail mix we lived on in Yosemite! Ah, it was here that DS complained that his legs felt stiff…remember the suncreaming in Hawaii…this was the result… So we also purchased every numbing after sun lotion we could find, the lady in Target was very helpful. We also purchased some advil for pain relief, think he’s going to need it! We arrived at the aerial tram, it took us just over two hours and was quite an easy drive. It was so hot, like humid hot. Once inside the building the air con thankfully regulated us again! We were lucky as we were able to jump on the next cable car so we didn’t hang around too much. It was a wobbly ride up and for someone who is petrified of heights I’m unsure whether or not I let out a squeal of fear every now and again..! The cable car rotates so you get a 360 degree view, it is pretty amazing if you can stomach the jerks and jolts! Once at the top the views are amazing, it was so hot there was a visual haze of heat, quite spectacular to witness. You could climb higher if you wanted to. There was a café so we grabbed an ice cream. I am glad we got to experience this but seriously if you’re wary of heights just be aware of the ride up and down. The kids were desperate to see ‘Coachella’ so we popped that into the satnav and went to explore, it wasn’t particularly exciting but they were happy to have seen its location. From here we headed to Joshua Tree National Park, it was quite a trek off road and both the kids slept. I can’t remember exactly where we visited, it was lovely but unfortunately not fully appreciated. We left here and headed to Phoenix for a one night stop over. We stopped at Carl Juniors for dinner in Glendale, a rather bizarre meal but cheap and cheerful! We checked into our hotel and it was one of the worst hotels we have ever experienced, it claimed to be a Best Western but it was not. It was meant to include breakfast which they weren’t offering anymore so we quickly researched and found a waffle house down the road. As we were so tired we just unloaded car as we didn’t want to leave anything in the car and got our heads down. Steps today; 13,345 Floors climbed; 21 Tip of the day * Be realistic when planning the driving routes __________________ Whistle-stop Tour Of Copenhagen Feb 2017 The Grand Tour (West to East trip) 2016 The 'Bombshell' Trip to NYC @ Christmas 2014 Trip report, Our first time to WDW Sept/Oct '08;

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