I have returned to my room tonight in the midst of what could be described as "snore wars". There are at least two and as many as four people vying quite vocally for the title of the loudest snorer in the room. Right now I'd have to say the chap next to me is winning for overall noise and consistency. This is where my "sleep" playlist on my iPod comes in handy! The pub crawl was fun and unexpectedly cheap. We started off watching Chicago Bulls lose their playoff...

Just the journey to Chicago deserves a blog entry in its own right. What an experience! 52 hours, 7 states, 3 timezones and a whole load of spectacular scenery. I caught the California Zephyr despite a packed San Francisco ferry building stop to take us to Emeryville. And I even had time in Emeryville to stock up on some good snack food and three litres of boxed white wine for the journey. This turned out to be a very good move! The first day took us out of Cal...