The Beginning

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Iain

Our journey begins a week today and at present I am enjoying a week of doing not incredibly much at all whilst Ben slogs away at work for another five days. So far little is known about where we will be going in America. We only really have a rough route in our heads that begins in Washington D.C. at 11pm on Monday, ends in San Francisco 67 days later and takes a mis-shaped path through New York, Niagara, Toronto, Chicago, Las Vegas and L.A.

I guess we'll try and update this blog every week or so, and seeing as there are two of us, that shouldn't be too hard.

We shall also try our best to challenge David Blair for Travel Journalists of the Year. Tough call though - he sees ancient Chinese architecture and drinks Saki, we get McDonald's and Budweiser. Nonetheless, we shall try.

Ben

Hello boys and girls - Ben here. Thought I'd better add a few words to this post. I actually started a blog of my own before Iain told me he'd set this one up. I can't be bothered typing anything new, so here's an extract from that:

"My preparation for the trip has been surprisingly easy, and apart from a couple of minor things that need sorting out, I'm pretty much ready to go. My backpack has been bought, traveller's cheque card ordered and activated, and my new digital camera is ready to start capturing images of Empire State Buildings, Grand Canyons and Golden Gate Bridges. Iain and I have been saving money for the last three years and both have in excess of £2500 so hopefully this will be enough to cover transport, accommodation, food, activities, entry fees, etc.

The purpose of the trip? Well, the main reason is to experience a completely different culture. We've both lived in a damp little town in Scotland for most of our lives and have recently felt a massive urge to escape for a couple of months to somewhere bigger, hotter and more interesting. Also, when I'm an old man sitting in my rocking chair (or futuristic equivalent) and my grandchildren ask me if I've ever done anything interesting in my life, I can tell them all about my experiences in America."

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