Last updated - Sunday, July 2, 2006 9:02

June 14th

We We left the big apple on an overnight Greyhound bus, best described as "the reason why all Americans have a car or fly"... We became just a little bit concerned when the bus driver stopped the coach on the highway to retrieve some luggage that had fallen out of the 'secure' luggage compartment. Other highlights were the exceptional customer service, and having to get off of and back on the same coach at every pick up point (of which there were about 6). We felt this was very conducive to a good night's sleep. We arrived refreshed and raring to go in Joliet and were pleased when Keira's sister Tamsin & her husband James finally located our drop off point to pick us up, despite Greyhound's best efforts to keep it a secret!

Glad to be in Joliet with family	Iris

Staying with family was a welcome break and brought many benefits, in fact we have been completely spoilt. We were greeted enthusiastically by Iris the dog. Graham's first gift therefore, was some itchy dog blobs on his legs - Iris just loves to lick! It was great to to have clean, undisturbed showers, no more pube blankets (most hostels generously provide these as standard), opportunity to contact home, access to bikes, free Internet, laundry facilities, great food (lots of it!), free beer, taxi service and much more... we recommend this hostel to everyone!!!

Sisters in the sun	Sunset Illinois style

So what have we been up to? Well, on Memorial weekend we went to a family barbecue and played softball at a nearby pitch. We continued the party back at the house drinking cocktails, swapping drinking games, insults and the rest is a blur... At some point in the early hours, Graham talked to God on the big white porcelain telephone and the next two days for him were spent nursing the hangover and promising never to drink Drambuie ever again.

We also went to the $1 movie theatre and saw V for Vendetta (cool). Graham being a tightwad Yorkshireman thought the cost was ridiculously high ($2 each - the same as in 1977 - the year Keira was born!).

Ken and G mid backgammon battle	Bumper cars ROCK!

We had a 'vacation' within a 'vacation' within a 'vacation' in Bloomington, Normal at James' parents', Ken & Mary. Here we came across the American-English language barrier when being offered food by Mary. We politely said 'no' which obviously means 'yes' as the food still appeared in front of us!

It looks bigger in the movies	Burger barge buddies

Mary is an amazing hostess There's so much food and beer Unfortunately 'no' means 'yes' It should last us for the year

Whilst there we played lots of backgammon with Graham & Ken fighting it out to see who had signed their soul away to the devil. It is confirmed that Ken is officially Beelzebub! G restored some British pride beating the Yanks at 9-ball pool. We also visited Grady's which is a family amusement arcade where we tried our hand at go-karting, bumper cars and crazy golf.

Do you know what I like about Ken? Absolutely sweet 'F' all! Because I keep losing at backgammon This 'Brit' ain't having a ball. I'm learning and I'm getting closer But I'm not yet on the same level I'm still the student, Ken's the teacher Because he's signed his soul to the devil!

We treated ourselves to yet more traditional American food pigging out on 9oz burgers at the Burger Barge, visiting the ice-cream parlour and sampling a Rubens sandwich (our first).

Another lovely lunch	The Chicago bean in Millennium Park

We did manage to squeeze in some relaxing, with time in the hot tub, Keira & Tamsin swapped massages and we spent a chilled out afternoon by a lake with picnic and kayaking.

While we were there we also caught up with our friend Kathy, Graham saw his first wild beaver, and were abruptly woken up one day by the monthly region-based emergency siren test which is generally used for tornado warnings but didn't seem to phase anyone apart from us. So if anyone happened to want to attack Bloomington then 10am on the first Tuesday of every month would be a good time!

Being so close to Chicago, it would've been stupid not to visit, so we did. Having already done Sears Tower and a river boat trip last year, we explored some new sights this time. We took the train (double-decker no less!) to Chicago from Joliet and a free 'trolley' to the Cultural Centre where we saw two cool contemporary art exhibitions. One of them was a display of 'sound suits' (elaborate costumes) on mannequins inspired by different cultures around the world. We nearly got thrown out for laughing so hard at the ones that looked like over sized ironing boards instead of heads and the Star Wars Chewbacca lookie-likey. The same day, we visited Millennium Park which has the Anish Kapoor sculpture lovingly nick-named 'the Chicago Bean'. At this point, we realised it was actually an alien spaceship as it abducted us and took us to its headquarters where the aliens (bizarrely resembling giant beef burgers) probed and experimented on us. Before they released us, they injected us with lard which explains why we have put on so much weight!

Underneath the Chicago bean	Just before Alien abduction

The aliens dropped us back at the Blues festival (kind of them) in Grant Park, after which we had a nice long walk along the coast of lake Michigan to Navy Pier where we browsed the attractions and played crazy golf. We couldn't visit Chicago without tasting the traditional Chicago Town pizza which is very different to the frozen variety back home. We nicknamed it a Quizza as it's like a mix between a pizza and a quiche (with a shortcrust pastry base & sides). We finished the day in style at the B.L.U.E.S. club where Les Getrex and friends  performed with a medley of instruments. The atmosphere was electric but unfortunately, Keira was feeling a little 'blue' (or was it green?) herself after the Chicago Quizza.

By Lake Michigan	B.L.U.E.S.

Also in Chicago we were treated to the annual Swedish 'Midsommarfest' where we browsed the stalls, helped ourselves to the freebies and watched a few live bands. Our final day in Chicago went a little bit pear-shaped. We had tickets to see the Chicago White Sox professional baseball team play at 1.05pm but unfortunately thanks to ESPN the time was changed to 7.05pm which clashed with the time of a theatre performance we'd planned to see. We realised something was wrong when we had no problems finding a space in the car park. This created a dilemma: do we watch the baseball or the theatre performance (which is only on certain nights), and what do we do with the next 6 hours.... Of course we headed to the pub! (Via the Hancock Tower observatory & a hot dog joint) After a mass debate, we opted for the theatre - a weird collection of 30 short sketches in 60 minutes with audience participation and some ketchup. We finished the night with tapas at a nearby restaurant with appalling service, rubbery calamari, burnt food, and clumsy, impatient waiters. Graham and James predicted a riot, Tamsin delivered!

Coast of lake Michigan from Hancock Tower	Chicago Skyscrapers

Throughout our stay, World Cup fever has been mounting. We managed to catch the England friendlies and eagerly awaited the start of the tournament. Graham has been glued to the screen at every opportunity watching US coverage of 'soccer'. One of the highlights (or perhaps lowlights) was during England's opening match v. Paraguay when the American commentator proceeded to inform the nation about the most well-known, popular soccer player/sportsman in the world.... MICHAEL Beckham!!!....(he didn't pick up on it and nobody else corrected him either!)... Gosh! Idiot!!

We've had a great time here as Tamsin & James have been so generous and helpful. We've managed to do a lot of planning whilst here for the next leg of the journey. It will be a shock to the system when we get back on the road again. Next stops Yellowstone Park (via Salt Lake City), San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Has G conquered his fear of heights	The countdown is on...www.bushslastday.com

It's thirsty work this travelling lark	Where next?

 

June 28th

Ok, we've left the luxury lifestyle behind and are now back on the cup-a-noodles with smelly clothes and lack of sleep. We took our first Amtrak train from Chicago to Salt Lake City. During the 34 hour journey (which turned out to be 40 hours), we had a real taste of America. It was great to see some of the US landscape after visiting so many of it's cities, the highlight being the spectacular views of the Rocky mountains. Keira used her newly acquired 'super sleuth spy skills' to listen in on lots of interesting (and some strange) conversations. We arrived in Salt Lake City in the early hours. The cab driver suggested we go see the Sunday morning TV and radio broadcast by "the world's most famous choir", the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (have any of you lot heard of them? Cos' we hadn't). So after only 2 hours kip that's what we did. It was worth it - they were spine-tinglingly good. It was a special Fathers Day performance and we wished our Dads could have been there to share it. NB. Useless factoid of the day: It's the world's longest continuing network broadcast (and there we were thinking that was 'Countdown').

Amtrak	Amtrak amid the Rockies

After the Choir, we took a short tour of the Mormon Temple Square area, guided by two seemingly possessed Missionary robotic 'Sisters' (one Mexican, one Swedish), who were reading from an invisible script in a vain attempt to brainwash us into joining their sect, we politely declined (although G quite liked the idea as he could have more than one wife!). Unfortunately the day took a turn for the worst after we found out that Graham's Great Grandma had passed away that day (aged 94). She will be greatly missed and Graham wrote a poem for her:

An Inspiration to us All You touched so many lives For someone so very small Always a smile upon your face An inspiration to us all You didn't quite make your Century But you had a great 'Innings' You saw people come and go And many new beginnings When I came to visit You would tell me every time That you were a 'mole in a hole' I say, you were the sunshine And although I'd heard your stories A hundred times before Every story was special And made me love you even more I guess the card from the Queen Just wasn't meant to be But you've left us with the memories That's what I'll take with me I'll raise a glass and raise a smile And wipe away the tears To celebrate your life And all those happy years!

Rockies sunset	Mormon Tabernacle Choir

The next day we picked up our rental car and headed to West Yellowstone, Montana. It was the first time either of us had driven abroad, an automatic car, and on the right (wrong!) side of the road. These facts, combined with the scenery and the crazy American drivers, made it an exhilarating ride! It was nice to hit the open road in true American style. After another long journey we arrived at our 'hostel' which turned out to be an historic (est. 1912) log-cabin-esque hotel with bear skins and stuffed game hanging from the walls. The following day, we began our search for Yogi bear and Boo Boo in Yellowstone Park and got back to nature. The sensational beauty of the park is difficult to put into words, but here's our naff attempt. It is situated in the area surrounding a huge volcano that last erupted about 640,000 years ago and is now a hotbed of natural activity, with countless hot springs, geysers and mud pools/pots that errupt at both predictable and unpredictable times. The complex chemical make-up and heat causes many hot springs to produce a rainbow of hues that change according to the time of the day. The park has stunning forests, rivers, canyons and lakes and a myriad of wildlife, from fish, to bald eagles, to chipmunks, to elks, to bison, to Yogis and Boo Boo's (Grizzly bears). Basically it's probably the most amazing place we've ever visited. Oh yeah, and by the way, we got engaged there, by the 'heart spring' (aaaaah! Soppy git!). We celebrated that evening by having a meal out at the Oregan Short Line restaurant and Iron Horse saloon which had a small railroad museum which we felt was quite appropriate since we met at the National Railway Museum. After a couple of days, we drove back to Salt Lake City and caught the midnight train to Georgia, oops, we mean California. Following another six hour delay we arrived at our destination - San Francisco.

On the open road (with solar battery charger)	Historic Madison Hotel

We took our first Amtrak Across the U.S of 'A' It's better than flying In almost every way It may not be quicker And many people 'Slam it' but it's easier on the pocket And better for the planet Chicago to San Francisco With so much in between On the 'California Zepher' Sights that must be seen Traversing seven states A camera a 'must' companion The Mississippi river And many a beautiful canyon Winding through the Rockies Small stations and big places A real taste of America Etched upon the faces Comfy seats, friendly service But not always on time Things would be much different If they didn't share a line So despite the lengthy delays Caused by Union Pacific It didn't get us down, cos' We think Amtrak is terrific!

Self-explanatory	Where's Yogi?

What's the story 'Morning Glory'?	Somewhere under the rainbow...

Mud pool	Ghost tree

Yellowstone canyon	Chipmunk

Yogi searching for a picnic basket	A special moment...

Heart Spring, Yellowstone Park	Wot no...?

Hot air	England v. Sweden

keira.meheux@googlemail.com garelton@googlemail.com