usa

This was a family trip to the states. My Dad got us a free flight on the Prime Ministers plane (through the Air Force - he was a flight sargent), so we did a months stint in California, starting in Hawaii...

From Hawaii (where we spent 3 days) we flew to San Francisco, where we spent 2 days sight seeing (Pier 31, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge etc)

Alcatraz & an action shot of a seagull on the right!!

We hired a cadillac in San Francisco then proceeded to make our way around California. First stop, Hirst Castle, then Yosemite National Park (below), then onto Fresno.

After one more stop at Bakersfield (so the old man could check out all the boats) we arrived in LA, city of angels. It was my first real experience of bums, I'd never seen a bum begging on the street before until I went to LA, then we got asked all the time by every second person! It was annoying!! But I did feel sorry for those people, for awhile anyway, then I got the shits with everyone asking me for some change...but it was a good practice for me though for when I went to London and also for bartering my way through Europe (50 bucks! That's extortionate! How does 5 bucks grab ya?...). Anyway had a wicked time in LA.

Universal Studios was cooool. Recognise the clock tower in the photo above right? Yep, this was where Back to the Future was filmed. Saw Jaws, King Kong, Uncle Bucks car, ET, Harry (from Harry & The Hendersons) and heaps more.

This is Calico Ghost Town, where we stopped on the way to Las Vegas. It felt like the wild west! Was once a mining town then everyone up and left leaving it deserted. I do recall however, that it sold the best ice cream in the world.

And finally, the Grand Canyon (flew over it). After Las Vegas we headed back to San Francisco where we got our plane back home.