IN SUNNY CALIFORNIA

Had a beaut visit with Kathy and Jack (Orange County) and also caught up with Kathy's folks who had stayed with us back in 1983. We ate good Mexican tucker as usual! Plus fresh orange juice from their trees. Go the Jokers!

Brienna and Megsy have been looking after us here in LA. (Pasadena actually). As you can see they're happy folk. Megsy had just heard that she had received her Masters! How cool!

Caitlin is another one of the daughters with dad Stivmac. We first met up with these guys in 1998 after internet chat re tandem bikes. Photo of Mum Marianne to come.
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I found a beautifully restored 1907 Pierce bike. Just gorgeous. Wonder if we'll buy another bike??? We did on our 2 previous trips to the States! The dollar is in our favour! Anyway, I didn't get this one.

Went with Stiv to a great car book shop. Want anything about cars - this is the place.

That's LA in the distance. Photo taken from Beverley Hills. Yep, the posh part of town.

This is Greystone House. This was built by the Doheny Family back in the 20's. Man, what a place. Had a bit of a look inside too.

Here's a bit of my thoughts (I'd better be careful) re this country and our experiences.

Obama – wonder whether he will get a 2^nd term of office. Guess it doesn’t matter who your boss is, there’s a fair few people who are not happy with him/her. He recently was made to produce his birth certificate to prove he had been born in USA. If he’d been born OUTSIDE the USA, he wouldn’t have been eligible for a shot at the presidency.

Tornado – a deadly tornado just ripped through a bunch of states in the south east – Alabama (228 dead), Mississippi (34), Tennessee (34), Georgia (15), Arkansas (14), Virginia (5), Louisiana (2), Kentucky (1). 333 dead. That compares with 2 previous tornadoes; in 1974, 315 dead, and in 1925 – 695 deaths. We're still very much alive.... today.

Royal wedding – seems we missed the chance of a wedding party at Seattle. Next time Jen. (Guess our invite is in the mail.) Fay wanted to see the dress and see what other ladies were wearing.

Donald Trump – this guy gets a bit of press regularly. He’s built a huge building in Vegas, but has had trouble selling the units there. Hotel units rent for $111 so I guess, if we get there we’ll stay somewhere else. That's just over our budget Donald.

Airport security – hey… the good news is, it seems to be a smidgen better to get through security/customs/immigration/duty/etc etc. VERY thorough when it comes to searching you.

Baby clothes - – lookin’ for something for a little bloke that is due to be born this coming week. Guess we should wait until we find out whether we’ve got a granddaughter or another grandson.

Transport consultant – thanks Megsy. Photo of her above. Fuel prices are over $4 a gallon. Still cheaper than Aust. How to get to Vancouver…. Rental car, train, plane, buy a car, hitch hike, or whatever. Megsy has come up with some options. There are no autodriveaway vehicles to move, so it looks like we’re gonna have to pay. Appears the train will work for us and allow us to get off at Eugene, Oregon and visit with a few folk there. Train to Eugene – get off there and get back on a couple of days later. Then change from train to bus around Seattle. Gotta be in Vancouver to catch Norwegian Pearl Sunday.

[Forgot to mention – Megsy officially received notification of getting her masters in sports psychology yesterday. So she’s not just a pretty face or a handy tour advisor. We celebrated with champagne!]

Caitlin (Megsy’s sister) just got a phone call to ask why she left AT&T (phone company). That’s like our Telstra in Australia. They wanted to get her to do a survey. She said, “Do I have to do this survey?” So, she gracefully declined their offer. We seem to know a number of folk who have been unhappy with this company here.

Hope to post from Oregon, our next stopover.