This morning woke and had breakfst whilst more closely admiring the apartment, and in particular the geniuine Picasso and Matisse on the wall. We then headed into town. First stop was the Tattered Cover bookshop, where we pend a while sniggering at the witchcraft/horoscope/spirituality section. A short free bus trip along 16th St mall took us to the Colorado State Capitol Building and surrounding plaza. A very kind tour guide asked if we would need a translator, which was thoughtful, I guess... We also visited Denver Public Library, one of the (if not the) largest free libraries in the USA. On the top floor we located the table used in 1997 G8 summit, still with place names for 'William Clinton' etc. A giant thunderstorm hit during the afternoon so we stayed indoors, and then headed out ... read more

I think the photos probably do today more justice than any writing could, so I'll keep it short. We woke early and drove into the national park, parking near Bear Lake (at over 9,400ft). We then trekked up past the Loch in the direction of Andrew's Glacier, although we couldn't quite reach the end of the trail since (a) I was wearing trainers I had bought in Sports Direct for £19, which didn't really have any grip in the soft snow (b) hikers coming down described the top of the trail as 'terrifying', as the snow was beginning to melt especially where the path crossed over the river, and big chunks were falling off. All very Narnian/Pocohantas. We stopped for a quick picnic of bagels (at about 10,000ft, so pretty high) and then headed down, taking ... read more

Today I got up early with Ellen and Steve to go to a regatta at Lake Merritt - the South West Regional Masters Champtionships. SO many shiny boats - I was desperate to race but instead had to help launch them and bring them in. Small world - I met a woman who learnt to row at Wolfson and then trialled OUWBC. We had a good chat about how she was still rowing however many years later (I didn't press for dates). I then took myself off on a walk around the lake and visited the Cathedral of Christ the Light on the north shore. This was designed using Autodesk software and is a really amazing piece of architecture, although I accidently wandered in during a Catholic service in Vietnamese, which confused me a little bit. ... read more

This morning we woke at 6am to go rowing - yay :) After a pretty long drive we reached the Open Water Rowing Club, Sausalito. In a huge boat bay were tens of brand new sculls, specially designed by a company acros the bay for stability on the open water. I was give a novice shell, not disimilar to a bath tub with a rigger each side, and pushed off to join in the early morning 'clinic'. As well as amazing views of the bay and mountains in the background, I also saw various bay seals and a cormorant. And one of the club members rows for Durham Univeristy! After some time slobbing at home we went off to meet Mike Fennelly, boatman to 'Cal' (UC Berkeley) since 1981. Fresh back from HRR, we had lots ... read more

I reached my first hosts' house last night with minimal trouble (although I did get a little lost at the BART train station, so they had to announce my name over the tannoy - how embarassing). They live in the Presidio compound, an old army base set up in 1776. It's like the Sims: rows of perfect houses with American flags, beautiful woods with trails and views over the bay and Golden Gate Bridge/ Alcatraz (see photos). This morning I caught the free shuttle bus into downtown SF to explore. Made a few basic tourist errors initially and got a bit freaked out by the way pedestrian crossings count down the number of seconds until you get squashed, which isn't great for those with a nervous disposition. Unfortunately ferry rides to Alcatraz are booked up for ... read more