". . . we were on the edge of the desert, somewhere around Barstow . . ." when we began to wonder exactly whose idea it was to drive to Portland via Vegas! The plan was to head out east for a couple nights in the casinos then north to Portland via Salt Lake City & Twin Falls, Idaho. We'd return to LA through the Redwoods, Napa Valley, San Francisco & Santa Barbara- a 2000 mile round trip, in a week!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd86KRJHm45y10Ifx7xuey0I3GyaJZLvcJGPBcD0prWitB8Je8Zj1iTrGbtSKE8RFv4z61AeW5GoxvpjYNKPMqXkLvhN9rhXqJ35i6TWyRtAsxIWKAhyphenhyphen_7OThJ5fVE3BtKUj8n/s400/CaesarsPalace.jpg)
Las Vegas is more surreal than I could ever have imagined-nowhere does fabricated over the top decadence like Vegas.
We stayed at a quiet little place off the strip- the sophisticated & understated
Hard Rock Hotel!![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LOFu-iKUKPA9FVOxZNKW_d-XuGxnxEGU5zHNLB47aP1SNKFqtEAWQOBR1Gd3kTxGTjHuDPn6NNulSx_Ay_kHrpoXV2yPHwgvRYyffnBiRNXP4Tw4XYTzCgQdMEn8xXScH1OL/s400/HardRock.jpg)
The casino CCTV must have observed me standing in a corner to make this drawing -I was soon surrounded by 3 burly security men checking what I was noting down in my black book. When they saw I was merely sketching the most senior said "pretty good . . ." and they left me alone.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5QmhqtZ60CQnEsYJ7PvljrYtwWb-euhqwC_5gGDQCWpA8hWNlsrMa68PLuiGnTDiwU0p-0ZLyjXDYPPiyAHiwNLq-dqNUJmOG_tox7avfGxAi04G-JzhpXAxnQE1t1RfVrbd/s400/Casino.jpg)
Vegas to Portland is a long drive-especially if you make a 4 hour detour into the desert to see the Grand Canyon-only to find it 'closed'! The changing landscape we saw across 800 miles was impressive. We stopped in Salt Lake City, Utah-it was freezing there but those Mormons sure keep a nice, clean town. We saw a lot of exotic road-kill along the route and travelling hundreds of miles meant it was only a matter of time before we killed something. Thankfully it wasn't a raccoon or a deer or a bison but a hapless pigeon who met his maker when our radiator grill struck him at 90mph!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBazOLumY725dP2QbALyuztUbKbM6LPDlCSElhdDuzqFoGWP9SDQWk1SwmtA9G4s6xE8KLz2n15xzXRzWgS1G9zAZU1Y6ZisFF8XTCSEMwcpjTUGRW8Ptp-5Bp18veeuLzjgg/s400/Pigeon.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLuoQmgmhjFQvCUPrhnx8KDPjfeSMH9YT3iASriICXTT1jVal6UxaOo7sPPomgcU2qazv1a5qVVSz-U9lAz8LremKXzPYH2WtGiFnDw7g0Sy_PS_HKSw0_MIffER55s6iZjex/s400/Portland.jpg)
Rolling into Portland we instantly fell for this charming city. Despite the rain & mist the town has a relaxed vibe to it that you instantly warm to. The lovely folks at LAIKA had set up a tour of the studio for us-we were gob-smacked by the detail of the sets & puppets for
Coraline. Many thanks to Patrick, Chris, Jan, Tony and everyone for making us feel so welcome.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6XRPF4wepXOZHF66idNPbtE0REXtvElSh5djU34Zo6i4aQj1Hc1SSbrXK6qSqyRZ4zOoXWdXvSExp2mdxos-svRf7MvFrCYeoV94wilk5jPnWiEboiFyOzPwRVBrUrC5LjeR/s400/Redwoods.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeA_cVqtlWZfFxsxAZs3HJp3oCzzZY66YvvaEHMfNRscHzV5Fqw79Gp7Z7v7HEM1wJlhQAdR0BYLShO4kSR5xS3OOxIieM5l26CBhomGtbDPgdTM004eIQLGKarwdeR23wQh7u/s400/ChandelierTree.jpg)
On the way down to San Francisco we took a breath-taking route through the great Redwood Forest and the Avenue of Giants. We also found the
'Chandelier' or
'Drive-thru Tree'-it's 2400 years old!
After that it was on to San Francisco down through the vineyards of the Napa Valley. . .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06Ecw2Qhb60Mje8JEv_ykww4f971W2Bo5Lxh4nJFqdJr8NpFMYG0SppOwNRAa8yGVZWlFnvlZk94KtWswVQwuGWvMlxI98yqGEikZ2jlcp-7Su-WEHh2uWKyu4KtUa8rJleRt/s400/SanFrancisco.jpg)
The steep hills of SanFrancisco give the city a unique character but they're hard work!
Of course while in San Francisco we had to visit PIXAR! I did my Ronald Searle presentation for an appreciative audience & then we were shown around by our welcoming hosts
Daniela Strijleva and
Ralph Eggleston.![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ_PKnRvUw3l9UI6r_1f-24K2r-oTdX-QzYIRwhhbeRNziBBZ6P_G3sE4UZxYmSpW0zEdMe6vxTxwxMSDPhOSLjc1LxtGlwImfzDeJ_fOYVeQou245K1wQjjfczHxS-jj6rNB/s400/PixarCollage.jpg)
That was the last stop on the tour-we were pretty exhausted after so much travelling & visiting friends & studios. On the last night we relaxed in Haight Ashbury before hitting the road next day back to LA.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWeEa3jklsrEqUPxGBAxI4YixBjAwL434NxU3RDKmEziKXW6GYH_fjFijY778loK6vjae87P_4vxwIshQpPtD6G56njwPMZ8xbbky0WN0f0knfJzt6y-bnwUFyy3V9iiBdOrf/s400/Passes.JPG)
Back in LA on the last weekend I hung with my old buddy from Uli's studio Leo. We went down to LACMA- I was keen to see their Picasso collection.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4obew4sWrJad2O8DMYfOTuzzyV4uLeBHPI9JNWmgOJegd-rw3z-Q6Ck-tHX3k6uK-GpPycrJjEeMAvPHA1t-4eQQdG779gHsjMMmcZEFU2raGQlU3taoqQf9yl6zHPIUyAxb/s400/PicassoLACMA.jpg)
We spent a recreational last day in LA hiking up Griffith Park with Amid Amidi. We toured the observatory before Leo led us up a treacherous route to the summit of mount Hollywood. We braved the threat of rattle-snakes, mountain lions & Amid's moustache to see the incredible view from the top.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyqXyyIegiZz73IllHuNPAEeueIFRIeKoQ95bGP3XsdaICPTbKnScNNMYAyP_yN481DJy-CLGqPkYW7BEmU24ikJ8ZfNXr5e_1w_mppOhXNWPmgA0hbUX0GeiyEQwEwHvumbm/s400/GriffithPark.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHDzghuGPdjDjX-YE0rqfJa40syB1d_PVJTTauQ8VZLF7I_rvvvm1AeSCPRHIiRaPup3AocCO1XbBJmjdwxcaVgZYwRhL9EE8o6FEZk25bCuL3BqGoy8hT8d6VwRQKu4jHPVT/s400/LAX.jpg)
The 'Theme Building' restaurant at LAX is currently shrouded in scaffolding while undergoing renovation work. I flew back to the UK on the 7th December after 3 weeks of countless sights & experiences. I saw as much as possible & met more people in that time than in a normal year back home. America was good to us - I'll be back . . .