Hi Guys Returned to the UK but thought had better update the blog to include what we did in LA, or Hell A as would be a more appropriate description. Because we had given the car up in Santa Barbara we attempted LA, on public transport. This decision goes down in history as about as big a mistake as Chamberline's "Peace in our time" or the Americans in Vietnam. We were staying in San Pedro which was a pleasant enough suburb near Long Beach (yeh!). However, it was 20 miles from downtown, and 35 miles from Santa Monica or Hollywood. This [View Full Entry]

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Hi Guys Just been surfing, with seals. It was great, kind of a mixture of the Monkeys and Wildlife on One. There were seals and dolfins surfing in on the same waves as us, at one point we thought there was a shark surfing with us too. Fortunately it was a couple of dolphins, but man its quite scary when you see a fin on the horizon heading your way. Anyway we've managed to sort all our accomodation till the end of the trip. We're at a site called Lake Lopez now and then to Carpinteria and LA. See you then! [View Full Entry]

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Hi Guys In a funny place called San Luis Obispo, between San Fran and LA. A lot has happened suince we left Santa Cruz and nearly all of it could have been included in a Davide Lynch film, when the days are going that way you know you're onto a winner. Basically after waiting for 3 days for a car to take us to the Mojave we got one and set off for Barstow. On the way we stayed at a crappy motel run by an Indian woman from Leeds (obviously) and drove 600 miles through the desert. Cesco, not unreasonably [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone Fresh from surfing, well totally worn out from surfing would be more accurate. I can't raise my arms above my head and I could fall asleep right now (its 3.45pm). I finally managed to stand on the board, if only for a few seconds and the waves were much bigger today. Which is great fun but when you're trying to paddle back out and a wave catches you its like being hit with an enormous pillow that knocks you 10 feet back. Our surfing instructor from Monday, AJ, was there again. Looking like the most hung over man who [View Full Entry]

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Hi Guys Sorry we've been away for so long. We're in Santa Cruz, surfing! Escaped the craziness of San Fran for the quiet calm of Yosemity National Park. Great place (great burgers and giant bears called Smokey who attack Fords!) Basically did a 8 mile walk, sound OK but not quite so fun when you climb 4000 feet in the process and its 100 degrees. Still the views from Yosemity waterfall were amazing (and i got to have a swim in a mountain top stream (15 out of 10 on the refreshing scale). Now we're in Santa Cruz, our kind of [View Full Entry]

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Hi Guys In San Fran. Lovely city, and not as hot as Sacremento, hurray! The trip down from Sac to San Fran certainly showed the other side of the American dream. As you get further south it seems the only people who ride the greyhound are thoes who are either too poor or too crazy to own a car. And in America you have to be pretty poor and crazy not to. We had a chap in front of us in the que for tickets who decided that he really wanted to talk to us. It started easily enough, he had [View Full Entry]

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California. Thats what its all about people, at least it would be if it wasn't 46 degrees, in the shade. Stepping outside is like walking though a huge hairdryer (which to be fair is really good for drying your hair first thing in the morning) but pretty rubbish aside from that. The locals seem to avoid the problem by either, never getting out of their air conditioned houses, cars, malls or, for those too poor to have air con, drinking huge quantities of cheap larger and bashing each other senseless with oars on the American river. Apparently this is called a [View Full Entry]

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6am, yes they have that in America too. We had to get up super early to pick up our rental car and head out to Mt St Helens. The car in question was the stunningly mediocre Dodge Neon. Essentially it astounded us by not being totally useless, although when you put your foot down all that happened was that the engine sounded as if it were about to explode. The trip to St Helens is pretty straight forward, take I-5 north turn right and when the road finishes your pretty much there, that’s the kind of directions I like. Cesco took [View Full Entry]

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Hello again everyone Writing today from the beautiful Portland city library, a lovely 19th Century municipal library of high ceilings and neo classical facards. It also has the distinction of being the only place where I have been caught in a stampeed, for a public library! This may be to do with the free internet (thank you Portland founding fathers there). There was literally a tidal wave of smelly travellers and even smellier Hobos crashing through the gates at 10am, winner. Been doing even more walking yesterday. Round a city centre park that was almost the size of Cambridge and cont [View Full Entry]

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Hi Guys Just a quick one today I'm afraid, rather short on time. Just to let you all know that we're in the lovely Friends House in the University area of town (no more island life for us). Yesterday saw another mighty physical effort as we cycled all round Vashon Island on the bikes with no gears or breaks (love thoes downhills, Boo to thoes uphills). Plus we managed to miss a right turn (I don't know how we managed considering there are three right turns on the whole road!) and cycled an extra 5 miles of super hilly crountry. Ftrom [View Full Entry]

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