USA: New Orleans through to Miami, Florida

New Orleans, Louisana / Miami, Florida

As we arrived into New Orleans we were dreading that the rising water levels would spoil the 5 days we were to spend in the city, and our anxiety levels were rising remembering the flash flooding experience in Cairns just before we left for our epic trip.

As it turned out, the rain eased and even though there was minor flooding on our way through to our accommodation we got through without any problems.  The cab driver was quite happy to tell us about New Orleans and very informative about the redevelopment since Hurricane Katrina. 

 In our eyes there is still long way to go as we saw evidence of the destruction that the hurricane and floods caused some 3 years ago.  There are still many abandoned and damaged buildings within the city limits and many vacant blocks where buildings have been demolished.  We got the impression that the rebuild of New Orleans is being used as a political football, as a vote getter, in the promise that major re-development would happen, but we found the people were quite philosophical about this and seemed to live in hope that NOLA would be the same as it was pre-Katrina.  

One of our observations were that the City (Council) is very strict keeping the historical character of the buildings and have even devoted a TV channel which televises decisions made by the New Orleans Development Committee. The committee sits on a regular basis to decide new development applications, demolitions and renovations to ensure the guidelines are met, and they impose strict fines if development plans aren’t followed according to their decision.  It is the character of the buildings that really make New Orleans.

Funding for the re-construction was definitely an issue – and now pretty much at a standstill.  Initially after the hurricane there was a massive building effort to house families from low socio-economic backgrounds who had lost their homes. Within 12-15 months the city had built huge multilevel complexes just outside of the “Projects”, read that as Centre for Crime.  The City had this idea that if they were to re-house the “Projects” into new low cost accommodation that the crime rate would reduce.  All that has happened is that the problem has shifted from one area to another.  In fact, in the short time we were in New Orleans, and not far from where we were staying in Baronne Street, there was a police pursuit on the Expressway resulting in 2 deaths, a shooting of a School Bus north of St. Charles – again not far away and we were staying in a reasonable suburb.  

New Orleans Police Service CPU 
(Cherry Picker Unit) on the left

In contrast, Bourbon/Canal Street and the immediate area of the French Quarter doesn’t seem to have suffered at all and relies solely on the tourism $dollar.  The place just buzzes day and night. It also doesn’t seem to have any laws on morality, sexuality and any other perverse activity as long as it is done in the confines of a bar, nightclub, pub or live sex clubs.  And the police presence is very high.  In fact they have a special mobile Police cherry picker which can be moved around the streets to oversee any problems, literally.
The slogans on the T-shirts are an eye-opener too, and could be quite confronting. But that didn’t stop us going in just about every day for a look to see what’s new.  Oh! There is a law for drinking.  You can drink alcohol walking in the street 24/7, but as long as it is in a plastic cup.  There are even special plastic containers to hold those huge fishbowl cocktails, or grenades. And if you see girls in those 12 inch high heels having trouble walking on the cobblestoned streets, look again – they are having trouble walking because of the 12 inch alcohol containers they are holding in their hands not the shoes.  Quite amusing. 

Our visit to New Orleans also coincided with Navy Week which is a big event for the area catering to Sailors, Marines and Coastguard.  Also a big event for all those girls struggling in their shoes  - I can tell you!  The hoteliers in the Bourbon street vicinity were offering generous drinks discounts for service personnel and you could guarantee that by 8pm there was a sea (literally) of Navy personnel, legless, arm in arm with chicks in 12 inch heels. 

There is of course, some payback.  Each day the Navy Band, consisting of about 80 musicians, would play in an open area that bounds the French Quarter and the Street Markets.  Wouldn’t be too good having to play those huge trombones with a sore head the next day.  Ouch!

Our mode of travel around New Orleans was a combination of Trolley Car, Tram and Bus. 

 For a US$3 each we could get a pass that is valid until 4am the next morning.  There is no limit to how far you can go and how many times you use the ticket and we made the most of it.  And for that price you could also imagine how crowded they would get – standing room only many many times.  The first day of our street ride was quite memorable for me ie. Hopped on, bought my ticket and in amongst the crowd Tony was standing somewhere behind me.  As I moved through this guy says “Are you married, will you marry me?”  With that I replied, “Yes, I am and he is somewhere behind me” pointing in Tony’s direction.  He says “Shame, you are so Damn fine”.  Was he for real? Must have mistaken me for the 20yr old standing near me, suffered from double vision or he was an off duty Navy personnel in camos with “Beer Goggles” recovering from the night before after a big night in Bourbon Street.  

Trombone player

On the topic of street cars/trams we saw this guy trying to get on the street car with this huge trombone. He was really struggling and seemed to take forever to get it on.  Well one of the passengers took a dislike to this and started having a go at him.  The trolley was crowded, so it took a while for people to board, but this woman took offence to the fact that the trombone took up so much room and that he should have paid another fair just for the instrument.  This poor fella appeared to be so shamed that he tried to hide behind the trombone. She got so angry at him, and the street car driver, that she jumped off at the next stop.  You could almost hear the cheering from everyone on board.

On our second day just by chance we started talking to this guy who gave us some great tips on places to go, see and listen to live music, Jazz and Rythum & Blues, other sites around the city, either at minimum cost or free.  He then went on to say that he was once a Tourist Ambassador but because of funding cut-backs the city terminated his service along with about 30 others. 

His recommendations were excellent and we visited a number of historic sites, the River Walk, Mississippi river ferry crossing, the Cemeteries (yes – unbelieveable and they seem to go forever), laneways off the beaten track that have some significance, and just taking in the sites of the city ie the old houses (that are still standing).  

Appropriate Sign _ Exit Only

Even just hearing the street musicians along the way is fabulous and they seem to be around just about every corner. 

We also tried so “Soul Food” such as Corn Bread, Gumbo, Jambalaya and of course Southern Fried Chicken.  Shame - I couldn’t find anywhere that had chitlins!  Another food, if you could call it that, was Cheese Squeeze.  Not sure what the real name is but that’s what I’ve decided to call it.  Around lunchtime one day I saw a place offering Nachos.  “Great” I thought.  When it arrived it was corn chips, warm red beans with a touch of chilli, with this gooey yellow/orange liquid all over the top of it.  That was the “Cheese Squeeze” – straight out of a bottle and not even heated up.  I had heard about cheese out of the bottle, but never tried it – and hope never too again. Almost puts you off nachos.

One evening on our way to the French Quarter there was a hold up in traffic and because we were only about 4 blocks from where we wanted to go we decided to hop of the street.  We’d been told that in New Orleans they have spontaneous street parades.  Explained the traffic hold-up. So we followed this parade through for a while and the funny thing is that they throw out Beads, yes like the Jerry Spinger ones, except you don’t have to flash your boobs.  That suited me fine.  So I grabbed a few as souvenirs for free.  In the shops they charge heaps for them.  The beads also explain why on our mystery tours that there were beads hanging in the trees like Christmas baubles. 

Now how does this work??
If you flash your boobs you get 1 set of beads.
 What did this guy have to do to get his ??

We saw a lot of funny things that you would probably never see everyday, but it happens in New Orleans.  For instance, I will never be able to think about Homer Simpson as a cartoon character again.  My retinas have been scarred forever, and I don’t think I could watch The Simpsons again in the same light.  

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New Orleans to Miami

The next morning we have an early start for the next leg of our adventure from New Orleans to Miami for an overnight stay before we head off to Lima, Peru.

The trip involved catching 2 different Greyhound buses for the trip across to Jacksonville, Florida, then from Jacksonville by Amtrak to Miami.  All up this would take us 32 hours with about 7 hours waiting time in between for connections and we had to get to Miami in time for our flight to Lima.  You are probably thinking why not just get a train all the way across.  Well sitting on the bus and seeing pretty much nothingness for most of the way, both on the bus and train, you could understand why.  It was just a series of bayous, wetlands and pine forests that just go on and on and on.  And the land is just flat, hardly a hill in site.  And from discussion with other people we were told rail lines had been damaged in the hurricane and not been repaired, that would be the part I believe.  The most picturesque part of the trip was from New Orleans to a place called Fort Walton and Destin, which reminded us very much of a Gold Coast about 20 years ago. 

On the bus we went through places we had heard of such as Pensacola (huge military/navy base), Biloxi, Mobile, Tallahasee.  We have also crossed a few more US States to add to our collection.

Gulf of Mexico

We saw plenty of the Gulf of Mexico along the way and what amazed us was how white the sand was, but the Gulf water was murky brown.  Such a contrast.  

We arrived in Jacksonville, Florida at 1.30am and had to wait for another 4 hours before going to the Amtrak line which was about 10 kms away and it didn’t open until 5.45am.  And it was a cold night – not what we expected in Florida.  We didn’t see much of Jacksonville and we couldn’t really care less because we were quite buggered by this stage. We were actually looking forward to next part of the trip just so we could have a good kipper on the train.  And we did (just wake us up when we arrive in Miami pleeeaase). 

We arrived at LaQuinta, convenient to the International Airport (MIA), and as luck would have it, Tony spotted a little Irish pub just next door - Bennigans.  So he had to do some research for his blog site.  Or as he calls it – Quality Control !!  And just when you would think that luck doesn’t happen twice in one go – it did !!  It was Happy Hour – 2 beers for the price of one !!!  Nice little night cap.

We had some time to spare in the morning before having to get to the MIA, so we wandered about close by.  More expressways and dodging traffic for us.  Even though we’d been in the States for about a month already, we still weren’t used to the traffic direction and more often than not, the driver keep honking their horns and keep coming at you!  We’ve also been trying to learn some “survival” words in Spanish ready to converse with Peruvians.  We picked up some basic words in San Diego and Los Angeles ready for the next leg of our trip. It was also in MIA that we had to walk into one of the Full Body Scan machines – glad I didn’t see anything from my side!

Our flight would be leaving at 6.50pm and it wouldn’t be for another 5 and a half hours before we land in Lima. Thankfully the flight went according to schedule.  We didn’t know what to expect on our arrival, but we were getting quite excited about this part of the trip.

So until the next instalment from Peru – Buenas noches.

Liz and Tony

Travel Adventurers

NB. Due to internet connections (lack there of) the next blog will be delayed.

USA: Seattle, Chicago to New Orleans (17 April, 2012)

17 April 2012

Continuing from Seattle to Chicago and through to New Orleans.

Picking up from where we left off somewhere in Montana /Minnesota and the unfortunate incident of the old “bugger” being taken off the train, the scenery has been pretty much lack lustre. We travelled over the upper junction of the Mississippi which connects with another 2 large rivers as we cross the border into Illinois.  Although we are still far from Chicago there are signs of civilisation unlike the prairies we crossed the day before. By night we tried to sleep which was difficult, by day the scenery stayed much the same except for Oil wells dotted across the countryside, which explained what the burning fires were in the dark.  As we came to the northern Michigan lakes area everything started becoming green and lush and thankfully warmer temperatures. Or so we thought.

We arrived at Union Station Chicago at 3.45pm to a balmy day, a few clouds, and massive skyscrapers. Just incredible. We got our bearings, and at last our “land legs” after just under 2 days on the train.  It is here I must give credit to Amtrak - with 47 hours of travel our train arrived 5 minutes before schedule.  5 minutes !!! Now who was it who provided Amtrak with Feedback from our last trip to ensure this train arrived without delay ??? Thank you, it worked !!

With only a few hours of daylight left we decided not to use public transport until we got an orientation of Chicago, so we decided to check out our trusty maps and set off on a journey of discovery. This didn’t take too long, in fact only for about 50 metres.  You see, where we were staying was across the road from the biggest MacDonalds we have ever seen.  Not only does it have 2 levels, it also has a 2 Drive Thru roads and the cars were banked up.  You are now thinking we are going to eat MacDonalds – wrong.  Directly on the opposite corner was an Italian Diner serving fresh pasta, pizza, sandwichs/subs and a dessert bar.  This is where it was a toss up – MacDonalds vs. Portillo’s Italian Diner.  Thinking this was an ordinary pizza/pasta bar – Wrong Again. There are 4 separate counters for serving Desserts, Take-Outs (for phone ahead orders), Pizza/pasta, and lastly the one for Sandwichs/Subs.  All the while Ragtime music plays in the background. In addition to this there are 3 separate eating areas ie. Main floor area, upstairs dining and an outdoors area. But there is more …. There is a drive thru around the back of the building which we didn’t see until we were nearly run over in the drive-way by someone wanting to get home asap and tuck into their freshly made pasta. Check out the photos of Portillo’s Diner  (it even has a full size car on the mezzanine level)  It’s worth a visit if you get to Chicago.

We grazed there for a couple of hours and came out of the diner to a huge thunderstorm. By morning it passed, clear skies and time for us to explore “windy” Chicago - with a capital W. It was cold, at about 50 degrees Farenheit and I reckon blowing a Category 4 cyclone.  But that didn’t stop these 2 adventurers, YET!

Why is TJ smiling ?

I had my sights set on doing the Sky Deck on Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). The name changed a few years ago when a British insurance company bought the naming rights and a few floors for the exposure.  Now for those who know us well, you would be familiar with the fact that unlike me, Tony has a real problem with heights.  Anything over the size of a 6 ft. ladder and he goes ape sh….t.  I have many stories about my excitement of getting up high in places, and Tony’s anxiety attacks such as Centrepoint in Sydney, Communications Tower in Kulala Lumpur, and for heaven’s sake – the Skyrail up to Kuranda !!!  But I give credit where credit is due, he did get to the edge of the Grand Canyon, fantastic effort !!  (and if you carefully look at his profile picture on his Blog - all the while he had his sunglasses on AND his back to the view LOL).

So you can imagine the scenario here – me getting excited about getting up to the SkyDeck and Tony working up a sweat thinking I would again convince him he should come up to the Tower with me.  After a healthy half jog, me in the lead, you wouldn’t believe it – What a disappointment for me and an absolute relief for Tony!  The alternative to the Sky Deck? A sedate canal cruise checking out the skyscrapers from the BOTTOM UP.  The canal cruise was an Architectural Tour and really informative to say the least. Amazing that in the late 1800s a major fire ripped through Chicago and wiped out a 3^rd of the city and to think what stands there now. 

We found the city to be really clean (mostly likely because of the high winds), the people really friendly and ready for a yarn.  At one point we ventured into a shopping centre and were admiring this re-born Harley Davidson motorcycle when this guy interrupted asking is we were Aussies.  He was Aussie too from Sydney, had been there for about 3 months, with his South Carolina girlfriend.  He heard me and Tony talking and picked up on the accents.  Funny thing – you can always pick our fellow countrymen here, not sure if it is always the accents though.

With our limited time in Chicago (28 hours) before we embark on the next leg of the trip down to new Orleans, we made the most by doing our own walking tour around the Loop, Downtown (yes another Downtown), and checked out Millenium Park, Michigan Avenue, Wacker Street, and little laneways that  aren’t shown on the map, but sometimes more interesting to see.  The city has taken pride in its history, its buildings and to us it is really a showpiece.  There is a well-balanced blend of old and new eg. How the old train and tram lines sit side by side with new structures.

A piece of Chicago’s history also includes an engineering feat in whereby they changed the flow of the river to take it away from the city.  As the story goes apparently, for many, many years all the sewerage, drains etc.  flowed into and stayed in the waterways of the city. So as to ‘flush’ it out they built Locks to help in redirecting the water flow – into Lake Michigan – would you believe!

But seriously the river is picturesque, but I wonder if they have learned anything from this.  We were told that every year the city dyes the river GREEN for St Patricks Day and thousands of people and boaties flock to, and cruise on the river all day in celebration.  Hhhmmm!!

Would we come back to the Windy City again? Definitely – when it is warmer and we have more time.  We might even catch a bus or other public transport and even walk the SkyDeck.

Now as I finish this part from Chicago, my mind keeps wandering back to the old fella who was tossed off the train.  You might remember from my last blog that he was “de-trained” in Grand Forks.  My guess is that he is wandering around thinking – “Where the Fork am I ?”

18^th April, 2012

Enroute from Chicago to New Orleans
This must be the best behaved, well- mannered lot of passengers we’ve encounted so far.  (Just quietly, I am also the white minority on this train – even the man I’ve been travelling with in with the majority).

We’re on another overnighter ‘the City of New Orleans” train and should arrive in NOL (Amtrak Code for New Orleans - getting to know the lingo now) around 3pm this afternoon.  There have been few stops ie. Jackson, Fulton, Memphis, KazooCity and  Hazelhurst with a few more to come.  And we now add another 4 states to the list ie. Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Bayou near New Orleans

Not sure what is in store because since once we crossed into Mississippi early this morning it has been raining heavily ever since.  We’ve had some train delays already because of water across the lines.  The train is pacing along fairly quickly in order to make up some lost time.  Expected arrival time of 4pm or thereabouts might be achieveable.    Living in North Queensland you get used to the rain.  We just don’t want to experience the Tornadoes that rip through the mid-west.  As we get closer to New Orleans we get glimpses of Bayous, Lake Pontchartrain more Freeways, and damaged and abandoned houses on the outskirts of the city.

Train announcement –“ We have just crossed into Louisiana and will be stopping briefly at Hammond. We also wish to advise that flood warnings are in effect in New Orleans” .  The panic sets in.

Til next time!

Liz and Tony

Observations - Differences between USA and Australia

The following is a list of differences we observed during our travels through the States between March to the end of June, 2012.

As this list is a "Work in Progress" we welcome any other suggestions you have.  Send these via the Comments

Our OBSERVATIONS:

Firstly, in USA the accent is a big one, and varies between each state
USA still has Imperial measurement compared to our Metric;
USA cars are Left hand drives, in Oz we have Right hand drive;
USA drivers Drive on the Left hand side of the road;
USA school buses are all Yellow and the same model of bus.  In Australia School buses are varied and usually run by private contractors unless the school has their own service.
USA service staff expect Tips. In Oz our minimum wage is much higher than USA so we just DON'T TIP (a much better system);
In the USA don't think that the marked shelf price for groceries/items the final amount you pay at the checkout in supermarkets....expect to be shocked and pay more.  The final 'mark-ups'  on your receipt is for Taxes and they vary between Federal, State and County taxes which are NOT INCLUDED in the shelf price.  In Australia we has the GST and is included in the final marked price - so what you see is what you get and you don't have to guesstimate the price you will be paying at the checkout (more sensible);
USA has "Lay Aways". In Oz we call them Lay-bys.
USA has sodas, Oz we call them "Soft drinks";
USA has Cotton Candy, in Oz we have Fairy Floss;
USA and Australia have McDonalds;
USA has I-Hop - a family style restaurant offering pancakes as their main menu (nothing similar in OZ);
USA has Denny's family restaurants. Oz has Sizzler;
USA has Burger King. Oz has Hungry Jacks;
USA has Fries, Oz has Chips;
USA has Ketchup, in Oz we have Tomato Sauce
USA has Gridiron and Oz has Rugby League (the only football code)
USA has Hurricanes that blow anti-Clockwise, in Oz we have Cyclones that blow in the obvious direction ie. Clockwise;
USA has Jack Cheese, we call it Cheddar (and Oz cheddar isn't bright orange)
USA serves breakfast with "Biscuits", in Oz we call them Scones served jam, cream or butter and served with Tea or coffee.
USA has Wal-Mart, Oz has K-Mart and A-Mart (note: The highest criminal activity is recorded in Walmart carparks compared to any other location in the states);
USA has CVS, Oz has Chem-Mart, Chemist Warehouse, Terry White Chemists just to name a few (note: CVS also has Drive-thru for prescriptions),
USA has RADIOSHACK, Oz has JB Hi-FI and Dick Smiths
USA has Drive-thru ATMs, in OZ we still get our exercise by having to walk up to the ATM;
USA shower heads and taps all seem to be different in each state;
USA has Romaine lettuce, we call it a COS lettuce;
USA has Hoagies, in Oz they are a meat and salad roll;
USA has Shrimp, we call them Prawns;
USA has squirrels and deer that wander the streets, in Oz we have Kangaroos that hop around city streets (NOT !!),  But squirrel DO hop around streets in the US.
USA has Pick Up Trucks, we call them Utes ;
USA has V8 Asian model Utes/Pickups eg  Neesarnnn (Nissan), Marzzsda (Mazda), Hoondai (Hyundai) and Toyotas;
USA has AMTRAK as its national railway.  In Australia there is NO national railway system - each individual State governs their own railway system and there is NO integration between each State (when are they going to learn). Note: the only railways that cross over States is the "Ghan" between South Australia and Northern Territory...and the line across from New South Wales (Sydney) to Western Australia (Perth).
USA calls Thongs - Flip Flops and in the USA Thongs are Underwear.  In Australia Thongs are Thongs (Flip Flops) and Underwear is called underwear  (have been caught out saying – “it’s too cold to wear my thongs here”..OOoops.)
USA light switches work in reverse to Oz, sometimes even sideways;
USA power points don’t have Off/On switch you just plug it in (lower voltage too);
USA power points have 2 paralell prongs and a round lower prong;
USA toilets have large bowls and hold about 4 litres of water; in Oz the toilet pedestal holds only about 2 litres of water;
USA calls Toilets “Restrooms”;
USA bottle openers are placed anywhere in an apartment, Oz we keep one on our key rings;

Finally, US citizens do not know what a DUNNY is……..

This is a first - here is a photo of 3 observations in one go -
·         Light switch (sideways)
·         Bottle opener on the door, and where else BUT
·         In the DUNNY !

This photo has not been photoshopped or
altered in anyway !!!

 

USA: Seattle

Tuesday 9 th to Friday 13 April, 2012Seattle: 2011 Population: 612100

After having the terrible experience of delayed trains getting from San Francisco to Seattle and a 5.30am arrival we decided to make the most of the time after a bit of a snooze then took the No. 5 bus from 74^th Street, Greenwood into Downtown. We were dog tired but we just had to get out and see the sites.  And it was a fine day, blue skies and about 14 degrees.

Markets was a definite, the piers and wharves and the famous 605ft Space Needle which was built for the 1962 World Fair. 



Space Needle, Seattle Washington

Within the same precinct as the Needle was the EMP Museum (Experience Music Project) which was featuring a Guitar exhibition, but the thing that took our interest was an AC/DC Family Jewels event, not on until 28th April  and we would be long gone from Seattle.  http://www.empmuseum.org/?gclid=CLL0n9GLuK8CFQ0DQAodPWtDhQ 

Duck Tour

But the other thing across the road from both of these was the “Duck Tour”, not the flying kind, but Army Ducks.

 These tours are so popular that they run every half hour and take in the sites of Seattle plus a cruise on Union Bay.  They say the “Duck” was voted the most popular tourist attraction in Seattle.  We can vouch for that.  It was the best 2 hour laugh we’d had in a long time.  The driver jokes all the way, plays music and encourages passengers to make real “gooses” of themselves, and giving commentary along the way. Does sound dangerous juggling all that but it was AND there was NO COLLISIONS and, thankfully he didn’t use his mobile phone which is also against the law in Washington !

We will just put them amongst the Nuts and dried fruit -
no one will notice.

Pike Street Markets

We then spent the rest of the day getting around the markets which sell everything from crafts, fresh seafood, flowers, and we even saw some substances and items which would be banned anywhere else.
By days end we were knackered and the first thing we spotted hopping off the bus was the 74^th Street Ale House, a traditional English pub, without the TAB, Sportsbet, Keno – how refreshing and just what we needed!  The 74^th sold mainly boutique beers, and so happened we arrived during their happy hour (shucks). And it was only about 150 metres from our abode which was a roll (I mean a stroll) down the hill. The staff were really great, kept bringing out the different brews and even provided samples before you would buy. Don’t know of any other pubs that offer that kind of service. Tony couldn’t make up his mind which beers he liked so he kept on trying more and more. He was half charged before he bought his second beer. Geez. The staff were also interested in where we came from. Now how could they tell? Was it because it was our accents OR was it because we were the couple in the corner near the heater freezing their arses off? As for the beers if Tony can remember which ones he tasted I’m sure he will include in his Food and Drinks blog. 

74th Street Ale House

Now where we stayed was about 10kms from Downtown (why do US cities always have a Downtown?), a peaceful surburban neighborhood, and our hosts were really delightful. We stayed in a separate area which was once a basement converted to an apartment – just fantastic and private. Big hello to Jessie Redstone for making us feel so welcome.  I was amazed that daffodils, freezias and tulips grow wild on the footpaths, and one day we even had a squirrel run across in front of us while we’re walking on the footpath. If it had been in Oz it would have ended up as road kill.

Now back to the touristy things….after another day of seeing the sites we went back to the 74^th Street Ale House which was putting on a “Cask Firkin”, but back to that later. We ventured into Downtown that morning and decided to get on another of our Mystery Tours, unintentionally.  We caught the No. 5 and instead of jumping off the last Downtown stop the bus kept going, and going and going.  Up an over Freeways, over the Seattle ViaDuct and before we knew it, about 10-12 kms later, which was the near the last stop the bus makes, we asked this bloke where we would end up.  He tells us – “White Centre, but you don’t want to go there!, it’s the Bad Ass end of town”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Center,_Washington

Great, just what we needed to liven up the day even more.  He tells us we should hop off at the next stop and not go any further…and he would ring the bell at California Street, West Seattle.  Now, here am I thinking – why is he doing this for us and secondly why is he staying on the bus ??  Actually, he was just being courteous, and we ended up in an area that has an eclectic mix of shops, cafes, bakeries and music stores which still stock old vinyls, cassettes and 8-track tapes. For our younger folk who don’t know, these were what we listened to before CDs and Ipods.  We would often see reminders of Seattle’s famous Son – Jimi Hendrix memoribillia and posters. After slowly sipping the worst coffee we’ve ever tried, EVER, we caught the next bus going back into town.  I think it was a double shot of TAR !!!

The day ended up being really cold and miserable unlike the day before.  (OH I forgot to mention that it was 10 degrees at 1pm that afternoon and the locals are walking around in t-shirts). I found the best tasting Cider at that little Ale House – a Blackthorn, even better than a 5 Seeds, and that says a lot.  So we just had to try the “Cask Firkin”.  Apparently the pub taps a keg from a boutique brewery and sells pints at happy hour prices. I enjoyed my ciders again thank you, and “big Hello” to Steve Hart the Bar Manager at the Ale House.  And whilst on the subject of drinks, just about every supermarket stocks a huge variety of beers, with a variety of names to match.

We took advantage of the change in weather the next day which was clear blue skies and about 6 degrees in the shade, but we took a $7.50 return ferry ride over to Bainbridge Island, a half hour trip each way. The island and houses are so picturesque and just like over in Seattle the flowers grow wild everywhere – and at this time of year most trees have no leaves only buds or flowers. Many people commute from Bainbridge into the city each day as the ferry carry cars, motorbikes and cyclists and run fairly regularly all day.

An important thing that we’ve noticed here is that the community is very conscious of recycling/reusing and you see it everywhere even has a high proportion of hybrid cars on the roads. In the supermarkets if you don’t have a shopping bag they will ask if you want paper or plastic.  Aus has a long way to go!

14^th April, 2012………

At this point in time we are on the “Empire Builder” train from Seattle to Chicago, about 18 hours into a 47 hour journey.  Unlike our previous trip the train departed Seattle on time at 4.40pm.  We're currently travelling through the Montana plains and the scenery since we left Seattle has been nothing but spectacular - snow capped mountains of the Cascades, Puget Sound (the train travels about 30 miles along the shoreline), wild creeks and streams and just a mile of snow everywhere you look.

Cascade Mountains, Washington, USA

We’ve had a few short stops including Everett which is a US Navy base with a fleet of Aircraft carriers bordering on the Sound, then up to Spokane by 12.30 last night.  Other places/sidings have interesting names ie. Libby, WhiteFish, Wenatchee, and Icicle Canyon (no description needed to that one). 

Sunset over Puget Sound, Washington, USA

Just like the other trips there are some really colourful characters on board. For example, a little earlier this guy in front of us got on his mobile phone and of course, the whole carriage could hear – his name was Clay.  Well Clay has just ordered a Dominos Pizza “the Canadian Meat Special” to pick up at the next stop (10 minutes away).  Now we were thinking that this was his destination, but NO, he jumps back on the train with this large Canadian Special Pizza.  We are all jealous because the smell is now wafting through the train.  He must do this trip often enough to know when to order. LOLOL!!  He should have let us know so we could place an order too.
Then there was another situation with senior-aged passenger who became more disorientated as the trip went on.  During the night he woke Tony up to say that he needed to move because he was in his seat.  Then he proceeded to try and take the blanket from the woman behind Tony.  As the trip went on he continued to pace up and down through the carriages and when asked if he was lost or whatever, he would make excuses that he was looking for something he had lost.  That was the first night, and during the day he would pace up and down the carriages.  The next night he got worse.  Reports were that during the night he tried to open the back door of the moving train (59 miles pr hr or 96 Kms pr hr).  Because of his behaviour the train crew were monitoring him and when asked if they could contact relatives - his reply was that they had gone on holiday and don't take their 'cell' phone with them.  Some time much later at a scheduled train stop, the train was met by paramedics and he was removed from the train - the place - Forks.  

So far we have covered 5 states ie California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.  By the time we get to Chicago we would have crossed over into another 6 ie. Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin then into Illinois and the count will continue as we head into the deep South. 

Until next blog, which should be from New Orleans sometime next week, when we can tell you about the Chitlins, Grits and Gumbo, and any other exciting 'situations' we encounter. Cheers for now.

Liz and Tony

The link showing our train trip from Seattle to Chicago-  http://g.co/maps/y547y

Pike Street Markets and Seattle Skyline

USA: San Francisco and Beyond & Amtrak Delays

9th April, 2012

Tyre Troubles on the Amtrack

We're on our way to Seattle after leaving San Francisco on Easter Sunday, Monday AEST.  It's now 9.50pm and have just spent the last 24 hours either waiting at train stations or sitting on the train due to numerous delays along the way. From the San Francisco Amtrak terminal we commuted by what is called a "Throughway" bus service to get to Emeryville across the Bay where we were to catch the train.  No problem you would think. The bus arrived in plenty of time but when we got to Emeryville we were advised that the train would be about 4-5 hours late because of a major engine failure which happened outside of a place called San Luis Obispo, CA, which is is about 3 hours out of Los Angeles.  San Francisco is more than 5 hours outside of that by train.  No Enstein here, but 4-5 hours just seemed unrealistic and besides, they had to get another engine up to San Luis Obispo in the first place before heading north to San Fran.  And we guessed right !!

Finally the train did arrive - at 5.30am the next morning - if you please!!!  Amtrak were kind enough (if you could call it that) ordered pizza and chicken at about midnight.  Who wants cold pizza and chicken at that time of night unless you've been on the turps and wouldn't know the difference between the pizza and the cardboard box it comes in. Instead we should have been offered bunk beds and cocktails so that we could get some sleep at least.

Not long before the train arrived they offered a little snack pack which consisted of processed cheese portions, dry cracker biscuits, and a fruit and nut mix together with a bottle of water to wash it down.  Now I don't want to steal Tony's thunder, but the rating for this was a 1 - and that is generous.  We did meet a couple of Aussies, one from Perth, the other from Sydney who were also travelling on the same train.  Of course, like all good Aussies we get together and make light of the situation - probably likening it to the woes of Queensland Transport - LOLOL.  The only difference being that Qld Transport entertains it bureaucrats with a good nosh up and not the commuters.  The River Fire springs to mind!!

So here we are on our merry way finally, when a couple of hours into the trip there is another 'hold up' (not the 'Situation" kind, but another train delay). We could have just about walked all this way in the time we have spent on train delays.  But on this occasion the train came to a sudden stop and it was announced that the train had run over some debris on the rail line.  Turns out the debris was a tyre, which had become stuck under the train.  Now you might think this is a joke but I can tell you, there were about 200 people who could testify to this.  We then had to wait about another hour and half before an "Engineer" was sent from the closest rail point, to inspect and remove the tyre remnants before the train could get going again. How long did I say the delay was now ???

  

Thinking it was steam rolling ahead finally there was an announcement that we would experience more delays because the original engine meltdown, would cause our train to "Give Way" to other cargo and passenger trains using same the line.  The only Melt Down happening at that point were the passengers because many were catching connecting trains to other destinations ie. Sacramento, Vancouver and Chicago.  So what do Amtrak do? - they offer all passengers a "Free Dinner" of Chicken and Rice.  Well you wouldn't believe it but later in the night that free dinner exorcised itself of me in the train dunny.  I put that down to train motion sickness (NOT) but not in any way a touch of salmonella or the like (NOT).

We did make it to Seattle.  Originally the train was due to arrive in Seattle, Washington at 8.45pm but instead chugged in a 5.30am. A total of 31 hours, but at least we made it. Looking at it optimistically there was a real highlight to all those train delays and that was, if we had travelled through the night we wouldn't have seen any of the breath-taking scenery that we did.  

Seriously, we are having the time of our lives and besides I did call the Blog our "Travel Adventure" - and it is.  Look out for our next Adventure - about Seattle, WA.

( Feedback on this post is most welcome - send to www.Amtrak.com )

Cheers

Liz and Tony

Skyline of Seattle from Ferry from Bainbridge Island
 - 12 April 2012