it's official

someone fell for it and approved my graduation! it worked, and now it's official. i'm smart!

woaaaaaaah said the squirelly..... that's a big fucking hole!!!! now where did i throw that acorn at.........

that would be this particular one.....

wow..... i wonder who put that hole in the ground, and why. it's really really really pretty, and HUGE!!!!! but i don't see any other use for it...... not that it needs it, but it must've been really inconvenient too at some point in time. 'neways, some more pics here.....


apparently i was there too. notice the sweater, jeans and scarf. add to that the fact that i am actually in Arizona, where it's always warm. bleh, i got a sore throat, a swolen gland in my neck, and just a then a little fever too. yay! i get to the biggest hole in the ground you've ever seen and i get sick.....

ok ok, you can't see the scarf. but i'm wearing it, believe me. at least by now, the fever has gone, and with it the muscle aches. today, before driving to santa fe, we went to the petrified forrest and the painted desert. (<------ see that? desert..... guess what happened in the desert, today AND yesterday..... yes, it rained) but it was really cool and we didn't get rained on, and most of all, it wasn't too hot either.

lots more where that came from, but now i'm peckish ( 10.30pm on a burger and a bacon sandwich) and we apparently need an eraser and some nivea. so i'm off for now, sure i'll post again soon........

btw a change in plans due to these silly hurricanes. seems like there's another one about to hit. close to Houston this time so i'm told. so the roads are all full and therefor no Austin right now. so we're on to Carlsbad tomorrow, where they have caves, after we hit the art quarter here. from there, i guess it's on to Greenville, TX.

PS. congrats Theresa!

DG (or any other PR member reading this) hope you got away without too much trouble. hope to see you soon.

BYE!!!!! or as they seem to say around here.... ADIOS!!!!

starbucks am teh cool

uhuh..... niet iedere koffietent heeft inet ;)

maar starbucks wel!

San Diego was net als de rest, veeeeeeeel kleiner dan verwacht. de zoo was best leuk hoor, maar kan niet tippen aan de Burger's zoo. museum park viel ook tgen, want, uiteraard op maandag was de helft dicht. het fotografie museum dat wel open was, werd natuurlijk verbouwd, met zo'n beetje 10% waar we wel bij konden. was wel aardig, maar toen hebben we het maar opgegeven. dus nu zijn we onderweg naar de grand canyon (niks geboekt, dus ook nog geen slaapplaats)

maar de frappuchino was lekker, en je kunt hier internetten. dus all is good in the world. toedels maar weer, tot de volgende starbucks

bleh

emailing Heidi's pictures won't work so you'll all have to wait just a few more days to see all those awesome pics! patience, grasshopper!

btw, apparently there's a game on in Berkeley. do i attract these things or what?

weeeeeeeeeeeeeee

yay! my designated driver has left!

and the weather turned better around noon. so not too bad at all
went to the SFMOMA (very nice) and after to chinatown. i did the Lonely Plannet walk, and it seemed like that was just me for a change ;)

anyway, i ended up at the fortune cookie factory, where they make you pay for making pictures. to make up for that i bought a big bag of cookies too. i wonder what mr fortune cookie has under it's dough for me. for lunch i had pad thai or however you spell it (yours was better Heidi) at some park full of chinese people. i've never felt so white in my life. for some reason or other there were 2 'elders' (van die gezellige mormonen jongens die de boel willen bekeren) in a park full of chinese men. how odd. i walked on and on and on and on, up a hill and down a hill and back up a hill until i got to a really big hill called Telegraph Hill. so i climbed it, as i had nothing else to do in particular, and i wasn't planning to come back. i took the elevator all the way to the top of the tower on top of the hill, from which i could see very far. very far indeed, but no good pictures as there was smudgy glass between me and the view. oh well, wasn't too bad. after climbing all the way down i went in the direction of the Financial District (oh how tedious) where i paid the Wells Fargo people a visit. they had a little informative display on the pony thing and something to do with wagons and highway men. there was also a camera crew. it was fun to make silly pictures on the balcony with a flashlight (hehehehehe). i soon got bored of the not so exciting sky scrapers s i made my way back to the hostel to rest my feet and more particular, my knees who don't seem to like the amount of (hill)walking i'm doing these days. all in all i had a good time, got round to clear my camera and buy some pizza slices. tomorrow is really Berkeley time. nothing else is planned and i've got the supershuttle people picking me up on sunday morning at the ungodsly hour of 6 in the AM to get to the airport. i hope it is quite a drive, since it's 3 hrs before my flight leaves.

all that is another adventure, so you'll hear about that another time.

grtz, judith

ps. sorry to miss you here Kalki, why not fly back by way of Dallas so you can come to the meeting? jk, but it would've been fun.......

kleine wasjes, grote wasjes......

weeeeeeheeeeeeee

zit hier midden in little china town, hoewel de kaart dat niet zo ziet. er zitten 'slechts' chinese winkels, restaurants, laundry services enz. in deze straat. en de volgende. maar ja, voor het luttele bedrag van $6 wordt mijn vieze wasje gewassen, gedroogd en weer netjes opgevouwen. anders moest ik het zelf doen, en 2 uur gaan zitten wassen. als jhe het zo bekijkt, is $3 per uur niet zo slecht.

nou, Dnever was op zich niet eens zo erg ;). alleen de hostel viel op het eerste gezicht nogal tegen. maar dat kwam misschien omdat het warm was, ik nog niet gegeten had, en ik de was had willen doen, en omdat het een half uur lopen van de bewoonde wereld was. maar ja. het was niet eens zo'n slecht bed, en het viel op tweede gezicht ook nog wel mee met dat vieze. na het volgende berichtje ben ik lekker naar het centrum gelopen, de Barnes and Noble boekwinkel (met coffeeshop!) opgezocht, en daar eens lekker van de airco en een koffie genoten. (koekje erbij?) daarna een beetje rondgelopen, maar er is echt niet veel te doen als je maar een paar uurtjes hebt. ze hebben daar ook al een Capitol Building, dus netjes ook maar weer wat fotootjes geschoten. van de buitenkant, had echt geen zin om er heeeeeelemaal naartoe te lopen. dus maar weer terug gelopen nadat ik een hele fles water naar binnen had gewerkt (goed he?). tijdje rondgehangen op het toch wel leuke balkonnetje, en daarna binnen een tijdje aan de telefoon gehangen. best leuk dat gratis bellen naar mesen met dezelfde provider. op het laatste nippertje mocht ik nog aanschuiven bij de italiaan op de hoek, maar wat kunnen ze hier toch slecht met pasta omgaan! dit is de derde keer dat ik iets pasta-achtigs at, en de tweede keer dat het echt ongelofelijk slecht was. na ja. het was weer eens wat warms in de maag.

de volgende ochtend op tijd opgestaan en richting de gratis bus gelopen. ik was een kwartiertje te voreg, wat maar goed was, want wonder boven wonder was de trein op tijd! kon nog net na hte inchecken van mijn baggage ergens een (goede!) kop koffie scoren. daarna maar snel naar de trein. de jongen die voor em de trein inliep kon toch geen goede plaats vinden, dus heb ik maar over mijn o zo genereuze hart gestreken. na een tijdje kwamen we in gesprek, wel grappid, deed me erg denken aan Kugs. anyway, hij moest eraf in Glenwood, en de rest van de reis had ik mijn 2 steoltjes voor mezelf. dus, gisteravond kwam ik aan, met de bus naar downtown, en lopend naar de hostel. lekker chinees gegeten, en vandaag dus eindelijk die vieze was. het weer is niet echt denderend, volgens mij heeft het geregend, en op de trein hadden ze het over 63 graden. dat ik ongeveer zo'n 16 a 17 graden voor ons normale mensen.

voor de mesen thuis:

hoe is het met iedereen? de kindjes allemaal al weer gegroeid? (oh ja, ik ben pas 2 weken weg)

Kees/Theresa: wat is het geworden, hoe bevalt het om oma te zijn?

Pa: wie had ooit gedacht dat receptionist zo leuk kon zijn ;)

ron: is de auto al overgeschreven?

doei!!!!!!!!!

yuck......

independant hostels suck. granted, this one looks moderately less icky than the onther one, it's also at least a half hr walk from the bus i need to get back to the station at 7.30am tomorrow. i'm going back ti HI tomorrow, so it's just one day. this place looks like my room just before i get the urge to clean. yes, it's that bad. and in Denver no less. there are laundry facilities, but they are being used. well. the washing machine is full. guess i'll be doing that in SF as well. better get my sweater back out of my laundry bag. the train is cold. outside is warm, so i really need stuff washed. at least i washed myself now, so that's improvement. i'll be ordering a cab to the station tomorrow, i'm done with walking around with that heavy beast on my back. anyway, got to try and do something remotely usefull, like eating. Denver sure must have some food. i saw a starbucks on the way. that's just one half hour walk and a ride on the bus away. can you see me cheering? i bet not, else your eyes are playing tricks on you. bleh

bla bla bla, i have nothing to do........

yay..... i have nothing to do. at all. first night alone, and i'm on the puter. hurray me ;)

i had a nice flight to Buffalo, had all of one cup of water as on board catering. buffalo's alright. not too much going on apparently and the TGI surprisingly sucks. [insert sarcastic look here]. it's the falls tomorrow morning, and some artsy fartsy thing in the afternoon. then i guess i should prepare for the first stint of the train journey. it's about 20 hrs cut in half by a stop in Chicago. the Lincoln HI has not been answering the phone so far, so i'm not sure still where i'll be staying. at least now i have some options for Denver as this hostel has some leaflets. the place looks nice and clean, has a kitchen and a lounge, so i'll be fine where i am. i'm glad to have an extra day in SF though. 2 did seem a bit short..... Ron: i might be able to go to alcatraz after all ;)

anyway, while hoping for some peace and quiet, there's a german girl in the room looking for a chat, and rather desperately too. anyway, nothing much to do here but catch a movie. which i don't really want to go there right now. i'll just crawl onto a couch with my book which finally got exciting :)

that, and i really want another book, and i can't get one until i finish this one.


bye for now, still no pics unfortunately.

important msg!!!!!! belangrijke mededeling!!!!!

for all who care: the amtrak schedule has moved one day back

therefore, i'm leaving Buffalo the night of the 9th aso.

voor wie het aangaat: de treinreis wordt 1 dag naar voren geschoven, dus niet de 10e uit buffalo weg, maar al de 9e. dus kom ik 1 dag eerder in SF aan........ tijd is weer op, doei!

eh yeah..... washington

ik heb vandaag wat tijd, dus doen we het maar eens zo......

NY was leuk, maar het is nooit echt 'i <3>

maar nu zijn we in Washington DC. gister aangekomen, maar gaan lopen naar het witte huis (slecht plan) daar was niet veel te zien, behalve politie mensen, guards and what not. daar achter licht het WWII memorial, wel mooi, en de reflecting pool van 'i have a dream' ook het lincoln memorial en het washinton memorial. daar een beetje rondgehangen en de taxi terug genomen naar Adam Morgan (onze wijk) hapje gegeten, pilsje gedronken, en weer op tijd naar bed..... wat zijn we saai ;)

vandaag het smithsonian en capitol hill. wie weet, misschien staan daar ook wel stijgers omheen.

amerika is een grote bouwput. een echt ontwikkelingsland.


groetjes, Judith en heidi

bai bai NY

the last day here was at least better than the day before. MoMa was very nice, bought new knickers at H&M of all places. had a late lunch in the park (yes, another hotdog) and went to pee at Bloomingdale's and Saks (B's is much nicer). we also got sprayed at to smell different (won't say nice, cuz it wasn't always nice ;) ). H got new sneakers, and a bd present for her eldest brother. woke up at a little more acceptable time, 4.30am, which means our neighbour got home late. second awakening was around 8, so yes, a lot better. consequently, i've been tired all day. my feet are about to go on strike, but we're not giving in just yet. there's 66 hrs on the train to look forward to. phone's def. working but have decided against voicemail. turned up the sound of the ringtone, so i should hear you. if i don't, i'm doping something else :p. anyway, it's the 3 min sign again, time to check email.

see y'all later in DC!!!!!

yesterday...... all my blisters....

short recap of yesterday: got the Greyhound tickets, went on to the rockefeller centre, then lobby of chrysler building, grand central station, picked up the tickets for Rent and got changed, saw Rent, went to the comedy cellar, spent way too much money there, but it was fun. then went in search of an Irish pub, got no result there, but did drink a bud light (yuck) and a guinness at some peculier pub (c). sore feet too.

today was Central Park day. we started good by just getting into the abyssinian mass in Harlem. sat for 2 hrs, then sat at the subway again to the park. had a chicken inspired lunch on a boat while burning my shoulders. life is bad, i know.......

anyway, the Met was nice but huge, and the Guggenheim was a very square experience. in other words, it sucks. more sore feet, but tonight we're going to have a burger at the empire diner, and try to get into a film, chucky's bride by another name

/me looks at heidi......

the corpse bride, that's the film. anyway, just 3 more minutes, and my feet are really very sore, there a pics to prove it, just be patient, they will be here some time in the future.

'neways, gotta check ma mail too, so bai bai for now, see y'all later!

the death of a bag.......

alas, today mrs glittery bag died...... i pulled off all i could, but the lining is dying too. too bad, cuz i liked it. anyway, in short, times Square, chrysler building, grand central, rockefeller, dinner at chinatown, Rent, and now on to the comedy cellar. time's up almost, so i'll see what else to put in
blister count: 2.

eh..... hairt doesn't like the town, but NY is great at night from the empire state building. got to go again, bye bye all

day 1.5

there's little time, and much to tell, so excuses for m,y dutch audience, i will add the translation when i have more time.

in short, NY is warm (no not hot, you texonians). my feet hurt and so do my hips and thighs, but we did walk Brooklyn Bridge, all the way from Wall St. had to come back to change, wrong cloting choice, me of course. no pics yet, no full cards yet, so no cr's with them on it. haven't made many yet anyway, not while i have my personal photographer with me still. anyway, we got kicked out of the Woolworth building, no visitors. we did not see the stock exchange, no visitors. we did take the staten island ferry, which of course does not stop at Ellis Island ;) but we saw it all, even the WTC site. please excuse me for my rudeness, but only the fact that we all saw those people land on the pavements moved me a little. the entire ground 0 area, well....... it's another building site. for some reason, it did not, just like the rest of NY i've seen so far, impress me greatly. i like NY, i like the skyline, i kinda like the ppl, the atmosphere...... but i don't see what all the fuss is about. yeah those skyscrapers are high, but not as i expected. anyway, it's not all semi-nice ;)

by accident, while looking for the pedestrian path on BB, we found TKTS or whatever it is spelt. we got half price tickets for Rent, tomorrow afternoon!!!! how cool is that?
we walked mosty of the day, so decided to skip on the free and probably busy Guggenheim. we'll do that another time. got me some much needed sandals and a new phonenumber as well. i'll put it in in a bit, so if you need me, call me at

00 917-664-2944

i guess that should work.
anyway, i'm off now, see y'all in a bit