After a long, hot and dusty drive from Long Beach, we eventually reach Yucca Valley. Nestled in the centre of a spectacular mountain range the temperature quickly soared to 99F! There are Joshua Trees and weird rock formations everywhere which Google Maps insisted we visited when the insane bitch took us down a dirt track into the wilderness for 40 minutes. Eventually we arrived at the hotel and for an evening meal we visited the Kimi Bar and Grill for some authentic Japanese cuisine where we met our waitress the beautiful Yumiko. Now, we all know that good wine in a Californian restaurant is going to be slightly less expensive than our UK equivalent and, having ordered a $19.99 bottle of Chardonnay to accompany our Soya Beans starter and Teriyaki main course, I was still startled at the size of bottle. I don’t know if this is the standard measure in the States but this was a 1.5 Litre bottle, twice the size of a UK bottle and not bad for about £16.00!! After that the evening was a bit of a blur although I remember chewing on the Soya beans for ages and having to discreetly spit out the pods as they were tough and stringy until Yumiko explained that you pop open the pods and just eat the beans inside, Doh!! We did order dumplings that never arrived and Yumiko apologised for giving us the wrong size bottle. Apology accepted hic! So back to the hotel pool for a couple of cold beers and examine the vinyl records that I bought from a secondhand shop earlier in the day. Awesome 😁😁😁