Sheila's travels

Day 15 - Eugene, Oregon

2011-06-08T19:47:00.003-06:00

A sunny but cool day today. After a little French conversation over breakfast with some hotel guests amazed to find someone who could speak their language, I set off northwestwards along the very rural US-20 - it's 130 miles from Burns to Bend and scarcely anything between but sagebrush. I saw a small cougar bounding across the road, but I couldn't see what it was chasing. About half-an-hour down the road there were a couple of deer, but they skipped away before I could get a photo. I also saw a few hawks flying (but couldn't identify them), a yellow-headed blackbird, and an amazingly bright Steller's jay down by the Mackenzie River.

One last mountain - actually this is the Three Sisters, part of the Cascade range in Oregon. Then it was downhill all the way, following the course of the very beautiful Mackenzie River, listening to Elgar's Cello Concerto played by Jacqueline du Pré (who had the same music teacher as I did!) on KWAX, the University of Oregon classical radio station. Bliss!

A slightly easier day's driving today, only 260 miles, so I reached my destination at 4 pm - to find the folks in good form. We're now just settling down with a glass of wine before dinner!

Day 14 - Burns, Oregon

2011-06-07T20:13:00.002-06:00

Well, I thought I did a lot of driving yesterday - but today I made 460 miles. Actually it was easy driving today - cruise control, iPod, like sitting in my armchair at home but with moving scenery!

Back on the I-80W into Nevada, all the way to Winnemucca (where all the potatoes for Pringles crisps are dehydrated!!); also The Sundance Kid (but not Butch Cassidy) was part of the gang that robbed the bank there in 1900. There is a heritage here in northern Nevada from the Basque country - rather a similar landscape. I never realised how many mountains there are in Nevada - lovely to see them and drive through the mountain passes.

Had a quick lunch at Sid's Family Restaurant, then headed north on US-95 into Oregon and beautiful high green rolling hills all the way to Burns. There has been exceptionally high rainfall this spring, so many of the roadside verges are flooded; so more waterbirds to see - ring-necked duck, white-faced ibis, and long-billed curlew - and other birds too: several eagles and a western meadowlark (beautiful).

Day 13 - Wendover, Utah

2011-06-06T19:14:00.006-06:00

All driving today - heading north-west to Wendover, at the very western edge of Utah, 350 miles!

The start of the drive, north out of Moab, took me back past Arches national park - I was tempted to go and have another look but managed to resist. Eventually the red rocks gave way to ochre and a sort of grey-green, and I was delighted to find more mountains on the very scenic road between Helper and Provo; the road runs alongside the river and the railroad through the Soldier Summit pass.

The Provo to Salt Lake City section has reminded me why I hate freeway driving - 60 miles of roadworks on I-15N was no fun at all. I managed to negotiate my way around the Salt Lake City road chaos to the I-80W, and then I was alongside the Great Salt Lake. It was very overcast this afternoon, so sadly the water was a dirty jade colour. Unsurprisingly, the industry around here is largely to do with salt.

Before getting to Wendover, there is a 50-mile stretch which is absolutely dead straight - no chance of falling asleep today though: there was a 55-mph side wind, which made for interesting turbulence when the trucks roared past at 75 mph! Obviously practising for Bonneville Speedway (where all the landspeed records have been set), set on Bonneville Salt Flats, which is part of the Great Salt Lake Desert.

Wendover itself is a set of budget hotels - West Wendover, just over the border in Nevada, is where all the action is: there are five casino resort hotels (which I am unlikely to visit - I hate casinos).

Day 12 - Moab, Utah

2011-06-05T19:13:00.003-06:00

Another hot day - it was 85degF by 9 a.m.! Headed west on the I-70, and driving into Utah, the first surprise was a sign saying: 'Eagles on Highway' - I didn't see any though. The second surprise was more snow-tipped mountains, this time the La Sal range - I thought I had left those behind in Colorado. I decided to take a shortcut through the ghost town of Cisco to reach 'The River Road' - as Highway 128 is known in Moab. A glorious road, twisting down through the canyon alongside the Colorado river again - pictures here.

Then I took a little trip to Canyonlands, first passing Wilson Arch, then going on to Needles Overlook - this is a little-known vantage point 22 miles from the main road, and not actually in Canyonlands national park itself but giving amazing views of it. I was the only person there for well over an hour as I wandered around the rocks with only birdsong and the occasional lizard for company - blissful! Apart from the moment when a vulture was hovering over my head trying to assess if I was easy meat, that is! You can see for miles across the canyons, and also get a view of the Colorado river about 1,600 feet down (vertigo-sufferers, don't go here) - and some lovely wildflowers too. Pictures here.

And finally to Arches National Park - saving the best till last! I thought Garden of the Gods in Colorado was magnificent, but this - this is sublime! I'll let the pictures tell the story for me - click here.

Tired and hot (100degF this afternoon!), but exhilarated by so much extraordinary beauty, I drove into the very cute town of Moab - pretty much Main Street and nothing else - to the very pleasant Silver Sage Inn for the night.

Day 11 - Grand Junction, Colorado

2011-06-04T18:41:00.004-06:00

What a difference a day makes! A long (300 miles +) drive has left the Rockies behind me, though not before yet more rollercoaster roads (and tunnels too) - this time on the I-70W.

Wildlife sightings today include a snake on the hard shoulder - not sure if it was dead or merely sunbathing, but it was a good 5 feet long and as thick as my arm! I think it might have been a coachwhip snake. Also saw four magnificent eagles wheeling high above the road between Lookout Mountain (where Buffalo Bill's grave is) and Idaho Springs.

All along the road near Georgetown are waterfalls cascading down the northern rockface - fortunately they drain behind the road, not across it! The road goes through the Eisenhower Tunnel at over 11,000 feet, and crosses the Continental Divide - but there are still plenty more mountains to go, through and past Vail, a major skiing area.

All good things must come to an end, and eventually the mountains give way to the Grand Mesa of western Colorado, but not before traversing the majestic Glenwood Canyon, twisting and turning as the mighty Colorado river has carved its way through the rock over eons. The river is running very high at the moment swollen with all the spring snowmelt.

At Glenwood Springs, a very strong smell of sulphur was apparent - the Rockies are mineral-rich indeed! Fortunately I found a little rest area near the river which was odour-free, so I could enjoy my cup of coffee sitting at a picnic table outside in the 85degF heat!

And this is a very quick snap of the rock formations on the way into Grand Junction - a charming town with a southwestern flavour.

Day 10 - Fort Collins, Colorado

2011-06-04T08:43:00.003-06:00

Spent the day at the Rocky Mountain National Park - even though the two high mountain passes are both still closed because of exceptional snowfall over the winter. So much to see there - the plants, the wildlife, the mountains, the rivers, all beautiful!

Here is the view from the Moraine Visitor Center, and also some grazing elk, for your delectation.

Day 9 - Fort Collins, Colorado

2011-06-03T09:57:00.002-06:00

Another beautiful day in paradise! Spent the whole day pootling around in the mountains, up to the pass, down the other side, several times! Including one short cut from Rand to Gould, a 13-mile stretch of gravel road up and over Owl Mountain, which saved me a good few miles!

Here's a picture of the Colorado River (which ends up going through Utah and Arizona (and the Grand Canyon) and on to California and the Pacific) - I followed it for many miles, through this very wide valley near the source where the water spreads lazily over the meadows, up to the pass, then down through narrow canyons where it was in full spate, and through pine forests where the whitewater rafters were having fun in the sun.

Also drove down the beautiful Cache La Poudre river canyon - I'm running out of superlatives to describe this amazing landscape.

Up in the heights it was around 70degF - Fort Collins is the first time I have been down below 5,000 ft for about 4 days, and the temperature here was 93degF when I arrived at 5 pm! Unfortunately, when I got to my motel, their Wi-Fi was not working so I couldn't update this blog until now (Friday morning here) - at the local iHOP, where they serve an excellent breakfast. I am staying at the same place tonight also, so might have to pull the same trick tomorrow morning. ShouldagotaniPhone!

Day 8 - Silverthorne, Colorado

2011-06-01T20:00:00.003-06:00

An easy day today - only a hundred miles and two high mountain passes!

I stopped off for a little wander around Aspen - where property values run into 8 figures! That's right, tens of millions of dollars. Many celebrities live here, and the stores and prices reflect this clientele. It's all beautifully kept, and frightfully nice, but not quite my cup of tea (or Jamaica Blue Mountain skinny latte at $7 a pop)!

Then back over Independence Pass - just as beautiful as yesterday, and almost no other cars going my way. The weather is not so good today - high white cloud with the occasional flash of sunshine, and too hazy for mountain photography. On to Leadville, 'the two-mile-high city' - a much more traditional mountain (and ex-mining) town, full of outfitters for mountain pursuits, along

with a really nice historic town centre, very interesting to walk around.

Just outside Leadville, the road splits - I took CO-91 and the Fremont Pass - more lovely views! - all the way to Copper Mountain, a ski resort looking a little sad and lonely now the season is over. Stopped at the very pleasant resort town of Frisco for lunch at the excellent Log Cabin Cafe!

And so to Silverthorne - my hotel is close to a Factory Outlet mall, so some shopping might occur tomorrow ;-)

Day 7 - Snowmass Village, Colorado

2011-05-31T21:03:00.005-06:00

A cloudless sky this morning pulled me back to the mountains, the lakes, the snow - many miles of driving, but such wonderful scenery, including the amazing overlook at Pioneer Point (where I saw someone stretched out on one of the overhanging rocks looking down - I thought it best not to disturb him!).

I drove up to Crested Butte (rather chi-chi for my taste), hoping to drive through Kebler Pass, only to find it was closed. However, it did mean that I could drive over Independence Pass, which was only opened 3 days ago after clearing 25-ft snowdrifts. Amazing views both on the way up and the way down!

The sun seemed to have brought out the wildlife today too - I saw a Red-tailed Hawk, a Tree Swallow, a Black Rosy-Finch, a Hoary Marmot peeping out from the grass verge, this deer munching by the roadside, lots of cattle grazing in the water-meadows in the high valleys, and also some very large bison.

After driving through Aspen (which I will spend some time visiting tomorrow), I reached my extremely nice hotel, the Silvertree, in the very pretty Snowmass Village. I wouldn't normally stay somewhere this expensive, but I got an incredible deal from booking.com ;-)

Day 6 - Delta, Colorado

2011-05-30T20:41:00.005-06:00

Wow! What a windy day! Heading west from Pueblo it was like being in a sandstorm - complete with tumbleweed blowing across the road; like something out of a Wild West movie.

First port of call today was the Royal Gorge cafe for an excellent breakfast, then a little train ride to get this great view of the Gorge itself, and the bridge built across it. The river at the bottom is the Ark ansas River, and the road west (US-50) follows its course for many miles, in fact most of my journey today. The river is running pretty high just now, as the snow continues to melt, and there were lots of whitewater rafters scaring themselves silly!

I was treated to a very scenic drive indeed, winding through the canyon formed by the river, then up over Monarch Pass (11,312 ft), and back down the western slopes of the Rockies, where you can see clear over to Utah. The mountains are covered with sagebrush, spruce, and juniper, interspersed with aspen trees, which are at varying stages depending on the elevation - on the lower slopes they are a wonderful bright light green, but higher up they are still leafless.

At the bottom of the mountain (but still at over 7,000 ft), the road runs alongside 3 beautiful lakes, the largest of which is Blue Mesa Lake - all covered in ripples today because of the wind. There are some cute towns too - Gunnison, Sapinero, Cimarron, and Montrose, before the attractive city of Delta itself, my destination for tonight.

Day 5 - Pueblo, Colorado

2011-05-29T19:32:00.005-06:00

An even better day than yesterday, if that were possible! Sunny all day (in fact 92degF by the late afternoon) but not humid, so it felt very comfortable.

Up early this morning, thanks to a truck sitting outside my window revving its engine at 6:30 a.m. But it meant I got to the Garden of the Gods by 10 a.m., before it got too hot. What an amazing place this is - and free! It's a geologist's delight, with evidence of many different landscapes (and in fact seascapes at one point) and climates over the millennia. It must also make life difficult for creationist visitors ;-) The characteristic vertical red rock formations are stunning (this formation is called The Three Graces), and nicely spread out among 13 miles of trails, at least half of which I walked today.

After a restorative caffeine infusion, I set off to see Cripple Creek, the last Gold Rush town. It's now full of casinos, though the old buildings have been well-restored, so I didn't stay long. I headed for Victor, a much more authentic looking mining town. This miner's shack is on the pretty road between Cripple Creek and Victor.

I left Victor by what was marked on the map as a scenic road ... they weren't kidding! Phantom Canyon Road is also gravel for most of its 30-mile length, and drops about 5,000 feet to the high plain, so it makes for very exciting driving. Only 1 little (and controllable) skid - don't tell the car rental company! So exhilarating, I really want to do it again!

Day 4 - Pueblo, Colorado

2011-05-28T20:14:00.003-06:00

The day dawned cloudy and cool, so I was a little worried that my planned excursion for the day would not happen - but while I was having breakfast the sun put in an appearance and the clouds (mostly) melted away. So off I went, heading north, to drive up Pikes Peak - 14,100 ft above sea level is probably the highest I have ever been in my life (and almost halfway to the summit of Everest ;-) ).

It's extraordinary that there is actually a road right up to the top of this beautiful mountain - the views all the way up are breathtaking (and not good for anyone who suffers from vertigo). It was a little hazy at the top, very windy, and 46degF (it was 75 at the bottom), so my pictures are not as good as I would like, but let me assure you that as well as being able to see a great swathe of the Rockies to the south, west and north, the view of the plains to the east (which don't end until you get to the Appalachians on the other side of the country) is astounding.

The air is definitely thin up there, and by the time I had walked all the way around the summit, taking in the amazing scene before me, I was quite breathless and a little giddy - so I had to have a coffee and a special Pikes Peak donut to recover!

Driving back down is just as spectacular, and there's even a brake check a few miles down - if your brakes are too hot they make you wait 30 minutes before you can continue.

After getting my breath back down on the high plains at Manitou Springs (pretty!) I drove on to Seven Falls, a lovely set of waterfalls in South Cheyenne Canyon, falling from 7,200 ft to 6,400 ft. The top of the falls is accessible by a 224-step staircase, which I duly climbed (today's exercise), and was rewarded with fantastic views, more breathlessness, and a sense of self-satisfaction!

Happy day ...

Day 3 - Pueblo, Colorado

2011-05-27T18:42:00.008-06:00

A glorious, sparkling day! I avoided the interstate all day - and my reward was lots of wildlife - a yellow-bellied marmot munching in a suburban garden, an eagle soaring over a canyon, a coyote wandering across the road, 2 magpies (1 for sorrow, 2 for joy ...) flitting over the grassy plain.

I was heading more-or-less south, but meandered around to take in some interesting sights - Red Rocks at Morrison, the aptly-named and very attractive town of Conifer, a wonderful road (CO-126) running down the canyon beside the river through Pine and Buffalo Creek - though somewhat marred by extensive fire damage to the pines for many miles.

I stopped at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument where I got my exercise for the day! There are 14 miles of trails here, but I only had time to do 2; it's over 8,500 ft above sea level here, and there's a distinct effect on breathing (though not enough to slow me down much). The trails wind around petrified sequoia trees, which were a great deal larger than the currently-common trees, the Ponderosa Pine; these are all around the trails, and smell wonderful!

All the way along my route today, I had intriguing views of the snow-capped Pikes Peak from the north, the west and the south - I plan to visit it in the next couple of days!

And so through Florence (full of antique shops) and out to the grassy high plains passing the very blue Lake Pueblo on the way to Pueblo, where it is 20degF hotter than in Denver!

Day 2 - Wheat Ridge, Colorado

2011-05-26T19:21:00.003-06:00

Cool and a little cloudy today, so I decided to drive towards the mountains and see where I ended up, with the option of retreating should it rain. Fortunately the sun shone at intervals, so I pootled through the very cool town of Nederland into Boulder - to which I will return later in my trip. A very attractive town, giving views of the Flatirons through the side streets.

The road north out of Boulder winds its way up through Boulder Canyon - a wonderful twisting road climbing 2,000 feet to 8,500 feet, with the river burbling beside the road all the way. Perfect for climbers and walkers, there are some extraordinary rock formations. At the top of this road is Estes Park, a great base for exploring the Rocky Mountain National Park (which I intend to do in a week or so).

Local architecture tends to the 'log cabin' style - some houses really are very small log cabins, others are much larger and very elaborate takes on the style, with steeply-pitched roofs, wooden walls, verandahs and patios - all tucked into the landscape.

Heading east, I took a back road to Glen Haven - even twistier, and again following the river - and then through Loveland (a pleasant looking town with a lake in the middle of it!) to the I-25. Back south to the Denver area on cruise control with the local C&W radio station playing at full volume!

Day 1 - Wheat Ridge, Denver, Colorado

2011-05-26T07:16:00.003-06:00

Scored a free trip on United using up the last of my airmiles, but it meant a very late flight into Denver. So I ended up being awake 22 hours :-(. Then had to get up to pick up my rental car (a rather chic little Elantra) and get my first sight of the Rockies. Checked into the Motel 6 at Wheat Ridge and spent most of the day reorganising bags, doing laundry (the joys of travel), planning my itinerary, and dozing! The weather perked up later in the afternoon, so went for a walk around the neighbourhood (they actually have pavements [sidewalks] here! Dinner at Margarita's (with, of course, a margarita ...) and early to bed. The rest of my travels should be a little more exciting - weather permitting! Fortunately there have been no tornadoes around here, but the locals are mystified at the lack of sunshine ...

Day 76 - Plaka, Crete

2009-11-24T02:17:00.000-07:00

Home sweet home!

Spent Sunday with Jenny, Rosie and Adrien 'doing brunch' at Cafe Chino, then visiting the Science Museum - there is so much to see you couldn't absorb it all in a week, let alone an afternoon. It was great to be able to spend some time with my lovely daughters!

Got myself organised in good time on Monday morning, only to find that there had been a 'customer incident' (this sadly usually is a euphemism for a suicide) at Hounslow tube station, so no trains beyond Acton Town - which meant that I ended up taking a cab to Heathrow. My cabbie told me he actually lives in Thailand, working in London for 6 weeks then going back there for 2-3 months at a time!

Flights to Athens and on to Chania uneventful, just a little turbulence leaving London. Rosie and John met me at Chania and drove me home, where my wonderful housesitters, Blue and Willow, had made supper for us all.

They left very early this morning, and Mitzi is now wandering around wondering where they are! Also, I have apparently acquired another cat in my absence - Pippa, as she has been called, looks as though she has been a housepet - the feral cats here don't just walk into your house and curl up on the couch! And she looks like she's pregnant ... anyone want a kitten? So off to the vet we will have to go later this week ... Life is what happens when you're making other plans, it seems.

But it is good to be back; it's sunny and warm, the sea is sparkling, there's a tiny bit of snow on the mountains (there will be more later in the winter); now to start unpacking ...

Day 73 - London, England

2009-11-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

A steady sort of day today - popped into M&S and Boots to get stuff that's either unavailable or very expensive in Crete, and then spent the afternoon reading the Guardian (I do miss the actual paper, even though I can read it online).

An early and delicious dinner at Couscous Darna (special offer 50% off food before 7 pm) - lots of lively conversation in a beautifully intimate Moroccan environment - followed by drinks at the King's Arms.

Day 72 - London, England

2009-11-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Got an exit row seat on my flight back to England, with lots of legroom, but it was right next to the galley, so difficult to sleep - gave up in the end and watched Twilight and The Ugly Truth - both quite entertaining for a plane ride!

Staying with Rosie and Adrien in Kensington. Had a little nap, Jenny came over, then Mike popped round for drinks before going out for a very yummy dinner at Riccardo's. Highly recommended - great food, excellent service, buzzy ambience, and the best vin santo outside Italy.

This morning, a trip to the bank to see my financial adviser, then we had trolley dim sum at New World in Chinatown, followed by a wander round the Photographers' Gallery to see the Jim Goldberg exhibition, then the Ed Ruscha exhibition at the Hayward Gallery on the South Bank and cocktails at the Skylon! Finally, dinner at Tampopo in Chelsea, with lots of what Jenny calls "merry philosophising" (some people call it drunken rambling), mostly on the nature of scientific proof using flawed instruments (our brains and senses ...).

Day 70 - San Francisco, California

2009-11-18T01:44:00.000-07:00

Great breakfast at Granzella's this morning - probably the best Eggs Benedict I have ever had! Then an easy drive into San Francisco, though with some trepidation on the Bay Bridge even though I know it's been mended. Staying at the Ramada near the airport, so got checked in, then took the BART train to downtown, and went to the Hilton to see friends at the AMIA meeting.

I felt a bit like an alien, as I didn't recognise any familiar faces to start with, but by the end of my wanderings, I had spoken to Stephen Morgan, Hamish Fraser, Mark Weiner, Melinda Jenkins, Dave Kaufman, Jos Aarts, Peter Murray, Suzanne Bakken, Darius Jazayeri, Andy Kanter, Bill Lober, Burke Mamlin, Chris Seebregts, Jason Mitchell, Alan Zuckerman, Paul Biondich, Martha Adams, Charlene Underwood, Don Nelson (though not necessarily in that order), and also chatted to several other people whom I had not met before!

Day 69 - Williams, California

2009-11-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Off on my travels again! After a delicious dinner at the Cafe Soriah in Eugene (and a fabulous bottle of Brick House Gamay Noir 2008) with my parents plus friends Dorothy and JoAnn, it was an early night for me, and an early start this morning, as I had over 400 miles to drive today. Always hard to say goodbye to my folks!

The weather was cool but at least it was dry this morning; I set off down the I-5S and made good progress. I was surprised at how little traffic there was on a major interstate on a Monday morning. The road steadily gets steeper and twistier and higher towards the Oregon-California state line, and the highest point on the whole of the I-5 (which reaches from Mexico to Canada) is at the Siskiyou Summit, 4,310 feet, just north of the state line. It was misty up here, swirling around the road and giving only glimpses of the volcanic peaks beyond.

The road then drops dramatically into California (well, a thousand feet or so) to the state authorities, who ask whether you have any fruit, plants or produce (it's forbidden to bring even an apple across the state line in case it is carrying some kind of infestation ...), then heads back up into the Shasta Mountains and Lake. It was very windy all through the mountains, and just past the lake, I spotted a wonderful stacked lenticular cloud formation hovering near Mt Shasta, a little like that wonderful picture of Mount Fuji that goes the email rounds every now and again. You can see how at night or in bad light people might mistake a cloud like this for a UFO!

Day 67 - Eugene, Oregon

2009-11-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

I've been here in Eugene for two weeks, but the weather has been pretty bad - rain almost every day - so I haven't done much other than swim three times a week (the redhead in the picture is my Mum!), drink a lot of coffee, visit friends, have breakfast with Joan Ash at the Hilton, and listen to a wonderful seminar on a trip to archaeological sites in Turkey by Vivienne, one of my parents' friends (she is 75 and this is the first time she's been out of the US for about 40 years).

However, today dawned fine and sunny, so after a great breakfast at Elmer's, we drove north on OR-99W through small Western towns: Monroe, Corvallis, Monmouth, Rickreall and Amity to historic McMinnville (home of the Evergreen Aviation and Aviation Museum, which houses the "Spruce Goose", built by Howard Hughes' aviation company), then on to Carlton. This road is in the Willamette Valley between the Coast Range on the west and the foothills of the Cascades on the east, so the broad fertile plain is full of the marks of agricultural activity - fruit orchards (particularly apples and blueberries), nut orchards (hazelnuts and walnuts), and vineyards, especially once we were past Monmouth and at higher altitude. There are also lots of cows and sheep, and some rather chubby goats (they don't have to work all that hard for their food here); also some alpaca, which look distinctly out of place here.

All the way up this highway, there are signs for wineries and winetasting, but we had a goal in mind: Cana's Feast Winery! We really enjoyed tasting the six wines on display today - Rosato, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, Riserva, Two Rivers, Syrah - and drank a toast to Bev, who introduced us to this winery but is sadly no longer with us. And of course we couldn't resist buying a few bottles (Rosato, Pinot Noir and Syrah)!

There are olive trees in the garden here, and they made me quite homesick for Crete!

Home by a different route - through Lafayette and the very charming and historic Dayton, and thence to Salem, capital city of Oregon, and onto the I-5S. There's a Ducks football game tonight, so there was a lot of traffic bearing green and yellow flags, scarves, etc.

Day 52 - Eugene, Oregon

2009-10-30T21:18:00.000-06:00

The day started cool and cloudy, but I decided to take a chance on the mountains, in hopes that the weather would improve. It was still overcast when I got to Klamath Falls (where my parents used to live), but once I got onto US-97N, suddenly the clouds were gone, and this is what I saw in my mirrors! Luckily there was no traffic, so I could just stop, hop out of the car, and take a couple of quick shots of Mount Shasta.

Then on to Crater Lake, through beautiful pine forest and twisty mountain roads, with the sun slanting through the trees and making the snowmelt on the road steam gently. Quite a bit of snow already up at the southern lake rim, and only 43 deg F, so I didn't stay long. I wanted to do the West Rim Drive, but both it and the East Rim Drive are already closed for the winter. Hey ho. Back to OR-230, then OR-138W all the way back down the mountain - this is a wonderful road, dropping 500ft every 2-3 miles, so steep and curvy, really fun to drive!

Finally, back on the I-5N all the way to Eugene, where a very welcome cup of tea awaited me. The folks are in fine fettle, I'm glad to say (for those who don't know my parents, my dad is 89 and my mum is 83). I'll be here for a couple of weeks, and probably won't post every day - depends what we do and where we go!

So this is not quite the end of my trip, but I think it's a good moment to thank all my hosts and hostesses along the way - Svetlana (Chicago), Ron & Laurel (Cape Cod), Matt & Terry (Boston - and of course the Gnassi crowd, also Hamish), Melinda (New York), Vonn (Poughkeepsie), Nancy C (Tallahassee - and good to meet up with Meredith again), Moon & Norma (Fairhope), Nancy L (Nashville), Martha & Richard (Raleigh), and Svetlana again - it was great to see you all and have time to hang out a little!

Day 51 - Yreka, California

2009-10-29T19:48:00.000-06:00

I really hate getting up at 5.30 a.m. - specially if I then have to add another 2 hours to my day by flying to San Francisco! However, when I got there it was a gorgeous day; helped by the ease of getting to the car rental centre via the AirTrain right out of the airport.

But there was one small problem! The Bay Bridge was closed because on Tuesday night bits of cable started to fall off ... So I crossed via the Hayward-San Mateo bridge instead: the Golden Gate Bridge is always a traffic bottleneck. Eventually making my way to I-5 N, I stopped for lunch at Granzella's - this has always been a favourite of our family, since the girls (then aged 14 and 10) almost had hysterics at the size of the portions of beef ribs. As well as the restaurant and deli, there is now a very chi-chi souvenir and gift shop full of nasty frilly things, but the food is still good!

Then on through Corning (olive capital of California) and up into the mountains at Shasta Lake - I love this road, with its wide sweeping curves around the lake (currently sadly depleted of water, but I guess winter rain and snow will fix that), past Castle Crags, and through the volcanic peaks set in a wide plain. These mountains are so different from the Appalachians, where I spent a lot of time earlier in my trip. Clouds were coming in fast now, and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees in as many miles. By the time I got to Yreka, an old California gold-rush town, I had driven 350 miles ... busy day!

Day 50 - O'Hare Airport, Chicago, Illinois

2009-10-28T20:06:00.000-06:00

Spent most of the day wandering contentedly around Oak Park, admiring the Frank Lloyd Wright houses, and having a tour of his own home and studio on Chicago Avenue. I can't believe I lived in Chicago for over a year without getting to see this before! You can see the seeds of some of his later styles of architecture and design, and the movement from the Arts and Crafts style to the more geometric abstractions of natural themes, and the very clever use of space and light in what was a rather small house. Pictures here.

Oh, and pictures from Indianapolis Speedway here.

Early night tonight, early flight tomorrow!

Day 49 - Chicago, Illinois

2009-10-27T19:20:00.001-06:00

Spent the morning visiting the Indianapolis Speedway Hall of Fame Museum - including a bus tour round the track (the driver said that an Indy 500 car would have lapped us about 15 times in the 12 minutes we took to go round). They have some wonderful cars in the museum; photos tomorrow.

By the time I left it had started raining, so after a quick sandwich lunch I decided that the interstate with huge trucks thundering past kicking up oceans of spray was not going to make for a happy afternoon, so turned off to US-52W, which is dead straight for miles and miles; for long periods of time there were no other cars visible! Thousands of acres of cornfields. Then onto US-41N, which goes through increasing numbers of small towns as it approaches Chicago.

Met up with Svetlana for dinner at Karyn's Cooked - a good and delicious vegan antidote for all the fast food I've eaten on my trip (though I have tried to eat salad and fruit as often as possible!).

Day 48 - Speedway, Indiana

2009-10-26T18:10:00.000-06:00

After a terrific omelette at iHOP just north of Louisville, I pointed my car north on the I-65N and sat there with cruise control on 55 mph for the next 110 miles, all the way to Indianapolis.

For the first time in ages, I visited a zoo - I've spent a long time avoiding them, as I really dislike the idea of wild animals in captivity, but Indianapolis has done a pretty good job of making really good environments for the various animals in their zoo. They focus on conservation of endangered species, as well as taking animals of which there are too many in their native environment - like the White Rhino, which was close to extinction until South Africa implemented strict conservation measures; too strict, as they now have too many for the environment to support!

The dolphin tank is amazing - with a dome where you are underneath the dolphins! The dolphin show was not bad (though not as good as San Diego SeaWorld), but too dark for decent photos. Such smart creatures, I do worry about their restriction to a tank when they should have a whole ocean, but the zoo works hard to keep them stimulated and entertained in a world where bottlenose dolphins are at risk.

I took lots of pictures, which you can see here. And here's some more fall foliage!

Day 47 - Shepherdville, Kentucky

2009-10-25T18:42:00.000-06:00

A beautiful sunny day, with a few very high streaks of cloud, that eventually became a 'mackerel sky'. I set off westwards past Lexington, through rolling hills and meadows, along the Blue Grass Parkway; then set off down country roads to Shakertown in Pleasant Hill, a beautifully restored Shaker village, complete with costumed guides. Our guide, Lauren, did a great job, giving us lots of information about the main house and its artifacts, and the Shaker way of life, with a gentle sense of humour.

After the house tour, I drove over to the Jim Beam distillery, just south of where I'm staying. Advertised as open Sundays 1-4 pm, I arrived to find that in this county (Bullitt County), alcohol cannot be sold or served on Sundays! Also they do not have a distillery tour as such, just a brief video of the history of Jim Beam products in the Beams' house. There is no mention of the Sunday ban on their website. Hmmm, I wonder why they bother to open on a Sunday? If I had known, I would have spent more time at Shakertown!

Day 46 - Lexington, Kentucky

2009-10-24T17:27:00.000-06:00

Another wet start to the day today, but it brightened up later. Headed back to US-60W (the Midland Trail), and had a quick look at the longest arch bridge in the world, over the New River Gorge. The clouds were boiling out of the ravine, making it difficult to take a good picture, but I tried!

Most of the rest of the day was spent driving up and down the ridges of the mountains, through endless forest; oh, if only it had been sunny, it would have been absolutely spectacular! As it was, there was a kind of pleasant melancholy driving through the dripping trees, with their flaming colours dampened by the steel-grey skies.

By the time I crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky (my 46th state! Only missing Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii and North Dakota now), the weather was beginning to perk up. Us-60 goes through many pretty and historic small towns, and the landscape was beginning to smoothe out - fewer trees, more meadows and pasture, and of course Kentucky's famous horses!

Day 45 - Beckley, West Virginia

2009-10-23T19:17:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know where I am - the wireless in my room isn't working so having to use the hotel lobby machine :-(

Not such good weather today - started cloudy and ended pouring with rain - but still an interesting drive through rural Virginia. Starting with Staunton itself, a very beautiful city with a small-town feel steeped in American history (birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, among other things). Then down through the Deerfield Valley looking at the Blue Ridge to my left, then up and over the Alleghany mountain ridge into West Virginia (where petrol is REALLY expensive 30-40 cents more than everywhere else!). Today's wildlife - a Cooper's Hawk sitting on a fencepost by the roadside (but too shy to be photographed), a blue jay down by the river, and several groundhogs (mostly deadlife, I'm afraid, but 2 live ones skipping across the road) - and lots of squirrels!

Also stopped off to look at Falling Spring Falls, and ate my lunch listening to the sound of the water mingled with the rustle of falling leaves. Pretty!

Day 44 - Staunton, Virginia

2009-10-22T18:21:00.000-06:00

Off to an early start today after breakfast with Martha - she had to see patients at 8.15! Driving west through the rush-hour traffic reminded me how lucky I am not to have to do that any more. Unusually, I backtracked today, as I wanted to get back to the Blue Ridge Parkway to complete the final, northern, section through Virginia. As I drove, the weather improved from its rather cloudy start, but it wasn't quite as gorgeous as Tuesday and Wednesday - however, there were some interesting cloud formations!

This section is not as dramatic as the southern end of the Parkway, with much more gentle curves and gradients; and not so high either - between 1,900 and 3,200 feet. There are many more access roads and farms right next to the Parkway, so lots of meadows, pasture and cattle. I haven't seen all that much wildlife - but there was a flock of wild turkeys that decided to cross the road right in front of me, and also some hawks diving and swooping over a hayfield looking for small rodents.

All the time I've been on this trip, I have been chasing the fall foliage - I was too early in New England, but it's at its peak here; it's difficult to get a really good photo as the effect of the sunlight moving on the leaves increases the intensity of the effect - those pointillistes guys might have been on to something!

Day 43 - Raleigh, North Carolina

2009-10-21T18:38:00.001-06:00

I do love mountains! Back to the Blue Ridge Parkway today, starting with Grandfather Mountain. Sufferers from vertigo: look away now - there is a footbridge suspended over a ravine, and it's a mile above sea level. And yes, of course I walked across it! It does sway slightly, but if you keep moving you'd never notice. The picture shows the shadow of the bridge on the side of the ravine (you can see the bridge itself on the website). The views all around are just wonderful, and the weather was again perfect, absolutely crystal clear, with not a cloud in sight, and really warm - no sweaters today.

It seemed that hardly anyone else was going north, so I mostly had the road and the views to myself all the way up to Virginia. The road is not quite as dramatic as the southern end, but the fall foliage is just about perfect right now.

I turned off the Parkway at Fancy Gap, to drive back south-east and again into North Carolina, past Mount Airy and Pilot Mountain down to Winston-Salem, a major centre of the tobacco industry, then back on the I-40 to Duke Medical Center at Durham, where Martha Adams gave me a tour of her department before we headed back to her house in Raleigh for a delicious supper and to admire her hammered dulcimer and her husband Richard's beautifully restored tractors.

Day 42 - Lenoir, North Carolina

2009-10-20T19:09:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I've been 'on the road' 6 weeks now! Another lovely day again today, and much warmer. However, it turned out to be a rather frustrating day in the end! It took almost an hour to get through Gatlinburg - though that did give me time to look at the tourist town with its mountain theme on the way through. But then I was in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which has been on my hitlist for about 30 years. It had been very cold overnight, so the frost on the grass was gently steaming in the sun - a very pretty effect. I find American drivers to be rather nervous of sharp curves and steep inclines - but I guess I am inured to them after living in Crete - so progress was steady. But such gorgeous views over the mountains! On the way up it is very thickly forested, and the trees grow together over the road, so it is like driving in a leafy tunnel, and the sun makes the red, gold, green and bronze leaves translucent. Also there are aspen trees here, and their leaves go a bronzy-pink - gorgeous!

Then onto the Blu e Ridge Parkway, mostly up between 3,500 and 5,500 feet; it was so clear today that everything seemed to be sparkling. But suddenly - the road was closed at Balsam! So I had to find my way down, and then guess where the next open part of the Parkway would be. Fortunately I guessed right - south of Cruso, but it all takes time, having to stop and look at the map and (as Nancy's GPS would say) 'recalculating' ... And then about 15 miles on, the road was closed again, so I had to come down via NC-151! So more 'recalculating' was needed ...

I gave it one more try east of Asheville, and made another 30 miles or so, but it was getting late by this time, so I needed to come down again - US-80E is almost more spectacular than the Parkway, running alongside and across the bubbling river all the way down to Marion. Signposting here was minimal, so it took a while to find the right road out of town, to Morganton; signage even worse here, so I ended up on US-70E going through Valdese where the whole town was out waiting for (I think) the local college football team. So at last to Days Inn at Lenoir! And then to Ruby Tuesday and a well-deserved large margarita with my dinner ;-)

Day 41 - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

2009-10-19T18:05:00.000-06:00

Another gorgeous sunny day (though still chilly - didn't get above 60 degF all day); it was hard to leave Nashville after having such a wonderful weekend with Nancy, but I have places to go, people to meet!

Heading more or less east, I only spent about 20 minutes on the interstate before taking scenic byways, through the beautiful countryside of Middle and Eastern Tennessee. Gently rolling hills, with trees and meadows with cows and horses grazing, gradually gave way to steeper forested ridges and hills, crossing the Caney Fork River several times, and also the Tennessee River at Watts Bar Dam.

Maryville is a pretty town, with several attractive churches, all in different styles. The road (US 321E) then became really steep and twisty, winding through the forest to Kinzel Springs and through Wears Valley, into Pigeon Forge, which is a major tourist resort on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In many places, the Appalachians form ridges that run south-west to north-east, and this is very apparent when looking at Google Earth all the way from Georgia to Pennsylvania; I drove over the northern ridges back on Day 28!

Day 40 - Nashville, Tennessee

2009-10-18T17:42:00.000-06:00

We have had glorious sunshine all day today, though it has been chilly still. We intended to get breakfast at Monell's, a Nashville institution, but by the time we got there they were full for the breakfast serving, so we decided to get lunch (or what is called the 'Sunday meal') there and have a stroll around Germantown while we waited for the next serving to start. A pleasant neighbourhood, and the first settlement in Nashville over 200 years ago, it still has many of the original houses and churches from those times.

The Sunday meal was spectacular! Served family-style, we were seated at a long table in the oldest part of the restaurant with a dozen others, whom we got to know as the meal progressed. Most of them were Vanderbilt students, several at the school of nursing and a couple in pre-med, so Nancy marketed the informatics option! But the food! Dishes and bowls kept appearing - coleslaw, broccoli salad, pickled vegetables, corn pudding (delicious!), 'breakfast casserole' (potatoes, onions and sausage in a scrambled egg mix), mashed potatoes, turnip greens (like Greek horta), biscuits, corn bread, meat loaf with tomato sauce, southern fried chicken, green beans - I think that was everything! And to finish a wonderful chocolate brownie, of which I could only manage 2 bites.

Barely able to move, we drove out through the Bicentennial Park, and headed out to Long Hunter Sta te Park, where we attended the Tennessee State Pow-Wow! We had a wonderful time listening to the drumming and singing, and watching the competing dancers, from under-5s to seniors, traditional, shawl, jingle dress, fancy, grass, from the various different regions of the US and Canada. We finished up by wandering around the various craft stalls, admiring rugs, jewellery, leather work, weaving, and pottery.

Finished up the day with dinner at La Paz, with excellent shrimp fajitas (I couldn't even finish half of mine!) and margaritas, together with Nancy and her nephew Chris, who also lives in Nashville. Spent most of the time talking about food - Chris loves cooking!

Day 39 - Nashville, Tennessee (part 2)

2009-10-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

We had a busy but laid-back day - visited 2 plantations (Belle Meade in the area where Al Gore lives] and Carnton) with American Civil War involvement - learnt a lot about US history today! Then it was a choice between the Nashville Symphony or the Grand Ole Opry; as I can go to symphony concerts elsewhere we decided on the Grand Ole Opry, which was a lot of fun! It is actually broadcast live on the radio, so is divided into 4 half-hour segments, with several different artistes/bands in each, so we had a lot of variety, including some excellent square dancing and more bluegrass from Kentucky. Then it was time for dinner at Sunset Grill - great steak and a very lively atmosphere. And so to bed ...

Day 39 - Nashville, Tennessee

2009-10-17T08:26:00.000-06:00

Just a few pix from Memphis ...

Day 38 - Nashville, Tennessee

2009-10-16T23:28:00.000-06:00

Spent the morning in Memphis, on a bus tour around the various blues and rock'n'roll and other historical sites in the city, including Sun Studio, where Elvis made his first commercial recording; Beale Street, where all the blues dives are, and the Gibson Guitar Factory; also the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated (now the National Civil Rights Museum). Photos tomorrow! Then wandered around the Cotton Museum, in the old Cotton Exchange; there is also a good deal of information there about the history of the blues.

A 200-mile drive on the I-40 took me to Nashville, where I am staying with the wonderful Nancy Lorenzi for the weekend. After a restoring cup of Earl Grey, and an excellent dinner in the neighbourhood at Firefly, we headed down to the Station Inn, an unprepossessing building to say the least. However, inside we saw Off the Wagon, a terrific bluegrass band - they played at least half-an-hour more than scheduled, which was great for us - I think they were having a lot of fun too!

Day 37 - West Memphis, Arkansas

2009-10-15T19:31:00.000-06:00

This morning it looked like the sky had fallen to the ground - what the Irish call 'a soft morning'. This made for interesting driving across the very flat and waterlogged land! There were no hills until just southwest of Little Rock, which was my first destination. I visited the Clinton Presidential Library; an interesting building, which has been compared (unfairly) to a trailer! I liked it, and it works very well as a display space. It's well worth the trip, with historical presentations together with a re-creation of the Oval Office when President Clinton was in office, and displays of many of the gifts presented to the Clintons. There were also reminders that when President Clinton left office in 2001 the budget deficit was zero ... Hmmm, I wonder what happened in the 8 intervening years?

There was also a very funny video loop of extracts from Clinton's various speeches to the National Press Awards - he was very good at self-deprecation!

I had thought of having lunch at the apparently excellent Cafe 42 in the basement, but by the time I had finished looking around it was closed, so I walked down the street and found an excellent deli with great coffee and pastrami sandwiches. The museum store was disappointing - rather tacky merchandise, I thought - but they had lots of T-shirts, mugs, pins, etc., saying 'I Miss Bill' ;-)

So, back on the road again, and at least it had stopped raining, though it's much cooler than my days on the eastern shore! All the tourism hereabouts seems water-related - fishing, boating, canoeing, lakeshore holiday cabins, and lots of shrimp and crab eateries. There are also lots of rice and cotton fields, so it's a very rural, agricultural economy. I'm not sure what all this rain means for this year's crops, though.

Day 36 - Greenville, Mississippi

2009-10-14T18:04:00.000-06:00

Pictures from the Okefenokee swamp can be found here.

We did a lot of talking last night, including trying to work which years we held the informatics retreats at Point Clear (we think it was 1995, 1996 and 1997 ...)! We also reminisced about the Florabama (where we were asked to check our guns at the door), and Judge Roy Bean's, which has now sadly burnt down. I remember the billygoat eating John Zapp's cheeseburger ... and somewhere I have the photo to prove it.

Drove through very pretty southern Alabama and Mississippi countryside, all rolling hills and lots of trees. Once into Louisiana and Arkansas it is much flatter, with lots of lakes, formed when bows of the river got cut off. The state line more or less follows the meandering course of the river, but the river has moved over time though the state line has not. The weather has been very changeable today, but only a few thunderstorms; however, all along the Mississippi delta the fields and ditches are flooded. I did a lot of driving today, including crossing the magificent Mississippi twice (once at Vicksburg and then again just west of Greenville, where a beautiful new bridge is under construction.

The local accent is really hard to understand - but my waiter at dinner tonight couldn't understand me either!

Day 35 - Fairhope, Alabama

2009-10-13T19:44:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to say that I am in the utopian city of Fairhope, Alabama, with Moon and Norma Mullins, who want to say hello to all their informatics friends all over the world! Gotta go do more catching up now - we haven't seen each other for about 8 years!

Day 34 - Tallahassee, Florida

2009-10-12T20:13:00.000-06:00

Off to Okefenokee to see the swamp this morning! This is the largest intact wetland wilderness in North America, and the Swamp Park is full of alligators, and turtles, and otters, and snakes, and all sorts of creepy-crawly things. They also do a great boat tour! Will post pictures tomorrow or the next day.

By 2 pm when I left the park, it was 90 deg F and very steamy - and then it started to rain, so my timing was pretty good! By the time I got to Tallahassee it was sunny again, and a little cooler - all the way down to 87. Staying with Nancy Clark, who says hi to all her AMIA friends and especially the Brits; we had dinner at the Kool Beanz Cafe with Meredith Goodwin, whom I had last seen at AMIA in 1999; we had a lot of catching-up to do.

Day 33 - Brunswick, Georgia

2009-10-11T18:52:00.000-06:00

After a cloudy start, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, especially near the coast, which was lucky, as that was my travel plan for the day. I avoided the interstate, and headed down US 17, with a few side excursions towards the ocean, though that is not easy here, because of the marshy, swampy coastline. Different roadkill down here too: today I saw several armadilloes (a problem for the scavengers!), a couple of possums, a small red fox, and a small deer. Alongside the road in most places is a deep and very wet ditch - though I saw no alligators I'm sure there were some in there. Lovely to watch the reflections play across the surface of the swamps between the grass stems waving in the sunshine.

I stopped off at Savannah for a walk around the old part of town - even prettier than Charleston, with a cathedral not dissimilar from a wedding cake! Many very elegant houses, and all the streets are lined with live oaks full of spanish moss, which makes for a cool and shady environment. Savannah has a bridge across one of the many rivers very like the one in Charleston mentioned yesterday.

Back on the road, and lots of meandering off the road onto little sandy tracks through the swamp leading to tiny fishing harbours (with obligatory crab shack). Found my way across yet another suspension bridge and a causeway to Jekyll Island, which would be a perfect place for a holiday - beaches, trails (both coastal and forest), fishing, boating, hang-gliding, history, restaurants ...

And then to my Motel 6 in Brunswick, which I will look at tomorrow on my way out of town. Dinner at Captain Joe's seafood diner across the street: here I had my first (and probably only) experience of hushpuppies, which were not mentioned on the menu but just came with my fried grouper and onion rings! Excellent salad bar, though.

I will be staying with friends for the next 2 nights, so might not post anything for a couple of days!

Day 32 - Charleston, South Carolina

2009-10-10T18:56:00.000-06:00

The morning started overcast, though still very warm - but then the sun came out and it was 90 deg F by 11 a.m. I headed south-east, back towards the coast, through pretty countryside with pines and oaks all mixed together, and lots of little rivers and creeks; there also seemed to be a lot of very large butterflies around. Stopped briefly at the Moores Creek Battlefield Monument, the site of the decisive battle in 1776 leading to North Carolina's declaration of independence - they were the first! Having said that, there are many places in the Carolinas with British and/or Royalist names, including the King's Highway (which it seems I have been more or less following), Elizabethtown, Jamestown, etc. Got to the coast just north of Myrtle Beach, then cruised along the promenade - this is when I needed a convertible! Rather a nice place, not too tacky along the beach, though there are still way too many high-rise hotels for my liking.

South Carolina beach communities look very prosperous, with many beautiful mansions, golf clubs, exclusive resorts - but once I headed inland again, it was a different story: very small agricultural communities, lots of empty broken-down shacks and closed and boarded-up businesses, with signs on the petrol stations saying 'No Loitering' ... The land is swampy in many places, which makes it ideal for growing rice and indigo (there are many businesses called 'Indigo', and I was wondering why!). Georgetown has an attractive historic district, and a thriving seaport.

And then the heavens opened - now I know why everything is so green down here! Unfortunately this put a damper (literally) on my plan to walk around Charleston! However, I drove around instead, looking at the very attractive city centre through the raindrops; my compensation was a magnificent double rainbow (which I couldn't photograph as I was driving). There are many lovely churches with very narrow high steeples, and some very elegant and stately civic buildings. There is also a magnificent bridge which I plan to drive across tomorrow.

After all this hard work, I decided to treat myself to a pepper steak for dinner, along with a giant margarita, so please excuse any spelling mistakes!

Day 31 - Fayetteville, North Carolina

2009-10-09T18:29:00.000-06:00

Today was a driving day! Drove west on US-58 across the south of Virginia, wondering what the white fluffy stuff growing in the fields was - until I realised it was cotton! Hadn't expected to see it this far north, but with the temperature in the high 80s F (27 DegC) most of the day, I guess it makes sense. As I got into North Carolina, there were fields of tobacco as well as cotton and some soybeans. Took NC 48 and US 301 south instead of the I-95, making my way through lots of little towns rather than the tree-lined and anonymous interstate: Emporia (looking a little down-at-heel, with many empty storefronts on Main Street); Gastonia (very pretty, lots of attractive colonial-style mansions); Roanoake Rapids (couldn't see the rapids, but a big paper processing mill was right on the river); and Rocky Mount (a railroad centre of old, and still a hub for train lines, and the birthplace of Thelonius Monk).

So here I am in Fayetteville, the historic district of which is very attractive! It's also a very military town, with Fort Bragg just down the road.

Day 30 - Virginia Beach, Virginia

2009-10-08T16:54:00.000-06:00

Great weather again today! There are storms all over the midwest, but here on the eastern shore it's been 70 deg F or better for the last several days. Set out this morning to look at Assateague National Seashore - a fascinating and fragile environment, supporting many waterfowl (including brown pelicans and these snowy egrets), wild ponies, and various kinds of deer, including sika deer which were imported in the 1920s. I saw several deer bouncing across the road, but none that stood still long enough to be photographed.

Then I headed south and stopped in Berlin, a pretty small town whose main claim to fame is that it was used as the location for The Runaway Bride, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. It seems to have a preponderance of antique stores and tea rooms!

Heading south again, I made a little excursion to Chincoteague, a southern version of Cape Cod; this is one of the barrier islands that run down the coast of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Then I followed US 13 all the way down the islands to the extraordinary Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel - this has 3 bridge spans and two tunnels (to allow a channel for shipping); it is almost 18 miles long in total, but cuts off a trip round the bay of 95 miles!

At the southern end of the bridge, I was at my destination of Virginia Beach - miles and miles of golden sand (the longest pleasure beach in the world, apparently), and some very noisy jet planes from the nearby Naval Air Station Oceana - feels quite like home with the Greek airforce base at Chania airport across the bay from my house.

Watched the sunset from a nice Italian restaurant (Angelo's by the Sea) while eating very good crabcakes - the seafood all the way down the eastern shore is excellent!

Day 29 - Ocean City, Maryland

2009-10-07T18:14:00.000-06:00

An absolutely gorgeous day today - sunshine all day, though it's been a little windy (however, not the 40-50 mph gusts that were predicted). I'm amazed to find that once you cross the Mason-Dixon line, the temperature is 10 deg F warmer almost immediately!

Started out going east (and a bit south), through Frederick, and then onto the I-270 towards Washington DC; the Capital Beltway seems to work much better than London's M25! The closer I got to the coast, the more agricultural the landscape became, although there are still many mature trees; here they are still mostly green, though lots of leaves are now falling.

Eventually made my way past Annapolis, with its famous State House (not visible from the road, however) to the stunning Chesapeake Bay Bridge; and made a little side trip down to the tip of historic Kent Island. Continued east into Delaware (first state to ratify the Constitution) to the coast at Rehoboth Beach - it seemed to take forever to get to see the ocean (reminding me of childhood trips to the seaside, when the last few miles seemed to be the longest) - Rehoboth reminded me rather of Skegness - a long approach full of seaside tat (what in the the UK are referred to as 'grockle shops'), culminating in an enormously long sandy beach with a cold grey-green sea. I then turned south, travelling down the sand strip through Bethany Beach (much nicer than Rehoboth) to Ocean City, where I am staying at the Comfort Inn right on the boardwalk. Super big room with couch and fully-equipped kitchen (not that I'm using it!), all for $50.

Went for a long walk down the boardwalk, watching the kiteflyers capitalising on the wind, but at this time of year most of the stores, restaurants and bars are closed. However, there's a hot rod convention in town, so there were lots of interesting people- and car-watching opportunities!

Day 28 - Hagerstown, Maryland

2009-10-06T18:57:00.000-06:00

Beautiful drive west (and a bit south) this morning on the I-76, watching the high cloud formations gradually changing shape. Forests and mountains (and a few tunnels through the mountains) all the way to Donegal, where I turned south and drove through Laurel Highlands to Fallingwater, which I have long wanted to see. I think I have found my dream home - Frank Lloyd Wright was a genius with an amazing ability to see the potential in a beautiful site. The house is quite literally built into the environment, using existing boulders in situ as foundations and supports for the cantilevered terraces, and uncurtained windows all around the house so that every room gets daylight. Most of the built-in furniture is black walnut, designed by FLW - I guess it's a bit of an irony that I'm sitting in my plastic Motel 6 room reading about the natural materials used throughout this wonderful house. OK, enough drooling from me - you can find some more pictures here.

Then I headed south and back east again, into Maryland on Alt-40 - a National Scenic Byway which follows the hills up and down, passing through some pretty and historic towns like Frostburg. Actually when the signs ran out in Cumberland, I ended up lost on a completely un-numbered road at one point, up one side of a mountain and back down the other, but with wonderful views of the changing foliage. I ended up back on the interstate with which I had intended to intersect - more by luck than judgment, I suspect. Stopped off tonight at Hagerstown, of which I have seen nothing but the Motel 6 and the mall across the street!

Day 27 - Carlisle, Pennsylvania

2009-10-05T19:21:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my wonderful hostess, Melinda, for a great long weekend in the Big Apple - we had a blast! Said farewell to the city this morning, and headed north to visit Vonn, a friend from Florida now living in the beautiful and historic village of Hyde Park.

This is the view from her back porch, looking over the majestic Hudson River, which I crossed 3 times today, on 3 different bridg es, Tappan-Zee, Newburgh-Beacon, and the very elegant Mid-Hudson, all different, with stunning views of the river and the valley, which is thickly forested and at this time of year full of colour.

In fact I have been surprised (and delighted) at how much forest still exists in the north-eastern United States. Unfortunately I have been about a week ahead of the fall foliage, but the weather is definitely cooling now, so maybe in a few days the trees will be a riot of red, copper and gold.

After a great lunch sitting enjoying the view and catching up after not seeing each other for 4 years, it was time to move on, to Carlisle. A very pleasant drive through rural Pennsylvania (and now I understand the -sylvania part - Latin for "place in the woods"), marred by the excessive coning off of about 15 miles of the I-81, when only about half a mile is being actually worked on!

Day 26 (Part 2) - New York City

2009-10-04T21:01:00.000-06:00

Slept really late this morning, but Melinda was ready with coffee when I emerged! Also bagels from Mike's Bagels just down the street. First errand of the day was to buy the CD of The Lion King, which we tracked down in the wonderful Colony store in Times Square - an amazing collection of CDs, DVDs, vinyl, sheet music, and musical paraphernalia. Could have spent a fortune there!

Made our way to the Film Society of the Lincoln Center where we had tickets for the New York Film Festival, to see Independencia, a Filipino film about the Philippines in the 1930s. Not entirely narrative, and borrowing studio techniques of the time, we both liked it a lot even if we didn't entirely understand it. Many evocative jungle scenes, entirely filmed in the studio! There was a Q&A session with the director afterwards; he was very polite when someone asked him "What was the message of your movie?"

We walked thoughtfully through Central Park to find our dining quarters - Rue 57 - a French restaurant with a sushi bar! It was excellent sushi, too.

Finished the day with dancing at the Tavern on the Green, right in the middle of Central Park; as we made our way there we could see the almost full moon rising through the trees. My swing dancing leaves a lot to be desired, but Melinda is very good at it!

Day 26 - New York City

2009-10-04T09:03:00.000-06:00

Saturday in New York, what to do? So many choices! Melinda was working, so I took myself off to Zabar's for a late breakfast of bagel and lox, and peoplewatched in the process; there was a block party being set up just outside the window - fun to watch all the kids looking at the bouncy castle and hoping they could get onto it! Then across Broadway to Filene's Basement, where the style is completely different from Boston! Many more high fashion labels (and prices to match), but I did snag a beautiful sweater for $40 down from $198!

OK, time for some culture - I thought "I'll just walk across the park" - and then the heavens opened! I spent a little while hopping from stall to stall at the art and craft market on Columbus, but was getting very wet. So a quick lunch across the street at Cafe Frida, where they make your guacamole to order right in front of you. After 40 minutes the rain was still heavy, so grabbed a cab and arrived at the Guggenheim in style. It took me 30 minutes to get a ticket (everyone else had the same idea in the rain ...), but it was worth the wait! A wonderful Kandinsky exhibition from bottom to top of the spiral, chronologically displayed, showing his progression to the abstract, his themes, and the changes in his colour palette over time. Too many great pictures to have a favourite, but you can look for yourself here.

Time for a rest to absorb the afternoon's activities! Then dinner in the neighbourhood, at AquaMarina, an Italian family restaurant - where I had seafood lasagna, excellent! Then we headed back to the southern edge of Harlem, to Smoke, my favourite jazz joint, where we had the best seats in the house, thanks to Dave Kaufman who is a regular there! We saw the David Hazeltine Quartet (David Hazeltine - piano, Louis Hayes - drums, John Webber - bass, and Eric Alexander - tenor sax). I was sitting right by the piano, with a great view of the keyboard!

Day 25 - New York City

2009-10-03T07:11:00.000-06:00

Wow, we had a busy day yesterday! Spent most of the morning at El Mundo department store - like an enormous jumble sale of designer clothes at insane prices. I ended up with 2 pairs of trousers (pants to my American friends), 3 tops, and a pair of shorts for $69!

Back to Melinda's for lunch - superfast burritos! Then out for some culture; first to MoMA (free after 4 p.m. on Friday), where we enjoyed both the art and the clientele - I love peoplewatching. Favourite picture of the day - hard to say with so many wonderful Picassos, Cezannes, Gauguins, Giacomettis, Seurats, etc., but I think it has to be Matisse's Dance I. But I also loved Diego Rivera's Agrarian Leader Zapata, which had a somewhat mediaeval tapestry feel about the horse and the shrubbery on the right ... There was also a great special exhibition on Ron Arad's work; I wanted to sit in all the chairs!

After this, we needed food to sustain us through the evening, so we headed for a classic New York deli - Stage, on 45th and 7th - where between us we demolished a classic martini, a bowl of borscht, a Tiger Woods Reuben (hot pastrami, sauerkraut and swiss on rye), a "small" piece of New York cheesecake, and 2 coffees! The maitre d' sounded just like Billy Crystal!

Suitably fortified, we arrived at the Minskoff Theatre, a lovely Art Deco space, to see The Lion King. What a fabulous show! Spine-tingling singing (especially the African numbers), great choreography, costumes and drama. Highly recommended!

Day 24 - New York City

2009-10-02T08:28:00.001-06:00

Drove down from Boston yesterday - including a little excursion to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, where I ate my sandwich lunch on the rather cool and breezy beach. Lots of interesting bridges into and out of the various islands and peninsulae that make up Rhode Island, including the Newport Bridge, which looks very steep on approach.

Missed my exit at the George Washington Bridge in New York, but took the next one to avoid going over to New Jersey, and found my way to Melinda's, then spent 20 minutes crawling around looking for parking; eventually ended up 4 blocks away (which is pretty good for NY).

We had a little stroll around the neighbourhood, and ended up for a drink at Pomodoro (can't find a website!), with Sue Bakken and Dave Kaufman, putting the health informatics world to rights ;-)

Day 22 - Boston, Massachusetts

2009-09-30T08:26:00.001-06:00

Had a 'Boston Harbour' day with Mieke yesterday! We walked from Government Center across to the harbour (resisting the temptation to go into Faneuil Hall and shop), then all around the harbour to the New England Aquarium, one of the best in the world. Spent a while looking at the denizens of the deep, particularly impressed with the stingrays and Myrtle the Turtle (she is over 70 years old and weighs about 600 pounds).

Then we headed over to take the Whale Watch tour; it takes about an hour to get out to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary where the whales hang out, but it was a beautiful sunny day (though pretty windy), so I topped up my tan a little (even though everyone else was huddled in their coats). We were lucky enough to see two magnificent humpbacks, one of which breached twice (unfortunately before anyone had their cameras ready). They both did lots of flipper slapping, raising a great deal of spray - and I have lots of pictures of the spray, but only a few of the flippers!

Then we headed back, watching the Boston skyline get bigger and bigger; there are also great views of the airport, and planes taking off and landing. The harbour is full of fascinating old buildings - the Chart House (now a restaurant), several warehouses (now hotels and apartments), and the Custom House (now a hotel), among others. By this time (2.45 pm) we were pretty hungry, and of course just across the road from the Aquarium is ... Legal Sea Foods! See fishes, eat fishes ... The best clam chowder in the world followed by crab cake (which is all crab and no potato) - delicious! Then we wandered around the park created after the completion of the Big Dig, and admired the Old State House. Also we had spotted an odd squat conical spire while coming back into the harbour, and discovered it was the old Grain Exchange building!

Day 20 - Boston, Massachusetts

2009-09-28T15:04:00.000-06:00

Terry and I did great shopping yesterday! Many bargains from Filene's Basement, and a belated birthday present for Lorien, which she insisted on wearing right away. Then dinner at Matt Murphy's in Brookline - delicious food but enormous portions!

Today I had lunch with Hamish Fraser, discussing the OpenMRS work being done by Partners In Health in Malawi, Kenya and Rwanda - and we incidentally recalled that we had met while he was climbing up a wall at a convention centre in Scottsdale, AZ ... I do know the most interesting people!

Day 19 - Boston, Massachusetts

2009-09-27T08:48:00.001-06:00

Had a nice day yesterday - delicious brunch with mimosas in Brookline with everyone, then a wander up to Coolidge Corner to my favourite store: Eureka! Couldn't resist buying a jigsaw puzzle. Spent the afternoon reorganising my iTunes (yeah, what a geek I am).

Today, for the first time on my trip, it is raining a little. Terry and I plan to go shopping later, to the South Shore mall.

Day 16 - Boston, MA

2009-09-25T08:38:00.000-06:00

A domestic day today - i.e. clearing out the car, doing laundry, stuff like that. Chinese takeout in the evening with John, Mieke, Deb, Alex and Karin, and of course Matt, Terry and Lorien!

Day 15 - Boston, Massachusetts

2009-09-23T20:15:00.000-06:00

After a late breakfast at the clam shack, Laurel drove me around some more of Cape Cod, including a visit to the Parnassus bookstore, where I could have spent the whole day - what a treasure trove!

It was hard to say goodbye, but it had to be done. On my way off of Cape Cod, I went to the Sandwich Glass Museum, which was really interesting; there was a fascinating demonstration of glassblowing - it's much harder than it looks! I drove back to Boston via Rte 28 (couldn't possibly go back the way I came), to stay with Matt, Terry and Lorien for a few days in Mattapan. BBQ chicken dinner on the deck (and of course martinis), and I am marvelling at how Lorien has grown from a baby to a little person since Christmas when I was last here - she is not 2-1/2 years old yet and she knows all the letters of the alphabet!

Not sure how long I will be here - but there may not be posts every day - it depends what we're doing!

Day 14 - Cape Cod, Massachusetts

2009-09-22T19:09:00.000-06:00

Not normally known for being an early riser, I had to drag myself from my Travelodge bed at 6:30 am, because I had to be in Cape Cod by 11:30 for a lunch date with Laurel, Wendy, Ruth and Helen. We dined royally at the Wequassett Resort, overlooking Pleasant Bay, all the while talking about food! Other ladies with whom I lunch/dine have similar propensities!

Staying with Ron and Laurel at their beautiful home in Yarmouth Port; they are the perfect hosts - and I have learnt so much about the history and ecology of this area just in the short time I have been here. We spent the afternoon on a tour of the area, including this amazing weeping beech tree, a folly with a fabulous view of the beach and ocean, and Nauset Beach, which has many many miles of golden sand and hardly anything else. The whole area is very unspoiled, and conservation-conscious, so there are no high-rise hotels and gifte shoppes cluttering the beaches, though even here coastal erosion is taking its toll.

We finished the day with a lovely dinner at the Nauset Beach Club, proper Italian flavours, a freshly-picked sage leaf in the olive oil, and a bottle of 2000 Querceto Chianti Classico Reserva, which we all loved.

Day 13 - Portland, Maine

2009-09-21T18:28:00.000-06:00

I think I'm leading a charmed life - the weather has been absolutely perfect ever since I got to the US!

Had breakfast in another great diner in Burlington, VT - Libby's Blue Line Diner - their special this morning was Canadian Bacon Frittata, and it was wonderful! Then set out vaguely south-eastwards ...

Passed through Montpelier, capital of Vermont, where I was very impressed with the fabulous gold dome on the State House. Then meandered through to Crawford's Notch, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (which are not at all like the Lefka Ori/White Mountains of Northwest Crete!), where I had a wander around and a coffee.

My map told me that Mt Washington was the highest mountain of the range, and when I got there, I discovered that there was a road up to the summit - well, all who know me understand that if there is a mountain I must go up it! Of course, there were lots of safety warnings, but to a resident of Crete the road was a doddle! This is the home of the World's Worst Weather, apparently, but not today! Sunshine, light breezes, and only a little haze, so the views were phenomenal. Once you get to the car park it's a bit of a hike up a rickety wooden staircase, then clambering over the rocks to actually stand at the summit, which is 6,288 ft above sea level. But so worth it!

Eventually made my way along all sorts of winding roads through pretty little New England towns, with their white clapboard houses and cedar shakes on the roofs, and each one had a variant of the typical white church with a very steep spire! The landscape through western New Hampshire into Maine was very reminiscent of southern England, very green, very well-kept - but of course much bigger!

Day 12 - Burlington, Vermont

2009-09-20T18:55:00.000-06:00

Today I have been thinking about lakes. Now I've left the Great Lakes behind, and have been cruising through the Adirondacks all day, looking at some of the hundreds of lakes in this region. How do we define a lake? It's a hole in the ground filled with (usually) fresh water; but that is only the beginning of the story! When does a pond become big enough to be a lake? Does it have to be deep? Where does the water come from? Why don't they either overflow or drain out? I guess I should do some studying, but if anyone has answers, post them here.

Lakes can form boundaries between territories or regions or states, but they can also allow people to travel easily by boat (or sled if frozen) from one side to the other instead of going all the way round. They are a source of fresh water for animal and human consumption and to help irrigate vegetation and crops; they are also a source of fish for birds, animals and humans to eat. Insects breed there and are then eaten by birds and fish. Humans love to play around lakes - boating, fishing, swimming, sunbathing. They are often also very proprietorial about lakefront real estate! If I had a dollar for every 'private road' sign I have seen today I could extend this trip by several weeks ;-)

Anyway, here's Lake Champlain, and the bridge from New York to Vermont at 4 p.m. this afternoon!

Day 11 - Buffalo, New York

2009-09-19T19:28:00.000-06:00

Lots of high-speed driving today - apart from Cleveland, that is - I happened to pick just the wrong time of day to get through a football-crazy town! Browns Stadium was host to a local derby - Ohio State vs Toledo, and it took me over an hour to drive about 5 miles! But it was a beautiful day, and Cleveland have a great classical music station, WCLV, which kept me entertained and stress-free.

You can see the spray from the Horseshoe Falls for miles - yes, I went to Niagara Fa lls - the State Park has all sorts of attractions, but I only had time for a couple. The Cave of the Winds tour involves putting on a yellow raincoat (made of very thin polythene), and descending about 17 stories in a lift, then walking around a number of very slippery staircases and walkways built all around the Falls, and sometimes over the top of the rocks at the bottom. This involves getting very very wet, so my non-waterproof camera stayed firmly under cover! But it was a lot of fun! The Maid of the Mist boat motors past the main falls and the Bridal Veil falls, and then right into the Horseshoe Falls! Again, we got to wear polythene (blue this time) and got pretty wet, but it was mostly just spray this time, and I did get lots of pictures! Looking from above, the falls are impressive, but until you get down on the water it's hard to appreciate quite how massive they are - and the sheer volume of water constantly pouring down.

Day 10 - Toledo, Ohio

2009-09-18T19:29:00.000-06:00

I started really early today, as I had many miles to cover - here's the sunrise from the hotel car park. There was hardly any traffic at all on the I-75S, just beautiful rolling hills, dense forest, and very pretty clouds!

Driving through Bay City, there were many diversions because of the ubiquitous roadworks, and thus I was able to see the church of St Stanislaus Kostka (see picture here) - there are many churches all around the US thus dedicated by devout Poles. M-25, the coastal route, goes past the sugar refineries - a wonderful smell of caramel permeates the air here! Just south of here I crested the brow of a hill to find a young deer standing in the middle of the road! I slowed right down, hoping to get a quick picture of it, but a car coming the other way scared it off.

At Port Huron, it was time for lunch - and I spotted the wonderful Powers Diner, where I had an excellent burger! When I got back in the car and turned on the ignition, a flashing sign told me 'Change Oil Soon'. Uh-oh. But the car felt fine so I carried on. Traffic got busier and busier from here into Detroit, though no-one was going slower than 70 mph! Crossed 8 Mile Road north of Detroit - made famous by Eminem in the film 8 Mile.

I made the final stretch to Toledo in under an hour, and made straight for an Enterprise car rental place, where the very helpful staff arranged for the oil-change to be done there and then at Smitty's next door - took about 20 minutes - and I was also given ideas about where to eat and entertainment for the evening!

Day 9 - Mackinaw City, Michigan

2009-09-17T18:29:00.000-06:00

Early start today, only stopping for gas and a breakfast burrito on my way north up highway US41. Not too much on the road, which makes for easy driving, but lots of roadworks everywhere – the result of economic stimulus activity by Federal and State government. I see why they call Green Bay by that name – it is lined all around with trees, pine, birch, larch, aspen. The pines are nowhere near as high as those on the west coast – I guess the cold stunts their growth! Again today, the road does not hug the lakeshore, but from an environmental point of view this is probably a good thing, enabling the fragile coastal environment to survive undisturbed.

Lots of roadkill today too – I saw raccoons, skunks, a deer, a porcupine, a beaver, an otter, and what looked like a baby bear, though it’s not the season for them, so could have been something else. Not all that many birds of prey around, except in the far north.

It’s fun kicking back at 55 mph on cruise control, listening to the local radio stations – KRBR has a very funny DJ in the mornings; here’s an example: “Here’s how to have some fun – walk around Intensive Care dressed up as the Grim Reaper!”

Moving swiftly on, there are some very pretty small towns where the road touches the shore – especially the twin towns of Marinette, WI and Menominee, MI, set on either side of the mouth of the Menominee River on the state border. I also particularly liked Escanaba, Manistique (where the lighthouse is).

The stretch down from Gros Cap to St Ignace, where the Mackinac Bridge soars over the straits to Mackinaw City, is spectacular. This is where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron, and on a clear day you can see Canada!

My Days Inn motel in Mackinaw City is right on the water, with its own little beach and view of the bridge – also an indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi, and very well-equipped rooms – all for 50 bucks! Had a nice long walk after spending the day driving, and dinner at Nonna Lisa’s, an Italian joint done up like a hunting lodge, complete with stuffed animals on the walls and the rafters! The chicken marsala was pretty good!

Thought for the Day – The Obstacle is the Path (seen outside a church in Escanaba, MI)

Funny sign of the day: Scent-free hunting boots – beat that buck!

Day 8 - Green Bay, Wisconsin

2009-09-16T20:15:00.000-06:00

It took about an hour, but I eventually got my rental car - this time I have a metallic blue Pontiac G6 - very pretty! Set off north along the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, through the very leafy suburbs of Chicago and satellite towns. Unfortunately you can't see much of the lake most of the time, just tantalising glimpses down private roads ...

There are some very pretty small harbour towns along this route, mostly with lighthouses, such as Kenosha, Racine and Port Washington, but it's very slow going. Occasionally the route diverts slightly inland onto I-43, which is much quicker but with less to see. However, the landscape at this time of year is lovely; there is a profusion of purple and blue wild flowers in the marshland between the road an the lake, the trees are just starting to turn golden, and the sky looked for all the world like the opening credits of The Simpsons!

I diverted up the Door Peninsula to Sturgeon Bay, a sweet little town, if a little chintzy. Sadly at the moment most of the roads in the centre are being dug up, so there were many diversions and nowhere to park, so I couldn't really walk around as I had planned.

On to Green Bay, to stay the night at Motel 6, just around the corner from the hospital - the restaurant where I had dinner seemed to be full of patients, who were mostly cheerful about their ailments (though there's only so much chatter about illness one can take while eating dinner ...). Where shall I end up tomorrow?

Day 7 - Chicago

2009-09-15T20:50:00.000-06:00

An early (well, 9 a.m.) and very substantial Swedish breakfast at Ann Sather in Andersonville, so that we could spend the day driving round the bottom end of Lake Michigan; it's lovely once you get past the very sad and dilapidated Gary, Indiana. Stopped off at West Beach, Indiana Dunes, for a little walk, then on to Mount Baldy for a steep hike up to the top of the dunes and over onto the gorgeous beach. The sand here is very fine and soft, so quite hard going when climbing up a 30-degree slope.

We continued on into Michigan (so that's another 2 states ticked off on my list), and spent quite a while in New Buffalo, where Svetlana used to go on holiday as a child with her Lithuanian grandparents - cute little seaside town, mostly unchanged. Excellent coffee at Michigan Thyme (and pretty things in the store also). On to Gintaras at Union Pier, where Svetlana used to stay in one of the cottages on the beach. We had a long walk along the shore, scattering seagulls and skimming stones as we went; hardly anyone else on the beach at all!

We had seen signs for Lemon Creek Winery, so winetasting was the next order of business - and who would have thought that Michigan would produce such good wines? I'm not normally an ice wine fan, but the one I tried (2005 Snow Moon) was superb, tasting of oranges and honey.

On the way back. we stopped off for Redamak's excellent burgers at New Buffalo, and completed our dinner down the street with ice cream (pistachio / chocomania combo) at Oink's - a very American way to end the day!

By this time the sun was sinking, so time to head back to Chicagoland through the sulphurous industrial corridor of north Indiana - the Chicago skyline, all lit up, was a very welcome sight!

Funny sign of the day: Laundry Room: Drop your drawers here! (New Buffalo, MI)

Day 6 - Chicago

2009-09-14T20:48:00.000-06:00

A quieter day today! By the time we'd had coffee and breakfast sitting in the sunshine on the terrace outside Svetlana's kitchen, and emailed, and Facebooked, and blogged, it was nearly midday! Caught the bus downtown, bought myself a pay-as-you-go cellphone (as my Greek one doesn't work in the US) at Radio Shack, also had to buy a battery and charger for my camera, as I had somehow forgotten to pack them (a Senior Moment, I think) - and suddenly it was time for lunch! We sat down at China Grill on Michigan Ave, but with main courses starting at $36, we soon decided to go elsewhere! Ended up at Elephant & Castle, and settled for cod and chips and Smithwick's Irish Ale.

We managed to negotiate Filene's Basement and TJ Maxx without buying anything, then I popped into the AMA for a coffee with my former boss; then over the road to Pizzeria Via Stato for drinks and appetizers with some AMA colleagues, catching up with all the news and gossip.

Day 5 - Chicago

2009-09-14T09:43:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful day! Late morning / lunch / early afternoon at the Chicago Botanic Gardens (which are actually an hour's drive north of Chicago), in glorious sunshine. Millions of photo-opps: see pictures here. Then down to Soldier Field to try to meet Neil Versel before he went into the stadium, to buy his extra tickets from him - for the U2 360 concert. Huge crowds of people, all very good-tempered and happy in the sun, lining up to get into the stadium (some had been there since 2 a.m. to ensure getting a good spot in the arena). Finally managed to hook up with Neil, after walking halfway around the stadium, and acquire the tickets. As there were 2 hours to go before the concert started, we went up to Millennium Park to have margaritas at the Park Grill lounge (and a big platter of guacamole and corn chips to sustain us).

Back at Soldier Field, we were confronted by an amazing circular stage with what can only be described as a spaceship (pictures coming soon)! Snow Patrol opened the show, and they did a great job - the crowd loved them! But everyone was waiting for U2, and the roar that greeted them was phenomenal. We had a guy in front of us who danced non-stop through the entire set (unfortunately his sense of rhythm was a little off, but he was having fun); he knew every word of every song - a true believer! Also surprise (video) appearances of Desmond Tutu and Aung San Suu Kyi, and shameless plugs for the One organisation.

Jet lag? No time for that!

Day 4 - Chicago

2009-09-12T18:15:00.000-06:00

Flew in this afternoon, to be met at the airport by Svetlana; beautiful weather, everything still green (last time I was here it was January and totally white). Currently contemplating where to go for dinner while sipping a very good G&T - looks like Turkish Cuisine, with belly dancing at 9!

Day 3 - London

2009-09-11T13:31:00.000-06:00

Today was all about friends and food! Lunch with Jacky, Lindsay and Wendy (aka the Four Ducks) at Chimes of Pimlico, with much gossip and catching up, then a river cruise from Westminster to Tower Bridge and back, and finally a late birthday tea at the Royal Festival Hall - with rosé shiraz (yes, really, though the colour did look like cough linctus). Back to Jenny's for a takeaway curry and a DVD (The International, with the lovely Clive Owen).

Days 1 and 2 - Chania - Athens - London

2009-09-11T02:27:00.000-06:00

OK, I'm back on my travels again! An interesting journey to London on Wednesday - did you know that loukoumia was a suspicious substance? No, neither did I! However, I got stopped at airport security in Athens as it wasn't in a duty-free-shop bag; after much discussion, and examination of the receipt, they finally let me take it through, but it took about 10 minutes! Got on the plane, taxied out to the runway - where we sat for a while listening to some very odd whining noises from the flaps. Uh-oh. Back to another gate. Where we sat for another 2 hours while the mechanics tried to fix the plane - unsuccessfully. Uh-oh. Eventually we were bused to yet another gate, where a new plane awaited - this one airworthy! We got to London almost 3 hours late, so the lovely dinner (prawn and aubergine green curry) that Jenny had made was eaten at midnight!

Spent Thursday afternoon lunching and shopping with Rosie and Marie-Christine at Westfield, then met Jenny for a Vietnamese meal at Pho before going to see Sister Act at the London Palladium - an excellent show, and like a revival meeting at the end, with almost the whole audience up on their feet, clapping and waving their arms in the air!

Day 50 - Chicago, Illinois

2008-12-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Snow snow snow ... well, I guess it is December in the Midwest, so I shouldn't be surprised! Have been loafing around watching old movies, catching up on reading, etc., but we spent the whole afternoon at the Art Institute a couple of days ago seeing The Divine Art tapestry exhibition. The collection has not been on view for several years, as it was undergoing conservation and restoration in Belgium, and it's stunning. I'm not particularly fond of the 18th century formal / Greek myth / martial / pastoral tapestries, but the medieval and early Renaissance works are wonderful. I was especially taken with a relatively small work from the Netherlands of the infant Christ pressing the wine of the Eucharist - this is a subject I have not seen in any painting, sculpture or tapestry before: it seemed very fresh and original. The most modern piece in this exhibition is Pomona by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, beautifully executed in this medium.
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Today we are going to the Merchandise Mart to see One of a Kind and The Artist Project.
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Day 46 - Chicago, Illinois

2008-12-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday - thanks to Svetlana's family! Since then, I've been getting my breath back and enjoying being in one place. We have been sampling the amazing variety of ethnic food available in this part of Chicago - Ethiopian, Greek and Italian among others, and also visited the Baha'i Temple, a very beautiful and serene building.
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This being Chicago in December, it is of course snowing!
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This evening we went to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, thanks to Susan Nedza's generosity, to see the most amazing production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. A cast from South Asia, 7 different languages, some very athletic and balletic scenes, some rather sly moments, some very bawdy moments, a very physical production of which Shakespeare would have heartily approved, and which would go down very well at the Globe in London! Our cab driver on the way there was an Albanian who wondered if we might like to join his harem ... though he thought his wife might not actually like it if we agreed!
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Day 40 - Chicago, Illinois

2008-11-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

I-55 is somewhat dull; Illinois is not quite as flat as Lincolnshire, England where I lived for 20 years (Illinois has some subtle undulations at least in the southern half), but it has pretty lakes and trees. Saw some wild turkeys by a lake just after crossing the Missouri-Illinois border - I guess they have escaped the oven for this year's Thanksgiving! Also saw a number of signs publicising the Prairie Grass Conservation Project.
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Now in Chicago's North Side - Edgewater to be precise - staying with Svetlana for a few days' relaxation, and Thanksgiving with her family tomorrow. It's slightly weird to be back as a tourist after living and working here for a year!
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Will try to post occasionally while I'm here, if there is news!
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Funny sign of the day: [seen on a small trailer being pulled by a Geo Metro] "I go where I'm towed."
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Day 39 - St Louis, Missouri

2008-11-25T19:04:00.001-07:00

On the way here, I have seen the biggest rocking chair in the world, lots of fireworks stores (what's that about?), and an unfeasible number of signs for Adult Video stores, along with a sprinkling of Route 66 museums dotted along the way. But the Ozarks are pretty - with lots of trees, rivers and lakes, it must be great in the summer.
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Driving on the interstate might be quicker, but it's (a) boring and (b) tiring! About 20 miles from St Louis the road was jammed with a convoy of school buses, staggered across all three lanes - mixed with the huge trucks this was not a fun stretch of road.

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I'm staying at the Hilton downtown, and plan to look at the Arch and the riverfront tomorrow morning. But now - sleeptime!

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Day 38 - Tulsa, Oklahoma

2008-11-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Dawn was purple and rose, and then brightened to that milky blue usually seen in winter - not a cloud anywhere! Hit the road before 9 a.m. and drove through mile after mile of Texas prairie and rough pasture, past the biggest cross in the Western hemisphere, and on into Oklahoma, till I saw a sign for the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City (actually there are a lot of Route 66 museums!). My route from LA has been following this iconic 'Mother Road' with a few diversions into Nevada and Utah; it would be a great roadtrip to follow the original Route 66 (with as little interstate as possible) - many people do, and there is a turn-by-turn set of directions (both ways) here.

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The museum is a dear little place: the 'transportation' section is housed in what used to be a cinema - with an original Harley Davidson Electra Glide in blue if you want one, look here), a 1953 Lincoln Continental, a 1928 Ford Model T and a 1917 fire engine. Next door is the 'history' room, with nicely-done tableaux with descriptive commentary that starts as you move around the space. It was a very quiet day (I was the only visitor all morning) and the 2 ladies staffing it spent their time either discussing one of the local charities providing meals for Thanksgiving, or playing dice on the counter!

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On the prairies still, the road goes past the Oklahoma Spaceport and the Stafford Air and Space Museum and through into the lands of the Cherokee Nation, and then the Kickapoo Nation. The scenery gradually changed to become more hilly and wooded - a bit like Iowa but with fewer farmhouses and grain silos and more cattle; the earth here is the same red as the rocks in the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon.

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And so on to Tulsa - I seem to be chasing the song titles on my route - Take it easy ('Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona ...'), Show me the way to Amarillo, Electra Glide in Blue (OK, this one's a movie ...), Only 24 hours to Tulsa, Get your kicks on Route 66, and tomorrow it will be Meet me in St Louis (also a film, but at least a musical)!

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Day 37 - Amarillo, Texas

2008-11-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Econo Lodge - who knew? Maybe it's just the Eagle Nest location, but breakfast was fresh-made waffles with blackberries in the mix - delicious! Had an interesting conversation with the manager, who was born in Chicago but decided that this place was home; she tells me I am on what the Native Americans call a 'vision quest', which sounds good to me (though it's usually undertaken by adolescents - oh, wait ...!) Here's the lake from the top of the hill on the way east.
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Cimarron's motto is 'Between the Rockies and the Plains' - the landscape changes rather suddenly here. Here's my last view of the Rockies (this trip, anyway).
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The rest of the drive today was across the prairies, though there was a sprinkling of extinct volcanoes across the landscape for the first couple of hours out of Cimarron - the first of these is Capulin, now a national monument. To Amarillo (whose signposting could be a lot better!), and Motel 6, this one with a comfy chair!
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Funny sign of the day: Tome on the Range [a bookstore]
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Day 36 - Eagle Nest, New Mexico

2008-11-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

A peaceful, contemplative kind of day today - this end of US-64 (which runs all the way to North Carolina) is very beautiful, rising up through the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, the meadows, piñon pine and juniper over the Tusas mountains to a height of almost 10,000 ft [3,000 m], at Brazos Cliffs. It also crosses the Continental Divide a little east of Dulce. The descent is slightly more gentle! I'm fortunate that this road is still open - it is often closed because of deep snow at this time of year.

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Just before Taos the road goes over the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge - very dramatic!
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Stopped off at Taos - a fascinating town full of gentle hippies; most of the houses are Mexican adobe, and actually somewhat reminiscent of the houses I saw in Saudi Arabia back in the 1970s. There are also some houses built into the landscape - 'earthships', south-facing, with north walls of banked earth, designed to be eco-friendly. Spent quite a while wandering around the art and craft stores - there are some beautiful artifacts to be had here.
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My resting place tonight is the Econo Lodge at Eagle Nest - it's essentially a log cabin style, with lovely friendly management - I asked where I could get coffee, and they brought me a pot! I was also visited by their two cats, one of whom just walked right into my room and made itself comfortable on my bed. But once it started scratching the couch I thought it was time for it to leave!
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Had an excellent steak at the Lucky Shoe Bar & Grill, with the biggest glass of cabernet - must have been about 1/3 of a bottle! Now I'm looking out of my window at the lake by starlight ... sure beats working!
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Day 35 - Farmington, New Mexico

2008-11-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Driving east along the I-40 early this misty morning I saw just the tips of the San Francisco mountains (highest point in Arizona), and other mesas and buttes seemingly hovering above the mist - magical! Spent most of the morning at Meteor Crater, a mile-wide crater caused by a meteorite only 150 ft in diameter, about 50,000 years ago. There's a 'fragment' of the original meteorite which is maybe 2 ft long by 15 in wide - it weighs about a ton! Other fragments are in New York Natural History Museum and the Chicago Field Museum (can't find a reference online, sorry!) if anyone wants to go and see them!

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I got my exercise today with a guided walk around the perimeter (actually only about a mile out and back, you can't go all the way round). Our guide, Eduardo Rubio, was highly entertaining; he used to be a writer and translator, but retired early and moved out to the desert. He lives in an apartment at the site and seems just as happy as can be, sharing his knowledge and tremendous enthusiasm for the crater and the Colorado Plateau, with great humour. A number of movies have been made here, including Star Man, starring Jeff Bridges - I wondered if this was the crater used for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but apparently not!

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Saw my first road runner, just as I turned north on US-191 - they really do run like the one in the cartoon! US-191 twists and turns following the contours of the canyons through the Navajo Nation. At one point I realised that the road was running along the western edge of the canyon and it was about 1,000 ft down to the canyon floor ... and then there was a blind summit with a high canyon wall ahead, so for a heart-stopping moment it seemed as though the road would just run into the wall ... but a sharp right turn and a sudden 10% decline solved the problem!

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There are many little towns full of trailer parks, small cabins, and trading posts selling rugs, pottery and jewellery, all the way across the Reservation, surrounded by the most wonderful scenery; red, grey and white canyons for 200 miles, red rocky outcrops on canyon floors (this is at Round Rock), and the most amazing sunset - I was just turning on to US-160 East, and to the north I could see the snow-topped mountains of Colorado turned pink by the setting sun against a misty blue and purple sky. But it was getting too dark by this time for photos - I should have been half-an-hour earlier.

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Past the sign for Four Corners, and over the border into New Mexico - the rocks change from red to grey-green (or maybe it was just a trick of the light, I'll check it out tomorrow), through Shiprock, and on to the Motel 6 in Farmington.
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Day 34 - Grand Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs and Flagstaff, Arizona

2008-11-20T21:47:00.001-07:00

A little cloudy today, but what a stupendous day. I still can't believe how big this country is, and the pictures don't really do justice to the vastness of the chasm, the sky, the cliffs ... I just couldn't stop clicking away all day. Luckily for me, there were very few people at the North Rim, so most of the trails and vista points were empty of others, and so peaceful - I must come back again. There were mule deer wandering around the visitor centre and the cabins, though they were pretty shy of humans.
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After the North Rim, I drove back all the way through the Kaibab Forest to Jacob Lake (stopping so as not to run over cows wandering across the road, and also some wild turkeys) for a much-needed cup of coffee, then all the way down the 89A past the wonderful Vermilion Cliffs just as the sun was setting. The road goes north-east between the cliffs and the Colorado River, then over the Navajo Bridge and back south-west down the other side of the river, which seemed awfully small and far away - but I guess that's just a matter of scale! Now staying at the Super 8 at Flagstaff, thinking about where to go tomorrow.
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Day 33 - Bryce Canyon, Utah

2008-11-19T21:46:00.001-07:00

There are no words - go here for pictures! It's over 9,000 ft [2,750 m] high, so 'Breathless in Bryce' sums it up nicely.

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Then went north through Escalante and over many mountain passes - wandered over the rock here and was very taken with the complete silence! Not even a bird singing, wonderful!
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And then on to Teasdale - an unremarkable small town (so small that Wikipedia doesn't know how many people live there) with amazing views!

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After that, made my way back to Mount Carmel Junction via unclassified roads where there was no other traffic for about 60 miles as the sun set - bliss!

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Day 32 - Mount Carmel Junction, Utah

2008-11-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

I was so happy to shake the dust of Vegas off my feet - don't think I'll be back! It's probably the most artificial place I've ever been to - no daylight, no closing time, constant noise; people were already at the slots at 8 a.m. (and I expect some of them had been there all night).
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Headed north-east on I-15, through the top end of the Mojave desert and through the Virgin River Gorge - very spectacular rock formations. Someone has rather scarily videoed the whole section while driving it ...
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St. George is a pretty little town, on the banks of the river, with lots of trees - good to see after a hundred miles of nothing but tumbleweed and Joshua trees. Turned off the freeway at Hurricane, onto US-9, and on into the Zion National Park. Here are just a few pictures of the rock formations and the river - stunning!

I'm staying at the Thunderbird Lodge for 2 days, touring as many canyons as I can manage!

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Just past the eastern end of Zion National Park, came across a field of these magnificent creatures, just behind a restaurant called the Buffalo Grill ...

Day 31 - Las Vegas, Nevada

2008-11-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

Cruise control day today - 280 miles of freeway! But wonderful crystal-clear views of mountains and the Mojave Desert after the smoke pall over LA (see new pictures on Day 30). The road at its highest goes up to 4,700 feet before descending into the craziness of Las Vegas - and visible smog from about 30 miles out.

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Staying at the Stratosphere Hotel on a ridiculously cheap deal - here's the view from my room on the 21st floor.

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The hotel has some insane rides on the top of the Tower (I hasten to add I have not tried them!).

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It's my first visit to Vegas, and it was fun to drive up the Strip and look at the fantasy world that has been created out here in the desert. In the casino there is no daylight, and acres of slot machines, but not as many people here as I had expected - and the noise is horrible! Ringing and beeping and cheeping and elevator music (too loud) and announcements for staff to return to their posts "One minute remaining of your break, please return to the poker tables". Glad I'm only staying one night! Back to the wilderness tomorrow ...
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Day 30 - Seal Beach, California

2008-11-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

Having fun in the sun, but the fires are pretty dreadful; yesterday there was a pall of choking smoke that had drifted right over the coast - we had caught the Aqualink to Long Beach Aquarium via the Queen Mary to get lunch at Bubba Gump's (Bucket O'Trash highly recommended), and it was quite frightening to find the sky black when we came out of the restaurant. Never seen so many people looking up in the sky in the middle of the day. This is very late in the year for fires like this.
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Last night went to see the latest Bond movie - Quantum of Solace - all-out action, and some extraordinary aerial dogfighting scenes, together with the usual miracle escapes. Fun! Great scenes also from the Palio in Siena - which reminded me of when the girls and I were there for the Palio in 1998 (I think it was 1998!), when we nearly got hit by a flying flagpole.
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We're having a lazy day today - brunch, a walk down at the marina admiring all the yachts and gin palaces, and then down to the beach to watch the sunset before dinner. I suppose the only good thing about the pollution caused by the fires is the extra-lovely sunsets ...
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Day 28 - Seal Beach, California

2008-11-14T22:08:00.001-07:00

Another long drive today, all the way down the Pacific Coast Highway. Stopped off at Carmel for a coffee, in hopes of bumping into Clint Eastwood (ex-mayor) - but no such luck. Absolutely perfect weather all day, driving with the windows open - wishing I had rented a convertible! By the time I got to Lompoc, it was 90 degF [32 degC], somewhat different from Chicago ;-).
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There has been a dreadful wildfire at Santa Barbara, and all the traffic slowed almost to a standstill to look at it. More than 100 homes have been destroyed and several thousand people evacuated. The smoke was visible from 10 miles away, and I could feel my eyes and throat stinging.
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The traffic gradually worsened the nearer I got to Los Angeles, and the last 30 miles took almost 2 hours; fortunately the local classical music station puts on 'road rage busters' - which work fine if everyone is tuned to that station!
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Now staying with my uncle and aunt in Seal Beach for a few days, but will try to add some news each day. Might add more to this post also, but now I need to go to sleep!
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Day 27 - Santa Cruz, California

2008-11-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick blog today - I drove 400 miles so feeling just a little tired (but also very exhilarated)! Starting with more rainforest and the Avenue of the Giants, I then took CA-1 south all the way down the Pacific coast. The rain gradually disappeared as I went southwards, and most of the day was lovely. Although it didn't feel humid, there was a lot of moisture in the air, and there were some places where the cloud was still hanging over the ocean and the sand, and was blowing up to and over the road, such that it seemed that the sea and the beach were steaming! Many sweet little towns along the coast, and about a thousand vista points! If I had stopped to take a picture at each one I'd be on this stretch of road another week. But I might come back again next year ...

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It's worth coming down this road just for the sudden appearance of the Golden Gate Bridge - couldn't take a picture from the north as there's nowhere to stop, but here's one from the web.

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Following is a small selection of today's pictures:

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Redwoods reaching for the sky (Avenue of the Giants):

A small deer snacking on the grass by the roadside (about 5 miles west of Leggett on CA1)

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The view from my lunch stop ... just south of Gualala

Day 26 - Eureka, California

2008-11-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

I was sad to leave my parents this morning, but it's time to move on. Thanks for the great break, folks, and see you soon!

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I started off driving west, and as soon as I turned the key in the ignition, the rain began ... headed for Florence, across the Coastal Range: nowhere near as high as the Cascades, and it's all about the trees and the rivers. The timber industry is one of the biggest employers around here. The cloud was so low that it was drifting between the trees, and in places right down to the road, so I was driving through it - it made me think of Debussy's La Cathédrale Engloutie.

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Florence is a sweet little old-fashioned seaside town, looking rather sad in this end-of-season rain, and because the cloud was so low, the ocean was all but invisible. Turned south on US101, back into the rainforest, with the ocean on my right - the road goes a little inland from time to time, and twists up and down the coastal hills, so there were only occasional glimpses of the ocean (or at least where the ocean should be - it was mostly indistinguishable from the sky). One of the local radio stations said "OK, OK, after 11 inches [about 280mm in European] of rain in 5 days, I think that's enough!"

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This area has many monuments and historical markers to Jedediah Smith; he was the first explorer to reach Oregon overland by travelling up the California coast, so I have been tracing his route in reverse.

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This stretch of road is also right next to the Oregon Dunes, which stretch for 40 miles from Florence to Coos B ay, but no photo opps today with the dreadful visibility. It's also a Tsunami Hazard Zone ... with quite a high risk, apparently.

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When I reached Bandon, the rain stopped and the sky brightened (no sun, however), so I managed to get a couple of photos. It was very windy high up above the beach, and the seagulls were taking full advantage, wheeling and diving.

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On to Port Orford, with the weather worsening again. And back into the rainforest, climbing into the clouds once more, listening to Allen Toussaint's Yes we can can - predates President-elect Obama's campaign but a great song!

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Just past the Oregon-California border (where you have to declare any fruit and vegetables) I came upon the Ship Ashore Motel - actually the gift shop and museum are in the ship, the motel is down the road a bit.

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Then the magical redwoods: the Redwood National State Forest is densely packed, dark, rather mysterious, and primeval. If I thought I was in the rainforest before, I was mistaken. THIS is the rainforest. I left US 101 for the 'coastal trail' just south of Klamath (not to be confused with Klamath Falls, Oregon), and true to form, the road got narrower, rougher, twistier and steeper, but the trees and occasional glimpses of the ocean were wonderful. Don't tell the car rental company, anyone!

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Finally made it to Eureka, a cute town with much history and a reasonably unspoilt old town area (and back to Motel 6 - the girls will remember last time we tried to stay there, in 1992: Motel 6 had mistakenly booked us in at Yreka, which is many miles away over the mountains!). I had wanted to drive that stretch of the Pacific coast road ever since and now I've done it!

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Day 25 - Eugene, Oregon

2008-11-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Busy packing for my departure tomorrow morning ... it's been grey, cool and gloomy for over a week now and I need to go in search of the sun again! Stay tuned ...

Day 23 - Eugene, Oregon

2008-11-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

Funny sign of the day - Unattended children will be given an espresso and a puppy [in an upscale kitchen store]

Day 21 - Eugene, Oregon

2008-11-07T17:56:00.001-07:00

Funny sign of the day - Mixed Bokays $9.95 [outside a florist]

Map

2008-11-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to add this URL for a week or so - Mieke in Boston created a map of my travels, which you can find here. Thanks, Mieke!

Day 19 - Eugene, Oregon

2008-11-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

Forgot to say - my parents were interviewed by the local paper last night! You can hear their 60 seconds of fame here (it's at about 2 minutes in).

Day 18 - Eugene, Oregon

2008-11-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

History was made today, and I'm just thrilled to have been a witness to it. We spent the day trying not to be glued to the TV (I actually set up a wireless network and laptop for my mum), but this evening went with friends to Cozmic Pizza in downtown Eugene to see the election returns. The place was absolutely full, but we had reserved a table so could sit down immediately. The clientele was very diverse, from my dad (aged 88) to babes in arms, but certainly tended to the hippie - I felt right at home. They had a huge screen covering a whole wall, showing MSNBC live from the web. We had only just walked in when Ohio was announced for Obama - a massive cheer went up, and for every successive electoral upset the cheers got louder, and especially for Florida! There was bedlam when McCain's concession was signalled - people stamping, cheering, jumping up and down. All were quiet for his speech - which I found more genuine and affecting than anything he had said in the campaign. And then - President-elect Obama spoke. His speech is here if you didn't hear it for yourself:

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"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

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Many people were in tears of joy, myself and my parents included; my dad said he felt privileged to have been part of this. America, it's a new and better day!

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Day 15 - Eugene, Oregon

2008-11-01T20:29:00.000-06:00

Just to keep everyone in touch - still with my parents in Eugene, having a quiet, chilled-out time, catching up on missed sleep from the last 30 years or so ...
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Have done very little other than go swimming, drink coffee and visit with friends, watch the ATP Paris tennis tournament, and update my iPod with as many of my mother's CDs as I can cram onto it - she has an amazing collection!
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We have been (of course) watching the election coverage, and my parents voted for the first time in 40 years in this country, now they are citizens at last. For those not resident here, it's a very different process from the UK - not only do you vote for your local representatives in the Senate and Congress, you vote for the President and Vice-President, and many other local officials and also local Measures. For my US readers, in the UK you only vote for your local Member of Parliament, and the party winning the most Members forms the next government - the leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister, and the Head of State remains the Monarch.
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Stay tuned ...

Day 9 - Eugene, Oregon

2008-10-26T20:18:00.000-06:00

Yet another gloriously sunny day! It's a real Indian summer in the west, I'm glad to say - though cold first thing in the morning, it got as high as 72degF [22degC] by mid-afternoon.

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Heading south on US35, the road climbs away from the Columbia Gorge very rapidly, through small towns full of orchards and vineyards in this very fertile area - and then around a bend ... Mount Hood! After a wonderful drive, getting closer and closer and higher and higher, I arrived at Timberline Lodge [as recommended by Jenny in her comment yesterday!] for lunch. It was used as the location for The Shining, but in the lovely sunshine today all such associations disappeared.

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I ate a very tasty (though rather expensive) Reuben sandwich looking at this view - much nicer than microwave chilli!

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Heading south on US 26, there were signs of forest fires, either this summer or last, though the regeneration has started, with many new small trees covering the burnt ground. Slightly more worrying was the number of pine trees that were yellow rather than the very deep green that is typical of Oregon pines. Not sure what is causing this, but it can't be good.

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Just before Warm Springs, the road runs around the lip of an enormous canyon; startling to see, with the chain of the volcanic Cascade range clear across the west - Three Sisters, Mount Washington, Mount Jefferson, Mount Wilson and Mount Hood all visible at once. Further south is Mount Shasta, and the chain is completed in the north by Mount St Helen's and Mount Rainier ... just stunning. This is the view from the southern end of the canyon.

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After Redmond, I took US 126 west - this goes through about 70 miles of pine forest along the course of the McKenzie River; at this time of year it's like a canyon (and sometimes a tunnel) of autumnal colour. There are lots of holiday activities related to the river all the way along - boating, windsurfing, fishing, etc., and, incongruously, the Christmas Treasures store.

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My final stretch was through Springfield and into Eugene, listening to the local radio station - a catchy number called 'Making a Noise in this World' by Canadian Robbie Robertson.

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And now I'm staying with my folks for a while - at least until after the election! They became US citizens less than 2 weeks ago, just in time to register to vote. There might not be blog entries every day ...

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Funny sign of the day: "Curran's Custom Taxidermy" (is there any other kind?)

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Day 8 - The Dalles, Oregon

2008-10-25T19:15:00.000-06:00

Rather a quiet, understated day today, very pleasant! Beautiful weather again (I have been really lucky so far). Drove through about 150 miles of wheatfields through the southeast corner of Washington - the hills are like gigantic moguls [for the skiing fraternity], and the road has just been cut straight through the undulations, rather in the way that the Romans did it. Past Steptoe Battlefield, and back onto the Palouse Scenic Byway (US12 West), crossed the Snake River at Central Ferry Bridge (isn't it great that there's a website devoted to historic bridges?). I'd followed the Snake River quite a bit yesterday, and now went back on the Lewis & Clark Trail. Into Dayton, a pretty little Victorian town with a rather wonderful county courthouse.

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The road runs past the interestingly-named Walla Walla (a Native American tribe) - home of the famous Walla Walla Sweet Onions. Nearing the Columbia River, I saw the first of many wineries - the Reininger Winery - lovely to see vineyards on the southern slopes. Far in the distance, on the crest of a long ridge, were hundreds of wind turbines; there seems to be some local antagonism to them, however, judging by one or two billboards.

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At this point, the bones of the land start to show through the grassland, rocky outcrops becoming increasingly evident. I crossed the river at Umatilla, so I could drive the northern bank rather than using the interstate. The Columbia was devoid of shipping today - though there are a number of ports and dams along its length. There is little sign of habitation along US14 apart from a few wineries and some RV parks - plus the historical sites, of course! Wonderful views of the river, and here and there sheltering the wineries are lines of poplar trees - almost like northern Italy!

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There are also amazing views of Mount Hood for many miles - but it was too hazy today to take photos. Maybe tomorrow ...

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Back to Motel 6 again, tonight in The Dalles (on the south bank). Went to the K-Mart next door to get food, only to find they had NOTHING fresh, not even an apple! As the local choice of eateries was KFC, McDonalds, Wendy's, Arby's and Denny's, I ended up with a tub of microwave chilli and a couple of beers ... ah well, I can eat healthy tomorrow.

Day 7 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

2008-10-24T21:17:00.000-06:00

A change of direction today - north all the way up the western side of Idaho from Eagle to Coeur d'Alene. It's been a day of mountains, rivers and lakes, very beautiful! My kids would, I am sure, have predicted some of my routes, as they suffered through years of such holidays! If there's a mountain, I kinda have to go up it, specially if the road is narrow, twisty and right on the edge ... something about wanting to know what's around the next corner!
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Having said 'north', you would never know it in the car I am driving; it has a built-in electronic compass, but for some reason it won't display N - it goes W, NW, NE, E, SE, S, SW ... sometimes when executing a 90-degree turn from West to North, the display reads W - NW - SE. Very bizarre. However, I have been fortunate enough to be able to rely on the sun rather than the electronics!
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From Eagle, the landscape is hilly and bare, but the hills are crumpled and folded, rather like a shar-pei dog; the road twists and turns but eventually emerges into open grassland, with a few cattle dotted here and there. Then back to the hills, but alongside the river, climbing and twisting through pine forests and by lakes. It's interesting to be travelling at this time of year - all the summer holidaymakers have gone home but the snow and the skiers are not here yet, so it's very quiet. For much of today I seem to have been the only car on the road. The autumn foliage is gorgeous, lots of red and gold here, often in vertical lines down the folds of the hills, where the deciduous trees can find water. There are some interesting canyons too, narrow rocky defiles with white water rushing and roaring below; particularly worth seeing is the stretch of the Salmon River near Riggins - grand and desolate.
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Took a little diversion to see Nez Perce - a pretty little town miles from anywhere, but within the Nez Perce reservation; from there ID-64 is signposted to Kamiah - but at the top of the mountain the road suddenly degrades to gravel, and clings precariously to the side of the mountain for 5 miles down with no crash barriers! It's worth it for this view from the top, though! Kamiah is down in the valley, and from here all the way to Coeur d'Alene is logging country. All the roads are 'scenic byways', mostly running along beside rivers and lakes (the 'White Pine Drive'), and well worth the trip. I seem to have been following another large piece of the Lewis & Clark trail again today, though without having planned it! See here for a really good map.
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Tonight at the Holiday Inn Express (reward points again!) - arrived to find a kids' birthday pool party in full swing in the restaurant, but had been upgraded to a King Suite. Ours not to reason why, ours to enjoy, so I am at this moment sitting on a very comfortable couch with free wireless internet watching HBO on the flat-screen TV ...
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And I still haven't seen any potatoes! Probably because they mostly grow in the east of the state, and also because they will mostly have been harvested before the frosts set in ...
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Funny signs of the day - 2 today!
1 - Never try to drown your sorrows if she can't swim (seen on a store sign just south of McCall)
2 - Please unload gun and remove ski mask before entering (seen on gas station door at Rose Lake)

Day 6 - Eagle, Idaho

2008-10-23T20:17:00.000-06:00

Another glorious day - but very cold this morning - 23degF [-5degC for my European readers]. Today I tried to avoid the interstate as much as possible - first driving to Idaho Falls across the Tetons; the road rises to over 6,000 feet [1,881 m] with a magnificent view over Jackson - I would have taken a photo but it was directly into the sun!

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Into Idaho, through widely-dispersed small farming settlements, like Butte City [pop. 76]. Swan Valley is beautiful - the grain is almost all harvested, but the fields are not ploughed yet, so the overall impression is golden. As the road rises again, the colour changes to sage scrubland, with the brown mountains in the background. There is no snow here, though I'm sure it will come soon. This is high country, and the road passes by the Idaho National Laboratory - it's not immediately obvious quite what happens here but it's 30 miles in any direction from anywhere ... but there was a crowd of kids playing soccer on a dirt road about a mile from the main gate!

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The road also passes through the Craters of the Moon national park - a 25-mile wide lavafield. It is like a black scar on the landscape, but the sagebrush is beginning to make inroads into it, and creeps across this apparently inhospitable growing medium. Life will find a way ... Down into Silver Creek just past Picabo, and there are silver birches growing along the river for about 2 miles; their leaves have turned a gorgeous copper, glinting in the sun.

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Just before the road started going downhill into Mountain Home, I caught sight of this forest fire down in the valley. For about 30 miles before it had looked like a cloud, but unfortunately not. There are many historical sites all the way along US20, from gold mines to Goodale's Cutoff to EBR-1. The hardships that the early pioneers and settlers must have endured are unimaginable today, in our world of electronics, nuclear energy and instant gratification.

Now staying at the Hilton Garden (rewards again) in Eagle, with a lovely view of the river from my room!

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Funny sign of the day: no actual signs today (there are very few advertising billboards through Wyoming and Idaho), but heard on the radio - "Come and enjoy the Idaho Potato Cookout at the Idaho Fall Festival!"

Day 5 - Jackson, Wyoming

2008-10-22T20:21:00.000-06:00

Woke up to a perfectly clear sunrise - what a change from yesterday! I was on the road before 9 a.m., and after about 10 minutes driving west, came around the bend on the I-90 to see this amazing view of the Rockies (taken through the windscreen while driving, nowhere to stop!). After a few miles, the road dips down into a fertile valley, and you can't see the mountains at all - strange to think that you could live down in that valley and never know the mountains were there! At Livingston (a rather self-consciously 'Western' town), turned south on US89, heading into Yellowstone National Park - mountains on my right hand side, river sparkling on my left hand side - what could be more perfect?
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Stopped off at Gardiner for an excellent espresso, then headed into the park itself. There's a $25 entrance fee, but about 200 yards before I got to the booth, an SUV flagged me down - 2 women who were coming out of the park gave me their 7-day pass, as they were going home to Seattle the next day! People are so kind! Quite soon after this, as the road rose up into the mountains, Mammoth Hot Springs is the first of many such spots; here there is a half-mile boardwalk around all the springs. Some just leak steam, some - 'paintpots' - are steam-heated mud 'blopping' gently, yet others spume hot water spouts, while others, like this one, are pools of superheated water.
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Drove down Yankee Jim Canyon, and just beyond that, saw this coyote sunning himself in the road. I crawled to a stop without disturbing him, and managed to get a shot before another car came the other way - he didn't bolt, but just sauntered off into the woods ....

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All over the northern end of the park are plumes of steam - it feels like driving on a live volcano ... which of course it is ... The grandaddy of them all is Old Faithful, which teases for a while before finally obliging with great gouts of hot water and steam. This is right in the centre of the park, but the road south rises to about 8,000 ft; here there is snow on the road, so careful driving is required! The views are just incredible; snow-capped mountains, so majestic and remote, scintillating lakes, the sparkling river and waterfalls, the scented pines ... I could go on and on, but particularly recommended are Lewis Lake and Lewis Falls.
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The road then leaves Yellowstone and enters the Grand Teton National Park; the mountains here are if anything even more dramatic, seen against the backdrop of a vast plain, the river, and many lakes (this is the picture from the National Park website, much better than I could take!). As I entered this park, there were extensive road works, but about 10 minutes in, on a high, twisting pass, I came upon a small black bear shambling along the road! There was hardly any traffic, so I guess it felt safe enough; I was surprised it wasn't down below the road catching fish in the river!
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Completely sated with the beauty of the day, I made it to the Motel 6 at Jackson, Wyoming ... how could tomorrow be any better than this?
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Funny sign of the day: "Mammoth Restrooms" (or if you prefer, a motel in Billings called the "C'mon Inn").

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Day 4 - Billings, Montana

2008-10-21T21:19:00.001-06:00

What a day it's been! The rain started the moment I turned the key in the ignition ... but it wasn't too heavy, and even let up to let me get a good view of The Devil's Tower. Those who are movie buffs will recognise this from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I can assure you this is not made from mashed potato! This massive hunk of rock looks artificial; the vertical striations look too regular to be natural. There is a Native American legend that it grew out of the ground in response to the distress of some young girls being chased by a bear - they ended up on top of it and the grooves were made by the bear's frustrated claws. Well, I don't know about that ... Of course, my view of it is clouded by the film, but when I first saw it in the distance, dark, brooding and with cloud swirling around and partially obscuring the top, I could see how it got its name. It could have worked well also as Sauron's Tower in Lord of the Rings.

US 14 is a lovely road, and had I continued on it I would have ended up in Yellowstone National Park. However, I had a long way to go so I got back on the Interstate heading north-west. Just before Gillette, the temperature plunged and suddenly I was in horizontal driving snow; ice formed on the windscreen wipers [response: windscreen heating on full!]; visibility poor! But this only lasted long enough to transform the rugged landscape into a Christmas card - for about 30 miles, then the only snow visible was in the rear view mirror - and in the Rockies off in the distance! They had been hidden from view until now, but how magnificent, with massive clouds overshadowing them. When finally the sun came out, these clouds became even darker and looked like tempered steel.

As I was driving along, a number of movies came to mind: High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josie Wales, Brokeback Mountain, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, A River Runs Through It ... our view of reality is shot through with and filtered by such imaginary worlds as these.

Today I saw my first bison and my first eagle!

Crow Agency is a pretty little place, on a fertile plain with the Little Big Horn river running through it, nestled between massive hills. And it is, of course, 5 miles from the site of Custer's Last Stand (the fort is still there). Today it's a small town, with the church, the feedstore, the motel and the casino all companionably in a row in the main street. They still do re-enactments of the battle every summer ...

Now at the Hilton Garden Inn in Billings, Montana (aren't Reward Points wonderful?) - but it's back to Motel 6 tomorrow ;-)

Funny sign of the day: "Caution - Snow may slide off roof ... Do not park within 5' of building" [at the gas station/general store at Sheridan, Wyoming, where the marked-out parking spaces are within about 18 inches of the building ...] [not all that funny, but best I can do for today!]

Day 3 - Sioux Falls - Rapid City, South Dakota

2008-10-20T21:13:00.000-06:00

Overheard at breakfast this morning, 6 seniors talking about growing up around here in the Depression: "So my dad would catch those snappy turtles, and keep 'em in the basement in a big sack till he had around a dozen. One day my mom heard all her preserve jars breaking - and she went down there and the turtles are crawling all around. We had to get the [farm] boys to come catch 'em all. Then my dad was in trouble! But they were tasty for dinner!" Someone else chimed in with "My dad used to catch those big old bullfrogs and keep 'em in a big old rainbarrel till it was about half full. Tasted just like chicken!" Squirrel came into it somewhere too ...

Barrelling across the prairie for mile upon mile, not a cloud in the sky. Past the Corn Palace at Mitchell, the cornfields gradually give way to grassland, cattle, and rougher shapes, with many sinkholes where the abundant wildlife come to drink. Just above Chamberlain is a scenic overlook and visitor centre with interesting information about the Missouri river crossing and an amazing view of the river and its new bridge. On the western side, the landscape is immediately wilder, harsher and steeper.

The most amazing part of today was The Badlands - the craziest rock formations I have ever seen, banded pink, white, gold, green, grey; formed by gradual erosion over many many centuries. The road insinuates itself between the peaks, pillars and shelves, with many wonderful panoramas looking up, down and across southern South Dakota. Took a little diversion to the tiny town of Interior, pop. 67 - it must be like living on the moon!

After completing the 35-mile scenic drive through the national park, I came upon the little town of Wall, which has more hotels than you can shake a stick at; its reputation precedes it for miles along the I-90, with signs to "Wall Drug", the oddest drug store I ever saw! Full of knick-knacks, 2 actual pharmacies, clothes, boots, bags, a cafe, and a T-Rex that roars every 20 minutes!

Finally made it to the Rapid City Motel 6, which is adjacent to Arnold's Classic Diner, which really lives up to its name, with jukebox selection right at your table - only a quarter! Food's good too.

Funny sign of the day: "24-hour toe service" [This was not referring to podiatry, but an auto body shop ...]