St Petersburg

A few days in St Petersburg allow Mike and Jo to get a feel for the Russian West and to recall what the word expensive means.31 May to 5 June 08

Another Perfect Day.

27.2.09. Valdivia, Chile.

Southern Costa Rica

Dave, Deb, Elke, Lyel, Eric

La Dolce e Piovosa Vita

There is a certain amount of cheating in this post because I did not drive straight from France into Italy... I went to Switzerland first and even Germany. But since I consider Switzerland a second home after having lived there for two and a half years, was just visiting friends and did not take a single picture, I decided to skip blogging about the country. Germany is a different story since I just crossed the border and stayed for a couple of hours to buy cheap organic tofu. I swear!

Illinoise

Simpleness of Illinoise. Light riding into a time wharp of Norman Rockwell picture.Illinoise

Anyone would think riding dragonfly 1,700 miles would have satisfied my travel needs. But I hopped on my bike to travel to Illinois to see my sister, round trip 900 miles. First Day the weather was perfect.

A Family Wedding

Back in England, Jo and Mike attend the wedding of their daughter Sarah.22 Oct to 27 Oct 07

We felt like old hands crossing through the Channel Tunnel on Monday 22 Oct 07. Despite a rainy cold morning we arrived at the check-in with our order number, passports and credit card ready (no easy thing when we were rugged against the cold and wet) and were through in seconds.

Live Long And Prosper, Hopefully.

24.2.09. Puerto Varas, Chile.

There's a gigantic volcano just over the lake from my bed. Easy on the eye, sure, but given that the one just down the road in Chaiten went absolutely apeshit a week ago, I'm inclined to cross my stubby little fingers and my weird, fat little toes.

Dreams, realities, and cold hard facts

I lost a good friend - my ex-father-in-law- to cancer last fall, and never made the time to go elk hunting with him. It was always "next year". A few other changes and incidents provoked what I guess is a mid-life crisis. The stars aligned and the opportunity came for my father and I to take a month long trip to the west coast. We've enjoyed motorcycle riding with each other in small doses and wanted to do something more.

From Hell

Turkmenistan is shrouded in mystery, as it is one of the least visited countries in the world. North Korea gets a lot more visitors a year, most of them Chinese, and certainly much more media attention. But what do you know about Turkmenistan?

Monday 07 Sept - Springfield

While the route itself can be a journey of discovery I think it would be a shame to not spend time in this facinating city. The first must see has to be Lincoln's restored house on 6th street.The national park service has purchased a portion of the street and have recreated the area as it would have been in the 1860's. The house itself has much of the original furniture and fittings so you can't help trying the imagine what great events have happened here.

A Small Museum in Troyes

An unexpected find in a Troyes back streetA small Museum in Troyes

One of the delights of being an independent traveler is finding the unexpected. Sometimes it is a small bar, warm on a cold day, where the locals embrace the traveler and tell you their special secrets. Sometimes it is a small museum or local history overlooked by the rest of the world. A visit to Troyes, 200 km east of Paris turned up just such a gem.

I Think An Evening At The Crow...

21/11/08. Pinamar, Argentina.

So it's bye bye C and hello AT. My 10-year-old, 35,000 mile Africa Twin which I bought on eBay and am somehow expecting to get me to Canada, has been nailed up inside a dusty crate for 6 weeks and sea-freighted diagonally across the Atlantic. It starts first time after being crow-barred free in BA, much to the delight of the cheery warehouse fellas and the relief and near-tearful gratitude of myself.