The station itself is marvelous. Cavernous, great architecture. So large even the Apple Store in the concourse looks small.

We hadn't planned on doing much. Just taking a breather and gathering ourselves before flying back to Jo'burg from Newark on the Monday evening. But Rusty, our friend, had other ideas.

Friday was a lovely dinner at home with a British couple who have lived in the States for decades. After Gavin watched the rugby at O'Neill's, Saturday was lunch at Harbor Lights. Rusty had persuaded Karen and I to order the Connecticut staple: lobster rolls (I had the hot and Karen the cold version). It seems very decadent (and a tad shameful) to sandwich lobster between a bread roll. They were very tasty though.

Rusty decided that we needed to go and buy some fresh lobster and cook it ourselves. We headed off to Pagano's and purchased three live lobsters. We stored them in the fridge and took them out at dinner. There's something just not quite lekker (nice) about throwing a live creature into a pot of boiling water. Gavin took charge and just, eyes closed, dumped them straight out of the paper packets into the pot and put the lid on (hoping. that there would be no screeching).

Now these were delicious. Tasty. Fresh. Just like one imagines lobsters to be.

Sunday was a trip to New Canaan where Rusty had lived before and another delicious lunch in the town. This is a beautiful and extremely wealthy area (it's also known as "bankers strip"). Enormous homes. All we could think of was "how many people live there?" and "how do they heat it?" and then "how do they keep it clean?". But then, if you have hundreds of millions these are only questions asked by the Middle Class (or South African's travelling on the ZAR).

For dinner on Sunday we'd decided to 'braai' (BBQ). We bought some steaks at Trader Joe's and then headed to Sprite Island. This is a yacht club on a teeny Island just of the mainland looking across Long Island Sound. One is ferried across with all your belongings. If you forget something back home, too bad. Or you can ask a kindly fellow islander to loan you what was left behind. In our case, braai tongs, fire lighters and additional charcoal! The club provides braai facilities (Weber kettle braais) and picnic tables. And the sight of the most stunning deep purple hydrangeas.

As the sun began to set, the fireflies came out and what an amazing sight. I couldn't manage to get a clear picture but have a lovely video of them winking in the darkness.

We made our way back across the water and just because we needed more fattening up, we headed to the celebrated Mr Frosty's for ice-cream.

And so our journey ended. Sitting on a bench outside a very busy ice-cream shop. Tucking into the best soft serve we have eaten!

Of all the cities we visited in the USA, New York seemed to be the least American (or perhaps the most: busy, commercial, historic immigrant neighbourhoods, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural).

We arrived at Penn Station and then walked down the road to our hotel: The New Yorker Hotel. This was a great location to stay in as it was right next to the subway and also other great locations. It is an art deco hotel with an impressive large and busy lobby. We were in room 2225. High up. Next to the ice machine (which was loud and busy - Americans love their ice). The room was teeny tiny, bed comfy and a great shower, so all good as far as a city hotel goes in the world's, probably, most expensive city.

The Highline is a pretty amazing example of great landscaping (and innovation). It is a vertical natural garden constructed on top of an old elevated railway line in the Meatpacking District of NYC.

This is a picture of the Vessel, which wasn't open when we passed. You can walk to it from the Highline.

It is also next to The Shed which is also pretty wonderful – one always thinks about how much one can do if the money is available to do it (and not wasted).

The area around the Highline is now dominated by Hudson Yards, an uber upmarket mixed use development which also includes an amazing observation deck. We didn't visit this one and instead headed for Summit One which is at Grand Central Station. It was pretty busy and there was a crowd of European youngsters on some summer tour selfie'ing themselves silly. Nevertheless when you are so high up the views of New York are just breathtaking.

There are a lot of new modern buildings still going up including the Leaning Tower Of New York City AKA One Seaport). One wonders how they are still finding space to build these towers.

SUMMIT at One Vanderbilt encompasses four floors of over 6,000 square meters of sensory immersion and includes a reflecting balloon room which one can see one's (and others) reflection in the balls.

There is a long queue to pose on a protruding glass floor over 330 meters above the city, and one of the highest glass floors in the world. People are lying on the thing looking straight down onto a NYC sidewalk. We could actually not do this. We tried. We put a foot on the glass floor. We even sort of walked carefully onto the ledge. And then we just ran off, our stomaches heaving! It was terrifying, albeit safe.

The views were spectacular and you could see, what felt like forever in the distance.

One of the highlights was catching a boat to view Lady Liberty. Next to the City she is minute. But up close, huge and impressive and beautiful.

New York was not only about the MMM, we also had some real fun and amongst the highlights was buying tickets to see The Book of Mormon in Broadway. This is a totally irreverent musical. I'm surprised that they haven't been sued by the Mormons or by Uganda.

The opening is great. Funny. And a good poke at missionaries in general.

We also had some great meals. First night was near the hotel at The Press Club Grill. Super expensive. But excellent. By this time we had also just thrown up our hands and one "WTF, we're here, let's enjoy life (a little)". We also had a meal at this "pay by the pound" buffet in Hudson Yards. You basically load food into your cardboard box/bowl, weigh and pay. Delicious selection.

Primi was also really good. It's a very large restaurant and bar which stretches between 34th and 33rd streets (entrance is on 33rd).

The one meal disappointment was Balthazar. This was our last night-in-NYC-splurge. Gavin had been there a long time ago where his friend Doug Rogers, in excruciatingly bad Zimbabwean accented French, had asked if they had a "Somalian" (to advise on the wine).

The service was great but the whole thing was just a bit meh. Sometimes past great experiences should not be repeated.

Before dinner we'd met our old friend Eric Johnson from Shanghai for a cocktail at The Crosby Bar. It was so wonderful to catch up with an old friend who we hadn't seen in more than 16 years (and, fok, he hasn't bloody well aged!).

MOMO and The Met were highlights. But, to be really honest, by this time the whole "visit another great art museum" had become a bit tiring. And our legs were now sore!

The Met is on the edge of Central Park on 5th Avenue. We had walked there as the hotel concierge had told Karen that it was a short and easy 15 minute walk. He lied.

But the park is impressive. Huge. Well used. Has some interesting statues and was a really really nice way to end our trip to NYC, which we absolutely loved.

We watched the collapse of the towers in Ward's apartment. Those images are forever incised in our memory.

New York's 9/11 Memorial really does justice to the tragedy of that day.

The memorial is within the (new) World Trade Center complex and includes One World Trade Centre and Observatory, the Oculus, the Perelman Peforming Arts Centre, Liberty Park, and the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

The Memorial is a paid entrance and we also rented a digital guide device (narrated by Robert De Niro) with headphones (these are absolutely necessary). The digital guide walks you through the exhibition and includes additional information such as the design of the memorial pools and the One World Trade Centre.

The initial path is through a darkened hall and then down via an escalator which runs down next to the Survivors Staircase. This was the last visible remaining original structure above ground level at the site after the collapse of both towers and enabled 200 people to evacuate.

All through the memorial one comes across saved artifacts, original construction material, blocks of concrete, girders, shards of the building as well as a smashed ambulance and fire truck. Parts of the original construction have been integrated into the memorial itself giving us goosebumps. The twisted and severed metal structures (which should not be able to look like that) visually show the massive forces involved in the collapse of the towers.

[Slurry Wall] (https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/slurry-wall-behind-engineering-feat-made-wtc-possible) On the left and a steel support column on the right with the names of the lost colleagues of the police and fire stations departments.

The exhibition needs few words. Pictures and things are enough. And one is mesmerized by the stories as one is guided through this path of memory. We thought we would pop in and just take a look. We ended up staying for hours, walking from once scene to the next, seeing again what we had almost forgotten from all those years ago. Seeing and hearing video and television clips, photographs and listening to family, friends and colleagues talk lovingly about the people who lost their lives re-breaks your heart; the youngest was only 2 years old. It was hard not to weep at the senseless loss of life, the destruction and devastation. And the brave people who risked their lives to save lives – the list goes on and on.

Outside the memorial building are the two reflection pools. These are "never filled but never empty" and the top of the surrounding walls are etched with the names of the people who died in the attack.

Far, far too many.

Incredibly, it only took 9 months for all the debris to be removed from the site. Most of which was moved to various sites by truck and then barge. Construction teams worked 24 hours a day.

Coincidently, in New York we walked into the Red Wing Shoes store, which a specialises in tough, workwear shoes and boots. While Gavin was eyeing a pair (lord knows why), I browsed the store and found a framed advert telling the story of one of the construction foremen who had worked at Ground Zero. He was wearing out a pair of boots every four days due to the heat of the ground and the rough debris. He then discovered Red Wing Boots which saved his life during an electrical explosion at Ground Zero. This one story made me think of how enormous a task the clearing of the site would have been. The manpower, equipment and logistics to name a few.

Karen found it difficult to take photographs as it felt to her like a sanctuary, filled with souls of all the people involved. A place everyone should see.

Georgetown was a great place to stay. Close to the Foggy Bottom metro station.

Foggy Bottom draws its evocative name from the mist rolling off the Potomac River at its southern boundary—and perhaps also from the industrial smog that once hung over its streets.

Georgetown, of course, is full of statues of George Washington and the hotel is just down from Washington Circle on Pennsylvania Avenue (which leads to the White House).

After off-loading from our Uber (we had dropped off our Budget rental earlier) we walked down the road to find somewhere to eat. We found a small Italian where Karen had the cannelloni and I the spaghetti & meatballs. Both good.

Wednesday was Smithsonian day. We took a metro, got lost at exit, found the way and headed, through the heat, into the massive National Museum of Natural History.

We had underestimated the DC summer visitor crowds as well as the DC summer heat (during our DC stay the daytime temperature never went below 32ºC! And the humidity was not to be taken lightly).

In spite of the crowds the museum was fun. Full of families from literally everywhere. Our favourites were the insects, the butterfly walk, and the mineral exhibition. The last was the most popular as it also includes the jaw dropping Harry Winston jewelry collection which includes the baleful Hope Diamond.

At a mere 45.52 carats, Karen with many others couldn't take her eyes off the Hope Diamond.

Within the insect exhibition space is the Butterfly Pavilion where one can walk amongst real butterflies. This is really spectacular (unless, like one little girl, you get freaked out when they land on your leg).

We then headed out to lunch at a Korean fast-food joint called "Rice Bar". They only do two things: bibimbap or noodles. But within that are many variants of sauces (spicy or not), toppings and protein choices. It's a pretty smart model: fill in a card with your preferences and they just load your bowl with your choices. We both went for the bibimbap which was fast and delicious!

Then off to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculptor garden. This was fantastic. And especially the Laurie Anderson room/hall.

By this time the heat had really got to us. So it was ice-cream time. There are many many (perhaps even "scores") of these trucks parked near every tourist site. They seem to be run by mid-eastern men who are sharp enough to get away with charging $10.00 a cone. I finished mine. Karen wasn't able to eat (lick) quickly enough before her cone was all over her hands, the napkin and, necessarily, in the bin.

Geographically DC is totally confusing. You have Maryland on the northwest, northeast, and southeast and bordered by the state of Virginia, across the Potomac River, on the west and southwest. So sometimes you're in Virginia (where some major monuments are located including the Arlington Cemetery) and then you're turned around and looking at Maryland skyscrapers (probably occupied by lawyers, lobbyists and accountants).

On July 4th we took a ferry down to Alexandria. It's about an hour on the water but a great way to see all the monument and memorial stuff along both banks of the Potomac River. It's a historic city and one of its features is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

In our experience, to be a Mason is to be a secretive bloke who never admits that he's a Mason. And only recognises another Mason by some finger-signing-jiggery-pokery-handshake action. Free Masonry is seen as a cult and viewed in a similar way to the Illuminati (yes, yes we've been in the USA too long but we still haven't fallen foul of any Q's).

But in the USA the Mason's are open and proudly so. There's nothing hidden. And it seems that, for the most part, being a Mason is pretty helpful in getting ahead (like being a member of the Lions or Rotary clubs).

As we needed to get back to DC for July 4th celebrations, we just had a quick, but good, lunch in the old town of Alexandria and headed back. These ferries are guided tours and we had a guy describing the history of the sites as we passed (useful and interesting). The only problem? His microphone wasn't working properly.

July the 4th was great!

Friday was a tour day and we jumped onto one of those tourist buses which took us around all the major DC sites. They were immensely proud of the fact that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing prints an immeasurable (and unpronounceable) amount of money every year (and there I was thinking that this was a Zimbabwe like strategy and we all know what happened when they did that!).

The focus of a Washington DC visit is definitely a MMM experience (museums, memorials and monuments). While the Lincoln Memorial is very impressive we found the Korean War Memorial particularly so.

The memorial has 19 statues of soldiers next to an extensive wall made of reflective granite (so in effect you are seeing 38 statues which represents the 38th parallel and the 38 months of the war – the USA is full of symbolic numerology). There is also a wall with the the names of American servicemen killed in the war (many many Korean family names are on this list).

What I didn't know was that soldiers from other nations vastly outnumbered soldiers from the USA (UN deaths were 628,833 and US deaths 36,634).

Visiting these memorials (also Arlington National Cemetry with over 400,000 graves) makes one realise how wasteful and tragic war is. The long lists and myriad stones representing the, mostly, young men who died is makes the numbers visible and thus reveals the scale of death.

Karen was very keen to visit the Air & Space Museum. The is so popular that you need to pre-book a time-slot to get in (entrance is free). We couldn't get in on our planned days in DC so extended our visit by a day. This necessitated a move to another hotel and we booked into the really great vibey Hotel HIve.

They take their 'bee hive' mnemonic very very seriously and the bee and hive design elements are taken through in a very thoughtful way throughout the hotel. There is only one problem: their icon brings to mind (our mind anyway) barbed wire (vs. interconnectedness).

Hive has a very cool roof-bar. And their pizzas are definitely in the class of "bloody great".

Before heading to the Air & Space Museum we had time to check out (and in) the East Wing of the National Gallery (this is where the modern art collection is housed).

Boy oh boy. This is fantastic. Name a modern artists and you'll find their work in the gallery. Picasso? Got ya! Pollock? Yes. Monet? Of course. Joan Miró. Gallery 25 sir!

I had never heard of Robert Longo. But wow wow wow. You catch your breath as you walk up into Gallery 501 with his massive drawings on the wall. They are ultra-realist and look like photographs. But are simply huge massive gigantic drawings!

The Air & Space Museum was pretty interesting on a number of fronts. First that flying used to be a glamorous and luxurious way to travel.

Model of a Pan Am "flying boat"

Secondly, how small these rocket capsules were. Literally tiny. Which, logically, limited the astronauts choice to people no taller than 6'.

Physically, the men were all superficially similar, all about five feet nine inches tall (plus or minus two inches) to fit inside the spacecraft, and physically fit. They were not reckless, but understood the risks involved in their profession and worked to minimize those risks to an acceptable standard.

We checked out of Hive on Monday and headed for Union Station to get onto the Amtrak train to New York. I always worry whether we have the right tickets, how seating works (once we booked a ticket to Edinburgh and sat on the floor next to the toilet door with our luggage for 3 hours because we didn't figure out how to reserve a seat).

One of the big challenges with being in the USA was "where to watch South Africa vs. Ireland rugby". Using a bit of logic I searched for "Irish bars near me" and found Duffy's. Problem solved. And it was great to see a great test match (and win).

Except for the train being delayed by three hours, the journey into Penn Station, New York was pretty unexceptional. We sat in the dining carriage which was comfy. But pretty cold.

We arrived at Penn Station which was perfectly located for our hotel.

An old school friend of Karen's, Barry Nel, had invited us for a drink at the Watergate Hotel (yes that hotel) for pre-firework drinks.

It was cool to meet Barry and his family as well as visit the hotel itself. The hotel is not to our architectural style but certainly has presence.

Check out these little cuties, Malcolm and Edi!

After drinks we headed off to find a space to sit in front of the Lincoln Memorial which looks across the Reflecting Pool towards the Washington Monument.

It was packed packed packed!

But also really cool to be sitting amongst people speaking English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Hindi and other languages that were difficult to identify.

And then the fireworks kicked off! This was the most spectacular fireworks display Karen and I have ever seen. And it was glorious.

During the show there was a group of young people standing next to us. A Japanese and an Indian guy, a Chinese girl and an African American guy. All friends. All proud American's.

And the Japanese guy exclaiming as the fireworks bombed over our heads:

Fuck I love this country. Fuck! Fuck I love America. This is why my parents came here!

Durham is the home of Duke University. It is a lovely small town with historic roots including the surrender of the Southern Armies to General Sherman in 1865. It is also where American Tobacco was founded:

American Tobacco Company was founded in 1890 by J.B. Duke through a merger of several US tobacco manufacturers. The company, at one point, produced more than 90% of all cigarettes in the US and was one of the largest corporations in the world. American Tobacco Company was one of the original 12 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

We took a walk down main street and had dinner at a great modern-Indian restaurant called Viceroy. The food was totally delicious, service friendly and there was a great vibe as the restaurant was quite busy. We started with a mango papaya salad and Momo Bhel (vegetable dumplings topped with scallions,onion, and tomato) and tossed with house-made Schezuan sauce). The main was hariyali chicken (green herb and yogurt marinated chicken kebabs tossed with onions & spices). After not having had Indian food in a long while, we fell on the dishes with gusto.

After dinner we took a walk through town and discovered, just across the working railway line, the American Tobacco Campus which was built on the old ATC tobacco factory site.

!

We were there during summer break so the campus was pretty quiet. But this gave us the opportunity to really get a good look around. It must be amazing to work or study at this campus, as its pretty gorgeous.

Beaufort is a lovely little town on Port Royal Island and this part of the world is full of meandering rivers, sounds, swamps and forests.

After lunch we headed onto Charleston. We had been advised to stay in Mt. Pleasant which is across the river from Charleston (but, really, part of the same city). Much like Savannah, Charleston is a hip foodie city with wonderful architecture.

We joined a Dark Side of Charleston tour. This is a pretty alternative tour because it reprises Charleston's positioning as the sex tourist city of the USA (only in 1960 was prostitution made illegal). The city is still a locus for sex trafficking.

According to our guide Autumn, the sex trade was a key source of revenue for the city and could be traced back to, apparently over-sexed and well hung, Charles II.

The tour covered the Riviera Theatre (in the early days, a porn movie house with 'shady' corners dark enough to hide even Lauren Boebert's fiddling); the Big Brick house (Grace Piexotto's woman run brothel); the bigamist William A Marcus who murdered his 'other' wife because, after he caught an STD, suspected her of having an affair (actually it was not this wife); and the Methodist minister who was kicked out of town for 'baptising' a bear cub (where and how he got the cub remains a mystery).

A highlight of this tour was that we engaged with a group of women who, in their 40th year, had decided to have a class reunion. Some of them had been to kindergarten together. Kate, one of the group, has been giving Karen and I advice on what, where and how to visit New York. So nice and kind.

Before engaging in a bit of salacious gossip tour, Karen and I popped into dinner at Anson Restaurant. They were very gracious in accepting the two us given that we were in sweaty t-shirts and trainers and the rest of their guests looked like they were on the way to a debutante ball (which might have been true). The women, mostly tall and blonde, had the aura of money. And Karen and I, after ordering a starter and a main to share, manifested a class below.

The food was excellent. The service as well. We shared an heirloom tomato salad and a delicious ricotta ravioli.

Saturday was a trip to Folly Beach. And given this is summer, school holidays, Saturday and a very hot day, sadly proved to be a waste of a trip. It's around 40 minutes from our hotel and crosses some spectacular "low country" swamps. And was packed with zero parking available. Parking is seriously limited in any event, and during summer it's impossible. So we turned around and stopped off for lunch at Red's Ice House.

This was also packed (for the reasons given above) so we just jumped next door to Sunsets Waterfront. Where we sat inside for the aircon. Gavin ordered a "low country boil" (this is on most menus so we had to try). In essence small red potatoes, shrimp, smoked sausage and corn boiled together with cajun spices. Very delicious.

The restaurant is on Shem Creek, one of Charleston myriad estuaries, creeks and rivers and is full of canoes and motor boats carrying happy people and dogs.

Karen's photo was photobombed by an Osprey!

The same evening we headed for Sullivan's Island as we'd heard about The Obstinate Daughter restaurant.

After Colonel William Moultrie and the defenders of Fort Sullivan fended off the British fleet's attempt to capture the city of Charleston, a cartoon was published in London depicting “Miss Carolina Sulivan, one of the obstinate daughters of America, 1776.”

Sullivan's Island was less busy and we found parking near one of the expansive South Carolina beaches. To get to the beach one walks along a lovely boardwalk just above the vegetated foredune. The beach itself is wide, shallow and seems to go on forever and the sand is fine like sugar. Full of families and young people having a good time. The homes (some palatial), are decked out in preparation for the 4th July. My photo was also photobombed, this time by a Cybertruck!

We had a lovely dinner at Sullivan's Fish Camp where we sat at the bar. In most USA restaurants you don't have to book to sit and eat at the bar. So it's a good way to get into a fully booked restaurant as it's first come first served. And you still get the full menu. Plus, generally, the people behind the bar are really nice.

On our last night we'd decided to hit downtown for an early dinner and then take a sunset harbour cruise. Dinner was at Ritual's roof top bar and restaurant. We shared the tajin dusted calamari and tequila clams which were delicious.

We took a sunset harbour cruise which was really interesting (and popular!). The boat takes you from the harbour to Fort Sumter then tracks back on the Sullivan's Island side and then under the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.

What was surprising was the amount of life in the harbour. Pods of dolphins, hunting brown pelicans gracefully gliding just above the surface, diving terns and an osprey flying home with nesting material in its beak.

We also learned that Charleston was the home harbour for Edward Teach (better known as Black Beard). Who, according to legend, had such a fearsome reputation that everyone just surrendered when attacked (so he never had to kill anyone).

The view from the boat is pretty spectacular. Great tour.

Charleston was fantastic and we really enjoyed our stay.

The demonym for people who live here is Savannahian (now there's a new word for y'all but who can bloody say that?). It is a famous historic city made even more so by Forest Gump and the wonderful Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil (the book and the movie were reputed to have increased Savannah's tourist visitor numbers by around 46%).

We stayed at the Kimpton Brice Hotel. Location great. Structure good. The bed? Good. The bed-linen? Awful. No fitted sheet so you end up sleeping on a tiny mattress protector as the bottom sheet slips. The duvet has no cover and instead is 'sandwiched' between two flat sheets and slips out to reveal the bodily stains of previous guests.

And the bar only opens at 4pm! Gavin could be adding to their beer profits while writing this.

You can find Gavin's review on booking.com here (somewhere).

In total contrast to The Brice is the JW Marriot. They have an absolutely beautiful geode exhibit in their lobby, which is open to everyone.

So much work has gone into this. And it is beautiful. The back lighted framed pieces are also stupendous (and classy!).

Naturally we did the touristy things like catching a guided tourist tram and, a cruise down the Savannah River (which is actually the border between Georgia and South Carolina). These were both cool. But boy, hot hot hot!

Savannah is a great eating, strolling and just chilling out city. We had two great meals. The first at B.Matthew's Eatery where I had the short rib and Karen the salmon (which she pronounced as "the best meal I've had in America"). Service was great. Atmosphere lovely.

On our last night we headed to Dottie's. This is pretty cool with an open kitchen and a deli offering. The server was wonderful and made up for us being sat at the bar at the back of the restaurant/deli. Food was mostly traditional Southern food. Karen had pork loin and Gavin the sea-food jumbo accompanied by sugar-snap pea salad and maque choux.

Savannah has this thing about "to-go" cups of booze. So you basically walk into a bar and ask for whatever you want and then walk around the town getting sozzled. It's weird but nice. We never got the appeal of it. Until we did.

As we were walking home from Dottie's we (Gavin) walked into a pub called Abe's Girls. It's a tiny little bar festooned with thousands of hand drawn, of varying quality, Abe Lincoln mini-portraits.

We both ordered a draft beer and then walked out with a "to-go" cup. We found a bench in Washington Square park and sipped the rest of the beer. Just enjoying the coolness of early evening Savannah.

Savannah has 22 of these tree'd squares some of which are surrounded by beautiful old Savannah homes.

Some of these have permanently lit gas lights outside. Pretty cool (even if wasteful).

Savannah is home to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). It has over 17,000 students and is a major part of the culture and economic vibrancy of the city. Naturally there is a art supply shop. But this is not a shop. It is Blick. A massive store which can supply any aspiring sketcher, painter, calligrapher, mixed medium artist, sculptor, etc. etc. with what they need.

They also have a small gallery in an upstairs space. And we discovered the art of Gyotako.

The artist offers to preserve your fish. Just catch it. Ice it. Deliver it. She'll do the rest. And give you your filleted fish back for you to eat.

TPA, while smaller than Dallas airport, is also impressive and well organised. Collecting our luggage and walking straight out the exit, is just brilliant.

We were collected by Karen's sister Vanessa and headed for her home in Largo. Vanessa and Joaquin, her husband have a wonderful condo looking over part of the Atlantic intracoastal waterway. As you drive North you have the Gulf of Mexico on your left and the intracoastal waterway on your right.

This part of Florida is for beach and booze holidays. Nothing wrong! The beaches – or long long beach – on the Gulf side are clean, white and endless. And, because you're facing West, deliver the most stunning sunsets.

The West side seems to be the holiday accommodation (apartments, houses and hotels) side and the East side facing the intracoastal the entertainment side (bars, restaurants). So you can grab a swim in the warm water of the Gulf then just walk across the road to grab a tiki cocktail.

Other than just being Floridian, we did three major touristy things. The first was to eat at the famous Columbia Restaurant in Sand Key. There is something special about eating at a restaurant that sits next to and on-top of the intracoastal. It just feels Florida.

The second was a visit to Ybor City where we did a guided city walk.

Ybor was setup as a company town by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and was annexed by Tampa in 1887. Ybor initially setup a cigar manufacturing enterprise in Key West and, after labour unrest, moved his enterprise to Tampa. Ybor was primarily populated by immigrants including a significant number from Cuba, Spain, Germany, Italy and Eastern Europe (Jewish communities).

The city's first blow was during the depression when demand for quality cigars declined. After the 2nd World War the city saw a further exodus of people as the government assisted returning servicemen with better housing and they moved out to the 'burbs.

During it's heydey though, Ybor was the wild west and operated as a city sized 'speakeasy' with gangsters, opium dens, brothels and booze being characteristic of the city. There's a cool history of the city on Wikipedia. During the tour our guide mentioned the "Ybor Tunnels" which were featured in "Live by Night" with Ben Affleck.

According to Steve our guide, these were built for smuggling. But when I asked "if there's no law, why did they bother?", he said "because of the competition between the gangs". Well alrightly. But this is a better description of the tunnels.

And chickens are protected! During the Depression chickens were brought to the city for food and, sadly, cock fighting. Left to fend for themselves when the city was evacuated in 1908 during the devasting fire, and then nearly thrown out when the city was being revived, the courts deemed the chickens to have come first and therefore had the right to stay. So wild chickens and roosters wander the city, which is a rather cute sight.

Gavin asked if people could take the eggs, "they eat drunk people's vomit and other stuff, so I wouldn't eat them" was the answer.

These pictures were taken at José Martí Park who led the Cuba's revolution against Spanish rule in the 1880s and 1890's. This park is still owned by the people of Cuba. So when you walk through the gates you literally walk onto Cuban territory. Not only that. When the park was built, soil from all the provinces of Cuba were collected and used in the building of the park. So you are also standing on Cuban owned territory and the soil of Cuba.

Ybor was very cool. But so was St. Petersburg ("Saint Pete"). We had a late brunch and Gavin experienced a Cuban Sandwich (which is basically pickles, ham, roasted pork and cheese). No wonder he's put on xxKG since being in the USA as he can't resist anything vaguely representing a reuben (there is photographic evidence here). But it was delicious. Then it was a trip to the Dali Museum.

They had a special exhibition including a 360° show in a dome. The only problem with this was that one doesn't have eyes in the back of one's head, and consequently habe a bad dose of FOMO as there is definitely, absolutely, 100%, indubitably some good stuff happening behind one's back!

The major exhibition, other than viewing the wonderful Dali collection, was "reimagining nature: dalí's floral fantasies". Totally outstanding and intriguing. Olé Olé!

Vanessa and Joaquin's favourite haunt is JD's. It has an outside bar with a live band (the band shuts down at 10pm due to Tampa's nuisance laws). In the inside is a piano bar where the massively talented Andrew holds forth.

Andrew has a Chris Rea type of voice: husky, gravelly, and soulful with a distinctive raspy quality. And he's awesome. And happy to have someone from the audience accompany him with a song or two.

All in all Tampa was great. We didn't see any "florida men" (which we should be thankful for!). But we did see his 'bakkie'.

After being duly warned about cabin luggage (only one bag including a small personal handbag) a guy tried to get on board with two largish bags. And then put up a huge fuss when he wasn't allowed to board without paying serious US$ to put the bags into the overhead lockers (one pays for this privilege or it goes under the seat in front of you).

He was shut right down when one of the ground staff said "if you cuss again you'll have more trouble than you want today" in one of those soft scary voices (if you want to be threatening whisper!). I nervously sneaked past with a "my backpack is really small I promise" grin as I boarded the plane.

DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) is a very large but efficient airport. One collects one's checked luggage right at the exit. Then you walk out. And bam you're in the car and on your way. No heat stroke risk at all (wow, this place is hot hot hot!).

That night was Tex-Mex. Generous portions. Delicious. And then just a long long catch up evening with family. With Mark giving us the low-down on Dallas.

Sunday was Father's Day and taken up with shopping for braai (BBQ) meat at the fantastic Central Market in Plano. Shopping for food in the USA always makes Karen and I so envious of our food choices in South Africa (other than the price!). Mark bought some great steaks and then it was family day with Alison's children and grandkids. Lots of fun.

Dallas is vast. Flat. And beige. I don't know why, but this dominant colour makes Dallas – except for downtown which is attractive and interesting – a bit drab. It is also a car city. Probably because of the heat, this is a city not made for cyclists. It is a car dependent city with a myriad of large highways and expressways (running underneath the highway). With fast food joints, shopping and strip malls, and huge auto-dealerships just a slip-way to the right.

Then Monday. And this was the day for Texas BBQ at Pecan Lodge. Of course brisket was on the menu. And it was totally delicious.

Mark and Ali

Pecan Lodge is in Deep Ellum which is a really cool multicultural food, bar, art, local shop area in downtown Dallas. It's really great. Originally a major railroad junction area, it was classified as a Cultural District in 2020. Definitely worth a visit.

After lunch we headed downtown for a JFK Assassination tour.

JFK Memorial

The assassination of JFK has created a massive secondary industry of tour guides, conspiracy theorists (experts) and writers, video and book publications, museums and probably more reddit/ groups than one can count (you can go down this rabbit-hole at your own risk!).

Our tour was a 90 minute excursion in the assassination area with our guide, in true conspiracy style, asking lots of "but what about" questions. The tour covers the shooting at Dealey Plaza, a view of the 6th floor (which is reputed to be the site from where Lee-Harvey Oswald took his shots: the first shot missed but JFK was then hit by two subsequent shots – but, perhaps, not from the same place ....).

The longer tour takes you past Oswald's boarding house. It's supposedly not been changed. And the smell of the carpet would indicate that that's probably true. And then onwards tracking Oswald escape route until he was captured. Actually the more interesting element of that part of the tour was driving through Oak Cliff (south of the Trinity River). It's a multicultural area of Dallas with a strong hispanic community (including very over-the-top bridal and prom dress shops).

Would we recommend this tour? For sure. It's historic. Interesting. And gives a real insight into US conspiracy theory culture around the dodgy behaviour of the CIA.

Graffiti on the fence of the"grassy knoll" -- basically a car park

The last day in Dallas was a cultural trifecta: art, shopping and baseball.

The Meadow's Museum is second only to the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid in the scale of its collection of Spanish art including works by El Greco, Velàzquez, Ribera, Murillo, Goya, Mira and Picasso. For us the centrepiece is Caltatrava's "Wave" whch sits at the entrance to the museum.

Wave is Calatrava's first large-scale sculpture to be permanently installed in the United States. The sulpture measures 40 feet deep and 90 feet long with 129 equally proportioned bronze bars. These bars are connected to a mechanism that makes it rock sequentially, imparting to it a four-cycle, wavelike motion. The sculpture was installed over the shallow, slow-moving water on a black granite pool, which reflects this movement. At night, the sculpture is illuminated from the lighting in the pool.

Then we were into the high-culture of looking at cowboy stuff. Karen has an innate desire to own a pair of cowboy boots so we went downtown to checkout what Wildbill's Western Store had to offer.

Short answer. Lots and lots. But none that we wanted to buy. Except of course a TEXAS trucker cap (which was a gift from Mark).

Then off to the Texas Rangers Stadium in Arlington (like the White Sox stadium, it also has a shitty corporate financial services name: Globe Life Field).

More than a stadium it is an entertainment complex and the F&B offering (with massive screens) is simply super and stupendous (and shows what can be done when you have the money to design a great stadium, including having the insight that women need bigger and more toilets than men). And the police are super friendly (handsome too hey!) and willing to be photographed with a strange woman with a strange accent when asked by my sister in law, Ali!

You walk into this stadium at ground level and then are just lost for words. It is vast. And covered. And you don't walk up.

This is an amphitheater where the baseball field is down from ground level surrounded by tiers of seats. The main ground level concourse goes around the field and gives one a 360° view of the playing area. As for the game, just like the White Sox, we jinxed the Rangers and they lost to the New York Mets 6-7 (06-18-2024).

So we tried to get a lot in in a short period of time. Trev's friend Herb had given us an extensive list of places to go so that's where we started.

First stop was dinner at Butcher & Bee. This is on the East side of Nashville (across the river). It's a great place. Mediterranean food but varied in seating: at the bar, at a shared table, at the cooking bar and then just normal tables. We sat at the bar where we had excellent service. Karen wasn't feeling well so we just ordered a couple of meze plates: whipped feta with honey, bacon wrapped dates, and meatballs. All great.

Then we went up the road to a tinki tonk bar Hubba Hubba (also recommended).

It was empty but a cowboy band was playing which was cool. But then Karen felt really ill. So we hustled out of there back to our apartment (just a 10 minute walk away from downtown). The barman was just super chilled and extremely helpful (gave Karen a soda and insisted she sit down until she felt better).

We have found Americans to be so so friendly, helpful and without guile. Just fantastic.

Karen was still under the weather Saturday morning so I headed out to Broadway. This is THE party street in Nashville (actually Nashville just seems like THE music party city in the USA). Even around brunch time the road was pretty busy.

I popped into the Mellow Mushroom. There was music and it seemed a bit more chilled than a couple of the other places I'd walked past. Grabbed a beer (it is so difficult to make a beer choice – there are just too many, although I have stopped ordering any IPA which are bitter).

A small beer-on-tap array

And then a plate of sriracha chicken wings (which, surprisingly, come with healthy celery and carrot sticks!). And then just chilled.

Drank my beer and just sat back and istened to the two person band and then wandered down the street to a place which was really pump'n!

Got back to the hotel and chilled before, Karen feeling much better, we took an Uber to Bluebird Cafe. And this was just Wow! It is small intimate venue and they have this "in the round"concept. The Bluebird invites a few non-related musician/songwriters to come together and play, discuss their songs, and song writing. Theyn they just riff off one another. It was just really great.

We hadn't been able to buy tickets so we lined up outside the venue (which is in a nondescript strip-mall). There were four musicians (they aren't really performers because the venue is so small and intimate). They were (all on Spotify): David Newbould, Kiely Connell, Boo Ray, and Lilly Winwood.

After that we headed to Broadway. And now it was a pump'n! Karen's Apple Watch was screaming at her because it was too loud. So we walked around a little, dropped down a street and went into a bar called "Losers". This was cool: bottom floor had the band, middle floor was a dope-smokin' & drinking chillout lounge, top floor was a solo guitarist doing his thing. We stayed a while, chatted with the bar tender and then headed home.

Broadway is the party street in Nashville. And boy there are many ways to party in this city. From party buses, trams, military trucks and even self-peddling bars (which, cleverly, also have motors). If you can dream it you can party on or in it!

Would we recommend Nashville? Absolutely if you wanna do some listen'n, some eat'n, some walk'n and some groov'n! As Joe Bob would say: "5 stars".

She insisted on us coming to stay with her and her two daughters in Evanston just on the edge of Chicago proper but easily reachable via the "L" (it's new formal name to replace "elevated"). Gavin always wanted to ride on the "L" as it features in so many movies (including those one's where people have to stop a conversation in mid-sentence as the L goes by overhead).

Saturday was a breakfast at a diner (like in the movies) down the road; "no, only sunnyside up or over easy" was the answer when Karen asked if they had poached eggs. Then a walk to Lake MIchigan and the beach. And these are beautiful beaches. White, Expansive. Life guards in red speedos. Waves (small though).

Then down-town to get onto an architectural boat tour. Oh my. This was just fantastic. These are lead by architects and are informative, fun, surprising and just great. And the buildings themselves, from Mies van der Rohe's multiple modernist buildings to Jeanne Gang's wonderful Vista Tower, just great). Highly highly recommended.

Our luck, it was rainy and cold. And yellow plastic ponchos are not very effective in wind. Or keeping out the cold.

So when we got off. We literally ran into a ramen restaurant. Perfect to warm ourselves up with a hot spicy soup.

Sunday was taking in a baseball game at White Sox Stadium (now, unimaginatively called, "Guaranteed Rate Field"). For us non-baseball fans the idea of going to a baseball game seems like an odd idea; boring, slow, uncreative, non-strategic, etc. etc. All wrong.

If you haven't been to a baseball game, just go. If only once. It's fun, safe, very interesting (the minutiae of the rules — including the "ground rule double" — were explained to Gavin by a very kind, and exceptionally patient guy called Steve who was sitting in front of us). Steve and his wife Tammy could not contain themselves, when after 3 minutes of us clearly asking stupid newbie baseball rule questions, couldn't contain themselves, turned around and started telling us how the game worked).

The White Sox lost 4:6 in the overtime 10th innings to the Boston Red Sox (who coincidentally, I watched in Boston many years ago, with other TBWA friends).

After the game we headed for the Chicago Blues Festival. This is a massive free festival held at Chicago's Millennium Park which is also home to "the bean". The Bean is currently closed off but you can see the top of the curved surface reflecting the city's amazing downtown buildings.

The Blues Festival is just fantastic. Thousands of friends, families and blues enthusiasts sitting on the grass enjoying the weather and the music. And, what's more, the main stage being designed by Frank Gehry is pretty spectacular.

We caught the "L" back home, heated up some Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (not really to our taste but, hey, when in Chicago) and talk some more with Mickie. Then we headed back to Minneapolis on Monday morning.

Driving to and from Chicago, we discovered Culver's Grilled Reuben Melt sandwich and Frozen Custard. Not very healthy, but we loved it!

Great weekend. Chicago. Absolutely not be missed!

The genus of the city is the Mississippi and grain. The Mississippi provided the water flow to turn water wheels that provided the means to mill the grain as well as the means to transport the grain and flour. General Mills and Pillsbury were both founded here. I was surprised that there were fewer breweries though as normal grain = beer and/or whiskey (in my mind anyway).

On our first evening, we went to dinner at Cardamom the Aegean/Mediterranean inspired restaurant at The Walker Art Center. The following day Trev took us for a drive down to the Mississippi and around the lakes. It's a beautiful city. The lakes are numerous (there are more than 22 lakes in Minneapolis). And then there are the bridges.

We also stopped at the Minnehaha Falls. These are incredible and easy to access. There's also a cool restaurant in the park called Sea Salt.

In the mornings we'd take the two dogs (Parker the Springer Spaniel and Molly the Blue Heeler cross) for a +10km walk through the forest and around Cedar Lake.

Molly & Parker

Minneapolis really punts its museums and art galleries. We visited The Walker Art Center to see the Keith Haring: Art is for Everyone exhibit.

And wow. So interesting. Impressive. Well put together. Keith Haring died from AIDS at the young age of 31. Just imagine his volume of work if he'd lived to, say, 60-ish.

After the Haring exhibition we boarded a tourist boat on the Mississippi. This was pretty interesting. The initial journey is upstream through the the lower St. Anthony Falls Lock system. The Upper St Anthony Falls lock is now closed to keep invasive carp from penetrating further up the Mississippi system.

Then, of course, we headed for The Mall of America. Oh my word! Cirque du Soleil is in the car park!

[The Mall of America] opened in 1992, and is the largest mall in the United States, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the twelfth largest shopping mall in the world.

It's pretty hard to believe that there are 11 shopping malls even bigger than this one. It is huge!

A couple of days into our visit, we decided to pop over to Chicago for the weekend. When we returned, we went off to Matt's Bar, the home of the original Jucy Lucy burger.

Matt's is a dive bar serving basic, nothing craft here!, beer. And it was packed. As it always is. The Jucy Lucy was delicious! The two burger patty 'pocket' is filled with hot melted cheese which oozes out on biting through the burger. Together with the company, best fries, ambiance and beer, a fabulous evening. But eat a Jucy Lucy at your own (health) risk!

We then set off to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, which is home to the largest collection of stunning hostas I have ever seen. And in all shades of green, solid and varigated. This was really great and reminded us of the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town. The big difference? Being attacked by Minnesota's national bird: the mosquito!

Lunch was on Lake Minnetonka where we had the most awful food since arriving in the US at Maynards. Not recommended. Unless you just want a great beer and a lovely view of a lovely lake.

The next day Karen and I set off to the beautiful Frank Gehry designed Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. We couldn't find parking (it was "reserved" and we couldn't work out how to make a 'parking reservation').

So we decided to head to the Mill City Museum. And ... yes, "Closed on Tuesdays". So we just headed home, stopped at the amazing Kowalski's supermarket (we do like touring grocery stores) and had chicken noodle soup for lunch at The Lowry.

Summer in Minneapolis is all about the lakes. "The endless summer" is really apposite to this place. Blue lakes, walking paths, lake forests, lake beaches, tanning, hanging out with friends, taking on temp summer jobs to earn some cash, buying beer with fake ID cards.

Final lunch at Lake Harriet

Oh to be teenager in Minneapolis in the summer!

The cabin was comfortable yet compact. I suppose the only advantage over economy class being the lie-flat beds and the three meals. Karen had to take the top-bunk as Gavin is too big to fit in there (and he worried about his ability to even climb up and in, let alone get out at night for a pee!).

The trip is two nights and one full day. We arrived in St. Paul on Sunday at 8.30am.

Train sunrise

The views going through the Cascades is just breathtaking. Both on the Western (Seattle) side as well as the Eastern (Montana) sides of the range. Beautiful snow packed peaks, forested mountains, lovely clean full snow-fed flowing rivers and streams.

The food on the Empire Builder was pretty good. Lots of choices. For dinner the first night Karen chose the grilled salmon and Gavin the rib-eye steak. Second night Gavin went with the chicken and Karen the risotto.

The seating is allocated by the dining staff and you are allocated a table to share with other passengers. One is initially a bit apprehensive about who you'd be sitting with. But actually this was fun. Especially if you like to listen (and give some question encouragement). We met some really nice people at dinner and lunch.

Mark, a retired pediatric anesthesiologist who once hopped on a boat which was being transported by train. All along the way he waved at farmers from the bow. Then was caught and shoved into a box car.

Kevin who's a data scientist working for a logistics startup. The only woman we've ever met called Kevin. She has a phobia against flying.

Another Kevin who's a professor of German History at a College in Sioux Falls.

Meg who was a student studying to be a high school English teacher at a city in Minot (North Dakota). Apparently North Dakota is packed with public higher education colleges and universities. It was a policy to build lots of schools so that people could study close to where they lived.

An old guy called Ben who used to work in the airforce as a maintenance engineer. His three sons are all in the military.

The train stops at various stations for a short or a long time (Minot is over 60 minutes)., We stopped in Havre. I though of the port! of Le Havre in France and thought that this must be where the name comes from. Not so. According to the sign on the station, its onomatopoeic for "have her".

If you're a smoker this must be hell on earth. And the conductor comes across the tannoy saying "this is a non smoking train, and if you are caught smoking then you will have to find alternative transportation". Said in a nice way. But then the threat is pretty explicit.

The one disappointment was that the windows are not clean. Karen attempted a window clean on our compartment (semi-successfully).

We had purchased some wine and pre-mixed cocktails (these are big in the USA and you can check out Trev's Bardiver). Which we opened before dinner. Just had to ask our concierge for some ice. And there we sat. Watching America go by.

We did expect the sleeper cabin to be more comfortable and thought we'd sleep better. But these trains literally rock. We occasionally woke up as the train jagged around some corners. In your sleep-mind you think that it is going to derail. The train also, I supposed by law, hoots at every crossing. And there are lots of those. Nevertheless we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

And as we kept saying. Oh. The views! The views!

Puget Sound is encompassed by the Salish Sea (which we'd never heard of).

On such a clear day the view of the massive Mt Rainier were breathtaking.

The trip takes you along the Puget Sound and then through a lock into Lake Washington. It’s pretty fascinating how one goes from salt water into fresh. Lake Washington itself is busy with businesses servicing the Alaskan fishing fleets (crab and pollock). Two big tug boat operations and house boats and floating homes (the guide was very clear that there is a big difference between a house boat and a floating home: a house boat can move).

The most famous house boat was the one that was used in Sleepless in Seattle where a mournful Tom Hanks lived with his young son. And then he met Meg Ryan and they lived happily ever after.

Our last lunch was at Home Team. Home Team is a retail outlet selling collectable Nike sneakers, an entertainment space, and a restaurant. A lot of these restaurants have a “happy hour” which is usually between 2–5pm. We were there about 3pm. We were a bit rushed for time and couldn’t take advantage of the offer (but anyway, Happy Hour on the ZAR is just Less Sad than normal).

Home Team is just off Pioneer Square and sits on a wide avenue of plane trees. It’s quiet and, given that it was a beautiful sunny day, was also shady and cool.

The Amtrak train to Minneapolis is called “The Empire Builder” and goes all the way to Chicago. It starts off at Seattle’s King Street Station. For us it will be a two night, one full day trip. Something we’re really looking forward to.

When I asked the concierge at the apartment we're renting, she described Seattle weather as being "bi-polar".

We visited Pike Street Market as well as the Seattle Aquarium. The market is very cool and busy with both tourists and locals (who buy the fresh fish, the selection which is amazing). Lots of locally made foods, drinks, clothes, toys and art. Plus the odd hairy beast :)

The Aquarium was disappointing with the seal, otter pools and bird exhibits depressing (it's that whole animals kept in a zoo thing). The one lonely Oyster Catcher taking company from its reflection in a mirror was especially sad to see.

Stick to the Two Oceans Aquarium (much much better).

We decided to get some culture and went to SAM (Seattle Art Museum). It was unfortunately closed. The animated sculpture outside the entrance is very cool though.

It was a periodically sunny day and Karen suggested that we take a ferry to Bainbridge Island. So off we went. We were a bit rushed. Bought the tickets, Were told the ferry was about to leave. Fast walked through the ticket turnstile. And were on.

It took about an hour. And we disembarked with the other passengers. Only to realise that we had fast-walked onto the Bremerton ferry. Not the same at all. Bremerton is nice but is not the famous Bainbridge. We still had a good day. Walked across the Manette bridge and had a lovely lunch on the waterfront at the Boat Shed Restaurant (on the bottom left side on the water in this photo).

The cool thing about this ferry (the "Walla Walla" is the one we sailed on) is that they have setup jigsaw puzzles on some of the tables. So you can sit down and take over where someone left off.

And of course, the view of Seattle on the return trip is astounding. Plus we were lucky enough to catch a rainbow too.

On Wednesday night we headed to the Oyster Cellar. This is supposed to be a more democratically priced restaurant. Not if you are on the ZAR!

It's a new restaurant and was pretty quiet. But the food was just exceptional. And the service as good. We sat at the bar (Gavin is increasingly thinking that this is always the way to go; if there is a bar sit at it). And had wonderful service from Parker who was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and gave us some great tips on places, restaurants and bars to visit in Seattle, Nashville and New York.

A learning: the default "Old Fashioned" cocktail is made with bourbon. Better to ask for a "Rye Old Fashioned". More flavour. Less sweet. Or just buy a pre-mix from Bar Diver. This trip has turned Karen into a cocktail aficionado.

Going to The Screwdriver Bar was recommended to listen to live music. There was a cool DJ playing vinyl (using an old telephone handset as her headset). And Gavin has stopped enjoying drinking beer out of a can.

But one highlight was having a pastrami on rye at Market Place Meats (on the walk down to the Space Needle complex). Generous, very meaty, tasty. No fries. And two little sweet biscuits :)

The falls are just a short drive outside of Portland along the East 84 which, for a large part of the journey tracks alongside the incredible Columbia River. The scale of this river is unbelievable: wide, long, navigable, beautiful.

As we got nearer the turn-off to Multnomah Falls we saw a sign saying that a permit was required to park if we were taking Exit 31. Karen directed us to take Exit 22 which took us onto the Historic Columbia River Highway.

This road takes one past a number of waterfalls. Every single viewing or access point to a waterfall was totally jam-packed. There was simply no access. They have tram buses taking people to various waterfall access points. But it was impossible to park in order to get onto one of these. Memorial Day weekend you see.

So we didn't see any waterfalls. Not one.

We did however find a spectacular viewing point overlooking the Columbia River. As mentioned, this is totally spectacular.

Cannon Beach is incredible. This 72m high sea stack jumps out of the beach. The rock, called Haystack Rock, totally dominates the beach and the lovely town. So why, one asks, is the town not called Haystack Beach? Or Big Rock? Or The Rock? So when you arrive, you think to yourself, this rock doesn't look like a cannon? Is it a pile of gunpowder perhaps? Or the ruin of a target? Or perhaps some part of a cannon? Or maybe at the top of Haystack Rock were some cannons?

Not at all.

It's named after a real little cannon that washed ashore from a schooner wreck in 1846 . The town was originally named Ekoli Creek in 1806 by William Clark (named after the Chinook word for "whale" ekholi). The name never really stuck and was changed to Elk Creek. The name was changed to Cannon Beach in 1898.

For 93 years the town name was problematic. Even the United States Post Office didn't like "Elk Creek" as it was confused with another town called Eola (they both started with an "e" and included a "l"). One can imagine the discussions at Council. "Agenda number 3 is the town name, anyone have any proposals". "Puffin Bay"? ventured one. "White sand?" "How about Long Beach?" proposed another. There was always, probably, one clever dick who said "why don't we call it Haystack or The Rock?". And the council chair who probably didn't like the clever dick because his dog had killed his rooster 10 years ago, said "no, we need to be more creative!".

And then someone remembered that little cannon from that little wreck.

We packed for an African Spring, and have been a bit cold, so stopped in Bend at an outlet retail park (it was well advertised and was perfectly targeted at South African's who believe that "Summer" means "Summer"). Karen and I bought some additional warm items to help us get through the cold of the North American Spring.

For some reason we also believe, illogically, that as we go further North it will warm up? Karen also believes that if she believes the weather will warm, it will warm.

We were warned about the 'off gridders' (homeless) in San Francisco but hardly saw any people living on the streets. Portland however, has tents put up in doorways, along the streets and in the small park close by the hotel. Sad to see how very young many of the people are. And the heavy drug taking. Very depressing.

Portland is dominated by the Williamette River (named after the Whilamut people who previously inhabited this valley). There are 12 major bridges that dominate the Portland sky line. They are all very very different and striking in their own way.

We chose to stay at the "Canopy by Hilton" in the Pearl District. The hotel rooms are very nice. The F&B less good. And the service at a level a Zimbabwean would sneer at, start a hospitality school, and make $$$ (proper ones).

Saturday was about wandering. We caught one of those tourist buses. Which was OK. The driver was also the tour guide. She could also talk to people outside the bus. And she'd boom "I see you bicyclist" when a cyclist got a little close. And when she mentioned something interesting, two of her older USA passengers would exclaim "ooh" or "wow wow" very loudly. Cute man.

We jumped off a bit early at the river stop. Had lunch at the Pine Street Market (basically a food-court serving great beer, Mexican and Asian food and donuts in so many variations). Then wandered.

And came across the Portland Outdoor Store. They sell cowboy and outdoor stuff. There was a cowboy looking to buy some new boots (they definitely gave him the Dusty Fog look). He looked good for a short guy in tight black jeans and a matching seam patterned tight shirt. And the mirror showed him so. But when his tall blonde wife/girlfriend drawled "they look great Lyle, but do you need to buy them now?" that was the end of that.

Karen did a similar thing when I looked at an outdoor hat. "When will you wear that?" she asked.

We visited Powell's Books which was the best, bar none, bookshop we've ever been into. And packed with people; locals and visitors. I don't think there's a book in English that's been published in the last few years that's not on a shelf there.

What was also cool, is they combine second hand books with new books. And there's a specific service section that buys back your old books (they obviously have to be of a certain quality). But for Karen and I, that was a true book lover's idea. Very cool.

On Saturday night we went to catch some live music (it seems that this is something that one should do in Portland). We went to the Alberta Street Pub. We caught the backend of The Acoustic Giants (two guys on acoustic guitars whose story telling was as entertaining as their songs), Caleb & The Monsters (who we both liked; but only really, after listening on Spotify, live) and Bikini Drone (whose live performance was completely different to their popi-ish Spotify library).

(Acoustic Giants)

Bikini Drone

Sunday was a bit of a travel day. Waterfalls and Cannon Beach.

The deepest lake in the United States at 592m and the bluest water I have ever seen. The lake is vast and today there was not a breath of wind. The water was so still it mirrored the sides of the volcano. The water is so clear it seems unnatural. It makes one want to dip into the water and glow with its purity. That is what I imagine the elixir of youth looks like.

Once a volcano which erupted 7 million years ago and which the basin that formed filled with rain and snow over the centuries to form a sight I will never forget.

It’s been cold here in Oregon with snow on the peaks of the Klamath mountains. Gavin and I are not quite prepared and while we are not freezing cold, we are missing one warm layer. I am also not loving my ‘secret’ socks and wish I had knee length ones with no desire to hide in my shoes and expose my ankles to the cold. I really miss my slippers.

Enter The Scrubba.

We had to haul it out today as we were staring to run out of undies and socks (things you don't wear twice; our shouldn't!).

Jedediah — meaning beloved of God — was one of those frontiersmen in American history. He was a trapper, explorer and trader (and probably a total rascal). The Smith River is named after him. He died at the ripe old age of 32. These days we have interns who are 32 and still finding themselves!

These state parks are really fantastic. Clean (no litter), well sign-posted. And just made accessible for everyone to enjoy. And most people do. In the JSR groves there were some poems displayed alongside the path. The one line that I loved was:

Nowhere on Earth is the air you breathe first exhaled by the lungs of giants

This was our last 'pilgrimage' to the redwoods. Something that was just bloody fantastic.

Then we headed to Medford, Oregon. The trip should be beautiful and in places, being alongside the Smith River, is. But vast areas have been devastated by wild fires. This has also caused landslides. So depressing and a real scary view of what our climate change future could look like.

We arrived in Medford with no plans on where to stay. So took break by visiting the Public Lands/Dicks Sporting Goods store (don't ask). Wow what a store. If we knew we had to give up our car in the not too distant future we'd have bought lots of stuff (we bought some liquid laundry soap and exercise bands!).

While there I was — just like my father — chatting to one of the service guys. I asked where we should stay in Metford. And he said, don't stay there. It's not cool. Rather go to Ashland.

Home to the world-famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival and ranked in the top 10 of “The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America,” Ashland is a cultural hot spot, with award-winning galleries, theaters and restaurants bursting from its seams.

So here we are. Staying at the wonderful Winchester Inn. A small boutique hotel with an oldy-worldy feel. But the bed! I think when John Denver was singing about his Grandma, he was thinking about our bed at the Winchester Inn.

Ashland is a very pretty and very doable town. And for some reason seems to have been taken over by board game nuts, crystologists, palm readers, tantric sex advocates and people who just really really like comics and comic characters.

And they really really like dogs.

As has become a habit, we booked into the hotel and then snuck into The Noble Fox micro-brewery. I had a porter ale and Karen a very strong Moscow Mule. Service was great and the brewer was very chatty and gave us some cool advice on what to do in Ashland.

Karen and I went for a long walk through Lithia Park. This is a safe park that meanders along Ashland Creek which also has two swimming holes (places). While there we heard the sound of helicopters and fire-engines racing to put out a forest fire. This is a common challenge now in these vast forests. And, as lots of people say, is only going to get worse.

We tried to get tickets for Macbeth but there were no shows on Tuesday (our last night). A bit disappointing. But we did find a book that is just up the street for our crochet-drama friends.

Keaton, Karen's nephew, had sold us on the idea of visiting Crater Lake. It's a difficult to find accommodation there. But we found a beautiful little cottage via AirBnb in Fort Klamath.

It is cold here. There is still snow on the mountains. And with a strong wind was freezing. But very beautiful. This is also beef country.

Today we go to Crater Lake. Tomorrow probably to Bend.

Every year they have the Pinot Noir festival and we were lucky to be there at the time (who knew!).

But the night before dinner was even better to talk about and remember. Trevor (my brother Joe) introduced us to Roger Scommegna who invited us to join us for dinner. Roger has his own vineyard and wine offer — Signal Ridge high on the Mondecino Ridge — (as well as the hotel in Boonville and a restaurant -- amongst other things). So obviously we were happy to accept the invite to join him and his wife Pam for dinner.

What could go wrong? Nothing at all. What a great dinner it was. And full of wine luminaries from Wine Enthusiast magazine (including the magazine's "Tasting Director" Anna-Christina Cabrales and the for Northern California taster Tonya Pitts.)

Accomopanying them was Audra Naumann the owner with her husband of New Found Wines.

So Roger needed to impress!

Here's the list of wines (in no particular order) he presented for tasting:

• AGRAPART & Fils (Champagne)
• Meursault Luchets (Domaine Roulot)
• 2017 Pour Lulu (appelation Bandol)
• Mascarello (Barolo)
• Morey-Saint-Denis (appelaton Bourgogne)
• Marchalle Chardonnay (Manchester Ridge Vineyard)
• Occidental (2021 Occidential Station Vineyard)

While the wines were wonderful, the food from Offspring was just as good. Roger ordered a range of starters, pizza's to share and the best clam pasta I've ever had (a small portion).

The pizza flour comes from Italy (because USA wheat is basically contaminated by glyphosate).

The next day we bought tickets for the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir festival. With more than 50 wineries showing off their Pinot it was just as well that they just gave you a taster (less than a sip) of their wine.

I'm not a wine guy: like to drink but don't know much. But still, this was an excellent range of wines.

The one aspect of the day I found interesting is the decoupling of the vineyard from the winery. And also the non-contiguous nature of the owned vineyards themselves. For example, Domain Anderson would have two pinot noir offerings from two different vineyards (one high and one low) each with a different terroir profile but made by the same winemaker.

This decoupling of the vineyard from the winery is interesting in that a small startup winery can get a leg-up by buying grapes from a well-known vineyard (who sells to many different wineries). The vineyard would be featured prominently in their label.

In South Africa blended brand offerings would buy grapes from many different vineyards. For single varietals the vineyard is the brand.

I did manage to make a fool of myself (a dinner with wine would not be the same if I didn't say something stupid).

One of bottles Roger had bought to dinner was corked. This was picked up, and I asked "how do you tell?". Anna-Christina said "it smells like wet cardboard". I replied,

In South Africa we have a much lower standard. It needs to smell like smelly socks before we reject it. Anything less, we drink!

Way to go! (not).

Our first stop was in Willis for fuel (gas, petrol) where we had to ask for advice on how the process worked (it's DIY in the USA). Once you get it it's easy enough:

• tender your credit card by tapping (doesn't work most of the time) or inserting it into the reader.
• choose your fuel type (there's regular and two other more 'green' ones, I chose the best one).
• stick the nozzle into the gas tank and run until it clicks (don't squirt squirt).
• remove the nozzle and put it back into its bracket on the dispenser.
• close your tank.
• drive off.

JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE NOT ADDING DIESEL!

Unfortunately we did the first two parts in reverse. And the manager was happy to advise us on how the process would work. We felt a bit stupid. It's the simple things that trip one up in a foreign country.

Then through Eureka where Karen wanted to stop for lunch. Eureka is a harbour town with not much going on. It looks and feels poor and down-and-out. I'm probably wrong but it's not a place to visit.

Then onto Crescent City. This is also a harbour town. Interestingly it was pretty badly impacted by the tsunami resulting from the Fukushima earthquake. There are signs everywhere informing you of what to do in a tsunami (including a hand crank alarm at the harbour).

The town itself is OK. It's dominated by the massive parkland running along the edge of the harbour. And it was cold. Bitterly so. And this has been the trend in Northern California since we arrived: cold winds necessitating jerseys and wind breakers.

We arrived around lunch time and quickly went into a small brewery restaurant. Had a beer (Porter Ale) and shared a pizza which was huge. While there we booked into the Curly Redwood Lodge.

For some reason Karen and I have always wanted to stay in an American motel. Don't ask us why? But it just seems like something you'd do on a road trip. The Curly Redwood was typical: park outside your door, run by Indian migrants (which seems to be a niche that migrants from the sub-continent have dominated and changed).

The motel was as expected. And then not as expected. The TV was in an odd position to the bed so we wanted to move the TV to a better viewing space. But then need to move a table but first remove the lamp on the table. Unfdortunately the lamp was mounted (glued vas) to the table. So that put an enmd to that plan. Also the TV's aerial cable was fastned so that couldn't be moved either. They must have had an intuition that some South African's were coming.

Before we left South Africa we purchased an Amazon Firestick. So if we ever want to watch our own streaming channels we can just plug it in and then not have to worry about logins etc. It works pretty well. And is a bit of a luxury: not every night is going to be an out night.

The motel was fine. Clean. Odd taps. And my bug-bear: shower taps which don't obviously show hot and cold; so you end up running the cold for a few minutes before realising that you need to turn the mixer the other way to get hot (what a waste of water and time).

We drove around the coast on this very windy day. Karen took some great photographs.

There are a couple of pieces of South African art in Crescent City: dolos! The dolos was invented by Eric Merrifield in East London (who said that nothing good comes out of the Eastern Cape except for pineapples!). (And Rhodes University graduates).

Dinner and breakfast was at the aptly named (own the category!) Fisherman's Restaurant. Food was good. Service, like where we've been in general, was excellent.

The next day we left but really wanted to see a Walmart. Don't ask, won't tell. We expected those stereotypical photos of very over weight people to be dominating the store which only sold low quality cheap stuff. We were wrong on both counts. Quality was good. Range was from low price to high price (and from base quality to high quality). Service was excellent. Range was excellent. I'd be happy to shop at Walmart.

And when they fill a sandwich, it's filled!

So we bought some provisions and were on our way. Next stop Medford, Oregon.

Driving on the "other" side of the road is initially daunting. But then one gets used to being "wrong". Except for the propensity to always drift perilously close to the right hand verge (it's terrifying if you are a passenger!).

We decided to take the long and windy — literally — coastal Highway. This added an additional two hours to our journey (including a lunch stop for oysters, halibut and fish & chips at Tony's Fish Restaurant). The oysters here were right out of the estuary. Freshly shucked. And, to be honest, better value than what we'd pay in South Africa.

Going on from there we stopped off for a coffee at Sea Ranch which is a pretty extraordinary restaurant/lodging place. Really beautifully constructed from wood to fit into its landscape

Building from wood is the common way to build in the USA. It's cheap, quick and wood is around in abundance. When one drives through these parts one passes lumber mill after lumber mill.

We arrived at Mary Zeeble's place (Trev's introduction) around 5:00pm after stopping to buy some breakfast stuff and bread, cheese, salad for dinner. Mary is the owner of The Knotty Oak and other places in Philo. Mary graciously moved our of her one roomed mini-house to accommodate Karen and I.

This is a forested area and Mary's place looks onto the Hendy State Forest from the other side of the Navarro River. It is also right in the centre of the Anderson Valley wine region (more about this later).

It's always been a desire of Karen and mine to see a Giant Redwood tree. Hendy Forest is home to a couple of ancient Redwood Groves. So we headed there (after doing our washing in a coin-operated laundromat; $3,75 per load paid in 25c quarters).

These trees are simply awe inspiring. And is something that we are so happy to have experienced. It;s just such a pity that so many were cut down for lumber and the bark tannin. Still there are a large number that remain. And to see them in the flesh makes one feel very small.

Later that night we went of dinner with some real wine people including some heavy hitters from Wine Enthusiast magazine. And that's a story on its own.

Karen and I took a drive down to Mendocino town. It's about a 40 minute beautiful drive from Philo. The road is pretty windy and goes through beautiful old growth forests where we say, yes, redwoods right on the road.

The pacific coast in California is really beautiful. Especially with the rock formations in the sea but close to the land. They do make for drama!

Flight was fine. Not much sleep but I binge watched "Lioness" (Season 1). Pretty good. Especially when you nod off during the bloody parts.

The jet lag has really killed us. Not sleeping much at night and then getting up late in the morning. Not good if you have limited time in a place.

Some observations on San Francisco.

It is Cold My brother said that Mark Twain quipped: "the coldest winter he ever had, was a summer in San Francisco". And it's true. It's been cold, a bit windy. Felt like Cape Town.

The Homeless Problem is Over-exaggerated We are staying off Union Square (down town). I had visions of homeless encampments covering the side walk. Not at all. Yes there are a few unfortunate people — always with dogs — living in the Haight-Asbury area but the city is not overrun.

That's not to say there is not a homeless problem. It's just that it has been moved somewhere else.

The Golden Gate is Not to be Sniffed-At: Sometimes a cliché is just stupendous. The Golden Gate Bridge (and the Bay Bridge) are remarkable. And I dare anyone not to take the same photograph which has been taken 20,000,000 times before by other people.

As Miami is to South America, San Francisco is to Asia: There are vast numbers of North Asian (Chinese, Japanese) people here. The city feels more international than American,

But that is also its history (interesting to see so many Chinese visiting China Town).

It's Quiet: The city seems quiet and slow. I expected a New York type of bustle. But here it s a rustle.

Quite a few empty prime location offices up for rental and sale.

It has been reported that SF is in an economic down turn. And it definitely feels that way.

But then we popped into the Golden Gate Tap Room and it was pumping. Perhaps that's where everyone is!

It's a Great City to Visit: Karen and I have really loved touring this great city. It is beautiful with amazing domestic and commercial architecture.

It's easy to get around: the cable cars (what we call trams) are really cool and inexpensive as is the other public transport.

Karen and I always hop onto one of these tour buses in a new city. It really gives us a perspective of the whole city. The one in SF is not cheap. And it was cold up-top on the open deck. But boy what a view of what a city.

There's an APP for that: Everything is on an app. It becomes a little too much after awhile (especially as i"m having an issue with my Apple ID).

The truly useful one is MuniMobile which allows you to buy tickets for public transport including the cable-cars (just show the brakeman or driver that you've purchased it).

I tried, without success, to download the WAYMO app. Karen and I really really wanted to get into a driver-less car.

Oldy Worldy Nice: It's cool that the cable-car works and looks exactly the same as it did when it was first launched.

Why mess with what's not broken.

Being First: When we were on the bus trip, the narration mentions that this place, thing, idea etc, "was the first in America/the World/California/Northern Hemisphere etc. a lot!

Unfortunately we didn't go in.

Nadine looked absolutely exquisite and Matt cut a dashing figure (he really did wear shoes!) as they shared their vows and danced the night away.

Held in the late afternoon on the lawn right next to the beach, the wedding was spectacular, the babies adorable, and everyone looked gorgeous.

The love, happiness and joy for the newly married couple and for one another was tangible; such a beautiful thing to see. We came together to be together.

Now it’s all over, I want to do it again! Just to see you all.

I have landed in Karachi, Bangalore, Lagos (where we were escorted out of the airport past an exploded petrol tanker by a ‘transport’ with a security guy carrying an AK47), Kigali, Maun, Johannesburg and Mumbai. This might be the worst immigration experience ever. “What about Heathrow?”, I hear you say.

Heathrow immigration was designed by a devil’s apprentice. A hell designer in training.

Denpasar is evil perfected.

You arrive in a vast hall (I think they were competing with Beijing Daxing International Airport for the most space under roof). You need binoculars to find any directional signage (I nearly pulled out my pocket Zeiss). But in the absence of such you just follow the crowd (always a bad idea).

The queue moves quite quickly. Progress is the thing. But it’s difficult to be patient when the queue is 10,000 tired grumpy passengers long (I might exaggerate a little here). The queue is organised through one of those barrier line things which copied an abattoir murder tunnel (and feels the same). As you wander through the system you are confronted with a barrier which says something about an “electronic system coming soon”.

So things can only get better right?

Not really.

Because as you come round the corner of this barrier you see a whole row of seemingly empty e-immigration gates. And the only one’s using them are fucking Australians. So you think, can the 10,000 be wrong? Surely the immigration officials will have wanted people to be directed towards these shiny new gates? Or are they in Beta and only need a little bit of savvy Australian testing?

So you stay in the queue.

But you are now doubly irritated. Because “what if?”. “What if” we hadn’t followed everyone else. “What if”our passports would have passed electronic entry muster. “What if” we’d just made a different decision.

Then we wouldn’t be in this nightmare queue!

“What if” we’d just stayed at home and drank quality great value Chenin?

The single queue barrier divides into three or four. So you just go with three. But it seems that this only divides the queue into slow, slower, slowest and crawling. We chose “crawling”. After an hour your irritability is now anger. But, as always, never fuck around with immigration or customs officials (we had watched Midnight Express in the late 70s).

As you shuffle along, you notice that people who were way behind you are now already out. But you, who chose the crawling queue, optimistically still have an hour to go.

Eventually you get through. And arrive to collect your baggage. You find the right carousel and stand around looking confused for awhile. And then, after 10 to 20 minutes, notices that there is a whole line of luggage that has been taken off the carousel. So you think “savvy am I being stupid and may luggage is there?”. Of course, yes it’s there. Proudly standing in a neat line next to the other queuing passengers who still haven’t go through immigration.

And then have another queue: the customs where they check if you have completed an online customs declaration (we had).

(Do all your online eVisa and eCustoms applications before you land, otherwise you’ll be in two additional hour long queues).

Eventually we are out. Tired, irritated wheeling our new overladen Samsonite suit cases.

Only to go through an Ikea hell.

Except its not past the beds, and linen, an light fittings, and office furniture, and sheets, and decorative items, and sofas by which the unescapable pathway forces you to pass. It is kiosks selling SIM cards, money exchange scams, duty free booze and perfume outlets, and Balinese crafts (lord knows why you’d want to buy this twak on entering rather than leaving a country is beyond me).

Where you can’t find a shortcut to the exit. And have to go through bedding, desks, sofas, houseware, appliances, sheets, decorative items, and lighting before you can pay for the replacement Allen key that you had thrown away in disgust when trying to assemble a futon base.

But this Ikea-queing is for SIM cards, money changers, booze, other Balinese crafts (which you should buy on arrival not exit) and tout after tout after tout blocking your way.

So you navigate that. And then are assaulted by taxi driver touts. Who insist on being paid cash. So, with all the others, you queue up at the ATM and leave your wife waving nunchakas at anyone who comes near.

This challenge is finally sorted. And you’re in a taxi with a guy who went from a Thai trained kick boxing meth addict to Mr. Nice in 30 seconds.

Two hours later you’re finally at your hotel.

Ready and needing a drink. Only the wine is shit. It’s called Two Islands. The South African equivalent is Two Oceans. You down a bottle anyway. Only to double down on your heartburn.

So we did that the other night. It's not quite as scary as it looks from the outside. And these guys are good.

But you do worry about not wearing a helmet (and is conking your head more of a risk than lice?).

So we're scooting along. Karen's on the front bike. I'm behind (as usual). And my driver, I'm assuming he knows what he's doing, overtakes a slow car. There is traffic coming at us from the front.

I squeek "oi yoi yoi!".

He asks "are you from Australia?".

(Picture from https://baliliving.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/how-much-time-is-wasted-in-bali/).

A great movie about 'influencers' and the newly rich is "The Triangle of Sadness" (very insightful, funny and disturbing).

After drinks we walked up the main drag looking for a place to eat. We chose Billy Ho. It looked fancy (and was) and good (and was) and cool (and was) and quality (and was) and fun (and was, until some guy had a medical fit as we were leaving).

We had the set course: five delicious courses (why not spoil ourselves we rationalised).

But during the second course I discovered that there was plastic in my SESAME SQUID, PORK & PRAWN TOAST). So, being older, I told the waiter (waitron). He was sincerely apologetic. The manger came across. Told us that she had "blasted the chef" and offered us a complimentary drink in compensation.

It was done nicely. We appreciated it (and took her up on the offer!).

And the food was absolutely delicious!

And yes, we'd highly recommend Billy Ho.

Then ensure that you have the right PPE. Obviously covering your mouth is not an option. Covering your whole body in a washable suit (including your head) is advised.

This is a messy enterprise. Juice/gravy will splash everywhere, shards of shell will send your dinner companions to ICU, and your PPE suit will look like you're a serial stalker who's just dismembered obnoxious Balinese tourists with a particularly vicious chain-saw.

Then ensure that the place you're eating at should at least supply plenty of hand towels, tools which would include a shell cracker as well as a "get the meat out of the skinny leg spike".

And then, ensure you have time and aren't particularly hungry.

Or, my advice, just eat the Nasi Goreng.

(Image from https://universalrover.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/chili-crab-eat-with-hands.jpg).

So how does Changi Airport in Singapore get men to pee with less 'spillage'?

They give men a target: a painted fly on the porcelain which most men can't resist targeting.

It's another question of whether they hit it or not?

Sometimes it's a question, other times a noun.

So when the bar keeper couldn't say "zevenwacht", she said its a "zeven what what".

So lovely and always said with a grin and a giggle

The packing cubes are brilliant!

I can't live out of my luggage and always unpack everything when I arrive at my destination/s. So the cubes allow me to pack per hotel and keep everything super organised. I stuck to my packing list and for the first time ever, feel I have not over packed. Total of 43kg between us - not bad!

A bit early for wine. But ....

For the next three months we will be traveling across and (up and down) the USA (with a short stop for our son's wedding in Bali before that).

Along the way we'll be keeping in touch via this blog (or travelogue).

We will arrive in San Francisco on the 13th of May. And then we will proceed up to Seattle (where we board the Empire Builder Amtrak train to Minneapolis, where my brother lives).

That's the only certain plan we have (other than departing from New York on the 15th of July).

(Photo by Donovan Reeves on Unsplash)