USA Honeymoon

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.

We went to the world famous Sears, immortalised by comedians and artists, and Carol sat at the table and asked if it was possible to have:
1. An English Muffin with butter (they whip the butter here).
2. Fries.
3. Two eggs, sunny side up (fried but the yolk not cooked solid).
The waitress said that this was fine. I asked Carol if she just ordered chips and egg (staple of any English diet). She pointed out that she had ordered them all seperate, therefore it wasn't chips and egg. WHEN IT CAME, IT WASN'T CHIPS AND EGG, it was egg with cardboard. Oh well.

Carol, has been an ambassador for England on the cable cars, befriending Americans and Germans alike and leaving them laughing. She told one woman on the cable car that this was our honeymoon and the carriage erupted in cheers. I asked the woman who Carol was on honeymoon with...didn't go down well.

Yes, after many miles (roughly 600) in the car, we made it with Andrew screaming obscenities at American drivers who cut him up (OH YES, I HATE THAT!) into the airport to drop off the car, still in one piece (even though Andrew wanted to just hand in the car battery and see if they said anything). Then we went to Hotel Rex and back to Internet land! Yes, we can update you and will do so when we get back, on all our adventures from the dude who was stoked when we gave him a cornetto, to the sasquatch cupboard, to the pines of Bear Mountain, to the heat of Vegas and the cowboys in the canyon. We ate steak, we drank milkshakes, eaten terrible hotdogs and gone gaga for good burgers - saw Elvis in Paso Robles whilst sniffing egg (it was the sulphur from the spring), to the down at heel town of Primm (it really was Grim). In the deserts and vineyards of the west, along the winding and treacherous Highway 1, staying in cabins, running screaming from dutch beavers and going soft over otters in Monterey (Andrew ate too much clam chowder here) and drinking when in various places. Love you all.

Well USA is crap for net access.

Here we are in San Fran and have our first proper access at long last

I will try to put up some highlights of the trip and will fill in later - with pics

Well here we are in San Francisco staying at the lovely Hotel Rex with the free fast net access.



Getting here was a little busy on the roads but we are fine and have now dropped off the car and are on shanks pony. We are going off to discover San Francisco a little later on.

We have had such a good time in the USA - but we miss real bread, milk and butter. They WHIP the butter yuk!!!!

Highlights so far....

Las Vegas was mind boggling we stayed at what was the largest hotel in the world the MGM Grand - that was as big as mossley alone - if not bigger and if you think the strip is 6 miles long lined with hotels all a similar size. We went to see Cirque Du Soliel and a Comedy Show ate at buffets etc. Drank a lot of $1 frozen Margueritas.

Our trip to the Grand Canyon was amazing it is so huge and beautiful. We stayed at a cowboy ranch in a tipi and the cowboys cooked us steak and sang round the campfire. Our tipi was nearly gored in the night by the big bull that got out and ran amok - we thought it was high winds until it nearly chased me to the loo in the morning.

The drive to Primm across the desert was an eye opener - it was NOT isolated or what you would consider desert there was a gas station every half mile! Primm wasnt very nice but we only stayed there one night. We went to the mall ate a huge pizza and that was about it.

Paso Robles was lovely - very small and very green. We went to a farmers market. Ate at a 50's diner. Had some GREAT steak. Swam in the outdoor pool and we had a (very smelly) spa bath on our balcony which we used once - pooh rotten eggs.

On the way to Highway one we went to Randolph Hearsts Manison - Hearst Castle. I think he was a newspaper tycoon and a billionaire. Very beautiful with marvoulous views - we really enjoyed the tour. Next stop was Big Sur in a cabin in the redwoods - lovely and quiet. However also VERY cold and foggy. BIg Sur is very rugged and beautiful.

Monterey was next my favorite place. Huge room with a sea view and there was a festival on blessing the boats so all the sicilians were out in force. Andrew discovered that one bowl of clam chowder is more than enough for a lifetime. We went to the aqaurium but also saw otters, seals and a poipoise actually in the habour.

Santa Cruz - shut. We stayed outside in Felton. Went for a drive to find Loch Lomand (they have one too) after 2 hours driving up a hill and hairpin bends we gave up. We never found the Loch but stopped to have a picnic and were instantly attacked by wasps who wanted our picnic. So made a dash for the car.

This morning we set off at 5.30am for San Francisco and here we are.

Carol (Andrew is having a snooze upstairs)

Here we are in Vegas at the mgm grand - we got an upgrade to a Celebrity Suite!!!!

Having a great time - eating at buffets and doing some (small scale) gambling.

Off to a show tonight - Grand Canyon tomorrow.

Vegas is mad oh and vey VERY hot

Carol x