Saturday, December 23, 2006

Getting a bit like Christmas

Dames knows how lucky he is to be outside the walls of Alcatraz.
Note that scarf: surely a federal offence.

This is our Christmas picture. We're high on a hill above San Francisco, having eaten some barbeque at the festively-decorated house of Matt (Bev's brother) and Amanda (Matt's wife). The two red lights in the background are on top of the Golden Gate bridge.

A little to our left, though not actually in the picture, are the lights of Candlestick Park - the venue of the Beatles' last ever proper concert (the roof of the Apple Building in Savoy Row doesn't count). Sadly, they've renamed it Monster Park, because they hold Monster Truck events there now (heathens).


We stayed in South Beach in Miami. We bought shorts and slapped on the Factor 30, but the sun barely showed its face all day. Here's Jules looking lovely and windswept. The next day was absolutely stunning: cloudless blue skies, but, because we were flying to San Francisco that evening, we were dressed in our winter clothes all day. Bah!

Still, we could put the roof down and cruise along Ocean Drive looking pretty damn cool, listening to the local radio stations and generally having a groovy time.


Here's Dames on a streetcar named dessert. We loved San Francisco from the minute we fell out of our shuttle bus and into a bar that served Guinness and Magners. The next day, we strolled along Fisherman's Wharf and window-shopped in Union Square before going over to Matt and Amanda's for much carousing and fun. So much carousing, in fact, that we didn't make it back to the hostel and were kindly allowed to crash at their place. Dames swears that he was woken by a wee tremor at the crack of dawn (9.30 am).


Yo ho ho! It's a pirate's life for us. This is us being tourist-y at Fisherman's Wharf (Worf?). Don't you think Jules looks as though she's contemplating all sorts of mischief?


And a classic tourist pose for Dames, too. Happy Christmas, one and all!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Southern Comfort

(A very brief post.)

  • Orlando for Dames' birthday and rollercoasters.
  • Tampa to catch up with Bev, Matthew and Dave.
  • St Augustine for pirates, forts and (too much) rum.
  • Savannah for history and beautiful architecture.

Thanks especially to Bev Dave and Matthew for looking after us:
staying up and drinking red wine into the wee hours;
eating lots of grub;
and showing the hapless tourists what to do.

Jules realises that she's not the only old boiler in town.

Roundhouse Railroad Museum, Savannah, Georgia.



Dames drinks in some style on his birthday. Well, he is Nearly Forty.
Orlando, Florida.


Dames gets to play on rollercoasters on his big day
Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida


Bev, Dave, Matthew and Jules in a rubbish picture taken by Dames.
Tampa Bay, Florida.


Jules takes in the history of the Sunshine State.
Fort San Marcos, St Augustine, Florida


Our car and our hostel.
Savannah, Georgia.