We were out until 4am yesterday wandering the strip, which is why I was amazed that I woke naturally at 9am.. RK was still sleeping but woke soon enough.. we checked out using the spiffy TV checkout thing & hit the road to LA at around 10am..

We had decided to take the obvious route to LA stopping at the Bun Boy for Brunch, (I only discovered today that Americans don't seem to have the term "Bum Boy" in their slang vocabulary, which explains why when you tell English folk you're going to the Bun Boy they snigger & think you're nuts where as Americans don't bat an eyelid..  This was my 3rd and RK's 5th time through the Bun Boy, we had a bet on what temperature the worlds largest thermometer would be displaying.. RK said 101, I had 98.. it was 97 when we left, a cold day in the Mojave..
 

The house that Roy built..

Statue of trigger..

Our next port of call on the way to LA was the Roy Rogers & Dale Evans museum in Victorville. Now, like many Brits, I just about know Roy Rogers had a horse called Trigger.. other than that I'm ignorant on the subject. The Roy Rogers museum is stuffed with "Stuff" from his fishing lures, through his gun collection, to his cars & the ultimate in stuff.. Trigger himself.. *but* all actual information has been lovingly removed, we didn't know if he was still alive or dead.. we tried to find out.. but nada.. dust.. they don't want you to know.. eventually in a dark corner of the gift shop we found a copy of the memorial service held after his death in 1998 so we took that as a given that Roy has left us.. Dale it seems is still around.
 

Becca photgraphs Trigger..

Trigger gets stuffed.

There was nothing else planned for today except the long haul to San Luis Obispo on the Californian coast about 150 miles north of LA. We drove through some Orange groves & stopped at a roadside fruit stand for some fresh oranges, cherries & OJ, our eventual destination was "The Madonna Inn"  a theme hotel with 112 rooms, each one decorated in a different style.
 
 

Our tasteless room

Our room from the outside..

We're spending tonite in "The Swiss Belle" room, we have a semi circular room, with rock walls, lime green Swiss furniture, stained glass windows tastefully depicting smiling cows, a shower made of rock.. need I go on? it's pretty surreal.. the architecture is brilliant, like something from the game "Myst" or some wierd fairy tale or something, we like it here a lot but couldn't decide if the owners of this place think its real classy or are going for roadside tackyness.. the prices would indicate the former, and the attitude of the desk clerk confirmed it.. they really think they're running a serious hotel here..  Dream on. The desk clerk was pissed that they only get 3 stars not 4 because they don't have a pool.. they don't have a pool you see because they're above that sort of thing.. they aren't above having motorised swiss milk maids swinging from the ceilings tho are they.. oh no...
 

We had dinner here.. sick making eh?

The main entrance..

We perused the  gift stores, which seem to major in clothes that even Tipper Gore would deem too preppy.. and had dinner in the restaurant, which was ok, our waiter Kevin ("Now him I'd do" - RK: 2000) was way too smarmy & insincere, but he seems to have a way with the "laydeeez." the meal wasn't as great as their hype led us to believe, but the surroundings made up for everything.. gold plated cherubs hung from the ceiling surrounded by gold leaves, plants that constantly changed colour and the all pink leather furniture..

Oh, I should mention the weather.. we left Nevada basking in blues skies & close to 100 degree heat, 450 miles later & we have the rooms thermostat set to 85 and we're still cold..  black clouds & a freezing wind are adding to the temptation to hightail it back to Vegas.. but we won't;  there's a coast road to drive, San Francisco to visit & Yosemite to explore yet..

So ends a quiet day..

Tomorrow