Nothing to report...

Nothing really to report, news from Virgin is that all in and out bound flights are cancelled for Sunday and Monday and they will let us know the status of the following day at 17:00hrs each day until the airports are open. Until then there is no point even ringing them to try and get our flight moved forward.

Thankfully we couldn't be in better hands and we are staying at Gary and Lolly's. If it weren't for these guys goodness knows what we would do. Also it means me and V get to hand out with my newest cousin for a few more days.

Force majeure

Due to the imminent reclassification of Iceland to a 3rd world country our flight has been cancelled and the soonest they can re-schedule us for is April 27th.

The skys are quiet but the airports are bedlam. We are meant to travel home tomorrow evening but the UK MET office and most of northern Europe have shut down the air space and no one is going anywhere. I'll keep this up to date but I can't see anything changing until this travel embargo is lifted and then all I can do is try and call Virgin all day and try and grab a flight.

Watch this space

This could prove interesting...

Watch this space

Sharks and whales and fish and penguins

How many parks can we visit in a week? Well yesterday we went to SeaWorld and that makes two in as many days. Today we are off to the world renowned San Diego Zoo with Gary, Lolly and baby Hendrix.

As ever pictures and possibly video to follow, once I have had some time to sift through them.

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Today Lolly gave us her car and provided us with free tickets to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. I got in on a free pass that Gary and Lolly got when they signed up for their year long membership and V pretended to be Lolly so she could get in for free. We had Lolly's driver's licence ready but no one asked us so we just went right on through. We had a great time and I took some 300 odd pictures so I thought I would just update here and worry about the pictures tomorrow.

Check back soon.

Viva Las Vegas

To see all the pictures from Vegas click here

(There's about 150 so I thought I would put a link to them instead of just putting up the best ones)

Due to internet in the hotel being $14 a day I thought I would just keep note of everything we got up to, take lots of pictures and do one big blog post when I got back. So here goes.

Tuesday

We got up nice and early and Lolly took us to the car rental place. We got ourselves an automatic Hyundai Sonata that we affectionately named Hank José. 300 odd miles later we arrived at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas after a picturesque drive along one straight road through the desert. We were still quite jet lagged so decided at 8pm to nap for an hour before going out. Ten and a half hours later we woke up... so a good nap.

Wednesday

As we were up nice and early after a good sleep we got some breakfast and then hit the strip for some hardcore sightseeing. We went to the Venetian, the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Paris, New York New York and everything in between. We went on the massive roller coaster which goes over the top of New York New York which was really good. We then stopped for lunch at the Harley Davidson Cafe and had a much needed rest. The weather was great so it was nice to eat (huge nachos and buffalo wings along with beer and margaritas) outside.

In the evening we headed back to Paris and went up the Eiffel Tower to see the bright lights of Vegas from high up. As you can see in the pictures the views were outstanding and we were there just in time to see the final Bellagio fountain light show at midnight which is a sight worth seeing. After one last Margarita at the Hard Rock Cafe on the strip, we headed back to the hotel.

Thursday

After breakfast we got picked up by a swanky minibus and taken to Las Vegas airport along with a few other people. From there we piled into a helicopter and took off to fly over the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. After some great sightseeing from the chopper it landed at the bottom of the Canyon where we had lunch and champagne and took lots of pictures. The whole trip was amazing and well worth it.

When we got back to the hotel we chilled by the pool with all the cool kids on 'spring break' and took in the sun. The pool was like a beach, it had sand going all the way into the water, very cool.

In the evening we had the most enormous burgers you've ever seen at the Hard Rock Cafe before heading to the Venetian to see the Blue Man Group. One of the funniest shows we've ever seen, so weird and original.

Friday

We headed back to San Marcos via Fry's which is a huge electronics store. Sam was in his element looking at pretty cables and things, I found the office furniture and had a sit. We stocked up on drinks and crappy snacks and went home. When we got back we had a late dinner at In 'N' Out Burger with Gary which is a truly American meat-tastic treat.

Since getting back from Las Vegas we've had a couple of quiet days chilling out and having a good rest. Gary took us for a drive round San Diego yesterday and by the time we got back Lolly and Hendrix were home so we had a fab evening with great home cooked food and wine. The weather today was a bit wet so we moseyed about and caught up with Lolly and the baby. Tomorrow should be a bit brighter so the plan is to head to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. More pictures and posts to come!

Sent from my iPad

First day in San Marcos

Hanging out with Baby Hendrix

'Auntie' Verity getting acquainted

The world's most advanced mouse mat

And this is Shadow, Lolly's parents cat from over the weekend.

Yesterday was another lazy day. Lolly went to the gym and dropped us at a retail park so we could do some shopping and I could get some new jeans as I tore one of my two pairs on the plane. After a hard hour's shop we stopped for lunch at the Elephant bar for noms and margaritas.

After being picked up we went back home and had a nap before Lolly took us to the supermarket for supplies. We got a massive shop along with drink and dinner for the evening.

When we got back PJ and Kelly were waiting for us and we had a great evening revolving around beers, wine, massive steaks and Hendrix.

Just before bed Gary, Lolly and ourselves had a quick search of the internet for a nice hotel for us to stay at in Vegas. So we've booked 3 nights at the Hard Rock and we're about to embark on our massive road trip to Vegas.

To be continued...

EARTHQUAKE!!!

An earthquake rated 7.2 hit today in Baja a couple of hundred mile away from where we were in South Pasadena. It lasted about 20-30seconds and we really would have felt it if we had been down at Gary and Lolly's. One of the neighbours check out the house for us and everything is fine. Gary says it's the largest one he has every felt, exciting huh?!

Easter with the Frykenbergs

Image courtesy of Gary&LollyBlog

Our first day in California and having gone to bed early last night and missing Gary, Lolly and baby Hendrix coming in, we caught up with everyone over breakfast.

We have arrived!!

Me and Verity have arrived in California and have been picked up from the airport by John.

After a cup of tea and a catch up with John and Joan we're settled on the sofa overlooking sunny California catching up with the world.

A few hic-ups along the way but on the whole a very smooth trip. I forgot how long that flight was though, made significantly more interesting by me splitting my trousers at Heathrow. You know one of those ones from the belt line to the zip, and halfway down the leg...

Anyway, I think Verity's current facebook status sums it all up

Verity Richards is somewhere between 6:00pm and 2:00am in that strange jet leg place... nice and sunny in California... must... stay... awaaaaaaaaake.... mmm dinner again.