Well we are currently en-route to New York via a very packed Amtrak train, enjoying the sights of Maryland and Philadelphia (oh we’re in Jersey now) as they fly by our window. Thus ends our time in DC, which after a hairy start, turned out really well. I have christened the hostel we stayed in as “Fawlty Towers” following our dramas with checking in, the eccentric rules around thou shalt take thy shoes off to enter, and not to mention the window curtain rod collapsing in the middle of the night (with a little bit of help from a rather odd fellow roommate), the mysterious case of the room lights ceasing to work and several cold showers, which although a little off-putting was strangely refreshing given the high humidity and temperamental air-conditioning system.
Outside the hostel confines was a great city, very easy to navigate by foot, lovely parks and architecture, friendly people, an impressive National Mall, good vibe and excellent (end even better - free) museums. Unfortunately 2 days wasn’t enough to explore everything we hoped to see, so we will have it note it as a place to return to in future travels. This was compounded by us still being on west coast time, a lack of quality sleep and late starts to the day despite our best intentions of hitting the town early.
Day 1 consisted of visiting the front (and back…..for some reason they wouldn’t let us go inside) of the White House. We were just in time to witness a protest against the treatment of Uhghers by the Chinese Government (but why they were protesting outside the White House and not the Chinese Embassy we couldn’t quite understand), along with the more typical anti-nuclear, pro-peace, anti- Israel, pro Palestinian agitators. We were pleased to hear that conspiracy theories are still in vogue….. Apparently it was a conspiracy by an unlikely coalition of Jewish bankers, the Freemasons and Catholic radicals that brought Obama to power…..those of the far right are claiming that Obama shouldn’t be President because he wasn’t born in the US…. That the validated birth certificate showing he was born in Hawaii was a fraud….they even tried to get their ridiculous claims heard by the Supreme Court! We love American politics, much more lively than our dull Kev…..although it appears a restaurant in DC has been named in his honour FuddRuckers!!! Kevin from Queensland has made it to the bigtime!
While checking out the back of the White House we watched a cavalcade of police cars, secret service and what looked to be Obama going past….Jeff swears he got a wave……or perhaps just a finger??
We checked out Capitol Hill, the National Monument, plus monuments to Jefferson and Lincoln (all very Greco- Romanesque) and the Franklin Roosevelt monument which was my personal favourite. The Korean War Memorial was good too….lots of sculptures arranged as though the soldiers are advancing though a field. They are planning to build a monument to Martin Luther King Jnr which will be good to visit, but so far it is just a plaque on the ground. We also visited the Natural History Museum and enjoyed an exhibit on the peoples of Africa and lost track of time in the Air and Space Museum whilst marvelling at the mysteries of the universe, checking out the lunar landing module, astronauts suits, a test version of the Hubble telescope, plus some disturbing nuclear rockets, ballistic missiles and the Wright Brothers Original aeroplane. Jeff was fascinated by the logistics of Air traffic Control while Stacey checked out the little robot dude deployed on Mars. We had planned to visit a few other museums but didn’t quite make it…..I guess it just means we will have to come back.
And so start spreading the news….I’m leaving today…..its up to you New York New York!!!!
Friday 31 July 2009
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Utah Pics....and no mormon wore a suit - it was way too hot
The day starts with Stacey posing at the border after a short drive from Kayenta..the town in the middle of the Navajo reservation. Stace thought the sign said Don Juan not san Juan..hence the smile.
Jeff gets reacquainted with his 3 sisters...or maybe he's just missing echo point? Finally Australia has something bigger than the American equivalent!! Which one is which? Careful now...one's short but skinny...one looks like a beer bottle and the other one I cannot describe. Talking about the ones in the photo of course.
This is how we wanted to tour the valley....but we decided that 5 horsepower of the sewing machine was better than one horse. However, as far as our rental company is concerned we never went off road!
Can you see the scorpion? Look harder...you will find it! When you do let us know where it is...the first correct answer will be rewarded with a Hershey's Bar delivered to you personally on our return!
After a 2 hourphotography course at the Grand Canyon, jeff started to think he was a good photographer. Well, he may need just a few more (intensive) courses yet, but this photo isn't too bad.
Different arch - this one is available in colour.
Jeff gets reacquainted with his 3 sisters...or maybe he's just missing echo point? Finally Australia has something bigger than the American equivalent!! Which one is which? Careful now...one's short but skinny...one looks like a beer bottle and the other one I cannot describe. Talking about the ones in the photo of course.
This is how we wanted to tour the valley....but we decided that 5 horsepower of the sewing machine was better than one horse. However, as far as our rental company is concerned we never went off road!
Can you see the scorpion? Look harder...you will find it! When you do let us know where it is...the first correct answer will be rewarded with a Hershey's Bar delivered to you personally on our return!
After a 2 hourphotography course at the Grand Canyon, jeff started to think he was a good photographer. Well, he may need just a few more (intensive) courses yet, but this photo isn't too bad.
Look...it's a pair of buttes!!
Stacey got artsy fartsy on the road...here is a canyon at canyonlands National Park, taken at 80mph in sepia...not bad....it's like a window to the blue sky...without the blue!
Different arch - this one is available in colour.
A short note...LA to DC
We are now in DC and have just finished attending to laundromat tasks. DC feels like Vietnam in the middle of the wet season...hot and sticky...and we decide to spend half a day in a laundromat (whoch of course adds to the humidity)...we came out 5 kilos lighter!
We arrived here at Midnight last night after starting the day at 7am..a whole day of travelling. We arrived at check in at LAX to be told we didn't have seats together and the flight was full! Great times travelling in a packed cabin coming our way and not even sitting together. The check in agent worked something out and we finally got seats together and we then headed off to the close to strip search security line...you have to take off shoes, belts and all that jazz...and of course empty them pockets.
We quicklhy ran up to Qantas Club to have breakfast and check emails...a short stop but one that came in handy for the food at least and the retreat from the terminal which is a construction zone. Upon lining up for boarding and as we handed over our boarding passes they were scanned and then the computer made a buzz like there was an error...we thought there must've been something wrong...maybe we were bumped off the flight?
The lady who took our tickets worked hard at the computer trying to work out what the story was...and then her supervisor looked over and eenquired...Ïs that Whitë?"He then announced we had been bumped.........to Premium Economy and handed over our new boarding passes! So we not only got to sit together and only with each other (2 seat groups), we had larger seats, greater recline, touchscreen tvs, no seats in front...we also got a champagne before takeoff and ate lunch with real cutlery and glasses. Not to mention the nice cup of plunger leaf tea, which is a change to the cardboard they push as tea elsewhere in the states. We only wish we could have those seats for the longhaul as we'd be able to sleep no problem at all. In any case we certainly enjoyed the 5 hour flight and the benefits of the upgrade, our thanks be to Qantas...
Upon arrival at JFK we waited almost an hour for our bags and then changed terminals...we had a flight with American to catch to DC...that airline is so disorganised and seems to want to charge you for everything. If they're Qantas equivelant for the US I wouldn't like to fly the low cost carriers, We had to go through about 5 different bag drop agents who were generally rude to us before we got checked in and bags loaded on.
We headed up to the lounge for a drink and got our boarding passes just before scheduled departure. Headed to the gate and then waited...and waited...and threw in a bit more of waiting just for the fun of it...the plane was delayed for over 2 hours. Even after boarding we were stuck in a queue getting out to the runway that took an hour...all in a pokey little plane...2 seats one side, single seats the other and Jeff could not stand up in them with low roof.
We got to DC at Midnight after some "fun"flying and then caught a cab to the hostel. Of course, the hostel was closed despite knowing we'd be late. We were lucky to have a taxi driver that waited with us, offered to find other hotels and was generally helpful. We were also lucky to meet 2 swedish guys coming back from a few drinks out who let us into the hostel.
We were just about to fall asleep on the loungeroom when 2 drubk guys and a girl came back, turned the tv on loud and ate takeout,,,we found out 30 mins later they were the staff!! He then tries it on and was quite rude to us and if it wasn't 2.30am we wouldve found somewhere else. After some arguments he settles down, takes our cash and helps us with our bags up to the room...where we are now laying on the bed typing this...We hear there's more to DC than a Hostel dorm and we haven't eaten in close to 24 hours so we better get out there.
See you soon
Stace and Jeff
PS. Keep those comments coming in.....so we know someone's reading it at least!! :)
We arrived here at Midnight last night after starting the day at 7am..a whole day of travelling. We arrived at check in at LAX to be told we didn't have seats together and the flight was full! Great times travelling in a packed cabin coming our way and not even sitting together. The check in agent worked something out and we finally got seats together and we then headed off to the close to strip search security line...you have to take off shoes, belts and all that jazz...and of course empty them pockets.
We quicklhy ran up to Qantas Club to have breakfast and check emails...a short stop but one that came in handy for the food at least and the retreat from the terminal which is a construction zone. Upon lining up for boarding and as we handed over our boarding passes they were scanned and then the computer made a buzz like there was an error...we thought there must've been something wrong...maybe we were bumped off the flight?
The lady who took our tickets worked hard at the computer trying to work out what the story was...and then her supervisor looked over and eenquired...Ïs that Whitë?"He then announced we had been bumped.........to Premium Economy and handed over our new boarding passes! So we not only got to sit together and only with each other (2 seat groups), we had larger seats, greater recline, touchscreen tvs, no seats in front...we also got a champagne before takeoff and ate lunch with real cutlery and glasses. Not to mention the nice cup of plunger leaf tea, which is a change to the cardboard they push as tea elsewhere in the states. We only wish we could have those seats for the longhaul as we'd be able to sleep no problem at all. In any case we certainly enjoyed the 5 hour flight and the benefits of the upgrade, our thanks be to Qantas...
Upon arrival at JFK we waited almost an hour for our bags and then changed terminals...we had a flight with American to catch to DC...that airline is so disorganised and seems to want to charge you for everything. If they're Qantas equivelant for the US I wouldn't like to fly the low cost carriers, We had to go through about 5 different bag drop agents who were generally rude to us before we got checked in and bags loaded on.
We headed up to the lounge for a drink and got our boarding passes just before scheduled departure. Headed to the gate and then waited...and waited...and threw in a bit more of waiting just for the fun of it...the plane was delayed for over 2 hours. Even after boarding we were stuck in a queue getting out to the runway that took an hour...all in a pokey little plane...2 seats one side, single seats the other and Jeff could not stand up in them with low roof.
We got to DC at Midnight after some "fun"flying and then caught a cab to the hostel. Of course, the hostel was closed despite knowing we'd be late. We were lucky to have a taxi driver that waited with us, offered to find other hotels and was generally helpful. We were also lucky to meet 2 swedish guys coming back from a few drinks out who let us into the hostel.
We were just about to fall asleep on the loungeroom when 2 drubk guys and a girl came back, turned the tv on loud and ate takeout,,,we found out 30 mins later they were the staff!! He then tries it on and was quite rude to us and if it wasn't 2.30am we wouldve found somewhere else. After some arguments he settles down, takes our cash and helps us with our bags up to the room...where we are now laying on the bed typing this...We hear there's more to DC than a Hostel dorm and we haven't eaten in close to 24 hours so we better get out there.
See you soon
Stace and Jeff
PS. Keep those comments coming in.....so we know someone's reading it at least!! :)
Californication
Hi everyone!
Apologies again for the delay between blogs, time has got away from us and we have had a bit of trouble accessing the net for decent periods of time.
Well last entry took us up to our interesting encounters in a dodgy San fran laundromat (you will be pleaed to know that I behaved myself today in a DC laundromat with no serious grief befalling us, but more of DC later). We survived dodgy dirty cold San Francisco, and walked away with a sharpening of our street smarts, educated on the workings of street dealers, hookers and the ways in which the copious homeless people survive life on the streets. One homeless guy had a pretty cool sense of humour, wandering around town with a cardboard sign saying "happy friday". It was certainly an eye opener, somewhat disturbing to see the daily block long lines of the homeless seeking food and clothing from a local church mission, however that was juxtaposed against some of the more beautiful sights of the city. Not to mention lovers fornicating in a park next to Universal studios filming scenes for a new TV series called Trauma, while a homeless dude gatecrashed the filming to serenade the cast and crew with a rendition of "my girl"! We saw him later singing the same song in a lolly shop seeking change from customers, After being told to move on by the owner of the store, he called her a racist and then told her she need to change cause the president is a blackass now!
We enjoyed a trip across to the island of Alcatraz and took a self guided tour through the prison, and despite Jeff's threats and posturing, he did not dare to lock Stacey up and leave her in a cell! We actually met an ex-inmate named Darwin Coon of all things....lucky he didn't grow up in Australia! Upon our return to the mainland we carried out the obligatory tourist tasks of walking through North Beach and Chinatown to union square, where there was a pretty cool art display...good enough to make sure stacey didn't runoff into the adjacent Macys or Tiffanys. This was followed by a crowded cable car ride to Fishermans Wharf...where we retreated to Starbucks to warm up with a Hot Chocolate or 2. The line was so long for the return cable car we decided to walk up the steep hills back into town...they are on an incline of close to 40 degrees and went on for 500m or so...luckily our legs were steel springs and they helped us run like leopards!
We also walked about 15km around the city in a day spent exploring the Golden gate Park in search of Bison which we eventually managed to find, enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park and then set off to walk the golden gate bridge. The sun actually made a brief appearance which was great to see the harbour and the bridge, not unlike another harbour city we can think of, except we have never suffered frostbite crossing the Syd harbour bridge and the top of it doesn't get lost in fog or rolling cloud!
After leaving San Fran we left with high hopes of rediscovering that californian summer we had heard so much about. we spent 2 days heading down highway1 along the coast to LA, past santa cruz, santa barbara, monterey and the Big Sur. It was pretty foggy and cool so we didnt get to appreciate the beauty of the coastline in full, but it was still very pretty, and we would be keen to revisit for a few days camping if we could...probably on the same beach with the elphant seals, as they looked pretty comfy there laying on the sand (if they weren't fighting with each other that is).
Our road trip ended in typical style with a stop at a Pancake House (not part of a chain which is hard to find on the road), where we scoffed down a few pancakes and iced tea and coke...and stacey was too scared to try the root beer! This was followed with a traffic jam that lasted about 5 miles and took 2 hours to get through and we then sailed through on a couple of interstates back to the Airport and retired to the Crowne Plaza for the night...topped off with a feast of buffalo wings, calamari, salads and sandwiches ala room service style...all in readiness for the haul across the continent the next day..
Apologies again for the delay between blogs, time has got away from us and we have had a bit of trouble accessing the net for decent periods of time.
Well last entry took us up to our interesting encounters in a dodgy San fran laundromat (you will be pleaed to know that I behaved myself today in a DC laundromat with no serious grief befalling us, but more of DC later). We survived dodgy dirty cold San Francisco, and walked away with a sharpening of our street smarts, educated on the workings of street dealers, hookers and the ways in which the copious homeless people survive life on the streets. One homeless guy had a pretty cool sense of humour, wandering around town with a cardboard sign saying "happy friday". It was certainly an eye opener, somewhat disturbing to see the daily block long lines of the homeless seeking food and clothing from a local church mission, however that was juxtaposed against some of the more beautiful sights of the city. Not to mention lovers fornicating in a park next to Universal studios filming scenes for a new TV series called Trauma, while a homeless dude gatecrashed the filming to serenade the cast and crew with a rendition of "my girl"! We saw him later singing the same song in a lolly shop seeking change from customers, After being told to move on by the owner of the store, he called her a racist and then told her she need to change cause the president is a blackass now!
We enjoyed a trip across to the island of Alcatraz and took a self guided tour through the prison, and despite Jeff's threats and posturing, he did not dare to lock Stacey up and leave her in a cell! We actually met an ex-inmate named Darwin Coon of all things....lucky he didn't grow up in Australia! Upon our return to the mainland we carried out the obligatory tourist tasks of walking through North Beach and Chinatown to union square, where there was a pretty cool art display...good enough to make sure stacey didn't runoff into the adjacent Macys or Tiffanys. This was followed by a crowded cable car ride to Fishermans Wharf...where we retreated to Starbucks to warm up with a Hot Chocolate or 2. The line was so long for the return cable car we decided to walk up the steep hills back into town...they are on an incline of close to 40 degrees and went on for 500m or so...luckily our legs were steel springs and they helped us run like leopards!
We also walked about 15km around the city in a day spent exploring the Golden gate Park in search of Bison which we eventually managed to find, enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park and then set off to walk the golden gate bridge. The sun actually made a brief appearance which was great to see the harbour and the bridge, not unlike another harbour city we can think of, except we have never suffered frostbite crossing the Syd harbour bridge and the top of it doesn't get lost in fog or rolling cloud!
After leaving San Fran we left with high hopes of rediscovering that californian summer we had heard so much about. we spent 2 days heading down highway1 along the coast to LA, past santa cruz, santa barbara, monterey and the Big Sur. It was pretty foggy and cool so we didnt get to appreciate the beauty of the coastline in full, but it was still very pretty, and we would be keen to revisit for a few days camping if we could...probably on the same beach with the elphant seals, as they looked pretty comfy there laying on the sand (if they weren't fighting with each other that is).
Our road trip ended in typical style with a stop at a Pancake House (not part of a chain which is hard to find on the road), where we scoffed down a few pancakes and iced tea and coke...and stacey was too scared to try the root beer! This was followed with a traffic jam that lasted about 5 miles and took 2 hours to get through and we then sailed through on a couple of interstates back to the Airport and retired to the Crowne Plaza for the night...topped off with a feast of buffalo wings, calamari, salads and sandwiches ala room service style...all in readiness for the haul across the continent the next day..
Thursday 23 July 2009
Images of the US so far....
It all began in Sin City at the treasure Island - complete with the "Siren's" girls and their pirate antics on the high seas
From TI we moved to 'Venice' complete with it's replica of St Marks Square (see below) Bridge of Sighs and gondilier filled canals.
We experienced 'New York' Egypt and "Paris'. The night photo of Vegas below was taken from the top of the Ëiffel Tower"
From the Neon fantasy of Vegas we headed to Arizona where we experienced another magical world, this time of the natural variety
We hit Arizona, headed by Williams and along Route 66The Grand Canyon was Breathtaking - we admired it at sunset, via helicopter and by foot in the soaring heat
We Didn't think we would see anything more beautiful...... but then we headed to monument valley.......
Pics of monument valley coming soon....
How to start a fight in a laundromat and other great travelling tips by Stacey White - brought to you by Tide Washing Powder
Good afternoon one and all from the safe environs of the Youth Hostel Lobby and it's free wi-fi....just up the road from the laundromat - or is that a wrestlemania set? Today we are going to learn a few travel tips...like, if you wish to turn your local laundromat into a wrestlemania ring, ask Stacey how it's done..she'll give you the lowdown. First, get comfortable on the folding bench as you wait for your clothes to dry..have a chat to a local who is friendly enough and warns you that you are in a dodgy part of town...next make your husband clean out the dryer as you are engrossed in a book...next look up as someone approaches the dryer next to you...and there you have it...the spark for a fight! Yes, it's true...that's all you have to do!! After looking up from the book we were greeted with one of the local ladies making a threat at us for Stacey looking at her clothes...something along the lines of,,,Äre they your clothes in there"..to which you reply..thinking that it is a polite question before the other uses the machine.."No.."and then you are cut off with...Ï know they're not your stinking clothes, their mine..why you's looking so damn hard at my clothes..." ..and on we go with more observations being made about us and relayed down the telephone by our new found acquaintance...that and references to how it's been a tough day working the corner and there is a desire for more "weed"..she must be fishing for blackfish??..with all the weed she was ordering!!
That was our introduction to san Francisco...hopefully it improves...this Hostel is in the equivelant of the back streets of the Cross back in it's heyday..strip clubs and cheap restaurants abound..and most corners have ladies standing there all dolled up but still rough around (and even beyond) the edges...the hostel itself is one of the best we have visited and has good security..here's hoping the car is olay in the carpark next door!
Today was mainly a day of driving from yosemite to san Fran and we made it relatively easily, depite the need for a few freeway changes with the addition of traffic jams (welcome to california!)
Since we last posted from Cletus Country we moved the wagon westward and over them there hills into California....no indians encountered...just had to pull over for a quarantine inspection...and when asked where we had come from we innocently answered Tonopah...but the lady wasn't buying it...she reckoned our accent wasn't slack jawed enough...after about 3 further questions we finally worked out what she meant (as in which country are you from) and upon answering Australia we were questioned on things outback nd Steve Irwin like...she was a smart cooki though and i didn't have dad's BS Gene operating at the time - she knew that Australia wasn't full of bindi's (she hadn't seen our old front lawn)...but we impressed her with stories about snakes in the backyard!
The welcome back to california was accompanied by a road that resembled a rollercoaster - 5 miles over sand dunes where you could not see the road a few feet ahead...up and down she went..."bump"..or dip"as we call them after another..cheaper than disneyland. The lady at the quarantine station did suggest we go over those bumps at 100mph- since hire cars are pretty good at doing that stuff!
We then trekked through Jeffrey Pine Forest (obviously named after a good person)..and down to a beautiful salt lake full of tufas - being calcium carbonate/lime columns arising from the bed of the lake- Mono Lake...full of birdlife..and tourists...a well worthwhile stop...a natural wonder and one which LA (over 400 miles away) decided in the 50s that it would steal water from...the court recently put a stop to that and has mandated an increase in the lake level.
Tioga pass was next and that drive is recommended to anyone that likes winding roads through seemingly unpassable terrain and that gains over 2 kilometres in hight in a short time frame. Was full of snow fed waterfalls at or near the edge of the road and falling rocks of course! An engineering feat and a wonderful drive - the best way as an introduction to Yosemite National Park. Here we spent the rest of the afternoon at the top of the Park - Tuolmne Meadows....covered in snow for most of the yearbut full of new life as we lingered. The highlight was an afternoon swim at a massive lake there...sandy beach and all...and marmots (a wild possum like creature that comes up to say hello and possibly the main ingredient of Marmite?)...
Stacey had a drive after that...winding down into Yosemite valley and then out of the park to Evergreen lodge where we spent the next 2 nights...in a tent with elk and bears lurking in the forest next to us. The first night we had our first great dinner at the Lodge....and finished off with a pot of tea for Stacey, which was a first for the US...yiu don't get tea in these parts!
Yesterday was a big day of hiking, sightseeing and swimming at Yosemite...over 6-7 ks walked...nothing too strenuous but certainly used up all the energy we had. We also joined a stroll with a ranger and learnt about bears and bear safety...he even had a bear skin there from one they had shot as it was too much of a nuisance to campers....amazing creatures and black bears are not a significant threat to your life and not naturally aggressive, though they can be pretty sneaky with stealing your food...
Look out for photos in our next blog from the last week and a half....apologies for the long post..hope you made it through it all and keep the comments coming in. As for your request Chris...i suppose that comes down to how well one is rated in performance reviews...in any case i've forgotten about work at the moment..I'm still looking over my shoulder..making sure the lady from the laundromat hasn't found us!
That was our introduction to san Francisco...hopefully it improves...this Hostel is in the equivelant of the back streets of the Cross back in it's heyday..strip clubs and cheap restaurants abound..and most corners have ladies standing there all dolled up but still rough around (and even beyond) the edges...the hostel itself is one of the best we have visited and has good security..here's hoping the car is olay in the carpark next door!
Today was mainly a day of driving from yosemite to san Fran and we made it relatively easily, depite the need for a few freeway changes with the addition of traffic jams (welcome to california!)
Since we last posted from Cletus Country we moved the wagon westward and over them there hills into California....no indians encountered...just had to pull over for a quarantine inspection...and when asked where we had come from we innocently answered Tonopah...but the lady wasn't buying it...she reckoned our accent wasn't slack jawed enough...after about 3 further questions we finally worked out what she meant (as in which country are you from) and upon answering Australia we were questioned on things outback nd Steve Irwin like...she was a smart cooki though and i didn't have dad's BS Gene operating at the time - she knew that Australia wasn't full of bindi's (she hadn't seen our old front lawn)...but we impressed her with stories about snakes in the backyard!
The welcome back to california was accompanied by a road that resembled a rollercoaster - 5 miles over sand dunes where you could not see the road a few feet ahead...up and down she went..."bump"..or dip"as we call them after another..cheaper than disneyland. The lady at the quarantine station did suggest we go over those bumps at 100mph- since hire cars are pretty good at doing that stuff!
We then trekked through Jeffrey Pine Forest (obviously named after a good person)..and down to a beautiful salt lake full of tufas - being calcium carbonate/lime columns arising from the bed of the lake- Mono Lake...full of birdlife..and tourists...a well worthwhile stop...a natural wonder and one which LA (over 400 miles away) decided in the 50s that it would steal water from...the court recently put a stop to that and has mandated an increase in the lake level.
Tioga pass was next and that drive is recommended to anyone that likes winding roads through seemingly unpassable terrain and that gains over 2 kilometres in hight in a short time frame. Was full of snow fed waterfalls at or near the edge of the road and falling rocks of course! An engineering feat and a wonderful drive - the best way as an introduction to Yosemite National Park. Here we spent the rest of the afternoon at the top of the Park - Tuolmne Meadows....covered in snow for most of the yearbut full of new life as we lingered. The highlight was an afternoon swim at a massive lake there...sandy beach and all...and marmots (a wild possum like creature that comes up to say hello and possibly the main ingredient of Marmite?)...
Stacey had a drive after that...winding down into Yosemite valley and then out of the park to Evergreen lodge where we spent the next 2 nights...in a tent with elk and bears lurking in the forest next to us. The first night we had our first great dinner at the Lodge....and finished off with a pot of tea for Stacey, which was a first for the US...yiu don't get tea in these parts!
Yesterday was a big day of hiking, sightseeing and swimming at Yosemite...over 6-7 ks walked...nothing too strenuous but certainly used up all the energy we had. We also joined a stroll with a ranger and learnt about bears and bear safety...he even had a bear skin there from one they had shot as it was too much of a nuisance to campers....amazing creatures and black bears are not a significant threat to your life and not naturally aggressive, though they can be pretty sneaky with stealing your food...
Look out for photos in our next blog from the last week and a half....apologies for the long post..hope you made it through it all and keep the comments coming in. As for your request Chris...i suppose that comes down to how well one is rated in performance reviews...in any case i've forgotten about work at the moment..I'm still looking over my shoulder..making sure the lady from the laundromat hasn't found us!
Monday 20 July 2009
Cowboys, Indians and Roadtripping Across Utah and Nevada
Hello to you all - again thanks for your comments and keep them coming.
We are coming at you today from a little old silver and gold mining town in NW Nevada called Tonopah (pronounced with the Cletus slackjaw as "Tone a paw")....it's a scene straight out of the Westerns...the dodgy saloon bar, historic old buildings and big mounds of dirt with hillbilly huts perched up on them. It has a great mexican restaurant and bar where we enjoyed a great dinner...plus several margarita!...this place has a good feel about it (could be the margaritas or the radioactive fallout from when it was used as a test site for N Bombs), however we are only here for the night as a stopover to Yosemite national Park where we set up camp for a couple of nights. We are in a quirky little motel where the owner has taken particular care to give lots of local historical information, for example did you know that Tonapah's streets are lined with silver? (apparently a couple of miners left a stockpile of silver in a mound when the mine closed and came back years later to claim their fortune only to find that the local RTA equivalent had used their mound for building roads - how much would that suck to be them!) and also Tonapah was home to secret US airforce base where the original stealth bombers were made and tested - the things we learn and pass onto you hey!!
We have covered over 1000 miles since we last posted back in kayenta. Saturday started early and we headed off to monument valley - a Navajo Reservation with stunning natural features...we will post photos soon....as a separate posting - now we have an adaptor for the SD card and a new computer to boot...this place was amazing and we were there so early we gained free admission!! The car just survived the 12 mile round loop of dirt road..but like Council Cars, apparently rental cars go anywhere!!
Monument Valley was our last official sightseeing stop in the last 48 hours, with the majority of that time being taken up by the aforementioned 1000 miles. However, we cannot describe just how big, diverse and picturesque this little adventure across Utah and Nevada has been. From driving across a large salt lake (not the one near the city of same name) in utah, that resembled a moonscape to hills full of uranium and others with snow caps still on them, to green forests and rapids and recent (in geological terms) volcanic lava flows...by the way Stacey pocketed a lava stone - nt sure what we are going to do with it!! Seriously, one moment you are in the middle of the desert and 5 mins later climbing into an alpine area...unbelievable...a great drive and wish we had time to detour a few more times off the US hwy 6! Might have to get more leave and come back again!
Apart from tonapah we have also stayed in a place called Richfield- where we had our first joyous encounter with the fabled Walmart chain (jeff is in love btw - we bought this netbook we are using now and will hopefully get a laptop before we head home) and travelled via a few little places, Ely, Delta. It was great to be off the usual tourist trail - was even asked ""where's your english from?" and we enjoyed the communal experience of the local navajo cinema where we watched Dumbledick and Harry pothead amongst lots of chatter and people constantly going in and out to get gerkins.
Looking forward to the next few days camping ina national park with the bears (apparently the bears now have a need for wifi so with any luck we can still stay in touch)
Will talk soon if we ar not eaten by a bear,
luv Stace and Jeff
We are coming at you today from a little old silver and gold mining town in NW Nevada called Tonopah (pronounced with the Cletus slackjaw as "Tone a paw")....it's a scene straight out of the Westerns...the dodgy saloon bar, historic old buildings and big mounds of dirt with hillbilly huts perched up on them. It has a great mexican restaurant and bar where we enjoyed a great dinner...plus several margarita!...this place has a good feel about it (could be the margaritas or the radioactive fallout from when it was used as a test site for N Bombs), however we are only here for the night as a stopover to Yosemite national Park where we set up camp for a couple of nights. We are in a quirky little motel where the owner has taken particular care to give lots of local historical information, for example did you know that Tonapah's streets are lined with silver? (apparently a couple of miners left a stockpile of silver in a mound when the mine closed and came back years later to claim their fortune only to find that the local RTA equivalent had used their mound for building roads - how much would that suck to be them!) and also Tonapah was home to secret US airforce base where the original stealth bombers were made and tested - the things we learn and pass onto you hey!!
We have covered over 1000 miles since we last posted back in kayenta. Saturday started early and we headed off to monument valley - a Navajo Reservation with stunning natural features...we will post photos soon....as a separate posting - now we have an adaptor for the SD card and a new computer to boot...this place was amazing and we were there so early we gained free admission!! The car just survived the 12 mile round loop of dirt road..but like Council Cars, apparently rental cars go anywhere!!
Monument Valley was our last official sightseeing stop in the last 48 hours, with the majority of that time being taken up by the aforementioned 1000 miles. However, we cannot describe just how big, diverse and picturesque this little adventure across Utah and Nevada has been. From driving across a large salt lake (not the one near the city of same name) in utah, that resembled a moonscape to hills full of uranium and others with snow caps still on them, to green forests and rapids and recent (in geological terms) volcanic lava flows...by the way Stacey pocketed a lava stone - nt sure what we are going to do with it!! Seriously, one moment you are in the middle of the desert and 5 mins later climbing into an alpine area...unbelievable...a great drive and wish we had time to detour a few more times off the US hwy 6! Might have to get more leave and come back again!
Apart from tonapah we have also stayed in a place called Richfield- where we had our first joyous encounter with the fabled Walmart chain (jeff is in love btw - we bought this netbook we are using now and will hopefully get a laptop before we head home) and travelled via a few little places, Ely, Delta. It was great to be off the usual tourist trail - was even asked ""where's your english from?" and we enjoyed the communal experience of the local navajo cinema where we watched Dumbledick and Harry pothead amongst lots of chatter and people constantly going in and out to get gerkins.
Looking forward to the next few days camping ina national park with the bears (apparently the bears now have a need for wifi so with any luck we can still stay in touch)
Will talk soon if we ar not eaten by a bear,
luv Stace and Jeff
Saturday 18 July 2009
Arizona...state of desert, more desert, navajo's and canyons...
Hi again
Greetings from the middle of the Navajo nation (in a 4 star hotel run by the Hilton group - very traditional!)
Keep the comments coming in - so we can keep up with what's going on at home and thanks for the driving tips Lisa - got any tips on dealing with fatigued truck drivers that run you and your little Hyundai off the road?? Jowen - you are closer to 40 than I (that was Stacey - what a great sister in law she is - no gifts fro the black men under the eiffel tower for her!) And Dad - as much of a BS artist you are we found a bigger one yesterday - from Michigan!
Yesterday we started with a Helicopter Ride over and in the Grand Canyon - still buzzing from it - was amazing and would do it again...was a great way to experieince the canyon - not as up close as the hike into it that we undertook but a lot more relaxing and exciting with less hassle. The middle of the day we joined part of the organised summer fun that the Americans seem to do quite well - this one was a digital photography course - so watch out Wazza and Jowen - we have new found skills and are ready to compete!!
As for the Canyon itself, words cannot describe it - and unfortunately we have no photos yet....We started 2 days ago watching the sunset at the canyon. It was fantastic and the colours of the Canyon walls continually changed as dusk wore on. Yedterday we had a late start at the Canyon itself thanks to the ride in the chopper which meant it was extremely hot when we got there - about 41 degrees celsius!! On our way to the trailhead for the descent into the canyon we witnessed a couple of French (or perhaps Canadian) tourists who had succumbed to heat exhaustion and were awaiting the services to arrive...it wasn't the best encouragement for our trek but we descened anyway - it all seemed very easy and the views were even better than at thetop of the rim - the Canyon seemed even larger than our first impressions (this thing is HUGE - maybe even Grand?!!)...as for the ascent and return to the shuttle bus, that took a bit longer and we were hoping that there was going to be a mule train come past to pick us up - alas it didn't eventuate and we were reliant on our tired little legs to get us back up....and 40 mins later we made it back!!
The drive between the Grand Canyon and here was spectacular as we skirted the eastern rim of the Canyon - which is a lot lower and flat plateau...a scene out of Bonanza - just Navajo's (and their American Express accepting genuine souvenir stores) - no cowboys. This was interspersed with beautiful rolling green hills of forest and then suddenly desert and windswept plains....then it got dark!!
We are in a small Navajo village called Kayenta at the moment near monument valley. After the shenanigans of Vegas and the efforts of the canyon today has been a bit of a rest day- lazing by the pool and catching up on the mundane- aka laundry! Despite our foray into suitacases instead of backpacks and having so far stayed in 4 star hotels we are staying true to our backpacking roots and have converted the room to a chinese laundry that would rival the best China town has to offer. As a side note - last night in HBO was a documentary that showed Australians at their best - the Corby's!! What an eloquent family they are!! A great advertisement for Queensland!
Now off to the supermarket (also genuine navajo store - with inflated prices no doubt) to get supplies for Monument Valley tomorrow.....looks like crackers with philly and tomato again and the coke (as in cola)!! Dad - the coca cola over here tastes different - apparently there is a lot more caffeine in the mix over here - and less bubbles!
Anyway - best be off!!
Cheers
Stace and Jeff
Greetings from the middle of the Navajo nation (in a 4 star hotel run by the Hilton group - very traditional!)
Keep the comments coming in - so we can keep up with what's going on at home and thanks for the driving tips Lisa - got any tips on dealing with fatigued truck drivers that run you and your little Hyundai off the road?? Jowen - you are closer to 40 than I (that was Stacey - what a great sister in law she is - no gifts fro the black men under the eiffel tower for her!) And Dad - as much of a BS artist you are we found a bigger one yesterday - from Michigan!
Yesterday we started with a Helicopter Ride over and in the Grand Canyon - still buzzing from it - was amazing and would do it again...was a great way to experieince the canyon - not as up close as the hike into it that we undertook but a lot more relaxing and exciting with less hassle. The middle of the day we joined part of the organised summer fun that the Americans seem to do quite well - this one was a digital photography course - so watch out Wazza and Jowen - we have new found skills and are ready to compete!!
As for the Canyon itself, words cannot describe it - and unfortunately we have no photos yet....We started 2 days ago watching the sunset at the canyon. It was fantastic and the colours of the Canyon walls continually changed as dusk wore on. Yedterday we had a late start at the Canyon itself thanks to the ride in the chopper which meant it was extremely hot when we got there - about 41 degrees celsius!! On our way to the trailhead for the descent into the canyon we witnessed a couple of French (or perhaps Canadian) tourists who had succumbed to heat exhaustion and were awaiting the services to arrive...it wasn't the best encouragement for our trek but we descened anyway - it all seemed very easy and the views were even better than at thetop of the rim - the Canyon seemed even larger than our first impressions (this thing is HUGE - maybe even Grand?!!)...as for the ascent and return to the shuttle bus, that took a bit longer and we were hoping that there was going to be a mule train come past to pick us up - alas it didn't eventuate and we were reliant on our tired little legs to get us back up....and 40 mins later we made it back!!
The drive between the Grand Canyon and here was spectacular as we skirted the eastern rim of the Canyon - which is a lot lower and flat plateau...a scene out of Bonanza - just Navajo's (and their American Express accepting genuine souvenir stores) - no cowboys. This was interspersed with beautiful rolling green hills of forest and then suddenly desert and windswept plains....then it got dark!!
We are in a small Navajo village called Kayenta at the moment near monument valley. After the shenanigans of Vegas and the efforts of the canyon today has been a bit of a rest day- lazing by the pool and catching up on the mundane- aka laundry! Despite our foray into suitacases instead of backpacks and having so far stayed in 4 star hotels we are staying true to our backpacking roots and have converted the room to a chinese laundry that would rival the best China town has to offer. As a side note - last night in HBO was a documentary that showed Australians at their best - the Corby's!! What an eloquent family they are!! A great advertisement for Queensland!
Now off to the supermarket (also genuine navajo store - with inflated prices no doubt) to get supplies for Monument Valley tomorrow.....looks like crackers with philly and tomato again and the coke (as in cola)!! Dad - the coca cola over here tastes different - apparently there is a lot more caffeine in the mix over here - and less bubbles!
Anyway - best be off!!
Cheers
Stace and Jeff
Thursday 16 July 2009
Vegas and Bust!
Please send money...Stacey gambled it all away...HELP!!
Just Kidding! Well we finally found a computer so thought we better reassure you all that yes we are alive and well, and although we didn't gamble our life savings aways, we are equally disappointed to report that nor did we win up big despite high hopes and shattered dreams!
We are having an awesome time so far, can't believe how quickly time has flown already. Our first impressions of the US have been all good, we have been blown away by firstly how big everything is..... big freeways, massive cars that the freeways are home to, huge meals and huge prices to go with it!
Unlike the last blog of Croatia - this one has no photos of food...partly because of what it is but predominantly because the cable to connect the camera to the computer is...well...still at minnamurra! So, until we get a new cable at our next Walmart stop there will be no photos at all and you are stuck with our written descriptions. To be fair the food has generally been good and we would recommend a Spanish Tapas bar in Vegas to anyone visiting. The Pho at the Casino also passed...the burger last night didn't (well not yet...)
Have become accustomed to driving on the "right" side of the road, and the car remains intact. We hit Route 66 today - most of it has gone in the name of Progress....and driving out of LAX after a 13 hr flight with 2 hrs sleep was a challenge....we finally got to Vegas and started our stay with watching a tacky free show out the front of our Casino...we got free "VIP" tickets (which means we were the ones that got splashed on when they jumped in the pool in front of us!
Vegas = travelling the world in 3 miles...Paris,Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, Asia, New York and Venice - Canal and all...all they need is a Big Ben Casino...the place was offbeat in places, seedy in others (one can't walk down the Boulevarde without having business cards for "Hot babes direct to you" being flashed in your face! Our favourite place was the Venetian and it's fake sky roof and the canal...no need to go to the conference in the real Venice Jo (to those who don't know she's my 40 yr old sister:)) - you can come here!
Vegas equals light wallets, long walks, expensive everything (unless you want seedy) and Croupiers dressed up as entertainers (apparently the Michael jackson interpreter has just retired - he wanted to reinvent himself)...we had janet as our Croupier as the Blues brothers played. We won cash at that seedy place (same place human nature are playing - they think they're good or something??) We also saw a great show - Defending the Caveman...recommended. Vegas is also home to heaven on earth - a GIANT store that is a shrine to that black goodness known as coca cola!!!!
Today we spent most of the day driving West, Route 66 and the Interstate...punctuated with a stop at hoover Dam - that place (and not to mention the bridge they're building to bypass it) is quite impressive. We passed a cool town called Williams (cool by name and therefore must be by nature) and have now reached the Grand Canyon. Spent the afternoon watching the sunset and the everchanging hues created by the retreating sunlight. We took many photos but alas you can't see them. One of the most spectactular views I think you could ever see
We ate at a place tonight called "Spaghetti Western" and we thought that meant it was a take on the old films of the same name - italian food in the West...alas it just meant overpriced and crap - kinda like the films! Not to worry, we made up for having to pay an exorbitant amount by souveniring a "county fair drinking jar" (think jam jar with a handle)...good for beer. But we thought our experience was bad until we saw the poor English family at the table next to us complain that the lasgne was frozen (same meal that stace had) only to have the posters on the wall fall down on their heads!!
We better be off to bed now - up early for a helicopter ride through the Canyon, followed by a Digital photography tour of the Canyon (free - Thanks Canon) and a walk into the Canyon itself....and a 4 hour drive!! Told you this place was Big!
Keep the comments coming.
In reply:
Mum/Dad - Yes we are well
Chris - read above - we had nothing in Vegas - it's all yours
Rob - Oh well if they don't let us back in we won't have to work again - I hear we can get permanent residency in Zimbabwe pretty easily....
Deb - Here's the update - sorry it's late and has no photos...and as for Brett...well you get that...it's tough coming back from leave. By the way - have photos of Trailer Parks
Jowen - Great news - would much rather be near the tower than out at Heaffrow...if you need anything let us know (as for ca$h - read Vegas comments)..
Catch yas.
Just Kidding! Well we finally found a computer so thought we better reassure you all that yes we are alive and well, and although we didn't gamble our life savings aways, we are equally disappointed to report that nor did we win up big despite high hopes and shattered dreams!
We are having an awesome time so far, can't believe how quickly time has flown already. Our first impressions of the US have been all good, we have been blown away by firstly how big everything is..... big freeways, massive cars that the freeways are home to, huge meals and huge prices to go with it!
Unlike the last blog of Croatia - this one has no photos of food...partly because of what it is but predominantly because the cable to connect the camera to the computer is...well...still at minnamurra! So, until we get a new cable at our next Walmart stop there will be no photos at all and you are stuck with our written descriptions. To be fair the food has generally been good and we would recommend a Spanish Tapas bar in Vegas to anyone visiting. The Pho at the Casino also passed...the burger last night didn't (well not yet...)
Have become accustomed to driving on the "right" side of the road, and the car remains intact. We hit Route 66 today - most of it has gone in the name of Progress....and driving out of LAX after a 13 hr flight with 2 hrs sleep was a challenge....we finally got to Vegas and started our stay with watching a tacky free show out the front of our Casino...we got free "VIP" tickets (which means we were the ones that got splashed on when they jumped in the pool in front of us!
Vegas = travelling the world in 3 miles...Paris,Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, Asia, New York and Venice - Canal and all...all they need is a Big Ben Casino...the place was offbeat in places, seedy in others (one can't walk down the Boulevarde without having business cards for "Hot babes direct to you" being flashed in your face! Our favourite place was the Venetian and it's fake sky roof and the canal...no need to go to the conference in the real Venice Jo (to those who don't know she's my 40 yr old sister:)) - you can come here!
Vegas equals light wallets, long walks, expensive everything (unless you want seedy) and Croupiers dressed up as entertainers (apparently the Michael jackson interpreter has just retired - he wanted to reinvent himself)...we had janet as our Croupier as the Blues brothers played. We won cash at that seedy place (same place human nature are playing - they think they're good or something??) We also saw a great show - Defending the Caveman...recommended. Vegas is also home to heaven on earth - a GIANT store that is a shrine to that black goodness known as coca cola!!!!
Today we spent most of the day driving West, Route 66 and the Interstate...punctuated with a stop at hoover Dam - that place (and not to mention the bridge they're building to bypass it) is quite impressive. We passed a cool town called Williams (cool by name and therefore must be by nature) and have now reached the Grand Canyon. Spent the afternoon watching the sunset and the everchanging hues created by the retreating sunlight. We took many photos but alas you can't see them. One of the most spectactular views I think you could ever see
We ate at a place tonight called "Spaghetti Western" and we thought that meant it was a take on the old films of the same name - italian food in the West...alas it just meant overpriced and crap - kinda like the films! Not to worry, we made up for having to pay an exorbitant amount by souveniring a "county fair drinking jar" (think jam jar with a handle)...good for beer. But we thought our experience was bad until we saw the poor English family at the table next to us complain that the lasgne was frozen (same meal that stace had) only to have the posters on the wall fall down on their heads!!
We better be off to bed now - up early for a helicopter ride through the Canyon, followed by a Digital photography tour of the Canyon (free - Thanks Canon) and a walk into the Canyon itself....and a 4 hour drive!! Told you this place was Big!
Keep the comments coming.
In reply:
Mum/Dad - Yes we are well
Chris - read above - we had nothing in Vegas - it's all yours
Rob - Oh well if they don't let us back in we won't have to work again - I hear we can get permanent residency in Zimbabwe pretty easily....
Deb - Here's the update - sorry it's late and has no photos...and as for Brett...well you get that...it's tough coming back from leave. By the way - have photos of Trailer Parks
Jowen - Great news - would much rather be near the tower than out at Heaffrow...if you need anything let us know (as for ca$h - read Vegas comments)..
Catch yas.
Sunday 5 July 2009
A New Adventure...coming soon
Hi all...watch this space. In a weeks time we will be heading of to the USA!! Bring it on. Can we survive the next week at work?? We're all booked and have even chosen a factory outlet mall to hit on the way from LAX to las Vegas...shopping is obviously a favourite American pastime and we intend to enjoy a bit of it.....
If you don't hear from us next week...here's hoping it's because we've won millions at Vegas!
See you soon
Jeff and Stacey.
If you don't hear from us next week...here's hoping it's because we've won millions at Vegas!
See you soon
Jeff and Stacey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)