25th & 26th March 2010 We had had to postpone our planned trip to Cu Chi Tunnels yesterday because it was Ed’s turn to be confined to docks. Our diet has completely changed since being in Asia and I think our stomachs are taking their time to adapt, which can be tiresome at times. However, having rebooked our trip, we were off to Cu Chi bright and early on the Sinh Tourist bus. ...
12th November 2009 It’s very difficult to spot a Kiwi (New Zealand’s national bird) in the wild. Not only are they nocturnal and shy with a wicked sense of hearing and smell, but they are also severely endangered. The population is currently declining so rapidly it is halving in size every ten years and the Kiwi could be close to extinction by 2015. This flightless bird survived millions of years and developed defenses against other birds that preyed on them. However, these defenses were useless against man, who in the past hunted Kiwis, and the preditors he introduced such as stoats, rats, cats, dogs and possums which tarket kiwi and their eggs while wild pigs dig up their burrows. ...
17th October 2009 We were only driving 20 miles south today to our final motel before flying out on Sunday, but we decided to take the scenic route. We headed back to our old friend the Pacific Coast Highway and drove through Malibu with its roadside beaches and beachfront homes. Then we saw a pier with a ferris wheel on it heralding our arrival in Santa Monica. We parked up for a few hours to wander along the pier thronged with people enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. There were also plenty of people on the beach and in the water. Before returning to the car, we walked along the promenade above the beach. ...
14th October 2009 A brighter morning today, and one of the first days recently where it has been warm enough to be out in just a t-shirt. Since we couldn’t explore Monterey Bay yesterday when we arrived, we headed down to the wharf this morning to at least get a look at where we were staying. On the one side of the wharf a lovely long stretch of sand and on the other a marina packed with boats. It seems like a really nice town. ...
12th October 2009 Twin Peaks was our first destination today having had recommendations from several people about the views over the city. We certainly weren’t disapointed, from here we were able to see the whole of San Francisco Bay from the Golden Gate right round to the Bay Bridge. After taking in the views we headed off to Golden Gate Park which was the first city park of its kind in the USA, much bigger than Central Park in New York. We made a few stops in the park which the 49 mile drive passes through. ...
13th October 2009 Watching the weather last night we were warned that the west coast was in for a soaking as a result of the tail end of tropical typhoon Melor which hit Japan a few weeks ago. We hadn’t quite appreciated how much rain and wind this meant we would get. When we opened the door this morning, this is what we saw!! ...
29th & 30th September 2009 Simply the only word to describe the scenary of Yosemite National Park. Yesterday we had travelled from Mammouth Lakes via Mono Lake and the Tioga Pass to Yosemite National Park. It was also the first day that we hadn’t had wall to wall sunshine, and the first day we had to dig our jumpers out of the bag (typically at the bottom!). ...
27th & 28th September 2009 Yesterday we drove from Death Valley up to Mammouth Lakes through some stunning scenary. Various mountain ranges formed many millions of years ago through volcanic activity and shaped by subsequent ice ages. We arrived at our lodge in Mammouth Lakes, basic, but clean and with its own cooking facilities (well a microwave, fridge and sink) but enough to cook for ourselves for a few nights and have some fruit and yoghurt for breakfast. ...
September 16th 2009 On Wednesday we headed north of downtown Chicago up to Lincoln Park, a really nice leafy suburb with a university. We sat by the lily pond in the park and enjoyed our picnic lunch. Then we headed into the park zoo which is free. We didn’t stay in the zoo for long, it was like something out of the dark ages. Having visited places like Marwell where the animals have large areas to use this was really sad because all the big cats we saw just had small cages and were all pacing back and forth. It was too upsetting to stay so we left having only seen the cats. ...
September 18th 2009 Our last day in Chicago and we decided to take one of the free tours of Millenium Park, since we had already spent so much time there we thought it would be good to learn some more about it. Some of the highlights were ‘Cloud Gate’ or the ‘Bean’ as the locals refer to it which is the first outdoor public installation in the USA by the British artist, Anesh Kapoor. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city’s famous skyline and the clouds above. ...
September 17th 2009 Up early this morning to visit the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere. We kicked off our visit with a tour of the Harry Potter exhibition featuring many of the props from the films. I even got to try the sorting hat on and got sorted into Ravenclaw (for the bright people!) I really enjoyed, the exhibition was really well laid out and staged with various ‘wizards’ popping up from time to time to guide you through and excerpts from the films showing amoung the props. A thoroughly enjoyable hour. ...
September 15th 2009 The hostel in Chicago is much bigger and much less friendly than our little home in Toronto, and doesn’t offer the cooking facilities we were hoping for, but it’s clean which is the main thing. It also provides free breakfast which although basic is enough to get you started. The Millenium Park in Chicago is an area dedicated to art, music, architecture and landscape design. There are free tours of the park available which we plan to take later in the week. They also hold free lunchtime concerts every day all through the summer until the end of September. ...
September 3rd 2009 Well, that’s it, we’re all packed up and in a hotel in Heathrow ready for the off tomorrow morning. We’ve had a lovely couple of days with Dad, Fay and Sara (with a small amount of wine consumed!) and before that a nice couple of weeks with Gramps in Berkshire which included a day out with Nanny in Milton Keynes. We had a lovely BBQ with the usual suspects which was a really lovely evening filled with fun and laughter and loads of good wishes to take with us round the world. We also had a fantastic cream tea, hand cooked by Yvonne ‘Nigella’ Riches which will have to see us through for the next twelve months. ...