KOA campground Pamona

Saturday 4 June 2011

Starting to like this sleeping in business. Eight thirty this morning, sun pouring into the tent and the birds singing in the tree above us.  Unfortunately there was no smell of freshly brewed coffee…..seems room service is a bit slack today.

Took a walk (about 2 miles) into La Verne for some supplies. The local supermarket is called Stater Bros. We are really surprised at the prices here….most things are just so cheap. For example the alcohol….it is booze paradise. Kahlua 750ml only $13.99 and Vodka for $5.99. And beer ……………..well Mike is beside himself…….it is about half the price we pay in OZ. Even the Aussie and NZ wine is cheap.  It’s a long time since I saw a bottle of Oyster Bay Sav Blanc for under $10.00.

Expect to hear more from Mike about the booze later.....and some photos too which I couldn't resist taking in the shop!!

Great shopping area at La Verne. Worth the walk. We poked our noses in the front door of a shop called Khols thinking it may be a supermarket but it was a clothes shop. Mike dragged me out real quick before I could do any damage. I suppose he did me a favour….whatever I buy I have to carry.

Haven’t quite worked out the local currency yet.   We are still slow counting out the change when we are buying stuff. And they still have one cent pieces!!  And another thing that catches you out is the tax. They advertise one price but charge you extra when you pay. You have to remember to add on 10%. Seems the local kids learn this early. We saw a group of school kids, probably around 7 or 8 year olds at the Santa Monica Pier. Their teacher was reminding them to add on the tax and quizzed them on how much they should expect to pay on each dollar before she let them lose it the shop.

They are holding a SWAP MEET over the road from here tomorrow and there are huge numbers of car enthusiasts flooding into the area. We thought we may go for a look but after taking a peek over the fence today I may give it a miss. A ton of rusty old car parts doesn’t look like much fun to me.

We were planning on eating out at the Sports Bar over the road.......but that didn't quite work out the way we planned......more from Mike on that later.

Chris