RTW adventures

Leaving behind all the wonders of the national parks, I'd organised with a friend that I had met in the hostel in Vancouver to meet up with her in Las Vegas... the only problem was that I was two days ahead of schedule. Not the end of the world... just didn't want to spend all my money hanging around the city of sin. Solution... I'd been told that just south of Flagstaff was a beautiful drive to a very picturesque town. What I failed to realise was that it meant coming down from the Colorado Plateau. Entering into Oak Creek Canyon, the road winds down over 5000 feet in just under 20 miles, but in doing so takes you through lovely gorges and serene groves of lush vegetation. The houses dotted along the sides seem to ... read more

Maths used to be one of my strongest subjects in school so you would think that I'd be fairly adept at judging distance and time equations... unfortunately it appears that I might have misjudged a little this time. Leaving Banff with a general idea (as per usual) of my travel plans, Leigh and I were on the highway heading east towards Calgary. I never actually realised how close Banff is to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, and before long they were only a reminder of the good times in the rearview mirror. What really surprised me was the fact that I expected them to slowly get smaller as we descended onto the plains of Alberta, but in reality you could just about draw a line where the mountains end and the plain begins... no ... read more

Most people expect getting into the US to be the most harrowing immigration experience on the planet. It immediately conjures images of small rooms and cavity searches. Let me tell you, after only getting 2 questions from the officer at LAX I thought that the Canadian border crossing would be a breeze... comrades under the Queen and all that. I have never been interrogated so much before entering a country in all my life!! From where I've been, to where I'm going and for how long, to "I notice you were in Fiji... How long were you there?". Of all the countries like Egypt, Russia and China that are in my passport and she picks Fiji? A country that has no guns and very, very few drugs? "Where are you flying out of?" I have no ... read more

Weaving Through Oregon Crossing the border into Oregon, there are 3 things that I immediately noticed... The coast line becomes even more rugged (if that is even possible).... The speed limit lowers... and The roadside signs are suddenly both more prolific and blatant. In California all the roadside signs seemed to almost want to have a conversation with you... Watch Out For Deer Crossing or Caution - Heavy Congestion Ahead Once you hit Oregon they prefer to just beat you over the head with their messages like... ELK Sometimes words are even just too much hassle so you just see a picture and hope you never actually encounter the monsters that your imagination conjours out of them. Continuing up the 101 slowly winds you along the coast past dense forests and around jagged headlands that... read more

What truly makes a holiday.... I've always lived by a motto when I travel... Tourists see sights.... Travellers experience culture Nothing upsets me more than seeing people pile off a bus to take photos of a landmark before jumping back on and heading to the next stop. How are they experiencing the country... the culture... the essence that makes a place hum and tick, when they never socialise with anyone other than their own group and never experience the local way of life. In my mind, this is the difference between a tourist and a traveller. Apon arriving in San Francisco and finding parking, hostel and all the mundane things, I met one of my roommates and hit it off. Ross, from Detroit, was a fellow traveller that's been working around the world for the last ... read more