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Thursday, December 31, 2009
I did it, I took public transport
How proud you must be Luis.
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Nashville is no Cathy Rigby
Memphis had Beale street which was pretty cool. I ended up not visiting one of the blues bars in it because I was not in the mood to sit in another bar alone. I was pretty tired after xmas and the drive to Tennessee. The next morning I walked around Memphis downtown to see it in the daylight and then walked to the banks of the Mississippi. Coming over the Mississippi into Memphis was pretty cool when I arrived the day before with the city lights growing out of the banks of the river.
I then attended the entrance of the ducks at the Peabody hotel. Since about 1930 the ducks which live on top of the hotel enter the elevator, make their way to the ground floor (someone from the hotel pushes the button) and they exit the elevator into a red carpet which leads to the hotel's marble fountain. It was quite a sight and a grabbed as much of it as I could on video but the crowd was huge.
I moved on to Graceland to see the home of the king. I am sure I don't need to tell you it is very commercial. Fun fact, it was called Graceland when he bought it originally and he retained the name. I'm glad I have done it - would have been crazy not to but not in my top 10.
I moved on to Nashville which was a mere 3.5 hours drive (I think my shortest journey on the trip). I checked into the hotel which was on the outskirts of downtown so I jumped back in the car for some cruising. This is when I worked out it was the music bowl (the Gaylord music bowl that is). So I parked back at the hotel and made my way in for dinner.
I walked through Broadway street which had the flashy, neon signs above the bars and also many shops of cowboy boots and related clothing. It was a quiet night for me as I was told by my waitress that when the football finished, the city would be teeming with drunk football fans.
The next day I made my way to the Grand Ol Opry which was next to Opryland, the biggest shopping centre I have ever seen. I did a quick tour of the mall and escaped to walk around the actual Opry.
Unfortunately tours of the Opry were closed over Christmas so I had to settle for a quick photo and a browse of the gift shop. I picked up some drum sticks for my budding drumming career and a couple of other thinks for other people.
I stopped in somewhere for lunch and then made my way to the Pantheon (the Nashville recreation, not the Greek one). Getting out of the car made me realise I had left my coat at lunch. That ruined my plans to tour the pantheon art museum but shit happens.
I double backed, picked up my jacket at the restaurant and went back to the hotel to book my DC and NY accommodation, or so I thought.
I walked back into downtown for dinner, drinks and dancing. It was still early so I walked the block around Broadway before I bit the bullet and went into one of the live country music bars. I ordered a Bud and watched the resident band. The song was Mustang Sally so it was looking promising. A few beers through and Mustang Sally was the only song I had recognised so far- false advertising I say.
About now, a lady beside me started to knock my chair every few minutes. I was starved for conversation and saw it as an opportunity to have a chat. So Debbie was here with her partner Dedar on holiday from Alabama. We ended up chatting for ages and they saved my Nashville experience. Dedar even requested Keith Urban for me but the hacks on stage did not know any of his songs.
So we hung there for a while and then moved on to "The Stage" which was the same deal but a bit bigger. They explained to me that getting to play in one of the bars in Broadway, Nashville is a big deal. I decided to get a CD from one of the bands (I was drunk). I also picked up a "The Stage" coolie, or stubbie cooler in Australian.
They then took me to the BBQ joint in the street that is apparently famous. It was good but I was pretty unsure about what was going on- it was served like we were in high school. I ended up getting pork - I think.
Now how do you top such a night off? Well go cowboy hat shopping of course. I decided it was really important that I have a black cowboy hat to complete my Nashville experience but alas, neither of the open hat shops had any that fit the bill.
So a few beers down the track, some good conversation and the best Southern BBQ I have ever had, that was my night in Nashville that saved the city for me.
I walked the girls back to the hotel (the Hilton 2 blocks away) and walked a little further to mine, the Best Western Music City Inn (not quite as glamorous and a few blocks further).
I had an early start in the morning for the 10.5 hour drive to Washington and the hangover did not help. Unluckily I had downloaded Stephen Hawking's "A briefer history of time" which I could not really handle until the afternoon.
Overall, I love the south for the accents, food and of course the people. I had some good experiences and glad I got to see this different part of the US.
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It would be great for America Australian relations
If he would invite me in for soup
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Monday, December 28, 2009
The boots have possessed me
I booked my hotel in New York- right next to the Waldorf Astoria, five blocks from Saks 5th avenue. Parking is going to be costly, so Mark, any chance of an advance?
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Blue screen of death on a coke machine
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It’s the Beverly Hillbillies (insert banjo music here)
When I started writing this, I was in a bar in Beale street, Memphis enjoying a beer and the emerald bowl (American football). Since we left off last, I was enjoying the cold sights of Chicago.
I ended up spending most of my time there walking around the city. I had plans for the natural history museum and the art institute but was occupied walking and taking in the sights. I have a memory card full of photos to remember it (I think I was channelling Lisa).
Chicago was this bustling city with more cars than I have ever seen (this may change, New York is next week). I broke Chicago into three areas, high end shopping over the river, shopping in my side of the river and the lake bank (I think it was called millennium park).
It was a cold day so I took Emma B's advice and found a coffee shop where I could watch the world for a while. This was a really nice wind down for me. I had worked up to my departure in Cleveland, jumped in a car and left (without one of my blackberry chargers as well). Sitting in Chicago with a coffee for an hour of watching the Christmas shopping rush and snow fall was great.
I made my way back to the other side of the river and found an English pub for lunch. Looking back on it, my time in Chicago was really a series of restaurants and cafés interspersed with walking.
I checked out the ice skating rink. It is in millennium park which is a long public area in the banks of Michigan lake which also has a stage which can seat 11,000, a giant sculpture called cloud gate which looks like a large blob of molten stainless steel which was cooled in a weightless environment. It offers reflections of the city skyline from its curved surfaces (see picture). There is also a fountain which has two 15m glass towers which display, in vivid colour, videos of Chicago residents' faces. It was quite striking.
I wandered more around the city, picked up a Chicago shirt (which has become a theme on this trip). I ended up having a quiet night in after all the walking. This gave me a chance to get an early start for the drive to Springfield.
The drive to Springfield was about 7 hours. The plains of Illinois gave way to the hills of Missouri. This was a nice change as the view was more to look at and it meant the road would rise and twist. I had to go through St Louis and stopped off at the arch (the photos are below). It was a welcome break from the drive.
It was great to see Megan and Brad again. I was lucky enough to get the use of Megan's friend's loft apartment while Brad's parents and his sister and family stayed in their apartment. It was good to have a home while I was there.
I mostly hung around, did some shopping and had a few beers. One day I ventured an hour south to Branson for some outlet shopping. It turns out it was the home town of the Clampbetts from the Beverly Hillbillies TV show. It is also home to more than forty theatres, featuring over 100 shows and productions. All of these are advertised on billboards on the highway leading to the town. The shows I can remember are the The Presley family, the Baldknobbers, and of course Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede.
Whilw I was in Springfield I also was able to experience s‘mores (thanks Steph). This is a roasted marshmallow, block of chocolate and sweet crackers (graham crackers). You roast the marshmallow in a flame and sandwich it and the chocolate with the crackers. It was great and it is popular over here by the campfire.
I left Springfield at lunchtime on boxing day (which is not a holiday here- it is Christmas eve and Christmas day. How is everyone supposed to watch the boxing day test?). I arrived in Memphis Tennessee at about 5.30 and continued my adventure.
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Sunday, December 27, 2009
Well I'll be
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There's only one king (well there was)
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Friday, December 25, 2009
Welcome Santa
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Thursday, December 24, 2009
Bring on the snow
It's Christmas eve here and Megs, Brad, me and the Clark clan are hanging out for the snow to start. There is a 30% chance of a blizzard overnight which is snowman, snow angel, snowball and yellow snow material. Cross everything for us.
Sort of Christmas spirit
I have emailed this around before but it seems in line with the idea of Christmas spirit- something just for the enjoyment of others. I always makes me smile.
Merry Christmas all
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The St Louis Gateway arch
The view down from 630 ft up (192m) in the St Louis Gateway arch
The arch itself
A cool one I took from the base
The arch was comissioned by Thomas Jefferson as a monument to the Westward expansion of the US. It is 193m tall and 193m wide and is in the shape a chain forms when held by each side. Interestingly, In 1980, Kenneth Swyers tried to parachute onto the Gateway Arch, planning to jump off to land on the ground. Instead, he slid all the way down one leg to his death. The pilot, Richard Skurat, had his pilot certificate suspended for 90 days.
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The arch itself
A cool one I took from the base
The arch was comissioned by Thomas Jefferson as a monument to the Westward expansion of the US. It is 193m tall and 193m wide and is in the shape a chain forms when held by each side. Interestingly, In 1980, Kenneth Swyers tried to parachute onto the Gateway Arch, planning to jump off to land on the ground. Instead, he slid all the way down one leg to his death. The pilot, Richard Skurat, had his pilot certificate suspended for 90 days.
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM
Sorry I can not be there. I hope you have a fabulous day and I will celebrate with you when I get back.
Please leave birthday wishes as comments to this post - it's for Uncle Mum and all.
Where am I???
There is a theory I have not left Cleveland:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3012271&id=506147433
you be the judge.
These could all just be from google:
http://picasaweb.google.com/myprivateradio/Chicago?feat=directlink
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3012271&id=506147433
you be the judge.
These could all just be from google:
http://picasaweb.google.com/myprivateradio/Chicago?feat=directlink
Addendum to goodbye Cleveland
I am sure I may have neglected to mention many people who made my time in Cleveland great. Don't despair, it is my memory at fault. While I was walking through millennium park looking for someone to take my photo, I remembered the Friday afternoon lunches with John and Roy. I used to look forward to this and it all started with me introducing myself to john as I walked past his desk about 20 times a day.
John invited me to lunch and it was a regular thing from there with as many of the project team as were available. He also made the time one weekend to take Luis and I to his place and a local shopping centre. We were able to meet his lovely wife and effervescent son. Thanks for the generosity if your time boys.
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John invited me to lunch and it was a regular thing from there with as many of the project team as were available. He also made the time one weekend to take Luis and I to his place and a local shopping centre. We were able to meet his lovely wife and effervescent son. Thanks for the generosity if your time boys.
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Chicago, the city for everyone
The drive was good. The vista leaving Cleveland was American rural in white. I am not sure if you have noticed, but snow is still a wonderful thing to me (Jen, pass my number on to the east coast). I amused myself with music and podcasts and regular pit stops. I found out there is no fruit in the interstate that is not in a McDonald's apple pie or Starbucks cherry spiced latte.
Getting to Chicago was a breeze- get on the I90 and drive. Shazam, you hit Chicago ($20 in tolls later). The hard part was getting a park. Just as I missed my second last turn (oops) the blackberry suffered a catastrophic failure and required a battery pull. For those who don't know blackberries, it is quicker to load a game on a commodore 64 using a tape than restart one of these. I focused myself into a zen like state and pictured the map. I was Yoda himself and found where I was going . . . . Or did I? I was in a back ally which did not look good so I chucked a right. Suddenly I am in the strange underground world from Batman Begins.
I loop the block and then try the street in front of the hotel. It is called Michigan Ave and all the cars in the world were on it at once. The only luck going for me was there was no snow. I follow my blue dot on the BB GPS but after 8 weeks of navigating around the US, I still never remember the blue dot is about a half a block in the past and I pass the hotel and cross a bridge. Oh dear. Each set of lights has a no u-turn sign (which I respect because the traffic was a combined consciousness of angry horns tooting everywhere). I take the plunge and loop around a block, run a 4 way stop sign (there are those horns again) and start back in the right direction.
Hallelujah, there is the awning for the hotel but god is having his way with me again (not in the good way) and there is nowhere to stop. I do a loop (or two) of a few blocks, mapping the parking garages in my head. After about 3 more loops I take the plunge, following a public parking sign in the underground world. I get to the end of this "street", after passing the homeless man making up his bed and there is a closed car parking garage. Back out with an Austin Powers like 3 point turn and looping the block again.
At this point, the 3 bottles of water I had in the car were knocking and if I crossed and tighter, blood would stop getting to my toes. I follow another sign to public parking and praise be, I was parked (and I think in the only park left in the first level). I did a quick anti-theft cleanse of the car and hid the iPod etc in the glovebox. There is a chance this park is going to cost a kidney but it was a medical emergency.
I checked in to the thinnest hotel in the world and made my way to level 16 for some relief. In stepped god again as one of the lifts were out. I did get to level 16 and my hotel room is actually a 1 bedroom apartment with a view up and down Michigan ave (photos). It is very impressive, especially for $75 a night.
I went walking for a couple of hours and ducked into famous Ada's for a beer and lunner (lunch and dinner). After that it was freakishly cold so I made my way back, past a really amazing outdoor ice skating rink (notice no quotation marks). I will have to check that out. The bit of Chicago I have seen is dense with spectacular buildings and I could just walk around looking for days (in fact, I just might).
Back at the apartment I really wanted to get out there again but there was a new episode of For the Love of Ray J and I was tired. I was in bed by 7.30 (central time) and 10 hours sleep later, I wake up fresh as a daisy.
I left the curtains open as I can see down Michigan from my bed and in the morning, I could see (after I put on my glasses) a couple of inches of snow had fallen. It's 11am now and it is still going.
I have checked out a few shopping centres (and the shiny Apple store with the huge rubber stairs) and Chicago is the city for everyone. It has:
- Tiffany's for Al
- Apple for, well all nerds
- hershey's for Caroline
- Oprah for Caroline (this just may be your city, all it needs now is country music)
- Disney store for Carla
- borders for David, and
- snow for me
Goodbye Cleveland :(
As my American adventure continues, I have now left the ACC project team in Cleveland for a few weeks of travelling, before I go home. I could have never predicted how good a time I would have in Cleveland. This has been a combination of the project team (in the photo above), and Cleveland itself. If anyone tells you Cleveland is anything less than a great city, tell them they have not tried, and maybe the problem is themself.I was there for about 7 weeks working in a room with my new friends above. We also had the ACS team visiting as special guest starts on occasion. We spent the days together in our 15603 sharing stories from home, planning our weekends and evenings together and, sometimes working (no, we really did, I swear Lisa).
The work involved significant amounts of reading and concentration, so we would break this up with our chats. This is hands down the most valuable thing I have taken from this. I have learned many things about the team members’ respective homes, and a little about me (like I am offensive in any language and calling someone a dirty bitch is somehow bad- go figure). Dirty bitch did become Lyudmila’s favourite new term.
Some other things I have learned:
- Not all Russians drink vodka
- How to call people bad names in Spanish
- Hats keep your head warm, puffy hats have the benefit of keeping your hair style in shape as well
- The toothfairy does not get to every country. Sometimes, she sends a mouse (or does the mouse send the toothfairy?)
- Utah is weird
- Petrol (gas) is cheaper than water in Bahrain
- Ice is not fun and romantic, it makes you fall
- Walking on 2 inches of snow is easier than walking on ¼ of an inch of snow
- The German advent calendars kicks arse over Australian advent calendars
Some things I have taught the team:
- You do not turn left in the car, you chuck a left
- Hiccupping is a great attention seeking device
- Jumpers keep you warm in the cold (American use sweaters but that just sounds unpleasant)
- Koalas are not bears. Please share this with everyone you know so when you visit Australia it is one less thing we will laugh at you about behind your back
- Snow is fun and romantic, it is not a pain. You choose to live in the north so suck it up people
Let me introduce the team to you properly. From the right of the photo, we have:
- Shuichi (Shu) from Japan who looks like he is concentrating all the time but now and then a smile will creep over his face during our conversations in the room. He also enjoys a bit of “professional” wrestling (at any cost). He is also the most impressive eater I have ever seen. Bravo Shu.
- Brent, the all American man. He is ex-Marine and an all round good bloke. He is an Australian’s saviour, taking me to the pub at the end of my first week (sorry about the whole hot sauce incident).
- Emma, my boss’ boss who is from England who I had to fight with to be the loudest in the room. She invited us to her house for a night of foods’o’the world and is a mean competitor on arcade dance games (self professed champion).
- Me. I write blogs.
- Julia from Germany who was kind enough to make the room a German advent calendar which was made up of 24 individually wrapped presents. We would revert to children each day opening up the new one. She also had the natural German efficiency coursing through her veins as displayed on many occasions.
- On top is Lisa from country Australia (and Adelaide, which is really the same thing). She was the guiding light through this project and also was a great provider of ideas on things to do in Cleveland (even “ice” skating). She will often stand in the shadows with her huge camera (it has its own post/zip code) taking streams of photos that can be viewed in succession to form a video.
- Luis (Antonio) from Chile, my best mate in Cleveland. When he arrived, he had no idea what I was saying. I think it took 6 weeks before he could understand me (he started a week after me). We went out for dinner in his first week and I was concerned about how we were going to communicate but apparently interpretative dance is universal. He has an amazing family who very kindly fed me for most of the time I was here. Chilean food is impressive.
- Lyudmila, the non vodka drinking Russian and my favourite. Lyudmila was quite at first and I think she was in shock at my level of obnoxiousness. It was talking to Lyudmila which highlighted most to me the literal meanings to phrases and words we use are not always what they mean in a sentence. She also has the most expressive eyes and eyebrows in the history of communication.
- Asad, the Pakistani Bahraini. He joined us later in the project but jumped straight into the dynamic. He is a mean poker player and is entirely styled by Cleveland sporting teams.
- Last, but not least, is Vijai, the Indian American who has filled the void left by the departure of Brent (not to a better place, to client service work). He also has a very sneaky wife who contacted me on his Birthday (which Vijai had kept to himself) to organise something. Vijai supplied us with mountains of American candy so we immediately liked him.
Other special guest stars during my time are:
The ACS team who take what we do and turn it into something that makes sense. They are Jennifer K, Jennifer W, Hunter, Bern, Alexis, Larry who have contributed their stories to the room and added to the fun we have. Hunter is a crazy traveller, balanced by his domestic Utahness. Jenn K loves to live in other peoples’ houses and Jennifer W is as loud as I am. Thanks for the work and fun team.
I cannot sign-off from Cleveland without mentioning the Phoenix team. On my first morning, after 6 hours sleep which proceeded 30 hours of being awake, I walked the city looking for coffee goodness. After a few false starts, I found Phoenix who have dutifully coffeed me up every morning, with a side of toasted raisin bagel with cream cheese. In the order of meeting you, thanks Elizabeth, Wes, Shannon, Nathan and the rest of the team. Thanks for the coffee and crazy chats.
So with my friends from Cleveland I have experienced a lot. I have seen every major local sporting team play (who were in season), been to Niagara, been “ice” skating, eaten, drunk, and had an amazing time- thank you all!!!!
PS I just beat Jesus, I have 13 disciples now
Monday, December 21, 2009
My last . . .
I ordered may last latte and bagel. Although my order was different than the first Monday I showed up (cappuccino and plain bagel with butter, what was I thinking?), I was served again by Elizabeth and Wes. This time Elizabeth could understand me (I'm pretty sure) and it was a good last stop in Cleveland.
I am very sad to say goodbye to the city, and mostly the people, but more about that later . . .
As Willie Nelson once said, I'm on the road again . . . (although I have selected Room for Squares by john Mayer as my soundtrack out of Cleveland - it just seams right).
To infinity and beyond!!!
PS bye Lyudmila, sorry I missed you :(
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Sunday, December 20, 2009
Oh yes I did
And yes Bec, you are represented with the Toowoomba pasta (apparently Toowoomba is descriptive enough so no need to tell everyone what is in the pasta in the name).
And they have Fosters in the menu and no I did not.
P.S. the photo is of me and the dessert menu and the first item is "thunder from down under". Not only is that a type of sundae, but it is an Australian male dance troop that have been in Cleveland this month. Also, while I was in Niagara, I was asked about them by a worker at the Casino. They are following me everywhere here.
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There is some crazy schizzle going down
These photos are from 6.30 Friday night (I say night because it had been dark for a couple of hours already) and it is 41F (5C in real degrees). We were chatting about this crazy warmth as the temperature should be below freezing right now. It also highlighted how perceptions change with your environment. We were describing this as warm but if I was at home, this would be considered the coming of the next ice age (as our lowest average temperate in winter is 9C or about 48F).
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The cheesecake factory (it is as great as it sounds)
Luis (formerly Antonio), his wife, Pamela, Lyudmila, Shu and I decided we would make the most out of the cars we have at the moment (Family Chile is going to New York on Sunday and I am leaving for the big trip on Monday). It was about 15 minutes down the I90 and sounded easy to get to. This was before I decided to go past Q arena where obviously there was an event on tonight. It took longer to get out of town and our cars were split up (Chile and I were driving, he has the faster car, it is red).
Shu was in the hot seat in my car with Google maps going on my Blackberry Storm 2 (welcome to the club Brad). We got onto the I90 without an issue and even found the right turnoff (Yanks know how to build a highway network). We crossed over the I90 to get to the restaurant, and took the first right. It turns out we wanted the third right as we successfully got back on to the I90, going back to Cleveland Downtown. We took the next exit, crossed back over and took the exit again. This time we took the second turn (again, looking for the third turn here). This was a little easier to correct, with a quick U turn.
The restaurant was in a shopping centre and the wait was an hour. We split up and browsed for an hour (well I browsed- Lyudmila did not let the opportunity to shop escape her). I was with team Chile and we tended to walk until we got cold and then we would browse in the closest shop to thaw).
Into the Cheesecake factory to be seated. The meals were American sized so I took my first doggy bag home (or as we do here, I asked for a box). The food was good but we all knew we were there for cheesecake.
I ordered the Banana cream cheesecake, Shu had the death by chocolate (that was not the name but you get the picture), Lyudmila decided to copy me and got the banana cream to go and had the original for there. She also considered getting the strawberry to go as well but decided against it. Our waitress was cute but, well, not much else. She came over a couple a times after we ordered dessert to see if Lyudmila wanted the Strawberry cheesecake to go. Lyudmila had to ask if she was saying the wrong words but not this time. The waitress was just, well, cute.
Chile and Pamela ordered the strawberry and the lemon raspberry, which they had to share with me because mine was late and then our waitress, who was cute, brought the wrong one (cookies and cream, not banana cream). I kept trying to take some off Shu's plate but he was defending it like it was last piece of food on post apocalyptic earth. My desire for cheesecake did not transcend my desire to live.
The drive home was interesting as while we were eating, an inch of snow had appeared on the car, from god himself. I was a little concerned as I had no idea what to do. While I was getting in the car, Shu had already picked up the ice scraper (apparently a standard extra on a Cleveland car) and was cleaning the windows. That was good to know before the big trip. I think I need to do some research about driving in the snow before heading off on Monday. Watch out for the blog posts to stop - an indication the snow got the better of me.
Going home was a little slow as I was staying a little under the speed limit, but we made it which was a positive. I did have precious cargo – Lyudmila and Shu.
Sunday is finishing off a bit of work and Monday is the start of the next adventure. I think I am going to drop Kansas City off the roster as I have lost a couple of days. I still have to actually sit down and plan the trip. Tonight is going to be a mix of spreadsheeting and packing.
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Saturday, December 19, 2009
The moose reigns supreme
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Friday, December 18, 2009
Not saying we are not festive at home
Here is a taste of the holiday spirit in out pod in Brisbane office.
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We are drunk on festivities
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Sucks to be Antonio
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Thursday, December 17, 2009
Bull riding
I did it - I rode the mechanical bull at Cadillac Ranch. I will let the video and pictures speak for themselves. A few members of the team over here had a go. Lisa was by far the best performer- it is all in the hips. Style award goes to Antonio for the arm above the head, coyboy style.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I'm spreading Kraft's good word
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Monday, December 14, 2009
Niagara falls
We have now done Niagara. The falls were spectacular and monstrous. I was very taken with the thick ice that encased everything. The spray from the falls saturated the air, and with the cold, it froze where it settled, layer after layer (on absolutely everything). I have posted my Niagara photos ==> http://picasaweb.google.com/myprivateradio/Niagara#.
The trip from Cleveland was about 4 hours and I was the navigator (I was not allowed to drive. You go the wrong way down a street once and it is held against you for life). I was just a met expectations as a navigator. There were a couple of hiccups. I was able to get us on the freeway and navigate the 300 kilometres straight drive on the I90 to Buffalo but then the wheels started to fall off.
I did not get the hotel address before I left. This would usually not be a problem with the magic of Google maps but there were multiple hotels of this name. Luckily Asad had the common sense to print the hotel booking receipt so we had the actual address. Crisis averted, drop to orange alert.
Then, like a Klingon decloaking off the starboard bow, there was a fatal communication failure on the blackberry. No Google maps- no hope. Now I assume you are all able to imagine the manly scream I released at that moment. I needed to do a blackberry restart which means 4 minutes of radio silence. Asad to the rescue with the Nokia and its turn by turn GPS. I was ashamed of the efforts of the Blackberry Storm 2 but we all know I can't stay mad at you.
So Asad had us back in the right direction (although Antonio was not all that confident in my navigation skills now but he had no choice). The blackberry came back online so I was fully equipped with it, the nokia and also the iPod (the sacred rule of the road trip is shotgun controls tunes).
It was smooth sailing from here on in (only one more navigational error but it was quickly corrected with a hand break turn and, really, who can tell who's fault it was. Nothing is gained from pointing the finger). We checked into a reasonable hotel and set out for lunch. This is the point we realised Niagara Falls, NY really has nothing but the falls going for it. It is tired, and there are not terribly many places to go. I can only hope winter is the down period and it picks up as the seasons change.
We circled the area like vultures and spied a food court in a building (in the end it was only one block from the hotel). Parking was $5 but we said what the hey, the Australian dollar is up. We paid our $5 (plus tip of course) and made our way in. It was all a sham. The food court was covered by tarps and the place was a front for a dodgy tour operator with cheap souvenirs. We had been hoodwinked! We left, circled a little more, rejected two more options (one on the basis of hygiene concerns and the other on the total lack of a vegetarian option for Asad and Faiza) and ended up at McDonald's :(
Off to the main event - the falls. They were amazing. Being on the US side, we were above the falls (some of the better points to view them were closed as they were encased in ice). We had a good view of Canada, as it was just over the Niagara River. So the US has the falls, but Canada has the view. We decided on the US side as a few of the team need visas to get into Canada.
We went out to dinner that night to a typical sports bar, and then went back to the falls to see them by night. They have lights over the falls and the rapids leading to the falls.
The next day started with a Starbucks breakfast (yes I feed dirty) and back to the falls to check them out from Goat Island. I do have to confess the photo I posted of the falls from above was downloaded from Google maps-just for fun. It shows the 2 falls looking from above the Canadian side. We had checked out the left hand side of the photo yesterday and this morning was the island between the falls.
We made our way back to Cleveland (no navigation issues this time) and on to dinner at Emma’s with all of us contributing a local food for starter or dessert. My food was lamingtons. This was my first time making them, and apart from not being very good at it, the only coconut I could find was moist coconut. It was not the best, but with some help from the others, they got over the line (they were a bit shaky looking).
While we were there, apart from the scintillating conversation, we entertained ourselves with WII and table football (foosball). I was not very good (Chile killed me) but now want a one.
Thanks for organising and hosting Emma – we had a great time.
I have one week to go on the project here, 3 weeks of travel and then I am home again. So much to pack in. The planned 3 week road trip is:
View The great American Roadtrip in a larger map
Let’s now see if I can actually organise it!!
Night all.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
No American road trip during the holidays would be without "all I want for Christmas", the Mariah version
Sent via BlackBerry® from Telstra
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Niagara McDonalds employee of the year 2008
This is not a joke - he was the employee of the year. It was on the wall of the Pine Avenue McDonalds in Niagara Falls. I think the same photo is being used for his wanted poster.
I can say it was the best McDonalds I have ever had in Niagara Falls.
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