I drove the PT Cruiser into Los Angeles - along some of the maddest roads I have ever been on. The highways stretch out over 6 lanes each side, people overtake on all sides and the signs are crap, one thing the UK does a lot better than the US is road signs. In the US signs just indicate the very next exit with maybe 1/2 a mile notice. Matt managed to revert to UK driving - on the left - at a truck stop - which could have been very nasty, and I nearly side swiped a cop car on a weird intersection - we got away with both, we are very lucky guys. We dropped the bike off and checked into a USA International hostel - very nice facilities, ensuite dorms - only 4 ... read more

I've booked up a car with two new friends to travel south. Matt, Steve and I will be driving to Yosemite today to camp in the wilderness. I spent lots of time yesterday reading about bears. To trek in the national parks you need a bear proof container - and in it goes everything that vaguely resembles food, any toiletries and even deoderant. The containers are made of thick plastic and open with the aid of a quarter. The bears don't even bother trying to open these containers, presumably because they don't have any change. We have the car for a week and hope also to see the grand canyon and death valley - so I get to achieve my ambition of visiting desert. I'll be sorry to leave the hostel which I have met so ... read more

San Francisco is the bollocks. It's frantastico - sorry thats crap... Anyway - I've booked a trip to Alcatraz for tomorrow - had clam chowder and a had a generally very nice day. The highlight of the day was the 52nd floor of the Bank of America - $5 for a beer in the restaurant on the top floor and you get to sit at the top of this very cool building and just look down - and around at the amazing SF vistas. The music they play sucks though. I've also visited the Palace of Fine arts - a reconstructed psuedo Greek temple structure built for a 1905 exhibition. The photos (when added) show how beautiful it is. After wandering around the Palace for a bit I found what I thought would be the Fine ... read more

I still haven't left. But I'm having a great time in Norfolk - bar the many injections. I've decided to visit South America on my travels. It sounds fantastic - cheap, and breath-taking. The downside is that I have to be injected against just about everything - I need a yellow fever certificate just to get in, rabis, hepatitus B, TB, tetanus, polio etc etc are all recommended - I'm mid way through the course of injections. Hey at least I'll be around for the world cup. I've been visiting friends around Norfolk - some that I haven't seen for 5 years or more, wierd the way with some people you can just pick up right where you left off - just with more stuff to talk about. Here are some photo's of Norfolk - I ... read more

After spending a few days in Milton Keynes I'm started to get a feel for the place. It's large - everything has been given a great deal of space. I arrived at Milton Keynes central rail station and walked the mile up to the city centre to explore. The city centre is basically a series of huge intercontected malls and car parks. The city has been described as a series of endless roundabouts - from my point of view it was a series of endless underpasses. To be honest walking around Milton Keynes was no where near as difficult as I had expected, the walkways and cycle paths are combined and it seems possible to get to any other point in the city without having to cross (or cycle on) one of the many dual carriage ... read more