Tag: USA

Our Next Adventure – The Final 10

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After exploring the highways and byways of the United States for more than ten years, we are hitting the road once again to complete the final ten states in the lower 48. Although we aim to save Alaska for our ultimate journey, possibly in conjunction with a cruise, we are excited about the adventure that lies ahead. If you would like to join us on this journey and enjoy detailed posts and an abundance of photos, please feel free to become a part of our Adventures Near and Far Facebook group and peruse our blog for comprehensive updates. This online community will be a platform to share our travel experiences without overwhelming others with our sometimes excessive trip information and photos.

Anyone wanting to follow along and see detailed posts and lots of photos is welcome to join our Adventures Near and Far Facebook group and blog for detailed posts.

This group intends to save me from bombarding everyone with too much trip information. 

After completing this trip, there will be little in the US to entice us back other than visiting family and attending the odd sporting event. There are many reasons, but mostly because it is almost unrecognizable from when we started travelling there more than 20 years ago. 😢

The Plans

The plans are pretty loose and will be formed as we go along, but the main goal is to drive from Chicago to Seattle in Washington State, passing through all those states we have not previously visited.

Booked so far

  • Flight from Sydney to Chicago via Los Angeles
  • Intercontinental Hotel 505 N Michigan Ave (3 nights)
  • Airport transfer O’Hare to Hotel
  • One-way car hire
  • Train from Seattle to Los Angeles
  • Flight Home
The rough plan

He had a dream…..

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How is it? Sarah is the only one who
looks the same

A 14-year-old had a dream seven years ago to return to Las Vegas to celebrate his 21st birthday.

They acted the goat
for the whole trip

Who said dreams don’t come true if you keep dreaming. Here we sit waiting for our flight to the so long ago dreamed about celebration.

Charlie is a lot younger and
the parents a lot thinner
Charlie is lucky to have so many of his family and friends making the journey to celebrate his 21st.
To those at home they will not be forgotten with a Skype party to mark the occasion.

Sarah meets Jerry

Boston Maine and on to Niagara Falls

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On Tuesday 28th July we set off towards Boston after negotiating our way out of NYC. We decided to stay south of Boston and head in to see the sights of Boston.

We stayed at a place called Milford which will always be remembered for ‘The Duck’. We found a little Thai place (Thai Pepper) not far from the hotel, didn’t look much from the outside but it was very nice inside. Ian had the ‘Boston Duck’ which Ian has not stopped talking about since. My pad thai was excellent too but the duck was sensational, apparently. I will never know I couldn’t even get a little taste. Seriously I did get the smallest taste and agree it was very good.

Up early for a short run into Boston after parking we booked on a trolly tour (which included a cruise on the harbour). The tour was really good and we stayed on for the entire nineteen stops so that we could catch the lunchtime cruise on the harbour.

Hard to believe that so much of Boston is built on reclaimed land, the area around the harbour has been really well developed and caters to visitors. We went past Fenway Park where the Red Sox baseball team’s home ground. The trolly driver was really informative. Boston is a very organised and clean city with lots of historical significance for this country.

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial “Capital of New England” for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. This link show all the trolly stops and what we saw at each stop.

The harbour cruise was very informative and gave us and opportunity to learn about the many historical locations along the foreshore. We were able to see the USS Constitution which is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world’s oldest floating commissioned naval vessel. Launched in 1797. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of “Old Ironsides” and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping.

After a not so good lunch (all fried seafood, though the oysters were good) in the oldest restaurant in USA.

The Union Oyster House was established in 1826 and has been retained in its original state. Although the food was to our liking the trip back in time was worth the time. Union Street was laid out in 1636, but there are no municipal records documenting the Oyster House’s date of construction. All that is known is that the building has stood on Union Street as a major local landmark for more than 250 years.

After lunch we headed for Portland Maine, we decided that we would only have the one night here so that we could spend two days at Niagara.

After checking in to our hotel we headed up to Two Lights which is reported to be a must see spot as well as check out the Lobster Shack. We decided to head back to town for   dinner at the Old Port Sea Grill and thoroughly enjoyed our seafood platter.

Tomorrow we are setting off on our longest drive in a day this trip. We plan to be in Buffalo New York by tomorrow night. States visited along the way Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York 556 miles in 8 hours including three short stops.

Day 2 New York

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We got up early again and after breakfast we set out to walk to central park. Down Fifth Ave with a stop in at the Trump Tower, hard to believe that this is or was owned by one man.


 

 

Before we arrived at Central Park we dropped in at the Apple store which was under wraps. So many people and so much beautiful technology in one place.

 

When we arrived at the entrance near
Fifth Ave and organised a carriage ride through the Park. Our Irish driver (most of the carriages are Irish owned) has been in New York for 11 years. This was fun and gave us a small insight to the park and some of the things happening in the park.  It was good weather and a lot cooler than the previous day. After we tipped our driver we set off on a long walk through the park, there is so much to see and there was no hope of us seeing it all. We did get to see
the Zoo and many off the sights at the Downtown end of town.

How big is Central Park?

Our Irish Carriage Driver
  • 843 acres or 6% of Manhattan’s total acreage, including:
  • 150 acres in 7 waterbodies
  • 250 acres of lawns
  • 136 acres of woodlands

How many playgrounds are there in Central Park and where are they?
There are 21 playgrounds scattered throughout the entire park.

Where is…?

Horse park himself like this
on command
  • Balto – East 67th Street near the East Drive
  • Alice in Wonderland – 75th Street just north of Conservatory Water
  • Hans Christian Andersen – 74th Street just west of Conservatory Water
  • The Obelisk (Cleopatra’s Needle) – 81st Street behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art

There also are 48 other fountains, monuments, and sculptures in Central Park.

How many trees are there in Central Park?
24,000, including 1,700 American Elms.

How many benches are there in Central Park?
Over 9,000, which would stretch 7 miles if placed end to end.

How many bridges and arches are there in Central Park?
36

How many species of birds are there in Central Park?
More than 275 species of migratory birds have been sighted in the Park, a major stopping point on the Atlantic flyway.

How many fountains are there in Central Park?

Gazebo in used in Home Alone 2

There are seven ornamental fountains and approximately 150 drinking fountains. The ornamental fountains are:

  • Angel of the Waters at Bethesda Terrace
  • Burnett Fountain at Conservatory Garden’s English garden to the south
  • Conservatory Garden’s Italian garden in the center
  • Untermyer Fountain at Conservatory Garden’s French garden to the north
  • Cherry Hill
  • Sophie Loeb Fountain
  • Pulitzer Fountain at Grand Army Plaza
Central Park Zoo 
After the park we headed back downtown with a stop off for lunch at John’s Pizzeria. The pizza was the best I’ve eaten, the base was just perfect and we had the John’s Pizza (cheese and John’s special tomato sauce) with added pepperoni and black olives. Did I mention it was huge but oh so yummy?
We continued to stroll back towards the hotel walking off our lunch there is so much to see but the best part is just experiencing the sites and sounds of such a busy place. We headed back to the hotel around 4 for a rest and catch up on email and calls home etc.

We decide we would have Korean BBQ for dinner, there were plenty in the same street as our hotel to choose from. In the end we settled on Wonjo. The BBQ meat (BBQ at our table) was really good and the accompanying sides were fun to try and we liked everything they dished up. The meal was finished with the sweetest orange I have ever eaten.

Day 2 Walking 4 miles

An early night as we are planning to head to times square to watch the Good Morning America morning show.

Hot Dirty Smelly New York – I Still Love It!!!!!

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After a near flawless drive in to the big apple we had delivered the car to the valet and the bags to the doorman (too early to check in) we set off to walk downtown to take the ferry to Staten Island.

It was a long walk but we made it all but the last 20 odd blocks a total of 71/2 miles. We were a bit foot sore but recovered enough to walk another mile to Tony Di Napoli’s for dinner.

This place came highly recommended by brother-in-law Scott and he was right on the money. The anti pasta was the best we’ve ever had and the Lobster Ravioli in creamy tomato sauce was equally good.

One of 5 new Towers
Ground Zero

Back to the walk and the ferry. It was very hot walking but worth it as you get to see so much more. Ian was able to eat at least three yes that’s right three hot dogs on the way down. He bought them off the street vendors and gave them the thumbs up.  We were purchasing lots of water which was readily available for every vendor and really cold.

We spent quite awhile at ground zero they are making great progress on the new towers . It is hard to imagine what it would have been like on 9/11.

Remembering Ladder 24
Firefighter that died 9/11

A memorial called “Reflecting Absence” honors the victims of the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The memorial, designed by Peter Walker and Israeli-American architect Michael Arad, consists of a field of trees interrupted by the footprints of the twin towers. Pools of water fill the footprints, underneath which sits a memorial space whose walls bear the names of the victims. The slurry wall, which holds back the Hudson River in the west and was an integral part of Libeskind’s proposal, remains exposed.

Ladder 24 Fire Station

Walker and Arad were selected from more than 5,000 entrants in the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition in January 2004. Construction of the memorial is due to be completed by September 11, 2011.

Eventually we made it to the ferry just in time to take the next ferry to the island. It was a pleasant crossing and it was a chance to sit for awhile and watch the city recede into the distance. We disembarked and waited for the next ferry back again.

Staten Island Ferry

We decided against exploring the island as the main purpose was to actually catch the ferry. We enjoyed the return trip and then set off up town it was now 98 degrees but felt hotter of the street. Not the hottest I ever been but it was warm. Last time we were in new york it was -5F which is -11C. I think next time we will come in autumn or spring.

One

 

Two

 

Three

 

Wine with Dinne
Tony Di Napoli’s 

As previously mentioned dinner was great and I would highly recommend Tony’s to anyone, we were lucky to get there early enough to avoid a wait but by the time we were leaving they were out the door waiting on a table. We have a very nice local wine with our dinner as recommended by our waiter Gregorio.

Tomorrow we are off to explore Central Park and of course I HAVE to visit the apple store.

Pittsburgh and Harrisburg Pennsylvania

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After a stopover in Columbus Ohio we arrived in downtown Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

We actually crossed in to the state of West Virginia for a short while on our drive to Pittsburgh, three states in one day, might be our record.

What a surprise we parked near the market square and walked all over the downtown area which was well laid out and buzzing with lunchtime workers.

Smithfield Bidge
Station Square

Same bridge builder
as Brooklyn Bridge

We walked across the Smithfield bridge to have a look at the Monongahela Incline. The Monongahela Incline, built by John Endres in 1870, is located near the Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh. It is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the USA. It is also one of two surviving inclines (the other is the nearby Duquesne Incline) from the original 17 passenger-carrying inclines built in Pittsburgh starting in the late 19th century.

Its lower station is across the street from the Station Square shopping complex, and is easily accessible from the light rail system at the Station Square station. Station Square is a 52-acre (210,000 m2) indoor and outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,United States. With 275,000 square feet (25,500 m2) of retail space, it features 65 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues, including The Ampthitheatre at Station Square and the 396-room Sheraton at Station Square. 

Pittsburgh is the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates (Baseball) and Pittsburgh Steelers (Football). The Pirates were playing the day we were in town they continued on their winning way beating the Cincinnati Reds.

On July 15, and again on July 18, the Pirates moved into first place of the NL Central. This marked the first two times that the Pirates were in first place this late in the season since 1997.

We stayed at the La Quinta Pittsburgh and headed for Harrisburg PA. We stayed off the interstate and were able to see some of the smaller places along the way. We crossed the Appalachian Mountain range but on the roads here it is hard to tell as all inclines and declines are so gradual. It not until you look behind do you realise how high you have climbed. Directly to the north of Harrisburg is the Blue Mountain ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. Due to the heat haze it really was blue.

We stopped of for a break along the Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately 90 miles (145 km) long, in central Pennsylvania in theUnited States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps.

We pulled into the La Quinta in Harrisburg and Ian said, “We have been at this hotel before” he pointed out where we parked last time. I checked the records and yes we did stay here in 2009 the only difference in 09 it was snowy and very cold and in 2011 it was 40 degrees and humid.
Parking space we were in 2009

After a restful night we headed to the Amish country to take a look around. We had been here before but due to the cold we didn’t get to see too much. It was pleasant and they take such pride in their home. All homes had some colour in the garden. Lots and lots of corn they grow it in any clear space even right up to the villages and homes. We visited the farmers market in Bird in Hand,
I tasted many cheeses and meat samples that are made available to to visitors. The food was so good I wanted to buy it all. We settled on a pretzel (me) and tropical smoothy (Ian). The pretzel was good but the smoothly was sensational, the best I ever tasted. It was made with banana, passionfruit, mango and yoghurt. The bakery also had some great pies and cakes, I particularly liked the birthday cake made out of cup cakes. The Cookie Monster was really well done.

We then made the three hour drive to Wayne New Jersey 24 miles out of New York, we are going to have a rest day here before heading into the big smoke’. Looking forward to going to a Yankees game on Monday,

Berries the best I’ve seen and tasted

Corn growing right behind shops

The Preserves were fantastic. Tasted good too!!

Made with patty cakes

Louisville, Lexington Kentucky and Churchill Downs

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Shared a plate BBQ from Logans

 

We decided that our first day in Kentucky would be a rest day. We had a lie in then went to Best Buy to replace our trusty TomTom who started to freeze up on startup occasionally.
We decided it was time to upgrade and we purchase the new an improved model for under $150. After our short shopping trip, we had a light lunch (as light as you can get here anyway) before heading back to the room to relax.
Barbaro won 2006 Derby broke down in Preakness
put down in 2007 after a year of trying to save him
Day 2 Louisville we set off to find Churchill Downs home of the Kentucky Derby. We did the behind the scenes tour of the course and it was very informative.

Take the virtual tour 

Seating prices on track skyrockets
on Derby Day

 

Dad had Green with White? Colours
The track, they run
Melbourne way of going

 

The saddling paddock. The horses are saddled in the stalls
after they are walked over from barn before the race
Walking through the betting area

 

Grindstone’s saddle 1996 winner

Such history they have never missed holding the race since 1875. Through two world wars, the civil war and the battle of Little Big Horn the race has been run.

After Churchill Downs, we headed downtown to check out the Steamboat Belle of St Louisville on the river.

It was another hot day so we headed back to the hotel around three to rest up and cool off.

Day three we headed to Lexington via Versailles to explore the Keeneland track and drive past some of the many stud farms in the area.

 

Some pictures from our morning spent at Keeneland race track

Keeneland is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and sales complex in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Operated by the Keeneland Association, Inc., it is also known for its reference library on the sport, which contains more than 10,000 volumes, an extensive videocassette collection, and a substantial assemblage of photo negatives and newspaper clippings.

In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America. Keeneland was ranked #1 of the top ten tracks. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Keeneland was founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing–auction entity on 147 acres (0.59 km2) of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack Keene, a driving force behind the building of the facility.

It has used proceeds from races and its auctions to further the thoroughbred industry as well as to contribute to the surrounding community. The racing side of Keeneland, Keeneland Race Course, has conducted live race meets in April and October since 1936.

It added a grass course in 1985. The spring meet contains several preps for the Kentucky Derby (held the first Saturday in May), the most notable of which is the Blue Grass Stakes. The fall meet features several Breeders’ Cup preps.

All the stud farms are well fences often with two lines of fencing forming lanes around the property.

Downtown Lexington

 

Downtown Lexington

 

Haven’t heard from Three Chimneys Farm about the tour will try and take it in on the way back to Texas.

Yes, Kentucky is the home of KFC and no we didn’t eat any while we were here. KFC was founded and is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States.

The Colonel was born and raised in Henryville, Indiana, Sanders passed through several professions in his lifetime. Sanders first served his fried chicken in 1930 in the midst of the Great Depression at a gas station he owned in North Corbin, Kentucky. The dining area was named Sanders Court & Café and was so successful that in 1935 Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon granted Sanders the title of honorary Kentucky Colonel in recognition of his contribution to the state’s cuisine.

Dallas to Texarkana

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Monday morning we collected our little ford focus which will be our wheels for the next month or so. Not sure about it being black in 100+ degree heat but we will survive. Didn’t take Sharpie long to get the hang of driving on the right again so we were at Grapevine Mills by 10am.

Needed to pick up a few things and check out a dress shop for Sarah that she has been looking at online. Chores are done we headed for Texarkana some 190 odds miles and 31/2 hours away.
We had an uneventful trip and checked in to our hotel in time for an afternoon nap. Well, Ian napped and I blogged and Skyped. We hit Walmart to pick up some fruit, cheese, and biscuits for a light dinner. Sill daylight until almost nine pm

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About Texarkana:

Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue. The population of the city is 34,782 at the2000 census.

We stayed in the La Quinta just out of town.  $65 per night breakfast included

Will Sunday 10th July ever end…..

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Our trip begins on Qantas Q107 with a bumpy take off due to the wind.
No upgrade as the plane was filled to capacity. Hoping for one on the way home. Had good seatmate who was very accommodating when we needed to move around. Dinner/lunch was good I had the beef and Ian had the chicken. First leg 12 and half hours to LA through customs and collected bags before heading to gate for AA 2448 flight to Dallas.

Long layover in LA ran into Chris and Kelly( Ian’s niece) Baker at LAX they were flying home from Brisbane. Flight from LAX to DFW uneventful nice to have wifi. Everything looks tinder dry from the air.

 
Delighted with and pleased to see our very comfortable La Quinta room located just south of DFW airport. 


We worked out we had been up 30+ hours by the time we reached the hotel at 7 pm Sunday. 

 
Dinner at Red Lobster both had the Wood Grilled Lobster, Shrimps and Scallop plate. 

 

 Sunday 10th was a never-ending day. All travel reasonable, food good and pleasant seat partners. A good nights sleep now then collect the car in the morning. First, stop Texarkana.

The Lobby


The room

and….. the breakfast

 

 

all for 89.00US a night…

 

Final Planning Weeks – US Trip

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Due to a number of reasons our planned trip to the US has been brought forward and extended by a few weeks.

Now leaving Sunday 10th July and returning Monday 5th September – a total of 6 weeks.  Ian starts his new job on 8th September 2011.  We are planning two full weeks in Abilene with Scott and Leonie before we fly home, a perfect way to end our trip.

I am currently in the final stages of planning. Flights have been changed (ouch) especially when I originally had return flights for the great price of $998 return Dallas. Qantas certainly make changes to flights expensive but it has been worth it for us at this time.

Sadly we will now miss Indee’s first birthday but will Skype in to be a part of all the birthday action.

For those interested, I am going to post our proposed driving itinerary here in the next couple of days. Keep in mind the only confirmed bookings are flights in and flights home so things could change as we go along

Anyone with suggestions for places to visit and things to do please add them here

This trip was originally planned to take in the Iowa State Fair, we are still going to get to the fair and it will be fun to compare it with Sydney’s own Easter show.