USA Honeymoon

We're so excited and we just cant hide it

Yes we are going back and we must be mad

14 days in Las Vegas!!!!!



YIPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At last We've gotten around to it!!!!!

Here's our honey pics

Yes, here is a picture from Big Sur, around Deetjens, place of the Sasquatch and his cupboard.

If you squint you can see a Big Foot handgliding to the west of the picture with a shrew.

It is truly an awe inspiring place, some trees here are 3,000 years old and one that fell and sent up these trees (redwood's when they fall send up more trees from the roots) was over 21,000 years old. Mind boggling.

We lollygagged here for awhile and spent time in a cabin, in the woods, without a lock on the door dreaming of axe murderers and rabid racoons on killing sprees - seriously, check out Deetjens, good food, good people and a great place.

I am very proud of these (sad I know) cant you tell I really like the Jellyfish !!!!

We had a fab day at Monterey Aquarium - Andrew and I spent ages watching the otters play you could even see them underwater, also watching the jellyfish..

Montery Bay Aquarium world famous and you can really see why. If I lived in Monterey I would be there everyday!!!!

http://www.mbayaq.org/

Raspberry Champagne Cocktail

INGREDIENTS
3/4 tsp. Chambord (raspberry-flavored liqueur)
3/4 cup chilled Champagne

Dip glass in lemon juice swirl in bar sugar
Combine Chambord and Champagne in a flute
Drizzle more chambord on top
Add a sliver of lemon peel

Pure bliss , bliss in a glass ..... UNTIL

Andrew starts halluciinating and staring strangely.... following ONE - (he had one) yes one Hunter S Thompson cocktail - which was half ice.

He even chased me down the corridoor meowing like a cat - it is fairly safe to say we are barred for life from the Hotel Rex bar

Tomorrow, bright and early we fly home, Andrew has filled a coke bottle with barcardi and coke and plans to drink his way through US security, faintly smelling of cat pee and singing songs from the musicals. Favorites in his repotoire will be HELLO DOLLY, IT'S SPRINGTIME FOR..., COMPANY, CATS (or his revised version, CATS I THROW SHOES AT). So, Andrew will crash out of America singing MEMORIES to bemused Latino security guards, African-American porters and American Stewardesses (is there a hierarchy here?) and occasionally throwing in a MIAOWWW - see his cocktail adventure.

Carol is opting the new polaris style way of returning home, see picture, she hopes family and friends will join her five miles outside of Manchester with candles and soft furnishings, pillows, mattresses and beanie babies to cushion her descent. So, that she can meet Andrew at the airport just as he starts in on FINNIANS RAINBOW - he will be taking the role of Petula Clarke.

In a bid to be more cosmopolitan, Andrew drank Hunter S. Thompson in liquid form, this comprises of many shot in one pint glass and given the name of the great Gonzo writer. Andrew didn't like it, drank it fast and saw cats in the carpet before chasing Carol down the hallways of the hotel going MIAOWWW, MIAOWWW, MIAOWWW. Bad kitty.

When we were in Haight Ashbury, there were alot of Hippie inspired places run by kids who weren't even born in the 60s but who had managed to package the era and sell some grungy leather jacket that may or may not have been owned by one of the Grateful Dead for hundreds of dollars. Though Andrew did get a new leather jacket for $22 (yes, that's roughly 12UKP), he's chuffed as he ate pizza and drank Dr Pepper on a wheelie bin, whilst Goths - yes, that's Goths begged in the street. Haight Ashbury is now full of begging Goths, maybe the withdrawal from Bauhaus and the Sisters of Mercy was too much for them and when they couldn't face the top ten anymore they turned to a steady stream of Hippie music and somehow in a drunken depressing rampage (Andrew is an old Goth says this comprises of standing in dark clubs of if clubs aren't available public toilets doorways bemoaning how that we are all going to die anyway as the sun is going to fizzle out some day, before you jump on some dandelions - Andrew had a fruitful if barren teenage experience) ended up in Haight Ashbury with signs saying BLAH BLAH BLAH MONEY BLAH BLAH BOOZE BLAH with a 31 year old stood beside them eating pizza and drinking a soft drink shouting that Bauhaus still rock and how he's got the B52s and Tom Waits in his bag and that he's just found free books in the trash. Andrew brings a whole new dimension to the Brit abroad. So, after the Goths ran away, we went on hunt of hippies (GOD DAMN HIPPIES) but there were none, there was bird cawing somewhere in an aprtment above and then there were faux hippies (kids who weren't even an itch in someone's scrotum, not necessarily there father's) and hippies with fake boobs - how can you be free with silicone in you? Summer of Love meets Summer of Plastic Surgery or Summer of Sam.

Today we went to Haight - Ashbury famous or imfamous for a number of things...

Hippies
Manson
The Grateful Dead

And the fantastic Amoeba Record Shop.

Eventually on the second 71 bus we caught (first one was going in the wrong direction) we reached Haight St.

It was a bit like Manchester used to be like pre-bomb around the Corn Exchange area. What was sad was that now vintage clothes shops side onto Gap, Ben and Jerrys etc.

I had a great lunch of Buzz Potatos - not what it sounds like - thats Home Fries, with peppers, onions and olives topped with home made tomato salsa and sour cream - yum. Andrew had his staple Bagel with cream cheese.

We stopped by the Goodwill and Andrew picked up a vintage leather jacket - which is his new best friend. American sizes dont suit me humph!!!

Well we are back home tomorrow - our American Adventure is coming to a close. But our real adventure in married life is just beginning and wont that be a trip and a half!!!

Ps. Pics and a guess the caption competition will be coming up soon when we return so dont go away now. Plus more post event sonfused ramblings will be added in the coming weeks.

Today we went to Alcatraz - accompanied by one fly per person....

Flies!!! We have never seen so many!!!

We had a great day - the prison is much smaller however than how it appears in films. We saw the cells of Al Capone and the famous Bird Man who didnt actually have his birds with him during his spell.

The views from the island were fabulous however on the return journey there was a boat missing because of a medical emergancy. So accompanied by the flies we spent 45 minutes in the baking sun waiting for the return boat.

When we finally got back to dry land - we were mighty glad to be land lubbers once again leaving the winged creatures aboard (shudder)

C

Today we went in search of the legacy of Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation and went to North Beach. We visited City Lights Bookstore and also took a trip to Vesuvio Bar which is right next door.

Bit embarrassing really we only had a coke and an orange and cranberry juice - not really in the Beatnik drinking tradition but oh well.... it was refreshing at least.

Sadly we also caught the bus to Pier 39 which is a nightmare tourist trap so we headed back via cable car for fries and cherry coke at Louis Diner.