| We left Edinburgh on the 10:00 flight to Newark. first in the queue meant we were the ones to get searched though. Never mind. The guy was a good laugh, and it killed some time. The flight was a little late in taking off, but it was only to be expected. We arrived in Newark a little early - after some excrushingly terrible in-flight 'entertainment'. Of course the kilt made sure I set every alarm in the building off and I was practically naked before they decided it might be best for me to just be wanded instead. After that we had a little wander round the shops and settled by our gate for the second leg. Then it rained. And thundered. And lighteninged. Three storms for the price of one! Luckily they all passed by the time we were due to take to the skies and we left on time. More bad in-flight but we got the bonus of 'Chicago'. |
 |
| We arrived as good as on time in SF. Luggage was there (after the struggle in Newark with some random moving of cases by the lovely security-type peeps) and we set off to find our bearings, and catch the air-train. Very much like the Manchester equivalent (only bigger, faster and longer) the air-train was on time and took us to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport) system. The train system in SF is amazing. Clean, on time, big enough, well posted destinations, and a nice announcer telling people the status of their train and others, as well as the status of that pesky broken elevator in a totally different station. The fare to Concord (where we were based) was just under $7. We arrived and called Santana (with whom we were staying) to pick us up, and we were at base camp by 9:30 pm (Pacific time). |
| ROAD TRIPPIN' |
 |
 |
| It was decided that we would leave on Sunday morning for the first leg of the road trip down the Californian coast. Just after 9:30, we pointed in the direction of South, and Santana started driving in her nicely air-conditioned car. (72F inside, 98F out) First stop was Los Gatos, where we had a bite to eat from the farmers market there and had a welcome cup of coffee. I nearly bought a $3000 painting, but thought better of it. Then we set off again for the town of Carmel-By-The-Sea where we were due to stop for the evening.We passed through the Big Basin Redwoods National Park where we stopped and went for a little walk through the trees. Some were 2000 years old, and well over 200ft tall. |
 |
 |
 |
 |