So I'm back after my trip. Jet-lagged, broke and with five stitches in the back of my head. A good holiday. Lots of driving involved - over 2000 miles in 2 weeks from LA to Salt Lake and back in a rented Chevy Camaro soft-top. Only got pulled over once - clocked at 104mph on the I-15 through Fillmore. The roads are so long, straight and empty out there it's practically impossible not to speed. The cop from the Sheriff's Department was pretty nice about it. I enjoyed several new things on the trip. I rode a horse through the hills around Santa Monica. I learned how to do front and back somersaults on a trampoline; which lesson led to my falling off and requiring a first experience of US medical care; hence five stitches and a DTP shot which made me feel like crap for the rest of my time in Utah. I went to my first wedding featuring belly-dancers. Had my first taste of Vegas. Then I spent the last 24 hours of the trip in Los Feliz and Hollywood continuing the 'Swingers' thing - a few bars in the evening, including Musso and Frank's and the Dresden, where that crazy lounge act, Marty and Elaine (they've added a bass player since the film) were even more bizarre than they appeared in the movie. The next morning had to be spent recovering on the little 9-hole golf course that appears in the film, before the tedious flight back to Heathrow. If that all sounds pretty hectic, I suppose it was, but there was also some enjoyable down-time with friends in Laguna, friends and family in Utah, and plenty of lovely sunshine.