IllegalCombatAnt

Santa Cruz, and the 'Tour of California' continues. Not ours, I hasten to add, but the AMGEN 'Tour of California'. Through a contact we had blagged some passes for the finish line hospitality tent. Most of the other occupants were a little surprised to find a pair of Brits in there, even moreso when they found out that we don't have an abiding passion for cycle racing. I did have a bit of interest though, mainly because it was the return of Lance Armstrong. Even if you know nothing about cycle racing you've gotta know about Lance, dontcha? Apparently there's a Brit rider involved, Mark Cavendish. I know nothing about him (other than descriptions I've seen - 'brash, cocky, arrogant') but he's won a couple of stages and is getting some good press. Go Mark!! I ... read more

So enjoyed Montana de Oro State Park yesterday that we went back to explore some more today. The name comes from the golden flowers that carpet the place in spring. There's a photo of a few of the early arrivals. Did a three hour hike along the Bluff Trail that follows the coast line (did we mention that we like to be close to the sea?). In that whole time we saw maybe a dozen people, it was as good as having the place to ourselves. It was cold and windy but the sun was shining, the sky was blue and the surf was up. Just glorious. Masses of wildlife to be seen, birds of prey (there are lots of peregrine falcons round here, but I can't identify what we saw. Some of them were really ... read more

Here we are then in our room in an authentic Tuscany-themed villa in an authentic Tuscany-style village setting ............ in the middle of the desert. And it's pouring with rain!!!! As in pouring. Unheard of. It notices too, Vegas drivers aren't very good in the wet, there were an enormous number of accidents. Hey guys it's not like NASCAR, this is real life, when it rains the show still goes on. Is it cruel of me to say that I find Vegas bizarre in the extreme? Tacky? Sleazy? Maybe I'm missing the point of it all, but everything is just so obviously fake. I guess if you don't have a passport (as I'm assured most US citizens don't) it's possible to believe that you actually are in Paris, France or Luxor, Egypt or Rome, Italy or ... read more

It's been quite a laid back experience here at Napili Bay. Much laying around on the beach. In between times we did manage to do a few things. Went out whale-watching, took a snorkeling trip and went to see Ozomatli at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. The whale watch was excellent, at this time of year it would be quite hard for it not to be, the waters are absolutely heaving with Humpbacks that have come here to attend to all the necessities of life........... except eat. The females come here to give birth to their calves and the males come, well, because the females are here. While the females are busy nursing their calves and trying to give them a decent start in life, competitive pods of males swarm around trying to convince a ... read more

"As this flight terminates in the US, regulations demand that passengers do not congregate, particularly around the lavatories" was the announcement. Sniggering, was the reaction. "It is important that you remain in your allocated seat for the duration of the flight" was the second announcement. "Fuck that" was the reaction from everyone, at least at our (back) end of the plane. Never again will I badmouth JetStar. The plane was more empty than full, and a comfortable nights flight beckoned. As pushback got nearer there were nervous glances up the aisles from everyone, all hoping that the gaps wouldn't be filled. They weren't. Conversations were struck up between adjacent passengers and tacit agreement was reached about who would relocate where. It worked like a dream, a chance for sleep was grabbed by all, and not a ... read more