Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[cdw1111]

BTW- Mrs Red & I are thinking of doing a fly-drive, perhaps in November.

Maybe fly into San Francisco, then on to Vegas via death valley. Then see the Grand canyon, and possibly fly out from LA.


Can you get hire cars with sat-nav? (or are they cheap to buy over there?) what will the weather be like in Frisco, what should we try to see, any good routs etc?

Any thoughts?

I've done almost this exact trip and it was in November(early 90's)

Drove from LA to vegas,pretty uneventful drive,we then went through Mesquite into Utah and Zion national park which is spectacular,imagine the scenery in the John Wayne film the Searchers.Onto the Grand Canyon,which words cannot describe(Nov was quite cold and as we got to the rim it started to snow lightly).

We then went through death valley into the Seqouia national park to see the giant redwoods which were a bit of a disapointment(big tree@s innit)considering the detour.

Up to Yosemite which is just amazing(have you seen the BBC documentry about this place)beautiful mountains and lakes we saw all kinds of wildlife.

San Fransisco was fine for all the touristy bits but i felt the place was just a bit sleazy and didn't feel all that safe.Although it was worth going just to drive over the Golden Gate bridge.

SFO-LAX down the Pacific coast highway was one of the best drives i've ever done just loved every mile of it,wonderful coastline.

Car-hire in California is very cheap compared to here as is petrol and we just stopped in motels some of which left a lot to be desired but were inexpensive and easy to find ad hoc.Sat navs wern't around then and we did this with a $5 map we bought at the first garage we stopped at,we had no plan on where we were going apart from Vegas(young and daft)and it turned into an unforgetable trip.FWIW i think November is a great time to go as it's well out of season and the roads were quiet,accomadation is cheaper and the weather was what we would call mild.

[bolt pp]

more4 +1 right now, engineering in ancient Egypt,

[Karabiner]

more4 +1 right now, engineering in ancient Egypt,

Okay just tuned into it.

[HOLDorFOLD]

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=22679.msg461762#msg461762

Great read, thanks for linking me to that.   Lots of memories came flooding back.

Yes, the shock of driving down the main street to find the pyramids at the end!!   As you say you look one way to see the stunning pyramids, the local men folk in traditional dress and camels ..... turn 180 degress and there's only what can be described as Wood Green high street lol ... Local folk in modern day attire and this constant beeping of horns.

Driving through the outskirts also proved to show some sights, one of which I can only describe as strange clay-like oval contraptions on top of flat roofed huts.   They were everywhere.   I asked our guide what these were and he said that these were bird traps.  The folk would fill them with food to attract the birds, then when the contraption was filled, they would cover it and cook what was inside ... they were actually ovens!   I have some photo's at my mums and will dig them out.


Finding a local guide is really the best way to go when abroad, I did the same in Sri Lanka and had the same Guide for two weeks.   You get to see so many 'local sights' you would not see if you jumped aboard the hotel excursion coach.    One particular memory from this was when we was driving along in his van (yes, it was as dodegy as and the first time I saw it I did think "uh oh, if i get in there I may not come back alive lol").  I remarked casually to my friend that I was craving pineapple and our guide heard ... about 15 minutes later the van pulls over in the middle of nowhere ... just a road with a big hedge and tree lined barrier to the left.   Next thing we know he is beckoning the four of us to get out but to leave all our belongings in the van!!   Crikey, this is it I thought, admonishing myself for getting in to the van in the first place!   He walks over to the hedge and removes a 'chunk of it'!!  He goes through, comes back after 5 minutes and ushers us through the gap. On the other side of the hedge, as we walk through, we are greeted with the sight of a man walking towards us holding a machete ............. my friend and I both looked at each other and I could tell she was thinking the same as me 'shit, we are dead'.     However, he bends down and hacks off something at ground level and walks towards me holding a pineapple. This one piece of removable hedge turned out to be the 'entrance' to a pineapple plantation.

Well, I confess here to not realising that pineapples grew at ground level, I thought they grew higher up in trees      This pineapple was the juiciest piece of fruit I have ever tasted, and to this day whenever I eat pineapple I remember my time in Sri Lanka.

So many superb memories that I would never have experienced without our guide, I always try to get a local to be our guide when abroad now.

[Geo the Sarge]

I love it when this thread gathers momentum. Last couple of days were fascinating with all that time and space stuff, whilst way above me, I found it fascinating.

And then you come out with this little beauty Tom.

1. Pompeii AD 79 when Vesuvius erupted. Seen many programmes and read many articles on this and how a full picture of daily life was "photographed" by being preserved under all that ash and pumice.


2.The night Marlyin Monroe died and know for real whether anything underhanded had gone on (I would just have he liked to have seen the lady in real life at some stage to see just how beautiful she really was in the flesh.)

3. 1953 FA Cup Final "The Matthews Final" would have loved to have seen the great man play and this was probs his greatest moment. Astounding that he still played at age 55 (for Hibernians Malta when he was coach.)

Thanks Tom

Geo

[Laxie]

I've come up with my 3rd.  Vernon G Gillespie Jr. Was my history teacher in high school.  He was a great man, a great teacher and never forgot a student - regardless of how many years passed.  If he taught you years ago and met you today, he'd even be able to tell you exactly which row and seat you'd occupied in his class.  He passed away last week at the age of 71. 

I have a 'high school' album on facebook and he's the only teacher I included in that album.  This is how I remember him:

Click to see full-size image.

Whilst searching for the on-line condolences book (it's already packed with messages from former students) I learned something new.  He was a US Special Forces Captain in Vietnam.  I had NO idea!  The web is full of Life Magazine images from the Vietnam war.  Many are pictures of him.  Here's one:



I'd like to go back in time and see what it was like for him in Vietnam.  So many came out of there worse for wear.  He went on to become a legend of a teacher.  I want to know how he managed to hold it together.

RIP Mr. G!!

[Geo the Sarge]

I've come up with my 3rd.  Vernon G Gillespie Jr. Was my history teacher in high school.  He was a great man, a great teacher and never forgot a student - regardless of how many years passed.  If he taught you years ago and met you today, he'd even be able to tell you exactly which row and seat you'd occupied in his class.  He passed away last week at the age of 71. 

I have a 'high school' album on facebook and he's the only teacher I included in that album.  This is how I remember him:

Click to see full-size image.

Whilst searching for the on-line condolences book (it's already packed with messages from former students) I learned something new.  He was a US Special Forces Captain in Vietnam.  I had NO idea!  The web is full of Life Magazine images from the Vietnam war.  Many are pictures of him.  Here's one:



I'd like to go back in time and see what it was like for him in Vietnam.  So many came out of there worse for wear.  He went on to become a legend of a teacher.  I want to know how he managed to hold it together.

RIP Mr. G!!

Wow,

Stunning choice Dawn.

Geo

[RED-DOG]

What a great man. It's amazing how often we come into contact with people like this without ever knowing it.

[AlexMartin]

Here you go Alex. pay particular attention to the "Theory" section.

http://www.flipkart.com/obedient-dog-john-holmes/8185461252-bw23fo7bjd

thanks mate, ill order that. ill post some pics on here soon.

[sovietsong]

Here you go Alex. pay particular attention to the "Theory" section.

http://www.flipkart.com/obedient-dog-john-holmes/8185461252-bw23fo7bjd

you can get it from amazon (new and used) for 1p + £2.75 postage.  I can also recommend (originally recommended by red) the family dog, by john holmes. 

[lazaroonie]

based on current reading material....

1. Dallas, Texas 22nd November 1963 - the real question is where would you position yourself ? grassy knoll ? book depository ? somewhere else ?

2. Memphis, 4th April 1968 - Murder of Martin Luther King

3. LA Ambassador Hotel, midnight 5th June 1968 - Assasination of Robert Kennedy...

[bobAlike]

1. 8 July 1947 - Roswell (If there is life out there?) - Space not Roswell.

2. 12 June 1994 - Murder of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman (OJ or not OJ?) Pretty sure I know the answer to this one.

3. 17 July 2003 - Death of Dr David Kelly (cover up or suicide?).

[MANTIS01]

5 out of the last 6 have been murders. Creepy.

[RED-DOG]

Sigh....


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8277378.stm

[bolt pp]

Sigh....


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8277378.stm

this fcking country, we're one step away from religion being banned and everyone working in a field.