Jerome and Mirjams Solar Spectacular May 2012 (Quick N Dirty Favourite snaps and others, made w Jeromes Nokia)

Tx 2 Friends & Family who were w us on FB during this delay!!

Day Fran; it gets cold, grey & windy in SF, esp. when riding a bike! The bridge is red so u can c it in the fog! The Sausalito ferry is wonderful in the sun. Trams r a sort of free public transport service..they tend 2 b occupied by unclean homeless sorts. It's clear everyone else loves their cars. But those 5 lane hi-ways? Good grief! Day Francisco; Handy Taxi ride 2 d city even if cabbie was not v talkative & it was by now nitefall, tx 2 4hr delay. it' s - and cold by day. Day Francisco; Sf=laidback livin, time 2 talk. bumped into Croats and Hungarians the moment we step on/off the tram! Americans r very polite but its amazing how many homeless there are here in SF. Meeting (94 y.o.) Ruth highlights what life is like in old age as a motherless widow. Riding cable cars is like visitin a museum. Hills r steep in San Fran. OMG, Castros is nothin but gay cruisin. Asia SF restaurant has sumptious food&cocktails, a complete steamy&scintillatin programme! Its girls r fit, well rehearsed&coreografed.

June Lake, CA

Day San Francisco for June Lake via Yosemite. Damn automatic cars! Can't seem to grasp this no-clutch nonsense and also how u must pay before u pump! Just like in the movies; there are huge freight trucks criss-crossing this big country! Yosemite reminds us of skiin on Krvavec in Slovenia, esp. The remnants of snow..it's everythin 1 imagines it 2 be, blue skies, pine trees, bristlecones and views that sweep us off r feet. by the time we reach the Tiger Bar Cafe we realise restos here serve ice in every cold drink - it's actually rather cunning - when serving 'sodas' u only get half a glass: the rest is ice! Before long your cola is quite watered down.. Scarey movie was good in June Lake Villager Motel where the wooden walls creek in the chilly winds and mice nibble the floor. Day valley; Over 100 degrees Fahrenheit!! Here even the (moving) rocks joke with u! But honestly, the Amargosa is a hotel of faded grandeur despite the soft soothing mineral water - to be savoured, despite 40c (we've just realised all US prices r sans tax :-(

Bryce Canyon, UT

Day Canyon NP; I cant get no, good espresso, (and that in the land that came up with Starbucks!!!) US toilets wash away such an amount of good water! Bryce was amazin & worth rtning to (despite the plunge to 41 degrees Fahrenheit/5 degrees c). There was also the nice surprise of Red Canyon beforehand. Day Vegas and Lake Mead; Drive-ins; u even have drive in pharmacies and ATMs in the USA! The only thing we lost in Vegas was time, haha! Day NP; in spring; a fantasy castle in the wilderness..but in high summer? Its nice to hear people are always impressed by Budapest.

Grand Canyon, UT

Day Canyon North rim. West Ham United rtn 2 the Premier League w victory over Blackpool (that made for a very nervous breakfast)! GC north was a jaw dropping experience. Had a late rtn home, v.tired, lost an hr (again time zone changes) coming home 2 apt. in Kanab (which was in pitch black darkness b/c of maintenance work at Glen Canyon dam)! Lotsa deer herds mind on d way home, while d stars in Grand Canyon just blnketed d sky..

Glan Canyon Dam, UT

Day Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam plus Solar Spectacular; Eclipse was special as expected, Antelope/slot canyon v.dusty b/c those native tour hosts might benefit some time man. Skills not2 mention awareness raising on air quality issues. Glen canyon dam v. Impressive. Met nice bloke called Dennis who bought us supper, after we photod the eclipse 2gthr, (accompanied by Neil Young). Apart from this, CD selection in walmart is fairly crap so we groove to Aerosmith & Gotye (won't mention Madonna!) Solar Eclipse as captured by a Nokia, honestly!

Antelope Canyon, UT Monument Valley, UT

Day Valley: early start rewarded w nice relatively dust free enviros & cool temps. Some gr8 shots, followed by excellent espresso on the terrace (not the overcooled AirCo chilled restaurant) overlooking those famous Buttes. A moment 2 savour 4 ever. After this vid. Cam played up again, however, hitting it does seem to help. When it comes 2 dining, the waiting staff in USA R very friendly if a bit in yr face 'is all ok?' would u like more/refill drinks? Here's yr check (b4 1's finished), can i take yr plate away (b4 finished). A bit annoying. Landscape is again desolate here in this part of Arizona.

Monument Valley, UT

Four Corners Monument Windy? Nah!

Day Jerome, AZ. A lot of driving but cool sights along d way; Hubble Tradin Post (so-so), then route 66, then petrified forest (not bad) before we got blown away at Meteor Crater (for 32 usd!). Just b4 that we found great coffee at Mojo's..such a relief!! More miles thru Oak Creek Canyon and on 2 Sedona, then up to Jerome 4 many cool fotos & champagne&cake! Day du Chelly. We found d 1904 vintage canyon location photod by Edward S. Curtis but got a bit dusty & toasted in cowboy territory. J.Depp was here 2 wks ago too (besides in Monument Valley) filmin d Lone Ranger! The tour busses in CdC are called 'Shake n bAke' busses. This qualifies us 'roughriders.' But there are many lost opportunities in Navajo land for tourism, National Park style..

Canyon de Chelley, AZ Hubble Trading Post, AZ

Jerome, AZ

Joshua Tree NP, CA

Day NP again to LA. Got some nice views, the road 2 LA was fast, tx god cop didn't nick me 4 parking on hard shoulder 2 pee! George's greek grill was fab, tx 2 csaba. So was cinema (Chernobyl Diaries). And that free concert at fingerprints so cool! And i got Beach Boys Smile Memorobilia 2! Day 29 Palms via Joshua Tree National Park; hot n windy but we r hosted again w champers&a room upgrade by Best Western! Best 2 catch Joshua Tree Park at sunset but take care of those darn bees - the car got full of em v.quickly – and rattlesnakes that sidewind across the road b4 u!

The Skull, Joshua Tree NP, CA

Joshua Tree NP, CA Downtown LA, CA

Day We were all over the city (Santa Monica beach, Hollywoods 'walk of shame', downtown, Long Beach, Beverly Hills…) and can say we've been there, done that. But its hard to find the heartbeat of LA (perhaps its Hollywood)? Am curious to see what it was Beach Boy Brian Wilson sang about, or even Madonna?). Rather disappointing have to say little 2 rtn 4. Dinner was good & Mirjam bought a nice dress 2. But as in San Fran, public transport is full of homeless as r the streets.. Day to San Fran via San Luis Obispo and Big Sur. Last day on road, started at 0430, drove empty streets of LA, passed Venice Beach (for 8th bottle of sand), Malibu too, then to Madonna Inn for wonderful eggs Benedict breakfast w Mirjam's distant cousins&company. The Big Sur is every bit as big as it's name suggests. Perfect timing, we cruise back into San Fran to drop off r 15kilos overweight luggage (at no extra price!) and write the last of 70 postcards having completed 3000 miles or almost 5000kms, 6hrs of video film and 12GB of RAW photos, Lufthansa flite boards perfectly in time&we r on r way thru d nite. A classic trip, met lovely people & wonderful experiences

Downtown LA, CA

The Big Sur, CA

Thank you everyone for making our trip so memorable! (NB: A complete professional gallery will follow ;-) The Big Sur, CA