The moose reigns supreme

I'm in a bar with Lyudmila, Asad and Faiza and there is a skeleton on a Harley as well as a giant (really effing big) moose head. To balance it out, the live band is playing Don't stop believing (you know what I'm talking about Carla and Emma). I'm going to steal a glass to teach them a lesson (well, less to teach them a lesson and more to have another beer glass in the collection).

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Asian menus are consistent across the world

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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

A harpist in the lobby at lunch in the EY building.

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Sucks to be Antonio

Antonio (who's real name is Luis) is a little under the weather today. I think it was the cream cheese. We have to work in the dark.

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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.

I'm at a casino for kids

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I'm spreading Kraft's good word

I carry Vegemite with me everywhere, like any good Australian overseas. Yesterday made Elizabeth at Phoenix have some on toast. I crossed the line from the customer zone to the staff zone and made her a bagel with Vegemite. The reaction was "it wasn't bad". From an American, that means I love it. I am going to convert the country one person at a time and get Australia out of the economic slump through Vegemite exports.


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Video of Niagara Falls

I had an insightful commentry with it, but the wind is all you can hear.

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.

McDonald's, bad in any climate

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This is what a cowboy boot print looks like in the snow

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No American road trip during the holidays would be without "all I want for Christmas", the Mariah version

It is on constant rotation here. It makes me think Skye is calling every time.

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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.

From the glider

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