TravelStream™ news feed for member allsey on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/allsey en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:30:45 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/allsey/3/1227148200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/allsey/3/1227148200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/allsey/3/1227148200/tpod.html Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:30:45 -0500 Usa Adventures

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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

After two boring days on the Amtrak train we finally made it to our new home!  I forgot to mention that every Amtrak train they we have caught up to this point has had at least 2 powerpoints next to every seat... until we got the oldest train out of them all that had NONE.  Makes for a boring train trip when your laptop only lasts a few hours.We had to catch a Amtrak bus from Seattle to Vancouver as the train didn't go that way.  We were on with a group of oldies that had been doing America by rail.  When we got to the border everyone went up to the guys and gave their info card and passport and Jason and I were taken into a separate area.  I so knew this would get the oldies talking!  Kids these days, ra ra ra.  Reason being.. we were getting our work visas processed.  Complete with cheap alcohol from the Duty Free Shop (Grey Goose and Chambord), we got onto the bus with a million questions.  Once we annouced we were working in Canada. Ohhhh.. how exciting for you! Are you Aussies? And the questions continued killing their thoughts of us being drug mules and whatever heh.Our hostel is pretty nice and comfortable and the temperature is a hot 14C during the day! YAY. At least I can get used to our new home before I have to freeze to death in it.  We got here late in the afternoon so haven't had much of a chance to explore yet but it is pretty.. and alot of Japanese restaurnants.  I have a feeling I am going to be happy here :)((Just to let everyone know this will be the end of this travel blog.. still gotta put some pics up for the last few entries - please bear with us.. trying to find jobs and survive and things like that =P  Will start a new Canada blog which will prob update every week or so)).  Hope you have all enjoyed!
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Chicago, Illinois, United States

Chicago.  Cold.  Freezing.  First thing on the agenda.. go find a REI store and get some thermals and a beanie for Jason.  Even though he won't admit it, his ears are freezing!  This would have something to do with the 1C forecast during the day and the -5C during the night.  We survived the 20+ hour ride on the train from Boston to Chicago and woke up (and I say that lightly as we didn't really sleep much), and looked out the window to find snow!  We were about 2 hours from Chicago and it was very lightly falling out of the sky.  When I went to New Zealand on my ski trip it snowed the first day we got there but for Jason it didn't snow for them, so his face was similar to a little kids on xmas (or mine spotting squirrels).  It disappeared by the time we got to Chicago.So we found some thermals and a beanie as well as a scarf for me.  We went in search of a buffet sushi place for $13 that sounded great.  We walked and walked and walked.. and got there about 1pm to find it doesn't open for lunch on Sundays and opens for dinner at 4pm *sad face*.  So we found this little pub like place and had a drink and some 'biscuits and gravy' for lunch.  It was more like voluvents type pastry with this really tasty peppery sauce with sauce in it.. with eggs on the side.. how random.  It tasted good.  We then went back to the hostel, chilled out, and looked out the window to see snow!  Once again it was only really light and turned into water once it hit the street but it was pretty cool.  This is what it is all about.  Jason happily went off to get subway for dinner and I bravely stayed inside in the warm :)  We then had an early nights sleep.  The next day Jason went for a walk while I worked on my resume and job prospects for Canada.  He went up the Sears Tower which is over 100 stories high and he said was a pretty good view of Chicago (complete with some roofs with snow on top).  We then went in hunt of the famous Chicago style pizza that really looked like a huge thick pie.  It had cheese inside stuffed with sausage then a layer of tomato type sauce.  It really was quite yum.  We then caught our train for our dreaded 40+ hour trip to Vancouver.  This was pretty uneventful until about 6pm when about 10 Armish people got onboard and sat near us.  I don't know why but they really interest me and I want to ask questions about the way they live.  I doubt it is all really as it used to be. 1) They are catching public transport 2) They opened up a tin of spam and ate it with bread for dinner.  Hardly living off the land and not using technology.  The kids were staring at us like we were aliens tho.  I was probably staring at them tho too?  They got off somewhere in the middle of the night.
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Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Well this is now the first time I have worn gloves.  Apparently Chicago is going to be colder and Vancouver warmer then Chicago (for now), so I am glad that we will only be spending one night there!  Boston is a pretty town and I can see why it appeals to so many people.  The first day we just wondered around.  When we had checked in there was a sign for a free premier of the new James Bond movie and to meet in the foyer at 6:15pm for all who were interested.  I had just been saying to Jason that morning that I wouldn't mind seeing a movie, so this was pretty cool.  We made sure we got back to the hostel and had dinner before 6, then went to meet in the foyer.  This is when we found out there was a sign up sheet and only 20 tickets available... there was no sign up sheet next to the sign we saw!  This was probably due to the fact it filled up before we even got to the hostel.  So I was a little pissed off.. so we waited to see if someone didn't turn up.. and they didn't so we got our free pass with everyone else and headed off to the subway to the movie theatre.  We got there about 6:40 thanks to the hostel guy who didn't come out and give us the movie passes until 6:25.. for the 7pm premiere.  Which we found out is regularly overbooked (read the small print!) and they didn't promise admission.  Now I was really pissed off.. as were a fair amount of people in the movie foyer.  I guess it works tho because you are now at the movie theatre and your movie is full so what are you going to do?  Go home or pay and see a movie?  We paid and saw Eagle eye.  Wasn't a bad movie, the end was a little corner but we meet some nice people from the hostel and had a night out.The next day we did the Freedom Trail.  "The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure."  Was alot warmer today and really nice weather to walk around.. when I saw warmer still ALOT colder then Cairns winter =)  Oh.. I forgot to mention that we border the subway at 10am and the usual 5-10 minute ride took 1 hour.  Apparently there was a derailment earlier in the morning but nothing major.  Yay for public transport!  We had a REALLY good philly cheesesteak roll and that about sums up Boston.
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Mystic, Connecticut, United States

Monday we chilled out in the morning and did some work.  Later in the afternoon we went and visited the Clyde's Cider Shop to try our first 'hard Cider'.  Erick and Jason don't mind it.. but they would drink anything I am sure of it!  I reckon it tastes like Turps!  I really liked the normal sweet Cider tho.I am not sure how we got onto the subject but we were talking about how apparently when you play the Wizard of Oz movie and play Pink Floyd dark side of the moon cd, it syncs up together and the music from the cd matches the movie.  We were going to try this out but apparently everyone in Mystic likes to watch the Wizard of Oz!  We downloaded the movie but didn't get round to trying it.On Tuesday night we made grape leaves filled with meat and rice made with this special lime juice stuff... I had never heard of it but was very yummy.  Erick also showed us how to make stuffed squash with meat and rice with a tomato sauce.. was soooooo good.  I really like the large squash here, which taste just like button squash at home but alot bigger.  We also had them in a thai curry we made the other night and definately something I will be eating alot of.This part of the trip was nice and relaxing and was spoilt by Erick's parents.  Was really good to just chill out and catch up with Erick and see a part of his hometown.  I got a little homesick actually being here!  We are now going to go to Boston for 2 nights and then go to Chicago for a night before getting to Vancouver, Canada Ay!  We are going to catch Amtrak as I would rather walk then catch the Greyhound again and flying is at least double the price.  Amtrak is nice to travel in and there are power plugs you can plug your computer in, so we should be able to amuse ourselves.. for the 20 hours trip from Boston to Chicago and then another 50 hours from Chicago to Vancouver! Yick.  Least we are having a night break in Chicago.  I am starting to work on resume and cover letters and applying for jobs now we know when we will be getting there - Wednesday 19th.  Then start looking for a place to live which hopefully doesn't take too long.  There seems to be a fair few decent places in nice close areas for decent rent.  Thinking of the next week makes me tired.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/allsey/3/1226105940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/allsey/3/1226105940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/allsey/3/1226105940/tpod.html Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:52:07 -0500 Usa Adventures

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Mystic, Connecticut, United States

Today we left New York and went to visit Erick in his town Mystic, Connecticut.  Once we got there he took us to one of his local hangouts and had real chicken wings and ranch sauce and of course an alcoholic beverage.  He then took us to Wal-Mart as we had not been to one yet.  We went in search of the gun section but only found the bullets and no guns in site. Oh well.  Wal-Mart is pretty much just a giant Big W.  Being a Friday night Erick took us what is known as the 'Mystic Mile'.  This is basically like a pub crawl of a whole bunch of pubs in Mystic.  We went out at 10pm and got home at about 2-2:30?  The last drinks in Mystic are around 1-1:30am which I couldn't believe.  This gave us a problem.. 3 hours.. and a whole heap of pubs to visit in this limited time.  The challenge was on!Ally was pretty tipsy after her 3 strong vodka & cranberries.  Had to actually ask for the first one of the night to be put into a slightly bigger glass with more cranberry as it was way too strong to drink!  Jason and Erick started the night off with a glass of Blue Moon and a shot of Gosling's Rum. Yick!  We are all on holidays and had a great time.. and let's just say got a little tipsy.  Erick telling the taxi driver on the way home that it would be in his best interests to pull over and let him spew was proof of that. The next morning.. or well afternoon when we all finally crawled out of bed, Erick's mum made us the best breakfast I have had in months.  Pancakes, syrup, fresh strawberries, raspberries & blueberries (OMG raspberries are the best!), sausages, muffins... we were definately spoilt.  We spent the rest of the day just chilling out.  Oh.. almost forgot.. we saw a Possum at night time when driving to the store.  It had the biggest butt and this huge tail.  Was very funny looking!On Sunday Erick gave us the tour of Mystic that didn't involve the bars.  This included a walk through the woods at the nature park and visiting the Mystic Seaport.  We saw two of the ships that Erick had worked on when he was younger and he was very excited to see these boats again.  I can't really imagine Erick as the sailor turned nerd type, but he definately was!  Then we had too much food to eat at a burger place called Friendly's then went to visit some wineries.  We went to two different ones and tasted a few different types of white and red wines.  I still think that some of the red wines tasted like ashtray even tho the other two didn't mind it!  The wineries were in a really pretty part of Mystic, or just out of Mystic.. that reminded me alot of Bath in England.  I really like the old stone walls built up near the roads boardering the properties.  After tasting a few wines, we then headed to an Indian Casino (because apparently it is on Indian ground/ have permission to put casino there) called Foxwoods.  In such a small community it seemed really weird to see this really large turquoise Casino that seemed to appear out of the woods from nowhere.  When we got inside however, there was so many people in there I couldn't believe it.  Obviously there is a demand for it there, even tho it seemed rather tacky and out of place.  It is the largest casino in the Northern Hemisphere so it was definately very large and very easy to get lost in.  Erick played some blackjack and won $30 and I played roulette and won $50 and then we were out of there as quickly as we came in, $80 up which paid for our day!  Erick's grandmother had been at his place during the day and made us a pie crust from scratch as we were going to make Erick's parents a 'Traditional Australian Dinner'.  A meat pie =)  With the pie crust it was even better then normal, and had this with Erick's rosemary potatoes.  Yum!
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New York City, New York, United States

We flew into New York late last night.  Today we went to explore the Big Apple and our first city on the east side of America.  What a day to be in New York... Election Day!  There was definately a very strong Obama vibe all over the city as we explored it.We started off the day with a walk through Central Park.. and of course a few more hundred squirrel sightings.  And yes.. I am not sick of them yet =)  We also saw alot of Mexicans women with babies in strollers that were definately not Mexican.. nannies all over Central Park.  We also saw the New York Apple Store that was underground, another cool building with a huge clear apple cube ontop of the entry.  We also went into Tiffanys & Co *sigh* and in the Trump Building.  Went and did the touristy thing to do which was catch the ferry to Statten Island and see the Statue of Liberty.  It was big but didn't seem to be as big as I imagined.  Maybe I have seen one too many hollywood movies?We then went and saw the Ground Zero site which is now a construction site at the moment.  There was a small memorial to one side.  It was quite weird flying into New York last night thinking this is what those people were doing when their planes were hijacked.  Was eerie walking around the site also thinking something like that could happen, seemed very unreal when you were actually where it happened.We then walked past wall street and made our way to Times Square.  Time Square was pretty impressive and so was Rockfeller square.  We saw the ice skating rink there but this was definately overshadowed tonight by the American Election.  We bought our vote for Obama badge and decided we would go to the Rockfeller Square in front of NBC studios to watch the results for the night.  On the way there I spotted a Ben & Jerrys icecream store which I was hoping to find!  We went to go inside but were told that we couldn't and they would be giving away free icecream in 5 minutes if we wanted to wait.  So we joined the line of people for free icecream!  It was not until we got inside the doors did we see the sign, 'Free Icecream today for voters'.  So when we got to the counter I tried not to sound too Australian when asking for my Cookie Dough Icecream in a cone.  Yum! Thanks Obama!We then joined the crowds as the voting polls closed and results came in over the next few hours.  It was pretty exciting even as an Australian!  What a day to be in New York, in America, as history is made with the first Africian American President named.  Now to rest my poor little tired feet.
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las vegas, Nevada, United States

Today was a new day and a new drinking opportunity.  Also a Friday and Halloween.. was even a better excuse when you are in Vegas!  We slept in late then went out around lunch time.  I am not sure if we mentioned it but Jason liked the idea of joining up at as many casinos as possible and get membership cards.  So we are now members of Stratosphere, Sahara, MGM Mirage card which included a whole bunch of hotels such as Luxor, MGM, Bellagio, Treasure Island and tonight we joined up with Hooters (more later).To cut a long story and walk short, we visited every casino along the strip and had a drink at all of them.  Flamingo was disguisting but every other casino had pretty decent drinks.  The strawberry daiquis that I got at Treasure Island were actually real cocktails and not the frozen crap out of the machines.. very impressed.  Also had a handful of vodka & red bulls.  I knew the whole trick and treating thing was big in America with the kids but didn't realise how many adults would dress up just for the fun of it!  We saw all kinds of costumers some very creative and I felt rather underdressed walking around.  Was a good party atmosphere (more then normal) and the number of police cars and ambulances that we saw walking home at 2/3am was probably a good indication of this!  We went to Hooters for the first time tonight and had some 25 cent buffalo wings with ranch sauce.  I know I was a little drunk but they were sooo good.  I think that pretty much sums up Vegas.  We will definately be back!
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las vegas, Nevada, United States

FridayWe caught the Amtrak then the Amtrak Bus from Yosemite to Las Vegas.  We really are in the dessert, there was not much at all to see on the drive there! Have a look at the photo below....   We had booked into the Stratosphere hotel which is located on the Northern most end of the Strip.  We found a rate of $20/night on wotif.com for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so we really were not expecting much at all when we have been paying about $50/night at least for the two of us for a hostel.  Well we were definately surprised!  It is niceeee and not in a dodgy area, just at the end of the strip.  Own bathroom and even a bath, Ally is in heaven.  Best sleep I have had the whole holiday.   After showering, we went over to the Sahara Casino Hotel which was basically just across the road a bit.  $6.99 buffet.. yum!  Roast and all sorts of food. Our hotel/casino is huge.  Each hotel has its own Casino, and about a million other shops/restaurant.  Each like its own little city.  Ours even has its own McDonalds inside it!  At the bus stop on the way here across the road there was a place that had a sign outside saying 'Food stamps - Liquor - Slots'.  That pretty much describes it.. slot machines everywhere!  Even in the pharmacy we went to.. all a bit weird.Saturday Today we thought we would explore Vegas a bit!  We had passed a place on the bus to the hotel yesterday that had a huge amount of Outlet Stores, so that was our first stop.  All I can say is that we are definately coming back to Vegas with some money to spend!  I saw about 10 shirts and 3 bags that I wanted to buy in the Guess store alone. Next we caught 'The Deuce' which is a bus that just goes to each end of the strip over and over again.  We caught it to the Southern end of the Strip and thought we would make our way back walking.  Well we definately did drink our way back to the hotel.  We started at the other end at around 2pm and we got back after midnight.  Was an awesome time, I love the Vegas! Each Casino has its own theme and some are better then others.  We went into the Luxor, MGM Grand, Bellagio, Circus Circus, Flamingo.  You get free drinks for gambling.. so we think we have it sussed.  You put in 1 dollar and play 1 line, 1 bet = 1 cents.  Just keep doing this slow enough until you see a drinks lady.. get a drink each and tip her 1 dollar.  Once you get your drink you take out your remaining credit and you walk around and drink your drink.  Then you put your remaining credit in another machine somewhere and start all over again.  So you can imagine how many drinks we had :P Scotch, coronos, vodka & pineapple, margaritas, strawberry daiquiris, long island ice tea, red bull & vodka.. all for free! YAY! I am definately going to miss the free drink thing when we leave. We also went into a huge 2 storey M&M store and bought some of the new M&M Premiums.  Omg.. soooo good!  Best chocolate I have had in a long time.  We didn't mean to but we ended up having McDonalds for breakfast and dinner at some weird hour with m&ms and drinks inbetween.  Lucky we have been doing so much exercise and walking!  We ended up walking the whole strip back to the hotel so my feet were killing me by the time we went to bed.  Yosemite was amazing, but Vegas is awesome in a totally different way.
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Williams, Arizona, United States

Today we rented a sexy black mazda 3 and headed towards the Grand Canyon, Arizona!  It felt a little weird at first getting into the driving side as the passenger but surprisingly after being in America for a few weeks it felt quite normal to be on the right side of the road.  I think Jason really enjoyed having a chance to drive in America as well.The Grand Canyon was amazing.  I am not going to say that it wasn't.  However what I really enjoyed was the drive there.  It took about 4.5 hours to get there and 4.5 hours to get home.. but driving through this scenery was breath taking.  Never seen such dessert or colours or TUMBLEWEED blow on the road infront of the car.  Yes.. I was probably more excited by the tumbleweed then the Grand Canyon. haha.. maybe I have been spoilt by all the things that I have now seen.  I forgot to mention that when we leaving Yosemite at 5am to catch the bus to Amtrak we also saw a skunk.  Yes.. very cool.  We also saw Hoover Dam and drove over it to get to Arizona.  Actually saw a documentary by chance the night before on Tv and the making of it was really interesting and I appreciated it more knowing its history.  Tomorrow off to New York.  Election day when we get there which should make it extra special.
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Vashon, Washington, United States

Friday 26thAfter an interrupted sleep due to a little rocking of our bed thanks to our roommate and her new friend on the top bunk... we got up, had breakfast and headed down to the ferry.  The view at 7am with the sun still coming up over Seattle was amazing.  We got to Vashon Island about 40-50 minutes later.  We then thought we had to wait for the 118 bus not the 119 bus and stood in the cold for an hour.  The next 119 bus came and we were on our way..The place we are staying at is the AYH Ranch Hostel.  It has a Cowboys and Indian theme and is pretty cool.  For the next three nights we are staying in a teepee which they take down at the end of September as it gets too cold, so I am glad we got a chance!  The teepee is a concrete slab circle with a canvas teepee held up with sticks.  We then have camp style beds and sleeping bags.  This is complete with one light!  It is kind of like camping really except there is some other buildings.  One has showers, toilets (not drop toilets, phew!), a full use normal kitchen (except your not allowed to use it between 11-4pm to save power or some shit), as well as the 'Ranch' which has rooms with some dorm beds in it, another small kitchen and an upstairs loft which has couches and a tv and videos n stuff.  There is probably only about 10 backpackers here the first night and we spent the first night, huddled around a campfire drinking beer, playing guitar and chatting about where we are all from.  Alot of people are surprised we came here all the way from the 'Island'. (Island being Australia :P) lol.I almost forgot.. our day was not complete without a bush walk where we got lost kinda. and came out on some road.. then walk who knows how long before finally coming back to the hostel.  I could have at least seen some cool animals on our walk.. but nooo. :)Saturday 27thThis is a pretty laid back place.  We decided we would go for a bikeride around the island.  I told Jason I was a noob on a bike but hedidn't really believe me.  I haven't really riden a bicycle since I wasprobably 12.. unless you count the granny bikes in Amsterdam lastyear.. yeah didn't think so.  I haven't even ridden a bike with gearsso I am sure Jason was fustrated with me today.  He doesn't try andshow it tho, so I am lucky to have such a patient bf :)  I also wasn'tfeeling too crash hot and we had to stop a few times.. it was sohilly.  We made it back to the hostel and chilled out for the rest ofthe afternoon.  Jason spent a few hours working and I read some lameMills & Boon book that I found.. funny stuff.  At night we wentinto 'town' and had some pizza and a few drinks at a place called theRed Bicycle.  I found I really like a premixed drink called Mike's hardcranberry lemonade.  Yummmmy!The next day we went bike ridingagain.. this time I was much better but still a noob.  We just spentthe rest of the day being lazy.  That night we met some girls fromSeattle who had come over for the night.  This was my first time to trySmors.. OMG I love America :)  Oh.. we also found a guy that could outtalk Eric believe it or not ;)
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