lakes to loos Lakes to loos - from one extreme to the other - say no more!!! Authentic Mexican food AND chocolate milk. Sounds like a little bit of heaven to me. And sopapillas sound divine. Speaking of food, many years ago I used to make chocolate zucchini (or as we would say, courgette) bread. I must see if I can find the recipe so we can remember once again just how good it tastes. See, even thousands of miles away you provide vital service to the elderly! Good luck with the dissertation (Uncle Brian had been wondering about it but didn't want to ask outright, remembering what you had said about it when we saw you last!) - it will be really great to get it finished and then you can really concentrate on your training. Looking forward to the next one! Postcard arrived yesterday - beautiful!! Many thanks.
Cults and marathons No cults for me. Haven't come across any and they probably wouldn't want me anyway!! I'm too argumentative. I have just started training properly for the marathon. I had to take some time off because of a problem with my neck and then kept up the exercise with hiking and climbing. There's a gym at the hotel so I am running every day this week to kickstart things. The marathon is only 11 weeks away so I need to get on with it!!! If you let me know Kate's address, I can send a postcard or two directly to the girls?
Wonderful photos I have to say that Nik is responsible for many of the photos - she's a little more knowledgeable and experienced than me when it comes to photography and she has far more patience!! Still, I'm getting there. Ooh, a plane just landed. Who'd have thought Amarillo would be so exciting!
Thanks for the postcards Hello Jen. Glad to see you are still safe and well. I keep worrying about you being taken off to a cult or something!!!!! Silly me!
Thanks for the postcards. They're great. Kate's girls also love to see them and look at your blog to see where you've been and where you're headed next.
Are you still training for New York in November? Not doing toooooo much, I hope.
Thanking of you all the time.
Love you lots.
A. Shelagh xxx
Well hellloooo! Hey jenny
Sorry not to have been in contact for a while, but I had to comment on this latest blog. Of course, all the news about Santa Fe, Alburqurque and Texas is great, but more importantly, i too am a Home and Away fan. You'll be pleased to know however that you're not missing out on any episodes at the moment as they're taking a break for the summer, so channel 5 is helpfully running some Summer Bay classics in the interim (ie. the ones where people die, weddings get blown up, or Martha inexplicably takes up gratuitous pole-dancing).
I'm also delighted to hear that Seamus is accompanying you on your travels - his little bro will be happy to be reunited with him some day to hear all about his adventures!
Hope the dissertation-writing goes well and continue to take care of your lovely self
gemma xxx
Can't wait for the next installment! I'm enjoying this trip so much. Your descriptions are funny, insightful, and help me to see where you are/have been. The photos of the rock formations in the canyons are so beautiful that I could frame them - I do hope you don't lose your camera or over-write any of these pics. I may commission a few when you finally get back to England. Now, how many people are you going to meet who can say that they finished their dissertation in Amarillo! I think it is a great place to stop, only because of the song. You'll be able to tell everyone the 'way to Amarillo' now. And I, too, LOVE CHOCOLATE MILK!!!!! lots of love, keep safe, and finish that dissertation - you'll feel like a new woman when it is done, with a freedom you never felt before.
Grammatical error Apologies for the glaring grammatical error in the last paragraph of this blog. 'Countries' (as in one of the countries first national parks) should be spelt 'country's'. Not to be pedantic, but I wouldn't want people thinking that was my level of English!!
Cookie Bataillard Why would I think your mother catching a rattlesnake is a joke?! Can't say I enjoyed MOnument Valley very much. It was great for about two hours and then I just wanted to leave. Fortunately we were only there for about 14 hours and most of that was spent sleeping! We drove through Durango yesterday and saw the smoke from the train. Didn't stop though. Will leave it to my imagination.
travelogue supreme Yet more beautiful photography! The colours of the rock, especially Bryce Canyon, is stunning and your descriptive writing brings it all so to life. Bill Bryson, watch your laurels; there's big competition on the way! The thought of biscuits and gravy for breakfast is ever so slightly off-putting. Stick to the maple syrup - much tastier!
I've been there I've been to Four Corners. My mother coaught a rattlesnake there. No joke. We also went to Mesa Verde. I went horseriding in Canyon de Chelly. Isn't Monument Valley amazing? Edward forgot his passport there so we had to drive back from Mesa Verde one night to get it. Also, at Monument Valley, Robert and Gerrard ordered wine (like you not realising there was a ban on alcohol). It was advertised as Navajo wine but was simply very expensive gtrape juice. Are you going to Durango? You must - it's quite a sight.
Soviet memories Yes, I have seen the film. I think it was on a train to Yaroslavl?? Seamus is having a whale (a sheep??) of a time. Sat there in the boot window. No dancing as such. I think he is a little shy around Nicole. Give him time! I think I have heatstroke. Too many days with weather in the 90s or 100s really doesn't agree with me :-(
Like a Soviet comedy! Your navigation error reminds me of that Soviet comedy film (did you see it, it's called something like "Irony of Fate") where a guy gets drunk and by mistake takes his friend's flight to Leningrad instead of going home to Moscow. It turns out that in Leningrad there exists the same address as his in Moscow. Moreover, the apartment blocks are identical and even the key fits to the apartment door. The attractive female owner comes home and is surprised to find him passed out in her apartment but he has to stay there for Christmas/New Year as they get snowed in! (at least you didn't get to that point!!)
I'm pleased to see that Seamus is enjoying the trip too, and has such a good view of the scenery with his own personal window!! Has he attempted any more dancing yet, or is he still recovering from the last effort? Has he been clamouring for Madonna songs on Betty Boy's radio to show off his moves and impress the local wildlife?!
The scenery is magnificent, your photos of it are brilliant, and I'm impressed that they have such distinguished names for their lakes! Hope Betty Boy has got over his 'man cold' episode and is back to normal!!
Looking forward to the next instalment xx
The Bataillards Indeed, they always get up to strange things on their annual adventure. Mel mentioned you were or had been to Egypt. I was there over 20 years ago - it was interesting, but hot and dusty. Kind of like where I am at the moment!
Hey. Sounds like you're still loving the road-tripping life style - although why wouldn't you be.
The photos are amazing. Glacier national park looks absolutely stunning.
Will have to send you not so good photos of the temples of egypt. Although waiting for mel to get back from her family trip to south america to exchange crazy stories - it may be a close call (but things happening to the bataillards are always going to be slightly wierder than to me!)
Take care. x
Carpi, Capri So, it does pay to be able to map read! Pamela has been seconded to the glove compartment for almost two weeks now. Fingers crossed she knows what to do when the time comes...
Name confusion So there's a story in the London papers this week about a couple of swiss tourists who typed Carpi into their sat nav in Italy rather than Capri. They ended up 400 miles away from the island, in a horrible industrial town. I think you and Nik got off lightly!
Animal jams We had an animal jam when we were driving down from Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies last August. Everything ground to a complete halt because someone - way up front - thought they had spotted a bear so the whole mountain side had to stop and play spot the bear, but to no avail. Just some sore heads and plenty of expletives, but none from us, I assure you! Only you, sweets, could go for one little walk and come across TWO eponymous lakes - that smacks slightly of greed, some might say!! I'm sure it doesn't happen to many people on an average day in their lives.
Not being a fan of the smell of rotten eggs, it sounds as though I'm well and truly with you in regards to preference of Montana over Yellowstone. I'm pretty certain the the mountain air in Montana is vastly sweeter than that in Yellowstone. Hope Betty Boy is now fully recovered from her adventures with the various mechanics.
not as exciting as office life then!! Hi Jen, its great getting your blogs. and love the photographs. a National heritage reduced to stinky bubbly mud indeed!! here i am in the office at a stupidly early hour with bowl of muesli - am i jealous?!? sounds such a great trip, what a lovely thing to do. i did think of you the other day. I couldn't remember when your mum died, but knew it was July. Hope i don't upset you bringing it up, but wanted you to know i thought of you. lovely way to remember her. so, keep the blogs coming cos i do look forward to them and enjoy them
love fran
You are wonderful! Your accounts of this trip are so good, they should be put into a book, along with all the photos. And what a coincidence: lakes named Jenny and Holly! Your bear song is a treat and I'm sure I'll be singing it for a while too. How disappointing about Yellowstone National Park. I never knew it smelled like that. I'd heard about the long traffic queues but thought out there the air would be pure and sweet. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Keep well and keep safe! We'll pray for Bettyboy that he has no more problems. lots of love.
Stunning! Your pics are amazing. It's an absolutely stunning place, truly magical! Can't wait for pics of Yellowstone too - say hi to Yogi and BooBoo for me! xx
Cat Yes, Alex, that really is a cat on a mountain. People literally bring everything with them on holiday, including their pets. Walked past a nightclub today in Salt Lake City - it has a swimming pool in the back. It made me think of you!
Hi, it's me. Jenny...in the world. I was jennyineesti when I lived in Estonia, and jennyinslovakia when I lived in Slovakia. Eventually figured I should keep changing countries, but not my e-mail address......
This time I'm off to the States. I have the American passport, and when needed my American accent is pretty convincing. But really, I know very little about my country of birth. Figured it was time to find out a bit and catch up with friends and family along the way.
... full info
Auntie T
non-member comment
lakes to loos
Lakes to loos - from one extreme to the other - say no more!!! Authentic Mexican food AND chocolate milk. Sounds like a little bit of heaven to me. And sopapillas sound divine. Speaking of food, many years ago I used to make chocolate zucchini (or as we would say, courgette) bread. I must see if I can find the recipe so we can remember once again just how good it tastes. See, even thousands of miles away you provide vital service to the elderly! Good luck with the dissertation (Uncle Brian had been wondering about it but didn't want to ask outright, remembering what you had said about it when we saw you last!) - it will be really great to get it finished and then you can really concentrate on your training. Looking forward to the next one! Postcard arrived yesterday - beautiful!! Many thanks.