Yorkshire Christmas

Animals and children love Adam. This Shire horse is one example. His brothers like him too.

Corsica

Happy Halloween!

Oxford

Adam was maybe just a little more successful than Samar at punting on the Isis, but lacked the courage to approach the natives on the commons.

Dodd G Birthday

Marla and the silent film star - erh- star in the Birthday Blockbuster "Dodd. G. Antiques."

Easter in Gower

The magnificent Rob and Paula took us camping on a bluff over the sea for Easter. Highlights included baby lambs and outdoor showers. Also, we all wandered around a grocery store picking up what we wanted: When we regrouped, Adam was devoted to a half-priced, full-sized duck. We had no choice but to oblige his spit-roasting fantasies.

First days in London

Yes, I am too lazy to rotate pictures, sorry. These pictures are of the elephant topiary in our neighborhood, a Rachel Whitread installation at the Tate Modern, and the 7th floor cafe at the Tate Modern.

my country

The first time anybody ever addressed Samar in the familiar Spanish 'tu' form was when we re-entered the U.S. from Mexico. Then she was investigated for smuggling . . . for four hours. Interrogation techiniques included complimenting her on her English.

Apollo trece

When our tire ripped open on the open Mexican road 60 miles from ANYwhere, we wrapped it in duct tape, of course. Just like Apollo 13, where scientists quickly invented an air-purifying device out of duct tape and a sock (Tom Hanks never lies), Adam's Saturn brought us home.

The dude beach

South of Mulege, we stayed in a "Palapa," or leafy beach hut, barbequed chorizo, kayaked, and snorkeled. Adam, shown here igniting the campfire with his gaze, kayaked out into the darkness at midnight, lighting phosphorescence in the water as he went.

Heavy petting in Baja: Feb 27th 2006

We´d driven 5000 miles to be here the grey whales had swum 5000 miles. The whales come down from the Bering Sea each year to this bay on Baja to calve. There are thousands of whales in an area of just a few square miles. At first we loved seeing whales all around the boat, but then the really special thing happened. The whales enjoy coming and `playing´ with the boats. We had 2 to 4 whales around our boat for at least an hour. They came up to the side of the boat to be stroked and to look at us. They also loved the whale version of farting in the bath, coming up under the boat and blowing air. All the mammals involved had a great time.

Ensenada: Feb 25th 2006

Our first stop in Mexico, the town was so pleased to see us that the spontaneously erupted into fiesta. After dropping off our bags at a hotel where everything, including the furniture, was made of concrete, we joined the party. Bad food, lots of beer and tequila and dancing followed. As always, the police showed impeccable taste in techno by patronizing the best sound system.

mission (viejo) accomplished: Feb 22nd - 24th

We arrived at the "other" coast on February 22nd. Woohoo! L.A. is worthless, but the beach is lovely. Pictures are of Route 66, which we took from Joshua Tree National Park to L.A., Laguna Beach, and Mission Viejo, where we stayed with the lovely Geetanjli. Please note the success of Samar and Geetanjli´s "twins experiment." ¿Can you tell who is who?

Phantom Ranch (Grand Canyon): Feb 17 and 18th

This is the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Our happy smiles are the result of lactic acid build-up in our legs reaching our facial muscles.

Dinosaur Tracks: Feb 16th

Morris Chee, a friendly Navajo who has perhaps spent too much time in the sun, will provide a tour of dinosaur tracks and dinosaur poo for a donation. Although no official Government signage will lead you to these tracks outside Tuba City, AZ, Morris has helpfully posted a sign by the road, "TURN RIGHT NOW!" The enthusiastic but ambiguous sign works fine, as no right turn exists. Turn left to see the tracks.

Zion: Feb 15th

Zion is a favorite of Samar's. It resembles her home planet. We recommend this other-worldly landscape.

Bryce: Feb 15th

Rocks rock!

Utah: Feb 14th

We slept in a hippified schoolbus at "Mystic Hot Springs" in Monroe, UT. Not recommended. The mystery of the springs derives from their in fact being lukewarm.

Mid West: Feb 7th and 8th

We drove through the Iowan and Nebraskan heartland in two days. Black cows spotted golden fields . . . for a long long while. We stopped at Omaha for lunch and went thrift store shopping for ski gear. $8 got us one pirs of ski pants and 2 jackets, one cool, and one which cost 98 cents. Use your skill and judgement (and the Steamboat pictures) to decide which is which. That night we stopped off at a cowboy town which stank of cows and ate at a restaurant full of animals the owner (should not have been allowed to have) killed. Note the (Omaha thriftstore) cowboy boots!

SteamBoat: Feb 9th to 13th

We owe an awesome (Dude!) time in skiing in Steamboat Springs, CO, to Tom "Buz" Sawyer, everybody's favorite trip organizer!
"So next time Chamonix, and you are organizing it!" - Buz to Samar. "Okay," Samar agrees perfunctorily, then adds, "Buz you don't really want me to organize that trip, do you?" "No, I'll organize it, I don't know why I said that."
Meet our new friend Erich Of Great Style, and protector against people who like to pick on Buz.
Activities in Steamboat included two concerts, live ski jumping, resting mid-slope, hot springs, caribou sightings, lots of falling down, and even some skiing!

Pittsburg, Ann Arbor and Chicago: Feb 5th and 6th

Our first stop was Pittsburgh. We thought we would be safe among hipsters if we headed for the area around the Andy Warhol museum. Wrong. At the first establishment we patronized, the barmaid urged Samar to drink Michelob Ultra, as it was the closest thing she had to the Yuenling or Sam Adams I requested. "I'll have a Coke, thanks." A man standing next to us took it upon himself to explain the Superbowl to us at high decibels in a language he probably continues to create to this day. Adam was unhappy with the drunken stares of some very large young men. When we saw the posting behind the bar warning that tapes from the 7 security cameras in the closet of a place would be willingly turned over to authorities, so "sell your drugs someplace else," we left. The next bar was decidedly safer, though Samar received a few cold looks when questioning patrons about the justice of some of the calls. An old man hummed the fight song happily to himself throughout the steal.

Newlyweds Corinna and Walter Parker received us in their beautiful new home in Ann Arbor after a short stop in Detroit. The stay was short but nourishing and cozy.

Our first pictures are of a lovely day in Chicago.

Grand Canyon: Feb 16th

After Bryce and Zion the Grand Canyon only looked impressive for it's size. We decided to hike down the Canyon and stay overnight at a ranch at the bottom. Walking down wasn't so difficult and gave us so many different prespectives on the canyon. The ranch was very pretty, if a little holiday camp style. Up, 10 miles and 5000 feet, was...well...hard.