What I Learned On My Roadtrip

Over the last two weeks of roadtripping I’ve been brewing over many, many, blog posts, ideas (good and bad) and have resisted blogging many of them, so I’ll wrap them all up into one post. Here’s my list of things I learnt (and observations) from my 2 week roadtrip across West Australia.

• Country bees are different to city bees. City bees are out for your blood. Country bees are out for pollen (of which I have none)
• Dung beetles (or lack thereof) are the answer to bushfly problems.
• Telstra NextG is a freaking awesome telecommunications network. Pity the pricing scheme is based on 1994 principles and their customer service only gets good after you blog about them.
• When borrowing/buying an Esky (Ice box for the internationals) get one that keeps ice frozen for 5 days, not 5 minutes like the one I had.
• Weather reports are very fickle in nature and the actual conditions can change in a split second, or at the latest, overnight.
• Always be the first one to say hello to a camping/caravaning neighbour, unless they’re an axe murderer, only good can come from it. I’ve made so many new friends from all across the world in this 2 week trip.
• Take a percolator! You can make good coffee anywhere then offer it to all of your new friends along the way.
• You always need better pillows, underwear and shoes. Those three things should be your priority before leaving on a roadtrip.
• Breakfast is the most important meal – if you fill yourself up on breakfast the rest of the day is cheaper!
• Caravan drivers are called Grey Nomads. Caravan drivers with 1 or more drivers stuck behind them are Grey Noamd conga lines.
• Schedule staying with friends or in hotels evenly along your trip so you get to have a good shower and sleep in a good bed every so often.
• Generosity is the key to a great roadtrip – if you get caught up in the “who owes who” or the “you owe me $4.20″ scenarios it really wrecks the trip – don’t let money get in the way of a great roadtrip.
• You probably should have a spare tyre – I don’t and luckily I haven’t needed it thus far.
• Don’t be afraid to go off the beaten track – some of the most beautiful discoveries and the best photos have been taken when an intriguing sign pulled me off the highway down a long forgotten road.
• Share accomodation/food/sightseeing tips with fellow travellers, they’re worth much more than any tourist guide or brochure.
• The Visitor Centres are the saving grace of West Australia – the volunteers inside have saved me many hours.
• When tasting wine at wineries don’t act snobby or know-it-all.
• When planning your roadtrip schedule more time than you’ll need, take the watch off and burn your calendar.
• Canned baked beans and boxes of biscuits or chips are great to keep onboard incase you’re left with nothing else lol.
• Take a pack of cards, and play them with friends instead of searching for a TV
• In case you get lost and can’t find anyone to help you or if you’re in the middle of nowehere, get out of the car and start dealing out a game of solitaire. Within minutes someone will come and tell you to put the red jack on the black queen.
• It’s nice to take new friends on a road-trip but better to take close friends or loved ones – results in less awkward moments when trying to decide where to go or what to do.
• When you’re entering an attraction that has a fee, try find people that are leaving to find out if it was worth it. Don’t waste time or money on those that aren’t worth it.
• When in Fremantle only do the night tour of the Jail if you have guts (according to Roger and Slodja) but some sort of tour while you’re there.
• You’ll always want a bigger tent, but the bigger the tent the longer the setup time.
• Camping is way more fun and adventurous than staying in motels.
• Don’t be surprised when you find that under 5% of the people you meet are white caucasian Australians. That’s the beauty and diversity of Australia, especially West Australia.
• When talking to Germans it’s ok to talk about Germany’s past, probably not ok to ask if they have a gas chamber.
• When talking to Serbians they’ll often talk loudly and abusively as a joke, they’re quite nice people.
• When talking to the Irish, don’t mention it’s past and ask them how they like their potatoes.
• When talking to the South Africans remind them that last year’s Cricket performance was probably a one-off.
• When talking to Kiwis remind them where Wayne Bennett came from.
• When talking to Asians of most varieties ask to see their photos.
• When talking to Americans don’t mention politics or gun control.
• When talking to locals ask them why they love where they live.
• When talking to anyone remember that you’ve got two ears and one mouth, use proportionately.
• Take lots of photos and email them to your parents and grandparents. Even better is to make a photo book at the end, I’m sure they’d love it!
• Where and when you can, walk everywhere!

I’m sure I’ve missed some but that’s a good start. Remember that roadtrips and walking are two of the best ways to see this world!

[Via http://joshuawithers.wordpress.com]

Top Ten 2010 Best Coachella Valley Singles Places to Meet Someone by Coachella Valley Car Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson

Just as the right lawyer can make all the difference, so too can the right place for singles to meet someone.

It matters more than you think who you cal for your car accident or other legal matter. When it matters most, call the Law Firm of Sebastian Gibson.

We hope this list of top singles places to meet someone and our other lists of places to go also lets you make the most of your time in The Coachella Valley.

We know that when you spend your hard earned money when you go out on the town or even when you simply want to have fun without spending much money, you don’t want to spend your limited time or money and have a bad time. To help ensure your enjoyment when you go out in The Coachella Valley, we’ve compiled this list.

Remember though, even the best bar or night club can have a bad day. The server you have may be having a bad day, the bartender you have may even make the wrong drink. The trick to having fun when you go out on the town is to make the best of any situation. Life is too short to be annoyed by common things that go wrong.

It’s the same thing when you have an accident. A car accident can ruin your whole year. As a car accident attorney for The Coachella Valley, however, we know how to remedy a bad situation and make it better. We know how to obtain payment for your car repairs (or the value of your car if it was totaled) and how to obtain a car accident settlement that includes compensation for your medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering and even the cost of a new child safety seat if one was in use at the time of the accident.

This is the first annual list of the top ten singles places to meet someone in or near The Coachella Valley chosen by Coachella Valley Car Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson for 2010, Even if this list doesn’t include your favorite place to meet singles, we hope it will at least provide you with a few more choices of where to go for some drinks in the Coachella Valley area.

At the Law Firm of Sebastian Gibson, we’ve obtained outstanding results in cases other attorneys haven’t even been interested in. Not every case is a big one but it takes experience to recognize what makes a good one.

Find out what makes our Sebastian Gibson so exceptional and why our website, www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com is graded so highly by websitegrader.com.

It says a lot that other law firms refer their big cases to us. Other attorneys refer all types of matters to us and for good reason. Our record of obtaining extraordinary results for decades speaks volumes.

More than once, when other lawyers haven’t been interested in a case, we’ve persevered and had extraordinary success. We can’t guarantee results but we can guarantee that we will represent your best interests and that we will do so to the very best of our abilities.

Remember, it matters more than you think who you call for your accident or other legal matter. When it matters most, call the law firm of Sebastian Gibson. Visit our website at www.SebastianGibsonLaw.com and see the difference.

Don’t let a car accident ruin your year and prevent you from enjoying life and taking the chance to have some good drinks and times with friends and family at singles places to meet someone such as these.

So here are our top ten singles places to meet someone in The Coachella Valley for 2010. We’ve purposely chosen singles places to meet someone that are popular and known for fun, instead of singles places to meet someone that have the most expensive drinks or the top ratings. If you’ve been involved in a car accident, we think that going to a singles bar or night club to meet someone and having a nice drink and good conversation at a reasonable price is more important than overpaying for the paintings on the walls.

Here are our top choices.

1. Las Casuelas Terraza, Palm Springs

2. Lobby Bar, Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Desert

3. The River, Rancho Mirage

4. Citron Bar at the Viceroy Hotel, Palm Springs

5. Jackalope Ranch, Indio

6. The Riviera Hotel, Palm Springs

7. Costas, Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Desert

8. Dakota Bar & Grill, Palm Desert

9. Village Pub, Palm Springs

10. Roc’s Firehouse, Palm Desert

Enjoy your time in The Coachella Valley but remember to watch how much you drink or to use a designated driver. And if by some unfortunate circumstance, you’re involved in a car accident on your way home, remember, it matters more than you think who you call for your accident. When it matters most, call the Law Firm of Sebastian Gibson.

[Via http://blog.sebastiangibsonlaw.com]

Woman killed in I-79 crash near Crafton

An Ambridge woman was killed yesterday when her car crossed from the southbound lanes of Interstate 79 into the Northbound lanes of 79 and crashed into another vehicle.  Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

Recently steps have been taken on some local highways to prevent this type of accident.  Wire barriers have been installed in various places on different highways in the area to prevent vehicles from crossing over from one direction on the highway to the other.  Had the barriers been in place in this location, this accident would not have happened.  Pittsburgh area and Western PA accident attorney.

[Via http://matveylaw.wordpress.com]

project 365: day #4, a far cry.....

this whole undertaking is about experimenting, right? so i was stuck in connecticut today and was feeling expeditious. what can i shoot in stamford that might be interesting? i thought on it all day before i decided to trek into the woods to this dilapidated old hooptie my days of yesteryear. but i didn’t seek it out to throw rocks at it or jump on it this time. i brought some lights and decided to try something new. i NEVER use lights of any kind in my photography. most definitely not flash. on top of that, i rarely shoo this kind of subject matter. i definitely tried something different with this one. not sure i succeeded. in fact, i know i failed miserably. but this isn’t the last you’ll see of this clunker. i learned something tonight and that’s a start. thank you project 365.

[Via http://jacobbmurphy.wordpress.com]

Home...

We hit the border at around noon, after four hours of blizzard conditions. The roads were thick with ice and the biting wind hurled horizontal snow into Suzy’s face. She carried on, blind.

Just south of Berwick we decided to stop, pulling into a car park full of hung over tweens. Thier hungry eyes showed them as desperate for that first bite of McDoghair, bloodshot and pallid. We made to venture inside, planning to use this international chain of public toilets and then get out. Only things weren’t so easy.

Pulling the key from Suzy’s ignition, there was a mighty honk of someone’s horn and then silence. Nothing stirred in any of the other cars. S- and I looked at one another before dodging herds of bleary-eyed people with brown paper bags, and dived for the bathrooms.

On returning to the car, we devoured a flask of coffee which would form our lunch and rejoined the A1. But something was amiss. Despite it being only three days after her annual service, Suzy Primera showed an engine warning light.

I know the mechanic who performed the service well – he’s been taking care of my cars since Percy Polo could pass an MOT unaided. The fluid levels were all normal, the engine sounded fine and for once, both of Suzy’s headlamps were working*. We tried driving a little further and the engine temperature remained in its usual place or a journey of 4 hours and counting.

We decided to press on, leaving Berwick, Newcastle and Doncaster behind. I had ensured that the car was covered by the AA before setting off, but being perpetually penniless, I opted for the most basic level of cover. This meant that should the beloved car shudder to a halt, we would be towed to the nearest garage, leaving us stranded to find shelter and more caffeine. As a result, we wanted to be as close to Cambridgeshire as possible, should the unthinkable happen.

We did eventually stop for fuel and another mad rush to the bathroom, though other than that, we managed the day on whatever sustenance was at hand. I prodded Christmas cake into my husband’s mouth at periodic intervals and repeatedly spilt coffee all over my new jeans but after ten hours of almost non-stop driving, we reached our cottage without incident.

I like to think that the light is on as the result of a short-circuit. As it only started showing after we pulled away from McLoo, and because the horn that sounded was in all probability ours, I reckon the cold and the Primera’s notoriously dodgy wiring are to blame. I’ll be incredibly sad if I’m wrong – that little car has been spectacular, lugging us and various others around Europe and sailing through MOTs without even new wiper blades. And if nothing else, Suzy’s hard seats are luxury in comparison with Charlie’s.

On a random side note, Read Between the Lines is down – in case anyone was wondering about the lack of RSS at the bottom of the page. I will endeavour to fix this asap.

*That Charlie Micra’s now need replacing is, I am sure, a total coincidence.

[Via http://frankiesoup.wordpress.com]

Uganda reports killing LRA commander Abudema in CAR

The Ugandan army says that it has killed a senior commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army militant group in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Bok Abudema was killed on Friday along with one of his fighters, while two women found with them were freed, an army spokesman told the BBC.

The army said LRA leader Joseph Kony was moving between the CAR and Sudan.

Ugandan forces have been operating outside the country’s borders for a year in a campaign to destroy the LRA.

They have been deployed in northern Democratic Republic Congo and southern Sudan as well as the CAR to track down the LRA, which once operated in northern Uganda.

Army spokesman Lt Col Felix Kulayigye said that Mr Kony was moving between the CAR and Darfur in southern Sudan in order to escape Ugandan army patrols.

Bok Abudema is only one of a number of senior LRA commanders who have been cornered and killed, says the BBC’s Africa editor, Martin Plaut.

Others have surrendered but the LRA is scattered across a remote region of dense forests and swamps, savannah and deserts – ideal territory for guerrilla operations, our editor says.

Last month the UN human rights commissioner, Navi Pillay, demanded the capture of LRA leaders for crimes against humanity and gave details of the killings, torture and rape of hundreds of civilians by the rebels.

She accused the movement of killing at least 1,200 civilians between September 2008 and June 2009.

BBC News – Uganda reports killing LRA commander Abudema in CAR.

” Lets hope that 2010 is the year that Joseph Kony is bought to justice for all the innocent victims of this atrocious war. for him to be skipping back and forth between CAR and Sudan is an eerie thought, so ok some of his rebels have been caught, killed or defected, yet it only takes a handful of rebels to go back out and attack another village and abduct another lot of children for the atrocities to re-start again. Don’t close your eyes to this war…to do so could take a life” Rebecca Fowler

[Via http://invisiblechildrensupporter.wordpress.com]

Camper Van Plans

Hiring an RV, a camper van, a motorhome or dormobile is a great way to holiday and see the UK at the same time. They offer a flexible solution to your transport and accommodation needs, whilst at the same time allowing you the freedom to decide where you want to go next. A motor home really is a “home from home”, with all the conveniences you have at home and the benefit of mobility. We’ll take a closer look at what facilities a motorhome should offer, so that you are more informed when you decide to rent or hire.

First of all, camper vans have a small kitchen-like compartment with a refrigerator and a gas hob with two or even three burners. You can get a quick meal ready in no time. So far so good, but for those of you who wonder about lighting at night, there’s no need to worry. Camper vans have a dual battery system; besides the car battery there is another one that supplies you with the necessary power, which is also called the leisure battery. Moreover, most campsites have a hook-up cable for you to attach to their electrical supply system.

Besides hook up services, you’ll find cable television and wireless Internet in campsites all over the UK. This new kind of travelling across the country has definitely reached a high level of development. However, many people who turn to camper vans as the perfect way to travel around, prefer to stay at remote rural locations or in regular campgrounds with basic facilities. The choice is entirely yours.

The Volkswagen organisation is a world leader in the campervan market and has played an important role in the history of camper vans. In the UK, you will also find other well known companies such as Ford and Fiat offering camper van solutions. The Volkswagen Vanfest, is a highly popular event that is held in Malvern each year. Enthusiasts from around the world attend and show off their lovingly restored camper vans. If you are in the market to buy your own van or you have one and need to buy something for it, then this is definitely one event you need to attend.

When hiring a camper, deciding which one is right for you depends on whether it is going to be a family trip or not. The childrens ages can also play a big part in the choice as a van that has to accommodate teenagers will definitely need to be bigger than one for toddlers. Most vans have one double bed and then a number of additional single and sometimes even double beds. These details should be worked out and discussed with the rental company before hand so that your needs are met. When taking toddlers on a camper trip make sure that you use dedicated child seats and that they are used at all times when moving.

If you are looking for a more adventurous camper van experience you could choose to hire a truck camper. This is an off-road style of camper van, that a few rental companies offer at a premium. The rugged design of this style camper has limited cabin space due to the off road design features. A number of UK rental companies offer this style of camper, but it does cost a bit more than an ordinary camper van.

[Via http://bestautocar.wordpress.com]