Blogs from North America - page 6773

We woke up in time for a sunset swim in the very salty ocean before having dinner at Bayside, a street mall with restaurants, stalls and live music.... read more

Having grown up watching the cartoon "Yogi Bear" in Jellystone. We'd wanted to visit "Yellowstone", the place that Jellystone was based on. The bears were the main attraction for us, with fingers crossed you paid a visit. "Watch out Yogi here we come!!!" There was so much to see in this park, wildlife, fantasic views and an abundance of geothermal features. We'd already seen a lot of thermal activity in New Zealand and we were well impressed. But we were absolutely gob smacked, as to how much there was to see there. (The world's first national park, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the bill to create Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, Yellowstone is a true American wilderness - 97 percent of the park's 3,400 square miles ... read more

We're in Wells now. There isn't any internet access in Barkerville, or cell phones either. Why would there be? The town is in the late 1800's. It's a total hoot. If Ashcroft was like going back to the '60's, Barkerville is really like going back into history. We were able to stay in a bed and breakfast right in the town. Apparently Barkerville is the only historic site in Canada were you can sleep on site. I'm so glad we did it as we felt really immersed in the period. Everyone working there dresses in costume and stays in character the whole time. Some of them even bring their kids along, and Simone and Adrienne spent quite a bit of time playing with girls dressing in "Little House on the Prairie" outfits. In the morning you ... read more

Jack’s Birthday We awoke gradually - surprisingly , Jack last. Once he was reminded that today was his birthday, we spent the next hour opening prezzies and cards and preparing for the day’s adventures. The first obstacle was breakfast: the option chosen was (of course) our final visit to Lori’s diner, where we all decided to go for the ‘tall stack’ (three) buttermilk pancakes that set us up for most of the day. Cable car For the first part of the day, Jack wanted to catch one of the traditional cable cars up and down Powell street to Fisherman’s Wharf (where we were to catch the Alcatraz ferry), so we wandered down to the end of the queue and waited there for around three quarters of an hour whilst cable cars passed to and fro, being ... read more

Twenty six days away from the big move and nothing seems to be any different. Its only natural for me to take each day as if I were never leaving, then quietly slip out the back door and step into Central America. I can't make any big speeches or last testaments and I only see fit to save the goodbyes for close loved ones. The truth is that many of my friends wont know where I am until I am there and they receive an invite to this blog. So right now I am just taking it all in, making sure I fully appreciate South Wales for what it is. Trying to spend time with a few people before I leave. Swimming in the pond as often as possible. At this point I am unsure of ... read more