Arizona

The traffic in Los Angeles is horrendous, what should have been a two and a half hour drive turned out to be four hours, not exactly recommended after a twelve hour flight.
We stopped overnight in Cathedral City and Phoenix on our way to Tucson which in my opinion is probably the best place to stay in Southern Arizona. The landscape of the Seguaro National Park reminds me of the many old cowboy films that I watched as a boy, multi-armed large cacti in desert like scrubland. The mountains surrounding the area were identical in look to the mountains of Oman which led to a nostalgic feeling.
We were recommended to visit Old Tucson Studios where lots of films were made dating back to the fifties and we can remember the High Chaparral series which were also made here and the original set of the homestead still remains.
Tombstone was another place we decided to visit for a couple of hours but ended up staying all day. The day was clear blue sky, windy with a bit of a chill in the air as we strode down the original street where the OK Corral was sited and the street was almost deserted apart from four characters in black. The attached photo shows the Earp brothers, Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt but unfortunately Doc Holliday was talking on his cell phone. The staged gunfight at the OK Corral was very good and all the actors taking part were outstanding in the portrayal of the events, especially Wyatt Earp who had a serious attitude problem.
Talking of attitude the name of Happy Hour has now changed to ‘Attitude adjustment hour’.
Three days were spent in San Diego after an overnight stop in Yuma, it is springtime here and still a bit chilly, that may be a good thing to prepare us for the UK.
One brewpub of note is Karl Strauss where they tap a cask on the 1st Thursday of the month and luckily enough we had dinner there on that night. The beer to be tapped was a double IPA of 9% strength and served in 300ml glasses thank goodness.
We fly home tomorrow with mixed feelings and I know that after being home for a week or so I may start planning the next trip.
We end our trip with exciting news from home that we are to be grandparents again with Ian and Clare expecting their third child.