Blogs from United States, North America - page 6933

Quiet. The sun beats down on the bleachers. They are hot. People carry umbrellas, wear baseball hats, shimmer with shiny oil over their skin: anything to keep the sun off. Tiny birds flit around the tennis courts. They launch themselves from their corner mud and grass nests, inched between cement arches that shadow the walkway from the gym to the exercise center. They tumble about the air, like children with wings, fluttering over the swimming pool, across the dry grasses which sweep across small hillocks; they overlook the sparkling bay, a hint of the sun caught in their eyes as they flash through evergreens. A battle is taking place on the court below. A slash, and then a flurry of green. The people on the bleachers erupt like an explosion of energy. He (the winner) holds ... read more

It felt good to get back to the structured lifestyle of the USA after recharging our batteries in Belize. Although we didn't get out of the airport until gone midnight, we had our hire car ready and waiting for us there and we managed to find our hostel without too much trouble. My first worrying San Fran incident came very early in our stay. After checking in I had to park the car about half a mile from the hostel and walk through a dark, quiet residential estate to get back. On the walk back a large cat that looked pregnant walked out into the path about fifteen feet in front of me. I tried to get its attention ("here pussy pussy") only for it to stop dead and slowly turn towards me. It was then ... read more

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads Thoreau Links Great web site needs lots of computer power to enjoy don’t give up on it Morning begins with a wake-up call “Coffeeeee” at about 6 AM. By 6:30 the call is “Breakkkfffffast!”. Breakfast is prepared by the crew, and they are quite efficient. Breakfast is a hot meal -bacon, eggs, French toast, oatmeal, bagels, each day different. After breakfast we “break-up” camp, pack up clothes, tent, sleeping bags, mats, etc. Then it is last call for coffee and last call for the “pooper”. Off we go down the river 7:30ish. We are warned to dress with rain gear for early morning rapids. The rapids were called the “Roaring Twenties” it was just one after another. This i... read more

Well, I pretty much have everything ready for the trip, now I'm just waiting. Today, I booked a hostel in London for the first night. I'll put up a picture soon (so we can compare before and after Europe....)... read more

May 15th 2005 - I land in JFK Airport slightly wiery after a 7 hour flight, to enter a nightmare queue through customs and an even bigger nightmare taking the cab into New York. The cab driver was a rude and it was raining. Our first hostel is a dump of epic proportions, the Bowerys Whitehouse hostel in New York would have been classed as third class quarters on a sailing ship. But never mind I am in New York New York After months of hype, planning, counter-planning, checking, triple checking - my first hours in New York were always going to be disappointing. Even though our first day experiences were tainted there were still little things that had already astounded me. Firstly, as we flew into New York, unsurprisingly nowhere near Manhatten you start ... read more