Day 078 > Monday 18 November

America is a big place. We had been invited to Washington D.C. to meet with Executives of Logisticare and a group of people representing various disability organisations Nationally and in the Washington area.

It was a long day, our six hour flight stopped at Charlotte, North Carolina and we eventually arrived in Washington just in time for the start of the dinner. We freshened up quickly in the gents but we did not have time to get into our black tie outfits so went into the cocktail reception in our uniform of polo shirts, jeans and cowboy boots. It is not what one wears but the way one wears it that is important. We wore our jeans well that night.

We had all been delighted to see Mary again on our arrival in Washington. She has done a great job in working with the Project Managers to set up the global programme, but because it is often behind the scenes, her work does not always get the appreciation it deserves. Our pleasure at seeing Mary again was tempered by the departure of our leader Robin a few days ago. Robin had moved on ahead to work on the return to London. With most the adventure successfully completed, Robin had put aside his mask of leadership in San Francisco and became one of us, revealing a fine appreciation of Irish coffees!. We valued the chance of getting to know him better and reflecting on some of the management challenges he has overcome.

Meanwhile the means of transport we have used have now been submitted to Route Director Stuart Nussey who has come back to me with a long list of questions. More work!!!!

Day 079 > Tuesday 19 November

Logisticare provide transportation services for the disabled across America. They operate contracts to provide trains, busses, ambulances to urban authorities and others and today they had organised for us to have a tour around Washington, designed to enable blind and wheelchair bound tourists to enjoy the city.

We started at Washington Monument and, after queuing for an hour in the bitterly cold wind, enjoyed panoramic views of Washington which took in the White House, Capital Hill, the Pentagon, Lincoln Monument etc. The observation windows at the top of the monument were too high for Mike to see out but.. he was provided with a periscope to see out from his wheelchair. Unfortunately, nothing was found to help Miles or Caroline.

We visited the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial, commemorating his passion for social justice. Roosevelt was, himself, confined to a wheelchair and during the way years was concerned that photographs of him depicted an image of weakness which would be demoralising to the Nation. It was proven that the man's skills and character were so much more than his physical attributes or limitations.

After a fine fresh seafood lunch with Russ Holt, who had developed a disability access guide and accreditation scheme to Washington tourist attractions, we abandoned the sightseeing.

Miles had developed an infection in his foot which had become painfully swollen and blistered so we limped him to the doctors for tests and antibiotics. We have had very little illness and few accidents during the trip, we hope this will continue for the next two weeks.

Day 080 > Wednesday 20 November

Having crossed the USA from San Francisco to Washington we crossed again, via Chicago, to Las Vegas. Washington had been cold and as we flew over the Rockies we could see all the fresh snow which had allowed the ski season to start in earnest. But as we approached Las Vegas, crossing the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam we saw the wonders of the Nevada desert and knew that we were heading back into the sunshine. By the time we arrived the sun was down but, back in our shirtsleeves, we headed out into "The Strip" for some food.

Hotel rooms are cheep in Vegas, encouraging people to come and stay and to spend as much as possible at the tables. We were staying at Circus Circus, a 4000 room hotel down at the cheaper end of the strip. Unfortunately, our first thoughts of the hotel were regarding its odour being remarkably similar to that of a gents public toilet.

Day 081 > Thursday 21 November

I was given a day off today, a real day off from lifting, guiding, bum mending and everything. Even when we have had days off in the past Miles and Mike have needed some sort of assistance and there has always been something to do. So after eighty days I was out on my own. The rest of the gang seemed intent on sleeping in as late as possible but I headed off early to the Harley Davidson rental shop. A Harley for the day and a very big desert was my idea of a day off. It was incredible; kicking up dust behind the bike, cruising in the warm wind and looking, if I may say so, incredibly cool was just how I imagined it would be. My day went so fast and although I had a map I'm not sure exactly where I ended up. Much of the time I just sat, looking at the rocks and colours of the desert, feeling humbled by the space around me. I really don't understand why people flock to the lights and tack of Vegas when there is so much peace and healing to be found sitting in the desert just a few miles away. I could have stayed forever.



Time raced away and I had promised Caroline a spin on the bike before I returned it. Caroline had loved the biker chic experience on the Harleys in South Africa and had been nagging me for a ride so we met up and cruised through Vegas to the edge of the desert to catch the end of what was for me an amazing day.

Day 082 > Friday 22 November

John Hawthorne and Sandy had arrived from California with a couple of Blokarts, land sailing buggies which fold into a suitcase. Unfortunately there was no wind today and so it was pointless driving into the desert to have a go with them. Instead, we ventured further down the strip to see some of the bigger hotels such as Caesars Palace, the Luxor, New York and Paris.

At the Venetian there are gondolas giving rides to the tourists on little canals around the entrance to the casino. We considered taking a ride to count as one of our ways of transport but at $12 each and the fact that we were rapidly approaching the achievement of the eighty ways challenge, we walked on by.

Day 083 > Saturday 23 November

Back in San Francisco we had been offered the chance to go hot air ballooning by Peter Stoneberg but the fog had stopped us from flying. Today the weather was perfect and we headed out into the desert early in the morning.

The mountains were glowing orange in the early morning sun and we were all busied in the process of filling a 140,000 cubic feet balloon. Mike was strapped to a kitchen chair which was tied inside the small basket, the rest of us crammed in the small space and, before we knew it, we were floating gently skyward. It was all so sedate as the slight breeze took us south east and we watched a number of other balloons enjoying the morning. We found ourselves caught in a thermal.

We all smiled with excitement as the warm air caused us to ascend rapidly but the pilot, Huw, knew better. He felt less than in control and manoeuvred to get us back into the still air as quickly as possible, and then the wind picked up. We next experienced a sheer, causing one side of the balloon to bellow out sideways and twisting the basket around. Huw decided it was time to land, as quickly as possible, and we headed down, being chased by the ground crew. But we were travelling too fast and the basket thumped into the ground, tipped onto its side and was dragged across the rocks and dust before coming to a stop.

Mike was dangling by his waist strap inside the basket, Caroline lying face up trying to support Mike, Miles lying not quite in the basket and me at the bottom of the pile filming the crash and trying to hold Caroline and Mike. We all crawled out of the ruined basket, dusted ourselves down, went for some champagne and cake and headed off for an afternoon of Blokarting. As the day progressed I realised how much I had hurt my ribs.

We drove onto a dried up lake which was five miles long, a mile wide and completely flat and we erected the Blokarts from their suitcases. Just being in the wide open space was amazing for all of us, Miles went for a run on his own, Caroline made angels in the dust and Mike just kept smiling.

Once we were in the Blokarts the day suddenly became more than perfect. In the moderate breeze these things zipped along the dusty ground at an incredible pace. The sailing buggies were instantly handleable by all of us and we spent a few hours racing and seeing if we could get the Blowkarts up onto just two wheels at high speed. These things are incredible and we each wanted to buy one and bring it home with us. There were no mishaps, just pure joy as we sailed our Blokarts into and through the evening sunset.

What a fantastic day, seeing Miles, Mike and Caroline enjoying the freedom and the speed of the Blokarts. This is what 80 Ways days are all about and John and Sandy, who spent all day watching us described the day as one of the most enjoyable they had ever had. Us too!,

Day 084> Sunday 24 November

Caroline left us today until Tuesday to go to the infamous MGM Grand hotel where tomorrow she will receive one of the 10 Outstanding Young People of the World award presented by Junior Chamber International.

The MGM Grand is the largest Hotel in the world boasting five and a half thousand rooms along with theatres, shopping malls, 6 and a half acres of pool, layers upon layers of casinos – a true playground for adults. Shedding her cowboy boots and now dusty jeans Caroline attempted to look somewhat less like the 85 day traveller she is and more like she had walked fresh off the plane, but carrying her stuffed elephant, battered and bedraggled luggage and leaving a trail of dust in her wake made her case less than convincing.

She was met by Joe Toner one of the Irish Junior Chamber delegates waving an Irish flag and only minutes in his company her Irish accent seemed to strengthen. She was whisked away in a flurry of helpers, organisers and delegates quite bemused as I am not sure she entirely knows what the award is about. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to join her for the awards ceremony and the after ceremony dinner to celebrate with her. As we left her in the luxury of the MGM we returned to Circus Circus to eat.