Friday 23rd March 2012 - The Final Full Day:

OK, so this is not in chronological order, however on our last evening in America, James met up with an old school friend (James Keddie) JK has been out in the San Francisco area for almost 20 years and it's true to say that you can take the man out of St. Andrews but you can't take St. Andrews out of the man. It was a pleasure to meet James and this photograph shows the the 2 James' in the RV before James (SF James) heads home.

Looking out over Alcatraz from upstairs at Pier 39.

Approaching Alcatraz.

James.... You've been a very naughty, naughty boy. We will come back for you soon. In the meantime donations for the Free James Foundation should be sent via cheque made payable to John Philp at .......

Blending the old architecture of San Francisco with the new.

These houses at by the Golden Gate Bridge were given to former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev by the US Government in recognition for his efforts to end the Cold War. (I don't think he was in today)

It's a beautiful day in San Francisco.

The 3 Amigo's hanging out at the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge in all its splendour.

Coming down Lombard a very steep one way road in San Francisco, famous in many iconic photographs and paintings of this city.

Friday 23rd March 2012. The final day has arrived... and as I write this, dawn will have long broken over Scotland - it's Saturday morning in Fife around 0900 ish. Whilst in Sunny San Francisco it's just after 0200, so we are slowly catching up with those in the East. This will probably be the final blog post before boarding the flight back to London Heathrow at 1715 hrs our time, then on to Edinburgh. It seems a long time ago since we arrived in this fantastic country.

The trip has been truly excellent and we have enjoyed great experiences. Now is not the time to summarise those experiences, nor is it the time to say which was the best and worst moments of the trip. That will follow on this blog before too long I promise. For the moment, I feel it appropriate to remind myself (and others) how we got here. Almost 3 years ago in April 2009 the Executive Committee of the 3312 club had there annual boys outing. The Excom' is an exclusive band of friends which include myself James Wilson, Gary Wallace & Chris Hoon. For varying reasons, our paths crossed and our friendship has developed strongly over the years. On this particular occasion (April 2009) our outing was held over a 5 day period in Belgium, Holland & France. At that point it was confirmed that I was rather keen to find a good excuse for turning 50 in 2012 and in order to celebrate this in spectacular fashion, wouldn't it be a good idea to execute this on the date which coincided with our committee title 3312 or 03/03/12. So it was agreed that on Saturday 3rd March, 2012 the executive committee would embark on a special trip. Not like the ones we had undertaken previously such as a weekend in Dusseldorf, or a trip in Riga, or that weekend in Norway or the long weekend in Krakow, or even the 5 day trip to Dubai. NO... this was going to be special. So the plan was hatched, we will drive the width of America - making sure not to take the easy route. And so it was decided that we would land in Florida, pick up a 32 foot motor home and drive it to San Francisco. Quite a few of my US citizen friends and colleagues asked why would we do such a dumb trip, driving across miles and miles of nothing? What I can now say to those who questioned the validity of such a trip is 'try it'. Miles and miles of nothing can be quite stimulating and America is a great country, with fantastic diversity in every state you visit.

With great regret Gary & Chris were unable to make this trip, although they have kept in touch throughout, we really missed their presence. Thankfully Ken Hogg stepped up to the plate. Ken is a friend I have known since boyhood and when one balmy summer evening last year, whilst indulging in a good bottle of Merlot on the decking, I mentioned to him my plans, he within an instant confirmed his desire to come along. So Ken became an Associate 3312 member. After this trip Ken may wish to upgrade his membership to a fully fledged Excom member and if he does, I'm sure it will be ratified.

James and I understand that without the support and cooperation of our long suffering wives, Ruth & Karen, none of this would have been possible. Seriously - Thank you. This really has been the road trip of a lifetime and one we will never forget.

Oh and finally 3312 (what does that mean?) I hear you ask.. Well sorry but in order to find that out, you will need to apply for executive membership status and even then we may have to introduce draconian measures with the odd sacrificial goat and rolled up trouser leg!!!!

More later - but not for a couple of days...

San Franciso - The Final Leg - Thursday 22nd March

Alcatraz from Pier 39. We have booked tickets for the 1330 crossing tomorrow... Will we all get back?

"The coldest winter I ever spent was that summer in San Francisco". I'm not entirely sure who said this, as there are a number of people credited with the quote. However, it is most certainly true. The last time I was here it was July and cold and here we are in March. Freezing!!!

Ken & James on the tram car. No James is not drunk.. He always looks like this....

The streets of San Francisco.

Hanging out the tram.

Thursday 22nd March 2012. We have arrived in San Francisco and checked into the Candlestick RV park, just a stone throw from the San Francisco 49 ers home ground. This is a typical City Centre RV park - very functional but not in anyway beautiful. We took the shuttle bus into the City Centre this afternoon and had a wander around the main sights. We plan on taking the open top bus tour tomorrow and a visit over to Alcatraz. So lets leave the final post until tomorrow evening. More then...

Big Sur - Getting Close to San Francisco Now - Wednesday 21st March

Big Sur Campground & Cabins. Highly recommended, if you are ever in this part of the world.

The fantastic Pacific Ocean crashing in on the route up Big Sur.

A few members of the Elephant Seal colony at San Simeon. Grotesquely beautiful!

Look Ken -yYonder is that a bank of fog rolling in"?" Another fine spot to stop for lunch on the Big Sur.

Our pitch for the night at the Big Sur Campground nestled amongst 200 foot Red Woods.


Wednesday 21st March 2012. What a trip driving up from Moro Dunes. The driving was a mere 100 miles, but the average speed was around 20 mph due to the interesting road conditions for a 32 foot RV. We probably dropped our average 7 mpg down to about 4 mpg on this trip but it was worth every cent. Like the Grand Canyon, you would really have to expereince this place to fuly appreciate it. It is one of the most famous road trips in the world (allegedly) and having now done this trip twice, both North to South and South to North I concur it is simply amazing. Today Ken & James took the wheel as I started to suffer a little spell of man flu. To the exctent that I was tucked up in bed by 7.30 pm while the guys went off for dinner at the pub on the campsite. San Francisco is getting close now. We will be there tomorrow.

Heading North on The Pacific Coastal Highway to Big Sur

Hurricane, nestled between a small 5th wheel and a caravan, which is very unusual.

Welcome to Moro Dunes RV Park.

Surfers early morning (Wednesday 21st March) at Moro Dunes. It's shaping up to be a hot day here in Sunny California.

Breakfast at El Capitan Oceanmesa.

Enjoy this last photograph of me beared. Too many references to ZZ Top and Hobo's!!! It's coming off.



Wednesday 21st March 2012. We wake up this morning on a bright and sunny day. The temperature is rising nicely and the sky is clear and blue. We have had a good night here at the Moro Dune RV Park. We went out last night a short walk to a resturant (Wee Shack) It was fairly typical American Diner, run by a Vietnamese family. We heard a great story from our host how he and his family were evacuated from Vietnam in 1975 and they stayed on the top deck of an American Gun ship as it sailed them back to the US where they were given asylum. 2 beers, 1 good meal and back to Hurricane to spark up a camp fire, while Ken went down on the beach to photograph the sun setting. We talked for a couple of hours around the fire pit, putting all the problems of the world to right, then retired into the RV to play cards. We know how to live in the fast lane!!! We are having a slow start to today and will be hitting the road before 11.30 to drive in the direction of the Big Sur. There is another RV park there which I have stayed before and it is exactly 100.0 miles according to our trusty SatNav. We will head in that general direction and if we like it when we get there we will stay, or if we find an alternative before then, then we will just stay there. Life on the open road, with no hard or fast rules or strict plans. It's a good life. More later.

Californian Dreaming - The Final Week

Did we tell you? What happens in Vegas - Stays in Vegas...

Monday 19th March. We said we would and we did. OK so it's not a full swim, but we have reached the Pacific Ocean and we have gone in.

The Ocean, just 2 minutes walk from our park. A great sight, rolling waves, fresh air and just a great place to be.



Lunch today. What a place for a picnic.

I don't ask for much!!!!

Tuesday 20th March 2012. Yesterday we made the short 103 mile journey from Malibu Beach to here, Oceanmesa, right on the ocean front. It would have been much shorter if we had chosen to take the direct route, but we always go for the most interesting option every time. The drive was very relaxed and we are now simply keeping the ocean on our left hand side as we drive northwards towards San Franciso. We will check out of here at 12 noon and carry on with no real place in mind. We may drive for an hour or 2, but certainly no more. This site is fantastic. Really great service when registering in yesterday and all the amenities are spotless, with evertyhing you could possibly need. We went down to the beach late afternon and it was fantastic to feel the fresh air of the Pacific Ocean and the raw nature in all it's glory. On our way back up we came across a Skunk which was a first for me (hold the jokes please). It was a shy creature that did an about turn when it spotted us. There are notices all around that remind us of the presence of Skunks, Rattle Snakes, Mountain Lions, Raccoons, Black Widow Spiders and other such critters. Fair to say we don't intend on hunting any of them out. We have driven a little over 3600 miles so far and with about 400 to go (going the tourist route) we will be almost bang on target for taking 4000 miles to drive across the US. Looking back we have driven through 10 States including; Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. We have and still are, experiencing things that would never have been possible on a standard package tour. We continue to meet interesting people, some facinating individuals with great stories to tell and some who clearly have come from a very limited gene pool. On balance, I would say that we have been warmly welcomed in almost every location. The American People are genuinely interested in their heritage and are always keen to tell us that they really are Scottish. Although by all accounts, the whole population of Las vegas was laying claim to their Irish routes on St. Patrick's day. This morning, we had a typical American breakfast at the camp resturant which has set us up until this evening no doubt. Ken and James have gone for a swim, I'm hiding from the Californian sunshine trying to keep the blog alive and current. Loads of stories to tell. More later...

The Los Angeles Skyline. It took all of 3 minutes for us to decide to give this place a wide bearth and keep going to the beaches of Southern California.

Santa Monica or Los Angeles? Mmmmm Lets take the Santa Monica route.

Welcome to California! We joined a long queue of cars crossing the "agricultural checkpoint" as we entered California state. As far as we could see nobody was actually being stopped or questioned.

Monday morning 19th March 2012. James looking very happy by faithful Hurricane overlooking the Pacific.

From our RV park looking north up the Pacific Coast Highway. Which is a bit like the road from Elie to Anstruther.

Monday 19th March 2012. (Happy birthday Rebecca Wilson) So this morning we woke up to a sun drenched beautiful Californian day. The weather is really stunning, bright blue skies and the temperature is starting to warm up nicely. Ken is off doing manly things in the laundry room, James is off down the beach and I'm sitting in the RV updating the blog. During a good trip down from Las Vegas, where we saw all 4 seasons in one day, we dropped around 4000 feet in hight and achieved a big moment of the trip when the Pacific Ocean came into sight. It was always a goal to swim in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and by the end of today, we should have achieved that. Las Vegas seems a distant memory now and it is in stark contrast to the beauty and natural wonders of the Pacific coastline. Upon checking into the RV park last night it was the closest experience one could imagine to an American version of Faulty Towers. The married couple responsible for check-in were doing fine, all be a little slowly and we had agreed a suitable pitch. Just at that moment, Madam Faulty appeared and very quickly asserted her dominence on the other two. "If you are giving them this pitch, they will have to pay another $12" "why?" I asked. "Because this pitch has a 50 Amp power supply". "We only need 30 Amps" I assured her "and that is why your colleagues have given me this price". "It is not possible" she exclaims. "How do I know you will not use 50 Amps" she exclaims. "because the RV can only take 30 Amps" I plead. "Any more and it will blow the system". "You may have a seperate hook up facility and take the electricity anyway" she accuses. "What are you saying, I may be running some sort of cottage industry from the back of the RV and need the extra power to keep the lathes or printing presses running all night?" After almost 30 minutes of inane conversation (bearing in mind the park is only half full), I suggest that we stop this conversation now and we will carry on and find another park. Within seconds all was resolved and we got one of the many pitches available with a good view. Seriously, this lady made Basil Faulty appear intelligent.

We have just over 400 miles to go to San Francisco, if we take the most direct route. However, we plan not to take the most direct route and we will meander slowly up the coast line to Big Sur and take the trail from there enjoying the scenery and relative ease, doing a little over 100 miles each day. We plan to be in San Francisco for Thursday afternoon and stay 2 nights, before our flight home on Saturday evening but that is a long way off still and I know there will be many more experiences to come before then. It's just after 6.00 pm back in the UK, which means its 11.00 am here. I will try to post more before our day is over.

St. Patrick's Day Hoover Dam & Las Vegas

Above 6 Jolly Dubliners we met on "The Strip" in Las Vegas enjoying Paddy's Day

W elcome to Las Vegas. On arrival at the KOA RV Park just off The Strip, we were met with torrential rain and rather chilly weather. I thought Las Vegas was supposed to be hot. Scotland was hotter today.

Ceasar's Palace on the right and the Bullagio Hotel to the left....

The 3 Amigos at Hoover Dam.

The Hoover Dam.

Saturday 17th March, 2012. After an easy drive up from Kingman (about 120 miles) we called into the Hoover Dam, on the border between Nevada and Arizona. The views were spectacular and if you're into mega structures in anyway, it's a magnificent feat of engineering. We drove from Arizona to Nevada then back from Nevada to Arizona, then back to Nevada crossing the top of the Hoover Dam along with the hundreds of other tourists who were crossing it on foot, car and any other means of transport available. After our fix of construction wonders, we move on the 30 miles or so to our RV park right in the centre of Las Vegas, just a few minutes walk from The Strip. The weather was pretty bad, seriously windy, very wet and a bit chilly to say the least. After a couple of hours chilling in the heat of the RV, we ventured out into Vegas and the Strip. If I told you that the 3 Amigo's went out in Las Vegas on St Patrick's night for a pint, I would forgive you for not believing me. The truth is we did.... It's a funny old place Las Vegas, a place that you would either love or hate. There is no shortage of interesting people to watch and behaviours to observe. We were passing a bar and could see the crowd inside were gathered around (all 200 or so of them) and we wondered what on earth was the attraction, so we ventured in, to find a fist fight in full flow with around 7 security personnel trying to sort it out. The fist fight consisted of 4 men and 2 woman. The woman were much more violent then the men, I initially thought it was a ploy, some sort of marketing gimmick, especially as there was a lot of clapping and cheering. However, by the looks on the faces of those involved and the blood on the uniforms of the Security Personnel, I can't believe it was. We must have walked for about 5 miles tonight and HONESTLY we only had the one beer, which we had with our dinner. So we are now back in the RV, it's 0125 am Saturday 18th right now which means it's breakfast time back in the UK. So The 3 Amigo's are now going to have a night cap before retiring. Goodnight all and remember, "What happens in Vegas probably ends up on the internet"

Getting our Kicks on Route 66

An "atmospheric" photo of the advertising sign outside our lunch stop, The Roadkill Cafe in Seligman. I could say that I planed this but the truth is I had accidently knocked the setting from Auto to some other option. Enjoy.

Me and Elvis hanging out in Seligman.

Route 66 in all its glory... Straight lined MAMBA

We stopped off here to buy some juice and wow... Wat a place. We spoke to the owner who has been running it for 45 years, he stopped serving petrol in 1978 and now just has it set up as a bit of museum selling all the usual tourist tat, but in such a sooooper cooool way. Hackberry General Store, pay it a visit if you find yourself on route 66.

"If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the high way that is best. Get your kicks on route 66"

Friday 16th March: I'm sure you know the rest. What a song, what an experience, what a place. This has to be the ultimate road trip. Yes there is a lot of tourist shops selling all the usual stuff you would expect, but there is also so many interesting people, happy to tell you there story and give you a bit of an insight into this magical place. We travelled around 100 miles on Route 66 from Seligman to Kingman where we are tonight in yet another KOA RV park. Fantastic amenities and according to local advertising there is over 100 great places to eat in Kingman. Frankly, I don't believe that. We bought provisions at K Mart on route in and have all it takes to be self suffcient. The weather has been hot hot hot today yet it's all due to change over the weekend. High winds forecast for tonight with 100 mph gales tomorrow. That should be interesting in a 32 foot RV. If fall goes to plan, we will get on the road reasonably early tomorrow (Sat 17th) and head up to see the Hoover Dam, before going on to Las Vegas. Mmmmmm Yes I have seen the film Hangover (and so has Ruth) and there is this well published saying that "what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas". Well actually we were told yesterday by our very friendly taxi driver/helicopter booking clark that actually that saying is no longer true. Seemingly "what happens in Las Vegas appears very quickly on the internet"!!!!


More tomorrow.... :-)

Grand Canyon Thursday 16th March 2012

Above. the Grand Canyon in all it's glory. Despite the very hot day, there is still snow lying in sheltered areas right alongside various cacti.

Photographs will never be able to capture the magnitude and beauty of this place.

Carzy hikers posing.

The 3 Amigos also posing...

Thursday 16th March: It's difficult to put into words how amazing this place is. Prior to arriving at Grand Canyon, I had no real expectations or understanding of what was to be seen. Jaw dropping, awesome, stunning, choose your own description, mutiply that by 1000 and you may get close. After taking about 100 photographs and 30 minutes of video, I gave up and simply enjoyed the place in all its beauty. Ken, James and I spent about 3 hours there. Often as The 3 Amigo's often on our own. People watching was out of this world, all shapes and sizes, all nationalities and all with one common binding factor, which was total appreciation of this spectacular place. Indeed, one of the 7 wonders of the world. As the sun started to set, the colours on the rocks changed by the second, light places became dark, dark places became invisible and never yet seen places seemed to appear out of the shadows. It's been a great day and as we head back to our RV park in Sedona, Jane, (our trusty SAT NAV guide) decides that she has had enough and has gone on strike. So we are satnavless, good job we can remember the road back. We deliver the car back to the Hertz rental office at just after 10pm and phoned a local taxi company to get us back to the RV park. The taxi driver arrived within 10 minutes and he turned out to be the booking clerk from the airport company we used yesterday. "Yes sir, he said, we all have to take on more than one job in this town. Do you only have the one job in Scotland" he asked with a glint in his eye. If you've ever seen the film 'Local Hero' it was just like the scene where Mr Urquhart changed from Waiter, to Lawer in a 10 minute interval. Yes... It really has been a great day.