A Slightly Longer Introduction

Hey all,

Pretty much all of you will know me one way or another. Some of you are related to me, some of you have worked with me, some of you I know through Scouts, and some of you have whiled away the night chatting about comics with me.

This trip to California has been on the cards for a very long time, and although almost everything that was expected of this trip at the start of the year has fundamentally changed, the trip is still going ahead. I want to have an absolutely amazing time, although I am aware that there can and will be elements of awkwardness. Part of having an amazing time is sharing the experience with you all. As not all of you are on Facebook, and as the process of uploading pictures to Facebook can be more laborious than I have the patience for, I have created this blog as a sort of picture diary of the time I'll be spending in California.

So, what can you expect from this? Thanks to my family, I have a brand new digital camera. Thanks to Sara, I have access to a laptop and, when there is a connection, the internet. So each day that I can sit down and upload pictures here, I'll update this site with the most recent events, wether it's something grand and glorious, or just random pictures of LA streets as we explore the city. I'll put in some context and commentary, but I expect that this post will be the wordiest of the lot.

As for the holiday itself, we fly out from Heathrow at 11.25 on Monday 21st March, and arrive in LA at 15:55. On the Wednesday we collect our rented car, our lifeline and freedom for two weeks. Thursday is planned to be spent at Disneyland. The rest of the time up until the following Monday is fairly loose and free, although we do want to spend a day at the Getty Centre.

At some point on Monday 28th March we depart LA to spend five days driving up the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping off at many towns, areas of beauty and tourist attractions on the way. We hope to arrive in San Francisco late on Friday evening, to spend the weekend in California's second city, exploring and meeting Sara's old friends and family. The following Monday we depart for LA, stopping overnight in Yosemite National Park, before arriving back Tuesday evening and spending out last couple of days in the city before flying out on Thursday 7th April in the evening, arriving at Heathrow about lunchtime the following day.

I hope you enjoy what gets posted as much as we will do creating it. You'll be able to drop comments on the posts, and time allowing, I'll do my best to respond to them. Although you have the option to post anonymously, it would be great if you could sign your comments so I know who I am responding to!

Well, that's enough yakkety yak from me. I'll see you in the US!