23/10/2006 Home

Hello all,

Well, I made it home and am pretty much recovered from the long flight back. I'm now enjoying some of the music I brought back with me. The 600 odd photos have been loaded onto the PC and I've had a quick look through them. There are some great shots there and I know they will provide me with many treasured memories. I haven't yet had the guts to call my credit card company for a balance...it'll be ugly, I know. The thing is, it might take a little while for some of the charges to come through so I'll wait a week or so maybe... we'll see.

So what now? Have I gotten this travelling thing out of my system? Am I ready to get to work and settle down? I don't know yet. I know that my short and (unsuccessful) experience with the motorbike has not dimmed my enthusiasm for riding so I may very well get myself a bike as transport. This will be cheap to buy and cheap to run. I figure as long as I keep off mountain roads for a while I should be OK. There are a couple of possibilities job wise so I might chase those up in the next few days. If anyone out there has any ideas about work for me, let me know. I need to use whatever contacts I can at the moment. I think work will be a priority for me now, seeing as how I've been off full-time work for over five months now.

So this is a short post. I'm not sure whether or not I'll keep it running now that I'm back. We'll see. If I get encouraging comments then I might keep writing this as long as people are reading. Not sure how interesting it'll be but who knows what further adventures are in store?

So, until I write again dear reader, be well.

M

San Francisco. The lobby @ The Dakota.

Well friends, the adventure is just about at an end. Yesterday I had a bottle of Snapple. Didn't like it...to fruity.I have about 30 minutes before my shuttle comes to take me to the airport so I can fly home and into the bosom of my friends and family. Today was all about killing time and so i saw a couple of movies, had some lunch and that was pretty much it. I saw Flags of our fathers, that was a good movie. Quite moving. Also saw Little Children, Kate Winslet. Fantastic film, highly recommended. So here I am, (heavy) bags packed, mixed feelings about leaving although glad to be on my way home. I met a couple of Kiwi guys this morning who just arrived yesterday. really nice guys who are spending 3 months here, going to tahoe to do some snowboarding and just travelling around. We had a good chat about where to go and what to do. It's a shame I didn't meet these guys a few days ago. Could have had someone to hang round with, have a drink whatever. Oh well. So, I have survived my near-death experience and have seen some wonderful things and some not so wonderful. What a contrast. One day surrounded by the majesty of Yosemite and then back to LA where life is ruled by commerce, greed and celebrity, and then there was the serenity and haunting beauty of death valley at sunset at odds with the constant visions of homlessness and desperation I witnessed here in San Franciso. Encountering the sheer numbers of homeless in this city makes you feel that humanity has been sheared from everyday life. I guess this is necessary otherwise you would never get through a day here without emptying your pockets to these people and still know that at the end of the day you have made not a whit of difference. Very sad but, you go on. I'm really glad I did this trip. It has given me some marvellous moments that I will cherish. I don't think I'm any wiser or more worldly for doing it but nevertheless, I know it will have a lasting value. So there it is. Thanks to all of you who read this and followed my stumbling adventures, providing and audience for my ramblings. I won't bore you with photos when I get home unless you specifically ask to see them. i know there's nothing more boring than other peoples holiday snaps. next post will undoubtably be from Home so, until then bless you all and see you very soon! Love, M.

19/10/2006 San Francisco, 2nd last day.

Hello again, well, last night was a roaring success. Slim's is a pretty good venue, about 10 minutes or about 7 bucks in a cab from here. Three bands were on last night. Doomriders were up first, not bad but pretty run of the mill. Acid King were next, a three piece sludgy doom metal band headed by a female guitarist. They had a psychadelic light show projected onto their backdrop, very effective. The band were fantastic, very trippy and very heavy. Of course the best was saved until last, the mighty Japanese doom juggernaut...Boris. These guys (two guys and, again, a female guitarist) are sensational. They were extremely heavy and at times beautifully melodic, slow, grinding riffs as well as more thrashy pacier offerings. This tiny japanese chick on guitar was amazing and the drummer was heroic...loved it. By the end of the night I was pretty well liquored up and so I stumbled over to my cab and came home a happy man. I do remember being quite chatty with the cab driver. Can't remember what the hell we spoke about but he was cool. Today, naturally started out slowly and I didn't get out of my "crib" until about 12:30. Another beautiful Californian day greetd me as I made my way to the Coit Tower...funny name, it was built by Fanny Coit or something. Anyway, i took the bus through the nightmare that is Chinatown and ended up in Horth Beach where i proceeded to walk up Lombard street which is VERY steep. there is a bus that goes there but I couldn't work out where to catch it so, up I went, almost a kilometer until I reached the tower. It cost 4 and a half bucks to ride the lift to the top but the view was great and so i took out my camera and ( now here's something i never thought I'd say) took a few shots in the coit. So a lot of effort was expended to get this view (and use that line) but it was worth it. The tower is on Telegraph Hill which is a moneyed section of town, quite exclusive it seems. Lovely homes overlooking SF bay. Very, very hilly though. Out in the parking lot, a bus pulled up. I know going down hil is easier but I had my pass with me so I hopped on. this took me to Washington Square and Union Park where people were enjoying the lovely day just swanning about in the sunshine. I had a bite to eat and read my book for a while before heading home. It's now about 4:30 in the afternoon so i'm going to go up, freshen up and go for a walk before dinner time. Tonight I will be experimenting with packing. I think I should be OK with the weight, just have to distribute carefully. So that's about it. Tomorrow will be a time killing day so i might see a couple of movies to take me to airport shuttle time which will be at 7:30. I'll update tomorrow evening probably. Cheers, M.

18/10/2006 San Francisco Day 5

Hello, I mentioned that I haven't been to the Golden gate Bridge yet, well, yesterday I hopped on the bus and took myself there. Great thing that bridge. It's a fantastic piece of engineering but it's also so iconic. You look at it and it's just so familiar, having seen it's image on countless TV shows and movies. I took a walk on it to about the middle and looked out over the bay, very impressive. After that I hooped on another couple of buses and went to Aquarius Records for a peek. This shop is small but was very busy and they have a great selection of hard to find releases. Picked up a couple of cheap CD's. Aquarius is in the Mission District. A largely hispanic neighbourhood with some very poor, run down sections. Didn't really want to hang around there for too long. Lonely Planet cites that area as one in which not to wander about after dark. I can see why. Thnings have been a bit uneventful since I got here, sorry, it makes for boring reading I know but, I resolved to keep this blog up so i'll persist (although I would think several readers would have dropped off by now...bless 'em). One bad thing about the Dakota, is crappy TV. In the other places I travelled through, there was a better selection of cable programs but here there are fewer stations and mostly Network. Some good new shows though. Couple of observations. Everybody speaks on mobiles while they are driving, there doesn't seem to be any fear of getting caught. Public transport in SF is pretty good. i bought a weekly bus pass so there no mucking around with correct change etc etc. The level of toilet water is too high in the states, some places worse than others, not too bad here though. This computer is in the lobby of the hotel and i always get the feeling that anyone waiting for the elevator is reading over my shoulder, it's unnerving! Anyway, it's another beautiful day, sunny and about 22 degrees so I'm off to The Haight, try do some more souvenir shopping and that should take care of it...bloody souvenirs. Good thing crap is cheap! BORIS tonight...can't wait. Looks like tomorrow will be hangover day. Blessings to all, be home in 4 days!!! Yahoo!

16/10/2006 San Francisco, Day Four

Aah, there you are.... After posting yesterdays entry I took a tram to the wharf and got a ticket to Alcatraz for today. I got back and went to Murphy's pub for another bowl of chili and a beer...great chili! Spent last night watching TV. Couldn't be bothered going anywhere. Today I took the Alcatraz tour. Interesting place but a little disappointing. It is an old, cold place but I didn't get a real sense of foreboding, probably because there were so many people there. But, it was worth seeing. It was good to see the excercise yard where Clint Eastwood sat in "Escape from Alcatraz". Took some good shots though. Afterwards I came back into town and went to see a movie. "A Guide to recognising your saints" with Robert Downey Jr. (He was in the film, I didn't go see it with him...) Great film. I've decided to go see Eastwoods new film "Flags of our fathers" on friday. I check out of here at 11am but my flight isn't 'til 10:30pm... I have some time to fill. The amount of beggars in this city is incredible. The last two days I have been cruising around with my MP3 player on so I have been ignoring them, it's been really good. Speaking of movies, I forgot to mention this in a previous post but the previews to the new james bond film looked fantastic, Daniel Craig really looks the part. Good casting choice I reckon. Also saw a preview for "300". It's based on a graphic novel and the story seems to be about the 300 Spartans...looks very edgy and violent. can't wait for that. Also, Borat, the film. The preview was hilarious, hope the film is too. Anyway, back to the beggars. They are pretty harmless, they ask but they don't stalk you or get abusive if you say no. I saw some english prick on a mobile tell one of the to F off when he was approached...I thought that was unnecessary. After the movie I just sauntered about the CBD (it was about 7:30 and there were thousands of people around union square..amazing)with my headphones on. It was lovely just walking along listening to music and looking around. Had a giant slice of pizza for dinner and went to the Gold Dust bar for a beer and a half. Got bored so I just came back to my room at about 9. Saw a guy at the bar, sitting with his wife and I couldn't stop glancing over at him.it took me a while to realise why. he reminded me so much of my dad, it was uncanny. I couldn't hear him speaking so I couldn't tell where he was from but it wouldn't have suprised me if he was a Yugo. Had the right head. the likeness was very strong though. Butterfingers was the candy bar of the day. Quite nice. Chocolate covered crunchy peanut butter...stuff. very sweet though. That's about it for now. Tomorrow I'm off to the Haight again to pick up a couple more souvenirs and maybe head down to the Castro for lunch or something. I'm going to try get a tour in as well. Just an easy way of seeing a number of things and take some photos. Still haven't gone to the Golden Gate. hey Rich, there don't seem to be any Plovers around but there were some HUGE ravens in death valley, as big as cats! But they don't swoop you (well they might swoop you!). Alright, that's it. Be well. M

15/10/2006. San Francisco, day three.

Hmmm, yesterday was a lazy one. I was in a 'mood". Couldn't be bothered really but forced myself to get out and trip on down to Fishermans Wharf. Maybe some of the gloss is wearing off, I don't know but, as I write this, I'm thinking that I would rather be at home than anything. I'm getting homesick and lonely. But, I'm here and I will keep seeing as much as I can in the time I have left. There are still a few things to do and see before I leave. OK, back to yesterday. I spent a couple of hours at the wharf. Needed to have lunch so what else could I have but a bowl of Clam Chowder....absolutely delicious. Served in a bread "bowl". Great stuff. I have never seen so many crabs as I did there. There are stalls all over the place with big piles of crabs and the vendors were making all sorts of edibles for the passing trade. Apart from the chowder, the highlight was Bush Man. This old black man, sitting on a milk crate holding a pile of branches in front of him. When an unsuspecting tourist walked past, he would shake the branches and let out a growl and scare the crap out of his victim. It was hilarious. This guy has been there for years and by the look of his bucket, he makes a handsome living doing what he does. Some of the reactions were priceless. One poor japanese dude literally jumped into the air yelling in fright. The crowd loved that one. I tried to get a ticket for Alcatraz but it had sold out so I have to go back there to buy one maybe later today. I got a glimpse of the bridge and it looked very impressive. I bought a weekly bus pass as well yesterday to save mucking around and while I was at the ticket place, bought a ticket to the theatre. Last night I saw Death of a Salesman at the Actors Theatre. It was great. Never seen this play before and I was glad I did. Very moving and well put together. The ticket was only $19 at this outlet so it was a cheap night out. So I got home about midnight but not before picking up an O'Henry bar. Nice. Two small chewy caramel and peanut bars. Liked that one. Didin;t get out of bed until almost ten this morning. I've just had a crappy breakfast at the "Crepe Place". Awful Eggs Benedict, served with a mountain of potatos. Yuk. Coffee was rubbish as well. Oh well, maybe I'm getting to the end of my travel tolerance...but I can't be arsed today. Cheers, M.

14/10/2006 The Dakota day two

Hello, With the first day in the can. I thought I'd take a trip over to The Haight to check out Amoeba Music. I got up reasonably late because of the drinking the night before so I made a later than expected start which was OK. On the way, not far from here, I came across a place called Rasputin Music great 5 story record and DVD store. Tons of new and 2nd hand stuff. Could have spent hours in there but only stayed for about an hour. Picked up a couple of bargains so it was well worth the diversion. On to haight street, where the 60's are still clinging on for grim death. great area. Full of eclectic shops, tattoists, bars and great architecture. I'l go back there again to have a better look but for the moment, I was on a mission. Amoeba was probably not quite as big as the Hollywood store but their records selection was a little more complete. Had a grea couple of hours in there and again picked up some great stuff but came out of there a bit nervous as to the weight of bringing these back, combined with the other purchases, it's gonna be tight but I should be OK if I distribute the weight evenly. last night I went to a bar called the Gold Dust which was great. Busy polace with a three piece band playing covers ( the band were behind a "bar" in the back so they had no room, but they were three middle aged dudes who didn't really need to worry about stage presence. They did a great job and had the joint jumpin'. This is where I saw "Thumbs Nakimura". a drunk Japanese guy who showed his approval (every minute or so) of the band by leaning over to them with his arm outstretched and his thumb in the air. He would remain that way for about a minute before receding back to his seat. Mind you, he was only a couple of feet from the band in the first place so his thumb always ended up about six inches from the band-members face. Very funny. He kept yelling for MAKO JASSON... These guys were playing Willie Nelson, Lynrd Skynrd and other such artists and Thumbs wanted to hear Michael Jackson. Great stuff, he never did get his request though. I stayed there for a few hours. The bar staff were great. They rang a bell every now and again. I asked the barman what that was for. Every time someone tipped $5, they would ring the bell. he told me that they do it to encourage the english to ask, so they got an undestanding of tipping...something they never do apparently. As if to prove a point, this group of English tourists stood next to me (almost on top of me really) and I watched and they never tipped a cent. They took every bit of change off the bar and the other bartender looked at me and rolled his eyes. Very funny. (Sorry Paul) I think "whingeing pom" refers best to the English Tourist...they're all bloody miserable. They don't tip, everything takes too long, blah blah, blah. But then, a lot of toursists are like that, doesn't matter where they're from. I can never understand why tourists complain about things that aren't like they are at home....why friggin travel in the first place if you want everything like it is at home?? Idiots. Anyway, that's all I want to write so I'll update tomorrow my loves. M

14/10/2006. The Dakota, Day one.

Dear ones, I've tried setting this thing up so you can leave comments...again. you have to register (open and account) and then you should be OK. So it was bye-bye to LA and hello San Francisco. The check in and security was, as usual, a nuisance but the flight itself was brief and drama free. had an empty seat next to me so it was quite comfortable. I found a shuttle to take me to the hotel so there was no getting lost. The Dakota is an old building near Union Square which is the centre of this particular district. Shops, restaurants, theatres etc etc. Great spot to be based. Anyhoo, I stepped into the lobby and was surprised at the homeyness of the reception area. I was given room 602 so I had to take the lift. And what a lift. Just like in the movies, you have to slide the metal grilled glass door across and then the concertina steel grate to get in. then you press your floor number and this tiny old elevator slowly but silently makes it's way up. It's great! I'll get some shots of it. I got to my floor and found my room. My room at the previous hostel was tiny, had one window that let in no light, bunk single beds and a prison toilet. That is, pretty much open but for a low wall for privacy. Cramped and utterly charmless. All this didn't have me expectng much from the Dakota but then I opened the door to 602....WOW! here was this spacious light filled corner room with four big windows giving me a great view of the immediate area. In the middle of the room was a king size bed! I couldn't believe it, it was beautiful. The bathroom is clean and compact with another window that opens on to....a FIRE ESCAPE!! This was simply too good. I had arrived with little expectation and been very pleasantly surprised. I love it. I put down my luggage, freshened up and took off to have a look around. It's a nice city this. Lots of old architecture mixed in with the new. Some of the old stuff is run down and some has been renovated. I'm a few blocks from Chinatown which doesn't interest me (went through there on the bus today...you've seen one Chinatown, you've seen 'em all). After tooling about for a couple of hours, I poped into this bar for something to eat. I got myself a bowl of chilli and a beer. The chilli was beautiful, as was the beer. After a few beers, I headed home to work out what I was going to do in the evening. I was going to go across the road to Bobby C's Owl Tree but it was closed. Bobby died a little while ago and there was a notice up regarding a wake or something. Don't know if it'll open again while I'm here. Wound up at a place called Biscuits and Blues. They had a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was fantastic. This guy, Alan Inglesias (believe it or not)was a gun guitarist and the drummer and bass were great too. Great show from both the band and the crowd. A lot of whoopin' and hollerin'. There was this black dude, blind drunk, kept standing up and applauding whenever the mood suited him...which was often. I think the guitarist called him Iceman. He was rotten. Very funny. Didn't get drunk this time so at the end of the show, I finished my beer and headed home. Great day and I was very pleased to be in this city and out of LA. More later Chums

12/10/2006 San Francisco. "The Dakota"

Gut Morgen mein Kinder und der juden,

yesterday, my last in Los Angeles was a blast. The previous night I attended the open mike session at the hostel. In a way it was great, $1 beers...excellent. Hostels are filled by a certain type of person. Usually young(20-35), gregarious, artistic, adventurous hippy types (at least urban types with a hippy philosophy and asthetic). You know the type, happy, left-wing dorks. As most of you would have guessed, exactly the type of person that turns my stomach. Not really that bad but i found myself a bit on the outer with this mob. No-one really tried to engage me in conversation. I tried to be friendly to a couple of people but it seemed too hard so, I kept pretty much to myself. The people who ran the place were cool but the derro's staying there were another story. At the open mike thing, they had singers and one guy did a spoken word thing. I nearly vomited but, I kept an open mind. A couple were, in truth, quite good. Particularly this one kid playing slide guitar. Too much personality, good looks and talent for his own good. I hated him. There was this one gorgeous girl who was a great singer but she wore a captains hat (like yours,Dean), so she was immediately dismissed as an idiot. Also, I caught her listening to one of the performers, swaying her head with her eyes closed....sickening. So, yesterday I went to Knotts Berry Farm and rode some of the craziest Rollercoasters and thrill rides you could imagine. The Ghostrider: a huge wooden trad rollercoaster about three times the size of the big dipper. That was the first thing I went on... I sat in the front and I nearly shit my pants. But once the horror subsided, I just laughed. It was so much fun. Then I took the Silver Bullet. You hang on this thing, so the rail is above you. This was fast and took loops all over the place. Once again, I almost soiled myself, especially when it got to the top of the first dip and the floor fell away and all there was under my feet was a hundred foot drop. Insane but lots of fun. Then there was the Super Scream (or something like that) This was sitting in a seat with legs dangling, hoisted up the outside of a tower 200 feet in thge air and then dropped. My friends, when I got to the top of this thing, it looked so high I had some very dark thoughts. Not too many though, within seconds I was dropping at an alarming rate and laughing my old head off. Great stuff. I've saved the best for last though. The Excelerator. This thing lasts just over a minute and had my sphincter so tight I couldn;t have pulled a pin out of my arse with a tractor. You sit in a typical rollercoaster car and are the propelled to 82 mph (that's MILES per hour!) in 2 seconds before a vertical (not nearly vertical...VERTICAL) climb of probably 150 feet, then a vertical drop and into some ridiculous twists before a sudden stop. When this thing took off, I just had time to realise I had made an awful mistake. But then I just laughed insanely for the rest of the ride. It was just too much fun. I did these rides (and a few more) twice, as I had all day to do it. A great day. By the time I got home it was 9:30 so I didn't bother with dinner. Just had a packet of chips and watched the fights on TV. (first time I saw aussie/ armenian, Vic Darchinyan fight). I slept badly due to the dipshits at the hostel coming out of the comedy night pissed and yabbering in the hallway at 2am...proto-hippy bastards. This morning I got up, packed up and said goodbye to Hollywood and Kumbaya to the USA Hostel. This brings me to San Francisco and that, my friends is a tale for the next installment of....The Dobric Story. As always, blessings, M.

10/10/2006. USA Hostel, Hollywood.

Hello again, Last night was a blast. Saw a couple of great bands, a lot of black T-Shirts, long hair and tattoos. Did I mention that a lot of women have tattoos here? Big tatoos on the arms and back etc. Lots of Latinos there as well. Big hairy Latinos. They seem to be a pretty big market for Thrash and Death metal. Mean lookin' dudes. Favourite band of the night was Exodus. Thrashy Metal band from the 80's. I saw this big old dude (looked to be about my age, with a big gut, beard and long hair and sleeved tatts) talking to a guy on the merch desk. He was really intense and looked to be angry, arms flailing about, old long hair akimbo. It turned out that this wild old madman was the lead singer for Exodus! He was hilarious. Screaming at the crowd, pointing at us and calling us all Mother F*#kers...a lot! It was so funny, when he felt that he wasn't getting enough reaction from the crowd he kept asking if we were tired. I was laughing my head off. He kept slapping at his chest and doing periodic headbanging. It was breathtaking, I loved every minute of it. After their set, I bought their CD and two T-shirts. The lead singer was there so I got him (and the drummer) to sign the CD. I shook his hand and thanked him for a great set. He was much mellower by now and he looked genuinely pleased to hear it. What a man! Once again, I ended up a little worse for wear but not overly so. I grabbed a bite in the HOB restaurant before the the bands came on so I was well prepared for a drink. Once I got home, I didn't feel like going to bed so I wandered over to Hollywood Blvd and popped into a bar on Highland called the Powerhouse. One of those dives you see on TV and the movies. Brick wall facade and a single door. Inside though it was great. Plenty of people in there and a good friendly atmosphere. I got talking to this guy when I was sitting outside having a smoke. He told me that it was a hangout for locals and always has a good feel to it. They had these weird electronic dartboards that did the scoring automatically. Met an ex-pat aussie guy. He's been here for years and has that shitty hybrid accent. Anyway, I hung around there for about an hour or so and then made my way home, but not before stopping at a Donut place to grab a coffee and a couple of sugary custard donuts. These I pigged out on back in my room before finally passing out.
I'm now at the hostel where I'll be staying until I fly to San Francisco on the 12th. Pretty cool place, everyone's friendly and they have their own laundry...just in time too. I ran out of socks today so I did a big load (of washing) when I got here. Just got back from Amoeba Records. It's the biggest record shop I've ever seen. Used to be an old bowling alley. Thousands and thousands of CD's, records and DVD's. It was heaven! Spent a couple of hours in there and spent surprisingly little given that I bought about four albums and four CD's. Most of it was second hand so it kept the cost down. Music here is cheaper than at home although working at JB probably evens it up. There is another one in SanFrancisco so I'll be paying them a visit as well. There's still a few more things that I couldn't find in the Hollywood store. Ok, so now it's getting near dinner time so I have to think about doing that soon. They have a open-mike night in the Hostel lounge tonight so I'll probably check that out. Might even belt out a few tunes. Samo Jedno se Ljubi or some other popular Serbo Pop hit. Tomorrow I might go to Magic Mountain to rides those crazy roller coasters. Stay tuned... Love M PS I've changed the setting so you should be able now to create an account and leave comments.

09/10/2006: Hollywood!

Hello little ones, I'm back in Hollywood, and I mean IN Hollywood! Stepping back for a minute though. My night in Bakersfield was a quiet one before my bus trip back to LA. You know, riding the reyhound simply lacks the romance that seems to be portrayed in the movies. The depot is in the crappy part of bakersfield. It's a depressing place with life's transients and vagabonds frequenting it whether it be to catch a bus or to catch a free drink or meal from a garbage bin. Not nice. I had several released cons getting the bus back to LA. There must be a jail in Bakersfield. They were no bother to anyone but there was no mistaking the attitude and "aura" around some of these guys. Not dissimilar from some of my ex clients. Anyhoo, got into LA and found my way to my hotel, not before I was accosted by a black dude who struck up a conversation and tried assist me with getting to where I am now. Of course, the friendliness was not without a price, he asked me for a smoke before we parted ways. Nice guy but the begging around here is rife and some are better presented than others and they are very polite and helpful. I see it as a fee for service. No drama. Yestrday afternoon I got my first taste of Hollywood. Let me tell you, after spending the past week pretty much surrounded by nothing, walking into Hollywood Blvd was a bit of a shock... There are just thousands of people milling about this huge mall called Hollywood and Highland. There are shops and restaurants of all types. Walking through this you get a sense of the sheer scale of tourist valuse in this place. The mall is impressive but, once I hit HB, that's when the real action presented itself. Lights everywhere, street performers, movie characters everywhere (chasing a buck by getting you to pose for a photo with them and then tipping 'em) I was once again accosted by a black dude carrying a discman and a handful of CD's. I got sucked in and stopped. His name was Sweet P and he put headphones on me and gave me a sample of his stuff. Didn't sound great but I only had a few seconds and it was all so hectic... I bought his CD when three more of them swooped thrusting their headphones or CD's at me...I bought 'em all. Only cost me 20 bucks all up. Deano, hope you like at least one of them. Sweet P signed the CD ( "put it on Ebay when I get famous, man"). It was a laugh. right next door was the Kodak Theatre where the academy awards are held, next to that, Graumanns Chinese Theatre with all the hand prints of the stars out front. Across the road, a cinema called the El Capitan, great old theatre. NBC studios, tattoists, gift shops, Mel's Drive-In restaurant and much more. What a place. I went into a t-shirt shop, trying to find souvenirs for my friends. I passed by this huge black dude who gave me this dirty look, like I'd just killed his dog. No idea why, maybe just didn't like my face. So, I got out of there pretty quick before I was forced to give him a beating... Today I went and bought another bag to split the luggage load. Just got a $9 el cheapo. Cheaper than paying for an overweight suitcase at the airport. After that I went to the movies! I don't know if Scorcese's new film "The Departed" is out there yet but it is magnificent. Just got back from seeing it. The real attraction was that it was playing in the Chinese theatre. Had to see a film there. What a great cinema. Huge, absolutely huge inside and very ornate in a Chinese theme. Splendid!! Now I'm going to nip back to HB and take my camera. I don't walk around with my gear..too awkward and too touristy. I'll go get some shots now and come back to my hotel. Rest up before heading to The House of Blues to see Hatebreed, Napalm Death, Black Dahlia murders and more! More aural assault. I have to move to the hostel tomorrow so I'm not sure what I'll be up to. We'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, I'm off. Cheers and blessings. M

07/10/2006 Bakersfield CA. Off the road.

Hello again Fruende,

Well, here I am back in Bakersfield. No more desert, no more scenic wonder. It has been a marvellous week. Having survived the initial trauma, I went on to see wonders. I don't need to rehash the trip as you would have a good idea of what I have experienced (well some of it anyway) through the blog. I drove out of the desert today and through a few small, nondescript towns. I had a bad moment as I drove past my crash site...bastard bend. Anyway, once I got into Bakersfiield, I did what I do best and got lost. Fortunately I drove into a parking lot at the end of a one way street to turn around when this kid starts gesturing to me. I asked him what was up and he asked if I wanted to get the truck washed for 5 bucks. I was planning to do this anyway so I said OK. A bunch of high school kids were doing a fundraiser. They did a good job too. While I was waiting, I got talking to the lady taking the money as well as the dad of one of the kids. We had a good chat and when the car was done, the kids came over and I regaled them with humourous tales. They loved it when I said "bloke" and 'bugger" and "mate". Of course, they asked me about Steve Irwin. They laughed when I told them no-one says crikey in Australia. I returned the truck and got a lift back to the hotel by the owner's (of Eaglerider) grandson. Good to get calls from Maryann and Arthur. Thanks. Now I'm a bit bored. Not much to do around here so I'll just rest up before I grab a bite to eat. There's a wedding going on here so I might not get a peaceful nights sleep! There's a good fight on TV tonight so I hope I'll be able to catch it. Had great Mexican for dinner last night in Ridgecrest. (Thought I'd forego the Carls Jr) Shabby little place, the food was beautiful...and cheap. Hey, forgot this: last time I stayed here, before the ride, I was on the balcony having a smoke when the foreman of the work crew who were remodelling the hotel, called from downstairs "hey, Danny Bonaduce!" I laughed and he asked if I get that a lot. Funny guy. Tomorrow, back to LA. Paul was going to come over from the UK to catch up with his brother but he's decided not to now. Probably a good thing. I would have been too hungover to see any of Hollywood...would have been fun though. So, I'm going to see some sights, go to Knotts Berry Farm and ride the Monster Roller Coaster they have there, try find some good music and walk the Walk of Fame .

Had Hershey's chocolate bar last night. Bloody awful chocolate. Miss my Cadbury's. Speaking of Chocolate I made a mistake in my last entry. The 100 Grand bar was a peanut (what else?) and chocolate concoction and the Three Musketeers was the whipped choc on choc thing. If you want to post comments, I think you have to create an account (easy to do) and log in. Alright, I'm done for now. Might get me a few Buds, and crash the wedding! Love to you all. Be in touch soon

06/10/2006. Ridgecrest CA. Surviving Death Valley

Hello again, No internet access in Furnace Creek so this is the first chance I've had to get online. Where did I leave you? That's right, I was on my way to DV. Let me tell you, the drive there is amazing but the place itself is fascinating. 200 metres below sea level and hot. Not too hot, about 95 when I got there I think but very dry. Driving through the desert is a spooky experience I reckon, just nothing around you just mountains in the distance and flat land for miles and miles at one stop, there was this complete silence. In the middle of the afternoon and all I could hear was my own breathing. No traffic, no birds, nothing. Just beautiful. The poor old Toyota Truck struggled getting up some of the climbs to get through the mountains. Best I could do at one oint was about 35 MPH, kept in third gear, foot to the floor. All the bastard giant V8 trucks and cars kept zooming past me. Whe I mention trucks, I mean pickups and 4WD's of all descriptions, but all blody huge...I love it! Once I got to the hotel (Ranch) I put my stuff down, grabbed the camera and took off to Zabriskie Point ( had to go because of the movie). ZP is a lookout into the valley and I made it there shortly before sundown. it was sublime. I think I got some ripper photos. The only thing that gave me the shits was the german tourists yabbering away, spoiling the moment. It's been fun getting other tourists to take my photo and doing the same for them in return. Didn't get one from the Germans, don;t think they would have understood me! Have I mentioned the latest candy bars? Lets see, There's the 100 grand bar. Soft whipped choc inside a chocolate skin, lovely. Reece's Peanut Butter cups. Like a little tart of peanut butter in a chocolate casing, Not bad, different. Had dinner at the Ranch lst night and was served by a guy who spoke like Principle Skinner from the Simpsons. Good waiter though. Looked more like a schoolteacher! Anyway, just about out of time. There are many things that I have left out due to time and alzheimers but I'll try to add a special "summary edition" later. Thanks for all your messages by email and SMS. It's great to get them after a day of lone wolfin'. Time's just about up so this is Mexicali Mike signing off to head on down to Carls Jr for a burger dinner! XXX

05/10/2006 Bishop Ca.

Hello again friends, I'm tapping away at a PC in a place called the Looney Bean in Bishop, California. I've stopped here to do some laundry so I thought I grab a coffee while I wait. The trip to Mammoth Lakes was spectacular, up around 9000ft, through barren rocky mountains..it was eerie, scary and breathtaking. Mammoth Lakes is a Ski town and I stayed at the Mountain Inn. Beautiful hotel with lots of rock and wood inside, Elk Antler chandeliers...and a open fire. Very cold up there and so I repaired to the bar and made myself comfortable, drinking Flat Tyre beer and chatting to Mike, the barman. I spent a couple of hours there with Mike and his buddy Nate. Good guys. Got a couple of free shots of a thing called an Oatmeal Cookie. Beautiful. Also, had me a 7 & 7, in honour of BS2G. (Don't worry, he'll know what that means). Anyway, staggered off to bed with the promise of snow some time throughout the night. I asked the front desk to call me as soon as the snow started falling....sadly it didn't but I woke to a beautiful day on the mountain and begun my drive to Death Valley. I'll update more later. Love to you all. M

03/10/2006 El Portal Redemption Pt 2.

So now I'm driving, not riding. As I cruised along, through winding roads towards El Portal, the gateway to Yosemite, I had flashbacks of my crash. Time and again. It filled me with dread and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that there was no way I could have completed this trip on a bike. I had simply lost my nerve. As I wound my way up the mountains I became increasingly more grateful that I was driving now. The road up was treacherous and I even saw two guys on Harleys stop halfway and turn back. I felt like a loser, still do a bit, but with every flashback and every glimpse of the beauty of this place, that feeling dissipates a little more. Last night I finally made it to El Portal about 9:30pm. I took my time getting here, stopping at Moro Rock. That was a climb of about 400 steps onto the top of this granite monolith that gave me a view of the spectacular valley below. Beautiful stuff. Took a couple of photos of this Chilean couple whose camera battery had died. I told them I'd email the shots to them once I got back home. Lovely old folks. Anyway, made it to the Cedar Lodge and found out the bar was still open so after writing last nights post, I took myself over for a beer. Well, at about 1:30am I staggered back to my room and flaked out! The bar's a great spot. Not many in there but the barmaid was really friendly, the jukebox had some good tunes and the Newcastle Brown Ale was on tap... After a couple of hours, I was reasonably drunk. I met an Armenian fellow called Arthur...how about that! He had one eyebrow and wore an upmarket tracksuit. He told me that he knew the guys from System of a Down (they're Armenians) and that he lived in LA. Pretty cool guy. Any way, after countless glasses of "Dog", I lurched back to my room singing Serbian drinking songs.

I greeted this morning with a significant hangover and got moving quite late but not too late. This was Yosemite day!! After some time eating a decent breakfast and showering myself senseless. I made my way to Yosemite National Park. Good friends and loved ones, I really don't posess the literary skill to adequately describe the majesty of this beautiful place. The sight of these giant granite monoliths, rising thousands of feet above the valley floor is simply awe inspiring. I have never seen anything like this. It is belittling, it is inspiring, it is moving and it is the one thing that has justified the difficulty I encountered getting here. I took a tour of the valley floor and when we came upon El Capitan, 3500ft of solid granite wall, I was moved to the point of tears. Perhaps it was some of the recent trauma playing havoc with my emotions, I don't know, but this gigantic rock made me feel really good about still being around to appreciate such beauty. This really is a magical place and one day is just not enough to take it all in. Maybe I'll tell you more about this in the next post. Before I go though. Candy Bar report: Baby Ruth: Lots of nuts in chocolate. Pretty good. Payday: Lots of nuts around a chewy caramel bar. Great, very sweet but offset by a little salt on the nuts! More later. God Bless. M

03/10/2006: El Portal. Redemption.

Hello friends, Well, today was a revelation but first let me finish the sad tale I begun yesterday... Once I had spoken to Curtis about the bike, I started on my way to my destination for the day, Three Rivers. Navigating the roads here has proved a challenge and in the state I was in, mistakes came thickly, I took wrong turns everywhere. While riding through the mountains, I realised I was low on fuel and the day was quickly coming to an end. I was lucky enough to find a ranger station where I was able to get a gallon of gas to get me through the mountains and to the next petrol station. It was suggested to me that an alternate route would be faster and so I took this route. This turned out to be a mistake as I had to ride for another couple of hours in the dark, cold night; no idea where I was or which way I was headed...it was awful. The dark and cold, combined with my aching head and chest, not to mention my lost nerve, made te ride a challenge to say the least. But, push on I did and eventually made it to Porterville, a largely hispanic town of reasonable size. I tell you my friends, this to me was an Oasis and I greeted it's arrival with overwhelming relief. I found my way to a Best Western and checked in. All thoughts of reaching Three Rivers long forgotten. In this spare, but clean room, my misery became abject and all encompassing. I don't mind telling you my faithful readers, I was close to giving it all up and coming home. I ached, I was hungry, my spirit was in tatters and I just couldn't see myself continuing. It was the next morning. I called Curtis again and he asked what I wanted to do. I told him that I didn't think I could continue the ride even with a replacement bike. To my surprise, he offered to come pick up the bike and let me use the Toyota truck to complete the trip. I was taken aback by this and gladly accepted. These guys have been fantastic and they go to great lengths to make sure your trip is a good one. Later that morning, Curtis turned up. picked up the bike and rode it back to Bakersfield, which is only an hour away from Porterville ironically. So there I was, ready to go agan in a Toyota pickup, one with EagleRider painted all over it... I was back on the road my friends, no doubt about it!

Yosemite - 02-10-2006... Disaster!

Hello faithful friends and loved ones. Yesterday I finally took to the road on my Harley Heritage Softail. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as hoped and a drizzle started just as I was leaving the depot. Intrepid adventurer that I am, I pushed on. Tearing down the highway on this huge red beast, rumbling like thunder beneath me. Of course every lyric of every road/driving/biker rock song deserted me so I just sang Born to be Wild over and over again. Aah the open road and adventure ahead...what more could I ask? Well dearest friends, I should have asked for something because as I wound my way through the start of the Sierra Nevadas, my concentration lapsed, just for a second to return a wave to some bikers coming the other way mind you, but that was enough to have me drift perilously close to the shoulder to my right, where a trench ran along the road, separating it from a sheer rock wall. Anyhow, this massive 800 pound beast simply didn't want to drift back to the road so....into te ditch I went, not really fast mind you but fast enough to give me a thorough scare, and bend the bike, and bend me a bit too. So, down I went, did a bit of a tumble, head glancing rock, shoe flying off and...stop. Dazed, i got to my feet when a young fella on a bike pulled over and ran to assist as did a few people coming past in a van. We righted the bike, I checked myself for damage (precious little as it turned out) and pretty much stood dazed wondering how badly this trip had turned. Once I gathered my wits, we un-bent some of the bike and started it up...good as new! My thoughts turned to my loved ones and friends and I was shaken by the realisation of just how close I came to never seeing any of you again...horrible thought. Very dramatic all this but, let me assure you, I AM OK! Just a bump on the nose and sore chest and knee. I continued the ride to Kern, young Josh, the asisting bike rider, following to make sure I got there OK. Very decent fella. I called the bike shop and told them the bad news. Curtis from EagleRider wasn't fazed about the bike, I had plenty of insurance. He was concerned that I might be hurt, which I assured him I wasn't...much.

He offered to swap the bike over the next day but I told him that I'd call him in the morning to work out what I should do from this point. My spirit at this point was very low my friends and I longed for the embrace of my beloved or a comforting hug from a friend... I will continue this tomorrow as my interent time is coming to and end. As you can tell though, I am still on the road and everything is well indeed, tomorrow I get to explore the mighty Yosemite! Stay tuned for more tomorrow on how I got back on the road. I AM WELL! Off to have a beer I think.

Love to you all. M
PS, My phone is dead for now.