Jerome and Mirjams Solar Spectacular May 2012 Quick

Jerome and Mirjam’s ‘Solar Spectacular’ May 2012 (‘Quick N Dirty’ Favourite snaps and others, made w Jerome’s Nokia)

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

e 2 d d i r i x Ta ive & it y d n a ; H v talkat ' s o c s i c Fran e was not r delay. it n a S i @ h Day 0 ven if cabbefall, tx 2 4 ay. city e y now nit cold by d Day 1@ was b nite - and San Fra @ t a d l l k ncisco; . bump co e d into C Sf=laidb momen very po t we step o roats and Hack livin, tim there a lite but its an/off the tra ungarians the 2 highlig re here in SFmazing how m! Americane mothe hts what life. Meeting (9 many home s r a muserless widow. is like in old 4 y. o. ) Ruth less is noth um. Hills r s Riding cable age as a sumpti in but gay cr teep in San F cars is like steamy ous food&couisin. Asia SF ran. OMG, Cvisitin rehear &scintillatin cktails, a co restaurant astros sed&co m has p reogra rogramme! plete fed. Its girls r fit, w ell Day 2@San 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!

June Lake, CA

Day 3@Leaving 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 windsand mice nibble the floor. Day 4@Death 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 40 c (we've just realised all US prices r sans tax : -(

Bryce Canyon, UT

ins; e v i r d; D ATMs a e M Lake acies and egas d n a gas pharm lost in V e V s a e in we @L Day 5 n have driv only thing u eve USA! The ! Day 6@ in theime, haha Zion NP t wildern was ; in spr ess. . bu ing; a f t in hig antasy h summ castle i are alw er? It’s n the ays imp nice to ressed hear pe by Bud ople apest. Day 7@Bryce Canyon NP; “I can’t 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.

Grand Canyon, UT

Day 8@Grand 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 9@Antelope 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 not 2 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 2 gthr, (accompanied by Neil Young). Apart from this, CD selection in walmart is fairly crap so we groove to Aerosmith & Gotye (won't mention Madonna!) red u t p a s c y! a e s p i cl honestl E r a l So kia, o N a by

Monument Valley, UT Antelope Canyon, UT

Monument Valley, UT

Day 10 w nice @Monumen Some g relatively du t Valley: ear on the r 8 shots, fol st free envir ly start rewa restaur terrace (not lowed by ex os & cool te rded momenant) overloo the overcoocellent espremps. played t 2 savour 4 king those f led Air. Co ch sso help. Wup again, ho ever. After amous Butte illed USA R hen it come wever, hitti this vid. Cam s. A would very friendly s 2 dining, t ng it does se (b 4 1's u like more/ if a bit in yr he waiting s em to finished), ca refill drinks? face 'is all o taff in desola d). A bit ann n i take yr p Here's yr chk? ' te here la o e in this ying. Landscate away (b 4 ck part of p Arizonae is again.

Monument Valley, UT

Four Corners Monument Windy? Nah!

Day 11 vintage@Canyon du Curtis b canyon loca Chelly. We territor ut got a bit tion photo’ found d 190 in Mon y. J. Depp w dusty & toasd by Edward 4 tour bu ument Valleas here 2 wk ted in cowb S. busses in Cd. C y) filmin d Los ago too (beoy are ma. This qualifi are called 'S ne Ranger! sides tourismny lost oppoes us 'roughrhake n b. Ake The ' r id , Natio nal Partunities in Na ers. ' But the r k style. vajo la nd for e. Day 12@Towards 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 b 4 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!

Hubble Trading Post, AZ Canyon de Chelley, AZ

Jerome, AZ

Joshua Tree NP, CA

ree T a u h Jos hosted a i v s Palm but we r by Best 9 2 s ard n windy pgrade w o at T k t u @ r o 3 a m h 1 P ; Day nal Park ers&a roo hua Tree ees - the Natio w champ catch Jos ose darn b again ern! Best 2 care of th – and he t y t l s e s k k s e c a o i W ut t em v. qu ind acr b t e s sun ot full of at sidew car g snakes th rattle b 4 u! road Day 14@JT 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!

The Skull, Joshua Tree NP, CA

Joshua Tree NP, CA Downtown LA, CA

Downtown LA, CA

Day 15@LA; We were all over the city (Santa Monica beach, Hollywood’s 'walk of shame', downtown, Long Beach, Beverly Hills…) and can say we've ‘been there, done that. ’ But it’s 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 16@LA 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 8 th 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 15 kilos overweight luggage (at no extra price!) and write the last of 70 postcards having completed 3000 miles or almost 5000 kms, 6 hrs of video film and 12 GB 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

The Big Sur, CA

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