Wednesday, July 22, 2009

California!

Well – with my usual delayed promptness I’ll now update you with my adventures in the USA two weeks ago. It was only a quick visit and I’ve been back over a week so this wont really take that long =)

I flew into San Francisco, California on Monday 6th July and Ben took me for a wee drive along the west coast before heading inland to a winery and then off for a walk through the redwoods and finally getting home - where it didn’t take long for me to pass out on the couch!



The next day we drove back into the city to Funston for Ben to take me for a tandem. It was great fun but hopefully next time I get a warning before we go jumping off a cliff… =)


Wednesday saw us going for a bike ride at one of Bens favourite tracks, Berry Creek Falls. Despite me possibly winging a little due to my currently poor level of fitness, this is one very beautiful ride and the falls are very pretty. We cruised in for a look at Santa Cruz in the afternoon and found some yummy treasures in the street food market.


Ben had to work on Thursday so I recovered from the last couple weeks just chilling out in his little abode in the forest then we went for dinner with Ryan and Mele that evening. Above is Bens photo of the trees at the restaurant. Very cool!


Friday marked the end of my whirl wind tour and we headed back in to Santa Cruz for a paddle to see the seals and otters and the jetty before heading back in to San Fran. On the way to the airport we checked out the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight Street (famous for the hippy movement) and the bendy, twisty, hilly fun at Lombard Street.


Friday evening I flew 15 hours direct from SF to Sydney, arriving on Sunday morning and effectively losing my Saturday to the time difference. I went straight back to work on Monday and have been flat out since.

A big thank you hug goes out to Ben for entertaining me in the USA. It was a lovely week and I wish I had more time there =)


The next adventure planned is the Sydney City to Surf (http://www.city2surf.com.au/). There’s no way I’ll be able to run the whole 14kms but I’ll be on my best eating and gym behaviour to help me survive as best I can. Fingers crossed!!

Monday, July 06, 2009

Laragne

The last week has been spent lounging around the south of france and soaking up the lovely sunshine each day before the storms came through. It was really nice to see familiar faces from Newcastle and Qld as well as meet some more some folks from other corners of the world. OB even bought along Wasabi who I think I heard is off to Russia next!

The Irish Team blog (http://irish-hg-worlds-2009.blogspot.com/) has had everyone amused and talking during the comp. Well done to Phil and the boys for entertaining us on (and off) line!

Saturday afternoon we went for a swim in a gorge with a roman arch along the road up to Chabre. Thanks to the recent rain and storms the water was a little muddy but still very pleasant and refreshing.

The mountains around here are stunning and I’ll soon upload some of the pics from this week and of the launches (Charbe and Aspre) used during the comp.

Tonight I’m in Frankfurt again and will be on my way to California tomorrow. Woohoo!!