And then there was only one

As I write this, Duncan will be somewhere between Halifax and Maine with his sister. He begun his journey on Sunday flying from Edinburgh. I don't want to write too much about it as I'm quite jealous really. I have just under 2 weeks to finish my thesis and hand it in in perfect condition.

Asked last week by Ben whether or not we thought we'd get bored of each other or struggle for conversation, we guessed not. Duncan then started talking about someone he'd been chatting to called Helen Moulds. Now I don't know you Helen, but "hi" if you're reading this. "It's not often that someones first name and then surname form a complete sentence" I remarked. Much chuckling ensued from all at the table, but then ceased. However, the next few minutes I spent with Duncan trying to find other names which were actually a sentence which we both thought was quite funny. We failed, but since then came up with Tim Rose and Amy Fell.

It was at this perhaps slightly childish outlook on what was just a name which prompted Ben to suggest that actually there was no chance we'd run out of things to talk about during our 2 month adventure!

Under The Bonnet With Nick

Sounds like a catchy title to a low-budget tv chat-show featurting z-list celebrities on the sofa with "Nick". However, in this day-time drivel the topic of conversation is to do with brakes, steering, engines, oil and cables; the guests are myself and Duncan, and the host: Nick Sorrie, ably assisted by his wife and part-chef for the evening Hilary.

We were of course out for dinner with the ulterior motive of learning lots about cars and how they work. Nick trained as a mechanic when he left school and is a very able and patient teacher of all he knows (which is a lot!). To start, it was a little intimidating being taught all the cables and names of things that I ashamedly as a male know nothing about. But with Nicks supervision we worked our way round Duncans car and finally under the bonnet looking at filters and plugs, at cables and fluids, and at bulbs and wires. Kitted out with our mini tool-kit kindly donated by Nick, we now know what to quickly look for under the bonnet when we're buying our car in America, and should we break down in the middle of the desert in Utah or Arizona, we are now both confident* that our knowledge of cars has improved 100% thanks to Nick!

Thank you Nick!!

*Duncan was feeling so confident that this morning he fitted a new air filter on his engine and changed his side-light bulbs.

US Open

Dear Andy Murray,

Please do not be ill or injured for the US Open in September. We shall be in America and in that part of the states and hope to come and support you in our kilts.
Also, please do not play badly and get knocked out before we get to see you.
If you are feeling especially patriotic and want our voiciferous support could you bagsy us a couple of complimentary tickets?

Thanks in advance,
John & Duncan.

Pre-match nerves?

The World Cup has officially started! But what on earth has this got to do with travelling to America later in the year? You’d be surprised how many similarities I’ve been able to draw between the World Cup and our travel plans.

Firstly, I had been offered a position in South Africa about this time last year by a guy who works with Ambassadors In Sport and was heading to South Africa to help run an evangelistic soccer ministry. He had asked if I was interested in training up young coaches for soccer ministry. Had things worked out differently there would never have been the plans to go to America and join Duncan in his travels.

Second of all, as a guy, you tend to get pretty excited about big things. The World Cup is a big thing: 64 games, 32 teams, the best players in the world, 3 games a day… the list goes on. I have been counting down the days to the World Cup for a couple of months now. Memories of past classic encounters sailed through my mind. I needed to prepare for the World Cup by watching the top goals from previous tournaments; reading the reviews of top matches from previous tournaments and just generally remembering how much fun it was.

Similarly, I am excited about America, and many memories of previous trips there start to pop into my mind when I think about the States. I am a bit worried that I am starting to count the calendar days for America – Duncan leaves in 44 days, and myself in 75 days.

For the big game last night we had prepared the flags in the lounge, bought in the beers and the snacks and invited some friends round. It was a dire game, void of chances and just generally lacklustre. It was quite disappointing after all the excitement – the big occasion had failed to deliver after we had given it so much hype. I will no doubt prepare equally well for America knowing full well how much fun it has been in the past, with previous experiences directing my expectations as the trip gets ever closer and I remember how much fun it has been in the past.

I was going to write all that last night, but as is the case with jet-lag, you tend to feel a lot better after a good nights sleep and a day of acclimatising. As was the case with the World Cup - while the games today weren't amazing, they did at least offer a glimmer of footballing hope for what is to come, and reminded me why I get excited each time it comes round. So should day 1 of America seem like a pale replication of previous adventures, I'll happily head to bed and get some sleep and rest knowing full well that jet-lag tends to pass quickly and what follows tends to be pretty awesome.

It's official!

Today was a very good day - well apart from the fact that I woke up with a headache which felt like it had been attacked by, well, you know the question: which would you rather be attacked by - a horse-sized duck or an army of duck-sized horses? I awoke to feel as though both, throughout the night, had taken it in turns to bang my head against the wall whilst jumping up and down on it. Which meant that I didn't make it in to work til 4pm for an experiment which had just been done for me by supervisor. Anyway, I digress...

Thursday 26th August I fly into Detroit, MI via Amsterdam, from Aberdeen.
Thursday 4th November I fly out of Detroit, MI via Amsterdam, to Aberdeen.

I'm so pant-wettingly excited.

Preliminary plans!

So I've yet to actually buy my tickets, but I have done a lot of investigating on the subject. News to follow in later posts.

However, we have given our journey 3 legs fitting round the main dates of our travel - buying a car (26th/27th August); being in Tampa, Florida for Peter's wedding (18th September); being in Los Angeles for Eilidh arriving (9th October); being in Seattle, Washington for Eilidh flying home (21st October); being out of USA by 24th October. These dates are cast in iron, apart from my arrival date, but in between we are fairly open to changing our route - but these places are where just now we'd like to visit.

Leg 1: 27th August - 18th September (Cleveland, OHIO - Tampa, FLORIDA)
- approximately 4,071 miles.
Stopping off in Detroit, Mackinaw City, Minneapolis, Omaha, Pella, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Richmond, Lexington, Nashville, Atlanta.


Leg 2: 20th September - 9th October (Tampa, FLORIDA - Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA)
- approximately 3,535 miles.
Stopping off in New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Mexican Hat, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Manteca, Yosemite, Bakersfield.


As for the final leg, we've not got round to that yet, but we hope to take Highway One, up the Big Sur through California.

Exciting times!

Getting down to things.

So this evening was the first time I properly sat down and researched flights and associated costs. I know the pound isn't as strong as it used to be, or perhaps the dollar has got stronger, but it's looking like costing a wee bitty more than first expected. A good return from Aberdeen to mid-west sort of area is ranging from about £450-£525. We had Moray round our flat this evening and he has expressed interest at going to the Florida wedding - which would make it more of a Scottish gathering across the pond. Moray in September, and then Eilidh in October.

Is it also rude to ask the groom if we can give a speech at his wedding to plug our trip and to tap into the potential American contacts present?