Chateau Motel Downey

... Burlington tradition, with Northern Arizona State nearby) and did some errands.  Then on towards Sedona (south of Flagstaff) - through Oak Canyon approaching Sedona - rocky gorge, along a stream - Sedona is another red rock area - great buttes and views around the town, sort of set among all the red rock.  Kind of touristy, but nice touristy.  We continued on to a really pretty campground in Cottonwood - overlooking the lights of the valley, up on a bit of a ridge ...

... otherwise they wont let you on". Lady? Most of the people in your country weigh 30kg too much and they are still allowed on the plane!!!!!! But I was beyond tired so without complaining made my way outside to another terminal to find the British Airways section in the hopes of them giving me my luggage number so I would actually have my stuff when I got home! The lady here was really nice (thank goodness!) and then on my way back to QANTAS I stopped and tried to work out what to do ...

... then 1,000 miles out. Whenever I crossed an unfamiliar placename -- Badlands National Park, Toiyabe National Forest, or even Scottsbluff, NE -- I pulled out the Encyclopedia. What's the landscape like? The climate? The wildlife? As I learned, the pictures in my head became clearer. Whenever I could, I took the chance to make the pictures real. My family, I'm fortunate to say, took frequent road trips. East coast, west coast -- they even let me plan ...

... celebrities' as well one of those funny silver men you see in touristy places, this time on the esculator of the station, blending in easily with the crowds. Only in Hollywood. I'm now having a chilled evening as I have three nights out in LA coming up so I'm going to be knackered by next week. Tomorrow I'm going to a restaurant in Beverley Hills with Paul, Amanda and some friends - apparently they specialise in garlic so I'd better stock up on mints ...

... zonder meer en ook hier weer niet goedkoop. Doordat we zo belachelijk lang onderweg geweest zijn van Venice naar downtown, hebben we de laatste bus gemist want die gaat al om 21u. Dus moeten we eerst met de metro, dan met de bus en dan te voet. We vertrekken in het centrum om 21u30 en komen pas tegen 23u30 in ons hotel bij de luchthaven. Frustrerend! We hebben het gevoel dat we vandaag alleen maar op de bus gezeten hebben. Onze dagpas van 5$ is zijn geld wel waard geweest ...

... reasonable succesful days surfing at Hermosa Beach nr. LA, accompanied by drunken beach-based 4th July celebrations. However the second day of surfing USA ended in the Malibu Emergency room (a rather modest lookin shack with an interesting sideline in botox for tose Hollywood starlets requiring some discretion), 10 stitches, a lacerated tendon in my left ring finger (possible upside; makes it unlikely for me to be getting married uany ...

... and opted to take Highway 3. But the signage foiled us and we mistakenly took the 3 NORTH. Of course, the result was a discovery worth revisiting. The Ruta de Vinicola is aptly named for it's plethora of vineyards! The lush greenery doted with olive groves, vineyards, and clover fields made us wonder if we had accidentally crossed back into California. We discovered ...

... I made a note to myself not to sit in there the next day. The game was pretty dull compared to the other ones, but the guys won and that was the main thing. After the game we went back to the hotel and collected my stuff and then headed over to the other part of LA where we were staying. It made a change staying in a US home rather than a hotel. Although it was about the size of a small hotel. Nice.

... sensation of flight. With more than 3,602 feet of blazing red, orange and yellow twisted steel track barely visible intertwined through the mountainside, TATSU'S intense three-and-a-half minute flight faces a dramatic 263-foot change in elevation from its highest peak to inches off the ground and spans four separate areas of the Park" -so just the thing for a hangover! We also did various other rides including the  Roaring Rapids which was a man made white water thing where all 4 of ...

... The Avianca plane was too full so we had to take Iberia to Bogotá and then Avianca there on in. It was a nonstop flight from Bogotá to Los Angeles. We had dinner on the plane. Los Angeles was a nice landing. We got to see some of the lights. But when we got in we couldn't see a single star. We took a very short time getting through customs. We took a taxi home then walked down to see Grandpa then went to bed. And that was how it was.