A bit more info...

It's the Saturday before I go and get a horrific airport taxi at half three in the morning (for all my lovely stalkers out there), so I thought I would give some details on my American adventure. I'm flying out to New York and I'm there until the Friday; I would have stayed longer but I've been before, and although it is probably the best place on earth I have a fair bit of ground to cover.

I'm then heading down to Philadelphia for a couple of nights. I'm not really expecting a lot from there, probably because Will Smith seemed quite keen to trade a life on the playground for Bel Air. But it does mean I can run up the steps like Rocky did, and possibly punch a joint of meat for the full montage effect.

Then I'm in the capital city (Washington D.C for you limey's) for three nights. That really is going to be pure sightseeing - the war monuments, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House and loads more. I'll probably try and see Kennedy's grave as well, cos I'm a miserable old thing.

After a gorgeous seventeen hour train I rock up in Chicago for six nights. I've got some tickets booked to see Death Cab For Cutie (the fact I'm going on my own shows how old I'm getting), and I'll hopefully catch a baseball game too. Chicago is home to some ridiculous pizza places - see the 'Man vs Food' episode to see what I mean - so I'll probably be doing the classic Facebook activity of taking pictures of food (James Grayson®).

Then I have a crazy FORTY SIX HOUR train journey through some fantastic scenery, all the way to Seattle. I'm spending five nights there, where I'll hopefully live the life of Fraiser Crane and drink coffee whilst looking distinguished. It's also home to some music icons - Hendrix, Cobain, etc. - so I'll probably be doing some more grave watching/robbing.

A three hour train from Washington State to Oregon brings me into Portland for six nights. This is one place that I'm really buzzing about. Loads of microbreweries, massive book shops, surrounded by some incredible scenery. It's where Modest Mouse formed so you know it's a cool place.

I'll tell you about the second half of my trip tomorrow, on my last full day on our tiny little isle for a few months. Keep reading (please).

The sun comes to Chesterfield...

Well with weather this glorious who would ever consider putting all their belongings in a bag and heading for a taste of the American dream? Actually, I would still, but I'm English so I thought I would write something about our climate. When sunlight hits our historic market town there are certain things it will be sure to bring. One is that around 60% of the male population forget how to wear clothing on their upper bodies. The middle-aged woman in me is outraged, while the twenty-two year old male thanks high heaven that I have a belly and I do care about it making public appearances. I also wonder how many of these men descend from the Maoris or some other ancient tribe, judging by the tattoos they sport on gently baking arms.

Anyway before I start getting carried away about male torsos there are some other fun sights to spot in this kind of weather. My particular favourite is the emergence of complete and utter nutters, who only seem to come out when the thermometer reaches a certain level. Of course, this often ties hand in hand with said shirtless men but there are plenty of others to be seen. Sat in the passenger seat of my mum's Suzuki Jimny yesterday (love being independent), I felt as though I were on a safari through the Serengeti as the sun beat down and bearded men with bags that clinked roamed the streets. It is almost as if the sheer amazement of LIGHT and HEAT in this country leads them to the bottle. Any kind of positive weather simply cannot be comprehended, and drink is the only way out.

And on that note I'm going to put down my laptop, sit outside and have a Stella. With my shirt on.

A Brief Introduction...

If you're reading this then you probably know who I am already (it's Adam by the way). You may not know however that I am about to embark on over two months of travel across America, purely to annoy anyone who isn't doing anything that cool this year. I wanted a nice little log of my adventures to look back on myself when my bed becomes a toilet and Carol Voderman starts getting attractive, as well as to keep anyone who's interested in my whereabouts posted of what I am up to, and how fat I am getting.

The title of this blog is a nod to a book by one of my favourite authors, John Steinbeck; Travels With Charley, a wonderful journal of Steinbeck's own journey across America. He was accompanied by his poodle Charley, while I am alone (sigh) for the first part of my trip. However, in early May I will be meeting my good friend Alex Stevens - who has been working in Canada for the past six months - in the Seattle area.

I will be posting more information and stuff before I go, and give everyone a bit more of an idea of my route, what I'm looking forward to, how I'm going to find myself, etc. So keep on reading if you're interested in America or just want to laugh at me when I get sent to Guantanamo Bay or some other hilarious jape. Also feel free to spread the word to anyone else who wants to know how many spare ribs I can eat in California, and how many years of my life I will lose to heart disease as a result.

Peace.