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...