Hey everyone, well it's been a crazy few weeks and we've loved the trip, and I hope you guys enjoyed them along with us.
Yesterday we saw the flight museum and the Seattle Art Museum, where we visited a wonderful Andy Warhol exhibit. Then after a failed attempt to find Salty's (a local recommended seafood restaurant), I blame it on the construction, we had some dinner on the Pier and then went to a local improv club.
It was a fun last night and we are now preparing to head out for the 1 day 17hour straight drive ahead of us... we are stopping don't you worry but that is our predicted drive time.
As an update to the Plate Challange: we have found 38 states to date (as far as I am aware)
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minesota
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carollina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
We'll miss the States, but it has been amazing and I'm sure we'll carry these memories with us forever.
So long and thanks for all the fish.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Departed
Hello all!
The Alex Trio has safely and successfully landed back in Toronto. There was many a teary eye to return to reality, but one thing that is for sure is that this past month on the road will never be forgotten.
To those who are still on the trip, stay well. I hope your travels lead you safely back home. Itll be strange having to check the blog every day looking for updates of a trip I just left, but im looking forward to witnessing the new adventures that await you.
Best of luck
The Alex Trio has safely and successfully landed back in Toronto. There was many a teary eye to return to reality, but one thing that is for sure is that this past month on the road will never be forgotten.
To those who are still on the trip, stay well. I hope your travels lead you safely back home. Itll be strange having to check the blog every day looking for updates of a trip I just left, but im looking forward to witnessing the new adventures that await you.
Best of luck
Monday, August 23, 2010
On the Road Again - The A-Team Version
Hello everybody!!
Sorry for the long delay in posts; as Adi said before, the time has flown and with so much to do with no breaks to organize the multitude of media we have stored on our collective media sources. Some have leaked onto the ever present and checked FB and others have been gradually appearing on the site, but the trip to Seattle with the varying tempos will be up soon.
It seems Adrian gave a general overview of our most recent travels so I will just highlight a few points that have suffered a brief brush in the previous post.
One guy that was forgotten in our LA week was the lovely and accommodating local by the name of David, who, by chance, gave us the best view of his great city that anyone will ever see. The night-scape was amazing but the day in my opinion was even better. This was because the view came from the top of the Hollywood sign on the Hollywood Hills development. Trouble seemed to follow our half hour hike that day as a man had supposedly fallen into the brush and the police, park rangers and fire brigade were called to the top for the search and rescue. I was very tempted to ask them for a ride down after the killer incline, but I knew I needed the exercise.
It was a sad time leaving LA, especially when the weather began to clear on that last morning. (I say morning very loosely because the group had a very hard time waking at any daylight hour!) However, the coastal highways were the highlight of that day and the epic moonlight pictures that ensued were amazing. Once we arrived in San Fran, a few obstacles dampened our spirits, yet the classy hotel was a fresh change from the constant horrible odour that permeated the Crown Plaza room the boys had inhabited.
San Francisco reminded me of Toronto and subsequently made me crave Timmy’s back home, but the best equivalent was Starbucks, and those prices don’t sit well with me. The group began to split and ended up with Adi, Fletch, Yvonne, and Robin going one way, and Julia, Alex, Alex, and Alex going the other.
Thus, I shall speak from my perspective: The first morning was a comfortable snooze and started off with a very good pub-lunch at the Elephant and Castle. I was aware of this chain in Toronto, but did not know of the other locations across the US. Then we branched out into the Financial district and took in the sights, which included interesting architecture, out-of-the-way parks filled with amazing sculptures and lots of history. History of ports, trains, mail, boats, and even cable cars. And, of course, the abundant amounts of seafood fresh from the coast. My favourite place definitely became Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf. The hooky gift shops had a type of charm that immediately endeared and enthralled you; to name a few: Alcatraz Gift Shop, The Holiday Shop, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Everything Crab, Pearls Jewellery, and so much more. A breakfast crepe at one of their corner stores filled up all our stomachs for most of the afternoon. Bleeding into the second day, where resourceful Yvonne and Julia told us about the historical arcade and ships, as well as the Chocolate factory that moved to SAN LEANDRO. (Spell check Adi!!)
Was I really the only one who didn’t find the arcade creepy?? It was fun guys!
Now onto the next travelling portion. After the Golden Gate Bridge.....
Oh....OH....wait a sec! I almost missed out on a correction that jarred so greatly on Adi’s post. The Director’s well-timed, absolutely hilarious motion towards Adrian that momentous second morning in San Fran. I can’t believe Adi reduced this to ONE LINE. Ah well, guess it up to me to explain......
Sorry for the long delay in posts; as Adi said before, the time has flown and with so much to do with no breaks to organize the multitude of media we have stored on our collective media sources. Some have leaked onto the ever present and checked FB and others have been gradually appearing on the site, but the trip to Seattle with the varying tempos will be up soon.
It seems Adrian gave a general overview of our most recent travels so I will just highlight a few points that have suffered a brief brush in the previous post.
One guy that was forgotten in our LA week was the lovely and accommodating local by the name of David, who, by chance, gave us the best view of his great city that anyone will ever see. The night-scape was amazing but the day in my opinion was even better. This was because the view came from the top of the Hollywood sign on the Hollywood Hills development. Trouble seemed to follow our half hour hike that day as a man had supposedly fallen into the brush and the police, park rangers and fire brigade were called to the top for the search and rescue. I was very tempted to ask them for a ride down after the killer incline, but I knew I needed the exercise.
It was a sad time leaving LA, especially when the weather began to clear on that last morning. (I say morning very loosely because the group had a very hard time waking at any daylight hour!) However, the coastal highways were the highlight of that day and the epic moonlight pictures that ensued were amazing. Once we arrived in San Fran, a few obstacles dampened our spirits, yet the classy hotel was a fresh change from the constant horrible odour that permeated the Crown Plaza room the boys had inhabited.
San Francisco reminded me of Toronto and subsequently made me crave Timmy’s back home, but the best equivalent was Starbucks, and those prices don’t sit well with me. The group began to split and ended up with Adi, Fletch, Yvonne, and Robin going one way, and Julia, Alex, Alex, and Alex going the other.
Thus, I shall speak from my perspective: The first morning was a comfortable snooze and started off with a very good pub-lunch at the Elephant and Castle. I was aware of this chain in Toronto, but did not know of the other locations across the US. Then we branched out into the Financial district and took in the sights, which included interesting architecture, out-of-the-way parks filled with amazing sculptures and lots of history. History of ports, trains, mail, boats, and even cable cars. And, of course, the abundant amounts of seafood fresh from the coast. My favourite place definitely became Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf. The hooky gift shops had a type of charm that immediately endeared and enthralled you; to name a few: Alcatraz Gift Shop, The Holiday Shop, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Everything Crab, Pearls Jewellery, and so much more. A breakfast crepe at one of their corner stores filled up all our stomachs for most of the afternoon. Bleeding into the second day, where resourceful Yvonne and Julia told us about the historical arcade and ships, as well as the Chocolate factory that moved to SAN LEANDRO. (Spell check Adi!!)
Was I really the only one who didn’t find the arcade creepy?? It was fun guys!
Now onto the next travelling portion. After the Golden Gate Bridge.....
Oh....OH....wait a sec! I almost missed out on a correction that jarred so greatly on Adi’s post. The Director’s well-timed, absolutely hilarious motion towards Adrian that momentous second morning in San Fran. I can’t believe Adi reduced this to ONE LINE. Ah well, guess it up to me to explain......
.....soooo, this morning the collective group in the Club Quarters hotel had been having a pretty difficult time attempting (key word attempting) to get up at a reasonable hour. By the time all of us gathered some semblance of clothing and hygiene the one unmistakable member of the group not yet ready to perform these tasks was Adi. Blood simply mentioned to the equally tired, but dressed Hofmann, to wake up the poor tired Romanian, and without blinking or pause came a loud SLAP right across the supple cheek of Mr. Muresan. Needless to say the room burst into howling laughter as Adi tried to process what Alex actually did to him.
There is no need to say that Muresan was very angry but got over it quite quickly.
Now back to Seattle....oops, I mean the travel to Seattle. There is not a lot to say about it that will not be posted by gourp 2 (Adi, Fletch, and Julia) but the Redwoods are an impressive stop for anyone travelling up or down the coast of Oregon and California.
NOW onto Seattle. The A-Team got into the downtown core ETA 10:00 on the dot and both Hofmann and I were immediately reminded of Frasier with the cityscape. This city is reminding me more of Toronto than the last, but I think that is because I am unconsciously readying myself to head back home to the familiar and comfortable pace that I am used to. The boys and I have a busy day planned tomorrow that will hopefully include the Flight museum, Underground Tour, Original Starbucks, Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, and the SCIENCE FICTION MUSEUM, (you can eat your heart out Rankin!!!)
Both boys have decided to abstain from sleep tomorrow evening to cram everything into 1 fast-paced day; I only hope to keep up. My feet are not used to this kind of wear and tear.
Signing out from the sleepless city.
Alex S
Now back to Seattle....oops, I mean the travel to Seattle. There is not a lot to say about it that will not be posted by gourp 2 (Adi, Fletch, and Julia) but the Redwoods are an impressive stop for anyone travelling up or down the coast of Oregon and California.
NOW onto Seattle. The A-Team got into the downtown core ETA 10:00 on the dot and both Hofmann and I were immediately reminded of Frasier with the cityscape. This city is reminding me more of Toronto than the last, but I think that is because I am unconsciously readying myself to head back home to the familiar and comfortable pace that I am used to. The boys and I have a busy day planned tomorrow that will hopefully include the Flight museum, Underground Tour, Original Starbucks, Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, and the SCIENCE FICTION MUSEUM, (you can eat your heart out Rankin!!!)
Both boys have decided to abstain from sleep tomorrow evening to cram everything into 1 fast-paced day; I only hope to keep up. My feet are not used to this kind of wear and tear.
Signing out from the sleepless city.
Alex S
OH and P.S. - Sorry Julia, I lost the game!!!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
On the Road Again
Hey all, sry for falling behind on our posts but life has been hectic. The following looks to be a rather beastly post as it is a recap of the last 4 days or so...
First off a few shout outs to some amazing people we have met along the way:
Thank you for the great service from Rosie at Pete's D restaurant in San Francisco, where we got a delicious "breakfast" burger, as well as Peter the very accommodating cheff at Pete's
We'd also like to mention Andrea and Allie, who we met while dinning at a Cafe in Elk, a small 250 person town going up the 101 on the coast of California
Lastly, but by no means least, we'd like to give a big friendly shout to Nate our waiter at the Lost Beach Cafe and wonderful establishment that had a lot of character and some delicious food.
Now to get to the meat of our adventures
The road from L.A. to San Francisco was beautiful and we took a couple of quick stops for some amazing photo ops, including some moon shadow pictures, these and many more beautiful sceneries will be uploaded soon.
The night that we arrived in San Fransisco we discovered that parking throughout the city was very expensive, so we decided to get a second room the next day that would have cheaper parking (and that we could split with Yvonne and Robyn). Fletcher and Adrian split off to do that, and Alexandros, Hofmann, Julia, and Simmons had their own adventures. They explored the farmer's market and old ferry building. They also saw the aquarium (pretty fish and jellyfish!) where Alexandros and Hofmann got to touch stingrays and sharks. They then went to Pier 39 to explore the shops around there a little bit.
That night we went out to check out the club scene in San Fran, sadly the club we wanted to go to refused to admit us with foreighn ID :'(... but we ended up goign to a wonderful place called Ko-Ko's Cocktails... The bartnder there defiatly knew how to mix. The gin mix he made me was a artistic. I highly recomend it for a chill night with a more local crowd.
The next morning I suffered a quite rude awakening at the hand of our Director. After which I was dragged out of bed at an unreasonably early hour. This breach of my beauty sleep, was, however, compensated with a delicious ham and feta crepes on pier 39.
We then visited the old Arcade on the pier. It was a trip through time, with many old arcade macxhines and most games goign for 25 cents. There was even a large mechanical diorahma of a carnival.
We were slightly creeped out by the overy smilling painted faces but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
There were also two WWII era naval ships at the pier set up as museum exhibits. One was the USS Jeramiah O'Brien, a ship in the Merchand Navy. We got to see it's giant engines, which can take up to 1900 gallons of fuel, and many of it's quite large guns. The Director and Alex M. spent some time aiming it at Alcatraz. The museum on board the ship contained a very large and detailed diorama of D-Day. The other was a submarine whose name temporarily escapes me unfourtuantly
We were informed by a tour guide on it that it was in running condition, except that it needed some new batteries (and sometihng tells me runing to the corner store for some duracells just won;t cut it) and that it's propeller wascurrently on exhibit in Honolulou.
We also paid a brief visit to Ghirardelli Square. For those of you, like me, who are not in the know on the magical world of chocolate, Ghirardelli is one of the big names in the "biz". The square was nice but the factory that we had gone to see had unfourtunatly moved to San Leonardo... still it was very pretty.
Later in the Evening, armed with our passports (which we were told would gain us entry to clubs in San Fran) we tried to hit the city again. We went to two diffrent bars. The first wa a nice small place called the Minx, where we met a canadian bartender. Upon hearing my drink order she informed me that I was no longer in Canada... apparently bars int he states don't carry bar lime or smirnoff ice...
We left the Minx in search of a more dancey atmosphere and after several missed attempt with long lineups we ended up at a club called Swig. It was a nice place with a greart atmosphere and a good DJ. Unfourtunatly, to everyone's surprise, they did not carry Jagermeister or Rye... We made due with substitutes, but they unexpectadly called last call at 1:15, then closed the club and sent everyone home at 1:30... a ridiculously early time by our standards... and by the bartender's as well, who looked astonished at this turn of events as the club was full and people were lined up at the bar buying drinks.
The next morning we crossed the iconic Golden Gate bridge and made our way further up the coast. We broke up into three gourps. The A-Team (or the three Alexs) took one car at a faster pace so as to make it to Seattle in 2 days... sadly they have a plane to catch. Myself Julia and Fletcher took a slightly slower pace aiming to get there in 3 dsays, and Yvonne and Robyn took an even slower pace allowing themselves 4 days up the coast.
We drove to Eureka, Ca on the first day and spent the night there. Along the route we stopped at an Oyster bar just outside of San Francisco and had some delicious BBQ oysters, as well as some other scenic points. We have many pictures and you cna be assured they will be uploaded post haste.
It was later on this drive that we mte the previously mentione Andrea and Allie and had a delicious meal.
Today we are setting off for Portland, Oregon... an ambitious drive but with three drivers and alot of pretty redwoods we are excted about it.
Atractions comming up:
Redwood national Park (including us driving through a redwood!!!)
Scenic Drive offs (picked out by Julia from her guidebook)
and many more zany times
First off a few shout outs to some amazing people we have met along the way:
Thank you for the great service from Rosie at Pete's D restaurant in San Francisco, where we got a delicious "breakfast" burger, as well as Peter the very accommodating cheff at Pete's
We'd also like to mention Andrea and Allie, who we met while dinning at a Cafe in Elk, a small 250 person town going up the 101 on the coast of California
Lastly, but by no means least, we'd like to give a big friendly shout to Nate our waiter at the Lost Beach Cafe and wonderful establishment that had a lot of character and some delicious food.
Now to get to the meat of our adventures
The road from L.A. to San Francisco was beautiful and we took a couple of quick stops for some amazing photo ops, including some moon shadow pictures, these and many more beautiful sceneries will be uploaded soon.
The night that we arrived in San Fransisco we discovered that parking throughout the city was very expensive, so we decided to get a second room the next day that would have cheaper parking (and that we could split with Yvonne and Robyn). Fletcher and Adrian split off to do that, and Alexandros, Hofmann, Julia, and Simmons had their own adventures. They explored the farmer's market and old ferry building. They also saw the aquarium (pretty fish and jellyfish!) where Alexandros and Hofmann got to touch stingrays and sharks. They then went to Pier 39 to explore the shops around there a little bit.
That night we went out to check out the club scene in San Fran, sadly the club we wanted to go to refused to admit us with foreighn ID :'(... but we ended up goign to a wonderful place called Ko-Ko's Cocktails... The bartnder there defiatly knew how to mix. The gin mix he made me was a artistic. I highly recomend it for a chill night with a more local crowd.
The next morning I suffered a quite rude awakening at the hand of our Director. After which I was dragged out of bed at an unreasonably early hour. This breach of my beauty sleep, was, however, compensated with a delicious ham and feta crepes on pier 39.
We then visited the old Arcade on the pier. It was a trip through time, with many old arcade macxhines and most games goign for 25 cents. There was even a large mechanical diorahma of a carnival.
We were slightly creeped out by the overy smilling painted faces but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
There were also two WWII era naval ships at the pier set up as museum exhibits. One was the USS Jeramiah O'Brien, a ship in the Merchand Navy. We got to see it's giant engines, which can take up to 1900 gallons of fuel, and many of it's quite large guns. The Director and Alex M. spent some time aiming it at Alcatraz. The museum on board the ship contained a very large and detailed diorama of D-Day. The other was a submarine whose name temporarily escapes me unfourtuantly
We were informed by a tour guide on it that it was in running condition, except that it needed some new batteries (and sometihng tells me runing to the corner store for some duracells just won;t cut it) and that it's propeller wascurrently on exhibit in Honolulou.
We also paid a brief visit to Ghirardelli Square. For those of you, like me, who are not in the know on the magical world of chocolate, Ghirardelli is one of the big names in the "biz". The square was nice but the factory that we had gone to see had unfourtunatly moved to San Leonardo... still it was very pretty.
Later in the Evening, armed with our passports (which we were told would gain us entry to clubs in San Fran) we tried to hit the city again. We went to two diffrent bars. The first wa a nice small place called the Minx, where we met a canadian bartender. Upon hearing my drink order she informed me that I was no longer in Canada... apparently bars int he states don't carry bar lime or smirnoff ice...
We left the Minx in search of a more dancey atmosphere and after several missed attempt with long lineups we ended up at a club called Swig. It was a nice place with a greart atmosphere and a good DJ. Unfourtunatly, to everyone's surprise, they did not carry Jagermeister or Rye... We made due with substitutes, but they unexpectadly called last call at 1:15, then closed the club and sent everyone home at 1:30... a ridiculously early time by our standards... and by the bartender's as well, who looked astonished at this turn of events as the club was full and people were lined up at the bar buying drinks.
The next morning we crossed the iconic Golden Gate bridge and made our way further up the coast. We broke up into three gourps. The A-Team (or the three Alexs) took one car at a faster pace so as to make it to Seattle in 2 days... sadly they have a plane to catch. Myself Julia and Fletcher took a slightly slower pace aiming to get there in 3 dsays, and Yvonne and Robyn took an even slower pace allowing themselves 4 days up the coast.
We drove to Eureka, Ca on the first day and spent the night there. Along the route we stopped at an Oyster bar just outside of San Francisco and had some delicious BBQ oysters, as well as some other scenic points. We have many pictures and you cna be assured they will be uploaded post haste.
It was later on this drive that we mte the previously mentione Andrea and Allie and had a delicious meal.
Today we are setting off for Portland, Oregon... an ambitious drive but with three drivers and alot of pretty redwoods we are excted about it.
Atractions comming up:
Redwood national Park (including us driving through a redwood!!!)
Scenic Drive offs (picked out by Julia from her guidebook)
and many more zany times
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Last Day in Hollywood
Our last day in Hollywood was 2 days ago. Julia got in at around noon and we immediately started to do the Hollywood tourist thing. We saw the Walk of the Stars as well as the Chinese & Kodak theaters, drove through Bel Air to see the Fresh Prince house, went down Rodeo Drive, and took Julia to the Hollywood sign.
While we were at the sign, there was some sort of police thing going on. Apparently, police spotted someone in a ravine nearby who was reported to be kidnapped.... or something. Whatever it was, there were several police helicopters and vehicles that passed us on our way to the top. When we got there, everything was done, but I snagged this panorama for your viewing pleasure.
While we were at the sign, there was some sort of police thing going on. Apparently, police spotted someone in a ravine nearby who was reported to be kidnapped.... or something. Whatever it was, there were several police helicopters and vehicles that passed us on our way to the top. When we got there, everything was done, but I snagged this panorama for your viewing pleasure.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Disneyland and Universal Studios
Here is a text update covering the highlights of the last couple of days. Two days ago Fletcher, Adrian, Alexandra, Alexandros and I went to Universal Studios here in Los Angeles. I didn't get any pictures because I didn't bring my huge camera into the park, but there will be video. We went on The Simpsons ride which was AWESOME, but the physical ride still resembles the DeLorean from the Back To The Future ride. May it rest in peace.
A shout out to Pam and JOE. Pam was our guide through the back-lot tour of Universal. She was the best tour guide ever. Joe was our heroic driver. No matter what happened, no matter what attacked us, Joe would see us to safety. Perhaps one would question why Joe would lead us to such dangerous places in the first place... but not us. Adrian got a picture with Joe afterward which can be viewed on facebook.
Later we ate outside of the park on the City Walk. One of the first restaurants you see when you enter is a Bubba Gump Shrimp. Naturally we stopped there for some delicious seafood. Our server was totally cool. Shout out to Chris Brown who was very nice when he boxed up our.... leftovers. Everyone at Bubba Gump was so nice. I am not sure if it is like this at all locations, but if you are ever in LA, you NEED to eat at the City Walk Bubba Gump.
Yesterday I went with Alexandra and Adrian to Disneyland. It was busy but fun. I purchased an Indiana Jones hat since my last one was stolen by a university friend (INA!). There is a video of us in the teacups. We tried to spin as fast as possible. I almost lost the caramel popcorn I had as a snack.
Tonight I think I'll have enough time to upload some more video. Until then I'll catch you all later!
A shout out to Pam and JOE. Pam was our guide through the back-lot tour of Universal. She was the best tour guide ever. Joe was our heroic driver. No matter what happened, no matter what attacked us, Joe would see us to safety. Perhaps one would question why Joe would lead us to such dangerous places in the first place... but not us. Adrian got a picture with Joe afterward which can be viewed on facebook.
Later we ate outside of the park on the City Walk. One of the first restaurants you see when you enter is a Bubba Gump Shrimp. Naturally we stopped there for some delicious seafood. Our server was totally cool. Shout out to Chris Brown who was very nice when he boxed up our.... leftovers. Everyone at Bubba Gump was so nice. I am not sure if it is like this at all locations, but if you are ever in LA, you NEED to eat at the City Walk Bubba Gump.
Yesterday I went with Alexandra and Adrian to Disneyland. It was busy but fun. I purchased an Indiana Jones hat since my last one was stolen by a university friend (INA!). There is a video of us in the teacups. We tried to spin as fast as possible. I almost lost the caramel popcorn I had as a snack.
Tonight I think I'll have enough time to upload some more video. Until then I'll catch you all later!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Hollywood Update
Hey everyone!
There is a forthcoming video and some pictures, but until then here is an update of what we have been doing.
The first day in LA was a beach day. We all packed up the cars and went to Venice Beach. There we saw an open air gym and a skate park. Oh yeah... we also saw the ocean. We linked arms and ran into the waves head-on. The outside temperature was only around 20ish Celsius, so you can imagine that running into water was a bit cold. Simmons ended the day bright pink from the sun and I fell victim to burns as well.
Yesterday we went up to the Hollywood sign where we met the most awesome family selling lemonade at the top of the hill. The name of the place is "Hollywoodland Lemonade". I couldn't help but think that it was like this very nice lady was raising her children to be super heroes. They live on top of a mountain, and when we interrupted them to purchase lemonade, the lady and her daughter were playing timed chess. She also talked to her daughter in French. Anyway, the sign was very awesome and we got lots of nice pictures that I would love to upload if my camera wasn't in the back of the car.
After the sign we went to Hollywood Forever Graveyard. This was awesome, except it was rather hard to find specific people. If you ever go, the purchase of the 5 dollar map is not worth it. It gives you a general idea of where things are, but doesn't help to find specifics.
After we spent sunset on the Santa Monica Pier. T'was pretty, but so cold. After sunset we spent a large amount of time in an arcade on the pier. Alexandros and I played a Terminator Salvation game and beat it (with the help of 6 of Simmons' dollar bills). Much fun was had and we shall definitely return to the pier before this trip is done.
This has been a small text update... video and pictures will be up soon... promise!
There is a forthcoming video and some pictures, but until then here is an update of what we have been doing.
The first day in LA was a beach day. We all packed up the cars and went to Venice Beach. There we saw an open air gym and a skate park. Oh yeah... we also saw the ocean. We linked arms and ran into the waves head-on. The outside temperature was only around 20ish Celsius, so you can imagine that running into water was a bit cold. Simmons ended the day bright pink from the sun and I fell victim to burns as well.
Yesterday we went up to the Hollywood sign where we met the most awesome family selling lemonade at the top of the hill. The name of the place is "Hollywoodland Lemonade". I couldn't help but think that it was like this very nice lady was raising her children to be super heroes. They live on top of a mountain, and when we interrupted them to purchase lemonade, the lady and her daughter were playing timed chess. She also talked to her daughter in French. Anyway, the sign was very awesome and we got lots of nice pictures that I would love to upload if my camera wasn't in the back of the car.
After the sign we went to Hollywood Forever Graveyard. This was awesome, except it was rather hard to find specific people. If you ever go, the purchase of the 5 dollar map is not worth it. It gives you a general idea of where things are, but doesn't help to find specifics.
After we spent sunset on the Santa Monica Pier. T'was pretty, but so cold. After sunset we spent a large amount of time in an arcade on the pier. Alexandros and I played a Terminator Salvation game and beat it (with the help of 6 of Simmons' dollar bills). Much fun was had and we shall definitely return to the pier before this trip is done.
This has been a small text update... video and pictures will be up soon... promise!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Stories from Las Vegas Pt 1
I know that we have been very radio silent since Vegas, but that is because we haven't had a moment that wasn't jam packed with something rather. Here are some of the stories that happened on the strip.
On Gambling
Surprisingly, most of us faired rather well at the tables. Ally got herself addicted to penny slots and 25 cent video poker. These two games took a lot out of her trip budget. However, Alexandros and I faired rather well at roulette. I put 20 dollars on red at one point and doubled my money. Alexandros walked out of Vegas with 100 bucks more than when he started. I believe Fletcher and Adrian walked out of Vegas relatively even.
On Late Nights
The last night in Vegas was spent in Old Vegas at a casino called the Golden Nugget. It was a very classy place with friendly dealers and bar tenders. We found a bar that would send free limos to pick up would-be-patrons to bring them to their establishment, so we rode in style back to the strip. Fletcher, Ally and I didn't leave the bar until 7 AM the next morning. Sunlight really hurts after an extended period of time in a dark bar.
To be continued...
On Gambling
Surprisingly, most of us faired rather well at the tables. Ally got herself addicted to penny slots and 25 cent video poker. These two games took a lot out of her trip budget. However, Alexandros and I faired rather well at roulette. I put 20 dollars on red at one point and doubled my money. Alexandros walked out of Vegas with 100 bucks more than when he started. I believe Fletcher and Adrian walked out of Vegas relatively even.
On Late Nights
The last night in Vegas was spent in Old Vegas at a casino called the Golden Nugget. It was a very classy place with friendly dealers and bar tenders. We found a bar that would send free limos to pick up would-be-patrons to bring them to their establishment, so we rode in style back to the strip. Fletcher, Ally and I didn't leave the bar until 7 AM the next morning. Sunlight really hurts after an extended period of time in a dark bar.
To be continued...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Invasion of the Girls
Hey everyone! This is Alex aka "hollywood" here. I thought I should try out the blog format before joining the craziness in LA. I was pretty sad about missing the Vegas portion of the epic trip, but I, along with Julia, had school restrictions (when will it END!!)
Anyway, I am very excited and will probably get little to no sleep tonight. (This will be beneficial since I have to study for my final exam that happens tomorrow) ----> Who knew Children's Literature could be so hard? And perverse....maybe I will relay the "Blue Beard" fairy tale some other time.
Just thought I should give a brief list of the events I (and I'm guessing the boys) wish to experience in LA this week. They include:
- Film Tour (Paramount, WB, or Universal)
- and by proxy Universal Theme Park!
- Disneyland - no matter what age you are, Disney is a must!
- Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theatre
- Hollywood sign
- Santa Monica Pier and Aquarium
- La Brea Tar Pits
Signing off from T.O. and I will see everyone in LAX at 10:20pm!!!
Until then ciao from Alex (number 4)
Monday, August 9, 2010
WAKE UP
GUYS WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP IT'S TIME TO GET UP AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CALL YOU SOOOO WAKE UP!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Viva Las Vegas
Hello all, we've finally reached Vegas and it is glorious.
Our room at the Palazzo is as Alexadros put it "Soooo unnecessary". I beg to differ with him, I think it is exactly necessary. We have a room with two beds three TV's (one of which is in the washroom), an officer area, a sitting are with an L-shaped couch. A few interesting sidenotes would include the fact that the toilet is in a seperate room in the washroom. This room is amazing and it's opricetag was further reduced by the fact that we got $25 in casino slot money. We gladly turned this into real money and Alexandros even made 12 dollars or so.
The casino floor was amazing and we had a blast taking in the atmosphere.
Allie joined us today and we met up and started our nights of debauchery. To start off we filled the bath tub with ice so that we could keep the alcohol cool (no small task let me tell you).
It is late (4:22 am here) and we are tired so we are all crashing, tomorow the plan is to go to the gun range and a variety of other activities. Stay tuned for more exciting news to come shortly.
Our room at the Palazzo is as Alexadros put it "Soooo unnecessary". I beg to differ with him, I think it is exactly necessary. We have a room with two beds three TV's (one of which is in the washroom), an officer area, a sitting are with an L-shaped couch. A few interesting sidenotes would include the fact that the toilet is in a seperate room in the washroom. This room is amazing and it's opricetag was further reduced by the fact that we got $25 in casino slot money. We gladly turned this into real money and Alexandros even made 12 dollars or so.
The casino floor was amazing and we had a blast taking in the atmosphere.
Allie joined us today and we met up and started our nights of debauchery. To start off we filled the bath tub with ice so that we could keep the alcohol cool (no small task let me tell you).
It is late (4:22 am here) and we are tired so we are all crashing, tomorow the plan is to go to the gun range and a variety of other activities. Stay tuned for more exciting news to come shortly.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Crater Panoramic View
Here is a picture of the largest crater on the planet. Click on the picture for full size.
S-U-P-E-R, Super Super that's what we are
Hey everybody,
I'm writing to you from the Super 8 Motel in Sedona AZ, a small town about 2 hours south of the Grand Canyon National Park.
We've been incredibly busy lately so we've fallen a bit behind on the posts but I'm going to try and get us all caught up with this one.
We spent our evening in Santa Fe by going to a local bar and having a couple of drinks. This was fun and all was good, and nothing unfortunate happened aside from the director spilling three quarters of one of his beers across half the bar. Fortunately, the barkeep was a very nice guy and offered to replace the beer... this action, probably we thought out, earned him a healthy tip.
Afterward Fletcher, our DD, picked us up and we went back to the hotel craving pizza... we were astounded to learn however that by 11:45 pm every pizza place in Santa Fe was closed... and more so every kind of food one could have delivered was likewise closed. This was a very startling turn of events and so we went to be unsatiated of our craving.
The next morning did not beggin in the best way. Fletcher has been having some digestive problems for the last two days and has been restrained to the washroom on a nearly hourly basis, and recely Alex H, also succumned to a simmilar illness. They are currently recovering in bed behind me (there is nothing better than sleep for healling) and we hope they get better soon. This did however make traveling more diffcult for us.
WE hit up the town of Santa Fe and aw some of the sites before moving on to Albuquerque. We had met some very nice people at the bar the previous night who told us we needed to see the so called "miracle" staircase at the Lorretto Chaple, and so we set out the next day to see it.
We unfourtubatly ended up at the wrong church, the Cathdral of St. Francis to be percise. It was not taken amiss however, as the cathedral was quite beautiful and there are many pictures to be uploaded of it. We asked the lady at the gift shop where we could find the Lorretto Chapple and she gave us directions right away. It seemed from her manner that many people made the mistake of coming to this cathedral instead; a susspicion which was quickly proved correct as another woman came up and asked her the same qustion as i was leaving.
We found the Chapple quite easily with her instructions and went inside to see the staircase. The mircle is in it's very existance. The staircase is made out of nothign but wood and no nails were used in its construction. Though a railing and brace have now been added as safety masures, in its original form it looked much like it was poured into place. Modern engineers marvel to this day that the stair is capable of standing at all.
We originally planed to take a scenic route known as the turquise trail from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, however, due to these constraints one car went straight to Albuquerque via the much fater direct route. Alex H and I went the long way but had the missfortune of having a rainstorm hit the path at the same time making photography difficult and limitng our view. We still managed to get a few good pictures (which are, of course, currently being uploaded)
We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Albuquerque and had an amazing room. First of all I would like to thank the staff of the hotel who were extremly nice and knowledgeable and even helped us find a steak house to have dinner at. The room was quite large, it had two double beds, as per our request, btu also included a small living room area with a pullout couch. The entire hotel was very classy and we thoroughly recomend it.
Though Fletcher had recovered some by this morning, Alex was worse for wear, so when we left the hotel to see the Grand Canyon this morning we were less excited than the event warranted.
Along the route we took a few pit stops to assuage the grumbling stomachs of our compatriots as well as some touristic detours. One of these is the Meteor Crater. This is the largest preserved meteor crater on Earth at 700 feet deep and 4000 feet across.
The site was something Alexandros had wnated to see since childhood and so he was very happy when we were able to take his picture next to the monumental crater. It wa put forth that for our next trip we should go to the moon so as to se a bigger crater.
Another touristic detour was a brief (very brief) stint on the famous route 66. We only pulled of to get some food and gas but still we cna now say that the cornerstone of US roadtrips was included in our travel plans.
As I mentioned we left the hotel rather less enthused that was appropiate for the nights goal, but by the time we got the the Grand Canyon we were all excited to see the sights; and none were dissapointed. The Canyon itself is beautiful and magnificent, the Colorado winding its way at the base as if to lay clame to its creation. We got to climb a watchtower at the southern rim of the canyon and see a grand view from the top floors. The piece de resistance of the whole night was of course the sunset. Having arived fairly late, we were just in time to see the sun set behind the canyon in a magnificent dysplay of colour. We took alot of pictures of it as well as a video which we will speed up and post shortly.
After sunset we retired to our hotel, the Super 8 I mentioned before, and turned in. The lads are all aslep behind me and i am about to join them.
Stay tuned for more exciting adventures and touristic atractions. The pictures of the last few days will be up soon as will the videos.
Tomorow we hit Vegas... and boy we plan to do so in style ;)
I'm writing to you from the Super 8 Motel in Sedona AZ, a small town about 2 hours south of the Grand Canyon National Park.
We've been incredibly busy lately so we've fallen a bit behind on the posts but I'm going to try and get us all caught up with this one.
We spent our evening in Santa Fe by going to a local bar and having a couple of drinks. This was fun and all was good, and nothing unfortunate happened aside from the director spilling three quarters of one of his beers across half the bar. Fortunately, the barkeep was a very nice guy and offered to replace the beer... this action, probably we thought out, earned him a healthy tip.
Afterward Fletcher, our DD, picked us up and we went back to the hotel craving pizza... we were astounded to learn however that by 11:45 pm every pizza place in Santa Fe was closed... and more so every kind of food one could have delivered was likewise closed. This was a very startling turn of events and so we went to be unsatiated of our craving.
The next morning did not beggin in the best way. Fletcher has been having some digestive problems for the last two days and has been restrained to the washroom on a nearly hourly basis, and recely Alex H, also succumned to a simmilar illness. They are currently recovering in bed behind me (there is nothing better than sleep for healling) and we hope they get better soon. This did however make traveling more diffcult for us.
WE hit up the town of Santa Fe and aw some of the sites before moving on to Albuquerque. We had met some very nice people at the bar the previous night who told us we needed to see the so called "miracle" staircase at the Lorretto Chaple, and so we set out the next day to see it.
We unfourtubatly ended up at the wrong church, the Cathdral of St. Francis to be percise. It was not taken amiss however, as the cathedral was quite beautiful and there are many pictures to be uploaded of it. We asked the lady at the gift shop where we could find the Lorretto Chapple and she gave us directions right away. It seemed from her manner that many people made the mistake of coming to this cathedral instead; a susspicion which was quickly proved correct as another woman came up and asked her the same qustion as i was leaving.
We found the Chapple quite easily with her instructions and went inside to see the staircase. The mircle is in it's very existance. The staircase is made out of nothign but wood and no nails were used in its construction. Though a railing and brace have now been added as safety masures, in its original form it looked much like it was poured into place. Modern engineers marvel to this day that the stair is capable of standing at all.
We originally planed to take a scenic route known as the turquise trail from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, however, due to these constraints one car went straight to Albuquerque via the much fater direct route. Alex H and I went the long way but had the missfortune of having a rainstorm hit the path at the same time making photography difficult and limitng our view. We still managed to get a few good pictures (which are, of course, currently being uploaded)
We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Albuquerque and had an amazing room. First of all I would like to thank the staff of the hotel who were extremly nice and knowledgeable and even helped us find a steak house to have dinner at. The room was quite large, it had two double beds, as per our request, btu also included a small living room area with a pullout couch. The entire hotel was very classy and we thoroughly recomend it.
Though Fletcher had recovered some by this morning, Alex was worse for wear, so when we left the hotel to see the Grand Canyon this morning we were less excited than the event warranted.
Along the route we took a few pit stops to assuage the grumbling stomachs of our compatriots as well as some touristic detours. One of these is the Meteor Crater. This is the largest preserved meteor crater on Earth at 700 feet deep and 4000 feet across.
The site was something Alexandros had wnated to see since childhood and so he was very happy when we were able to take his picture next to the monumental crater. It wa put forth that for our next trip we should go to the moon so as to se a bigger crater.
Another touristic detour was a brief (very brief) stint on the famous route 66. We only pulled of to get some food and gas but still we cna now say that the cornerstone of US roadtrips was included in our travel plans.
As I mentioned we left the hotel rather less enthused that was appropiate for the nights goal, but by the time we got the the Grand Canyon we were all excited to see the sights; and none were dissapointed. The Canyon itself is beautiful and magnificent, the Colorado winding its way at the base as if to lay clame to its creation. We got to climb a watchtower at the southern rim of the canyon and see a grand view from the top floors. The piece de resistance of the whole night was of course the sunset. Having arived fairly late, we were just in time to see the sun set behind the canyon in a magnificent dysplay of colour. We took alot of pictures of it as well as a video which we will speed up and post shortly.
After sunset we retired to our hotel, the Super 8 I mentioned before, and turned in. The lads are all aslep behind me and i am about to join them.
Stay tuned for more exciting adventures and touristic atractions. The pictures of the last few days will be up soon as will the videos.
Tomorow we hit Vegas... and boy we plan to do so in style ;)
Friday, August 6, 2010
Santa Fe
So here's everything that happened to us on the road to Santa Fe and beyond (ie in Santa Fe). You may notice that this post is a little bit behind the actual date... there are reasons for the delay, but I'll get to that soon...
The drive to Roswell was very nice. It consists of a mostly flat terrain with nice weather, but with views of distant mountains and clouds. The desert-like sand and plants slowly give way to greener grasses and irrigation. Roswell is situated somewhere in the middle of this transition zone.
The town of Roswell is rather small, and you get 1-2 miles into it before seeing any reference to it's alien past. We parked the cars along the main street and went into the "UFO Museum and Research Center". It is the standard must see stop in Roswell. It isn't very large, but there are definitely some displays that will make even the UFO skeptics question the official story.
After we had our fills of aliens (possible probe joke?), we crossed the street to an antiques shop called "Salt Creek". This is another must-see if you are in Roswell. The man who runs it is very nice. He told us a story about being an "Honourary Canadian". He told us that when he used to travel to Canada for business, his Canadian colleagues would take him out for nights of drinking. If he could successfully stand and sleep at the same time during the meeting the next day, he was Canadian. He said that the secret is to lean against a sturdy wall or object. The store is filled with interesting old memorabilia and contains some rather tempting buys.
Our journeys then took us to a grocery store. We stocked up on items we would need to have a little grill session at the next "relief station" stop on the road. Said next stop happened to be located near the main Roswell crash site. We grilled up some hot dogs and some Louisiana alligator. It was very good.
The drive from Roswell to Santa Fe was simply amazing. We were surrounded by bad weather, but it was only at the end of the journey that we were ever rained on. The distant lightning combined with the colours of the sunset were something else.
And now... the moment you've been waiting for... why I didn't post anything earlier. This was due to a fine establishment in Santa Fe called the El Paseo that had a special on for $2 pints of Indian Pale Ale. While the beer left something to be desired, it seemed to do the trick. I actually spilled my 3rd pint all over Alexandros and Adrian. The bartender gave me a replacement beer on the house. That was a bad idea. The next morning I was so sick... I still haven't fully recovered. However, that will be the story of day 11, and our trip to Albuquerque. Stay tuned for that and a post containing all the wrong turns we have taken in our time here in the city that is rather hard to spell!
Video shall be posted once we get internet that doesn't suck.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Female Presence Imminent!
Hi All!
I'm super excited to be joining the trip in a mere 48 hours and so I thought I'd post about it! After all, I am the first female, and the 3rd Alex to join the trip!
I'm flying direct from Toronto on Saturday night and will arrive in Vegas at 10:30pm. Hopefully the boys will remember to pick me up!
But since I haven't actually left yet, I really don't have much to say... besides the following.
I've started packing. As the weather in Vegas is forecast to be in the high 30s / low 40s, my suitcase is full of dresses, dresses, and more dresses! And shoes. And hair product. And makeup.
Also, in anticipation of the Vegas pools, I have just tried to apply some sunless tanner for the first time ever in an attempt to hide my pasty pasty skin. I don't know why I've done this... it's bound to go wrong, and although I exfoliated before applying, and I tried to apply evenly, I'm pretty sure I'm going to wake up tomorrow a streaky orange mess :S We shall see...
And by now the boys reading this are probably regretting ever inviting me at all. So I'll stop the girl talk!
While in Vegas I'll be rooming at the Bellagio, and I believe the menfolk will be spending one night at Palazzo, and the other 3 nights most likely at Trump... so essentially we're going to get to party at 3 AMAZING hotels in just 4 days! Sounds like a good way to experience Vegas eh! The guys are also planning on hitting up a shooting range, and obviously we will attempt to get in as much classic Vegas fun as possible ;)
Ciao for now! Next time you hear from me it'll probably be from Vegas!
Ally
I'm super excited to be joining the trip in a mere 48 hours and so I thought I'd post about it! After all, I am the first female, and the 3rd Alex to join the trip!
I'm flying direct from Toronto on Saturday night and will arrive in Vegas at 10:30pm. Hopefully the boys will remember to pick me up!
But since I haven't actually left yet, I really don't have much to say... besides the following.
I've started packing. As the weather in Vegas is forecast to be in the high 30s / low 40s, my suitcase is full of dresses, dresses, and more dresses! And shoes. And hair product. And makeup.
Also, in anticipation of the Vegas pools, I have just tried to apply some sunless tanner for the first time ever in an attempt to hide my pasty pasty skin. I don't know why I've done this... it's bound to go wrong, and although I exfoliated before applying, and I tried to apply evenly, I'm pretty sure I'm going to wake up tomorrow a streaky orange mess :S We shall see...
And by now the boys reading this are probably regretting ever inviting me at all. So I'll stop the girl talk!
While in Vegas I'll be rooming at the Bellagio, and I believe the menfolk will be spending one night at Palazzo, and the other 3 nights most likely at Trump... so essentially we're going to get to party at 3 AMAZING hotels in just 4 days! Sounds like a good way to experience Vegas eh! The guys are also planning on hitting up a shooting range, and obviously we will attempt to get in as much classic Vegas fun as possible ;)
Ciao for now! Next time you hear from me it'll probably be from Vegas!
Ally
In Santa Fe
Greetings everyone!
The past 24 hours have produced many stories, but we must get on the road to Albuquerque (OMG I SPELLED IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME), New Mexico. I have updated the image page so go check out how sexy New Mexico looks and I'll have a video and a blog update for you later on today!
-Alex
The past 24 hours have produced many stories, but we must get on the road to Albuquerque (OMG I SPELLED IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME), New Mexico. I have updated the image page so go check out how sexy New Mexico looks and I'll have a video and a blog update for you later on today!
-Alex
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
In Odessa
Hey all.
We made it to Odessa safely. The drive was the real story of the day. When we left San Antonio, there were luscious trees and plants all over the country side. However, the farther we traveled outside of the city, the more we traveled into a desert landscape. It looked exactly like it did in all the movies.
When we got into town we had a pretty low-key dinner at Chili's. We then crashed shortly after at our hotel. So not much to report for the day, however the pictures and some video of the drive will be up later today (once we get to a hotel).
Bye for now!
We made it to Odessa safely. The drive was the real story of the day. When we left San Antonio, there were luscious trees and plants all over the country side. However, the farther we traveled outside of the city, the more we traveled into a desert landscape. It looked exactly like it did in all the movies.
When we got into town we had a pretty low-key dinner at Chili's. We then crashed shortly after at our hotel. So not much to report for the day, however the pictures and some video of the drive will be up later today (once we get to a hotel).
Bye for now!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
San Antonio
Today started out how all great days in the United States should- with a trip to the IHOP. After a delicious breakfast, we spent the day doing touristy stuff in San Antonio. The first stop was of course the Alamo. The stranger who took the awesomely-framed picture above was super nice, continuing the trend of pretty much everyone we've met thus far. Looking around the Alamo, the gift shop and mass crowds made it hard to imagine the chaos that occurred there long ago for just a handful of American soldiers. Speaking of the gift shop, I got in a little bit of trouble today. I did not realize that there was a rule against picture taking when inside any Alamo structure. I was told to put my camera away, but not before snagging some awesome pictures of a model Alamo battle.
We then checked into our hotel- the Holiday Inn River Walk. The reason we chose this particular hotel was for its obvious proximity to its namesake- the River Walk. This is an interesting walkway that goes through some of the city and connects the Alamo with restaurants and hotels. T'was very pretty. We found a Tex-Mex patio along the route called Rita's. IT WAS SO MUCH FOOD... BUT SO GOOD!
The full album for today will be posted here. Tomorrow I will edit the video footage from today whilst on the road to Odessa Texas. Hopefully I can upload that for you from our new hotel!
Catch you on the flip side,
Alex
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
These Boots Were Made for Walking
We became cowboys this morning as Alex got some very nice cowboy boots at Caveder's, apparently one of the best cowboy stores in town.
We then headed down to the Johnson Space Center and had a lot of fun. Among the main attractions was a Star Wars display, a slightly modified space shuttle cockpit and a presentation about upcoming NASA missions.
We also got some astronaut ice cream from the souvenir store, we have not had it yet.. but it promises to be an adventure for our taste buds.
We then headed down to San Antonio, which is where we are now, and await the arrival of the fourth in our group.
The Director is coming to town fellas and we couldn't be more excited!!!! Whoooo... we'll talk to you after we celbrate his arival... if we can ;P
This week on MacGyver
Hey all,
We have arrived in Houston, TX last night. And we are staying at the Hotel Marriott, where we luckily got a free upgrade the the King suite... It is amazing.
Yesterday we started our day off by going on a swamp tour of New Orleans. It was an exciting tour where we went on an air boat through the swap and learned a bit about the vegetation and animals in the swamp. We even got to see a 10 foot gator and the guide fed it marshmallows then petted it and grabbed its hind leg to show us it's claws.
On the way back unfortunately the Civic broke down. The compressor had seized and so was causing the engine to stall... Luckily with some quick advice form Fletcher's dad we realized that we could cut the A/C aux belt which cut the A/C system off from the rest of the car and so MacGyvered the car. It now works perfectly well and has about 2 extra horsepower for not powering the A/C.
While we were stopped at the side of the road some very nice locals helped us, the one guy was a mechanic and helped us look at the car, and another man brought us some water. I'm continually impressed with how nice everyone we meet is.
Due to this "detour" we had to skip the plantation tour... but we got into Houston last night around 11 and after a delicious meal at a buffet we checked into the hotel and crashed for the night.
Also we'd like to send a shout out to Rebbeca and Jackie, our wonderfull waitresses at the Tropical Isle, our home base in New Orleans.
We'll upload pictures and videos as soon as we have a more stable internet connection.
Stay tuned for more zany adventures.
We have arrived in Houston, TX last night. And we are staying at the Hotel Marriott, where we luckily got a free upgrade the the King suite... It is amazing.
Yesterday we started our day off by going on a swamp tour of New Orleans. It was an exciting tour where we went on an air boat through the swap and learned a bit about the vegetation and animals in the swamp. We even got to see a 10 foot gator and the guide fed it marshmallows then petted it and grabbed its hind leg to show us it's claws.
On the way back unfortunately the Civic broke down. The compressor had seized and so was causing the engine to stall... Luckily with some quick advice form Fletcher's dad we realized that we could cut the A/C aux belt which cut the A/C system off from the rest of the car and so MacGyvered the car. It now works perfectly well and has about 2 extra horsepower for not powering the A/C.
While we were stopped at the side of the road some very nice locals helped us, the one guy was a mechanic and helped us look at the car, and another man brought us some water. I'm continually impressed with how nice everyone we meet is.
Due to this "detour" we had to skip the plantation tour... but we got into Houston last night around 11 and after a delicious meal at a buffet we checked into the hotel and crashed for the night.
Also we'd like to send a shout out to Rebbeca and Jackie, our wonderfull waitresses at the Tropical Isle, our home base in New Orleans.
We'll upload pictures and videos as soon as we have a more stable internet connection.
Stay tuned for more zany adventures.
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