In precisely one month and nine days I will be on a plane heading for California! I'm going to San Francisco to spend a week with my ex, then we're going to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Los Angeles!

The best comment a friend made on my trip was: "Good for you. This will make up for your trip to Minnesota two years ago."

I'm sure RDA would have been proud of me when I bristled and cooly informed this friend of Minnesota's virtues.

Mac

I'm sure you're going to have great fun!

ROAD TRIP BABY!! (by plane )

With the ex? Hope that all goes well. We like him? Get along okay?

Anyhoo.. have a groovy time.

WOOO HOOOO! ROAD TRIP BABY!!

We're still very much the best of friends.

He told me that he hopes that I'll reconsider his proposal when I see what life would have to offer me in California... and I'm pretty sure I will.

Mac 8-)

I
AM
SO
JEALOUS
!
!
!

Have fun Mac, which I'm sure you will!

Thanks!

I just got an email from him: "Would a day trip to Mexico fit into our plans?"

I replied that I'm already doing three provinces and three states, so I might as well do three countries!

Mac

3 countries?

USA, Mexico...?

And I have to be happy with a three day trip to Durbuy in the darn rain. That's right, leaving again soon (next monday).
A three day school trip... in the woods. Going to solve a murder case, a night game in the woods, kayak the next day and another night game. Probably be back on wednesday.
Can't believe it since I've been back it's been hot as hell in Belgium and since last Monday it's been raining again.
Usually I don't care it fits with most of my moods but there are exceptions ya know.

uh.... Canada, eh?

Oh I must have missed that part.

I thought it was just a trip to S.F. Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and LA.

But she comes from Canada, so technically she is crossing a border.


Your first time in California? I was there in 1994 and I loved it! Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Yosemite Nationalpark, San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel, Santa Barbara and back to LA and that all in ten days


A month before we wanted to go there there was an earthquake in LA. I feared that everything would be destroyed (at least at CNN and NBC it looked like that) but in the end we didn't see much of it.

Might be with the fire just the same.

I'm starting off in Canada (Quebec), with pit stops in Calgary (Alberta) and Vancouver (British Columbia)!

Mac

No technically about it! I need a passport to get into both the US and Mexico, for pete's sake!

(Besides, I've never been to either Alberta or BC.)

This is my first time going any further south or west than Denver. I've also never seen a palm tree or a hot desert. Very exciting!

Mac

And Mexico! *bounce, bounce, bounce*

(thanks, Jack! )

Mac

When you get to the Grand Canyon... take a helicopter tour. Expensive... but OH SO worth it!.

Also if time and money allow... go to the IMAX theather. Whatever is showing - GO SEE IT!!!.

(I use to live and fly there...)

Have fun!

I've always said that would be my ultimate dream date:
A picnic in the Grand Canyon (of course on top) and then watching the sunset.

Talking about visiting 3 countries: Close to where I live there's the 3-landen punt (3-countries fix) where The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany come together.

That's how we're getting to the Grand Canyon, by helicopter. We're doing a half day trip from Vegas. I didn't find the cost expensive at all, all things cconsidered.

Imax isn't something I'd do a detour for since there's a theatre 10 minutes away from my house (on foot) and I have a friend who works there and gets me free tickets. Yes, I know I'm lucky.

Mac

Oh sorry, I forgot that the USA are more restrictive about it. It's not long ago when me and my friend went over the border to France just to go to a restaurant there, and we just drove there without a break, nobody was standing at the street. You never would have guessed that you were in a different country if not the people had suddenly spoken French. You can get used to this!

And even when I flew to England in November I didn't need a passport, just my identy card.

Where I live we do have Germany, Poland and Czech Republik.

Sounds like a great trip Mac. Have a fabulous time!

you flew in to England without a passport? Wow! Didn't know you could do that. I've always needed a passport to fly in Britain. Need a passport to fly to work on the North Sea offshore rigs too. Never flown without having to wave my passport at someone. Maybe I look suspicious.

you flew in to England without a passport? Wow! Didn't know you could do that. I've always needed a passport to fly in Britain. Need a passport to fly to work on the North Sea offshore rigs too. Never flown without having to wave my passport at someone. Maybe I look suspicious.

Within the European Union we are not supposed to use passports when crossing borders. But - in some countries the identity card has not been introduced, so you need your passport to show the authorities that you are European and therefore don't need a passport.

We had this same problem when we lived in Denmark. We always had to carry our passports when leaving Denmark - to show that we didn't need it

When we moved to Belgium, we were equipped with identity cards. Now we "only" need to bring them with us all the time

See the difference? Passports when crossing borders. ID cards all the time.
Well, in Denmark we also had a kind of ID cards, but they where only recocnised in Denmark - because there was no picture on it. And, yet, we were not obliged to carry them all the time.

Our passports from Denmark where in fact smaller in size than the ID cards we have now. But that's because we are foreigners in Belgium. Natives have creditcard sized ID cards.

And in some European countries there still are other rules.
This is all politics - and therefore not logic.

An ID card is just cheaper to get. I pay 5 Euros and it will be valid for ten years (only for five when you're under 25 since then your appearance is changing too much when getting older)

Passports are much more expensive, now they want to do the biometrical - or whatever the right translation is - passport with fingerprint and eyescanning. And they aren't valid that long either. So therefore I don't even have one right now and only would get a new one when I know I will need it.

I'm not sure whether or not we actually are obliged to carry the ID around all the time but it certainly is needed when you want to buy cigarrettes or DVDs and look too young (my brother had to prove that he is already 25 when he wanted to buy a DVD that was not for the age of 16 ) and it also definitely helps when you have an accident at the street so that the rescuers know what your name is.

In Eastern Germany we had a whole book (I still have it) and I think my first Western German ID-card was a small book as well but now it's also only creditcard size.

5 euro's for an ID card? Sweet lord, here in Holland we have to pay 40!!!!
Bunch of rip offs!

Well, at least it was the last time... that was a couple of years ago. Might be more in the meantime


Edit: okay, I just googled - 8 Euro now but maybe you are paid more money at work as well?

Used to be able to just beebop down to the Bahamas with just my driver's license. Got a notice from my condo association stating that starting in January (this last) that I have to have a passport now. Doesn't bother me, I have one, have had since.... I was 19? I actually think it's a good idea and would only bother people that don't/can't get one. Because it's not hard, just like getting a drivers license so what's the hulla ballou? (not you guys, just in general)

Mac, sounds like a fun trip. Its going to be hot in the deserts, make sure you drink lots of water before your trip so you are very well hydrated. Now would be a good time to start drinking lots more water than you usually do. I live in Utah and right now its about 90F. The humidity is also very low so get some skin lotion as well. You will also need sunblock if you spend any time in the mountains. You can get a really bad burn when you are at altitude.

I'm taking a 5 day road trip in 2 weeks to Pheonix Arizona. A friend is getting married so we are driving down for the wedding and then spending some time in Sedona and Flagstaff and Page on our way home. I can't wait, I love Sedona.

My sister is moving to Tucson in a couple of months so I will be seeing her next January. I'm also taking a week long road trip to California sometime in September/October this year. We will be going to Long Beach and San Diego.

I also get a trip to Chicago in July for job training. Its going to be a busy travel year.

So, is anybody else road tripping?