Going Home!

My flight today was not due to leave until 10:30pm so I took my time checking out at 11am but leaving my bags in a pay locker at the hostel and to a ride in to downtown Manhattan for something to do, I wandered around for a while and then took a different Metro back up to near the Hostel but walked through a part of Central Park as I think this was one of the only places we didn’t see on Jerry’s Tour! Back to the hostel I got my bag and took the Metro and SkyTrain out to JFK airport. I had been told it would take me nearly 3 hours to do the journey but in the end it only took an hour or so. Luckily I was able to check in even though it was only 4pm so with about 6 hours to kill I went over to Terminal 4 – which has the largest selection of restaurants and bars and had a couple of beers and some food there and generally mooched around the shops before returning to T7 to go through security and wait for the flight.
We left about 15 minutes late due to the place being a little late getting in but the flight was fine and I had booked a seat right at the back so it was only a ‘double’ rather than a ‘triple’ and had a but more room to move around. The evening meal was typical ‘plane food’ of chicken and rice and then I tried to sleep the next couple of hours until the rather lame breakfast of a coffee and pastry came round just before we circled over London for about 20 minutes before landing. My bag came off the plane fairly quickly and got out to be met by Phil, Ian and Amy who had driven down to meet me. We took a taxi across to the hotel where they had parked the car and were on the road home to Manchester at 12 noon and did really well to make Leigh to drop others off at 3:30pm, so we missed the ‘Birmingham M6 Rush Hour Carpark’. Calling in at The Barton for at last A REAL PINT (or 2!) of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, it was excellent, however the first defiantly didn’t touch the sides!

New York Day 3

I chilled out today my back & leg were giving me a lot of pain today and add to that it was a fine rain drizzle that was coming down, I had breakfast in the hostel and some pain killers the Metro down to the main shopping area with the intention of getting some flight socks for the way home. After going to about a dozen Pharmacies and Outdoor/Travel stores and having no look I gave up and went for a beer and food in the Hartland Brewery which is located in the base of the Empire State Building, then meandered my way back to the hostel

New York Day 2

6:30am Fire Alarm! The fire alarm went off this morning at 6:30am, not that anyone seemed to be in any hurry to leave the building, I got up and quickly dressed and queued to get down the stairs to get out, and was met by the NYFD coming up the stairs, turned out it was steam on a sensor, so I went back to bed for an hour or too before needing to get up for Jerry's City Tour. This is the best value $10 I’ve had it the States. At 11am I and about 20 other hostellers met up with a local retired School Teacher called Jerry, he has been running his Grand Tours for over 13 years and they are excellent. From 11 until 1.30am! we walked, rode the subway, hopped a ferry, and got to know the city in ways many tourists never do. We even went for a vey cheap evening meal in an Indian restaurant for less than $20, which is cheap for NY. Jerry took us to virtually every section and attraction in the city; The Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho, Greenwich Village, Little India, The Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, 5th Avenue, Ground Zero, The Statten Island Ferry, The Staue of Liberty and even in to the Marriot hotel on Times Square to experience the inside-outside lifts to the 47th floor! A fantastic day out and a tour I would recommend to anyone who goes to NY (and you don’t even have to stay at the hostel to join it – just turn up before 11am on Tuesday or Saturday). The only issue was I don’t think it did by leg any good doing all that walking.

New York Day 1

I started late this morning with a very heavy head! I jumped on the Metro and rode it down to central Manhattan and had a wander around I had looked in the phone directory and found the address of the Scout Office but it turned out to be just the admin office but the did direct me to the Scout Shop which turned out to be on the 4th floor of the Empire State Building so I headed over there and had to get a pass to get in. That was no problem – a driving licence works here! Unfortunately it doesn’t get you further than the forth floor though so I couldn’t sneak a lift to the top! After getting some badges I wandered aimlessly around for an hour or two and came across Times Square and sat and watched the world go by before heading back to the hostel and chilling out for the evening.

Bus to NY

I took the 12:30 Megabus today to New You’re and all went well until we got to the Lincoln Tunnel, just as we got there it got shut down because of an incident in the tunnel and we sat in gridlocked traffic for a good 20minutes until they re-opened it. Once under the river we were dropped at Penn Station and I took the Metro up the 1 line to the hostel. This is the biggest hostel I’ve ever stayed in with over 700 beds but with an average hotel room price of $267 a night in New York I was glad I was paying a lot less than that. The hostel is huge with large bunk dorms but very clean and seems to have had a recent make-over with big lounger settees and a rather smart modern kitchen area. Not sure what to do I signed up for the Happy Hour drinks evening this evening, not having a car any more not having to worry about driving the next day. We met up at the reception at 7ish and we were just given an address of a bar about 2 blocks up the road. It was tiny and there was no way we we’re all going to get in there (there was about 15 of us) apart from that there was some very serious poetry reading being done, a couple of us bought a drink there but the rest moved on to another bar just over the road where we joined them and then we hit another bar, and another… eventually I think I rolled back into the hostel about 3am, a good night out!

Philadelphia

Took the long walk back to the bus stop this morning and waited for the bus – I managed to get the bag on my back like a rucksack and balanced it with my day sack so it wasn’t too bad. We then took the bus back into the town centre and just had a short walk to find the Apple Hostel in the centre of town. We checked in and dropped the bag in the bag store as we were too early to check in and having been loaded with things to do/see we headed off into town.
The first place we went to see was the Eastern State Penitentiary which was excellent. You use an audio guide to wander around the part ruined grounds of the prison, with the narration given in many places by the voices of previous inmates and warders of the prison there are also art installations at various places around the site which gives it a slightly surreal feel to some of them. The nice thing is that it has not been fully restored which gives it a very eerie feel in places. Al Capone was incarcerated here and his cell has been recreated to show how it was made for him which was quite luxurious compared to the general cells for the vast majority of inmates. When the prison was first built it was designed around a central hub and the blocks were arranged as spokes off the centre so that the chief warder could keep an eye on the whole site from on place however as the capacity was increased other blocks have been added which fit in between the others and are not visible from the centre. In the early days the prisoners were all kept in solitary confinement and could spend years not seeing another person even the warders wore socks over their shoes so the inmates would not be aware that anyone else was there. A very harsh place to be. After the Penitentiary we walked over to the Museum of Art, not to go in but because it was made famous for the steps that Rocky ran up! Mark recreated the event while I filmed him on his camera, as did lots of other people every couple of minutes. There are two bronze feet marks that mark the spot where Rocky stood at the top and a large bronze statue of the famous pose down at the bottom to the side of the steps (it used to be at the top but they moved it for some reason). Back into the town centre now for a well earned beer and we found a small bar that had some local lager but it wasn’t too good but the barman directed us to a craft beer bar and we sampled some rather good bottled beers from all over the world. By now it was getting on for 5 oclock so we headed back to the hostel by the way of the SOS Philly Steak Sandwich shop for some food. The Philly steak sandwich – which it the trademark food of the town comprises a sub type roll with thin cut griddled steak covered with American cheese and relish, nice but nothing amazing. Back to the hostel and we joined a group of other hostellers on a ‘ghost’ tour of the city centre, which was really just a slightly cheesy walk around the town centre pointing out various places where people had it the past been killed or died in salubrious circumstances.

Bus to Philadelphia

Took the Metro this morning back into town to the Car park where the Megabus was to leave from. The queue was huge but all was well as 2 buses turned up. The Megabus is just the same as you see in the UK Doubledecker coach and cheap! You even get laptop power and free WIFI on the bus, which worked really well, I’d read some reviews about the quality of the buses and was a little wary at first but in reality they were great and for price were excellent - $8 to Philly against $90 on the train. The bus was soon on the freeway and even though we left 30 mins late we arrived on time at 35th Street Train Station on time. I then took the train 1 stop to Central Philly and then waited for the local bus No.38 out towards the hostel. The bus wound it’s way through the town and then out through some rather run down areas of the town and finally the driver gave me a shout when he got to the stop I needed. He’d obviously seen other backpackers before as he told me exactly which way to walk from the bus stop. I now had a mile walk into a public park to get to the hostel and it would have been fine although I noticed that my new roll along bag seemed to be getting heavier and heavier. Looking down at the wheels I found that one had actually jammed or got stuck the friction had caused it to melt the housing and was now useless. Luckily I only had about a hundred yards to go to the hostel so I carried it the last bit.
Vey quiet hostel in the middle of nowhere, but did get chatting to a lad called Mark from Bolton and as we were both going to the Hostel in Philly centre tomorrow we agreed to team

Washington Day 2

Today I was to finally get rid of the Chevy Impala that has given me so much grief for the last week or so, first I called at a Target store to get a lager travel bag to put all my stuff in. picked a large drag-along holdall for about $40 just the job. I dropped it off back at Jo's then drove the car down to Union Station where the Alamo returns are done. Just made it in time the traffic around Union Street Station is horrendous. After dropping the car and getting lost trying to get out of the car park; confusingly the signs pointing to the rail station are located over the escalators which take you back into the car park. The huge hall of the station is grand and awe inspiring and laid out with smart restaurants and cafés. The 'lines' are actually hidden away from the view of the station user and you could easily be led to believe that you were in some strange temple to food and not a railway station at all. Leaving the station I found the Postal Museum next door. I decided to go a have a look as communications have always interested me and also it wasn't your average run of the mill museum. Whilst only small, it was interesting and I spent an hour or so in here. Coming outside I took a walk over to Captiol Hill and took a couple of pictures. There was a Christian group giving it their all on the lawn in front of the Building complete with bands, staging, world flags and dancers. It was all a bit too much for me and I dropped in a small bar for a pint.

Washington Day 1

I took the Metro this morning down to the centre of Washington today and first stop was the White House – which is as small as everyone says it is. There was some activity on the balcony but it's too far across the lawn to see what exactly was going on, there were certainly a few 'blokes in black suits' knocking about. I walked down from the Whitehouse towards the Mall cutting off the corner and ended up in the Ronald Regan food court – no, I've no Idea why it's called that either! But there was a good fresh food buffet in there so I got a large Salad to go and sat amongst the city types having lunch, almost as good as 'Zorba the Greek's' in Manchester, but lacked the company (Kathryn). I hobbled over to the Air and Space Museum, my back is still giving me gyp and took a look around the various halls here, some were interesting, but many were old and out dated, though from what I've read the Smithsonian Institute (who run the museums are nearly broke but absolutely refuse to charge for admission so this is the price.

Roanoke to Washington

I did the last major run in the car today, and I'll be glad to get out of it. Uncomfortable and bad memories. I drove northwards until I picked up 'the Beltway'; the M60 or M25 of Washington at times it was mad with over 6 lanes each direction all full of traffic vying for to be the next F1 (or Nascar?!?) driver. Eventually I got off it and headed into the Suburb of Woodbridge where I had found there was a HRO Amateur Radio store to get a replacement battery for my radio. Duly bought I set the Sat Nav to take me the shortest route to Joanne's apartment in Silver Spring – this turned out to be straight through the middle of down town Washington. Joanne teaches at the British School of Washington and had kindly offered to put me up for a couple of days (some how I managed to get the days mixed up and arrived a day early!) The route in took me past the Pentagon and past Arlington and then over the Potomac river and into 'the District' proper, after that it was a slow crawl through busy city streets pretty much all the way up to Silver Spring which is right on the edge of the District in the North. I was early and didn't have the exact address in the sat nav so I parked up on a Shopping Centre Carpark and went into a Coffee Shop to use the net. It turned out that the Apartment block was on the very carpark I had parked on.

Blue Ridge Mountains

Today I got off the Freeway and took the Long winding Blue Ridge Mountains Highway, another 'road' National Park. The roadway and a number of Miles either side of it are designated a National Park. The day was cloudy and misty but still warm and actually a bit muggy. I followed the road for a number of hours before peeling of to refill with fuel and then pick up the Freeway to Roanoke and find one of the cheaper motels.

North Carolina and into Virginia

Packed up the tent this morning and took the the road through the Smokies over into North Carolina. Ironically many of the roads through this area were forged by Auto-clubs in the '20's who wanted somewhere nice to take their new cars and was why the park was created – to protect it from commercialisation, just now it's full of cars! At the state line at the summit of the pass is a car park with lookouts to both states. The think I noticed was the sign at the side announcing that this was a place where people hard the right to carry out their 1st Amendment – the right to free speech – as long as you stood next to the sign you could say anything! The road dropped down the hill through a series of sweeping long downhill runs to eventually open out into the Indian Reservation town of Cherokee, which again was a similar idea to Gatlinburg but with casinos as well. I follwoed a road out not really knowing where I was going stopping for some fuel on the way and eventually picked up the freeway northwards. I pulled off at Johnson City for a coffee and internet at a McDonald's and then carried on the now fairly boring freeway landscape for about another hour or so. I pulled off again for a drink and rest again just over the border into Virginia and as I got out searched in vain for my wallet. I knew I had it at the McDonald's but could not find it at all. So back in the car to retrace my steps back to the McDonald's at Johnson City with that horrible sinking feeling in my stomach; what if it's not there? What would I do now? I only had $5 in my pocket and now with going back wouldn't have enough fuel to get to Washington. Luckily when I got back there, one of the staff had cleaned the tables just after I had left and found it on the floor next to where I was sat. She had remembered my accent and finding the UK driving licence in it put 2 and 2 together had put it in the office. When I got back there looking slightly worried she just smiled and went and got it and said 'is this what your looking for?' Phew! So back onto the road again for the drive north again and I drove back up to Virginia before finding a cheep motel to crash in.

Gatlinburg

I drove back down the narrow road to Gatlinburg today. The sun was out and it was a really warm day. The town is in a narrow valley on the edge of the National Park. It's a bit like Bowness but on speed. Everything is geared towards the tourist dollar, however my first stop was to find a chemist to get some tablets for my back which was really stiff today. I hobbled down the main street which seemed to be over-run with Ripley's Believe-it-or-not exhibitions. I got some tablets for back pain and called into the ubiquitous McDonald's to get a drink to wash them down. Then on down the street to see nothing but craft and tack shops selling anything and everything you can think of with the word Gatlinburg on it. Walking back up the main street there is a chair lift to take you up the mountain but the queue was huge and it only takes you up to more shops so I gave it a miss. Dark clouds were rolling in and the wind got up and so I headed back up to the camp site and read and listened to my radio, once again I just escaped the bad weather which flooded out Nashville and many other parts of the State of Tennessee but missed here completely.

To Gatlinburg, via Chattanooga

Drove on today following the interstate South-East then for a confusing half a mile or so dropped into Georgia State, where it must be illegal to buy fireworks as either side of the state border were loads of Firework shops just off the highway in Tennessee. I pulled off the highway just after it turned North-East into Chattanooga not really sure what I was going to find here. I followed a number of signs to something called 'Lookout Mountain' which turns out to be slightly big hill on the edge of town. It also boast having an Inclined Railway and Ruby Falls; the largest known under-ground water fall, which is supposed to be very impressive. On arriving at the Carpark I parked up but found my back was incredibly stiff and sore today and I hobbled over the Entrance. The cost for entry was about $40 and included a long walk through caves to reach the water fall. I certainly wasn't willing to fork out $40 just to see a water fall and to be honest I don't think I could of managed to walk into it any way and hobbled back to the car like an old man to pop a couple more Paracetamol. Back on the road I was ok as long as I kept still and didn't move around too much on carried on up the interstate to the Gatlinburg turn off. The weather forecast was good and as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was here I saw it as an excellent time to camp for a change. Off the Highway I pulled into one of the Visitor centers and asked for advice on where to camp. The lady there told me to head up to Elk Mount Campsite and even told me which site to pick once in there!
On the way up to the site you pass through the area of Pigeon Force (no idea why it's called this) but its a tacky strip of motels, fast food joints and small amusements which has all sprung up allegedly because of the nearby Dollywood; Dolly Parton's very own theme park (Which I had no intention of visiting as numerous people had already told me how cheep tacky and expensive it was!)
Just before the road wound into the mountains towards Gatlinburg there was a large Wallmart to I pulled in to get some tea and supplies(beer) for the night. Wandering around this huge monolith of a store that sells everything I came to the Gun section. Some how I find it slightly worrying. Just out of interest I asked the guy behind the counter what I needed to buy one; “ just a Driving Licence and a Credit Card” he replied with some what of glee in his voice, I declined to buy one but assured him I may come back later! I wandered around and picked a six pack of beer and some snacks and salad stuff and went to pay. At the check out I did the usuall now here of handing over my Driving Licence and card to prove I was over 21 and to pay. The girl was apparently under 21 so she had to call the Supervisor to ring the beer through. This is where I got rather annoyed, the supervisor took on look at my Driving Licence and said she couldn't accept it as “I was an alien” I needed to show her my Passport to prove I was over 21! I remonstrated the fact that did I really look like I was just over 21 or a little over and also asked why my Driving licence would have been perfectly valid to buy a gun but not beer. I'm not sure whether she didn't understand my accent or just was being bloody minded but she asked ofr my Passport again, luckily I had it on me and showed it to her, She then took ages to go though each of the pages and compare it to my driving licence. The dates then threw her; my Passport shows 6/MAR/69 and my Driving Licence shows 6/3/69 (which is the 3rd of June in the US not the 6th of March), finally after explaining this to her she finally asked me “how is Ireland these days?” - “I've no bloody idea... I'm English, from England” I retorted. With that she agreed to sell me 6 small bottles of beer while the checkout girl behind her smirked and smiled at her supervisors bloody minded incompetence & ignorance. Finally out of the Walmart I drove on up Gatlinburg which is a little like Bowness on Speed and out into the National Park to the Campsite.
Unfortunately the (nice) lady at the Visitors Center got the price a bit wrong telling me it was only $10/night, I had $30 on me so I assumed I would be ok. When I got there it turned out to be $17 a night and as I planned to stay for 2 nights I was $4 short. The site is run on a honesty box system where you post your payments into a slot with the site you've picked and your details. There were big warning signs about non-payment and I wasn't going to risk it so headed back down to Gatlinburg I'd passed through before to the ATM, a round trip of about 15 miles just for $4! The site though was excellent and hidden up a long twisting valley in the park. Each small site had an pitch for a tent a fire pit and a bench and table all amongst an oak forest. There were also signs everywhere about keeping all food locked in your car to keep the bears at bay!

Manchester!(Tennessee) and Jack Daniels, Lynchburg

I left Nashville this morning and took the road south out of town towards the Lynchburg and the Jack Daniels Distillery. Just of the Interstate I booked into a cheap motel room in Manchester of all places (although nothing like back home!) I then too the local road out to Lynchburg, the home of the Jack Daniels Distillery. The tour here is free and you start in a large Visitors Centre where you watch a film about the history of the place. Then you a led out a side door onto a 'Tour Bus' which takes you all of 500yds up the road though the grounds. The first stop is the old on site fire station where they have an old REO Speedwagon Fire Truck (yes, the rock group did base their name on a truck of this type) Next to the fire house we were told about the wood which is used to fire the distillery and also to make the charcoal which is used to filter the whiskey later in the process. From here we walked down to the old building which was originally used by Mr Jack Daniels as his office and there we were given a guided tour of the some of the artefacts in there. Next was the spring water source from which the pure water is drawn for the whiskey to this day, next to which is a supposedly life-size statue of Jack Daniels on a rock; so you can pose with him 'on-the-rocks' from here we went into first the distilling tanks and were able to get a heady wiff of the brewing liquor then to the filter sheds where the liquor is filtered through huge 3 story charcoal filtration beds. The tour guide lifted the lids on these beds to allow us to get a good sniff of the filtering whiskey which was certainly heady at this point but with little character. From here the liquor is decanted into oak barrels which are had made still on site and then taken to one of a number of storage sheds to be laid down to mature. Each consecutive barrel is taken to a different shed to ensure that should a shed be destroyed then the whole of this batch of whiskey would not be lost. Barrels are then placed in the storage sheds for a number of years to allow them to mature. Depending on the level in the shed the barrel is stored will affect the colour and taste of the whiskey. Those higher up the the shed will be subject to more heat extremes of warmth and cold. This allows the whiskey to seep in and out of the charred oak barrel which in turn adds to the colour and texture of the whiskey. So a barrel which is lower down the storage shed won' t get as smooth a flavour and is actually sold as a 'Green Label' Jack Daniels and is slightly harsher in taste than the standard Black Label, because of the limited number of these it is only normally available in Tennessee. Next was the single barrel bottling room where bottles are filled and packed on a batch process by hand from a single barrel at a time. You can come to the Distillery and purchase a whole barrel and have your own specially numbered and marked bottles made up. There is a 'Hall of Fame' here for people and groups which have done this. At the end of the tour we ended up back at the Visitors Centre where you get to sample... lemonade!!! Ironically the county in which Lynchburg is situated is a 'dry' county so they can't allow you to try the stuff!. They do have a shop where you can purchase a number of the speciality brands and limited edition versions of Jack Daniels in the corner of the visitor centre, however with the cheapest bottle being over 40 pounds a go I declined. Apparently this is the only liquor outlet in the whole county, you have to go about 10miles out to be able to buy the stuff normally! From the visitor centre I took a short drive down the road to the village/town of Lynchburg which is a sleepy little square of touristy shops around a 'city hall' The old hardware store has been converted into an olde tyme store selling everything and anything you can think of connected to Jack Daniels but the actual stuff itself.

Nashville

I took my time this morning and had a a couple of fresh coffees whilst chatting to some of the other people. Three of the other people there were planning to walk up to Centennial Park to see the full size replica of the Parthenon before they headed off down to New Orleans Festival. We sat in the sun for awhile then walked around the huge Parthenon which looks slightly out of place in the middle of this large Park. Walking back towards the hostel we stopped off at the Café Coco which is apparently an institution in these parts. Open 24hrs a day you can get anything from drinks to snacks to full meals and the food really was good and fresh and 'real' a nice change from all the fast food everywhere. Back to the hostel and I chilled out for the afternoon on the patio of the hostel with other guests some playing a guitar that was passed around for people to show off their Country talents. In the evening I walked out with a couple of the other hostellers to the Commodore Bar where it was 'Open Mike' night. The idea is that people sign up to play a Guitar and sing on the stage. The night started off with the resident band playing a number of songs then another 12 singer/songwriters got up on the stage to give it their all. Some were ok a couple were really good, I'm not really a Country fan but it was a great way to experience the 'Country Music' scene.

Into Nashville

It took me about an hour to get into Nashville this morning and I went to the Hostel listed in the Lonely Planet. It didn't seem too bad so I booked in for 2 nights. The hostel is in a collection of brick bungalows in a semi-industrial area. I took a drive down to the town centre just as a huge storm broke. After realising it wasn't going to stop too soon I looked for something to do indoors. The Farmers Market was just out of the city and I headed over there. The market is a huge long covered market in 3 sections. The central part is enclosed as a food court and I get a coffee in here. The rain had now slowed to a slow to a drizzle, I took a walk around the third of the market which was operating, mostly there were just plant sales, it looks like the market was on a slow day. Next door was a monument of some kind to the history of the USA, large black granite blocks are spaced down a garden, each represents a decade and is engraved with quotes from famous people of the time. Back at the hostel I chatted with a number of the other people there before going to bed

Memphis to just outside Nashville

I decided to get off the freeway today and told the Satnav to avoid them, it took me northwards up though the sticks of Arkansas, the land is flat and mostly fields however every so often there are small copses of fields with farmsteads in them. I had a litle twinge of pain in my back so as I speed through a small village I pulled in to a Chemist for some Paracetamol. Opposite was a restaurant called Piggy P's, as it was already lunchtime I called in for some typical Southern grub of Pork and fries and Iced Tea. I continued on up the small road and suddenly the road doglegged to the right and left and under a strange archway over the road. I didn't realise it but I'd actually travelled up to into Missouri. I didn't get chance to stop at the weird arch, I had a huge truck right up behind me pushing me along and eventually I got a straight bit of road and allowed him to pass. I came across a radio communications store and pulled in to see if I could get a new battery for my radio they didn't sell Yeasu kit but they did give me the name of a store that may over the river in Dyersburg in Tennessee. I drove about another 20 miles up to the bridge over the Mississippi and headed into Dyersburg. I only had the name of the company and wasn't sure how I would find the firm. As I got into the down town area I came across a Library so I pulled into the carpark and used the internet there to track down the company. I got an address for them but my Sat Nav showed it as being about 10miles out of the town. As it was in the general direction of Nashville I headed out there. Unfortunately there was nothing but fields when I got to the 'address'. Rather than go back into Dyersberg I carried on towards Nashville but ended up stopping at a Motel about an hour out as I was too tired to drive any further and my back was still playing up. Across the road from the Motel was the Lorretta Lyne Restaurant and Gift Shoppe, apparently she's a world famous County Star – sorry never heard of her; however the all -you-can-eat buffet was good at only $9 a pop.

Forrest City to Memphis

I took a drive over into Memphis today, I'd heard about a Spring Fair taking place in a town just south of the city so I went to try and find that first. I did find it but it had either closed up early (because of the storm) or just doesn't happen on a Sunday. I drove back into the downtown Memphis and took a walk down Beale Street which was teaming with people. The street was closed off and down the centre three lanes were marked out. It was Wine Race Day, this is when the various bar tenders get together to race up and down carrying trays of wine and glasses. They do it in a relay and each time a team member runs they add a bottle of wine and a glass, the bottle has to be opened and a glass poured. By the time the 4 person runs the 100 yards there are 4 full(ish!) glasses and 4 bottles of wine on the tray. The fact that some of them appeared to have had a little dutch courage before hand I'll think you get the idea of how many actually complete the course! A large dark cloud started to roll in so I headed back to the car ( plus I wasn't going to drink and drive) Just as I got back to the car the heavens opened and I headed back over the River Mississippi into Arkansas 'cos the hotel tax is about 8% less than Tennessee, and the hotels are on average $10 cheaper there too!

Forrest City

I didn't sleep too well last night – couldn't get the fact I'd been robbed out of my head and I eventually felt like getting up at first and having checked the weather channel for updates found that the storms were to get worse today so I decided to stay put and ride it out. I called down to the Walmart to get some food etc and whilst on the way back the sky got dark – really dark over to the south. Just as I'd got into the room the Sirens went off, I'd left the TV on in the room and there were warnings of 'imminent Tornado possible – take cover' So being good, I stood at the door to see what was happening. The wind got up but not too bad and then about 15 minutes later the message was updated to say the threat had been cancelled for the area I was in – This was about the same time as the town of Yazoo, and a huge swath of Mississippi was flattened just over the state border. The tornado had missed here by about 80 miles not far when its travelling at over 40miles an hour and flattening every thing in it's wake.

Oklahoma to Forrest City

Set off today with the intention of going to Memphis but I got as far as a place called Forrest City in Arkensas. The drive was tiring and I was pritty down because of having the stuff nicked. I found a cheap motel in one of the coupon books I have and checked in for the night. It had started to rain on the way in and the weather was getting a little rough.
I was a little surprised when I checked in to be told 'If you hear the siren get in the bathroom and and cover up. - there's a tornado coming!'
hmm. With this info I called round the corner at the local Walmart and got some tea and settled in to watch the Weather Channel along with a couple of beers.

Oklahoma City

Took a drive out to a local clothing store to get some new clothes, all I have left is what I'm wearing! Then out to Timber's Mum's house. I've spoke to here many times on the phone and it was great to meet her. Then we took a drive into the middle of Oklahoma to see the local art's festival which was taking place. We managed to get a parking place in Car Dealers that was making a mint out of being next door to the site. Timber needed to be close to the site as she is also pregnant and is due in about 3 weeks so didn't want to have to walk too far, we also had her 2 year old son Calvin in tow too so he comes with the whole buggy thing too. We met up with a couple of her friends there, one who has just had a baby and the other who was helping to run the festival. We had a wander around the stalls and then got some food from the tent food court there. I went for the local dish of beans, ground meat and salad on a pitta like bread but it was more doughy. I suppose it was it bit like a tortilla but a huge plate full. We let Calvin have a run around an exhibit that was set up for young kids then headed back, Timber had a doctors appointment so she dropped me at her house. In the evening we went to a BBQ place to have a traditional
local fill of pork and potatoes!

Tulsa to Oklahoma - ARRG! I've been Robbed!

Got up about 9am and chatted to Emily and Dave till about 10:30 then went out put my stuff in the car. GUTTED – found the car had been broken into – My rucksack with all my clothes, all my Scouting Badges and Uniforms, my travel plans, even the Girl Scout Cookies I got from Amy in Indianapolis have gone. They also took my Media Player I had bought in Hong Kong which I must have left in centre console. It's the Scouting stuff I'm really upset about – I had bought and swapped loads of badges around the world and bought a couple of uniforms, also my World Scout Jamboree Neckerchief and my own uniform has gone.
It looks like they have popped the locks on the car with something down the side of the window, there is no damage to the car and the car still locks and unlocks normally.
Dave and I had a drive around the area to see if they had just dumped the bags nearby but couldn't see anything, then we went down to the Police Station to file a report. This involves filling in a long form including my weight and height – god knows why they need that info! Back at Emily's I made a couple of calls back home and just felt totally deflated. The ironic thing is that when Emily and Timber came to Manchester Timber had her Bags pinched at Chortlon St. Bus Station – Ironic


I ended up not seeing any of Tulsa and just left to Drive on down to Timber in Oklahoma. I'd planned to follow Route 66 between the two towns but ended up taking the Freeway again as it would have taken too long.
I arrive at Timbers around 8ish and explained what had happened.

Springfield to Tulsa

Drove the couple of hours down the freeway to Tulsa. They actually have tolls here! First time I've come across them and the roads are not much better for it – mind you there only $4 a time and they only take cash – good job I stopped at Walmart for some cash last night. I got into Tulsa no problem and found Emily's house fairly easily. I met Emily about 7 years ago in Paris at a youth hostel along with Timber (who I'm going to see in a couple of days.) They were travelling around Europe. Emily is currently off work as she's expecting a baby and was on bed rest but we chatted till late and then her husband, Dave came home from work and I stayed up late till about 1ish chatting with him. We went out to the car to bring in my sleeping bag and day sack and had a quick smoke and locked up the car (I know this happened because the lights go out when the doors are locked)

St Louis to Springfield

The Hostel was quiet but the bed was awful so I set off again towards Tulsa but I took my time on the way down there and stopped in a town called Springfield along the way. The freeway was fairly boring apart from the hundreds of billboards along the way. The most suspicious were for an area called Benson, they progressively got more and more intriguing with offers of gifts, coupons, adverts for the tourist info radio, whilst they all said how fantastic the place was no of them actually said what was there. A little further on I managed to make contact with another radio amateur on the radio and we passed the time chatting for my last 30 minutes into Springfield. He was waiting for his wife to finish work one junction down from where I came off. Just as I pulled into the car park he followed me in. We had a quick chat in the car park then he was off. Got accused of being Australian and German by the receptionist when I checked in! I drove down to the local Walmart and picked up some food and made the mistake of picking up a pack of Budwiser , it's like fizzy pop, and tasteless, how do they call it beer?

Indianapolis to St. Louis

I set off to drive to St. Louis today and the journey was fairly uneventful. I crossed over the Mississippi River to see the huge Gateway Arch towering over the town. I drove on through the town to find the Hostel I had booked. It wasn't that far through town and I found it after doubling back a few times through roadworks and various one way roads. The hostel is in a fairly run down area and to be honest the hostel is fairly dingy too, I checked in and went down to the town centre to have a look around. As I drove in I noticed there was a baseball game being played so I found a parking space and walked back to the 'ballpark' The match/game? was drawn and was going into overtime but many of the people were leaving the ground. I wandered around outside the ground for a while and took a couple of pics through the railings then went for a walk down to the Gateway Arch, it really is huge, it stands in a park on the edge of the river and at over 600ft it actually make you dizzy looking up at it from under it. It was built in 1965 to symbolise St. Louis as the Gateway to the West, I wanted to go up it as there is a viewing platform at the top but unfortunately it was too late and the visitor centre had closed. I called in a KFC for some tea then went back to the hostel and typed up some of the blog.

Indianapolis Day 3

Today I went for a drive out to see downtown Indy and to see the Indiana State Museum. IT was really hot today – or felt it to me – and just walking across the town I was dripping by the time I got to the Museum, I had a drink from the concession then went into the history of people in Indiana. The exhibit showed the development of the state from the indigenous people to the people who emigrated to the lands and how they shaped them right up to the current day. There was certainly lots to see and interact with but it was fairly noisy not from people but from all the displays trying to compete with each other and this did make it hard listen to some of them. The noise of the museum was that loud that I didn't hear the announcements that the museum was closed for the evening and I'm not too sure who was more surprised, me or the security guard that came around a corner and asked me to leave! On the way back to the car I walked past the State Capital where there was a rally by the TEA Party. This is a Republican splinter group that feels that America is going in the wrong direction and they were very patriotic with loads of flags

Indianapolis Day 2

I took a drive out today to the local Scout Headquarters which had just been built on the edge of the town. I was very Impressed. A guy named Sox gave me a tour of the brand new building which houses the admin and training services for the region. There are also huge conference rooms and a large Scout Shop where I bought a load more badges. The centre also intends to provide a walk-in training centre where any leader can walk in any day of the week and get training and support for a massive range of subjects from paper work to fire-lighting to canoeing. This is certainly a major investment and has cost in the region of $6 million to set up. From her I drove just around the corner to Camp Belzer which is the local Scout Camp. I had a wander around the site which is very well provided with huge buildings and facilities including 3 swimming pools. From here I took a drive over to the Speedway Museum at the Indianapolis Speedway. The museum is located within the oval and has a number of cars and bikes associated with the circuit. From walking round you would be led to assume that the Indy 500 and Nascar are the only forms for motor racing, there was a small mention about the F1 which used to race here but it was almost as though it was an embarrassment. Outside I took a 'quick spin' around the circuit. I say quick but the bus didn't break 35mph and we were not allowed to get off the bus at any time, even when the bus slowed to stop over the brick start finish line. The tradition here is to kiss the brick line when you win and this is the only bit of the track which is visible brick that is left. The original track was dirt but then it was covered with bricks to enable racing to continue in the wet (when it became muddy), or I the dry heat when it became a dust bowl and no one could see the racing. Just down the road was a brick works so they bought loads and covered the track with bricks. Most of them have been covered with tarmac now but the start finish line still has a yard wide brick section.

Indianapolis Day 1

Took a walk out with Karen for Lunch at a local coffee shop and appreciated the warm weather – back to shorts and t-shirts! In the evening I went with Andrew and David to their Scout Meeting of Troop 120. Scout Troops here keep youth members to about 18 so their meetings are 'boy led' The leaders are really just there to supervise the meeting. One thing that was different was the way that the Scouts refer to adults, where we use first or nicknames the Scouts here always use Sir or Mr... I gave the Scouts here an overview of how we run Scouting in the UK and about my travels around the world then they went out to play some team building games. One of the leaders here gave me a load of local badges (or patches as they are known here) to add to my collection.

Regina to Indianapolis

Breakfast of pancakes and coffee before heading back to the small Airport at Regina where Allan dropped me off and I checked in for the flight to Minneapolis. There were only 17 of us on the flight so we could spread out and had a row each! The flight was fine and only took an hour or so and then I had to run the gauntlet of US immigration again. Once through I picked up my bag from one belt and dropped it onto another for the flight to Indianapolis. I had a couple of hours to kill here so I went for a wander around the airport and did some blog writing before the next flight. I picked up the hire car in Indianapolis airport which was huge, modern and empty, probably because it was now 10pm here. Time zone jumping is very confusing! I picked a Chevy Impala from the choice of vehicles and drove out onto the freeway and arrived at Andrew and Karen's house around 11pm.

Regina Day 2

Today Debbie had to work so Alan and I went to visit the RCMP museum in town. Whilst small it tells of the history and work of the police in Canada. The force was formed about 130 years ago as the North West Mounted Police to protect the areas of Canada which did not have a police presence. The force later transformed into a national police force and the national training centre was created in Regina. The museum was quite good and the intro film we were shown in the auditorium was well done abate a little kitsch with a sort of video based narrator on a plinth at the side of the the screen. The odd bit was of the 200 odd seats in the auditorium, Allan and I were the only ones in there! Back at Debbie's we had a great roast lamb dinner and chatted till late.

Regina Day 1 (Moose Jaw)

A leisurely start to the day today and we drove out to Moose Jaw which is the next major town over we took a gravel road from theirs to meet the highway to Moose Jaw. Many of the local roads in this area are like this and they run for miles either East-West or North-South. And yes even out in the middle of no where where you can see for miles in all directions you sill have to come to a complete stop at a Stop sign. Every now and again the North – South roads do a big dogleg to account for the fact that they run off north every so often and have to be corrected.
We arrived in Moose Jaw which was once a huge bootlegging town, Al Capone was allegedly in town and the town seems to thrive on this. We took the 'Tunnels' tours which is a theatrical tour around various buildings and passages. It was done very will with guides in period costume and animatronics a lots of 'secret passages' from room to room. The first tour told the story of Al Capone and the bootlegging industry which existed here when Prohibition was in force in the US. The second told of the treatment of the Chinese Immigrant workers who came here to make their fortune and suffered greatly from persecution and maltreatment. Overall very Interesting and humorous but sobering when seeing what the Chinese went through. For our evening meal we went to a local church complex which was having a fund raising event. In the sports hall we had a huge meal of beef and vegetables with a side salad, the strangest thing was a sort of creamy angel delight textured dip which had soft wheat mixed in it.

Vancouver to Regina

Got up a little later than I intended to this morning, quickly packed and dashed out to the Airport. Luckily I managed to check in on time at the airport and grabbed a coffee at before I boarded the flight to Regina. The plane was only small but full and we soon we landing in Regina. The pilot put on the seatbelt sign quite early as they were expecting a lot of wind, and even though it was a little bumpy on the way in, it was no worse than many other flights I've taken. A couple of the people on the plane though it was bad though and it was rather quiet for thee last couple of minutes as we landed. Once at the gate you could feel the plane been buffeted by the wind. Apparently we had landed in some of the worst winds in years and it was quite breezy out of the plane. Debbie and Her partner Alan were at the arrivals hall to meet me and we collected my bag and drove into town to have something to eat at a bar which was hidden away in an old warehouse. It looked nothing from the outside but was packed inside. We settled down to some very good beer and a I had a huge plate of local meats and potatoes which was almost Germanic but very tasty. We then took the highway out to their house which is about 50km out of Regina on the Prairies. The land here is flat, very flat, you can see for almost 50km in all directions, apart from Debbie's house which is on the edge of a lake which cuts through the land like a huge crease. This was defiantly the coldest it has been for me and with the wind felt very cold. The wind had in fact been been so bad that a neighbour if theirs had lost his whole shed, this was no small 'shed' either it was huge and had the entire roof ripped of it all that was left were the cars that we once parked in it and the pool table. The roof had dropped about 200m away on the edge of the road way leading around the houses. Many of the houses in the area had suffered wind damage with the shingles and roofing materials ripped off them. Debbie and Allan had old slight damage with a couple of sections of fascia ripped off. Their next door neighbour had had a load of glass veranda panels blown out and the railing were just peeled back like they were made from tin-foil. And we had flown in to Regina in this wind.

Vancouver Day 2

Today was a beautiful clear day and I walked back down to the front where I had been yesterday. The view was completely different with the huge snow covered mountains in the distance. I snapped of a couple of pics and then walked the opposite direction to yesterday and came across the Olympic flame statue/monument/thing built the same as the one that had popped out of the floor in the stadium (this one with the four legs) It was surrounded by building fencing as they were digging up around it to put in some fountains in (why don't they do this when they build them) but I still got some pics of it from the viewing platform on the roof of the now empty Olympic media centre. It's strange but this town seems to have a bit of an Olympic 'hangover', all around there are small bits of evidence that something big has happened here, and the people seem a little shell shocked from it all, but in a good way. I watched a could of the float planes taking off from the water in front of the wharf, the wind had got up a fair bit now and some of them seemed to just hang in the sky not really going any where once they got to a certain hight before veering off over Stanley Park. I walked on through the high rise buildings and before I knew it had walked up to Stanley Park. By now it was getting on a bit and I had agreed to meet up with Debbie Reid's son in the late afternoon so I headed back to the hotel.
Not long after getting back to the hotel around 4pm I got a text from Eric to say he was downstairs. I had not seen Eric for about 15 years and that wasn't for long when I had visited Debbie in Edmonton. ( I was due to meet Debbie the next day in Regina. I've known Debbie for many years from the Old CompuServe Scouting Forum – as like Ian Loxton I met in Adelaide) We hit the bar in the Hotel for couple of pints then walked down into the Gasworks Area of town where the chap at the Brewery the night before told me of a bar that had an English Beer Engine, on the way we stopped at a pub Eric knew and had a couple of very cheep and strong but good porters ($4/8%/pint) then onto the Alibi Rooms where they did indeed have 'hand pulled' although at $26 for 4 pints we didn't stay long. Eric knew of another good bar nearby and this was about the nearest I've been to an English Pub yet, that hasn't tried to be 'Ye Olde English Pub'. For some reason we got chatting to a bunch of Koreans who were celebrating a birthday and a trio of Aussies who were just out for a beer, next thing I know we're falling out of a club back up near my hotel at nearly 2am. I would love to tell you how the beers were, but for some reason it all went a bit foggy! How Eric managed to make his class the next day I will never know?!?

Vancouver Day 1

I headed down into the centre of the town in the morning with not much plan of what to do or where to go. I eventually found my self down at a waterfront next to the Convention Centre which looks like a ship docked into the Wharf. I picked up a couple of maps from the info centre there and then walked across town to the Olympic Ice Hockey Venue which was closed. I pondered whether to walk over to The Village but it was a good distance form here so I decided to take the metro train out to the Scout Shop address I had found earlier in the Hotel. It was about 3 stops up the line (this time I validated my ticket!) and about 200 years from the station. I picked up a number of badges and had a browse of the uniforms but decided not to buy one as I already have a Scouts Canada shirt. After a lengthy chat with the manager about the state of Scout Camps in the area, I set off find the Brewery the bar man had told me about the night before. Granville Brewery is located on Granville Island which is more like a spit of land that sticks out under a huge bridge over the river. The area was once all warehouses but now has been converted to small speciality shops and companies. You can actually smell the brewery before you find it – the smell of hops is certainly distinctive! I booked in for the 4pm tour for the princely sum of $10 (which included 4 'free' tasters of their beers. Most of the brewing the company does is done off site but they produce their seasonal special still in the Brewery and sell all of them from the adjacent bar. The tour was fairly short, about 20 minutes and was led by a chap from Preston of all places. The taster beers were all very good and included a Pale Ale; very hoppy, A wheat beer (Halfwiezen); full bodied and not too gassy, A 'bitter' (forgot the name!); Fairly similar to a Thwaites, and their Seasonal beer called Nut Brown Ale which was supposed to have been a porter but had ended up more like a Newcastle Brown Ale abate at 8.5% it had a little more kick. A couple of pints more and chatting to a couple of the others on the tour and it was getting on for 8pm, and they were shutting the bar! Alas they only had a licence to sell beer whilst the tours were running and as we had been on the last tour of the day, 4 hours of 'tasting' was apparently as far as they dared push it, damn it!

Seattle to Vancouver

I got the car out of the car park after checking out of the hostel and headed towards the airport. I did a 'Top Gear' and refused to fill up as they told me to bring it back empty. The fuel range gauge said I had 10miles left in the tank as I started the car up which was good as it was only 7 to the airport. By the time I had actually driven ｽmile it said I was Empty, so I drove onto the motorway and hoped, as you do! It did deg me to the airport and I as definitely on fumes as I drove up the ramp to rental drop area. The car dropped I went to get a trolley to put my bags on; $5 a trolley!!! No thank you, I'll carry them, robbing buggers! Checked in OK and the flight was on time. The flight was only about 45 minutes to Vancouver and no sooner are you up you are coming back down again. Once the bag was collected and the usual immigration/customs etc. grilling I made my way out of the airport to find the Canada Line metro train which runs in to down town Vancouver and stops only a couple of blocks from the hotel. I bought the ticket no problem, there are friendly staff there to tell you how to use the machines, however what they don't tell you is you are then supposed to 'validate' the ticket before you get on the train at another machine. I didn't realise this until I got to my destination station and the was a huge poster 'reminding' people to validate your ticket. Too late I was already there (and there are no barriers or checks) I walked about 5 blocks to the hotel which is not too far and checked in. I had booked and paid for the Howard Johnson before I set off so I didn't have to worry about it. It was a typical city centre Hotel with a standard room and despite some of the negative reports on TripAdvisor.com it was pretty much what I had expected for this room rate plus it was very centrally located, which was great. I dropped the bags and went down to the bar for a drink and tried the 'local' pale ale which wasn't up to much, but the barman did give me couple of tips of where to go for a decent pint, which was good. Out on the street just up from the hotel I grabbed a burger for tea, the main street (Granville Road) was a hive of activity with people dismantling a scene from Fringe – Season 2 which was being filmed in the city (Something to do with New York in the future). Sadly I did not get my 15 minutes of fame as extra this time.

Seattle Day 2

Yes I managed to get up for 6am but I didn't sleep properly thinking I would oversleep. I went down to move the car (now the only one left parked on the street) I drove around the car-park and waited for it to open (40 minutes late) and parked up. Back at the hostel I had a coffee but was now so tired from not sleeping I went back to bed for a couple of hours and slept really well waking around 12:30. I had planned to go to the Space Needle a huge tower that literally towers over Seattle. The views on a good day are supposed to be fantastic however today was not a good day, rain squalls and low cloud persisted all day; I wasn't paying $25 to go and look at the inside of a cloud! I did walk up to the tower base as it's in a Exhibition Area Seattle walking first past the Convention Centre which was crowded with loads of teenagers dressed up in weird Manga outfits, hmm, I've seen some sights at Middlewood with the Live Role Players; but this took the biscuit. I followed the monorail which runs from the Convention Centre to the Exhibition Area and looked around the various buildings up here. There were two other 'museums' adjacent to the tower, one about Science Fiction and the other about Music neither of which caught my fancy however the building they were in was a like a huge metallised lump of Plasticine which the monorail passed through. Around the building was being piped all sorts of odd music, one minute, The Beatles, the next a German Um-Pa Band, the next some atmospheric 'Muzak' it must have been connected with the music museum, but next to this building it was quite surreal. Further into the 'park was a large bowel in the ground surrounded by a low wall you could sit on, in the centre was a huge 12ft high silver globe which had jets of water shooting out at various angles. It wasn't until you sat at on the wall around the fountain that you realised that the water jets were being fired in sequence to music which was being played through speakers on the inner side of the wall and you could only really hear them once you were 'inside' the ring. Even though it was probably about 10deg. there were still a load of kids running around and through the huge jets that were spouting from the globe. I would imaging in the summer it's packed here but there were only about 4 or 5 brave/daft souls in there today. In fact as I left there the wind got up and it was decidedly cold so I walked back to the hostel and decided to chill out there for the rest of the evening.

Seattle Day 1

After a coffee in the hostel I wandered over to Pikes Place Market, this market has been operating here for years and features farmers and only independent traders and crafts people (Apart from one certain coffee shop) As today was Easter Sunday most of the fresh food stalls were closed but there was still a vibrant buzz about the place with lots of trinket and crafts people selling their wares. There was also a long section which was full of flower sellers, and tulips seemed to be the flower of the season. There are many little independent traders amongst the shop units that make-up one half of the market area and these include that small independent coffee shop – Starbucks. The market has very strict rules about who can and cannot run a shop or stall in the market (no chains or corporates), but as this is Starbucks first store (where it all began) they've managed to stay, and judging by the queue to get in, it helps to draw the crowds to the Market. I didn't bother with it as I'm not too keen on their coffee anyway. Instead I joined the queue for a tiny Russian Bakery where I bought a 'Perogie?!?' a sort of folded pasty with mince beef, onion and flaky pastry – it was fantastic and only a couple of dollars.
It had started off as a beautiful clear day but had now clouded over and starteded to get a little chilly. As I wandered around the town centre I came across the Seattle Underground Tour. I was just in time for the 2pm trip so I paid up and went in to what I thought was a small room, it turned out there were about 100 people in a room laid out with benches in an old time bar. A guy at the bar area had just started to give a history of Seattle pock-marked with lots of 'in jokes' about America (Which half of us tourists did not get) Eventually we were shepherded outside and split into 3 groups and then set of with a tour guide across the square outside to a door way in a building over the street. This led down into a building basement. The floor was very uneven and cracked and it seemed like the whole of the lever of the building had been abandoned. This was indeed the case, when Seattle was built it was on the mudflats for the Puget sound. At high tides the water level was so high that it would flood out some of the buildings and also blow out of the sewers -which didn't work very well as they were all below the high tide-mark! So the people of Seattle decided to put the sewers higher, this meant putting the roads higher (30ft higher!) The roads were not butt up to the buildings though so from the road you would have to descend a ladder to reach the footpath (pavement). This was not practicable so people simply put walkways over to the 1st floor and used this floor as the 'ground' floor and used the lower floor as a basement. Eventually the gap between the roads and the buildings were capped over with a pavement so the old pavement became a sort of secondary thoroughfare/storage area & drinking dens (in the Prohibition Era). The tour took us down a three of these passage ways through basements and old 'sidewalks' under the streets. Much of the detritus has been left where it was and it was nice to see something that hadn't been sanitized and cleaned as so much 'history' is in the US. The guide gave us and interesting story about the local 'seamstresses'. As this was a trading and supplies town for the gold rush era and a major port to boot, there were a lot 'seamstresses' in town. One of them managed to convince the town council that she could run a very good house and she was allowed to continue, of course she had to pay a tax on every 'jacket repair' or 'trouser hemming' that her ladies (and allegedly a couple of 'tailors') provided. So much so, enough money was raised to build and equip a large school. Strangely the school was never named after her!
On leaving the Tour, I worked my way up to the Hostel and enquired where the car-park they use was, The receptionist gave me directions and I walked out to find it first before moving the car. The good news was, it was only round the corner from where the car was parked, the bad news was it was closed as it was Easter Sunday and wouldn't open till 6am Monday morning – the same time the meter my car was parked on would come into effect, early start for me then.

Portland to Seattle

I set off for Seattle today, but called in at a Fry's Electrical Store on the way, they had some portable hard drives on offer and the one I had had been playing up so it was worth picking up one to ensure I didn't loose all my data. It took about 3 hours to drive up to Seattle and I made the outskirts just as the fuel tank flashed empty. I pulled off the free way to get a gallon of fuel – by my reckoning just enough the get me in to town and back out to the airport. I did get a funny look for just buying 1 gallon of fuel, nobody buy just a gallon here. Once in the city the roads were all one ways and I eventually found the hostel right in the centre but could I get to it, I must have gone round and round about 5 times before I eventually dropped on a metered space about 200 yards away. As it was Saturday evening I only had to pay 25cents for the last 20 minutes of the 'day'. I checked in and was told not to worry about the car as Sundays are free parking and that I would be able to move the car late on Sunday to the multi-story car park they had a deal with late on Sunday to save on parking fees. The Green Tortoise hostel was in a fantastic location right next to Pike Place Market and all the other sights in Seattle. I walked out in the evening and called in a supermarket for some supplies and to my surprise found they had Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, and it was on offer at $3 a pint (2 quid!). Not one to miss a bargain I had a couple back at the hostel (once I had warmed it up from being ice cold to just chilled.

Portland Day 2

Today the weather had changed – yesterday had been a lovely bright day; today it was low cloud and chucking it down. I drove down to the town centre over one of the many bridges that pass high over the river and parked on a meter in the town centre. The down-town area has long parks running through it so it is quite green and it clings to the side of a hill on one side and skirts the Willamette River on the other. I walked down through the shops and offices and found Powell's City of Books. This book store fills at least 2 separate blocks in the down-town area, its the largest book store I've ever been in and more resembles a library than a store. The books are arranged in coloured zones based on subject and each zone has it's own information desk to better help visitors/shoppers. I spent a good hour here browsing the hundreds of shelves and suddenly remembered I was parked on a meter about a mile away. I made my way back to the car with about 10 minutes left of the meter but at on point I wasn't sure I would find the car. The park which runs through the town and the buildings surrounding it are virtually all the same and there are 2 parks to add to my confusion I hadn't realised I had skirted one on my initial walk into the down-town area. The rain had started to come down heavy now so I took a drive out and up onto the Skyline Drive which cuts over the hill behind the town. The wind was really strong up here and loads of branches were being blown off the firs surrounding the the hill and I made for lower ground to get out of the rain and wind but there were some huge houses up on the hill which would have had fantastic views should the cloud have been higher. Back down in the suburbs I stopped in a small Coffee Shop and had a coffee and some excellent beef and bean soup. The Wifi here was brilliant (5Meg upload speed!) so I uploaded as many photo's as I could before the laptop battery ran out.

Portland Day 1

Strangely felt a little subdued today so I had a lazy day at the hostel, fortunately they didn't have a lock out during the day as many hostel do.

Eugene to Portland

Back on the road today up to Portland. The drive was mostly through mountains but the freeway was good and not too busy. I stopped a couple of times for coffee on the way and eventually rolled into Portland. I called a Safeway just before the Hostel I had booked and picked up some food for tea. The Hostel was a little way further up and very much into the 'green' thing. The roof was an eco-roof with shrubs and plants on it, the toilets were flushed with rain water collected in big tanks at the side of the hostel and virtually all waste was recycled. I fancied a beer so asked at the reception and the girl there recommended a bar about 500yds down the road which brewed their own. Not that I had to worry about getting a decent pint here. Portland is considered the micro-brewery capital of the US. I walked down the road and could only find a Pizza restaurant but on further investigation found it had a small bar area tucked down the side. They had a good selection of beers but their Espresso Stout was excellent. It had a great coffee bitter kick and wasn't to gassy. I got chatting to a guy there and we put the world to rights over a few beers, then I some how staggered back to the hostel (the beer was apparently over 8% and not many people manage more than 2 – I can remember drinking at least 3!)

Eugene

Today was cold and damp, the coldest I think it's felt since leaving Heathrow! I had some of the free pancake breakfast in the hostel then walked down 'towards' the downtown area. I say towards as I don't think I actually found the 'town centre', there were lots of art shops and service industry buildings but nothing you could actually pinpoint as a town centre. The rain was still coming down and a could swear it started sleet at one point. A time/temperature sign on a bank said it was 6 degrees C and I could believe it. I wandered aimlessly around the streets and eventually made my way back to the hostel past lots of very bohemian houses with strange art works in the gardens and attached to the fronts of houses, I now realised the hostel didn't look too out of place after all!

Sacramento to Eugene

I was aware that I needed to get some miles under my belt so today I set of on the long drive northwards, I fact I was on the road for about 9 hours up Interstate 5. I could have cut west and then up the coast but I've had enough of coast roads and it would also have added about another 5 hours to the run. The freeway ran for the first couple of hours through endless flat land of olive and fruit trees then started to climb up into the Klamath State forest as the road climbed up towards the Oregon State border. The weather also changes from being clear skies and rain started to come down. The sun went down just as I passed over the highest point on the freeway (4,310ft) which was just into Oregon and it became a little hairy on the road for the last hour or so but I had a load of BBC podcasts playing on the radio so that kept me going. ( BBC 4 Friday Night Comedy and Toby Foster's Bigger at Breakfast). Eventually I pulled up at the hostel which sort of stuck out like a sore thumb with it's bright neon 'Open' sign and tibeten prayer flags strung with fairy lights in an otherwise quiet residential street.

Sacramento

On leaving the hostel I could hear music just around the next building. On walking around it I found a festival of somekind going on. I'm not sure what the celebration/protest was as everything was in spanish but there was a circle of classic and 'pimped' American cars around the square. As things were starting to wind up I made my way down to Old Sacramento. It's is at the end of the town and went down there today to wander around the wooden board walks along the shop fronts. The whole area was a tourist trap with shops and cafés. There was a 'chip shop' which sold chips from around the world, apparently English chips come with curry, but not salt and vinegar, I did ask! On the side of the old town is the Sacramento River not much was moving on it apart from a turtle I saw near the edge trying in vein to climb over a round steel flood barrier, unfortunately it had given up and swam away before I could get my camera out. At the end of the board walk area was the Railway Museum so I went in to have a look. The museum shows a video to explain the beginnings of rail and its developments (surprisingly for the US acknowledging Stephenson and the Rocket) at the end of the video which was shown in a full size cinema the screen rose at the end of the room and cleverly the last shot on the screen had been recreated with the actual steam engine in a display in the museum. We went down the steps and out through the 'back of the cinema' and there was a guy there who took us on a tour of the most important parts of the museum before letting you wander at will. The museum it's self was about a third the size of the one at York but had some interesting trains and carriages to look at, One carriage cleverly fitted out with piston rams under it, and the windows were 'blacked out'. Once on it with the sound effects played through it, it actually felt like you were on a moving train, every so often a level crossing would 'wizz by'. The train rocked and lights flashed passed the windows. A number of museum staff were 'in character' on the carriage an they explained the layout of the sleeper and what it was like to travel in it. I also came across an usual oil burning train which had been built with the drivers cab at the front of the loco, this was because of the smoke and fumes which were coming out of the chimney tended to choke (and suffocate!) the drivers if they were on 'normal' loco's when they went through the long tunnels over the Sierra Nevada. The other thing that caught my eye about this train was that it was No.4294 ( I can't explain this one but if you recognise it you'll understand!)
On the walk back to the Hostel I found another Brew pub and found they had a real hand pulled beer engine – AT LAST REAL BEER! The beer was called Irish Red and tasted excellent , it was a ruby read colour and not too hoppy or rich, however at over 6% it was rather potent Two pints was all I could dare manage having not had a decent meal all day! Walking back to the hostel I walked through the Capital Gardens at the back of the Capital Building (Sacramento is the Capital of California). The gardens are meticulosly kept and supposedly have one of every native of tree in Calefornia.It was also full of of couples having their wedding photo's taken!

Marin Head to Sacramento

I had decided it was time to start heading north again and so I got back onto the interstate and drove around the top end of 'the bay and out north west to Sacramento. The drive was along a fairly flat straight divided highway, but luckily I had cruise control on the car (Ford Focus) 'cos 'CHiPs' (Does any one else remember that?) were hiding behind every bridge with speed guns!
Sacramento suddenly loomed up on me and I drove into the centre to find the hostel. This proved to be a little tricky as the tall buildings made the sat nav a little slow in updating and I must have gone around the one way streets a dozen times before I got in the correct lane to turn down the right street to find it. The hostel is a beautiful Victorian town house right in the centre of Sacramento surrounded by huge concrete buildings and seems sort of out of place. I wandered down into the town centre and just happened to come a cross a brew pub, Pyramid. I tied a couple of the brews; Pyramid IPA 6.7% Very hoppy with a lemon finish. Fling; tasted like a standard bitter but 5.7% and Amber Ale, unfiltered so slightly cloudy, fairly malty in taste, gassy but not too noticeable, 4.9%. They didn't have any porters or stouts but thing went quite well as I sat at the bar and chatted to two locals and they ended up paying for my beer – nice!

San Francisco to Marin Hostel

Took a walk out this morning to go and see the Exploritorium, this is one of those hands on science museums, lots of buttons to press and things to play with, I should have realised it was a weekday and the place was full of primary school kids when I got there.
The outside of the building which appears to be huge hanger is surrounded by a small lake and Greco-Roman columns -very similar to the surrounds of the Trafford Centre. The place is also referred to the Centre for Fine Arts, but there were none of these in evidence and I've no idea where they've gone. I spent a number of enjoyable hours in the Exploritorium – you have to be patient with loads of kids about, fiddling and playing with the exhibits. Walking back to the Hostel to get the car I called in at Safeway on the way to get some food as I had been warned there was not much available at the next hostel.
Back in the car I jumped back into the San Francisco traffic and joined Route 101 North which runs through the town and out onto the Golden Gate Bridge over the entrance to the Bay. The Bridge is certainly iconic but it's a trifle hard to look at it when your doing 45 in heavy traffic! Just after the bridge I peeled of the main road and hooked down and under the road into a tunnel which passed through the hill and out into a valley. This is the Malin State park and is also still used by various government agencies (Coast Guard, NOAA, etc.) All of the buildings are of a wooden 'blockhouse' style but many are privately used now. The hostel was about a mile down the road and tucked away in one of these old army barrack blocks. I checked in and dropped the bags and then continued down to the pebble beach at the end of the valley. The wind was howling in and there were loads of nutters out in surf – it was freezing in the wind! Back at the hostel I had some tea and settled in for the night, and the first hostel I'd had with no internet connection – in fact no mobile coverage either, and the strange thing was I was less than 40 minutes from the centre of San Francisco.

San Francisco Day 2

Easy start to day a relaxing Breakfast in the cafe watching a man from the parks service cut a grassed area outside the hostel with the most inappropriate mower ever. He has to change the grass box after doing just over 1 length of the grass each time and he is desperately trying to get straight lines when the ground isn't flat. To cap it all he has bright blue fluffy earmuffs and a white paper dust mask on (to go with the wellies and overalls) I was quite impressed he had left his hi-viz jacket and hard hat on the van; He'd never get a job at Middlewood!
Back out into the big city and I walked down through the park towards Fisherman's Wharf which is at Pier 39 (the piers are odd numbered at this end of The Embarcadero and number downwards to the Ferry Buildings where they start to number evenly away from it)
The strip along here is full of the usual restaurants and tack shops but hidden amongst them was the Maritime Museum – a pier with a load of boats tied up to it, you had to pay to go onto the boats but it was free to walk up and down and look at them. The pier they are on actually used to be the 'southern' end of the ferry which ran across the bay to connect Route 101 to the north before the Golden Gate Bridge was built and there is a ship here which contains old cars parked on it as a tribute to that era. Somehow putting priceless cars on an old boat, in a bay, subject to bad storms, seems a bit daft to me but they must know better. Back on 'dry land' I came across a 'Musee Mecanique' – their spelling not mine! It was a museum of amusement arcade games and entertainments the majority of which were still working (as log as you introduced a 25cent coin! They ranged from the flip card type 'zoe-o-scopes' from the Edwardian and Victorian era to Bally Pinballs and Video games, similar to the ones I saw in Santa Cruz the other day.
I walked down the front to Pier 39, the home of the Sea-lions, yes they were here, though not many, the pier itself if is a gourdy money making machine and I went back out onto the main drag to find a tram. The trams which run along this stretch are proper trams (as against the 'cable cars' which run up and down the hills pulled by cables under the road.) The trams are also all historical trams and have been brought in from all over the world, each one is from a different country or state and each is painted in the original colours. There is even a Blackpool Tram here, but I didn't see it. I rode the tram line down to Union Square and then took the Cable Car up to The Cable Car museum Near the top of Nob Hill. This is where the 3 lines of the Cable Cars are run from and it houses the central power house and winding gear for the cables which pull the cars along. The 'museum' is simply a mezzanine floor over the winding shed and an underground viewing area of the underground cable entry point but it explains well enough how the system works and I found it fascinating. Back out on to the street and I walked up two bloks to get on the California line cable car and rtook it back down to the Embarcadero where I had a coffee then took the tram back up to the end of the Embarcadero to walk back to the Hostel. On the way I did come across a bar with 68 beers on tap and it was Happy Hour.... Ok so I only had one this time – Ambers Porter and it was very good, not ice cold and full of flavour and body. I didn't stay for more as a, It was a cash only bar and I was out of cash (for today) and b, they actually counted keg Boddingtons as on of the 68!

San Francisco Day 1

I had to swap the car today so off down to the Airport to swap it over. I dropped off the Pontiac (on which the Central Locking doesn't work) and picked up a Ford Focus (on which it does!) I also found out I didn't need to fill the tank and should have brought it back empty (I hadn't grr) but I think I got a refund for the fuel I'd put in. So I must remember to take this one back with an empty tank. Back to the hostel to drop of the car – Free parking included (I bet you cant get bed and breakfast any where else in the city with free wifi, parking, and parkland location for about $27/night) Out on the street I walked down to the end of one of the Cable Car lines and got a 3 day ticket for the local transport network. I then jumped on the next Cable car an road it up to Lombard Street. This is the Crooked Street that is often shown in films with cars zig zaging down the steep road between the neatly trimmed hedges. I stopped off for a Coffee then took another cable car line up and over Nob Hill and down to the end of the line at Powell Station. From here I walked a couple of blocks to try and find a sandwich shop which was listed in the Lonely Planet as being the best in town. The thing it failed to mention was you have to walk through a fairly salubrious part of the town to get to it. It was right though it was small and you did have to queue for the sandwich but it was damn good; Vietnamese Pork Ball with salad. I walked back to Union Square (trying to look as local as possible!) and then up to Chinatown and followed the walking tour in the Lonley Planet, whilst these are really good and useful, I hate walking round with a 'house-brick' sized tourist guide in my hand. (I must try and get a copy of the relevant pages next time) The walk was good though an took in many sights you just don't see or notice walking down the main drags, including a park where a brothel once stood?!?, The shop that makes fortune cookies (as featured in Karate Kid et. al.!) The Book-store made famous by/for, the beat poets of the 60's (I don't remember them either!). I was only halfway along the route but already it was 4pm and there was a sign on a door way 'Happy Hour - $2 beers', The tour can wait. I just had to try the Black Butte Porter which was very rich and had a chocolate hint to it. Also the Old #38 Stout was heavy with barley and had a coffee finish. Finally back to the hostel for some tea, typing,and bed.

Santa Cruz to San Francisco

Set off this morning with the 2 German Girls (didn't get their names, only just occurred to me!) up the coast on Highway 1, this stretch was actually better than the 'Big Sur' run as the road was wider and easier to pull off to see the coastline. We did this at a number of places, on top of sheer cliffs looking down to rocky outcrops and sea bridges and down onto bays with the surf breaking over jagged rocky outcrops. Eventually I dropped them at the hostel they had booked which was about ¾ of the way to San Francisco. Driving further up the road I came to Daly City (Joe they even named it after your dad!) just out side of the main city. Back onto crazy Freeways the satnav took me in to the city following Route 101 now (Which eventually goes over the Golden Gate Bridge) Off the Freeway the route dropped onto a main road through into the heart of the city to the tip of the peninsular. And then into a park area. The Youth Hostel I'd booked is located in probably some of the most valued land in the city. The US Parks Service owns the park as it used to be an Army Camp and the Hostel is one of the converted buildings on the site. From my bedroom you can see Fisherman's Wharf, and from the Café you can see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Santa Cruz

I had a full day to explore today but ended up not going far. A read of the Lonely Planet had mentioned 'The Mystery Spot' a quirky attraction not far from the hostel and just out of the town. I drove up there and nearly turned back at the sign which read $5 for parking and a $5 entrance fee.
I didn't and I paid. Essentially the who thing is a series of optical illusions but is wrapped up in a series of elaborate stories and clever design. The place is in a narrow red cedar valley just outside the town and allegedly was found by some surveyors working through the land. Compasses fail to work properly and there are places where people appear to grow or shrink just by changing places, also balls and objects can roll up seemingly downhill or flat planks of wood. There is a wooden shed halfway up the hill through which you pass to see most of these 'mysteries' which apparently slid down the hill by 'the forces' to rest here and is now at a ridiculous angle that you have to hold onto rails to walk through. It's all done with cheesy suave and very quickly so you are in and out of the tour within 30minutes. On the opposite valley side there was a track leading gently up which was an Interpretative Nature Trail so I started to follow this not intending to go too far however it was really interesting and every so often small wooden plaques would explain about the varied flora and fauna along the way. Eventually the track topped out on the ridge above the valley but still in the red cedars which towered overhead, then the path doubled back and ran along the ridge. I walked on and suddenly in front of me in a small clearing was a young deer. At first we both looked at each other and then it decided to go down the hillside but I had only been about 15ft from it. I carried on the path for about another mile or so until it came to a fence and a private property sign, so I started to retrace my steps. Back near the clearing I slowed as I could hear the deer was back (there was a good covering of low bushes here that it was munching on) I crept forward and tried in vein to get a good shot of it with my camera and for about 4 minutes it stopped and stared right at me through the shrubs, however I don't think I could get the camera to focus on the deer and not the bushes.
Back in the hostel that evening sat chatting to the other guests and agreed to give two German girls a ride up to their next hostel as it was on my way the next day.

Monterey to Santa Cruz

This morning I returned to the Hamfest as it was on the way out of the town and stayed for a couple of hours before driving on and up to Santa Cruz. I arrived here late afternoon and checked into the Hostel which is in some restored tiny wooden houses on top of 'the hill'. Each 'house' has a couple of bunk rooms and it's own lounge and wash rooms with the communal kitchen and office in another. The only downside with this hostel is that it has a strict 11pm curfew, so much that the electronic door lock will not open the door from the outside after 11pm so you have to been in your dorm building by then. The sun was still up – just, so took a stroll out and down to the beach front which is very Blackpool'esque with a promenade, pier, amusements and a small pleasure beach. I wandered into the amusements arcade and was amazed to see a mechanical shove penny machine, alas you had yo use tokens and you only won tickets exchangeable for prizes ( this make it a skill game and not gambling, so that's OK here)
There were loads of Pinball machines and I had a play on a couple and then wandered round to the 'retro' videogame area; Pacman, Space Invaders, Track & Field, Glaxian's they were all there! Out on the promenade I wandered down to the 'pleasure beach' but it was all closing up at 4pm on a Sunday, I assume as it's out of season. So back to the hostel to type up some blog entries!

Monterey

One of the reasons I'd decided to stay in Monterey for 2 nights was because I had found on the 'net that there was to be an Amateur Radio Rally or HamFest as they call them here. It was billed as a 2 day even so I assumed it would be a rather large affair. Actually it was very small but there was lots to do and see. Every hour there was a talk or demo by one or another area of interest (some more interesting than others). Outside a 'Mission Control' (They like grand names over here) was set up for a couple of radio amateurs who are also parachutists. They got in a plane and jumped out at 18,000ft and made radio contacts with people on the ground – not easy apparently as you're supposed to need oxygen when you get near this height, and they didn't just free-fall but actually opened their chutes which add's complications because they were on a flight path for a local airport! They had permission to do this and they had GPS plotters connected to them so 'misssion control' and the 'ground op's' could monitor their progress, all of which was relayed to a large screen in the main hall of the event. I did actually make contact with one of the jumper's - AF6IM and I await my card to confirm this! The other interesting event was 'fox-hunting' where a low power radio is hidden and you have to use a direction finding aerial to find it. The guys that were running it were having difficulty getting the low tech gaffer tape and pen top to keep the hidden radio on 'transmit'. After a bit of fiddling I found a way to get a special beacon mode to work on one of the radios they had, and also meant they were operating legally by sending their call sign (which seemed to impress them – RTFM!)