The journey along the most famous road in the world started in earnest as we left Amarillo behind. We drove north east with Oklahoma City our planned destination and we really didn't know what to expect on the way. Route 66 isn't a major highway or thoroughfare these days. In some places it joined the main interstate and in others it was a single lane virtual dirt track. For this reason we didn't know where we would be passing through and in what state of repair the motels and businesses would be that we would need to use on our route. The first "main" town we hit was Mclean. I say "main" as it was what we describe as a village in the UK and seemed to be pretty much a ghost town. We needed lunch ... read more

After the exhilirating experience of the Grand Canyon, Rachel and I set off in the trusty silver car across the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservation in Northern Arizona. The scenery and landscape was as dramatic as we have seen and seemed a continuation of the beautiful canyon we had just left. The reservations are desert plateaus with large mountains and buttes rising up on either side of the endless single lane highway we were driving along. After a couple of hours, we got near to the first city (where we were planning to spend the night) which was called Tuba City. We were following the Sat Nav (which we then realised was set to shortest route and not quickest route) which decided to take us along, what I can only describe as a dirt track! It ... read more

After the glitz, glamour and bright lights of Las Vegas, it was time for us to begin the next leg of our journey. The epic road trip across the southern United States. On Tuesday morning we picked up our car from the airport. After much "negotiation" with the lady behind the counter, we managed to rent the Chevrolet Cobalt that we thought we had booked and paid for, instead of the little Toyota Yaris they thought we had booked an paid for! So we got a midsize car for the price of a compact. Bargain! Another lesson learnt... its better to book direct with a company than through an agent. After packing up and checking out of the Venetian we headed to Walmart for the first major mission of our road trip... stocking up! We spent ... read more

Just a quick update for today, our last before we fly to Las Vegas tomorrow afternoon. We had a lovely day walking around the university in Princeton, visiting historical Morrisville and fighting the Manhattan traffic to get to our hotel in Queens which is near JFK Airport for tomorrow's flight. Princeton was a really picturesque town with a beautiful university campus. It helped that the sun was shining and at around 26 degrees, it wasn't too hot to walk around and take it slowly. Rachel says she wishes she had come to Princeton University instead of Aberystwyth (I'm not sure why!!!) as she loved the architecture and the tranquility of the place. We drove for an hour to Morrisville, New Jersey which was the place where George Washington lived during the winter in a couple of ... read more

On Friday afternoon we set off from the madness that was Manhattan in our rented compact car (an ugly Kia thing that was far from compact) and struggled for an our just to get off the island. The journey slowly got better as we drove south through New Jersey, skirted round Baltimore in Maryland and through the countyside into Washington DC. I had ingeniously put 18th Street South East in the Sat Nav rather than 18th Street North West and we ended up in what I can only describe as "the ghetto", not the most favourable place for two white kids to be at 9 O'clock on a Friday night!! Rachel took over the driving and successfully guided us to the safety of the Washington International Students Centre. After the luxury of the Hyatt in Toronto, ... read more