Craig9563

USA trip- postscript 27.9.12 Dear all, Below is a selection of photos from our trip (these are the same pics as those posted on Facebook last week). Click on one for a larger view, then scroll through. Craig and Ross.... read more

Episode 5 : San Francisco then homeward bound 14.9.12 Hello to all our family and friends. We are safe and well and coming to the end of this trip. We have spent the past four days in San Francisco. In SF we stayed in the Castro, where every self-respecting gay fellow should visit at least once in his life. Although its heyday at the epicenter of the 1960s and 70s sexual revolution has long since passed, it is still a hip and happening place, with lots of history (Harvey Milk, the centre of gay lib movement, etc.). Upon arriving, we walked about the neighborhood. Rainbow flags everywhere. Lots of guys walking hand in hand – no one batted an eyelid. Two girls pashing on a street corner – on one batted an eyelid. Someone with a ... read more

Episode 4: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. (10.9.12) America has, in the words of Bill Bryson, a giddying abundance of absolutely everything. We found their Safeway Supermarkets to be great one-stop shops, selling everything, from all manner of food (including “spray-on” cheese in a can), fishin’ and huntin’ needs, a pharmacy for all your drugs, always a toilet, and an extensive alcohol selection (beer and spirits regularly at half the price that we pay in Australia). However, overall we both agreed that much of the food here varies from unremarkable to downright ghastly (and often in huge helpings of ghastliness). I was well aware of this, but it was something of a shock to Ross. On a couple of occasions we were caught out and had no choice but to assault our throats with tasteless ... read more

Episode 3 : National Parks of the South West. (3.9.12) Hello to all our friends and family back home. It is now officially the end of Winter in Australia (well, officially anyway). We have spent the past several days visiting some of the most outstanding National Parks and natural landscapes in the USA. From Vegas we drove four hours East, to the Grand Canyon, in Arizona. It is very difficult for any words or photographs to adequately describe how magnificent this place is. The gaping canyon, the seemingly endless jagged peaks and deep valleys, and the different coloured rock layers are stupendous. The whole place is very well run, with a great visitors centre and small village providing everything you could need. (Fred; The best place to stay and eat is El Tovar – we stayed ... read more

Craig and Ross USA 2012 Episode 2 : Disneyland and Las Vegas 28/ 8/12) Hello to all. After Los Angeles, we picked up a hire car and successfully navigated the spaghetti plate of freeways South East to Anaheim, the location of the mother of all theme parks. I had been to Disneyland some 24 years ago and enjoyed it, but now, on the verge of 50, I wondered what I would think. Ross had never been previously, but it was a childhood dream of his. We both had a great time. Ross had smiles and laughter on his face the whole time. DL is more than just getting your picture taken with Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. We especially loved the 3D virtual roller coaster type rides, such as the Star Tours (Star Wars) ride, which ... read more

Craig and Ross in the USA 2012. Episode 1 (22.8.12) “This ain’t no disco. It ain’t no country club, either. This is LA….” So sang Sheryl Crow. We arrived in Los Angeles five days ago, the beginning of a trip to the Western parts of the USA. We have spent the past five days in LA. As expected for Southern California at this time of year, each day has been hot and sunny with not a cloud in sight. (Actually hotter than expected – about 32 degrees each day). LA is rather maligned for its traffic and pollution and superficial celebrity culture, but it offers much, much more and is an invigorating place to visit. It is a vast, dymanic and diverse metropolis, a patchwork of some 80 individualistic cities all knitted together by criss-crossing freeways. ... read more

Hi folks, Below are pictures from our recent NZ trip (click on individual image to enlarge) Craig... read more

January 8, 2012 by Craig I will never come back to the South Island of NZ again.......because we have just enjoyed two weeks of it in absolute sunny splendor, and I seriously doubt that luck would favour that again. While the South island basked in sunshine, the North was miserable and rainy the whole time that we were here. We did not go to the North island, thankfully, but apparently the place is drenched and most places had to cancel NYE events (hopefully will be sunny for you in Feb-March, Thomas, which is the best time to travel in North island). The last part of the trip involved travel from Nelson in the North around to Kaikoura back on the East coast and so down to Christchurch - where we started. While in Nelson, we drove ... read more

January 6, 2012 by Craig Hello to all and happy new year ! Wow, 2012 already. We are currently in the charming city of Nelson, in the North of the NZ South Island. Nelson is known for its sunny climate, attractive wooden houses and as the jumping off point for nearby Abel Tasman National Park. We arrived in Nelson having driven up the length of the West coast, a ruggedly beautiful part of NZ where temperate rainforest meets the beach meets glaciers - like on other place in NZ. We finally encountered some rain which put us off seeing Fox Glacier that arvo, but the next day was good and we did the walk to Franz Josef Glacier instead : a massive river of ice extending down the valley and flanked by lush forest. However, you ... read more