Acqua Hotel - Mill Valley (Sausalito)

Friday was the holiday in the US for the July 4 weekend. We were warned before hand not to go to Muir Woods on a weekend. It will be packed. Unfortunately we did not heed the warning. Luke & I jumped into the rental car and headed out of the city. But not before we decided to do something really touristy - we drove down what can be called the most twisted street in North America: Lombard Street. After an emergency Starbucks stop we drove up to the top of Lombard ...

It poured with rain on Wednesday so we had a lazy morning then drove over to a huge Target store in Novano to buy a "3 in1 Multi-Use Turkey Fryer" which was on special and a snip at $39.99. Andy took the dogs through the park while we did a Safeway shop then back home for dinner of barbequed salmon steaks. Andy got up early for a bike ride while the rest of us had a lie-in on Thanksgiving morning before getting the dogs cranked up ...

... struggling to understand......and still don't!! The next morning we were up early to get down to the wharf to catch a boat to Alcatraz. The weather was lovely and sunny and the boat ride across to the rock took about 15 minutes. We were quite surprised that the prison was so close to the mainland, I reckon I could have swum it if it hadn't been for the sharks, freezing cold water and strong currents. When we arrived we had the obvious ...

The trouble with travelling is that you often have to catch flights at inconvenient times. We were up before 4am and drove off from Shorewalk over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to Tampa airport. It is not even Thanksgiving yet and already all the streets are bedecked with Christmas Lights. Isn't it wonderful how quickly you can get through airport security at five in the ...

... always wanted to eat dinner at one of the bayside restaurants there, so tonight was the night. We picked Spinnaker, a restaurant on stilts in the bay, and were fortunate enough to get a table right away. I was shocked at how reqsonable the prices were, I was expecting much higher. We had a beautiful view and a nice dinner and headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we're off to Yosemite. If I see Sam, I'll say "howdy partner" for you

... in holland this is considered a real high end swanky car, and now when i'm driving it i still feel a bit uncomfy. Have this little voice in the back of my head telling me thing like 'don't damage it, don't screw up the gearbox, please don't break down." Ok ok, guess you wanna know now what it is, well here we go: a full option all black BMW Z3 convertible with a 6 cylinder 2.5 litre engine.. Never thought i would drive one, but here it ...

... Centre which just seemed to be a lot of building and very few shops. You had to call security on a buzzer to get into the toilets for Gods sake! We then headed over to the Ferry Building Market where The Slanted Door restaurant is located, they also do a good range of farmers market type shops with cheeses and meats etc,. Having walked about in the morning ...

... Maybe its an acquired taste. I am not going to go back for seconds to find out. Then it was off to find somewhere to stay. With an early start the next day, we opted to head over to the suburbs just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Got Dad and Mum sorted first and we headed for America's Best Value Inn at Mill Valley. Took us quite a while to find it. Drove right past it the first time and ended up on a narrow ...

... week deep into their trip when I arrive so the party should be well underway!We've got a great house rented on Isla Carnero and according to the guidebooks it sounds like I have to track down a fisherman and pay him to shuttle me over from Bocas Town to our casa on the beach (just one island over). Hopefully this won't be too difficult! I'll be out there in time for the New Years party on Isla Bastimientos at the Al Natural Resort. Rita ...

...We have managed the Mexico part... Now it's time to deal with the America side. We dodged an earthquake in La Paz and a hurricane in Cabo.... but American Airlines have managed to loose Keith's luggage...   San Francisco....some of the finest examples of America's wealth and opulence can be found here in this corner, 'Union Square', the intersection of Powell Street and Market Street, where the famous cable cars turn.  Home of ...