Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

We have much our or first week in NZ looking for a car. Jenny, Pauls' wife, kindly loaned us her wee Toyota for the week which enabled us to get round some car yards. We were looking for something Japanese as they are very popular here, and had had a couple of test drives before finding a Toyota Echo (Yaris in the UK) on the web at a yard in Kelston(?). So, we went over to have look but were not taken with it when seeing it in the flesh. However, while walking round the yard we spotted this nice green Polo, took it for a drive, and fell for it. It was the first car we had seriously looked at where we all liked the colour. Being a Polo it was very familiar with Nicky having had a Polo in the UK, and it has a bigger engine (1.6), automatic and air conditioning. The dealer dropped the price to what I was prepared to pay, so the deal was done. We have never bought a car this way before, so only time will tell if it was the right decision, but the AA chap who did the inspection thought

Our first priorities here have been to get the bank account organised (largely done), buy a car and find somewhere to live. We had started looking at cars and found one possibility, a Honda Civic. It is a bit worn in the inside and is a very dark green which we don't care for, but it drives well and feels solid. We are going to try and look at a couple more tomorrow. We have got some lists of possible rental properties but looked at anything yet. We are going to try and get started on this tomorrow also. So far, we spent Saturday doing bits of shopping and finding out about driving licences, and Sunday visiting Stella and family and Steve and Ros and her mum. Monday was more shopping (different ones) for fresh produce, and car hunting. Today, Tuesday, we have been treated to a day off by Pat by being taken to the cinema (Gold Class - big Lazy-boy chairs and waitress service during the film) to see the Bourne Ultimatum, which we enjoyed, and then a tour of a few of Pats favorite foo

We have been discussing the worse and best bits of our time in America. The worst bits were in San Francisco for all of us, the feelings of insecurity with some of the characters on the streets, and the crowds at the weekend. The best bits, without a doubt we all feel, was the time with family in Louisville - the warmth of the welcome, the help they gave us, the time they spent with us, and the vast amount of hugs. Rick

Sorry this is out of sequence, but I just wanted to complete things. We spent our last day in San Francisco preparing to depart. We knew our luggage was over the limit so we put a parcel of books, other heavy and non-essetntials together and took it round to a nearby UPS shop. It weighed in at half a suitcase of stuff! (When we got to the airport we were still 4kgs over but nobody mentioned anything). So after the fun of the UPS shop and packing, Nicky started another postcard writing marathon, Claire had a deep tissue massage, and had a walk and took some more photos. Nicky and I walked up to the squiggly bit of Lombard Street and had a bit of a wander, and then it was just a case of waiting for the shuttle bus to the airport. This arrived and took us through the rush hour traffic to the airport. Now Nicky should be writing this bit so that she could milk it for it's worth, but she isn't, so I will just cover the salient points. Nicky and Claire were fine because they have NZ

Well, we've made it. We are finally here. The picture below is one of the last pictures we took in the USA, looking out over the Pacific. Today we went down to Red Beach (to make sure it was still there)and here is Claire standing on it to make the point. Will write again soon when more awake.

We have enjoyed the last two days in San Francisco much more than Sunday. We woke on Monday to a warmer and sunnier day. There were far fewer people and even though the streets were still dirty, they had obviously been swept during the night. We took a boat trip round the bay, under the Golden Gate bridge and past Alcatraz. I had done this trip before 15 years ago so just took lots of photos, while Nicky and Claire listened to audio commentaries. We returned to the hotel for a comfort break and then went off to the the cable car stop. Even though we had to wait a while, it was worth it as the trip into town up and down the hills was wonderful and peppered with spectacular views. We alighted in Chinatown. Claire and I had gelato, and we found a shipping office to buy stamps and send some gifts. After a bit of a wander we caught another cable car back towards Fisherman's Wharf, but unfortunately it was the wrong one. Instead of ending up where we started the terminus was right next t

This is Josh - our trusty hire car which got us from Washington to Cincinnati via 1000 miles of America. I don't know what the engine size was, but the boot was cavernous, which was just what we needed, and the ride very comfortable. Things were even better once I had found the cruise control!. Rick

Our first experiences of San Francisco were not brilliant. When we arrived on Saturday night we were all tired and hungry. We found a Denny's by the hotel which Claire warned us was towards the lower end of the market - which turned out to be true. Our view of it became worse as time has gone on because we have had much better meals elsewhere for a very similar price. Sunday was cloudy, windy and cooler than we had experienced in the US previously. The crowds were thick on Fisherman's Wharf, the place was dirty, and tourists exploitation was everywhere. We had a walk round but were not inspired, so we took a tram downtown which was good. Nicky went and greatly enjoyed an Asian Art exhibition, while Claire and I walked to the Apple Store. The store itself was good, but walking there up Market Street I was surprised how many homeless people and drunks there were, and how much stuff they all had. At various times in the day both Nicky and I felt uncomfortable, and for the first ti

Visiting Louisville and our Palmer-Ball cousins was wonderful. We arrived late-ish on Tuesday afternoon at The Palmer Corporation (aka the plant) after a pleasant but expensive drive from Charleston. Judy Jenkins had recommended Cracker Barrel as a good value road-side eatery, and indeed it was. We had excellent soup and salads. The problem was the shop attached to it. Nicky has been looking for a quilt for our bed for sometime, but has been unable to find something at a reasonable price - until Cracker Barrel came to the rescue! We found a range of quilts in Queen and King sizes with a white background and a range of lovely patterns. We chose one with blue stars all over it to help us develop a new bedroom colour scheme, and a range of other goodies including calendars and cards. We managed to avoid buying rocking chairs for use on the porch (or deck), but it was a close thing. Josh and Emily got us to the plant safely, and we were very warmly greeted by a number of the members of the

Just a few pics for the moment - will try and write some more later. Rick

Hi all. It's good to see that so many of you are reading this, please keep commenting it's great to hear from you! Today is our third day here in Louisville with family. It's wonderful seeing everyone here and getting to know the family more, including meeting those members who weren't able to come to London in April. I'll post some photos once I'm using my machine in San Francisco on Saturday or Sunday. We've done a few tourist type things but are generally just relaxing more and spending time with family. Yesterday Chris and Lawrence gave the three of us a tour around the Palmer Products factory. Later on my dad, Chris and I went to the Apple Retail Store opening at the Oxmoor mall here in Louisville. The new iPods are gorgeous and I've been able to have a quick look at an iPhone. However, I've hurt my ankles a couple of times and fallen off a curb in a rest stop and grazed my knee so walking is more painful at the moment than normal though things

Good Morning, Hope ya'll have a good day! We certainly are here. It was a very long drive yesterday; the length of Pennsylvannia, into the north west tip of Maryland and down into West Virginnia. The scenery was fantastic. Trees everywhere. I now understand more than ever before the American desire to offset their carbon emmisions by tree acreage. Fabulous rivers, mountains and forests. Rick was caught on radar by a friendly policeman, who duely fined him doing 61 miles an hour in a 55 mph speed limit area, when in fact he'd been doing 74mph. The people whose driveway we were blocking when we were pulled up, just calmly waited behind the police car! It would seldom happen in England. We arrived in Charleston last night just after 8.30p.m. and headed off for a dinner in a nearby reestaurant. It was great eating outside in warm air.

We drove from Washington to Audobon on Sunday, to visit Simon and Judy Jenkins, friends of ours from Loughborough who moved to the US eleven years ago. We had a pleasant drive until Emily (the sat nav) died about 3 miles from the end . Fortunately Claire was up to speed with written instructions and got us to their house without a problem. Simon and Judy, as ever, gave us a very warm welcome, run down on life in the US, and then a wonderful steak and chicken barbeque. After a good nights sleep and leisurly breakfast, we were ready for the next leg of our trip. I thought this would take about 4 hours, but soon discovered from MapQuest that it was going to be nearer 7. When we got Emily working again she agreed. So off we went! Rick

The US Botanic Gardens. Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. The Washington Monument, from the Lincoln Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Monument

A cooler less humid day greated us today, with clear skies and a pleasant breeze. Our plan was to drive to Mount Vernon, where George Washington lived. This was fine but the sat nav had no idea where Mount Vernon was, so it was back to manual navigation (provided by Claire). We took a few wrong turns but got there without too much difficulty, and parked the beast, who is now called Josh by the way. Nicky wanted an audio guide and to do things in a different order from Claire and I so we split up and then met again later. The tour of the house and walking round the grounds and gardens was very interesting, and very hot. There was quite a sense of nation building which I haven't experienced in the UK, probably because it is so much older. I will try and post some photos tomorrow. Back in Josh the sat nav (Emily) was happy to tell us where the Lincoln Memorial was, so off we went and had a very pleasant drive into Washington. Parking was fun but managed for free, and we walked to the

Hi all, It is now Friday evening and Nicky and Claire are off to read in the hotel room. We have just had diner in the courtyard. For the last couple of days we have had such good breakfasts in the hotel that we have not needed any lunch and just bought some enormouse salads from the hotel deli to eat in the evening. The weather so far has been warm, somewhat humid, sometimes full sun, sometimes hazy sun. I guess it has been in the low 30's when the sun has broken through. It is good to be warm. Yesterday, Thursday, after doing the laundry (the laundrette is on our floor) and having a sumptous breakfast, we walked to The Mall (a very big park), past some of the Smithstonian buildings and onto the Washington Monument. None of us felt like going up it, so after some refreshments we continued on to the White House. Lots of picture taking and some time in the visitor centre, before walking up to Lafyatte Park for another rest. A metro to Capitol Hill was good value, and while trying to