Not sure what kind of nutcase plans a post pandemic road trip amidst a fuel crisis & general world chaos but when you get the travel itch all i can say in my defence is that it needed scratching. 

When it came to transport it was definitely a ‘Goldilocks’ decision as I determined we needed a van that was neither too big nor too small but one that was ‘just right’. Copious googling turned up the Kuga Hi-top from Travellers Autobarn that seemed at least on paper to meet all the requirements. The only snag was that all their depots were located on the West Coast & we wanted to catch up with people one of whom lived on the West Coast. 

Some of you may have picked up on the fact that route planning for me is actually part of the journey so it was that I set about mapping out the shape of the ‘trip of two halves’ as the first section would be with my daughter & the return with my husband. It would be quite a circular journey with a van pick up / drop off in Las Vegas.

On the evening we checked in to the Hotel Excalibur (think Disney like castle with a magical lift system that seemed to deliver you to different places each time) the most we managed was a quick walk to the Hello Kitty Cafe & the M&M shop before sinking into a comatose state. 

Next day we arrived at the depot to pick up the van which was a much longer and slower process than previously experienced but eventually Morrison was ours to drive away. The delay stemmed from the fact the van was undergoing ‘routine service’ which included the fitting of a complete set of new tyres. Sams Town is now possibly my favourite KOA site I’ve been there so many times it feels like a second home & its so undeniably convenient for wagon provisioning with a supermarket across the road. 

As neither of us had been to the ‘old downtown’ we headed for the Freemantle area to compare it to the more modern ‘Vegas strip’. On a whim we decided to go on the zip wire that whizzes yo over the heads of the hordes of people that are busy visiting the shops & bars below it. The Fremantle Experience at 40mph was for me a little on the tame side compared to Velocity II in Wales but it still was fun & afterwards we rounded the evening off with a beer in a local bar.

Next morning with the fridge full of white claw & salad plus a tyre warning light winking at us we set off the next day for Phoenix.