Blogs from Riverside, California, United States, North America

7th July, 2009. Banning, Los Angeles. Had to get up early this morning, a 69 mile drive to meet a fellow New Zealander (Grant, the guy with the funny car), he kindly made himself available as a postal address for us while we were over here - to enable Government agencies to send out Rego etc. He is over in Orange County so tried to avoid peak hour traffic (didn't work), the highway system is amazing over here and I was able to cover the 69 miles in about an hour and a quarter, Each side of the highway had up to seven lanes, and mostly I was getting along at 65 mph. Grant is off up to Denver for the weekend, he is racing his own car and will be doing two qualifiers and four ... read more

28th April, 2009 Left Pomona this am, travelled to the RV people to have a couple of things adjusted, needed RV untill 4pm so off to the shops we go Found a 99c Market, everything is 99c or less and I am talking about all foodstuffs as well as sundries. Then Popeyes for lunch, boy they will be killing KFC over here, special two pieces chk for 99c. Then onto Rancho Jurupa RV Park - nice. Rangers warned us of the Mountain Lions etc but said there were a lot of nice critters to be seen. Saw a skunk, they look great and no we didn't go near enough to smell, anyway I might have frightened it. Met a fisherman who was really friendly and thought Sam was great - decided he liked girls from NZ. ... read more

I initally intended to update this blog everyday (or so), but recent events - trying to write, learn and present a conference paper - have slowed progress. Now though, sitting in my hotel room, eating my ridiculously fatty 'Carls Jr' Bacon Burger whilst having a root beer and watching the baseball, I feel at peace, pleasantly numb, so it is time to catch you up on the last few days. April 1st, With the conference getting scarily close, I decided to sacrifice much of today to work on my paper, which was only partially successful. I did get some work done, but not enough to take the pressure off. As a break I decided to go for a run to the North of Santa Monica, opposite of the previous days journey. This run turned into a ... read more

Welcome to Riverside, America!Welcome to Riverside, America! I am here sitting in my apartment, frustrated with clogged ears full of water, and studying with minimal effort for finals on Monday. I feel like someone is pushing hot peanut butter into my head with q-tips. But, really it's just pool water and mounds of ear wax. You don't want to hear this crap, you say? Okay, player, make yourself useful and give me some tips for getting ready for my trip to Copenhagen, where I'll be studying abroad for 2 months, aight? After my two month stay, I'll also be hitting up several countries around Europe for two weeks by rail. Any ideas would be most appreciated. I hope my finals go well, and that my graduation on Saturday will be ultra-hot, so all who attend ... read more

My dad and I have been planning to go on a big trip for about a year. After much thought and planning, we decided to do Eastern Europe and Russia. This is a graduation present and kindof one last big thing we can do together before i turn 18. I am leaving in two days from LAX and the stress is building. I have never been on a trip this big before. i have gone for week trips to Mexico and Palm Springs, but i have never been overseas. this will be quite a new experience for me and i am planning to enjoy it to my fullest ability. ... read more