Well folks, we made it all the way....all 2733 Miles, not km's but miles from Chicago to where Santa Monica Boulevarde joins Santa Monica Beach also known as Will Rogers Highway or more importantly The Mother Road, Route 66! So who of you didn't think I'd make it? We stopped on Hollywood Boulevarde where I met Lucy :0) went on down Rodeo Drive & through Beverly Hills before our stop at the end of Route 66 where I called my baby Dan as today is his 24th birthday, a special call from the end of our journey. I was pleased to hear the house still stands & the pool isn't frog friendly. Although I did detect a note of 'you'll be home when.......' major clean up now scheduled prior to Sunday I reckon. For those of you that haven't done the full length of Route 66 I thoroughly recommend that you do but if a sheep truck doesn't appeal then drive it, personally I'd drive it with a couple of groups in cars but that's cause I don't really like sheep trucks. We have met some exceptional people, a wonderful couple Danny & Olwyn from Portland down on the Victorian Pennisular, Brenda & Lester from Esperance in West Aussie & Lyn & Peter from Bateau Bay, all like minded people that we hooked up with early & with their help we had the time of our lives....aptly being played on the boom box as I write. Met many other really great people....really great people. So we are now heading along the coast road to Marina Del Ray & Venice Beach & then on to our hotel for our last night, staying at Rennaisance Montura which is close by both LAX & Manhattan Beach. We have our farewell dinner this evening all decked out in our Route 66 trashy refinery....it's sure to be a late night....just another. I will need Bali to recover! We have a lil' pressie for our Tour Director.....I am sure pics will follow....think crystal ball, chill pills & a megaphone....Moth will be the master of ceremonies :0) Tomorrow we are going to head off for some retail therapy in the Manhattan Beach area as our red Roo tailed burner doesn't depart until after 11pm tomorrow night. Be back tomorrow with a finale Hoo Roo

Old Willy is blasting out over the sheep truck sound system for the last time as we say Hoo Roo to Vegas & hit the road again....chasing those white lines heading toward Santa Monica & the end of our Route 66 journey all the way, the entire way, from Chicago to LA along the highways, by-ways & most all The Mother Road....Historic Route 66. What a trip, such fun along the way taking in the sights & sounds of bygone days....well done Uncle Sam! Last night we were lucky enough to get ourselves some seriously good seats for Jersey Boys, they played the Paris where we were staying. We had a pre-show cocktail, I had a very nice Mai Tai which was made with true perfection...the Hawaiian way. Moth had a double Baileys....I was thinking it might have been a triple! The show was brilliant, certainly a very genuine tribute to Franki Valli. A very professional performance that you'd expect to see on Broadway & Vegas. These entertainers could well have been the real Four Seasons, they sounded & looked very much like them. Excellent show with all of their hits belted out with true gusto! Loved it! I am not a fan of Vegas, in fact I am very anti-gambling so the lure of Vegas is non-existent for me however as it was a overnight visit on this tour I had no choice but to stay, great opportunity to take in a show. The Paris Hotel was very impressive, a tad over done but none the less impressive.....the Paris you have when you dont have Paris....personally I'd rather have the real mccoy! Previously I have stayed in Caesar's Palace & the Flamingo, albeit many years ago, the Paris had great rooms, excellent bars & restaurants & a lively atmosphere, brekkie this morning was a huge lavish affair....MASSIVE! We are now heading towards our first stop today in the Mojave Desert city of Bastow in San Bernadino County of Califor-me. OMG....Moth just made a confession that he obviously feels rather bad about....yesterday when we were in Seligman, Arizona we were in an old store & there was a chronically bad smell that the poor owners dog got the blame for....so bad it was that we all needed to get the hell out....poor dog was given hell by the owner....it wasn't the dog so I just learnt! Poor bloody dog! Bet sales suffered for the rest of the day! On that note I'm gunna say Hoo Roo for now Be back later Hoo Roo

What an experience yesterday was...Grand Canyon completely rocked my very soul. Amazingly spiritual yet vastly unforgiving. You can not begin to gauge the true size of it or the Colorado River unless you see it for yourself. A land to truly inspire your spirit! It's one of earths most powerful landscapes, it really did overwhelm my senses. I spent the first 15 mins sobbing like a baby in complete awe at the beauty to which I was blessed to see before my very eyes. The story of this mighty wonder of creation tells of geologic processes played out over unimaginable time spans. We started our venture into the Grand Canyon by road from the southern rim, stopping first at Desert View watch tower, only 22% of tourists get to enter the canyon this way, most enter & exit via the northern rim, we were lucky to go right thru from the southern rim exiting today thru the northern rim. The Grand Canyon is 190 miles long as the Condor flies & within that is 277 miles of river. The canyon width varies from 10 to 14 miles. I liken it to looking into the geology of the earth with the earth surface being cut open a mile wide. The northern rim is 8000 feet high & it was this rim that we first flew over in the chopper exposing the Grand Canyon to us in all her glory from the air....this was my first point of pure serenity, it simply took my breath away, I was very conscious of actually holding my breath for what seemed like eternity. Today was all about our hour chopper trip which did not disappoint! Our pilot was extremely good & had us diving down deep below the rim & soaring high above, he had as sweeping sideways along various faces, we dove tailed back & forth sighting many animals within the canyon & I even saw my very first black bears in the wild. I cried when I saw them, they are such majestic creatures. The Colorado River is a milky blue colour & flows pretty damn fast, it really is much wider than it appears on TV, we fly down over where the Lil' Colorado River (which we had been following in the sheep truck for several days) meets the Colorado River proper. Amazing!!!!! I was a tad apprehensive about going up in a chopper with my vertigo issues but thoughts of my first flight with my son in control of the plane got me through....so Chris, yesterday's flight over the Grand Canyon was as much for you son as it was for me. All fear was replaced with a nervous excitement as the canyon opened up before me.....one of God's greatest creations. None of my words best describe such a wonder. Our accommodation was at Yavapai Lodge which is actually inside Grand Canyon National Park, quite a ways in from the village. Yavapai is an Ecolodge & very much blended in with nature. There were many Elk roaming freely about & I am sure bear too! I have a serious fascination with bears....love them! We decided to spend sunset at Bright Angel viewing area & I am so pleased we did, the changing of colours was brilliant...what an experience. Whilst we were experiencing sunset over the Grand Canyon we were lucky enough to sight several Condors....such graceful creatures. How wonderful is nature! We also got to see the Mules that are used for trekking down to the base of the canyon along the very narrow ledges of the Bright Angel trail. I did not know that a Mule is a crossbreed of a Jackass & a horse...seriously! So maybe that is where the saying a horses ass comes from...... Also I did not know that Bedrock City is a real place....truth, got the pic! I also did not know that it's LEGAL to wear a 6 shooter hand gun on your hip anywhere here in the state of Arizona, prolly other states too I reckon...me tinks I will keep my own counsel until we get the hell out of this state eh! All in all....smile can't be wiped off moi face! I am truly blessed & I will never forget my experience in the Grand Canyon nor indeed this entire trip! Be back later Hoo Roo

Good morning from Flagstaff, Arizona. All on the sheep truck now & heading towards the Grand Canyon where we have booked a 45 min chopper scenic tour around & down into the bottom of the canyon....today will be yet another hi-light day! We have been assured the extra $$$$$$$ is worth it, really looking forward to this afternoon. Well we did get into Winslow yesterday afternoon...took the pic & got the t.shirt....been there done that now.....woke up singing that song this morning.... Last nights dinner was another group affair but our Team Alamo of 8 managed to once again be the last table sitting...we realised with great pride we have indeed gained a rather covetted reputation...Ever got caught on a bridge for 3 hrs & needed to use......a plastic bag? Oh this one is for Tonie.....guess who found a real McCoy vanilla slice....the truth was revealed earlier this morning....seems whilst I was off bending plastic in Santa Fe hisself was not only doing an ice cream crawl but a bakery too. Just heard Oklahoma is on tornado alert right now....it's OK folks the only tornado near us is on this sheep truck! We have been ahead of all the crap weather, clear skies & sunshine all da way...we have been lucky. Although we are heading towards the Grand Canyon we will be stopping in Cameron at a Navajo reservation, these people's are they weavers of the native Americans, yesterdays pueblo peoples were the potters. Poor old Moth is suffering from a touch of altitude sickness, not doing too well at 7000 feet overnight. Struggling with breath this morning but it's OK insurance policy is up to date....seriously he is OK just a tad short of breath & I'm watching him with eagle eyes....truth is the extra weight he is carrying has made it worse, I think he may be realising this now.... Tonight we are having a great treat, we have a sleepover inside the Grand Canyon....bear country, hope I see one unlike the 3 I spied in Snowflower with the stiff heads. We have big party night planned....again...lovin it! Just another diversion for a minute....last night at the Raddisson we slept in a 'sleep number' bed for the first time ever...now I know our American friends love these things but ya know what...in my opinion...I wouldn't have one if you paid me....had thought of buying one, they are about $3000 at home, to send over to Bali for our house but not anymore....I'll keep the 4 poster! This truck is chuggalonging through some serious bear country now.....Yogi where are you? We are in the south western edge near Mt Humphries.....looking for Mr B Bear... Be back later with a full days review. Hoo Roo

Still heading towards Flagstaff we've made a stop at the Painted Desert in Arizona, yep we are definitely in the desert.....amazing colours appearing in the landscape, never have I seen anything like it, kinda like Alice Springs in many ways but without the big rock. The Painted Desert area truly is a natural wonder. I can't help wonder about the early explorers coming through this beautiful yet unforgiving countryside, most definitely moving stick country & they are in abundance....the ones that rattle! We talk about the 40 shades of green in Ireland well I am here to tell you that Arizona & particularly this area of the Painted Desert has the same quantity in reds & would you believe that Old Route 66 runs straight thru both the Painted Desert & Petrified Forest. The Petrified Forest is high, dry grassland was once a vast floodplain crossed by many streams. Crocodile-like reptiles, giant amphibians & small dinosaurs lived among a variety of ferns, cycads & other plants & animals known only as fossils today. The trees fell & swollen streams washed them into adjacent floodplain. A mix of silt, mud & volcanic ash buried the logs. This cut off oxygen & slowed the logs decay. Silica laden groundwater seeped through the logs & replaced the original wood tissues with silica deposits. Eventually the silica crystallised into quartz & the logs were preserved as petrified wood. They are extremely strike on souvenir hunters 'acquiring' said wood with road blocks checking cars, buses etc...pretty severe jail terms await souvenir hunters, pretty sure all sheep passed. This is Arizona where things go bump in the night....apparently all weird stuff happens in & around here, guess it depends on how many brews you've had! Seemingly many UFO sightings have occurred here. Be back later.....dododododododo Wheels on the bus go round & round...... Still waiting to be standing on the corner of Winslow Arizona.......are we there yet?.......soon! Hoo Roo

What a wonderful experience we just had on the native American Indian Pueblo of Acoma & also known, internationally, as Sky City. Pueblo simply means village. Acoma was steeped in history & rich in cultural traditions. This pueblo is built on top of a 360 foot mesa, or flat top mountain. Acoma is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the USA, dating back to the 1600's & was at one time decimated by the Spanish but later allowed to be rebuilt. The church's alter was rebuilt in 1806 & the original paint work remains today @ in good condition. This pueblo is home to many Indians & their simplistic life where time is of no importance reflects in their contentment, the children appeared very happy & the adults were happy to chat about their customs & lifestyle. They are a very proud people which shows in their artworks. Their homes are almost mayan in appearance with a mud rendered rounded facade. They continue to keep their traditional building methods in the new homes they continue to build at & around the base of the meza. The ongoing cost of maintaining original buildings is funded from profits from their many casinos. What was overwhelmingly evident was the deep sense of peace I felt whilst on top in the pueblo, I could have remained there for a few days. A truly memorable experience, I am taking away a gift from these people that can not be bought. We are now back on the sheep truck chasing those lil' white lines heading towards Winslow, Arizona.....standing on the corner of Winslow Arizona....taking it easy.....yep another head planted song but a good one being a huge Eagles fan. Be back later Hoo Roo

Another beautiful day here. We are back on the sheep truck & saying Hoo Roo to Albuquerque this morning after a great stay in a really quirky town. As we are driving out of town we are seeing a bucket load of hot air balloons in the sky, this place is one of the worlds busiest hot air ballooning areas....amazing seeing them all. After our day in Santa Fe yesterday we finished off with a mountain tramway ride to the highest Mesa peak in the USA, higher than the Rockies they said. Followed by dinner at the summit's High Finance Restaurant. The tramway took us up over 10000 feet to the top of Sandia Peak in a cable car which holds about 40 or so & I of course suffer from vertigo....another WTF am I doing in this thing moments but I got there, coming down was easy with a belly full of some very nice Kenwood sav blanc! Sandia Peak is a very popular ski location in winter & hiking in summer & only a short trip from downtown Albuquerque & with an 11000 square mile panoramic view we were never short of awe factor! From the base to the top was 10,378 feet with almost 3 miles of sky-view looking down on the desert floor with its canyons & lush forests as we ascended to the top. This forest area is home to mule, deer, black bear, raccoons & bobcats in addition to squirrels & lots of bird species. The area has 25 miles of slopes & trails....pretty impressive! The Sandia Mountains have long been a landmark & backdrop for the people of the Albuquerque region, using the tramway we were able to experience this west face of the Sandias that previously had only been accessible to experienced hunters & rock climbers. Back in the 60's a plane went down in the canyon & some of the wreckage was still in view from the cable car. What was really quite strange was sitting in the restaurant with our panoramic view & watching planes fly past below us....very surreal to say the least. We had a really great night, sunset was beautiful but not as nice as Bali....sorry guys, I am being as objective as I can be & nothing beats Bali sunsets I'm afraid, well nothing that I have seen anywhere in the world that I have been to! Took lots of pics, hopefully I'll have access to WIFI for my phone tonight in Flagstaff to download pics that are now backing up....prolly take a few brews to get me thru the download! Just jumping back to Santa Fe for a bit, I forgot to mention that this was the centre of all things covert during the cold war times with the US base for all things nuclear passing thru the sleepy town. Amazing to know that 'those chosen ones' would pass through a shop front with a simple white door & into the deep undercover world of espionage, sounds like a movie script right? Well the 'Roswell conspiracy' hailed from within! So said our guide. We are now chuggalonging towards one of the 19 native Pueblos that are here in New Mexico, the one we are going to is of the Navajo people. About 60% of all native Amercans live on reservations, surprising number. About 3 million strong is the native people's population & apparently they originated from Asia, interesting fact! Another fact that Aussies prolly don't know is that the native Americans are the only ones to be allowed to build casinos in any state on native land which is why casinos can be seen everywhere. White Americans can only hold title to casinos in the state of Nevada. The Indians have a lot of casino dollars but having said that they do look after their own people's with education, housing & health so at least it's being put to good use unlike our native people! Be back later Hoo Roo

Had a fabulous time in Santa Fe, is a place I would love to spend a few days in. Moth likened it to Ubud without the monkeys & humidity so therefore he wasn't too impressed but he did fine the ice cream store & from what others tell me he found it a few times. Did a trolley tour when we first arrived which took us through the residential area as well as the artists trails before dropping us back to the village. I got to chat with a few native American Indians in the village square & they were Navajo too, i was really impressed with their fine handcrafted wares, particularly The architecture here is very much Pueblo inspired dating back to the 1700 when the Spanish had a leading hand in the area. Santa Fe is a great place to people what & I hear a regular haunt for many a celebrity as many films are made in the area. We had lunch sitting on the grass in the town square listening to Mariachi groups playing...Moth has a case-o-beer aka Quesadilla & I had a Carnita loaded with chilli, very authentic that we purchased from a road side vendor, actually cooked by the side of the road just like in Bali....fantastic meal! Later caught up with some others & sat in a local cantina to people watch & had a beer or few....a very nice yellow Lamborghini pulled up right in front of us & yep got the pic! Went into the Basillica Santa Francis of Assessis on the way out, beautiful architecture. Off to a formal dinner tonight atHigh Finance Restaurant at Sandia Peak.... More later Hoo Roo

G'day from Albuquerque! Arrived here yesterday for a 2 nighter...gotta love those 2 nighters..went to Old Albuquerque Town yesterday afternoon enroute to our hotel in the downtown area. Old Town was fabulous, lots of tribe specific small handcraft stores, I sank a few $$$$ on some real nice turquoise pieces. The turquoise here is mined along the Turquoise Trail where prehistoric peoples made there homes. Spanish missionaries explored the area & battles were fought over this land for obvious reasons....see the pattern? Outlaws & Confederate soldiers camped in the area & Kit Carson marched Navajo people along the Trail in their 'Long Walk' to incarceration at Fort Sumner. It truly is a beautiful area. I particularly like the Navajo craft work, they are, in my view, the best artisans of all the native American tribes. Tijeras is the gateway to the Turquoise Trail with busy mountain communities along its path....just bloody brilliant! Although keen on all the art & crafts Moth did do a runner as usual when it comes to anything jewellery related...found him in Casa de Ruiz bar with a few other like minded Aussie blokes & had a few Pacificos....prefer Corona.....no Sol. Whilst in Old Town we witnessed a few wedding parties having photos taken as the Mariachi's were playing their hearts out....fabulous to be part of. There is something I find inherently strange about a bride in full white gown sporting a pair of 3/4 high multi coloured Mexican boots....must be a tradition I reckon. Made for interesting pics which I can't load for a few days unless I can get WIFI on my phone in Santa Fe today...sorry! This mobile data card on the iPad has been fantastic here as the Irish one was over there but I regret not getting another for my phone, would have made photo downloading easier...oh well at least we have the iPad connected. Last night we went to the old Route 66 diner for dinner here in Albuquerque, it has been fully restored to its former glory & comes complete with juke box & 45's on the turntable, all rock n roll! We, team Alamo of 8 scored the only old corner half circle 9 seater table & proceeded to rock the night away. Only downer was no booze was served as it was a traditional diner so milkshakes, burgers & soda spiders...and the biggest banana split I have ever seen....leaves Dukes Hula Pie in Honolulu for dead! 1 of these babies was shared between 7, no joke....of course there is a pic. We fully intended on heading out to a Cantina after dinner but instead headed back to the hotel for a quiet few. Moth was still suffering Inspite the grease fix. Today we have awoken to a glorious day & are back on the sheep truck heading up the mountain to Santa Fe, some 7000 feet or so above sea level & home to the original capital of New Mexico. It is rumoured to also be home to Shirley McLean. Santa Fe is now the artisan hub of New Mexico & for me today is going to be a hi-light day. After the dry heat of the past few days it will be nice to have some cool mountain weather for the day. Santa Fe is also home to the Miraculous Staircase at the Loretto Chapel which is best known as the staircase built by a carpenter in answer to the Sisters of Loretto's novena & then vanished. The name Santa Fe actually means The Faith. Had to buy more suitcases yesterday, the gift shop at the Marriott had a sale on with 50% off luggage, I bought a set of 3 Route 66 memorabilia rollercases, we will be heading home with our 6 checked bag allowance...thank god for Qantas :0)....I didn't think we'd done that much shopping & with a week to go hmmmmm that allowance will be needed. It is quite mountainous now as we chuggalong up the road to Santa Fe, almost there. The original Route 66 never went thru Albuquerque, in fact it went about 40 mile west & went thru Santa Fe...reason being the road was too steep for the old cars. Be back later Hoo Roo

We are approaching Albuquerque now & of note is the distinct change in scenery, gone are the flat plains replaced by quite mountainous country with unique housing settlements dotted randomly along the roadside. We have passed through the turquoise trail where once silver was also mined however now only turquoise actively sort. As we come through the valley there is another huge dust storm smothering the distant views of Albuquerque. Really windy day, I feel for the many bikers that we have been playing tag with doing this route right now...wouldn't be pleasant for them. We are heading towards Rio Grande valley & then old town Albuquerque where for 300 years they have been trading. In the old town area there is a museum on nuclear technology which is where the US had their secret bases. The atomic bomb was created here in New Mexico....well I didn't know that! Albuquerque is known as the LA of the desert.....I'll let ya know if I find an Arnie. Back later Hoo Roo

Goodbye Amarillo.....thanks for the many laughs! On the road again with Willy singing in my ear! Texas certainly turned on the hospitality for us I'm thinking the old saying everything is bigger in Texas is true....everything IS bigger including the people...there are some seriously horizontally challenged Texans....sheeeesh too much cow! Went with our group of 8 to the famous Big Texan Steak Ranch for dinner last night, they sent a stretch Cadillac to pick us up & later....,mucho later they returned us to whence we came with bellies full of booze & cow although I passed on the cow but did enough a very nice bit o chook. This joint is famous for its 72oz killer steaks that if you get through it they don't charge you....the fact that you soon drop dead of blocked arteries is only but a minor technicality! Also this joint is also famous for their beer towers which after getting through the first one we aptly named them Tower of Terror...These things held 102 oz of amber brew.....of course we promptly had another & another....you get the message! Moth's great cow challenge effort was a 16oz slab but couldn't come at the 72er...a dude tried but failed. What impressed me was the effort of a 63 year old waif of a granny from Texas....she conquered it in under an hour! Good effort! This joint was also a brewhouse & we duly went through 75% of the beer menu! Good effort team! Met a couple from the UK who been following us in a rental car....they thought we were K1W1's....Olywyn was very quick to point out the difference....I do believe there is a pic up on Facebook of this little educational rectification ;0) The atmosphere in this place was simply fantastic the bazaar practice of combining a steakhouse with a brewhouse & a cup cake parlour & a shooting gallery all in the space of one roofline.....not only in the USA but only in Texas! We all had a ball last night, lots of laughs mixing with the local Texans who were all very friendly....must have been our accents! So now as we are chasing lil' white lines heading further into Texas it is Moth who is looking very green around the gills...noice that I avoided the dreaded shakes today....to quote himself 'you'll be good by 2 this arvo so toughen up'....revenge is a bitch ain't it Moth! OMG we just passed a cattle ranch the size of Victoria....the land is as flat as a tack here & the heffers were packed in as far as the eye could see....well my eyes, Moth can't focus. More than a few longhorns in that bunch....wholly dooly smackaroonies....never seen anything like it! Just stopped in a field that is known as Cadillac Ranch....the dude has a dozen old caddies bonnet down semi buried & he encourages artwork out of a can....reminds me of a certain persons front yard in Toowoomba, Queensland..... Those big ol' Texan hats depicted in the movies....let me tell ya they are real & look way bigger in person. There is a bit of greenbacks floating around this state, ain't too many on skid row. Today we got moved up to the front of the sheep truck.....nuff said eh! Stopped at a one joint place called Adrian, Texas which is the midway point of Route 66. A unique cafe called Midpoint Cafe of course is the only joint in sight & where inspiration for Flo's V8 Cafe in the Pixar animated features"Car" host to the concert "Rhythms of the Road" & featured in numerous mags & doco's. This place was built in the late 1920's as a cafe & is home to the Ugly Crust Pies....a heart attack in everyone. Never ceases to amaze me how much some people can eat eh! Back on the sheep truck & the old suspension is starting to groan. Oui Tommo you awake mate....old truck is starting to sway a bit....reckon he was on the turps last night. Guess that was an affirmative! Passed by Bridwell West Ranch, what a big ass cow paddock that is....our outback stations are not on their own when it comes to size I can tell ya, in fact this area of the real ol' west reminds me very much of our outback except it's dead flat! I hear they chopper muster in these parts too.... Driving through a bit of a dust storm here with lots of tumble weed....big suckers! Big wheels keep on turning....proud Mary keep on burnin....rollin, rollin....on & out towards Alubquerque, New Mexico for the next 2 nights.....yeah a 2 nighter.....woo hooo. Hoping to get me some good Mexican dinner tonight. Deadset....ol' Tommo must have tied one on last night...must compare his eyes with Moth's We have left the Texas panhandle now & have crossed over into the state of New Mexico & we are starting to see some mountains now....Mesa table mountains. There are about 22 tribes of native Americans that live here in New Mexico & all are active within the communities. We are back on old historical Route 66 now heading through Tucumcari. Classic names like the Pony Soldier motel from the 50's...great old signage too. Trails West motel...linen changed daily & squeaky clean.....as opposed to? Drive thru smoke shop, too hot to stop Rubee's Diner, home cooking, animals welcome Ranch House Mexican food, maybe More later Hoo Roo

Well here we are over the stateline & well & truly in Texas, everything is bigger down here. Texas is a law unto itself evident by the various signage & road configuration. And it is hot & dry, currently 97F as we sit here on the sheep truck motoring towards our base for the night....Amarillo. We stopped at a few museums along the way, many of these small towns have their own Route 66 memorabilia museum. One of the pit stops had a Chugs booze store....Margarita's all round in the bus... We were in the small town of Maclean that have restored many of their shop fronts to their former 66 peak day glory. We called into the Barbed Wire & Devil's rope museum....interestingly they had a map of Oz up on the wall, missing Tassie of course but hey they are allowed to do that cause this is Texas & do we really mind? I think not! Lots of old original roads signs amid the bucketloads of barbed wire inspired stuff they say is a tribute to the stuff used by the good ol' American cowboy & prolly even to this day. We stopped at Del Rancho diner for a sandwich that was ordered via a table phone....TRUTH...pics up later! Now this diner claim to have invented the steak sandwich back in 1964 by a Mr JR Holt. I'm thinking this could well be disputed by some. Seems everyone lays claim to 'ownership' of Route 66...Cyrus Avery was one from these parts that claims the 2400 miles of tar. Of the 178 miles of Old Route 66 across Texas about 150 miles remain for exploration.....from Texola, Oklahoma to Amarillo & from here west to the New Mexico line at Glenrio. We came through into Texas via Shamrock & had a wee stop at the old U-Drop-Inn which now houses the Chamber of Commerce. Now listening to Glen Campbell belting out the Rhinestone Cowboy....when in Rome.....I get the distinct feeling that there won't be too much Rockin going on for the next few days...more like boot scootin. The yellow rose of Texas......I'm thinking this tune is gunna hang around a while too! Flat, dry & dusty with huge kick butt size cattle ranches but I ain't seeing sheep cause there all on this 'ere truck. Now where else in the world would you see an advertisement like this....'Concealed Handgun License Class' only $75, come get yours on June 2nd from the U-Drop-Inn AKA Shamrock Chamber of Commerce.....Texas of course! We are currently driving through the tornado belt....hope there are none of those suckers lingering. Hoo Roo for now

On the road again.......chasing those white lines down deeper & eventually into the heart of Texas. Had a fantastic night last night finishing off our crawl, I think we covered all the bars in the Bricktown area. Whilst some of us were strolling along by the canal between pub stops, one of us....namely moi was doing the Harold Holt bolting down that side walk...I spied a large stick that moved but I moved quicker....the rest of the team had an entertaining few minutes whilst my blood pressure skyrocketed! I HATE snakes. There is not enough room on this planet for me & them! Had dinner at Jazmo Bourbon Street bar ....New Orleans food, had me a real nice Jambalaya, an authentic creole dish from Louisiana. Someone in our group that is of the male persuasion that has a hankering for ice cream left his Chicago hate sporting all his trip pins.....goneski's Ended the night in Michael Murphy's Duelling Piano bar where 5 rotating dudes belted out fantastic music that really had the place stomping. One of these dudes had a bit of an Aussie connection as his father was from Oz so we got to hear some homegrown tunes...of course the obligatory Land Down Under was played. We are now heading out towards Amarillo. I continue to be amazed by the cleanliness of these places we are seeing, makes me feel a tad embarrassed having shown parts of our country to some of our American friends that are far from clean by comparison. I was interested to learn that many native American Indians held slaves back in the day, seemingly they were quite wealthy. Around 100,000 of them were move on into the state during the early 1800's which became known as the trail of tears as the US government wanted them well away from Georgia where gold had been found....sound familiar? Unlike our native people's it would seem these natives were in fact very industrious. I am hoping the opportunity arises where I can get to chat to a native American. Between the shaking of this sheep bus & the shaking of moi I am kinda struggling so I think I'll call it for now & check back in later. Hoo Roo

Noice......no chasing white lines today. Been held up here in downtown Oklahoma City & had a ball. Started with dinner last night at the Spaghetti Warehouse with our brothers in arms...great night was had even though we got lost getting home the 2 blocks, well there was booze involved, just a tad. Who was it that got up close & personal with the gutter??? Nuff said! Oh the sleep in this morning.....yeah, shut eye until 8am, was bliss. I tell ya I am gunna need my Bali liaison to recover from this....seriously....getting too old for this candle at both ends shit! Really fine hotel we got ourselves here in Oklahoma City....very nice Marriott with the best of beds so far on this sheep drive. Got some washing done whilst we were having brekkie....my jeans hadn't seen soap for almost 2 weeks, I thought they'd fall apart....thankfully Banana Republic make em strong! So we go forth with clean bags of fruit....reckon we'll get home without the need for more laundry stops. After brekkie we sauntered down to the Bricktown & wandered through the stores then jumped on a water taxi & had a guided tour through the canal. Interestingly was the recreation of the April 1889 land run which followed the trail of tears. The trail of tears refers to the 1838-1839 Trek walked by many native American Indians who were made to leave their land by the US government, the ACT of government was passed place 8 years before the journey took place. The trail of tears was named due to the suffering endured by all the tribes that were forced to move. Soon after the great land grab occurred with many white Americans heading west to Oklahoma to get their parcel of free land to settle & farm. Not unlike our fore-fathers in western NSW. What impressed me the most about this city is the way in which they have funded many a project by their previously enforced Penny State Tax which they hit em with for a few years yet totally funded the canal project & Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark....where currently the Big 12 baseball championship is underway & many of the teams are staying at our hotel......lil' bit o' eye candy girls ;0) During our jaunt this morning Moth found the Marble Slab Creamery & the biggest sucker of a small ice cream ever....EVER, where even just looking at the menu adds 3 pounds to the gut line....3 days calorie intake in one bite of his 'Udderly Butter Bebopper' I just played photographer, I didn't touch the shit! We then started our bar crawl....yeah right after that tank he ate! Started the crawl in a neat bar that has the ass end tail gates of old Chevvies as bar stools....cool joint called Toby Keith's 'I Love This Bar'....don't know WTF Toby is but his got a hell of a joint to hang out in! Followed that up with lunch at Chelinos where I had my first Mexican food of this trip, real Mexican, not that crap we get Down Under. Then a stop at Whiskey Chicks, Coaches Brewery & Skky Bar....yes that's with 2 k's peeps. Heading Down to Jasmoz Bourbon Street Jazz bar for dinner soon & on to the Piano Bar. Tomorrow we will be heading to Amarillo.....oh shit another head stuck song ;0) Show me the way to Amarillo Tony Christie.....show me the way..... Hoo Roo....gotta be someplace else

Afternoon spent in Claremore, Oklahoma where I learnt that there are only 2 'A's in Oklahoma! So what do I know I'm Aussie.... Lunch today was at Arby's, home to what is the largest size cup of anything I have ever seen...pics up later...that was a seriously big sucker...I guess Arby's was, a step up from Wallyworld aka Walmart. Personally I think Wallyworld sounds so much better. Arby's is a fast food spin on KFC but they did have one healthy choice so one of us ate semi well. Did a runner across the street NYC style but looked right then left......bad bad move, just remotely avoided becoming road kill, poor bloke driving, mind you I rightly was given a verbal serve. ooooops! Following lunch we spent an hour at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum...I was NOT the only one on the bus that knew who the hell he was.....again WTF do I know I'm only an Aussie....got myself educated on Will though & kinda glad I did, he was some icon here, almost an institution who died way too young in a plane accident. Will was part (small part) Cherokee Indian & became a famed humorist & philosopher. Didn't do too well in the movie business until talking pictures came about when he shot to stardom. He was a expert horseman & the museum housed many of his saddles that were simply stunning. At one time his name was thrown into the hat for a run for US Presidency which he declined. 'I never met a man I didnt like'.....Smart dude! So now we are back chasing those lil' white lines on the mother road heading towards Tulsa. Just had a quick stop off at Catoosa Blue Whale watering hole....no Kris not of THAT variety although would be nice right now. It is a watering hole by the road which houses a huge blue whale with a sign up saying no swimming...go figure! Hoo Roo

We pulled up this morning in Joplin for a wee coffee stop before heading on to Miami, Oklahoma via Baxter Springs, Kansas where we went hunting for Toto without too much success, I was assured the road kill was something Granny Mae would brew & not Toto. Made a stop at the Coleman Theatre in Miami which dates back to 1929. Originally a vaudeville theatre & movie palace, built by George Coleman, Sr who was a local mining magnate, with a Louis XV interior. They have a beautiful restored Wurlitzer pipe organ & a spectacular chandelier....Very impressive. "We don't own anything. We hold it in trust for the next generation" .....Apt! I found a neat little antique store which I mozzied through, not the same era as in Ireland but some neat pieces all the same. So we are now back on the truck & I am now starting to question ol' Tommy's navigational skills or should it be Gordy that I give my death stare too....we are a bus of 52 now on a dirt road looking at nothing but barley with shades of deliverance....a dust bowl of sorts....a very narrow dirt track & we are on it! Go west son, go west with this hillbilly truck. Tommy assures us he knows where he is going, I saw what he drank last night....reason for questionable doubt! Definitely an old Route 66 road....wonder who is gunna wash this rig tonight! I guess this is the yank version of the Aussie bush....yep road sure is! Patty Page & her bow wow won't help at all mate! Thank god that's over....no disrespect Ms Page. Hoo Roo

On the road again, chasing those white lines. Another lovely morning as we haed out of Branson towards Oaklahoma City....only two types come outta Oaklahoma City son....loved that movie! Anyway our jaunt takes us back to the mother road through Joplin where a few years ago 20% of The place was destroyed in a tornado....very sad! Then we will take in bits of Kansas....chasing Toto & Will Rogers. We have a 2 night stay in Oaklahoma City....our jeans can smell the soap. Branson Landing had great shopping especially Chico, a fav or mine :0) Lots of caves & bars, right on a very clean lake, also a very clean town. Moth was happy as they have a huge ice cream palour, took him 15 minutes to choose! Parts of Old Town Branson are still rebuilding following a tornado that struck this village also. Last night we were taken to Johnny B Goode for dinner, least said here the better...Moth even refused their ice cream...so no comment rule applies! At least the night ended well with the Legends in Concert show in the Dick Clarke Theatre. Show was great, lots of brilliant music from very good impersonators, we had Barry White, The Blues Bros, Marilyn Munroe, Shania Twain & a brilliant Elvis. Great show, lots of laughs! Another early start today, bags out by 6.15, brekkie at 6.30....eat fast, stand in bathroom lineup behind blue rinse brigade, stand in water bottle lineup behind the blue rinsers hurry up get on the truck...forget the water, forget the bathroom.....missing a couple of blue rinsers....Oh damn missing a couple....are they still breathing? Hoo Roo until later, going to take a nana nap, feeling left out! Someone owes me......BIG TIME

Chasing that white line again heading down to Branson after our lunch stop at Cracker Barrel, not quite what I thought, big country store with a restaurant attached, real neat country-fied wares, Moth bought ice cream bet that's no surprise! We didn't lunch in Cracker Barrel preferring to check out the 1950's diner across the road, place called "5 & Diner"....complete with an unexpected & clearly unscheduled floor show starring our waitress who was a cross between Laverne & Lucy. We & everyone dining were treated to her animated life story as she bounced around said diner. I'm guessing she was real ditzy or taking happy pills either way made us laugh....a lot. Maybe not so ditzy....apparently everyone who did eat there tipped handsomely. She had the look down pat, kudos to her. We are dining at Johnny B-Good tonight in Branson where they have a Rock n Roll 'Legends in Concert' show in store for us. I believe the remainder of the afternoon is 'at our leisure' once we arrive in Branson, well check the place out. Branson is suppose to be now what Vegas was years ago with many of the top shows/artists now preferring to place there. We'll be overnighting in Branson Landing, a lively place we are told. Might be a bit tough on some. Almost in Joplin.....eeeeeek just spied a billboard for Joplin's cattle receiving yard. Now if ol' blue eyes takes that exit I'll be getting really to do a runner.

On the road again, can't wait to get on the road again.....Willy's doing my head in. You know when you get a song in your head ya can't get rid of it....between Willy & the wheels on the bus, thanks Tonie, my head is being done in as we chase that white line. Fireworks for sale everywhere here in Missouri....I mean everywhere, why for are Americans obsessed with blowing shit up with fireworks, I asked a few here on the bus....they said & I quote...."it is our god given right to do so".....Okkkkkkkk.....me tinking just a touch of paranoia. I am told that Missouri is one of few states that allow the sale of fireworks other than for 4th July celebrations.... Our first stop so far today has been to Meramec Caverns which we were told was the first major tourist attraction on Route 66. Under Meramec Valley lies a complex of mineral formations with so many colours, very unique. These formations have grown over thousands of years reminded me very much of our Jenolan Caves. The Jungle Room derives it's name from the dense growth of the cave formations from the floor & ceiling. Thousands of stalactites & stalagmites fill this area. Another area aptly named Mother-In-Law's Tongue....it had a single long stalactite which hung near the stage curtain is one of the largest in the cave. An underground river runs through the caverns which in the area we were in is only a few feet deep. They are commonly known as the Grand Canyon of caverns. These caverns have a colourful past, seems bad boy Jesse James hung out in them back in 1874 after he & his mates knocked over a train in Gadshill, Missouri. Old Jesse & his cronies were tracked to the caverns but they managed to shoot through via the back door after a 3 day siege.....thoughts of our Ned immediately jumped to mind. The tour ended with a light show, I'll post all pics later tonight when we get to Branson. Moth & his new mate Dan ended up with a major case of the giggles, never heard anyone giggling in time with music before, especially when its a national anthem....no more loaded ice cream for them two. Just passed a group of runners with the Para - Olympic touch.....so cool! Moth called our truck driver, old Tom a larikin last night....he googled it! Came right back to Moth this morning with ya Yobbo.....touché! They are now best friends...... The wheels on the bus.......bloody hell Tonie! I did not know that you can get shingles vaccinations in this country, just saw a huge billboard saying so. Woooowa Tommy boy STOPPPPP....damn, missed St James Winery....he just sung out me....too late ya yobbo! Oui I didn't call ya a Larikin ya larikin! Right now we are heading for our mystery lunch stop....I'm learning to be scared about this....nope just got told we are going to Cracker Barrel.....well if this is a cheese joint they better have a wine list. Hoo Roo till later when I may be sober......or not. 😁

Afternoon from downtown St Louis..... OK so you maybe thinking WTF was the cement....Moth was like a pig in mud, happy as Larry....cement is some unique to this part of the US of Aaaaa. Ted Drewes is an iconic landmark on Route 66, it's an ice creamery & cement is a frozen custard of unbelievable varieties...see Facebook pics that I'll post later tonight. This shit is just like ceeement, spoon goes in & gets stuck. I tried it, sweet very very sweet...Moth ate mine....gee surprise to surprise. Hi-light of my day Ollie was the last stop....Anheuser-Busch brewery, home of Budweiser which tastes like crap, in my opinion so don't go getting all heated now. Buttttttttt they had Michelob Ultra....NOW they had my attention, I'll ignore the fact that Michelob Ultra is brewed by Bud....shit happens but ya me on eh! Buggar the tour just point be directly to da bar.....did the tour but was first in line at the bar. They had beautiful Clydesdale horses & stables that would rival HRH in Buck Palace. Beautiful beasts....so wanted a pat. Downed 2 beers before we were herded back onboard da sheep truck. Heading now to our hotel, staying at the Omni tonight, rather nice these hotels I gotta say but lunch stops leave a tad to be desired.... Tonight we are being treated to a Yankee BBQ, bet it ain't as good as Sherm's. More later peeps.....bar bell is ringing.... Hoo Roo

Good afternoon St Louis.....and all that Jazz...great music down by the Mississipi a bit of groovin going on. Our first stop was at the Gateway Arch. The countries tallest monument at 630 feet. The Gateway Arch celebrates TJ's & St Louis role in the westward expansion of this country, so rather symbolic. Now those that know me well know I have a fear of heights Inspite of my years trapsing around on constructions sites yes I really do suffer from vertigo. That being said I put on my brave face & went to the top, all the way to the top....did I say this baby is 630 feet high....to get to the top you gotta pile into this thing that reminds me of a clothes dryer, 5 at a time....Moth is sporting a rather large bruise right now...I did it, got to the top & immediately clawed my way to the front of the line to get the hell back down on to terra firma. I'll apologise to the grey nomads later. Had a wonder around the Mississipi river bank, Moth got himself another ice cream, great Dixie Jazz being played down by the river, we sat & listened for a while before the whistle sounded & it wasn't from the river queen....that whistle is gunna get lost tonight, reckon Tommy boy can be bribed to do the deed. We headed off for lunch, not at Walmart today but St Louis Union Station....Fried rice from Panda Express WTF was I thinking....no beer & I so deserved one after my morning getting closer to god. A new country a new life....by the end of the 19th century St Louis had become the Gateway to the west & it's new Union Station was the rail crossroads of America. Union Station sits on top of a honeycomb of caves that provided natural refrigeration for many breweries in the 1800's. Concrete time.....be back later peeps

Good morning Springfield......on the bus & about to head off to St Louis....show me the way to St Louis without Sinatra, come on Gordy this is suppose to be a Rock n' Roll sheep truck....Sinatra at 7am will have many head nodders before we leave the Hilton carpark. Had a great night with some new found like minded friends in their 50's, a couple of Victorians & a couple of South Aussies...we are the minority...had a meal & a few too many brews at Bennigans, we intended to go walk to President Lincoln's home just round the block but decided that seeing it on the bus was enough. Beautiful day here in Springfield, we are once again down the back of the bus but I can just make out the weather clock says 57F, nice & crisp. Again another very clean town, the state of Illinois obviously has its finger on the presentation pulse. Lots of great architecture, I am impressed with Frank Lloyd Wright's work....way before his time, particularly his use of glass. Maybe not so practical but certainly works of art! Back on Route 66 now heading out of town....he killed Frank off! A bit of the Easybeats....yeah! Back to our fellow sheep.....there are those we seek out & those we run & hide from...not too many on the latter I have to say & this little sheep wagon is actually a real hoot! WTF is a cozy dog?.....either a very fat pampered pooch or something that'll kill ya! Walgreens....Walgreens everywhere....bit like Ireland with 2 pubs on every corner. One very important discovery that I have made, after coining to Uncle Sam's joint for many years now I have just found out that Yank light beer is actually full strength but with few calories....my kinda brew...I did not know that, guilt factor now gone, been drinking light all along & wondering why I was getting a kick....better let Wazza know Kris...nah why bother he won't be driving. Speaking of driving....did you see my pics of the new mobile home we's a takin from LA to San Fran....thinking it'll add spice parked outside Club Estaban in Sac! We'll soon be crossing over old man river, the mighty Mississippi & heading to the Gateway Arch....St Louis was the gateway to the west during Tommy Jefferson's day...apart from being the 3rd US head honcho he was an amazing architect. Even though I am Aussie I do admire old TJ & Abe, 2 former Presidents that made such an impact to the people of this country. Checking out our optional side trips, decided to do the hour private chopper trip over & down into the Grand Canyon, landing for a champers toast....it's the champers that sold me. Also booked the Santa Fe day trip, is that south of da boarder? I have no clue...but it sounds good. Oh lordie....Moth is hanging for ice cream, he's going through withdrawals & in sighting a riot on this sheep truck...I have nothing to do with it...nada nuffink zilch but it's a good damn floor show. Old Tom the driver is egging him on, guess we will be stopping for ice cream before we hit St Louis, god help the servers at the next cattle truck stop. More later, this onboard floor show is proving very entertaining indeed. Well I guess everyone's awake now. I will survive, I will! Hoo Roo

Lunch stop at Walmart in Pontiac...we went on to the small hamlet of Pontiac where we were met by the Mayor who gave a charming account of bygone days. I fell in love with a fully restored to its former glory 1957 Star Chief, I reckon all our bags will fit Kris! The town of Pontiac was painted literally in wall art & not of our local suburban variety I gotta say. The wall art in Pontiac depicted its bygone era, I'll add pics to Facebook later tonight of it. Can't add pics on the go, only got one data card. Lovely little town & the local folk were very interesting to chat to & very friendly. The local museum was fully of 50's & 60's artefacts, clearly the locals are very proud of their history. Back on the bus now & the rock n' roll music has been cranked up....party is on! We are making a run into Springfield now, old Tom says about 2 hrs for the head nodders. I'm think there might be some hard of hearing cause they are sleeping thru the music which is great! Good job Gordy! You are prolly wondering what the average age on this here bus I reckon would be oh say 80.....all getting their kicks on route 66, good on em! Almost in Springfield now, heading to President Lincoln's tomb, doubt well be drinking watermelon juice though. We sure are out in the mid-west, the architecture changes rapidly.

Corn, corn & more corn & what's not is soy. We are now tracking out towards Springfield & are currently on Historic Route 66. The land is very flat, & very green. Gordy's not doing a bad job with his commentary. Passed many an RV so guess it's vacation time for many. $3.69 a gallon for petrol....sheesh they have it cheap here. We are in Dwight right now, small but quaint town. Temps getting up there, 90F. Great architecture out here, very Walton-ish. Being quite partial to American architecture I'm loving what I'm seeing here. They have tunnels under the streets here for the kids to safely get about.... Oops wrong turn, he's chucking a uey.....impressive. This is neat :0) it's like time has stood still here, right back to the 60's. The interstate highway is off in the distance but so much better on this here mother road. Huge wind farm turbines out here in the prairie, although we were told this one is small compared to the one in Amarillo, Texas. People say they can sit on their porch & watch their dog run away for 2 days....flat as a tack these plains are. A few jaffas would be noice right about now.....golden opportunity just wasted. I am curious to know how a bus can kneel, seemingly this one does.... Heading into Odell, small town with a big heart where everybody is somebody, right now where I think we get to get off for a wee walk around....

On da road again....Thomas is our driver, I hope Thomas has a sense of humour or the ability to develop one! We are driving down the Magnificent Mile...shoppers haven, yep there are some serious stores down here. There ya go more SS boys, geeeez the entire Secret Service must be here right now...seriously. They are real just like in the movies. I spy Nordstrom.....on Michigan Ave....wait....stop the bus.......STOP.... Prolly a good time to point out the fact that I have a special little map, it hi lights escape routes...I know where all the airports are along Route 66 even da Air Force ones in case of desperation... Macy's, Top Shop, a Mall....this is the tour of torture....all these stores....such a tease bag. Hmmmmwonder if anyone has a spanner. Oops more head nodders....Moth is gone too. Driving down by Lake Michigan now, wow 1000 feet deep eh, looking for sea planes. What a fabulous day we have, the weather is perfect.....for flying Loving these parks, and so green. This city is very pretty, I'm impressed greatly. Lincoln Park is just so lovely.....look left look right...any head spinners? The industrial heartland of American is right here in Chicago....that's what Gordy just said....you mean we haven't left Chicago yet? At this point about 20% of the sheep are napping....exciting bunch. Buggar not having jaffas. Just noticed some lovely old street lamps very much like the gas lights in San Diego. Seems there are a few more Trump dumps here. You'd think, with all that money The Don has, you'd really think he'd spend a few on a decent mop top eh! Gordy's dropping names....like I know em....lots of blank looks, we be Aussie mate! Very few homeless people here unlike NYC where you can't walk more than a metre without seeing them, very sad. Down at the Navy Pier now, built about 100 years ago & it's a get off da bus toilet stop so I'm outta here more later.

Arrived in Chicago yesterday afternoon! Wow what a city....great place, definitely a come back to place! OK so maybe not when NATO is next playing....it's true what you see on yank TV....Secret Service blokes everywhere. I believe Julia IS here & for what purpose she is sticking her nose into NATO is anyone's guess, maybe she just wants to get up close & personal with the SS boys! Huge protest here, we got caught in the middle of it last night, little bit hairy! Met up with our fellow sheep at a cocktail do last night, in true Aussie style everyone sat...LOL Following the party we headed off for more of a look see, found the start of Route 66. It was about here we got caught up with the hoards. We stayed at Palmer House, a Hilton hotel which was very very lavish, huge rooms & full of SS boys....I felt safe :0) He'd a bit of a look see at Lake Michigan, wowa what a pond that it. It is a very clean city, beautiful parklands. This place holds much more attraction to me that NYC to be honest. We are on da big white bus,we have 52 of us on this here sheep truck, mostly Aussie. our tour guru calls himself Gordon...guess that'll be Gordy by days end. He reminds me of someone, someone who no longer has a heartbeat.... Look left look right, missing a tennis racquet. Buggar... I forgot the jaffas....Nice slant to the floor :0) Counting nodding heads & we have been on board all of 38 minutes....WTF does Gordy remind me of.... On Wacker Drive....looking at the Trump Dump. There ya go more head nodders....geez gotta add some excitement here. Gotta get off now be back later

After the hotel debarkle was sort we got n doing what ya just have to do in NYC! I took off in one direction with Steve going in tuther, he had no interest in shopping. I literally hit the streets running, ya gotta do that in this city cause they swallow you up & spit you out if ya don't. Fastest pace city in the world I reckon & ain't no way I could live there, not a chance! It's true what they say NYC just never sleeps.....lots of seriously stressed to the max peeps in it too! So off up 5th Ave, Park Ave & Madsion went I, down to Chelsea & the fashionista district. Love love love Macy's & Bloomingdales but Saks is a tad over rated with their handbag dg brigade....OMG it moved. There is something seriously wrong when you see a water bowl on the floor in the ladies loo.... Went into A & F with the intention of buying up a storm...all too overwhelming for moi. I must be getting old cause the fast pace just didn't cut the mustard. Still managed to give the old plastic fantastic a hit but I have to be honest the shopping in NYC is not as good as the left coast, I actually think Sacramento has much better on offer. Took in two shows....Anything Goes & How to Succeed....totally recommend both & we only a few days in the city that never stops we had so many shows to choose it was a tad difficult to make a decision. We were last in NYC 3 or 4 years ago when Wicked had top billing.....and it still does! What did take me by surprise was the state of the city, it was quite filthy really & the condition of the roads were pretty much 4 X 4 material! Except of course for a select few streets that I am sure are funded by one said Trump. Many of the streets were worse than those in Bali! New Yorkers really are very impatient people eh....gotta laugh! Steve did a HOHO tour whilst I was shopping, as we'd been here before we had done all the touristy stuff previously but he did say that the new World Trade building was rather impressive. The skyline of this city never ceases to amaze me, it is awesome to fly over. For those of you thinking of going to New York, be prepared for the pace!

Well here we go at an attempt to catch up the New York stay experience which I gotta say got off to a not so good start! Our flight from Frankfurt to NYC was delayed 5 hours due to an uncooperative 747 engine that decided after a few half hearted attempts that it just didn't wanna go State-side no matter who was driving! After a few hours of onboard BS the bloke up front in the left seat said he was bailing on this burner so we waited another hour for fuelling of burner número duo....took a further hour to get the sucker off the ground....the plane was full of Germans & Turks....decided to let the 2 nations fight it out in the pissed off stakes & chose to personally keep a low profile. Germans don't smile much eh! Many tried to engage in conversation....not many of them understood my no spreakidy Deutschlander even when I showed my bloody passport the cabin crew waffled off in alien speak to me...WTF...do I look German? That's it I'm going for a hair colour change. Black me tinks! At this point I would like it noted that I called our hotel in NYC from Frankfurt, GERMANY to advise of our 5 hr delay....I CALLED THEM! They said....no problem, thanks for advising us, your room will be available! Landed in NYC at JFK to a HLS welcome at midnight.....you got that? No welcome back this time, I reckon they have friendlier staff on the left coast! The lineup was huge.....full of questionable characters that HLS decided they wanted to vet, no prizes for guessing which line we ended up in! Waiting waiting waiting.....get through finally & called our shuttle service who came to meet up 10 minutes later, great service inspite of the time which at this stage was heading towards 2am. Get to our $250 a night hotel close to 3am to be told....we gave your room away as you didn't show up....remember that phone call I made? In a very calm (NOT) manner I reminded them of that call to which they admitted they had a record of, and further more YOU know how long it takes to clear HLS....yes he said.....and you know how long it takes to get into NYC from JFK?.....yes he said.....nah derrrrrrrr.....pissed off odometer now registering at max. The night manager proceeded to phone every hotel in Manhattan.....nada! Nuffink available....why???seems Obama was in town...to which I commented.....like I give a shit...maybe I should not have said that....finally Stanley finds us a hotel in JERSEY....we check in to the Quality Inn at about 4.30am.....not so much QUALITY....not happy Jan! Not happy at all Jan, 2 irritated Aussies makes for serious attitude...Jan! the first room they gave us had a nice surprise awaiting....a couple of horizontal bods in bed....stage exit outta there, pretty funny now though...then at 8am a rather eager cleaning lady opened our door to clean our room....we WERE asleep....colourful words pursued, I put Sherm's birdie to shame! We high tailed it outta that joint ASAP & headed back to our reserved Times Square, NYC hotel complete with our $160 cab fare which they refunded....nice of them. The upgrade fairy visited us, she obviously was scared of our attitude...we got the best room in the house....yep you guessed it, they bumped some other sucker out! Seems over selling everything in NYC is the done thing! Says a lot about the state of the economy in this joint. location wise it was perfect, short walk to everywhere....more on that later :0) Running out of time now so may have to post this & blog further about what we got up to in NYC later. Our Chicago flight is being called. Oh & yeah we got a roaming card so we'll be online throughout our stay in USA....cheap too at $50, not as cheap as in Ireland but still good. Hoo Roo until later.

This one is for Kris Currey, she bloody hassled me to get this written today so here goes! Guess I gotta do another 2 days in one thanks to last nights pub crawl. We left Mary in Navan around 9am yesterday, it was a sad farewell but with a promise to return, I have the keys to her house so it's a given that I'll be back. Stopped by Navan post office & sent stuff home, don't want to be using up precious New York shopping space now do I! From Navan we mozzied on down to Dublin for our last 2 nights in Ireland calling into Nazareth House here & we had the pleasure of meeting all 15 Sisters & I was given a full royal tour, met many of the residents even their eldest, a 110 year old! Inspite of her age Elsie was very much in charge of her faculties, we had a good chat. Sister Superior, Hannah, insisted we join them for lunch so we did. The Irish clergy enjoy their booze just like their Aussie counterparts :0) had a great time at Nazareth, glad we called in, although I don't think my Sisters in Brisbane would have forgiven me if I didn't! Went from Nazareth to our accommodation to drop off our bags & then on to the city office of our rental car company & ditched the buzz box rental, we added a few dints & scrapes (we really did thanks to a dip stick yank tourist in Dingle....wanker side swiped us)....we fully expected extra $$$$ for this shitheads efforts but we got away with it.....it pays to get rentabombs! Only cost us €249 for the 2 weeks, that's less than $300. Won't be getting a rental that cheap in Uncle Sam's joint in August Kris! We jagged a great 1 bedroom apartment right in the heart of Dublin on the Lifey River for only €138 ($180) for the 2 nights! Bloody unbelievable, fantastic location with pubs & restaurants within 10 feet of our foyer & the apartment is sound proofed so no pub noise at all...amazing deal...apartment has central heating & a full kitchen, living room, laundry, huge bathroom & a massive comfy bed, further stays here a definite! Right nextdoor is an Italian coffee shop which has THE best cappuccino I have ever tasted anywhere in the world & I have had many throughout Europe....very very good! So much prefer to stay in apartments, makes a stay in any city so much more comfortable. Had a great time browsing the antique stores of Dublin & discovered rather quickly that our discoveries in other parts of Ireland were real bargains by comparison as these Dub stores added an extra zero on their pricing....it would seem a particular piano in Limerick is a good deal, we have it on good authority that she's a bit of a gem, Moth is now negotiating for it! We had the pubs of Temple Bar in our sights so off we ventured for a night of entertainment seemingly spending a lot of time there, it is at this point that my account of the proceedings may well differ to my dearly beloved & as I have not too much memory of said entertainment I have little to argue with, I do have some interesting photos that will not find their way on Facebook....EVER! Moth says we only did 5 pubs....I call bullshit to that! I remember 9....interestingly my phone camera remembers a few more. Uncle Fester comes to mind.....I swear this dude was the spitting image, apparently I told him so....oh shit! I don't recall eating but I'm told we did....I asked if I liked it, apparently so. I do remember being in Brazen Head cause that's where we started which happens to be in antique alley. From Brazen Head we ventured to Fitzgerald's, Oliver's, Stags, Carrington's, The Temple Bar, Quay, Fox & Hound & Malone's & from there it gets a bit hazy but my pics say there were a couple more. Let's just say that we gave it a decent bash all in the name of research & I will never admit to anything other! I have absolutely no idea what time we got in, but I do know that I woke up this morning with a mammoth headache & hangover of serious proportion & having to deal with a Moth that would not STF up! Seriously, this morning was NOT the ideal time to be wanting to discuss the state of the European Union with me....sheeeesh...he rambled all thru brekkie damn near had me cashing in his life insurance! So complete with hangover he had me traipsing all over Dublin in a HOHO bus complete with loud commentary that had little drummer boys playing an overture in my head for 2 hours followed by traipsing through Guiness warehouse & walking the streets of Dublin. Pulled up stumps for lunch at the Gin Palace where I decided hair of the dog be the order of the day & duly had a Bloody Mary which went down slowly but very well....I could see a light at the end of the tunnel that wasn't an oncoming train. Moth was hell bent on doing a river cruise, twice we traipsed down to the dock & twice we were outta luck! Was not meant to happen. Randomly decided to jump on a tram & see where it took us, I was happy with this as there was no commentary & I could sit & maybe even get a nana nap in.....clearly I was delusional. Tonight we were very civilised, yes my bar skills returned about 5-ish I reckon, we hit Temple Bar pubs with a stop off in Auld Dubliner & the Old Oak, had a great meal at the Oak, I'm rather partial to the Irish soup. Moth says his meal was the best he has had here so there ya go for a recommendation! He later found the ice cream store which he maintains I found last night & had a baby scoop.....I am clueless to this! Decided 2 was enough tonight & have come home to get this blog done & bags packed....sadly we will be bidding Ireland farewell tomorrow but we'll be back. At least the shakes have stopped! Next stop New York City 'besok' Hoo Roo until we hit Uncle Sam's joint unless I can get WIFI in Frankfurt.

Today was our last day here in Navan, tomorrow we head on in to Dublin for a couple of days. The Nazareth Sisters have a house in Dublin so I will be catching up with them which I am looking forward to. We spent the morning in County's Meath & Westmeath with our heads & other body parts stuck in antique stores. Spent the afternoon in Dunshaughlin with cousin Ruth & her family, the kids Ingrid & Francis were so excited to see us, they are such great kids....had lunch with them all...Ruth & Frank did an Irish BBQ, different....totally different, amazing what the Irish put on the grill. Established a black sheep bootlegger in the family who brews his own Poteen.... That be Irish moonshine made on potato skins & SUPPOSIDLY distilled....yeah sure it is. Frank made me drink it. Personally I think he just bought Metho & decantered it! I will never forgive Frank...I don't care that you are Pearce Bronson's cousin I still will never forgive you Frank Rielly! 5 hrs later & the taste is still with me! Blarney!

Oh dear getting behind, have two days blog to catch up on.....ouch, well here goes an attempt to fill you in & or bore you to tears! Ok let's start with yesterday which seems like so far away.....hmmmm song I think! We awoke to the sound of silence....I have never experienced waking to total silence before, it was very eerie to say the least....a beautiful crisp morning in the Wicklow Mountains, after brekkie we went for a wander around the small village of Laragh which is where we stayed for the night, great pub it was, huge room! After our walk we headed off to the monastic settlement of Glendalough only a few km's further down the road. This area is hikers heaven & many were coming down out of the mountains as we arrived, all decked out in the real McCoy gear so I assume they all knew what they were doing....too much mud for it to be for show! The area is deeply wooded with hills & mountains rising from the valleys. A very picturesque region of Ireland. The ancient monastery here was founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, set in a glaciated valley with 2 lakes, the monastic remains include stone churches, several crosses one of which is a Celtic high cross & there is also a well preserved round tower which the sign stated was once a bell tower....I think not as there was no open bell casement at the top... Just an observation. However this tower did conjure up visions of Rapunzel & her knight in shining armour....never could figure out why that girl didn't tie her hair off up there & let herself down....she was very blonde wasn't she......Aunty Deb will be sure to keep her own counsel on the subject matter when in the presence of a few nieces, I promise! We managed to get some fantastic photos of this area including an apparition in one......I'll leave you to find it should you be so inclined. Having now given Rapunzel a rap over the knuckles for being such a dumb ass blonde we headed down into the village @ meet our very lively leprechaun who went by the name of Michael, he was hawking tourist stuff which I had no interest in but he had an infectious laugh & Moth saw some entertainment value in playing with him so I left them to it & wondered thru the village on my own, came back an hour later to our small green one trying to off load tourists who inconveniently wanted to buy shit from him...I noticed him getting rather annoyed with them as they were interfering with his craic with Moth....never let business get in the way of a good time right....I walked over to Steve who had the biggest set of keys in his hand that I've ever seen....turns out our new green mate wanted us to go up into the mountain to his home for a look see!!! True story.....so off we go with the keys to a total strangers house, at this point I'm thinking possible ambush.....maybe! Nope just a mad Irish leprechaun that maybe had one too many head knocks. Michael lives in a restored police station well over 150 yrs old, amazing place, as sure as the Pope is a Catholic does Michael like his beer...most blokes have empty bottles laying around not Mick....out back was a couple of empty bloody kegs....typical Irishman. Then there was his cat, this cat was a guard cat, had skills that would shame any decent German shepherd...friggin physco cat, it had serious attitude. As we were driving off towards his house we heard shouts of don't let the foookin cat in....yeah righto....sheesh try keeping the sucker out, shit of a thing. Deb 1 Cat 0 I reckon that cat is an alcoholic! Now I ask you....would you give your house keys to a total stranger? Took a different way out of the mountains thank god, bloody hair raising trip in that I really wasn't looking forward to repeating, that road left the Hawkesbury river road for dead. Decided to head back to my cousin Mary's home in Navan via the Dublin coast road & Drogheda which was beautiful given the weather was so superb. Found where our Carnival Legend cruise ship will dock next year when we sail thru. Ann you will be please to know it is real easy access to Dublin city from the port, no dramas! Pulled up in a pub for lunch, soup was real good again, banana beer was average at best! Loaded all my pics up on Facebook, geeez of I don't do this daily also I'll loose track eh! More cousins came to dinner last night, one of them... Brian....I am particularly fond of, he owns a large property close by Slane Castle not far from Navan & he has about a dozen horses & riding school. Brian has had many a famous student including Madonna. Anyway had a great night with them all, lots of laughs! BTW Slane Castle is a favourite spot here of mine built in 1701 it is still owned by the Conyngham Family, the Marquess is a good friend of my cousin Mary so I have been there a bit. Many major concerts have been held in the grounds, U2 have played there several times.

Well here we are again pulled up for the night in a quaint chalet pub, Lynhams, here in the Wicklow Mountains in the small village of Laragh totally off the beaten track. Pulled into the village & had a choice of a few places but chose the pub of course! Again no reservation but they were very obliging...we weren't sure how far we'd get today so reservations are useless. Glad we found this gem though. Our room looks out over the mountains & a pristine stream that runs fast & thick with trout. Fish for dinner I think, it's 8pm & we are having our first beer for the evening, just ordered dinner & ready to sit back & enjoy this chalet & attempt to write an interesting tale of today's adventures... Before I go any further I must comment for my sceptics regarding our clothing allowance bought to this fair land of da Leprechauns & Guiness....with the exception of wearing our sox for more days than deemed healthy, me tinks I'm Gunnar chuck em, and my jeans leave a lot to be desired but we have been on the road a while but all else is AOK, a bit of laundry ever once in a while has been a breeze, Steve has bought a few shirts but my only purchase has been my hand knitted Aran shawl that I bought in the Aran Islands & YES Kris I will wear it at home I promise.....maybe only for a week or two but I will wear it! Dinner now consumed, was good too...Moth had the venison burger, he didn't say a word during dinner so I guess it was good. I have learnt over the years that when a bloke STF-up it usually means damn good tucker, my husband is well versed in this act & it's how I usually gauge my cooking although mostly he suffers from verbal diarrhea...says shitloads for my culinary skills! He is still going on about the bloody piano we saw in Limerick....geeez ya'd think he be over it by now, I have this sinking feeling that we'll be going home with a piano following....now usually it's us women that are the card swipers but not so in my family....he is currently researching....that scares me! I want it noted that this is NOT my fault! Change of subject & back to our days antics....safer! Had an early brekkie, he had his traditional Irish, I had porridge...guess who is putting on weight....hmmmm After brekkie we headed over to the Auction house where we purchased only one item...a little gem. If you have looked at the pics on Facebook you would have seen an Aussie Diggers Slouch Hat, bloody could not believe they had this & the loyalist in me had it bought no matter the price, actually paid €60, this baby needed to find its way back on Aussie soil & so it will via New York City, Chicago & the entire length of Route 66 before it finds it's way on board Qantas flight QF16 homeward bound....a stylish homecoming me tinks! For those of you reading this that don't know WTF I am talking about I refer to our purchase of an original Aussie military hat that is synonymous with our ANZAC's, is iconic in our history & symbolises our nations freedom. Lest we forget! So there ends our auction purchases however I did find a treasure in Adare our next port o call! A 1880 carving set with deer hand grips, has 2 knives, fork & steel in original velvet case as bargin at €95 prolly post it home me tinks, another parcel post box heading home. Found Aunt Lena's pub for lunch, great place that opened its doors in 1804 or so...had some real nice soup, the Irish sure do know how to make soup eh! If only I could the way they do. Oh shit! Moth's on a piano forum now....I have this sinking feeling we are going back to Limerick tomorrow & not Navan! My cousin Mary will be pissed! Checked out some real estate in Adare, can get 10 acres for $80,000 with a 3 bedroom house & horse stables...this country's economy is screwed big time! God help them if Greece bails from the EU. You wouldn't believe the amount of Irish that are bailing to Oz or USA....seems 3 out of 5 under 40 are heading off, history repeating itself big time! We headed off towards Doon & the House of Immaculate Prayer which was my pilgrimage based on my knowledge of Our Blessed Lady's apparitions to Fiona & Marcia, I attended Chaplet of Devine Mercy with private intentions. I was humbled. This house of prayer was truly down dirt tracks & in the middle of nowhere, Google maps struggled! We etched our way out & headed towards Glendalough here in the Wicklow Mountains & what a surreal place this is, such peace! The trip through the treeless badlands, 2000 year old forest that they chopped & now looks like frozen tundra! However onward we pushed & after about 50km deep into the mountains we found this place....OMG...so much worth the trip out here but very much off the beaten track so be warned the drive out is hair raising & many a time my heart was in my mouth...scary when we met another car...very bloody scary. Claw marks on car roof lining permanently evident, I wonder if rental company will notice. Well time to call it quits, we'll either be heading back to Navan & Mary's tomorrow or west to Limerick to get this f#%*#¥g piano! Posting unedited, battery about to die a sudden death... Hoo Roo until tomorra :0)

Well here we are held up in Newcastlewest County Limerick after another fun filled day scouring the Irish countryside. We were going to pull up stumps tonight in Killarney until I spied an Georgian auction being held in this fair town tomorrow....We have viewed the auction list...thinking there might be a container heading Brisvegas way after dis auction :0) Georgian period was 1700's people's.....I'm feeling a shopping spree coming on! Anyways our day started out with a very fine brekkie at O'Connors pub...Moth pigged on a full Irish one whilst I was most restrained having the best ever porridge I have ever eaten, still salivating over it Inspite of just had a very nice salad! After brekkie & paying our host....geez only 147 Euro for our nights B & B staying including dinner last night & a shitload of booze....bloody cheap Ollie! Moth's dinner included half a cow....dunno how they did it for the price. Anyway we bid farewell to our humble host & headed down Slae Head drive as recommended by our host....well buggar me what a gem of a find, the countryside was very much a step back in time. We stopped by a famine village fully restored, great famine or potato blight hit Ireland & particularly here in west Ireland with dire straits between the years 1844 to 1849. This period produced mass famine due to an airborne disease they say came across the Atlantic from the USA & hit the potato crops wiping out the entire industry & causing death by disease or emigration. A very harsh period in the country's history. 2.1 million people either emigrated to USA or Australia or died in those famine years, current Irish population is 4 million....says it all eh! Anyway, I digress....we went thru this village lost in our own thoughts as to the hardships endured by these peoples, such tragedy. Further along this road of discovery we found Penny's coffee shop which was also a pottery gallery, amazing glazed pottery wall puzzles were on offer depicting the fable tales of the Irish culture including the Great Salmon, a story from Galway depicting a talking salmon saving a small boy from evil. Of notable mention was Penny's meditation garden, very tranquil...full of wild flowers & herbs, easy to stay a while & enjoy. Onward we went to the Slae Cliffs, a natural wonder of rock formations jutting out over hundreds of feet of shear drop, Moth says about 300 feet! We stumbled upon a unique prehistoric museum which had a wonderful array of fossilised prehistoric local artefacts that ranged from a mammoth skull, stone warfare items, bones & other unmentionables. They also had Levi's 501 jeans turned into wallets & notebooks, never seen this before, very retro & of course purchased some...along with a 1927 licence plate from New Jersey...of Uncle Sam's variety. Found a few antique shops too that were worthy of our attention...Moth bought a copper & silver tankard hallmarked Georgian era...he was happy! We headed back to Dingle for a wander around town & a late lunch. Did a bit of shopping & pulled up for lunch at Murphy's....great potato & broccoli soup! Called into the abbey & was blown away by the stained glass windows, stunningly beautiful. Moth found the local ice cream palour of course...he was sighted exiting with an obscene size ice cream that he says it consisted of a scoup of each of rum & raisin, Irish cream & Irish toffee. I called it a heart attack in a cone....I passed thankfully! After he recovered from such indulgence we hit the road to Killarney stopping a several antique abodes enroute....such temptation! Not far out of Killarney & I discover this auction on in Newcastle west so we did a bit of a random detour & here we are pulled up stumps for the evening with great anticipation of tomorrows treasure finds...right now I'm dead so I'm pulling up here for the day. Hoo Roo from 2 tired puppies

Early this morning we farwelled Inish Mor after a wonderful visit, our flight back to Galway left the island at 8.45am & we found ourselves back on the road to further adventures a half hour later. As we made our way to Limerick via the country roads, we stumbled upon a church in Spiddal that had the most amazing life size replication of Christ's crucifiction with the smallest chapel adjacent that I have ever seen however the windows & doors were cemented up....moi tinks it's now home to a few horizontal bods. Another random stop was in Ennis at Clare Abbey, I seriously have a problem walking over the graves of our dearly departed no matter how long since their last drinks so as I trod lightly I noted many a loose stone....too many! So onward Christian soldiers toward Limerick.....Steve wanted to vist King John's castle which is situated within the medieval old town centre on the Shannon River, we had been here before about 10 years ago with the Callan's, seemingly things have changed a tad, lack of funds have impacted on maintenance & sadly the place isn't quite the same. This castle was built around 800 years ago at the request of King John, Lord of Ireland. A title given under dubious circumstances...brut force comes to mind but hey what do I know! Suffice to say a stosh was had between King Henry of England & William of Orange....the big bloke won & made John God in Ireland! We moved on into town to find a pub for lunch after our morning paying homage to KJ, found the Locke bar which was such fun, complete with the old snugs & bucketloads of character. It holds claim to Ireland's best pub as voted for 2011 & I have to say that I can see why, service was the old fashion way, food great & ambience right up there! After lunch we went in search of antiques in Limerick city & duly found two rather quaint stores, the first Annie's had a piano circa 1780 that has Steve's interest & a 1700 solid oak desk that has my interest....hmmmm...Annie was a wealth of knowledge, it was on her advice that we headed down here to the Dingle peninsular for the night, might stay 2, we will see what tomorrow brings....so easy to just rock up without reservations which is so much our style, much better to just wing it & we end up with delightful little gems such as we have here in O'Connors. We have absolutely nothing planned here & it's working a treat for us....we have been blessed with great weather & immense luck! Looking around right now is a pub in the middle of nowhere yet full with locals speaking a mixture of Irish & English & very engaging...so typically Irish. Peat fire is roaring, laced coffee is flowing, good craic is being had...so it's off to catch up with the locals. Hoo Roo until next time

Let's see if I can get this posted again! I spent an hour this morning over brekkie & bloody lost the lot......not happy Jan! So back to the writing board as much as that pissed me off! Had a great day yesterday in Galway, spent several hours in the morning strolling the cobblestone streets of Galway, found this really quaint cafe down an alley for brekkie, great meal...prolly never be able to find it again! Caught up with my cousin Val & her Sisters I the convent, been over a year since I have seen them & sadly one has passed away RIP Sr Bernadette, you are greatly missed! After a great catch up with the convent community we took Val to lunch at Tir Na Nog restaurant down in Spiddal, we had great craic.... Damn great time! Val is a true inspiration to me. Bloody rogue Nun according to Moth but I just see true spirit...she is an angel. Back to the convent nt. us with Val & then we headed back to our pub stay for the night....gotta mention the volumes of Sinn Fein posters I'm seeing around the joint...seriously thinking WTF??? Sinn Fein is a very left wing Republican party, suppose to be the cover for the IRA....whatever....but I have to say that the last time I went thru Heathrow enroute to Ireland I got the third degree cause I was stoooopid enough to say, when asked why I was travelling to Ireland that I was visiting family in Navan.... BAD MOVE...Navan is the HQ of Sinn Fein... Like I knew... NOT!!!! So today we embarked on yet another random adventure to the Aran Islands.... Day started with a bang... Moth went looking for brekkie at 7am enroute to the Connemara airstrip....arrhhhh nadda unless you count the very greasy but 'O grease AKA Irish sausage & coffee enroute...he ate, I passed...coffee was OK! Off we went to the airstrip where we were met by our mode of transport, a Islander BN-2B Aer Arann twin prop buzz box that was fantastic! Simply brilliant flight over here to Inish Mor in the Arann Islands. We have been travelling to Ireland for over 10 years now & never have we been to the Aran Islands & seriously we have been missing out on so much....just love this place, can't believe we have bi-passed previous opportunities but we are here now & WOW what a place, it's real difficult to do justice to these islands in words or photos, they are very much the Ireland of old, English is a 2nd language, most kids here do not speak English at all. Must make it difficult for them later in life if they wish to move to the mainland. I have no issue with foreign language as I myself study & speak another however I do see the restriction Irish only has on these kids. After arriving here on our buzz box we were met by the local transport bus, there is only one mini bus on this island the other forms of transport are horse & traps or push bikes! Our driver took us to our B & B right on the cliff over looking Inish Mor harbour where we were met by a great couple whose son is currently living & working in Sydney...small world....we had the typical Irish brekkie....well one of us did whilst the other was much more conservative...hmmmm after brekkie we set off to secure us some bikes for a days adventure, easy enough to do & off went us for a 5 hour bike ride the length & breath of Innish Mor....we left no stone uncovered & to say we are screwed right now is a bloody understatement....FML....that was a doozie of a day but I wouldn't swap it for quids....how privileged are we to have experienced such a wonder of a place...seriously! What an honor, I hope we get to share this place with friends in the future, it is so deserving! The ruggered landscape & natural beauty of the people are awe inspiring, hard to put into words. As we cycled around the coast road we witnessed the unification of natures beauty with human existence, a rarity when all is considered, most in western society would not compute! Following our bike ride we decided to end our day with a pub crawl to the 5 establishments on this here island....SUCCESS....we did it albeit a tad worse for wear, oh well tomorrow is another day.... I'll be dreaming of my donkeys that were plentiful today among so much more.....what an experience these Aran Islands have been....a very special time in our lives....bucket list stuff that's for sure! Hoo Roo....back to the mainland tomorrow & off in search of more random adventures, heading south tomorrow towards Limerick.....to be sure to be sure! Prolly full of 'lil green blokes!

If you ever go across the sea to Ireland, Then maybe, at the closing of your day, You can sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh And see the sun go down on Galway Bay. A verse from a song sung to me every night when I was a kid by my Irish grandmother Mena, may she RIP.....this day is for you Nan! So here we are in Galway & as I sit writing this I am having a pint whilst watching the sun go down on Galway Bay....perfect! After leaving Mary's this morning we headed south & north to go west....interesting navigational skills that I have did get us to Galway with only a 2 hour diversion....ok so my sense of direction sucks who gives a .......seemingly the one I am married to, talk about a sore looser! It's OK Kris, I will leave you in charge of google maps during our California pub crawl for the old boys 60th! Hey...what's wrong with a little side stepping....you find treasures that way & we surely did! Well I have seen it all now! A couple of locals just walked in with dogs under their arms....little powder puff things....I thought that only happened in Yankieland...cute mutts though! OK so I digress...what's new? We came out to Galway via Tullamore, home to the very nice drop of Tullamore Dew whiskey, I'd been to the distillery before, in fact the last time I was here with my son we made a visit, Chris & I are the only whiskey drinkers so today we did not stop at the distillery....the countryside around Tullamore is very fertile & is apparently a dairy stronghold which stands to reason given the volume of cattle we have seen......no sheep....no sheep yet.....sheep scare me! I am hoping not to see sheep until we get to Uncle Sam's joint.....I DO NOT EAT LAMB! We arrived at Padraicins pub for a quick pint & lunch.....the Irish are huge eaters, I mean HUGE....they just can't accept that my request for a simple soup is enough...common guys...really!!!!! Soup was great, had a seafood chowder today, as good as Oliver's at Manly which is hard to beat! Following lunch we buggared off towards the end of the coast road....we found the end...as we looked out over the Atlantic Ocean we though yeah....next stop New York. Took a video of this that will have to go up on Facebook cause I still can't get my friggin act together with pics & videos on here....pisses me off! Stumbled upon a quant craft fair down the road, bought a silk & wool wrap that is simply gorgeous. Also stumbled upon this store that sold everything imaginable & of very high quality....Standuns....seemingly a highly prized location....Moth sunk some Euro! Organised our Flight to Inish Mor for Tuesday morning at sparrow fart....on ya Moth! Friggin funny actually, sitting in the pub having lunch & Moth says Oui you booked the putt putt to the Arans....nope I says but duly got on line....gotta love his iPad that me tinks is now mine....bought the tickets but didn't get a confirmation that we had in fact bought tickets so during our sojourn this afternoon we called by the local airstrip that actually had live customer service V's robotic forms...the lady we spoke to was most helpful....yes we have your booking Ma'am....said with utter disbelief that I would even consider asking.....the airstrip shed has a bathroom, geeeez I'm impressed it ain't quite like Archerfield....sorry Chris! We fully intended to rock up on over to Inish Mor without an accommodation booking which is our style, thought we'd suss it out when we get there however our customer service lady asked if we needed a place to stay & suggested a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend....WTF we get is anyone's business....random shit again...that's us, gotta love it! So we are armed with a piece of paper stating O'Flattery's hand written by our customer service guru & that's it....the horse & cart will get us there I am sure. You think I am joking???? Inish Mor has 2 modes of transport....sulkies & push bikes....Modernisation ceases upon landing! Back to Padraicins went us, got our room sorted, this pub has 4 rooms so it's kinda easy to find our way upstairs, we have settled in for a session so good luck kicking us out...pigs! We have ownership of one said key to da joint! Oh yeah....The route to our room is via the kitchen....chef & I are acquainted! This is a busy little pub....Quaint & quirky...I like it muchly :-) You know, we have been in Ireland for a few days now & travelled the roads a lot....more than 3 Kris....& I have seen only 1 Guarda car.....amazing! The local jam session is about to start, in just walked the muso's....this is gunna be a long night.....Hoo Roo :0)

I GIVE UP TRYING TO LOAD PHOTOS IN HERE!!!!!!! Sheeeeesh frustrating! Mary's drawing room window was looking a tad unsafe there for a wee while! Bloody pics & blogs... Inspite of my current frustration with technology I will attempt to fill in yesterday's adventure that started at 5am....WTF gets up at 5am on vacation??? Seemingly moi, me tinks my inner clock is just getting into practice for sheep herding......Mary was not amused as later advised by a wee 7 year old...kids are a wonderful source of info! We headed north yesterday into County Cavan to Ballyjamesduff....& no I did not make that name up! We found the Holy Trinity Abbey which was my intention, very beautiful old Abbey that was largely hidden during the Druid days due to prohibition of catholicism, it is currently home to Ann the Lay Apostle. We travelled through some stunning countryside that depicted the 40 shades of green the Irish land is famous for. I guess it is easy to take for granted the scenery as it unfolds before you but one needs to really stop & smell the roses so to speak to truly appreciate what we have been blessed with. Today was one of those truly grateful days. We hunted local antiques today, getting much of our info from....you guessed it locals in the pubs...another great lunch session was had with a wealth of info forthcoming. It is wise to take heed local info! During the course of beer swilling info gathering we were told of a place called Loughcrew which, along with Newgrange is the happening place for winter & summer solstice, we are a tad early as summer solstice does not appear until June. Loughcrew is home to megalithic burial grounds going back to 3500 BC, there is over 20 tombs at this site which is one of four main sites in Ireland, these cruciform chambers are hidden under huge mounds, one of which can be accessed & with clear vision during solstice. The energy here was very strong! Oldcastle was a nearby village that offered an array of quirky stores & people, there was even a fruit & veg vendor selling his produce from the back of a 1930's truck, of course I just had to go talk to this bloke! Steve said he wanted a mango.....yeah righto smart ass.....mangos in Ireland hmmmmmm well buggar me this bloke had mango...from Mexico! They were only 1 Euro each so of course I came back to the car & produced this mango....stunned mullet look followed :0) By the time we got back to Navan the children were here & spending the early evening with them was a real treat....they had us take them to the golden arches....they sell fish fingers at Maccas here????? Guessing that's safer than the hormone pumped chook??? Mary had arranged for a local historian to meet us last night, now when I say last night I mean NIGHT! This is Ireland, people make house calls at 10pm....OK this required a slosh of Red, fine or otherwise...I passed on the cooking vintage....although I greatly appreciated Vincent's visit as he had much knowledge of my family history here in County Meath he did my head in....trying to absorb historical facts at midnight was proving a challenge & of course Moth did the disappearing act by 10.30pm....thanks! I think I retained some of Vincent's facts....I was amazed at his knowledge of my family. Vincent has given me his email access for further contact. Vincent is Ireland's leading historian employed by the National archives....seems I have hit the jackpot in the bank of knowledge! So it's now 7am Sunday & today we head west to Galway & the Aran Islands....yet another adventure of mega proportions coming up....we have a few locals to meet up with & of course I'll be seeing my cousin Val again, I have missed her. Val is a Franciscan Nun, Steve refers to her as the rouge Nun....so she has spirit! Ok time to buggar off.....Hoo Roo