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After a dodgey start in a dodgey taxi, we quickly found our way to our final hotel. And when we walked in, we nearly walked straight back out - surely this wasn't the right place?? It was quite amazing and looked somewhat out of our price range - but I'd pre-booked back at the family's and had a reference code, so let's just see...
Turns out we were in the right place and as we made our way up to the 16th floor, I was quite excited! We opened the door and I felt like someone 'upstairs' was making up for that stupid journey from New York to Mark and Tracy's house. We had a view straight over the Chicago River and had a couple of the most comfortable beds we'd had the pleasure of sleeping in across the country. (Bar The Jensen's of course!)
Everything was pretty perfect, apart from our stomach's telling us they needed something to satisfy them, so we went off in search of food... and after finally managing to find our way out of the mall that the hotel was attached to, we found something to eat and skated home.
And this is where I tell you the secret we've been keeping from you since Washington D.C... we changed our flights home and are leaving America for England a good 10 days early, which means we're going home the day after tomorrow! Nobody but my obedient brother knows (someone had to pick me up from the airport!) and I am so very excited!
So, last full day, I woke up relatively late, Cal had gone for a swim (The only indoor heated pool and I sent my swim wear home in that box back in Jacksonville, Florida!) and I got ready for a bit of sightseeing-come-shopping. Unfortunatey it started to rain, but we perservered and took in the skyline of Chicago. We meandered our way through the crowd on the Magnificent Mile, bobbing in and out of Crate And Barrel, The Disney Store and a few souvenir shops for those final presents for home, and took a walk down to the shore of Lake Michigan. But then the rain picked up and then so did the wind, so we headed back 'inland' and agreed we'd seen enough of Chicago to deem it fit to go and sit in the cinema out of the rain! Along the way we saw the stereotypical jazz clubs, the blues clubs and the... English pubs! And after taking in our final film of the travels, we headed back to the hotel for a spot of packing and our final meal!
I had such a mix of emotions running through my head whilst packing for the last time, I was so very excited to go home and see the faces I love and had missed; but I in no way wanted to end the adventure.
We splashed out a bit then on one of the best meals I'd had in America...just to ease the emotional rollercoaster, of course! We took a table in the hotel's own restaurant and felt like part of the Belagio crowd as we were waited on. A few drinks later, a few perfectly cooked scallops later, and a few more dollars down later, we went back to our room and ordered room service!!! Something I've never done before and something I'd never do again! But at that point, I didn't really mind that it took 45 minutes to bring an incorrect order and then charge 50% more than a normal glass of wine and bottle of beer usually costs... but never mind, we were celebrating the end our our American journeys and the start if those that would take us home.
6 am came with a hangover as did the rather brash alarm from my phone telling me to get out of bed and go back to England! So that we did. We got to O'Hare airport, me, again having to pay a ludicrous amount to make up for the fact that my bag now equalled Callum's weight. Not Callum's bag, but Callum himself.
After O'Hare to Newark, we had a four hour lay over, easy peasy lemon squeezy - we'd waited before, this was child's play - we were pro's at waiting! We grabbed a bite to eat, read a little - you know the drill and then Continental Airlines welcomed us on board.
As we took off, it was amazing to know that in six and a half hours, we'd be landing in Manchester to see my brothers face and Cal's dad's. Six and a half hours was again, child's play! We'd travelled for much longer in one day when we were on the road. We left each other to it, and watched a few films. Callum laughing at me, as for some reason, I'd elected 'Philadelphia' as my film of choice - and every twenty minutes or so, I'd be blubbing and weeping and sniffing and generally making a bit of a show of myself!
And then we arrived. And although I know my brother loves me and had missed me, I knew he didn't love me at that point as it was early, and he'd had to leave his house a lot earlier, and he was tired!!
So Callum and I said goodbye, I got in the car - on the wrong side, of course and I went home. And that, my friends, was the end of the trip.
So...
Miles travelled in Car - 5558
Miles travelled on Coach - 2172
Miles travelled on Train - 564
Total Miles Travelled - 8294!
Cars Hired - 4
Buses Taken - 9
Favourite Place - Utah/Captiva/Traverse City
Worst Place - Miami Beach
Favourite Moment - Getting to America, Driving through the desert, Arriving in Captiva, Christmas
Worst Moment - Cancelled Buses in Detroit
Number of arguments - 3
Number of laughs - Too many to count
Number of films seen - 18
Number of films seen in the Kodak Theatre, home to the Oscars - 2
Number of Western Saddled Horse Treks with Genuine Marlboro' Man - 1
Number of Al Capone's Houses seen in Michigan (That I didn't tell you about) - 1
Scariest Place - New Mexico/Washington DC
Scariest Moment - Taxi Drive in Detroit
Alcohol Units Consumed - Many
Dollars Spent - Many
Bag weight at start - 45lbs
Bag weight at end - 65 lbs
Good time - Yes
Do it again - Yes
Anything different - No
Thanks for reading guys!
Jen
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
A Long Overdue Wrap - Part One
Ok ok, I know, it's been AGES! But once you get into the spirit of coming home, one can easily get side tracked!
So I shall pick up where I left you, shall I?!
We'd packed our stuff and settled in for our last night in the Big Apple. Drifting off thinking of the long journey ahead, knowing that by the end of the next day, we'd be with my family - was a little bit special!
Penn Station only being a hop skip and a jump away from our hostel, we were able to trundle our bags and ourselves along and find the correct gate to wait at. An hour of sitting on a perfectly comfy floor later, we were boarding our train. We looked around, turned around and made for the next coach, clearly we were in First Class. "No ma'am, no sir, you're tickets are correct, you just make yourselves comfortable..."
Ok - I wasn't going to argue! This train was unbelievable, the leg room we had was indescribable! Suffice to say that Callum and I are quite tall and we were able to fully stretch out without wanting to nut the person infront had they wished to recline their equally as comfortable chair!
And luckily so, as we were on this train for 15 hours! We left New York City at 4.00pm, excited. We read, listened to music, chatted, laughed at the windy woman sitting in front of us, got annoyed by the windy woman in front of us, nodded off for a while then I decided to venture down to the food coach. And who was serving? A man from Nottingham (And for those of you who don't know where that is, it's about 3 hours away from where I live in England), not only that but he'd worked the trains from Liverpool to Nottingham only a few years ago (And for those of you who don't know where Liverpool is - shame on you because that's where the Beatles came from - and is also ten minutes away from where I live in England!) So we chatted for a while about home... England... Where everybody knows your na-a-ame (You know the song, sing along!) And where you're always glad you ca-a-ame...!
Anyway, I left Paul serving the rest of his customers and I went back to find my seat with a bagel, some cream cheese, a Bud and a little bout of homesickness!
Some hours later, we arrived in Toledo, Ohio... it was cold... it was very cold... it was snowing and our bus was there ready to take us to Detroit. Now this was apparently a bit of a scary journey, but having not slept properly for quite some time, I nodded off. I woke to see we'd arrived in Detroit, an hour late to the thickest snow I'd seen in pushing 5 years. We disembarked and hauled the bags over to the bus terminal. A nice lady behind the bullet proof glass rang a taxi for us to get to the Greyhound station. We waited and waited and waited and then waited a little bit more. The taxi finally arrived and we pulled ourselves into it, plus a girl we'd got chatting to who had 'no money' to get to the Greyhound station.
Now I have to tell you that, at no point through this trip have I ever really felt that I was going to lose my life - but all that changed as we slid to the Bus Station. Seriously, it was just crazy scary, there was no stopping, as the brakes just wouldn't have worked - there were no road markings - because of the snow - and there was a chance I would of, at any moment, gotten out of the taxi, mid Detroit - and bloody well walked! Self Preservation - there's a lot to be said for it!
So - taxi ride of hell over, we skated up to the Bus Station to another blow - ALL buses cancelled due to the snow storm. ACES! And in all honesty, I lost it, the tears being the only form of washing my face had had for 24 hours, didn't really do the job as I sobbed into the snow. How the hell were we going to get to my family's house today - 8 hours away, if the Greyhound's were cancelled?? Pray, Tell Me - Do!
We sat, we waited, I rang home, I tried to convince Callum that spending $600 each on a plane ticket to the family's was a good idea and we listened to music - for 11hours. And then FINALLY the snow held up for long enough to allow the transort system to get going again and we boarded our bus - quite honestly the BEST bus we'd ever seen -I told the driver I loved him and settled in for a four hour journey to the lovely, but small Grand Rapids Bus Terminal, a quick transfer, another relatively short four hour journey and then we would be with the now, infamous family!
But alas, this is the day that best laid plans go out of the bloody window. We arrived at Grand Rapids at 11.45pm... when was the next bus to Traverse City????? 4.15pm THE NEXT DAY - oh well, we'll just get our heads down and make do. No biggy... "Good evening - just a reminder to those travellers who have just arrived, this bus terminal will be closing in 15 minutes, please make your way outside and arrange your ongoing travel. Thank you and good night."
Ha ha ha ha - oh what great news that was to our ears!!! Cal went for a smoke, and instead of losing it again, I decided (probably for the first time in my life) to be proactive - there was absolutely NO use in crying over a closed bus terminal, I mean really??!!
So - I left Callum with the bags and went off in search of some sort of authority/help... turns out I found both. And that came in the form of two security guards whom I managed to charm with my lost British accent - they were a little bit fantastic, much like our angel of Phoenix.
We managed, between the security men, my uncle, a rather stuck up car rental representative, a taxi driver and ourselves to make it to Grand Rapids Airport at 12.55 am. Were we going to fly? No - we were hiring a car for 24 hours to drive the final four hour-long road. Again, probably not the best idea, as by this time, we'd been up for 42 hours... but it was a bit bloody exciting!!! We found our car (the biggest and posh-est one we'd had) in a foot of snow - threw our bags in and plugged in Nancy Drew... Panic Not, my friends - Nancy hasn't gone to the Sat Nav/GPS resting place in the sky - she's just resting in my bag, and we have a replacement (shh!!) in the form of an American lady - Nancy Drew, and I hate to say it, but it seems that she went to the finishing school of GPS and learnt things that Nancy can ever only dream of.
So, my uncle tells me that they're three and a half hours away if we drive 50 mph - we got some food inside us for the first time since the Nottingham Bagel and hit the road running, as I begged the question, how far away are they if we drive 70/75 mph?
Turns out it took us four hours??!! Not sure what happened there (I blame it on the snow holding me back), but we didn't care as our radio would only tune into the Christmas stations and we had one damn fine sing song all the way to the picture post card sight that is my uncle's house. I signalled and we turned, and for the first time in the four hour drive, I lost control of the car as we slipped and slid our way up the drive to the garage, where my weary uncle was waiting.
And I couldn't have been more proud of us for finally making it there. I would say that I was proud of myself for that last four hours of driving - but I say us as Cal kept me awake with his more than adequate versions of 'I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas' and 'Santa Baby'!
We hugged our way into the house, Mark (uncle) and Tracy (aunty) welcomed us warmly and in a - I'm assured lovingly way - basically said (as it was 4.30am) go to bed, we'll talk to you in the morning!!! Which Cal and I didn't mind one bit and we were out like a light as soon as head toucheth the pillow!
Waking up at a respectable 9.30 am, we finally managed to greet each other properly. We had so much to talk about and we wasted no time in filling everyone in of our travels. Introductions went smoothly - a lot more so than I had anticipated - I always fear that friends will let you down when meeting families, but Callum was a little bit special and now is more family to my family than I am, who is actually family!!
Everybody got on like a child with one of those 2 week old wrinkled faced puppies - and remained so until we left them.
They made our stay more fantastic than fantastic, we made plans to do many things, but ended up staying in the house, watching the snow, drinking, eating and being in brilliant company. The house was picture perfect, set within acres of snow covered land - it was quite possibly the most stunning place to spend Christmas.
Daniel and Samantha (cousins) whom I'm sure were worried about who their cousin was bringing to stay in their home over Christmas, were elated that they had someone who they bonded with so well and aided us in our first Christmas away from home. Sammy playing surrogate little sister, and Dan replacing the boys for the festive season. It couldn't have been better.
We met many of their friends and even managed to attend Church on Christmas Eve - and after it didn't burst into flames as I set foot in the building, we had a lovely time, meeting various characters from the community in a beautiful church, again - covered in a fresh helping of snow.
And after our good deed was done for the day, we set about drinking - again... Tracy and I having drunk the Champagne region of France dry during our stay, opened yet another bottle to bring in 12am. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas (away from home). Made all the more special when we spent Christmas morning drinking another bottle of Champagne, opening presents with the new, extended family. We had yet another fall of snow, which I had yet to play in.
How did we fix that? Tracy, Sammy and I pulled any old piece of clothing on, boots, coats, hats, scarves, gloves and sledge and headed out of the back door. We made snow angels, sledged down the snow padded steps and clambered through the garden over the 4' of sparkling goodness! It was perfect. Snow is beautiful. Beautiful. It makes everything else around it beautiful and the silence that echoed around us enhanced the pangs of pain that Christmas Day was our last day with - now 'our' - family.
The rest of the day was spent drinking and eating and laughing and drinking and eating and laughing a bit more. Time spent in great company - I didn't want the night to end. But when it got to the latest time I knew I could stay awake til, I think my heart broke a little, and I sulked my way to bed.
Up bright and early - was that a twang of a hangover?! - no, surely not. Mark, Tracy and Sammy escorted us to the bus station. Dan snoring away in bed was left with a call of goodbyes. Tracy and I had made a pact to be just plain nasty to each other as to stump any emotional farewells that may have reared their ugly head, but it wasn't even her that set me off, bloody Mark did. And as I bade my farewells to him, then Tracy then Sammy - I was comforted by the knowledge that I have some of the best family going. And sod the emotional goodbye, there were tears and I hated every second of having to say goodbye and I longed for someone to come on the tannoy saying 'The 10 am bus to Chicago is cancelled, and there won't be another one - EVER!'. So a few more hugs later and a few more tears later, they left and we waved until they were a mile down the road and I sloped off into the toilet so Callum couldn't poke fun. But I'm quite sure he was pretty gutted about saying his goodbyes too.
And I'm happy to report that we seamlessly made it to Chicago - our last stop, in one piece - no delays - no cancellations - no hassle. Great.
Jen
So I shall pick up where I left you, shall I?!
We'd packed our stuff and settled in for our last night in the Big Apple. Drifting off thinking of the long journey ahead, knowing that by the end of the next day, we'd be with my family - was a little bit special!
Penn Station only being a hop skip and a jump away from our hostel, we were able to trundle our bags and ourselves along and find the correct gate to wait at. An hour of sitting on a perfectly comfy floor later, we were boarding our train. We looked around, turned around and made for the next coach, clearly we were in First Class. "No ma'am, no sir, you're tickets are correct, you just make yourselves comfortable..."
Ok - I wasn't going to argue! This train was unbelievable, the leg room we had was indescribable! Suffice to say that Callum and I are quite tall and we were able to fully stretch out without wanting to nut the person infront had they wished to recline their equally as comfortable chair!
And luckily so, as we were on this train for 15 hours! We left New York City at 4.00pm, excited. We read, listened to music, chatted, laughed at the windy woman sitting in front of us, got annoyed by the windy woman in front of us, nodded off for a while then I decided to venture down to the food coach. And who was serving? A man from Nottingham (And for those of you who don't know where that is, it's about 3 hours away from where I live in England), not only that but he'd worked the trains from Liverpool to Nottingham only a few years ago (And for those of you who don't know where Liverpool is - shame on you because that's where the Beatles came from - and is also ten minutes away from where I live in England!) So we chatted for a while about home... England... Where everybody knows your na-a-ame (You know the song, sing along!) And where you're always glad you ca-a-ame...!
Anyway, I left Paul serving the rest of his customers and I went back to find my seat with a bagel, some cream cheese, a Bud and a little bout of homesickness!
Some hours later, we arrived in Toledo, Ohio... it was cold... it was very cold... it was snowing and our bus was there ready to take us to Detroit. Now this was apparently a bit of a scary journey, but having not slept properly for quite some time, I nodded off. I woke to see we'd arrived in Detroit, an hour late to the thickest snow I'd seen in pushing 5 years. We disembarked and hauled the bags over to the bus terminal. A nice lady behind the bullet proof glass rang a taxi for us to get to the Greyhound station. We waited and waited and waited and then waited a little bit more. The taxi finally arrived and we pulled ourselves into it, plus a girl we'd got chatting to who had 'no money' to get to the Greyhound station.
Now I have to tell you that, at no point through this trip have I ever really felt that I was going to lose my life - but all that changed as we slid to the Bus Station. Seriously, it was just crazy scary, there was no stopping, as the brakes just wouldn't have worked - there were no road markings - because of the snow - and there was a chance I would of, at any moment, gotten out of the taxi, mid Detroit - and bloody well walked! Self Preservation - there's a lot to be said for it!
So - taxi ride of hell over, we skated up to the Bus Station to another blow - ALL buses cancelled due to the snow storm. ACES! And in all honesty, I lost it, the tears being the only form of washing my face had had for 24 hours, didn't really do the job as I sobbed into the snow. How the hell were we going to get to my family's house today - 8 hours away, if the Greyhound's were cancelled?? Pray, Tell Me - Do!
We sat, we waited, I rang home, I tried to convince Callum that spending $600 each on a plane ticket to the family's was a good idea and we listened to music - for 11hours. And then FINALLY the snow held up for long enough to allow the transort system to get going again and we boarded our bus - quite honestly the BEST bus we'd ever seen -I told the driver I loved him and settled in for a four hour journey to the lovely, but small Grand Rapids Bus Terminal, a quick transfer, another relatively short four hour journey and then we would be with the now, infamous family!
But alas, this is the day that best laid plans go out of the bloody window. We arrived at Grand Rapids at 11.45pm... when was the next bus to Traverse City????? 4.15pm THE NEXT DAY - oh well, we'll just get our heads down and make do. No biggy... "Good evening - just a reminder to those travellers who have just arrived, this bus terminal will be closing in 15 minutes, please make your way outside and arrange your ongoing travel. Thank you and good night."
Ha ha ha ha - oh what great news that was to our ears!!! Cal went for a smoke, and instead of losing it again, I decided (probably for the first time in my life) to be proactive - there was absolutely NO use in crying over a closed bus terminal, I mean really??!!
So - I left Callum with the bags and went off in search of some sort of authority/help... turns out I found both. And that came in the form of two security guards whom I managed to charm with my lost British accent - they were a little bit fantastic, much like our angel of Phoenix.
We managed, between the security men, my uncle, a rather stuck up car rental representative, a taxi driver and ourselves to make it to Grand Rapids Airport at 12.55 am. Were we going to fly? No - we were hiring a car for 24 hours to drive the final four hour-long road. Again, probably not the best idea, as by this time, we'd been up for 42 hours... but it was a bit bloody exciting!!! We found our car (the biggest and posh-est one we'd had) in a foot of snow - threw our bags in and plugged in Nancy Drew... Panic Not, my friends - Nancy hasn't gone to the Sat Nav/GPS resting place in the sky - she's just resting in my bag, and we have a replacement (shh!!) in the form of an American lady - Nancy Drew, and I hate to say it, but it seems that she went to the finishing school of GPS and learnt things that Nancy can ever only dream of.
So, my uncle tells me that they're three and a half hours away if we drive 50 mph - we got some food inside us for the first time since the Nottingham Bagel and hit the road running, as I begged the question, how far away are they if we drive 70/75 mph?
Turns out it took us four hours??!! Not sure what happened there (I blame it on the snow holding me back), but we didn't care as our radio would only tune into the Christmas stations and we had one damn fine sing song all the way to the picture post card sight that is my uncle's house. I signalled and we turned, and for the first time in the four hour drive, I lost control of the car as we slipped and slid our way up the drive to the garage, where my weary uncle was waiting.
And I couldn't have been more proud of us for finally making it there. I would say that I was proud of myself for that last four hours of driving - but I say us as Cal kept me awake with his more than adequate versions of 'I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas' and 'Santa Baby'!
We hugged our way into the house, Mark (uncle) and Tracy (aunty) welcomed us warmly and in a - I'm assured lovingly way - basically said (as it was 4.30am) go to bed, we'll talk to you in the morning!!! Which Cal and I didn't mind one bit and we were out like a light as soon as head toucheth the pillow!
Waking up at a respectable 9.30 am, we finally managed to greet each other properly. We had so much to talk about and we wasted no time in filling everyone in of our travels. Introductions went smoothly - a lot more so than I had anticipated - I always fear that friends will let you down when meeting families, but Callum was a little bit special and now is more family to my family than I am, who is actually family!!
Everybody got on like a child with one of those 2 week old wrinkled faced puppies - and remained so until we left them.
They made our stay more fantastic than fantastic, we made plans to do many things, but ended up staying in the house, watching the snow, drinking, eating and being in brilliant company. The house was picture perfect, set within acres of snow covered land - it was quite possibly the most stunning place to spend Christmas.
Daniel and Samantha (cousins) whom I'm sure were worried about who their cousin was bringing to stay in their home over Christmas, were elated that they had someone who they bonded with so well and aided us in our first Christmas away from home. Sammy playing surrogate little sister, and Dan replacing the boys for the festive season. It couldn't have been better.
We met many of their friends and even managed to attend Church on Christmas Eve - and after it didn't burst into flames as I set foot in the building, we had a lovely time, meeting various characters from the community in a beautiful church, again - covered in a fresh helping of snow.
And after our good deed was done for the day, we set about drinking - again... Tracy and I having drunk the Champagne region of France dry during our stay, opened yet another bottle to bring in 12am. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas (away from home). Made all the more special when we spent Christmas morning drinking another bottle of Champagne, opening presents with the new, extended family. We had yet another fall of snow, which I had yet to play in.
How did we fix that? Tracy, Sammy and I pulled any old piece of clothing on, boots, coats, hats, scarves, gloves and sledge and headed out of the back door. We made snow angels, sledged down the snow padded steps and clambered through the garden over the 4' of sparkling goodness! It was perfect. Snow is beautiful. Beautiful. It makes everything else around it beautiful and the silence that echoed around us enhanced the pangs of pain that Christmas Day was our last day with - now 'our' - family.
The rest of the day was spent drinking and eating and laughing and drinking and eating and laughing a bit more. Time spent in great company - I didn't want the night to end. But when it got to the latest time I knew I could stay awake til, I think my heart broke a little, and I sulked my way to bed.
Up bright and early - was that a twang of a hangover?! - no, surely not. Mark, Tracy and Sammy escorted us to the bus station. Dan snoring away in bed was left with a call of goodbyes. Tracy and I had made a pact to be just plain nasty to each other as to stump any emotional farewells that may have reared their ugly head, but it wasn't even her that set me off, bloody Mark did. And as I bade my farewells to him, then Tracy then Sammy - I was comforted by the knowledge that I have some of the best family going. And sod the emotional goodbye, there were tears and I hated every second of having to say goodbye and I longed for someone to come on the tannoy saying 'The 10 am bus to Chicago is cancelled, and there won't be another one - EVER!'. So a few more hugs later and a few more tears later, they left and we waved until they were a mile down the road and I sloped off into the toilet so Callum couldn't poke fun. But I'm quite sure he was pretty gutted about saying his goodbyes too.
And I'm happy to report that we seamlessly made it to Chicago - our last stop, in one piece - no delays - no cancellations - no hassle. Great.
Jen
Monday, 22 December 2008
A Bit of Philly and More Apple
On our way to Philadelphia - the rain started. Rain like we hadn't seen in more than two and a half months. It poured and poured and poured some more. We were taken to a motel about half an hour outside of the city centre and held ourselves up there for the rest of the day. We watched as the rain became worse, watched some TV and wrote a little. But to be truthful - it was nice to relax. Having been constantly on the go since we dropped the car off in Jacksonville, we were a little glad of the time we spent doing little to nothing.
By the morning, the rain had given up, the sun was out, and so we ventured to Philly's centre. A bus and train ride later, found us on Market West Street, a few blocks from the Liberty Bell. I didn't know much about this tourist hot spot, but we went through security and trundled on through to increase our knowledge.
Apparently it has something to do in representing the Liberty of Americans, the Freedom of Americans, and those liberties that were fought to uphold or gain. It was pretty cool to see another piece of history, so we took yet more photographs and left happy in the knowledge that we'd learnt a little.
We asked the very obliging security lady outside to help us with directions to the 'Rocky' steps... you know, the steps Stallone runs up and down incescently in the movie. (I hope you know, as I've never seen it). So roughly two hours later, a few wrong turns, a bit of shopping (for a much needed coat - so it was justified), and after a few more photos, we eventually found Rocky's memorial, walked (not ran) up the steps and posed at the top. Happy but cold, we staggered back down the steps, and walked back to the train station, more than ready to drag our bleeding stumps of feet back to the motel room.
We were going to haul ourselves over to New Jersey, to visit a shop owned by a movie Director who Callum aspires to be - but once we'd seen how far it was, we decided to spend our last few days back in New York, before our train ride to Michigan.
As we'd enjoyed the last hostel so much, we booked ourselves back in, and straight away headed down to Ground Zero. Which was quite special, and quite moving. There's construction going on there now, building new 'twin towers', lots of people taking snaps, but it felt wrong taking photographs of a site where so many had needlessly lost their lives. We sat for a while and looked on at the area of destruction, paid our respects and quietly moved on.
Wall Street was next which I'd looked forward to and it didn't disappoint, especially when we found Tiffany's! We had a wonder round and after I felt rather out of place in Tiff's we walked down to the Statue of Liberty ferry, which was quite a spectacle. Ducking from the Seagulls who we were sure were going to 'bring us luck', we docked at the island housing the big green lady - we didn't go ashore, we stayed put and arrived back on solid ground a half hour later.
The view coming back to the City was special. The buildings towered over one another, demonstrating New York's remarkable architecture, beautiful in it's simplistic modesty. I didn't want to disembark, but the crew made us, setting foot back into Battery Park, we started the long walk home, two hours later, we made it.
For the entire time I had been planning this trip, I knew I wanted to do the Sex and The City tour in New York - to see the sights in the much loved by me and many TV series and film. So what happened when I went online to book myself a seat??? FULLY BOOKED. How gutted was I??? Quite.
On our last day we went up to the Natural History Museum (Used in Night At The Museum with Ben Stiller), spent 15 bucks on getting in and spent a little over 4 hours wondering around. It was a little bit fantastic. We were educated in all eras of our quite magnificent world, came out of the building feeling a little more intelligent and hit Strawberry Fields, Central Park.
A small memorial to Mr John Lennon is surrounded by a 'quite zone' of the park. People come here to be at peace, and I could see why as it was beautiful - people repsected each others peace for the first time we'd seen in New York.
So we headed back to the hostel to pack up our belongings for the next day of travelling. Our room was full, 4 bunk beds in the space we'd put one double bed back home - trying to sort our stuff out was difficult and frustrating. We battled through and eventually everything was in it's rightful place. So off to sleep we went, ready for our train journey ahead.
More on that journey later!
Jen
By the morning, the rain had given up, the sun was out, and so we ventured to Philly's centre. A bus and train ride later, found us on Market West Street, a few blocks from the Liberty Bell. I didn't know much about this tourist hot spot, but we went through security and trundled on through to increase our knowledge.
Apparently it has something to do in representing the Liberty of Americans, the Freedom of Americans, and those liberties that were fought to uphold or gain. It was pretty cool to see another piece of history, so we took yet more photographs and left happy in the knowledge that we'd learnt a little.
We asked the very obliging security lady outside to help us with directions to the 'Rocky' steps... you know, the steps Stallone runs up and down incescently in the movie. (I hope you know, as I've never seen it). So roughly two hours later, a few wrong turns, a bit of shopping (for a much needed coat - so it was justified), and after a few more photos, we eventually found Rocky's memorial, walked (not ran) up the steps and posed at the top. Happy but cold, we staggered back down the steps, and walked back to the train station, more than ready to drag our bleeding stumps of feet back to the motel room.
We were going to haul ourselves over to New Jersey, to visit a shop owned by a movie Director who Callum aspires to be - but once we'd seen how far it was, we decided to spend our last few days back in New York, before our train ride to Michigan.
As we'd enjoyed the last hostel so much, we booked ourselves back in, and straight away headed down to Ground Zero. Which was quite special, and quite moving. There's construction going on there now, building new 'twin towers', lots of people taking snaps, but it felt wrong taking photographs of a site where so many had needlessly lost their lives. We sat for a while and looked on at the area of destruction, paid our respects and quietly moved on.
Wall Street was next which I'd looked forward to and it didn't disappoint, especially when we found Tiffany's! We had a wonder round and after I felt rather out of place in Tiff's we walked down to the Statue of Liberty ferry, which was quite a spectacle. Ducking from the Seagulls who we were sure were going to 'bring us luck', we docked at the island housing the big green lady - we didn't go ashore, we stayed put and arrived back on solid ground a half hour later.
The view coming back to the City was special. The buildings towered over one another, demonstrating New York's remarkable architecture, beautiful in it's simplistic modesty. I didn't want to disembark, but the crew made us, setting foot back into Battery Park, we started the long walk home, two hours later, we made it.
For the entire time I had been planning this trip, I knew I wanted to do the Sex and The City tour in New York - to see the sights in the much loved by me and many TV series and film. So what happened when I went online to book myself a seat??? FULLY BOOKED. How gutted was I??? Quite.
On our last day we went up to the Natural History Museum (Used in Night At The Museum with Ben Stiller), spent 15 bucks on getting in and spent a little over 4 hours wondering around. It was a little bit fantastic. We were educated in all eras of our quite magnificent world, came out of the building feeling a little more intelligent and hit Strawberry Fields, Central Park.
A small memorial to Mr John Lennon is surrounded by a 'quite zone' of the park. People come here to be at peace, and I could see why as it was beautiful - people repsected each others peace for the first time we'd seen in New York.
So we headed back to the hostel to pack up our belongings for the next day of travelling. Our room was full, 4 bunk beds in the space we'd put one double bed back home - trying to sort our stuff out was difficult and frustrating. We battled through and eventually everything was in it's rightful place. So off to sleep we went, ready for our train journey ahead.
More on that journey later!
Jen
Thursday, 18 December 2008
In A New York Minute
Well - what a couple of weeks we've had! We made it to NYC after our theraputic travels from D.C, hopped in a yellow cab and shoulder busted our way into our first dormitory - a little apprehensive I may say; but proved again wrong; our minutely narrow bunks welcomed us into the warm, quite respectable arms of the Broadway Hotel and Hostel.
No time to stop, we made our way through the Big Apple, down Central Park, bought a couple of books (?!) and hit the first (Irish) Pub we found. It was busy, warm and alcoholically charged - kitted out with a Christmas Tree and the most miserable host you've ever had the pleasure to meet.
We scooped a few well deserved beers and headed to Grand Central Station to meet Callum's mum. We weren't too sure where exactly in GCS we were meant to be, but as I walked on an heard only a few raucous screams I knew I'd turn round to see Cal in the arms of his mum. Sure enough the Gibson entourage were all present and correct and a good few hugs were dished out with our greetings.
Checking her son was free of physical scarring, Mrs G and pals led the way to a quaint Italian bistro and filled us with pasta and great wine - cheers guys! We caught up, drank and in good Christmas Spirit - we're extremely merry!
The next few days were spent in much the same way. They spoilt us with cocktails in Central Park and grub in the Centre of the City - it didn't and couldn't have got much better! There was ice skating, shopping and girly talk a plenty and I was ever so jealous Cal got to see his mum.
All good things must, however come to an end and as we waved them off - in their limo, no less - we skulked off to find something to do .
So up we went to see the well talked about views from the Empire State Building. And - although you're a little excited that you're standing on top of one of, if not the most famous building in the world - the views seemed a little bit of an anti-climax. I'd seen so many of these views from photos before, that I felt I'd done it before... So the camera memory a little heavier and 20 bucks down (most expensive lift journey I've ever taken!) we bought some souvenirs for the folks back home and made our way back to the next hostel - which is a little special.
In the good sense of the word - slap bang in the middle of everything, Madison Square Gardens on our door step, Central Park only a 15 minute walk away - I regretted not 'dorming it' before.
All in all we'd done everything we wanted to do. We'd been tourists without being found out - a guidance message from home instructed me to 'never get the map out on the street, don't look like a tourist - look like you belong!' So we'd been safe, people had been friendly and we'd really enjoyed ourselves.
So Monday night came and after a slice in the BEST pizzeria in NYC - we headed to the Molly Wee Pub across the street from our hostel. With all, honest intentions of having just the one drink. But after I got lost in the idea of Gin for the first time in months - one drink turned into a bunch and resulted in me getting rather squiffy and dancing the night away with a couple who took us under their wing. We had a fantastic night of Gin, Kahlua, Baileys, more Gin, Coors Lite (I don't know why) and a bit more Gin.
Suffice to say that when I woke up in the morning/afternoon - I forget which, head feeling like the Gin demons were hacking away with their tiny but very sharp pick axes, I had felt better. Adding to the bad head were the photographs I found on my camera - of me - dancing - alone. Great. Way to keep the dignity Jen!
Our time done in NYC, Philadelphia was next so we booked our tickets and off we set - vowing never to drink Gin again...for now.
Jen
No time to stop, we made our way through the Big Apple, down Central Park, bought a couple of books (?!) and hit the first (Irish) Pub we found. It was busy, warm and alcoholically charged - kitted out with a Christmas Tree and the most miserable host you've ever had the pleasure to meet.
We scooped a few well deserved beers and headed to Grand Central Station to meet Callum's mum. We weren't too sure where exactly in GCS we were meant to be, but as I walked on an heard only a few raucous screams I knew I'd turn round to see Cal in the arms of his mum. Sure enough the Gibson entourage were all present and correct and a good few hugs were dished out with our greetings.
Checking her son was free of physical scarring, Mrs G and pals led the way to a quaint Italian bistro and filled us with pasta and great wine - cheers guys! We caught up, drank and in good Christmas Spirit - we're extremely merry!
The next few days were spent in much the same way. They spoilt us with cocktails in Central Park and grub in the Centre of the City - it didn't and couldn't have got much better! There was ice skating, shopping and girly talk a plenty and I was ever so jealous Cal got to see his mum.
All good things must, however come to an end and as we waved them off - in their limo, no less - we skulked off to find something to do .
So up we went to see the well talked about views from the Empire State Building. And - although you're a little excited that you're standing on top of one of, if not the most famous building in the world - the views seemed a little bit of an anti-climax. I'd seen so many of these views from photos before, that I felt I'd done it before... So the camera memory a little heavier and 20 bucks down (most expensive lift journey I've ever taken!) we bought some souvenirs for the folks back home and made our way back to the next hostel - which is a little special.
In the good sense of the word - slap bang in the middle of everything, Madison Square Gardens on our door step, Central Park only a 15 minute walk away - I regretted not 'dorming it' before.
All in all we'd done everything we wanted to do. We'd been tourists without being found out - a guidance message from home instructed me to 'never get the map out on the street, don't look like a tourist - look like you belong!' So we'd been safe, people had been friendly and we'd really enjoyed ourselves.
So Monday night came and after a slice in the BEST pizzeria in NYC - we headed to the Molly Wee Pub across the street from our hostel. With all, honest intentions of having just the one drink. But after I got lost in the idea of Gin for the first time in months - one drink turned into a bunch and resulted in me getting rather squiffy and dancing the night away with a couple who took us under their wing. We had a fantastic night of Gin, Kahlua, Baileys, more Gin, Coors Lite (I don't know why) and a bit more Gin.
Suffice to say that when I woke up in the morning/afternoon - I forget which, head feeling like the Gin demons were hacking away with their tiny but very sharp pick axes, I had felt better. Adding to the bad head were the photographs I found on my camera - of me - dancing - alone. Great. Way to keep the dignity Jen!
Our time done in NYC, Philadelphia was next so we booked our tickets and off we set - vowing never to drink Gin again...for now.
Jen
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
The Thoughts And Musings Of A 22 Year Old Traveller
When we left D.C it was early, we were up by 6 and on our way by 8am. Callum took advantage of our much less busy, much more comfy bus and caught up on a few z's. I knew it would be a long day - getting into New York, finding our digs and then meeting the Gibson's and entourage at 6 - but I couldn't sleep.
I plugged myself into my trusty I pod and listened to a friend's band. (Arthur Rigby and The Baskervylles - look them up and give them a listen; very different from what your lugs will be used to, refreshing, laid back, lovingly written good music). And as the scenery passed me by it finally dawned on me the size of and the meaning of the epic journey we've nearly completed.
In a hippy 'love the world and what it can do for you' kind of way, the realisation that you truly can do anything you want if you put your heart into it and believe in yourself, was immense. My friend has the band - he's making his dream of rock stardom come true - and I got up off my arse and travelled around the Land Of Hopes And Dreams... shows what you can do if you want it!
You could spend your entire life dreaming of what you really want to do - looking at other people's photos; listening to other people's stories of far off lands - until you realise there's no time left and you've spent your life doing a job that sucks away your essence of being.
I am in awe of this trip, what we've seen and done, what I've learnt about myself - so much so that I urge anyone with a dream to grab it by the horns and just bloody do it. We can't take our money with us, so get up away from your boring job, annoying spouse and just do what you want to do because 'this aint no rehearsal' as so many say - this is it - our one and only shot - we won't get another chance...
Unless of course you believe in reincarnation and you're coming back as a dung beatle - then you're set.
Jen (With a little lighter shoulders!)
I plugged myself into my trusty I pod and listened to a friend's band. (Arthur Rigby and The Baskervylles - look them up and give them a listen; very different from what your lugs will be used to, refreshing, laid back, lovingly written good music). And as the scenery passed me by it finally dawned on me the size of and the meaning of the epic journey we've nearly completed.
In a hippy 'love the world and what it can do for you' kind of way, the realisation that you truly can do anything you want if you put your heart into it and believe in yourself, was immense. My friend has the band - he's making his dream of rock stardom come true - and I got up off my arse and travelled around the Land Of Hopes And Dreams... shows what you can do if you want it!
You could spend your entire life dreaming of what you really want to do - looking at other people's photos; listening to other people's stories of far off lands - until you realise there's no time left and you've spent your life doing a job that sucks away your essence of being.
I am in awe of this trip, what we've seen and done, what I've learnt about myself - so much so that I urge anyone with a dream to grab it by the horns and just bloody do it. We can't take our money with us, so get up away from your boring job, annoying spouse and just do what you want to do because 'this aint no rehearsal' as so many say - this is it - our one and only shot - we won't get another chance...
Unless of course you believe in reincarnation and you're coming back as a dung beatle - then you're set.
Jen (With a little lighter shoulders!)
The Long Road to Washington
Arriving in Jacksonville, minus one car - plus two bus tickets, we found the Greyhound Bus Station more easily than we thought after ditching Nancy. It was 5pm when we boarded the full Greyhound and found some seats sandwiched between a relatively psycho looking man to the back off us and a mother and young daughter to the front.
Luckily, as it was a 'night' bus - the lights went out and everybody was quiet. Listening to a bit of Kings of Leon I tapped along as the bus set off on the long 15 hour road.
Everything seemed to be going okay - the sun had gone down, babies were sleeping and the bus driver wasn't afraid of putting his foot down. 40 minutes in - barely having left Florida for the next fair state and the unspeakable happens - mummy in front of me put her seat back and gives me little room to breathe, let alone move... for 12 hours...
We changed buses in Virginia and had a relatively comfortable trip to D.C. 15 Hours, no sleep, checked into our motel - fell into bed at 9am - woke up at 6.30pm. Oops! I felt tres guilty as Cal had only slept for about 4 hours, so we went out in search of food. Our neighbourhood reminded me of a modern Maycomb, Boo Radley's house on the corner scared us as if we ourselves were Jem and Scout.
Dark and cold (It's dropped 30 degrees.) we made it through to McDonalds and had a traditional American meal - medium size. Heading back I hung my head as I knew I wouldn't sleep due to my day time slumber. Wrong! My alarm woke us both at 9am - another 9 hours I felt more than rested as we embarked on our quest to find the White House.
Our bus took us right down to Constitution Avenue and kicked us out at the National Archives where they keep the Declaration of Independance - pretty cool really. We made our way down Constitution, after consulting our trusty map (Yes, Nancy - we can do it even if you're switched off and stuffed in my bag!) and found the Washington Memorial, again - pretty neat.
Trundling up 15th Street we finally found Obama's future dwellings. And to be honest, to me it was a bit like Buckingham palace - a bit smaller than you expect and you've seen it that often on TV that it's kind of an anti climax.
Still - they were building two massive stands for Inauguration Day, so that was pretty cool to be a part of, we took a bunch of photos and headed for warmth and found our first cup of tea in two months!
Completely satisfied with our charged furnesses we walked down to the Lincoln Memorial which is very special - especially as you walk along the 'Reflective Pool' with Robin Wright Penn screaming 'Foooorrrrrreeessssstt!!!!!!!!!!!!' in your head and Tom Hanks stammering out 'I Love you, Jenny!' - I wanted to run right into that pool to re enact the Gump scene, but I didn't because it was super cold and the water looked dirty.
Heading back, after another batch of photos, the sun was ready to bid his farewells and threw the most beautiful colours up into the sky. A productive day with a stunning finale. I quite like D.C.
We had a day of doing pretty much nothing after that, except blogging for you beauties. Then found ourselves back down on Constitution Ave; heading, this time, for the Jefferson Memorial. I wasn't all that clued up on this place - and certainly didn't expect the effort and love that had gone into the rememberance of the U.S's presidents. We had a lovely day, walking around the pool that encompasses Jefferson's eternal lodgings; met President Hoover and his dog and headed back to find another cup of tea!
Just as we'd left the tea selling - much loved by me - cafe, we took a stroll back along Bush's front drive to be greeted by 27 million police motorbikes, S.U.V's and police cars - flashing their blues and twos - escorting Georgie himself down the road ----
En route to our bus, we came across a small park, belonging to the American Art Gallery, in the centre of which was an ice-rink. As the lights twinkled, the jolly folk skated and Christmas songs were played out for us all to hear, I felt my first pang of Christmas Spirit.
---- And it really was just down the road, because 15 minutes later, Georgie Boy was with his entourage making his way back home - lazy bugger.
We have one more night left in D.C and then we're of to N.Y.C. There's been a slight change of plan...
Callum's mum, sister and friends are heading over for a pre-Christmas jaunt to the Big Apple, so we'll meet them there then move on to Philidelphia. I'm tres excited for the Gibson family reunion - most of all because I'll get a surrogate mum hug! Something I have more than missed about home!
Jen
Luckily, as it was a 'night' bus - the lights went out and everybody was quiet. Listening to a bit of Kings of Leon I tapped along as the bus set off on the long 15 hour road.
Everything seemed to be going okay - the sun had gone down, babies were sleeping and the bus driver wasn't afraid of putting his foot down. 40 minutes in - barely having left Florida for the next fair state and the unspeakable happens - mummy in front of me put her seat back and gives me little room to breathe, let alone move... for 12 hours...
We changed buses in Virginia and had a relatively comfortable trip to D.C. 15 Hours, no sleep, checked into our motel - fell into bed at 9am - woke up at 6.30pm. Oops! I felt tres guilty as Cal had only slept for about 4 hours, so we went out in search of food. Our neighbourhood reminded me of a modern Maycomb, Boo Radley's house on the corner scared us as if we ourselves were Jem and Scout.
Dark and cold (It's dropped 30 degrees.) we made it through to McDonalds and had a traditional American meal - medium size. Heading back I hung my head as I knew I wouldn't sleep due to my day time slumber. Wrong! My alarm woke us both at 9am - another 9 hours I felt more than rested as we embarked on our quest to find the White House.
Our bus took us right down to Constitution Avenue and kicked us out at the National Archives where they keep the Declaration of Independance - pretty cool really. We made our way down Constitution, after consulting our trusty map (Yes, Nancy - we can do it even if you're switched off and stuffed in my bag!) and found the Washington Memorial, again - pretty neat.
Trundling up 15th Street we finally found Obama's future dwellings. And to be honest, to me it was a bit like Buckingham palace - a bit smaller than you expect and you've seen it that often on TV that it's kind of an anti climax.
Still - they were building two massive stands for Inauguration Day, so that was pretty cool to be a part of, we took a bunch of photos and headed for warmth and found our first cup of tea in two months!
Completely satisfied with our charged furnesses we walked down to the Lincoln Memorial which is very special - especially as you walk along the 'Reflective Pool' with Robin Wright Penn screaming 'Foooorrrrrreeessssstt!!!!!!!!!!!!' in your head and Tom Hanks stammering out 'I Love you, Jenny!' - I wanted to run right into that pool to re enact the Gump scene, but I didn't because it was super cold and the water looked dirty.
Heading back, after another batch of photos, the sun was ready to bid his farewells and threw the most beautiful colours up into the sky. A productive day with a stunning finale. I quite like D.C.
We had a day of doing pretty much nothing after that, except blogging for you beauties. Then found ourselves back down on Constitution Ave; heading, this time, for the Jefferson Memorial. I wasn't all that clued up on this place - and certainly didn't expect the effort and love that had gone into the rememberance of the U.S's presidents. We had a lovely day, walking around the pool that encompasses Jefferson's eternal lodgings; met President Hoover and his dog and headed back to find another cup of tea!
Just as we'd left the tea selling - much loved by me - cafe, we took a stroll back along Bush's front drive to be greeted by 27 million police motorbikes, S.U.V's and police cars - flashing their blues and twos - escorting Georgie himself down the road ----
En route to our bus, we came across a small park, belonging to the American Art Gallery, in the centre of which was an ice-rink. As the lights twinkled, the jolly folk skated and Christmas songs were played out for us all to hear, I felt my first pang of Christmas Spirit.
---- And it really was just down the road, because 15 minutes later, Georgie Boy was with his entourage making his way back home - lazy bugger.
We have one more night left in D.C and then we're of to N.Y.C. There's been a slight change of plan...
Callum's mum, sister and friends are heading over for a pre-Christmas jaunt to the Big Apple, so we'll meet them there then move on to Philidelphia. I'm tres excited for the Gibson family reunion - most of all because I'll get a surrogate mum hug! Something I have more than missed about home!
Jen
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Orlando Treats
Just a short journey this time - 170 odd miles and we arrived in Orlando. Not somewhere I was whole heartedly looking forward to visiting but Callum seemed excited by the prospect, so we checked into a lovely little motel and settled in for a whole week.
Our room was huge! Two massive double beds, some old rather battered furniture that housed an even older, even more battered television; microwave and 'micro-fridge'; bath, shower, sink, storage - It was just what we needed for our stay - nothing fancy, just something that did it's job.
We got there late afternoon, so we couldn't do anything substantial - plus it was a Sunday. So off Nancy, Cal and I went to the Supermarket to get the essentials (and a bit more), picked up a pizza or two and headed back to our homestead to settle in.
Tummy satisfied with Italian delights, I snuggled down for the night watching some kind of gargbage on TV. Then something caught my eye, marching up the wall about a foot away from my face... Cory the cockroach aimlessly sauntered towards the ceiling - and I aimlessly JUMPED OUT OF MY BLOODY BED!
Cory was massive - he was massively massive and he'd also disappeared during my slight fit about there being a cockroach so close to my bloody face! I spent the next half an hour banging the foundations of my bed - trying to taunt Cory out of hiding. When he clearly wasn't playing the game, I gingerly sat back down, repeatedly looking over my shoulder each time 'Stevie' cast out a shadow.
Cory and I next met in the bathroom - there I was, minding my own business, whilst he (probably doing the same) strutted out onto the floor from under the bathmat. Luckily I was ready to flee this time - screaming, I may add!
Cory ran, I ran, Callum ran, Callum took my flip flop and my flip flop ran on top of Cory's head - sending his hairy leg across the room to where I stood.
Anyway - Cockroach free, we had a pleasant evening and planned our attack on Orlando.
Monday morning dawned and we set off for an exploration of our surroundings - gravitating towards the mall, I lightened my wallet a little - and rightly so because my father only gave me two books for the journey and I've finished those and the other HUGE one I packed! So I bought two more for the road ahead, and an English newspaper!!!
Happy with my newly purchased literature, we went 'home' and looked forward to our next couple of days, which were to be spent tackling Universal Studios and Sea World. Again, not really psyched to be going to a theme park, off I went following Cal to the ticket booth at Universal. Do you know how much a 2 day ticket is for Universal's 2 parks?? No...and you don't want to know because it's bloody ridiculous!
As ever - and I really should learn my lesson - I loved the place almost as much as I love a Gin and Tonic with the boys and girls back home on a Friday night! First stop was Terminator - not my favorite - you 'don' the 3D glasses and watch as a glorified Arnie look a like shoots into the audience along with evil robots and the like. Impressive, but more for the boys!
To make up for this, the E.T ride was next...Oooo I felt 7 years old again! The day went on like this, visiting The Simpsons on Rodeo Drive (It's true, I have photographic evidence!), trundling along with Jaws as he tried to eat us and our boat, a call in to the Disaster Movie spectacle, A meeting with Helen Hunt to tell us about the phenomena of Twisters, a quick hello to Shrek and Princess then Jimmy Neutron and his nemises bid us Adieu.
After a day in the studios were were both shattered so we hit the hay to summon the energy for an outing to Sea World - after a well earned sleep! I was taken a back by the excitement that oozed from Callum's being over the studios and Sea World, but after the delights of Universal I failed to see how a watery zoo could top the previous days activities. Do you know how much a day at Sea World costs? Less than Universal, but still - you don't want to know because it's bloody ridiculous.
Cal led us to Kraken - a rollercoaster that dangles your feet over the track that made me feel sick even to look at. My legs felt like jelly once the death trap let us off and I did feel like I was going to see my Bran Flakes again all too soon - but it was an awesome adrenaline rush. This is when Cal assured me it was a good idea to go on the log flume - we wouldn't get too wet he said as we passed two women drying themselves off with pre packed safety towels, looking like they'd just had a fully clothed bath.
Up we climbed, sitting one row from the back - surely we'd be fine. One last ascent and the ride shot us down the almost vertical slope into the plunges below. We got wet, but nothing like the women we'd seen - they must have been sitting at the front...No - they must have been sitting one row from the back, thinks I as a fountain...no...wave... of water ambushed us and landed right in my jean clad lap. Brilliant. Absolutely soaked. There's nothing quite like the feeling of trying to walk in wet denim! I fear I may have resembled John Wayne as I headed for dry land!
Luckily (Ha!) we were just in time for the dolphin show. Sitting in our own puddles, we watched as the Sea World Staff showed off the dolphins and their tricks - a pretty special treat until they put a leash around two of them and used them as a surf borad - not so special - just a bit cruel really. That was the end, and I was quite glad as I felt they had taken themselves and the oversized fish a step to far!
We wondered around, saw a few manatees, alligators and crocodiles (what's the difference again?!) Sting Rays (That we stroked and my, they're gooey!), Sharks; people swimming with sharks (!) - watched a fairly hysterical otter and sea lion show; was cajoled into riding Kraken again and then it was time to watch the big Sea World Show.
Shamu the Killer Whale and his friends led the show entitled 'Believe' where I swear a tear nearly fell for the emotion of it all - as apparantly 'You can do anything if you just Believe!' - the impressive swimmers plucked a girl out of the audience who, at the tender age of what seemed to be 8 - already had her Marine Biologist career waiting ahead of her, and led her to the gigantic pool.
Shamu launched himself onto the platform and took fish for his efforts as the image of the girl receiving the swimmers' necklace (homage to the 'Believing Malarky') was plastered on the massive screen behind the pool - she was going to be a Marine Biologist because, my god, she believed!
Many, many, too many photographs later we left and any tears I may have had were soon dried by another, final ride on Kraken!
Another day well spent, we headed back - allbeit still a little soggy, happy in the knowledge that tomorrow would be Thanksgiving - which meant a rest and a sunbathe by the pool, whilst America spent the day being Thankful.
Our Thanksgiving (Sitting by said pool)
Callum: What are you thankful for?
Me: Sunbathing on 27th November (Go to England and you'll understand)... What are you thankful for?
Callum: Squirty Cheese
And that's all I have to say about that!
Friday brought our 2nd day at Universal, starting with a quick ride on 'The Hulk' - we were set for a day of rollercoasters. 'The Hulk' was slow - disinterested in the lack of terror it brought me, we joined Spiderman for a tour in his simulator around whichever city it is that he frequents. Then the terror came as we climbed aboard the next 'ride' that shot us 27 million thousand zillion feet above the park, then plummeted us back to earth - mmm, lovely! I love the feeling that I'm about to bite the dust!
Jurassic Park welcomed us with those infamous gates from the well loved film, and I hope Sam Neil was on guard close by to fend off any lurking Velociraptors! Cal was beside himself for this ride which ended with a log flume - 'I'm not going on that' Memories of Sea World - I just plain couldn't be bothered wondering around in wet clothes again.
But off course I went on it! Front row - got drenched, great ride, Callum seemed to enjoy it - a bit too much as I realised he was as dry as a bone and I was dripping - he'd apparently kept his mouth shut on our positioning, knowing full well I'd bear the brunt of that water! There's names I could call him, but my throat is sore from all the screaming!
The last ride we went on, after a few more unworthy of writing about, consisted of two tracks, weaving around each other - we'd been on the first, so we went back for more from the second. Up and down and round and round it took us, much faster than any of the others - until something happened that you always pray to the rollercoaster cart in the sky not to happen - ever - the ride stopped before the end and there we sat not knowing our fate for 10 minutes - hoping to rollercoaster cart in the sky that the neanderthals working the coaster hadn't yet released the next load of people, who would come hurtling towards us!
Luckily, rollercoaster cart in the sky heard me (and probably saw the sheer terror in my face!) and we were safely deposited to collect our belongings.
Making it back to the motel or wildlife central if you will, as I went to lock the door, Lionel the little Lizard appeared from under Callum's bedding (quite what had attracted him in there is a mystery!) out Little Lionel plodded; much nicer that to be surpried my Cory again! Out I shooed him, gently this time - no maiming of limbs or skulls!
Time in Orlando drawing to a close,Callum asked if we could play Crazy Golf --- Just what I wanted to do! Can I play golf??? Can I ?#%^! 'Of course we can!' Driving to Pirates Cove Golf Course, I was thrilled!
More so and genuinely when, 18 holes later Cal added up the scores to see I'd thrashed him - shame! I would tell him it was just beginners luck, but if you saw the final score, you'd agree that this wasn't the case!
So it was our last night, I did the ritual 'last night laundry' and repacked my increasingly big bag! (It's all the presents for everyone at home!) However, I used my noggin this time and bought a box to ship home all the stuff I wasn't going to need now we were heading North - do you know how much that cost me? No and you don't want to know beacuse it was bloody ridiculous!
We've got a 15 hour bus ride ahead of us - Nancy will be pushed into early retirement as we are giving up our car and heading for Washington D.C.
I can't express my longings for Jensen's luxuries but after Washington, Philedelphia and New York we're heading to my Aunty and Uncle's house - and I hope they've learnt about the Jensen's, because otherwise they might just be by-passed!
Onwards to Washington D.C and the White House - Hmph, I'm quite excited!
Jen
Our room was huge! Two massive double beds, some old rather battered furniture that housed an even older, even more battered television; microwave and 'micro-fridge'; bath, shower, sink, storage - It was just what we needed for our stay - nothing fancy, just something that did it's job.
We got there late afternoon, so we couldn't do anything substantial - plus it was a Sunday. So off Nancy, Cal and I went to the Supermarket to get the essentials (and a bit more), picked up a pizza or two and headed back to our homestead to settle in.
Tummy satisfied with Italian delights, I snuggled down for the night watching some kind of gargbage on TV. Then something caught my eye, marching up the wall about a foot away from my face... Cory the cockroach aimlessly sauntered towards the ceiling - and I aimlessly JUMPED OUT OF MY BLOODY BED!
Cory was massive - he was massively massive and he'd also disappeared during my slight fit about there being a cockroach so close to my bloody face! I spent the next half an hour banging the foundations of my bed - trying to taunt Cory out of hiding. When he clearly wasn't playing the game, I gingerly sat back down, repeatedly looking over my shoulder each time 'Stevie' cast out a shadow.
Cory and I next met in the bathroom - there I was, minding my own business, whilst he (probably doing the same) strutted out onto the floor from under the bathmat. Luckily I was ready to flee this time - screaming, I may add!
Cory ran, I ran, Callum ran, Callum took my flip flop and my flip flop ran on top of Cory's head - sending his hairy leg across the room to where I stood.
Anyway - Cockroach free, we had a pleasant evening and planned our attack on Orlando.
Monday morning dawned and we set off for an exploration of our surroundings - gravitating towards the mall, I lightened my wallet a little - and rightly so because my father only gave me two books for the journey and I've finished those and the other HUGE one I packed! So I bought two more for the road ahead, and an English newspaper!!!
Happy with my newly purchased literature, we went 'home' and looked forward to our next couple of days, which were to be spent tackling Universal Studios and Sea World. Again, not really psyched to be going to a theme park, off I went following Cal to the ticket booth at Universal. Do you know how much a 2 day ticket is for Universal's 2 parks?? No...and you don't want to know because it's bloody ridiculous!
As ever - and I really should learn my lesson - I loved the place almost as much as I love a Gin and Tonic with the boys and girls back home on a Friday night! First stop was Terminator - not my favorite - you 'don' the 3D glasses and watch as a glorified Arnie look a like shoots into the audience along with evil robots and the like. Impressive, but more for the boys!
To make up for this, the E.T ride was next...Oooo I felt 7 years old again! The day went on like this, visiting The Simpsons on Rodeo Drive (It's true, I have photographic evidence!), trundling along with Jaws as he tried to eat us and our boat, a call in to the Disaster Movie spectacle, A meeting with Helen Hunt to tell us about the phenomena of Twisters, a quick hello to Shrek and Princess then Jimmy Neutron and his nemises bid us Adieu.
After a day in the studios were were both shattered so we hit the hay to summon the energy for an outing to Sea World - after a well earned sleep! I was taken a back by the excitement that oozed from Callum's being over the studios and Sea World, but after the delights of Universal I failed to see how a watery zoo could top the previous days activities. Do you know how much a day at Sea World costs? Less than Universal, but still - you don't want to know because it's bloody ridiculous.
Cal led us to Kraken - a rollercoaster that dangles your feet over the track that made me feel sick even to look at. My legs felt like jelly once the death trap let us off and I did feel like I was going to see my Bran Flakes again all too soon - but it was an awesome adrenaline rush. This is when Cal assured me it was a good idea to go on the log flume - we wouldn't get too wet he said as we passed two women drying themselves off with pre packed safety towels, looking like they'd just had a fully clothed bath.
Up we climbed, sitting one row from the back - surely we'd be fine. One last ascent and the ride shot us down the almost vertical slope into the plunges below. We got wet, but nothing like the women we'd seen - they must have been sitting at the front...No - they must have been sitting one row from the back, thinks I as a fountain...no...wave... of water ambushed us and landed right in my jean clad lap. Brilliant. Absolutely soaked. There's nothing quite like the feeling of trying to walk in wet denim! I fear I may have resembled John Wayne as I headed for dry land!
Luckily (Ha!) we were just in time for the dolphin show. Sitting in our own puddles, we watched as the Sea World Staff showed off the dolphins and their tricks - a pretty special treat until they put a leash around two of them and used them as a surf borad - not so special - just a bit cruel really. That was the end, and I was quite glad as I felt they had taken themselves and the oversized fish a step to far!
We wondered around, saw a few manatees, alligators and crocodiles (what's the difference again?!) Sting Rays (That we stroked and my, they're gooey!), Sharks; people swimming with sharks (!) - watched a fairly hysterical otter and sea lion show; was cajoled into riding Kraken again and then it was time to watch the big Sea World Show.
Shamu the Killer Whale and his friends led the show entitled 'Believe' where I swear a tear nearly fell for the emotion of it all - as apparantly 'You can do anything if you just Believe!' - the impressive swimmers plucked a girl out of the audience who, at the tender age of what seemed to be 8 - already had her Marine Biologist career waiting ahead of her, and led her to the gigantic pool.
Shamu launched himself onto the platform and took fish for his efforts as the image of the girl receiving the swimmers' necklace (homage to the 'Believing Malarky') was plastered on the massive screen behind the pool - she was going to be a Marine Biologist because, my god, she believed!
Many, many, too many photographs later we left and any tears I may have had were soon dried by another, final ride on Kraken!
Another day well spent, we headed back - allbeit still a little soggy, happy in the knowledge that tomorrow would be Thanksgiving - which meant a rest and a sunbathe by the pool, whilst America spent the day being Thankful.
Our Thanksgiving (Sitting by said pool)
Callum: What are you thankful for?
Me: Sunbathing on 27th November (Go to England and you'll understand)... What are you thankful for?
Callum: Squirty Cheese
And that's all I have to say about that!
Friday brought our 2nd day at Universal, starting with a quick ride on 'The Hulk' - we were set for a day of rollercoasters. 'The Hulk' was slow - disinterested in the lack of terror it brought me, we joined Spiderman for a tour in his simulator around whichever city it is that he frequents. Then the terror came as we climbed aboard the next 'ride' that shot us 27 million thousand zillion feet above the park, then plummeted us back to earth - mmm, lovely! I love the feeling that I'm about to bite the dust!
Jurassic Park welcomed us with those infamous gates from the well loved film, and I hope Sam Neil was on guard close by to fend off any lurking Velociraptors! Cal was beside himself for this ride which ended with a log flume - 'I'm not going on that' Memories of Sea World - I just plain couldn't be bothered wondering around in wet clothes again.
But off course I went on it! Front row - got drenched, great ride, Callum seemed to enjoy it - a bit too much as I realised he was as dry as a bone and I was dripping - he'd apparently kept his mouth shut on our positioning, knowing full well I'd bear the brunt of that water! There's names I could call him, but my throat is sore from all the screaming!
The last ride we went on, after a few more unworthy of writing about, consisted of two tracks, weaving around each other - we'd been on the first, so we went back for more from the second. Up and down and round and round it took us, much faster than any of the others - until something happened that you always pray to the rollercoaster cart in the sky not to happen - ever - the ride stopped before the end and there we sat not knowing our fate for 10 minutes - hoping to rollercoaster cart in the sky that the neanderthals working the coaster hadn't yet released the next load of people, who would come hurtling towards us!
Luckily, rollercoaster cart in the sky heard me (and probably saw the sheer terror in my face!) and we were safely deposited to collect our belongings.
Making it back to the motel or wildlife central if you will, as I went to lock the door, Lionel the little Lizard appeared from under Callum's bedding (quite what had attracted him in there is a mystery!) out Little Lionel plodded; much nicer that to be surpried my Cory again! Out I shooed him, gently this time - no maiming of limbs or skulls!
Time in Orlando drawing to a close,Callum asked if we could play Crazy Golf --- Just what I wanted to do! Can I play golf??? Can I ?#%^! 'Of course we can!' Driving to Pirates Cove Golf Course, I was thrilled!
More so and genuinely when, 18 holes later Cal added up the scores to see I'd thrashed him - shame! I would tell him it was just beginners luck, but if you saw the final score, you'd agree that this wasn't the case!
So it was our last night, I did the ritual 'last night laundry' and repacked my increasingly big bag! (It's all the presents for everyone at home!) However, I used my noggin this time and bought a box to ship home all the stuff I wasn't going to need now we were heading North - do you know how much that cost me? No and you don't want to know beacuse it was bloody ridiculous!
We've got a 15 hour bus ride ahead of us - Nancy will be pushed into early retirement as we are giving up our car and heading for Washington D.C.
I can't express my longings for Jensen's luxuries but after Washington, Philedelphia and New York we're heading to my Aunty and Uncle's house - and I hope they've learnt about the Jensen's, because otherwise they might just be by-passed!
Onwards to Washington D.C and the White House - Hmph, I'm quite excited!
Jen
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