There's a slideshow at the bottom of this page where you can watch almost all the pictures. Due to the amount it takes some time to download (depending on your speed). It is best to set your screen at full (screen).  Or else double click the pictures in the text.

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dedication

I would very much like to dedicate this page to :

Sonya, Johnny, Nana, Fithria and Adam (Bashel); Lydia and Rick (Holden)  - for taking me up in their family as if I  was already related. They have made my stay in the USA extremely pleasurable and I wish I could visit you more often than will be the case. THANX  THANX  THANX !

"uncle" Henk.

My nephew Nico thought it time to get married. No, not here in the Netherlands but over there in the States and even in Las Vegas ! Well, he was kind enough to invite me over and I didn't need much time to think it over, being one of my favorite nephews (I only have 2  :)  ).

So, I asked for one more day of vacation and got off on the 23rd of December.

IMPORTANT

What follows are the things I did and experienced. All "nature" pictures are in put in a real timeframe. I've done this so you can see the weather changes as they happened. Please note that I've tried to outrun the baddest weather since 50 years. Not only were there severe (rain and snow) storms (and floods) in California, Arizona (and later in Utah). But also South-East Asia was hit by a tsunami which cost approx. 200.000 people their lives, not to mention all those people that lost relatives. I that way I dedicate this page to those victims as they will not be forgotten.

Henk

Before you start

Okay, one last message before you can start : I must apologize for not being good at the art of "letting out". It's hard to make a selection of photographs when you're so thrilled by this region as I am. Furthermore it's a journal of my trip, so the photographs must reflect that as well. Having said that it's important for the reader to know that all photographs are made in a real timeframe. So the first picture is the first of that day, the last one the end of that day. Pay attention to the weather changes !

NOW  ENJOY !

 day 1

Thursday, December 23rd and Friday 24th 2004  : It was a dark and windy night and I had to get up early in the morning to get the train to Amsterdam Schiphol airport. I found my neighbour nice enough to take me to the nearest train station, but after that I was on my own. Strange enough, traveling in peak hour, there was no problem finding seats and I arrived in Amsterdam , way before time. Checking in was easy, since electronic booking is possible and within no time at all I stood in front of customs. Going trough the metal detector I obviously set off the alarm and was frisked all over.

As I approached  the gate of British Air I again saw a metal detector. And yes, I again set off the alarm and yes, again I was frisked all the way. Then I boarded the plane and flew to London Gatwick. Too late I had found out, that my flight FROM London went from London Heathrow, so I had to take a bus there, which cost another 17 English pounds extra. Bummer.

Okay. London to Chicago O'Hare. I was told that a transfer time of about 90 minutes, from the arrival gate to the departure gate at Chicago, was the least you had to have and .......... yes : I had 90 minutes.  Then the captain informed us that we had a strong headwind, we couldn't fly the maximum speed and we would arrive at Chicago way too late. Whoops.

He was right. With some 90 minutes delay we arrived at Chicago O'Hare. Checking through customs was easy. Checking through the security gate some more difficult ( I even had to take off my shoes, but most people had to, so that was normal). I then had to go to American Airlines for new travel arrangements. The next flight was the following day, but would not get me in time for the wedding. I was transferred to Dallas - Fort Worth and from there a plane would go in the morning, which would get me in time for the wedding. But then I had some time to spare ( I think it was at Dallas, but I'm not sure). Now, during the day, airports thrive with people and little cars and......., but during the night it's like a ghost town. And comfortable chairs ...... forget it !  At 5.00 am things then got started again and it was easier to stay awake. At about 09.00 the plane took off for Vegas. The trip last night was beautiful, because of the little lights from Chicago and Dallas, but this one was nice also, because we flew over Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powel and Lake Mead. The sky was clear so I took a lot of pictures. That brings me to question number one : What the ..... are all those circles on the ground in Texas (but also at other places) ??? Please send in the answer as soon as possible and find out if you are the winner.*

And the lucky winner is............... : a friend of a friend from Canada -  Those circles are large irrigation circles made by automated irrigation systems on wheels that turn on a central pivot. We have them in Canada's western provinces also where rainfall is infrequent.

As soon as the plane touched the ground the stress started. What about the rental ? Would it be hard to find? What about the GPS ? Would it function ? What about the motel ? Would it be easy to find ? What about the time ? Would I be on time ?

What ? Nobody at the rental car desk (out for lunch - for goodness sake), where's the shuttle stand ? Ah, found it. Waiting for the shuttle bus to arrive. Ah, there it comes. All kinds of questions about cars, insurances etc. Shut up, just give me a car !! Wow, a brand new Mitsubishi !  What, the GPS can't find no satellites. S***, no license plates. Still no satellites ! Not to worry about that plates, is okay ! Still NO SATELLITES !!!!! Okay, then without GPS. He, SATELLITES !! Okay, now for the motel. Luckily as a waypoint in my GPS and not too far away. What do you mean, not the right one ? Travelodge is it ? Is there another one ? At the other end of the "Strip" ? Oh no ! And then there's all that traffic ! Paris, okay. Stardust, almost there. Circus Circus, yes, a sign for Travelodge. Wow. Next a quick shower and changing. And all the way back over the "Strip". No way, another route on my GPS. S***. what was the exact address again. Oops, left it in the motel room. Right, park the car. Where ? Okay, found a parking lot. Find the wedding chapel. Wow, this is huge ! CAN'T FIND IT !!  Do you know where I can find the wedding chapel ? Where ? S***, what did she say ? Ah, here it is ! At precisely 01.00 pm I stepped into the chapel (on the way in almost stumbling over someone in a white wedding dress :)  )

After the ceremony I went back to my motel, for a quick sleep. Later that day we were expected at     "skyview terrace" where the reception would take place. We had a nice dinner and after the guests had left we had a wonderful evening, with lots of good music (for someone of my age) and nice dancing. I thoroughly enjoyed that ! (thanks to the d.j. , Joyce and Lydia)

 day 1

Saturday, December 25th  2004 - This morning, after a good night's rest I woke up all cheerful. I really had enjoyed myself last night. Today I was expected at Nana's house, but before that I thought it nice to drive along the strip in my rental. And thus I did. All pictures are taken from within a (moving) car.      

After that I went to Nana's house, where I was welcomed open armed. They even had some presents under the Christmas tree for me ! Everyone was present. We had some lovely Indonesian food to eat and we all had a good time singing (karaoke). Pity of course that Nico and Nana weren't present, but they obviously were on their honeymoon.

 day 1

Sunday, December 26th 2004 - originally my plans were to move on today, but the last days had worn me out a bit (including the flight of course) so I decided to stay another day in Vegas. So after a good night's rest I showered and had "breakfast" - and here's another riddle : why is everything so big in the States, but the breakfasts so small (and then the nerve to call it "continental" ! Because our breakfasts are NOT so small !)

Then I went for a walk along the strip to take more pictures. This time not from within a moving car, but steady "from the hip". Thus I did. I went in a few of the hotel/casinos to watch the insides. Also I tried to get a ticket for the Jerry Seinfeld-show, but they were sold-out of course. Being a tourist I obviously bought some things (a jacket and a wide-angle lens for my camera and other small stuff) and went on the internet.

In the evening I went for the Freemont Experience. This is the old part of Vegas. Not only you'll find the obvious casinos here, but also a kind of lightshow, which is in a way, spectacular. After that I went up the Stratosphere. The view on top is magnificent, but unfortunately I lost my wedding ring at the metal detector. Although I went back the next day and a week after, no-one had found it (or reported it found :(   )

This is where the first part of the journey begins. It'll take me for a great part through Nevada, but also a small part of California. On the map below you can see the whole trip .

 day 1

Monday, December 27th 2004 - So today it was good-bye to Las Vegas and hello to Nevada. Plans were to go to Winnemucca, through Tonopah. Using the GPS it wasn't difficult to get out of LV. The drive was beautiful and thrilling because it took me to area 51 and stuff.

So every once in awhile it was out and in the car for taking pictures. Especially trying the new wide angle lens I bought yesterday.

At one point I saw a road heading toward Death Valley (but that one was closed). My interest though was awakened and the following road was okay. In the meantime I had consulted my GPS and there was no problem going there. Thus I did. (373/127/190 towards Beatty)

This was a nice route. Death Valley is something special alright. Coming out of DV and back on my original route I saw a biker. As I bike myself I thought I'd go over and have a talk. Now, there was a lot of wind and the biker was trying to look at a map. As I tried to talk to him, he made some gestures for a pen. I thought he didn't want to take his helmet off, but he wrote he was deaf. That's something special, but then again, I put earplugs in to get the noise of the wind down, so basically I'm kind of deaf too, when I'm riding. So we had a little "talk" and I promised him to put his picture on the site. And here it is. If the person on the bike reads this it would be nice if he makes contact through the internet.

Okay, reaching Tonopah, it got darker and the weather somewhat worse. There was talk on the radio about lots of snow coming in the Eastern Sierras and above 1500ft. The thing about the Easter Sierras got my attention. My plans were also going east (at that point I didn't know that Eastern California was meant) and when I looked at my GPS I noticed that already I was driving at a height of 1500ft, although the mountains were still to come ! I made up my mind and decided to turn back. Well, I didn't want to stop in Tonopah, so I went for Hawthorne. Another mistake. I didn't know that by the time of about 04.30 pm things gets dark around here. So, before I knew it, I was driving in a (dust) storm in the dark. The first experience of nature around here.

In Hawthorne I found a nice lodging/casino ("El Capitan") and decided to stay there for the night.

 day 1

Tuesday, December 28th 2004 - It was cold when I woke up this morning. The air was crisp and some snow had fallen in the mountains. So today's plans were for Pyramid Lake and if possible from there to Winnemucca. approaching from the north.

The first part of the journey was ....... ah well never mind. How many times do I have to say it's  so beautiful out here ? Unfortunately the weather could have been nicer, but I'm not complaining. Now, on the road to Sutcliffe I saw a tree hanging full of shoes. So again, a riddle, and again a quiz.*

Near Fallon the GPS played tricks on me. In order to get the shortest route it made a detour around Fallon. But that brought me in farmer's land and there were two - dirt roads next to another, separated by a ditch. The first I followed took me into the bush. There was no room to turn, so I had to back up all the way ! Then I tried the second road and this one was better. Until I had to stop by a locked fence and again I had to go back (this time I could turn). Okay, to hell with the GPS. I went back for the main road and drove "all the way" through Fallon.

I went all the way to Sutcliffe to find out that this was the end of my route. Going north was possible but not the way I wanted it, because it would take me over dirt-roads and I didn't want to risk that in my rental.

The other route :east of the lake (447) and to Winnemucca from the north: same problem.  So, I had to drive back to Nixon and take the highway {I80}up to Winnemucca. Now going on a highway in the Netherlands is dreadful, but here it's almost the same as a normal road, with the only exception that's there's somewhat more traffic and there's no way you can stop to make a picture. But for the rest. Sometimes the lanes a hundreds of mtrs apart !

Well, as you can see on the pictures the weather stayed bad.

 day 1

Wednesday, December 29th 2004 - This day brought me in contact with the police.   Interested ? Then read on.

Again it was cold this morning and the sky heavily overcast. But the sun shone as well and that makes beautiful pictures as you can see. Again the pictures are in a actual timeframe. So today from Winnemucca, through Austin, back to Tonopah.

The first part was interstate again. Going east it started to snow and as I reached Battle Mountain I wasn't sure what to do. My original route was taking the 306. But I thought the 305 was probably better. But as the snow was piling up at Battle Mountain (and a lot of roads were already closed) I wondered if I should stay there. So I drove around to see what kind of motels were there and then decided if I could get some information. I went (with help) to the sheriff's office and they told me 305 was clean. And yes, after a couple of miles, it stopped snowing and it was hard to believe that in BM things were so different.

The 305 was beautiful and driving to Austin made fun. At some points looking to the left I saw clouds hanging over the mountain tops and looking to the right I saw blue patches in the sky and the sun ! Amazing.

Again I had a surprise reaching Austin. This is a nice mountain town, so I'm saying this : you'll have to go right up in the mountains to reach it (6600ft). Luckily it wasn't snowing and the roads were clear !

 Again a beautiful drive from Austin to Tonopah. It was rather cold when I arrived at Tonopah and relatively early, so I found the time to find a suitable motel. Well, most were too expensive so I ended at the "all American" motel. I then decided to go for some shopping. Nearby was a supermarket and I bought me some stuff, among a big bottle (1.75ltr) of Jack Daniels.

Back at the room I treated myself to a drink. But you know how it works. When you have a drink you get hungry. And after a while I decided to go to the McDonalds, which was about 1 mile up the road. In the meantime it was dark and still very windy and cold, so I thought I'd go there by car. And so I did.

After the stuff was delivered I went back to the car but the wind blew off the lid of my coke-cup. I picked it up, but again the wind blew it off. I then sat in the car and with one hand holding the cup in it's place I drove back to the motel. I normally don't wear a safety belt (no discussions here) and I certainly did not this time. "Halfway" struggling with the coke and the other stuff I saw on the other side of the road the lights of a police car coming up. Ooops: speeding ! And yes, they turned onto my half and were coming in pursuit. Being almost at the motel I decided to play dumb and headed to my room. After stopping the car they were already behind me. I went out of the car !    "GET BACK INTO YOUR CAR" were the first words I heard. I did. Then the police officer came up to me and started asking a lot of questions (hadn't I seen them ? Didn't they have signs where I came from ? What would I do ? etc.) Again I played the dumb tourist (which wasn't all that difficult). Okay, could he see some ID ? I didn't have that on me, but luckily we were in front of my room, so that was settled "easily" . The officer didn't come into the room otherwise he would have seen, next to the TV. set a bottle of whiskey  :)   . To cut a long story short: I got a lecture and was told NEVER, NEVER to leave the vehicle, 'cause policemen are VERY NERVOUS about that. I agreed to all that and got off with a warning (stupid tourists). Now, in the off-chance the officer in question (or some-one knowing one of the Tonopah officers) might read this: I owe him one for being a good sport.

Sometimes I still wonder what would have happened if ..................... 

 day 1

Thursday, December 30th 2004 -

Still, or, again very cold this morning as you can see on the pictures. Early this week I had planned to go to Lake Tahoe and take the coastal road to San Francisco and Los Angeles. But the weather in California was bad and Lake Tahoe, Yosemite etc. couldn't be reached without the proper set of winter tires and or snow chains. I decide to go back to Las Vegas for the year change and going there through Death Valley. The plan was through Benton (US95) and Bishop (US6) and then south. Well, the start was alright, but gradually the weather changed and reaching  it started to snow. Things weren't improving with time and after a while driving conditions were "not good". Next to the snow there was a very cold ,very strong wind blowing and I had to keep focused on my driving. I didn't know (again) that I had to go over a pass in the mountains to reach Bishop. I do now !

Eventually I made it and on the other side the weather changed again, for the better this time. Reaching Bishop I saw a lot of cars with a mass of snow on the roofs. Proof of the weather conditions here in California (the sunshine state). Also I heard over the radio that the pass I just crossed, now was closed for all traffic, but those with snow chains ! I was lucky.

In Bishop I drank a cup of coffee and ate something. Then I went back to the car and drove to Death Valley. Reaching the junction with the US 395 the sign said that the road to Death Valley junction was closed, but other places could still be reached. Just to be on the safe side I drove back and tried to find the highway patrol's office. They were closed. At a restaurant I was told that Beatty could still be reached. So I told the GPS to set a course.

But after a couple of miles the road was closed (due to an accident it said) and I was forced to head back through the Hwy 190 to the US395-S. Getting there I had to cross several places where the road was flooded. Unfortunately this called for a major detour and I wasn't able to reach Las Vegas today (or very late). I decided not to go to Vegas and sleep somewhere else for the night. This turned out to be Barstow.

 day 1

Friday, December 31st 2004 - After a good night's rest I went back for Vegas. Of course this wasn't the most exciting trip of the week. Along the {I 15} was the old freeway. And next to that was the railway. So I took the opportunity to go by the old freeway and make some pictures of an oncoming freight train. The surface of this road was so bad though, that at the next junction I joined the {I 15} again

Passing the "border" from California to Nevada was very interesting. Now I know why Nevada also is called "the gambling state". From far the border is noticeable cause of the buildings (casinos obviously) and the attractions that goes with them.

I drove to my new relatives in the city and stayed there for the rest of the day, until late afternoon, when we went to the strip. Since this was to be closed at 06.00pm, we had to go there early. But that didn't matter because there was a lot of activity already and a nice atmosphere.

At about 10pm we went to Mandalay Bay where Nana had to work that night. Together we sought a place to wait for the festivities to start.

At 0.00am there would be a great display of fireworks, but I found it rather disappointing. Nice but not extravagant, as I expected it to be.

Going home was difficult. I didn’t bring my GPS (because they had warned us for pickpockets) and we took a wrong turn. This way it took at least an hour to get us back (probably – much- longer).

 day 1 

Saturday, January 1st  2005 – Today, after sleeping into the day, I went to the Hoover dam. Unfortunately it was quite busy, so when I actually got there, there wasn’t much time left. I decided to take some pictures, but that also was a bit of a disappointment. Going back to Vegas I tried to delay the trip to get a view while the sun was setting, but it was too early. I decided to try it again next week.

Dinner was at aunt Lydia’s place. Most of the family was already there and we had a delicious meal. After that they “forced” me into a game of tennis. This because I had said that in my youth I was quite good at it. But I hadn’t played in some 25 years ! So, lending a racket from Johnnie I went to their tennis court and played. It went fairly well and I played all evening !! Together with Fithriana I won three matches . Being ambitious I wanted to play Lydia, because she had won several tournaments. I lost ! 6 – 0 ! But overall I had a good feeling about it. So probably when I get back I’ll join a tennis club once more.

 day 1

Sunday,January 2nd  2005 – Time to leave again. Fortunately I had slept quite good ( I expected some muscle cramps). And after breakfast I said goodbye and left for Arizona. My first goal was at least Needles (because that’s were Snoopy’s brother – Spike – lives.) Getting there wasn’t very spectacular, so I decided to go further south. The weather was good and after a while there was a beautiful sunset as you can see.

I ended up at Blythe.

day 1

Monday, January 3rd  2005 – Today’s goal was Holbrook. The first part of the trip was uneventful, although the clouds "hanging" over the mountains were photographic.

There was a part (east of Yuma) where the going was extremely flat (and there was not a lot I could do because there was only one road, the rest were gravel roads) and at some parts these roads were flooded (not seriously though). This was an agricultural area.

In the meantime I had heart on the radio that the weather at Flagstaff was seriously bad (snow) and I decided to go trough Phoenix and then go right. The weather here on the road also was bad, from drizzle to really pouring.

I arrived at Phoenix at peak hour, thus it took me some time to “pass” it. Here my GPS came in very useful again. Only one time when a turn was right after a long tunnel – and the GPS had lost its satellites – it let me down. Luckily I had seen beforehand what exit I had to take, so there was no problem.

Not wanting to stay in the neighbourhood of Phoenix I drove on. That was kind of a mistake. I now drove through a very beautiful surrounding, but it was getting dark (and darker), so there was no way I could stop and take some pictures. It even started to rain a bit and a bit more and even more and more. It forced me to set the GPS so that I could see the curves in the road coming. Again a great

 advantage of the GPS ! What I missed was a map with height differences. Because again I was "trapped" on a pass. I decided to take the first opportunity to look for a motel. It would look like that would be at    (approx. 30miles) , but there was nothing and I had to drive on to Payson (another 20 some miles).

I was glad to arrive at Payson where I found a motel run by a Chinaman. We got to talk and I told him I had been to China this summer and that I had made a page on my site. I gave him the address and he told me he would look into it later that evening.

After I had settled in my room I went for a bite, to see that a great deal of the road had flooded, so when I got back in the room I placed all my luggage high, just to be on the safe side.

day 1

Tuesday, January 4rd  2005 – During the night the water hadn’t risen (a lot), so my precautionary measures hadn’t been necessary. However it rained cats and dogs. Going to the office to give back the key, I found an enthusiastic man. He had looked at my sight and was thrilled. We had a talk about it, he thanked me for being so kind about China men) and I thanked him for being so kind. Then I went for the post office, which was hard to get to, because of the road. The lower part was all flooded and driving was difficult.

Around 9.30am I was ready to leave Payson. The lady in the post office told me to take the 260 instead of the 87. The first part of the trip was in the rain but gradually the road went into the mountains and the rain became snow. At first it was no problem, but as time moved on the snow got heavier and the road worse. At one point the snow ploughs disappeared into a …..  and after that it got really bad. The only thing that kept the road “clean” were the tires of the cars and trucks that passed. And at some points it wasn’t easy to control the car because of the ice that had formed through the compressed snow. Now imagine me driving a normal rental, while some other cars (suv’s) had gone off the road ! The adrenaline level rose as much as the road. Up to about 7800ft !!

The funny thing was that after I had reached …….. things got better and around noon, there even was some blue sky (50%).

After that, the road climbed again and again there was snow. Not from the sky this time, but beside the road. Beautiful ! On the radio I heard that things at Flagstaff were horrendous and some shops as well as schools had closed for the day. Two feet of snow had fallen yesterday and today already.

At ….I reached Tuba city which was not at all what I expected. I could have sworn that we had bought t-shirts 12 years ago in a normal looking town. This was far from it. So to be sure I took my GPS and drove through all the streets of TC, but nothing familiar. I then checked in at the motel (which was a bit expensive, but there was free internet and next to a restaurant and a trading post). The room was nice (spacious), so I unpacked, poured myself a cup of coffee and went to this trading post. I bought some small items here and a sweat and t-shirt and a couple of books. Then I went back to the motel and sat behind the computer (internet).

Later that evening I went to the restaurant next by and had a nice dinner.

day 1

Wednesday, January 5th  2005 – It was still very cold, but the sun shone as I got up. After being on the internet for some last mails and paying the cheque I went for Las Vegas. This was a long trip, so I started early.

The road was “dry” and the going was – again- beautiful. Some nice spots were “vermillion canyon”  and ……………………………. Somewhere down the road was a sign that said that the … to the northern rim of the Grand Canyon was closed, but a look at the map told me that wouldn’t be a problem, because that would lead me direct into the GC and that was not my goal. However it got me thinking why this road was closed. The answer was quite simple : snow !

For the x –time the road started to climb and more and more snow lay beside the road (which gave me ample opportunity to make some beautiful pictures of course). All the way to ……….ft.

After that things got a bit less exciting, because I now was going for the interstate. But again I must conclude that freeways here and in Europe are not in the least bit comparable. You still have beautiful sights, the only thing is, you can’t pull over for a picture. Further than that ……

Getting closer to Las Vegas I had some time on my hand and looked for a possibility to leave the interstate and take a more scenic route. This was possible. Along lake Mead lay a road (  ) and I decided to take that one. There would even be a possibility of reaching Vegas from the hills and if I timed it all right …… And I did ! On both accounts successful. Precisely at the right moment in time I reached the end of the hills and looked down on Vegas. The sun was setting so the light conditions were okay, whereas the city lights were already on. A superb sight !

I drove to Lydia and Rick who then asked me to stay over in their house, which I thankfully accepted.

today's drive

day 1

Thursday 6th of January 2005 – Last night Rick and Lydia told me to go to Red Rock Canyon which was about 15 miles from their place and after a nice breakfast I did. It was no wonder why this was called Red Rock, but after travelling and seeing as much as I had done the last two weeks, it didn’t bring all the oohs and aahs as might have been expected. Nice anyway and good for some nice pictures.

After that I did some shopping (and got what I had been looking for, but still hadn’t found) and went to Sonia’s (and the rest) place. I had said I would sleep there for the last night, but reaching the airport from Lydia’s and Rick’s place looked easier. So I went there to thank them and say goodbye. They had prepared a delicious dinner and I stayed for the evening, hoping to catch Nana later on. But she had to work late and even later. So I had to say goodbye to all except for Nana. Thankfully she called later on the phone.

 day 1

Friday 7th and Saturday 8th of January 2005 – Early this morning I woke up and prepared for leaving this beautiful part of the States. I had said goodbye to Lydia and Rick yesterday evening, so they wouldn’t have to wake up at this early time (05.00am).

I then drove to the car rental and returned the car. After that I was driven to the airport terminal. Checking in was fairly quick, so there was some time.

On schedule the plane departed for Chicago. The sky was clear and that gave me the opportunity to take some nice pictures from the air.

Again on schedule we arrived at Chicago, but from there the trouble started. Having a tailwind we arrived somewhat early and the tower (or whoever) had forgotten to inform ground personnel that a plane had arrived at gate whatever. We had to wait the better part of an hour – 10 yards from the exit terminal !

Okay, no problem. Still enough time to catch the connecting flight to London, especially because I didn’t have to collect y baggage or go through customs.

Sitting in the plane we were informed that the technical personal didn’t give permission to take off, but things wouldn’t take much time. And after some 30 minutes we were cleared to go. The plane then taxied to the runway where again we were stopped. There was a queue of three planes and we had to wait in line. The first plane went up, the second and …… Not us ! Even the captain was embarrassed and didn’t know what had happened. Anyway we stood there again some 30 minutes before we got our clearance to take off.

Probably you are getting the picture : I missed my connecting flight in London (also due to some bad information there. I was flying with American Airlines, but this last bit was with British Airways. According to the information I had to go to another terminal, which later proofed to be unnecessary. Now I had lost valuable time (I only had about 20 minutes). So, I had to be rescheduled.

I tried to reach Ilke to inform her of my delay, but she had already the house and I couldn't reach her on her cell phone (later on I could). So again two hours of waiting.

Then the last part was okay, only there were some strong winds and touching down at Schiphol was like being on a rollercoaster.

Then it turned out that of “half” of the people on the plane the baggage was missing. Including mine (of course). All those people now had to fill in all kinds of papers and again it took me one hour ! So when I finally saw Ilke she was not really happy.

All in all it was a wasted end of a

BEAUTIFUL  VACATION !

 day 1

Some links

- there are links  to different towns in the text already

- If you want (a lot) more about Las Vegas follow this link

- and for beautiful pictures of Las Vegas here (not the ordinary ones)

All pictures were taken with the Canon pro 90 IS camera and resampled and conversed (the quality gets worse) for use on the internet.  A lot of pictures are taken from within a moving car, that's why they might be  a bit blurred.

* there's no discussion about the right answer or who was first

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