Residence Inn By Marriott Silicon Valley-Sunnyvale Ii

... in England before leaving but loved that they were popular over here. Determined that this was the year of their take-off across the pond.<br>-My Museum. NO, MY Museum being built next door, date TBA.<br>-Sprinting up hills being me. Just had to run. (Randi you know)<br>-"Burning Man's got Lola's name written all over it" -Matt, haha, yes it does.<br>-"Sounds like Katie Towers doesn't do halves."<br>-What the Brits think of America: "I want a corndog and Montell Williams is good."....WHAT?

... waarmee ze 11 miljoen euro subsidies erdoor jagen, e-government - my ass, grmbl... Maar gratis parkeren omdat de computer stuk was!') Ik heb me op het verbijsterend goede OV netwerk hier in the valley gestort en ben naar de Great Mall in Milpitas geweest. Ik heb nu al genoeg transacties op mijn Rabocard staan om de gratis WK-usb-gadget te krijgen, geloof ik. Gisteren ook even alle ...

... sunshine into consideration, it´s a pretty amazing deal. Aside from the medicine fun has been had in great amounts. My weekends of exercise haven´t stopped with a 50 mile cycle to the sea and back with some fantastic views on highway one. I chose an absolutely gruelling hill for the way home also, which was harsh. I also went to visit the hippies in Berkeley that weekend which was much fun, went to a brewery which was a lot of fun, as beer often is. This last weekend I ...

... full of bone-jarring, teeth-knocking rides. It looks old and well-worn, lacking any of the gloss of the higher profile Californian theme parks. The entertainment it serves up belongs to an older, simpler tradition, but families and friends descend on it in droves none the less. The spirit of earnestness, of being able to suspend cynicism and throw yourself into the moment, is well and truly alive here. It is an easy place to spend time, an easier place to lose ...

... an almond and a sesame cookie and a fortune cookie, for a mere $2.95. While the tea itself (I had Jasmine) was yummy, it was really serene to just sit there in the quiet (until a teenage couple sat beside me**), and listen to the streams and wind blowing through the leaves, and think "I'm in the middle of San Francisco, and this is at this very moment, the most serene place on the earth to me." Then, aforementioned ...

And we're off. Off for a few months to explore the world for future trips! I met up with Steve Chu at the airport and the flight took about 17 hours with a stopover in Taipei for a plane refueling... I think i'm ready, but we'll see if I brought enough supplies, money, and common sense with me to last me for 3 months.

... to cut across the traffic. It's good fun, especially when you get a nutter than cuts across 4 lanes of traffic, without indication and then zips back again in a desperate attempt to try and get 3 cars further up the traffic jam. We also played guess the tune on the MP3 player on this trip, except it was me trying to give clues to the names of the bands and tracks and quite frankly, I'm appalling at it. One thing that does make me chuckle about American roads, is that the signs on them ...

... we know there are risks and we plan to be very cautious. There are plenty of fun, safe places in South America. We do not need to visit Hugo Chavez. ----------------------- Leslie and Charlie Dicke threw a delightful going away party for us on Thursday. It was great to see everyone, quaff a final cocktail on US soil and say our (temporary) goodbyes. We look forward to seeing everyone on the way back to the bay area in August and labor Day weekend. Next stop, Santiago.

... tram route to the Tram Museum - up and down and up and down. The trams in San Francisco are the world's only cable pulled trams in the world. The museum shows everything from the installation history to what happens now if a cable starts to break! You see the wheels that pull the cables under the street and see the cables as they fly round the wheels (the trams simply grip the cable to move!). We then wandered into Chinatown and it is like no other Chinatown we have ever seen...so ...