Escape from the UK
Trip Start
Jul 27, 2008
1
78
Trip End
Mar 05, 2009
Cambridge,
England,
United Kingdom
Sunday, July 27, 2008
I bought all my travelling items in the US and then headed off with Steven (brother), his family and camping friends to Yosemite. Beautiful scenery but found a naked man sleeping in my hotel bedroom and so had to sleep with Stevenīs family in their room. The man left the next morning without paying, but we got a discount.
We booked into camping site at Toulumine Measows which is in the centre of the park. The site is surrounded by massive rock outcrops which was a really nice backdrop
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. We camped under pine trees amd the evenings were spent round camp fires with everyone discussing their day and planning for tomorrow. My tent was far too small but I fitted if I bent in the middle. This quart could fit in a pint pot! Whilst the climbers did their hairy climbs I took walks along the rivers and hills and generally enjoyed the scenery. Took an occasional dip as well. All food had to be locked in bear proof metal containers. There had been a forest fire in the area that had claimed 2 lives and we saw another fire being put out by planes on the way to some hot springs. Although they were fenced off but that did not deter this intrepid band in jumping over and taking a dip.In the stream were currents of very hot and quite cold water. Even more couious was to see small fish in the cold bits of the current. We spent 6 days there and I was grateful to a young lad who gave up his tent for me on the last night. Unfortunately I lost my camera so there are no photos of this part of the trip.
The remainder of my time in the USA was spent visiting relaitves in San Francisco, Fresno and San Francisco. I took the Amtrack to the last two and found the service to be variable. The booking online was easy but each journey included a bus journey. These buses were much very comfortable and much better than the Greyhound
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. One needs to patient with Amtrack. On the way back I took the Coast Starlight which went along the west coast for part of the journey. It cost about $85 and well worth it. There was food on board with regular sittings for luch and dinner. There was an observation car in which one could buy snacks and wathe the solling countryside.San Francisco and Los Angeles are big bustling cities and a bit daunting. San Francisco public trasport is easy in the sense that a 3 day pass for $18 gives unlimited travel on buses and trams, so if you get lost it only costs time. My first shock was to be put in a mixed dorm in the hostel. The 10 of us shared a bathroom. However it was nice to get information and tips from room mates. Down stairs was a Moroccan restaurant so we were not short of drums etc into the small hours.
There was a magnificent exhibition on the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately the guide was very poor - she was Chinese and her English was not good. One section had exhibits from the India from the time of the Raj. Unfortunately the īnativesī were in poses and quite un-natural. We probably have more realistic family pictures!
In Los Angeles I went to the Getty Centre
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. Built on a hill there were wonderful views of the city. There was no charge to the public, and there was lots to see. By the time I took in the tour on Bereini, looked at the Rubens and Dutch masters it was time to go. Public transport took me 2 hours each way and just to get the connections was exhausting.I was also taken for a brief spin in my cousinīs cruiser. It is a beautiful boat, and its two engines can push it along at 40 knots. So itīs no slouch! It had all the comforts of home for travelling on the ocean. His club house had everything that one would expect in a 5 star hotel in the UK. Very different to my Cam Sailing Club.
On 21 July I caught the flight to Panama City. The USA made and very nice impression, apart from seeing family I was impressed by the politeness of people, the desire to produce you with good service- nothing was too much trouble. Against that was the poverty the lurked in more or less in every town and city.
