Moon
I found am ear ring on my stairs today. It reminded me of the moon on better days.
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Pacific Surf
The Pacific Ocean is nothing like the cold North Sea.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Seals
California, has seals ~ or maybe selions.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
naked
It may be a silly thing, but I do not like to be a borrower.
So I just paid off my mortgage, and my credit cards now have a zero balance.
My clothes are fresh and shiny.
Now I am going to walk naked on the beach.
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday ~ Rock Stacks
Love never falls, people fall in love…
on the best beach
there is always a better looking guy
who can make better stacks of rocks than I
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
pictures taken with a Lumix
America is mostly empty
The clearest way into your own mind is through Wilderness
Once one gets away from the big cities, the USA is mostly wilderness.
On my recent road trip, sometimes the only thing in the wilderness was the road, a broken down fence, and a distant power line.
Sometimes there’s a road sign. Zzyzx is actually in San Bernadino County, California, and you get there by the 4.5 mile long unpaved Zzyzx Road. We didn’t go there, because there’s bugger-all there. However, Zzyzx does feature in music and films, (movies).
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
pictures taken by the girl riding shotgun with a Lumix
Cars for Road Trips
Nissan Rogue SUV
I’ve been on long road trips, (Tuscany, The Loire Valley, back to Tuscany, Exploring California, and driving 3,000 miles to witness an eclipse), in all kinds of cars; Triumph TR6, Lotus 7, Ford Mustang, and lastly driving from California to witness a total eclipse of the sun in a Nissan Rogue.
Although it isn’t always completely possible, the car should completely suit the trip.
And this choice of car comes down to where you’re going, how far it is, what’s the weather going to be like, what kinds of roads are you going to be driving , and exactly who is the girl riding shotgun.
For my recent trip I knew I was going to be driving up to 600 miles in a day, on a mixture of LA freeways, long desert roads, and mountain climbs. Also I knew that the girl riding shotgun was going to want to feel safe, be comfortable, and carry an unconscionable amount of luggage.
There also had to be room for Marmaduke.
Ergo, I chose to rent a reasonable-sized SUV, and Enterprise at LAX could offer me a Nissan Rogue, which was vastly over budget, but my friend with all the luggage was worth it.
What’s good about this car? It’s big enough for two on a long road trip, (swallows luggage with ease), it does good mileage, (we averaged 29 mpg, and that’s US gallons), it’s quiet, comfortable, holds the road well, and the engine has a lot of low-down power. What’s bad, well, it was very over budget, and has some annoying blind spots.
Would I recommend this car to a friend? Yes. In a New York Second. With definite confidence. (Of course, you may find your dream car on a long road trip.)
Another important thing on a long road trip: don’t have a girl riding shotgun who thinks she can drive better than you.
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jack collier
jackcollier&@talktalk.net
Jet-lag
With air travel there is no distance, there is only time.
Air travel, especially long haul flights, can be very exhausting. Getting to the airport 3 hours before the flight, endless queuing, cramped seating back in coach / economy, noise, dry air, and airports are just horrible places to spend much time… But it’s only recently that I’ve become prey to terrible jet-lag, which mostly affects me when I’m flying from west to east
There are some things that will reduce the effects of jet-lag, paying for a better seat, not drinking on the aircraft, and sleeping as much as possible on the journey. Melatonin helps too.
However, following my last trip to the USA, I have been wrecked for a week with jet-lag. But it’s all worth it when one has a great time on vacation. (And, I don’t do business travel any more.)
The best thing of all is seeing wonderful sights and creating great memories.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Beaches
Sand and sun.
Perhaps the best beach I’ve ever been to.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
some long wide roads out there
Marmaduke and I went to the USA to witness a total eclipse of the sun. To Marmy and me, the USA seems to be doing pretty well right now. We saw quite a lot of people driving Jaguars.
Nations, like stars, are entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become endless night… The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul. ~ Victor Hugo
During our trip we travelled some 16,000 miles, including driving 3,282 miles in our rented SUV. (We needed an SUV rather than a Mustang convertible to take all the luggage the Girl Riding Shotgun brought on this long road trip.)
Marmaduke and I visited Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK, Dublin in Ireland, Amsterdam in Holland, LAX, Orange County, drove through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and into Wyoming, (then back again to Orange County in sunny Southern California).
We also visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach for a champagne Sunday brunch, went up to Big Bear Lake, and kicked back at the Southern California beaches in Little Corona, Aliso, Laguna, and best of all Crescent Bay. Went shopping in the local Mall and sundry thrift stores, checked out the Parks in Orange county, and generally hung out in some cool bars.
Finally flew back to the UK from LAX, via Paris and Dublin before arriving back in the UK on September 10th ~ broke, exhausted, and filled with amazing memories.
Right now, and back in the garret, Marmaduke and I have 1,111 unread emails in my inbox, 3,970 pictures on my camera, a good suntan, a little jet-lag, and a pile of laundry from our trip.
Marmaduke also wants to know why he couldn’t stay in SoCal… dude…
My advice? Go on a very, very long road trip in the USA. But, whenever and where ever you travel, take half the luggage you think you will need, and at least twice as much money as you think you could possibly spend.
It’s best not to stare at the sun during an eclipse. ~ Jeff Goldblum
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Pictures taken with a Panasonic Lumix
