The next day, having resolved the bank issues, I headed out to play some Blackjack. Having never gambled (or placed a bet in my life) I decided not to make a fool of myself at one of the more renowned Casinos, so I headed off to "Hooters"

The next day, whilst on the strip, I passed the Bellagio as the water fountains display started. It was very impressive. The fountains sent water dancing in all directions, in time to the music (an old Broadway number). The climax of the song result in all fountains shooting a vast amount of water higher than the Casino/Hotel itself. Definitely worth a watch!

The next day I rose early & hired a bike. I made my way along the coast only to discover that the first Surfing competition of the year was underway. I chilled at the lighthouse point & watched for a while - there were well over 100 surfers in the water at once!

The next day I rose late (thanks to the 3am bedtime), & decided that I would fill my afternoon with a visit to "the Rock" - aka, "Alcatraz."

The next day I hired a bike early, & then set off on a mammoth adventure. I cycled across the famous Golden Gate bridge, which was over a mile long in itself. I stopped along the way to take a picture of the emergency phone line, put in place as a last resort for anyone tempted to take the plunge towards the water below. I shouldn't find that funny, but I did (the positioning of the phone & the sign - not suicidal people!)

On my last day in San Fran, I walked from the East shore to the West...a LONG way. During my walk I went through various residential districts, past town hall, & briefly through Caestro (the famous Gay district). Incidentally, I would recommend a film out at the moment called "Milk" - it tells the whole story as to why this district is so famous, & how the gay rights movement began & panned out in San Fran.

The beach was as stunning as I expected. Sandy & warm, with plenty of space. It was well worth the effort, & a much rewarded chill was enjoyed in the sand. I waited until the sun went down before heading home (via bus, my legs had gone!)

That night I went out for Sushi & drinks with the people I had met earlier in the week, which was a good laugh. There is plenty to do in San Francisco, & I think that the place is very attractive, I could have done a lot more sightseeing - although it's quality over quantity with my time restraints! If any of you get the chance to come to California, make sure that San Fran is on your list!

written by  johnnoble on January 17, 2009 from San Francisco, United States
from the travel blog: John's year off...
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+Christmas Day+
Our Christmas day began at 5:30am with calls to home (interrupting Christmas lunches back home), then we went to the Restaurant at the top of Whistler for a fry up breakfast. After which we hit the slopes! I got the hang of boarding pretty quickly, after I had mastered the toe-heel edge turn. It is a LOT of fun! There were some ice patches that could cause some trouble (aka - wipe outs), although in the most part the conditions were good.
After our snowboarding we hit the hot tub, as always armed with plenty of beer. Ricky & co. then cooked a fantastic Christmas dinner...

+New Year's Eve+
...I shall remember this as "POW POW" day. Pow Pow is the term used to refer to powder, aka FRESH & plentiful snow on the slopes. That morning we woke to 26cm of it! Ricky & I were up there all day - 8am to 4pm, soaking up the incredible conditions. After which it was the standard hot tub & beer routine, before going to a house party over in Whistler Creek. The party was a good laugh & v.drunken!

My two & half weeks in Whistler were "magical." Ricky & his friends were incredibly accommodating & I cannot thank them enough. I managed a total of 7 days on the slopes, costing me a whopping $80! It really shows that it is not what you know - but WHO you know! ;-) You can see how good a time was had by the amount of beer we got through in Christmas week...

My next destination is Victoria, via a weekend stay with friends in Vancouver. I have got about 9 places to visit on the West Coast of the US before I fly out to Hawaii & meet with Mr Christopher Small! It is going to be a busy & eventful month - so stay tuned! :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL x

written by  johnnoble on January 7, 2009 from Squamish, Canada
from the travel blog: John's year off...
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The following day a group of us stood on the mainstreet & watched the Santa Claus parade, which was pretty wierd. So many of the floats seemed to have little, or no, relevance to Xmas! In fact, most of the parade seemed like an opportunity for advertisement from local/national companies (inc McDo's, of course!). We watched the full two hours, just to see Santa really.

I did my usual of walking around the city & checking the place out. I was staying on Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver, which is full of bars & clubs - although it is a pretty grubby place. Due to Vancouver's milder climate a lot of Canada's homeless decend upon it for Xmas...so plenty of bums around begging for change. Once you leave the Downtown island, either North or South, the place is a lot more attractive. Only after visiting these areas could I see why so many people love the city as a whole. I imagine it being amazing during the Summer.

I visited the Maritime Museum, which was surprisingly impressive. After which I went to the space Museum. Inside there are the usual exhibits, but they also have a planetarium & a virtual Mars mission simulator. I suspect both would have thoroughly impressed me if I was a little younger. The building was pretty cool though...

On the sunniest day during my time in Vancouver (well timed) I visited Stanley park. This is a vast area at the NW corner of the Downtown island. It is very impressive. My friend & I hired bikes & covered pretty much all of the park, prior to finishing our visit with a round of pitch & putt. Very Enjoyable, if not a little chilly. It would be an amazing place in the Summer months.

One evening I went to Capilano bridge, with a girl from Maidenhead (small world), as there was a Xmas lights display. The Bridge is located North of the Vancouver Downtown island. The suspension bridge is very "Indiana Jones" like, which was pretty cool, & the lights were quite impressive too.

On one of the wettest days of my travel yet, I visited the Vancouver Aquarium. I got thoroughly soaked walking through Stanley park, so admission was worth the shelter alone! The Aquarium didn't blow me away...it has some excellent quality specimens, although the whole place really isn't that big. I did manage to find Nemo though...

We did experience an awesome Snow storm on my final Saturday in VC. We got about 10cm in under four hours! Most of which was while we were in the pub (or moving between them). On the day I left for Whistler I was less appreciative of the Snow...my bus was delayed & Greyhound were unable to advise if it was going to run that day, However, after a couple of hours in a cold waiting room I was on my way to see Ricky & get my Snowboarding on! Happy Xmas to me!!! ;-)

written by  johnnoble on December 20, 2008 from Vancouver, Canada
from the travel blog: John's year off...
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Midway through the week I went to check out the facilities & the museum at Canada Olympic Park. The site was used for the '88 winter Olympics, & is still used today - mostly for the downhill skiing & snowboarding slope. The most famous incident that occurred here involved four Jamaicans & a bobsled. I made sure that I had my Bobsled run booked in before I had to leave Calgary! If you haven't seen Cool Runnings, then shame on you! We tried to rent it at 3 different video stores - although no where had it. Shocking when you consider that a lot of the movie was shot in Calgary!

Btw - I now have a new Canadian cell no. +1-604-906-2361. Due to the size of Canada they have regional cell numbers. I am cynical & believe it's just an opportunity to make more money off of "long distance" calls, but thems the rules!

written by  johnnoble on December 15, 2008 from Calgary, Canada
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Next on the tour was Edmonton, or as it has affectionately been referred to as..."Deadmonton." I would have to agree with this statement, as there is very little to do there. The city is very spread out & only seems to cater to shoppers. Whyte Av was okay, as it was the best place to go out drinking!

After my four days in Deadmonton it was time to move on; the next stop being Jasper in the National Park by the Rocky Mountains. Jasper is a very small town, only two main streets, but it is perfectly situated to serve up some amazing hiking opportunites - & consequently, some amazing picture opportunities...

I walked on water for the first time! I have done many times since, but it was an exciting experience - I was the only one of us who was brave ( /stupid) enough to try it out! I also enjoyed going down a 100ft icy hill on a sheet of plastic...highly recommended - although the stones & trees can hurt!

After my three days in Jasper it was time to head to Banff. I had managed to arrange for a bus through the National Parks & the Rockies, renound worldwide as one of the most scenic roads. I cannot argue one bit!

I cannot wait to go back to the National Parks in the summer months, armed with a tent, a mountain bike & a kayak! Truly breath taking :-O

written by  johnnoble on December 1, 2008 from Edmonton, Canada
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The hostel I was staying in was based on the North edge of the town, a 15min walk from downtown. The standard of the hostel was excellent - I even had a double bed! Yet again, the immediate area offered plenty of opportunities for some amazing piccies...

There were plenty of people at the hostel who were looking for work for the season, so I was in the minority as a traveller. I was also in the minority as an Englishman - as the place was overrun with Aussies & Kiwis! As I am sure you can all imagine, I held my own in the drinking stakes - I also won the lion's share of Pool & Darts (including my first ever 180...very proud of that!)

Throughout the week I went on various hiking routes in the immediate area, which offered up some stunning scenery & some opportunities for ice smashing with whatever materials nature had to offer! We even visited the Banff springs, which is basically an outdoor pool heated to about 40oC

Towards the end of the week eight of us took one of the guys' van back up North, into the park, to go to Lake Louise. Pictures say more than I ever could.

After a walk up the mountain next to the lake, & a tour of the 5 star Hotel located on its shore, we ventured further north to Lake Peyto. As we turned the corner to the viewing platforms, we all fell silent - every one of us breathless & spell bound by the view. Please feel free to let me know how jealous you all are ;-)

For scenery, the national parks in the Canadian Rockies cannot be rivaled. As mentioned in my previous entry, I cannot wait to visit the place in the summer - as the potential for Mountain Biking & Kayaking seems limitless. It was very tough to leave Banff, but Calgary & "Cool Runnings" aspirations are next on the agenda...

written by  johnnoble on December 1, 2008 from Banff, Canada
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Halloween. It's a BIG deal here. The costumes that were on show were, in the most part, incredible. Everyone goes to a lot of effort (myself included, of course), as you will see from some of the pics below...

Our group got smaller as the night went on, but Kenny (Waldo/Wally) & I made it through to the end (somewhat the worse off for it though). We went to a total of four parties that night. Plenty of mischief caused throughout too! ;-)

I managed to get some work! General labour & cleaning windows. I found the job online & worked for a couple of weeks for this English guy who runs his own company, so cash in hand. One afternoon, we had finished early, so we went to the pub for a quick pint. That quick pint turned into a 8 hour drinking session that ended up with David (my boss) & I doing Kareoke at midnight in a random sports bar. We chose Wonderwall by Oasis...you can all appreciate how bad it must have been! Funny times.

Check out this muriel! Now that is some impressive street art! There are about 10 of these in the far West of the city. If you are ever in Toronto, check them out!

I stayed with Linda & Barrie in Portage-la-Prairie, some of my Mum's friends from her time on Canadian soil. Once again, I was truly humbled by the hospitality & warm welcome I received. Linda & Barrie showed me around the small farming town of Portage, & treated me to some lovely home cooking! :-) The town is where many WWII pilots trained, & it is situated at the southern tip of the Manitoba lake - which is over 300miles long! The pics below are of the lake that Linda & Barrie's house backs onto. The Prairies offer some excellent opportunities for some amazing sunset pictures!