Home from home

Family OTW are now safely ensconced with La serenissima and her large and recently expanded family. Utah seems an other worldly place to me and I always feel distant from troubles in the wider world, which for a short time is no bad thing. Tomorrow the lads and I plan a serious shooting session in one of the nearby canyons, a day to be ended with a meal of Buffalo steaks. As a dedicated carnivore the thought of a meal comprising of large juicy Buffalo steaks is worth the long desert drive alone....more meat!

future happiness

Today was another early spring day and a finer place to be than England I can not imagine, although today there is perhaps one place. A member of my family is getting wed today out in Utah and we all here at OTW fervently wish we could be present, but in our absence we do send the young couple all our love and best wishes for a happy future together.....see you soon.

Wasatch sunset

As I came out of the supermarket last evening I snapped off this quick shot of the setting sun reflecting off the mountains that surround where I am staying. I have visited Utah for 23 years now,in all seasons and not once have I taken the mountains for granted.The ever changing light and clouds can easily entrance and captivate whilst occasionally reminding of hidden dangers with their looming bulk as one catches glimpses of them after dark...I like it here!...I especially like the Buffalo steak La Serenissima fed me with last night!

Utah Saints.

Family OTW are setting off on the trek to California in the morning after having as is usual' an amazing time in Utah with my sister La Serenissima and family complete with Rodeo and Parade. Utah is such a strange place....very American yet also feeling slightly different...a little unworldly,and I love it. I had no time to seek out Bob.g and Putz as my new daughter Princess OTW was taking up all my time discovering the joys of large family life and it was such a pleasure to watch her grow in confidence when surrounded by such good people. I think we managed to sort out selling our house in Salem and I am looking forward to building more here if and when the market allows. Well it's back to the Californian home hunt and hopefully some good wine with Vinogirl....watch out Vinodogs....Princess OTW is coming!

Cowboys and cowgirls

I attended a rodeo in Spanish Fork Utah on Wednesday,a small town a few miles away from where I am staying. It was a fantastic evening and family OTW enjoyed it immensely.Besides the unashamed displays of patriotism allied with superb horsemanship I just enjoyed the freedom from petty rules.As England and much of the west is strangled by petty health and safety rules coupled with various rights,it was refreshing to be treated as a responsible adult. Yes..if you climbed through the easily climbed bars you may be trampled by a rather large bull...but no idiot hi vis signs to hector one like a child were needed. One of the highlights for the various children present was the kiddies riding sheep...little cowboys and girls in the making....sure the little uns got a tad roughed up but did they have fun?....absolutely! I just hope middle America can hold tight to these values that for the rest of us have slipped away never to be regained.Under a starry Utah sky I was able for awhile to remember the world of my youth...oh and yes...I got to wear my stetson!

On the road.

I have not posted for a couple of days as I have left California for a break with la Serenissima and family in Utah. The drive through Nevada was again really enjoyable if you enjoy desert,heat,dust and mountains...which I do. The drive is 800 miles and I was a little worried about how Princess OTW would handle it but like the trooper she is everything went fine. Upon arrival in Utah family OTW fed heartily and retired to our favourite truck stop.....a place of immense fascination to me. Tonight we are going to a rodeo, something I and the OTW family are looking forward to greatly...mainly because my nephews are supplying me with a cowboy hat and I can wear it whilst feeling only slightly out of place!..yee ha!

Desert trip

I am still working away at my trip in summer to California and all points west.I really enjoy the drive from the bay area to Utah to visit my big sister... La serenissima and her family of cowboy hat,truck loving nieces and nephews.One of the highlights of the Last few years was a family trip to Italy that further tipped my sister over the edge into being Italian...considering our Irish background we are still trying to figure out what happened there! A week in Utah away from the salad eaters of California comes in handy...plus for a week I get to talk about trucks...what more could a guy want?

House hunting

I'm off up to Napa valley this morning to do some house hunting.The whole process of looking for a house here is very different from home..mainly in that estate agents here work much more on a one to one basis....unlike the faceless service at home.In the end though its all pretty much the same...give us your money! I,m planning to start after breakfast (gillwoods diner) in St.Helena and work down the valley for awhile.The idea is to find a "fixer upper"...or what ever it is called over here....a rip out by any name anyway. Everything over in Ca is so different from U.K. that I,ve taken a couple of years looking at how every aspect of building works here that I can..its been an education...from houses I usually work on that are 200 years old to houses that seem made of nothing more substantial than balsa wood...they seem to work though! I learnt from the great house my family in Utah have just finished that American building practise is much better than the slipshod methods usually employed in U.K....not by me and my diddymen I must add! The Valley is such a mix of architectural styles that as of yet I,ve no idea what I,m looking for, which is unusual because in U.K. I have very fixed ideas....the freedom of choice is rather liberating and I,m hoping to be working on a new project here by the end of this year.....we will see!