It's been a busy old day today, getting everything gathered together for packing, making last minute phone calls, ensuring we have all the tickets and bookings, passports and diving licences ready, seeing friends and neighbours, organising the gardener to do the pruning and readying of the garden for the winter, setting up the lights on clock timers, ordering a taxi to take us to the station, last minute washing of clothes and the bedding, defrosting the fridge and freezer, picking up the windfalls from our apple tree - huge crop this year - hope the neighbours will come and get them while we are away - they make great apple pies ans crumbles and cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms. We are tired but just about ready.
It will be a take away for dinner tonight - Terry is too tired to cook.
Had a last minute panic as the supplements and medicines ordered from my ME specialist, promised to be posted by last Thursday to arrive Friday had not arrived by yesterday. Tried to phone the surgery and couldn't get through before they closed, so had to send a message. Anyway they arrived this morning to my great relief. Some of the things I take can be got in the USA but some cannot. Panic over!
Our next blog, God willing, will be of our safe arrival in LA and getting to the rig parked in Banning , an hour and a half hours ride east of LA. We get in too late to reach it on Thursday, so are booked into a motel for the night and will arrive on Friday. The truck is in being serviced today and the trailer axles are being checked and the bearings repacked. Found a guy who would take the truck to the garage for the service and then he will do the trailer axles on site. SO, hopefully the rig will be ready for us when we get there- fingers crossed.
The weather seems to be still quite hot out there so have packed some cool clothes in my hand luggage to change into when we get there.
Trip 9 - California Dreamin'
On this trip we set out to immerse ourselves in the culture and the nature of California. To discover its textures and see some of its natural wonders. We discover that California is very big. It is not a state that you can just pass through, it is, more than any other place we have visited, more like another country. It is a land dominated by mountains, the spaces between and like nowhere else, water.
Our start in the heavily populated area to the East of Los Angeles, known as the Inland Empire, is crowded into the lowlands surrounded by magnificent mountains. The feeling is of a cauldron which is trying to boil over the mountains to the fresh air of the rest of the state.
To the South is a band of Desert, which is the buffer to Mexico, which we did not explore on this trip.
We travelled North through the mountains (everywhere in California you can see mountains) to the desert, and on again to the huge Central Valley, mile after mile of intensive agriculture. Culture here is dominated by food, flatness, low income and trying to impact on the 'sameness' of the flat lands through music and festival. It is the communication and administrative corridor that links all other areas of California.
To the East is the huge mountain chain of the Sierra Nevada which clearly demonstrates the magnificence of the natural world, both in its geology and nature, reflected in the pysche and pride of most Californians. It is Eldorado, dominated by Gold!
To the West of the Central Valley are the coastal mountains, San Francisco and the magnificent coast. More isolated cultures, from mixed resources, communities seperated by mountains.
To the North of the Central Valley more mountains and a culture which looks more North towards Oregon than South to Sacremento.
This blog details our journey through California, where we pick and choose, or just scratch the surface, of this diverse and beautiful state.
Our start in the heavily populated area to the East of Los Angeles, known as the Inland Empire, is crowded into the lowlands surrounded by magnificent mountains. The feeling is of a cauldron which is trying to boil over the mountains to the fresh air of the rest of the state.
To the South is a band of Desert, which is the buffer to Mexico, which we did not explore on this trip.
We travelled North through the mountains (everywhere in California you can see mountains) to the desert, and on again to the huge Central Valley, mile after mile of intensive agriculture. Culture here is dominated by food, flatness, low income and trying to impact on the 'sameness' of the flat lands through music and festival. It is the communication and administrative corridor that links all other areas of California.
To the East is the huge mountain chain of the Sierra Nevada which clearly demonstrates the magnificence of the natural world, both in its geology and nature, reflected in the pysche and pride of most Californians. It is Eldorado, dominated by Gold!
To the West of the Central Valley are the coastal mountains, San Francisco and the magnificent coast. More isolated cultures, from mixed resources, communities seperated by mountains.
To the North of the Central Valley more mountains and a culture which looks more North towards Oregon than South to Sacremento.
This blog details our journey through California, where we pick and choose, or just scratch the surface, of this diverse and beautiful state.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
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