Blue Skies

Still no clouds in the sky. Back in Market Harborough for the night. It was a highly successful road trip.

Silverstone

We went by Silverstone race course on the way back from Oxford. Apparently this Aston Martin was there, we say several others too but they were elusive!

Meat Pies

At a pub just outside Stonehenge. Yum.

English weather

Typical cloudless, warm, comfortable English weather!

Stonehenge

Spinniker Tower

In Portsmouth now, at the Spinniker Tower. The weather is perfect!

Brighton Pier

Staying near here tonight, a very old beach town.

Just missed it

Should have come a week later!

Yorkie

Not for girls.

Road trip!

Matt and I are headed south to Brighton today. Matt works for Mercedes now so he's got a nice Benz diesel. On our way-

Wandering

More of Market Harborough. I had lunch at what seemed to be a typical english place, it was a chicken pie with mashed potatoes and veggies. Everything was covered with copious amounts of gravy. Not bad.

Alfa

They get the best hatchbacks here! Matt is working today so i'm wandering the town.

Market Harborough

Made it by train to market Harborough, waiting for matt to get off of work. Beautiful weather. This is the town grammar school, dated 1614

Lost and Found

Succeeded in getting mom's lost wallet from the hotel! Good thing they stayed at an honest place. Now my job is to not leave it somewhere else!

Wrong train

Well i ended up buying a ticket for the wrong train. I wanted the Underground but ended up on the Heathrow connect. I took it anyway and i ended up at Paddington station. It's the right direction, i think.

Keep Left

Safely arrived in London. Customs was a breeze and even checking a bag didn't slow me down. Being in the front of the plane helps! The flight was great, i wish it was longer so i could have used the entertainment system more. Off to the trains.

On board

The new lie flat business class seats are amazing so far! (Trish knows ;) ) Look at the size of the screen! Everything is on time too.

Chicago

Waiting for my flight to London in the lounge. I was going to into town, but it was raining and my buddy that lives here is not in town. So i put my drink certificates to good use! It's clearing up now which is good. I can't wait to try out united's new lie flat business class seats!

Finally a new holiday!

Off to London today. I'll be seeing more than London this trip though! My first real trip to England. First step is to Chicago. Already the vibe is good, United changed the plane to a bigger 757. My favorite narrow body jet and i get First Class too! Even if it is a very short flight.

Back in LA- Earthquake!

Well I arrived safely in LA. I decided to take the bus instead of a cab. While i was waiting, the bench started moving! We had an earthquake! Pretty minor I think, but i definitely felt it.

Leaving Buenos Aires

I'm on the plane now about to depart. It's been a great trip, and I'm in business class again so it should be a good return too. The photo is my dinner last night. It cost me about 13 dollars! :)

Centro

A photo from yesterday when i took the subway to the city center. It was very crowded. Clothes seem extremely cheap here, especially leather. But I'm no expert on clothes prices i suppose.

Floralis Generica

Everything is going well. I'm continuing to explore the city. Now i am in Recoleta having a beer. Here is a great big sculpture that resembles a flower.

Dinner Time

I've arrived to my apartment and everything is great. I have been exploring the city a bit. There are many cafes nearby. I finally got the nerve up to in inside one to order. I tried to order some Empanadas but was denied for some reason in Spanish. So i ordered a sandwich and a beer. She looked at me funny, turns out i ordered a Liter of beer. Oh well, it was only 2 bucks!

Buenos Aires

On my way from the airport to Palermo in the city.

Delayed in DC

So close to departing for Buenos Aires. But rain here in DC has us waiting on the tarmac. A 11 hour flight just got longer! At least i'm comfortable in a half full business cabin.

Arrived in Budapest

Safe and sound, arrived in Budapest last night.

Off to Budapest

I was able to upgrade to Business Class which was a real treat, because my fare was so low it was not supposed to be allowed. United let me do it at no cost. Its a 11 hour flight to Frankfurt so its a huge plus! Plane is pretty empty. So the flight ought to be great.

Lake Pukaki

Our drive to Queenstown today brings us by Lake Pukaki. Pretty amazing views!

Sumner

We arrived at our beach house in Sumner today. It's a cool little beach community. We've got 3 days to soak up the atmosphere.

Auckland

Troy and I are staying at the Sky City Hotel in Auckland. Here is a picture of the Sky City Tower. It is the highest point in Auckland, and you can jump off it for 300 dollars. No thanks! Off to Christchurch this afternoon.

Heading to New Zealand

In the lounge at LAX, getting ready for my trip to New Zealand. I got a business class seat, on the upper deck of the 747. We are connecting in Sydney.

Asakusa

Temple in the Tokyo old town of Asakusa

Breakfast in San Juan

I took an earlier flight out of St Croix, so i would have a few hours to spend in Puerto Rico. I took a taxi to Old Town, wandered around the city wall (pictured), and had breakfast at an old style soda shop called La Bombonera.

Snorkling in St Croix

We ate some late lunch and went Snorkling today. Weather was great and the water was clear.

Rainforest Snacks

We took a drive through the rainforest today. Found a great shop that made great drinks from the rainforest fruits.

Safe in St Croix

Choppy but fun short hop!

Its not business class anymore

But at least I snagged am exit row! I am not eligible to upgrade since I bought the ticket with my miles. But the plane is very empty so its been comfortable so far. Maybe it has something to do with hurricane season!

Leaving LA again. East this time

Well less than a week removed from Tokyo, here I am on a plane again. I am off to St Croix, to spend the weekend with my friend Jason at his new place. Connecting through Ft Lauderdale and San Juan. (Sending this from the tarmac at FLL)

Above the clouds

We are staying in Kumamoto, a small town at the base of active volcano range. Our daily commute takes us up these mountains and above the clouds. Windmills in the distance.

Tokyo hotel view

Our hotel view on Sunday morning. Buildings as far as the eye could see in all directions.

Back in Japan

Well here we go again. We arrived in Tokyo on saturday. This photo was taken on the bus ride from Narita airport to our hotel which is in west Tokyo, near the other Tokyo airport (Haneda). We fly from Haneda on Sunday to Kumamoto.

LA Public Transport result

Well I made it home alive. The train from Santa Clarita was very nice. Comfortable and not crowded. See photo. The buses from downtown to Manhattan beach were pretty gross. All together i spent 11.25 and it took 2 hrs 45 min. A car would be about half the cost go fuel and about half the time. But it was an interesting experience.

My LA Public Transport Experience

Well I decided to take the public transport from Santa Clarita to Manhattan beach after work today. I needed to leave my car at the office.

S.S. Lane Victory

Dad, Gramps, and i took a cruise on this WWII ship to Catalina Island today. This is a fire boat saluting us on our return.

Beach volleyball

This weekend at manhattan beach!

Back home

Went surfing this afternoon, them grabbed some El Tarasco tacos for dinner. Now just relaxing on the beach. It is good to be back!

Heading home

Our trip is finally coming to an end. Taking the bus back to Tokyo to catch our flight. I beleive this is a 3 level highway.

All of your fears

Speaks for itself.

Saturday Taxi Ride

No bus service for Saturday so we have to take a cab. Quite a long week for us.