No, really, I am. Just been exceedingly difficult to get to a computer the last few weeks. Even now this is rushed. Time in the US is at an end, time in japan is about to begin.
Hope to type more soon.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Lost in the Green (Part 2)
Friday - Monday
On Friday we headed up to Tallahasse from Vero Beach with an extra passneger, another fmaily friend called Amber. It's normally about a six hour drive. Unfortunately the weather was pretty ferocious and it took another 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour to get there. One of thre reasons we were heading up was to see the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles, also known as "Noles", play the North Carolina State (NC State) Wolfpack (they're Grid Iron teams).
Along the way we passed heaps of cars, SUVs and Pick Up trucks emblazoned with FSU and seminoles symbols. College football is huge over here so everyone wants to show their support. The game was entirely sold out so we were all pretty lucky to get tickets. We arrived on Friday night and had dinner with Christine and Kathleen, Suzanne's daughters, Jessica and Karen, Christine and Kathleen's housemates, as well as a few other friends of theirs.
It was good to catch up with Christine and Kathleen again as I haven't seen them in a while. had a bit of a thought that their apartment at unilodge was a little like "the house", except instead of four guys there were four girls... and four bathrooms so there were no fights about cleaning it :p
Saturday was the day of the game and it was going to be a big day. Breakfast with everyone like dinner the night before but this time at a place called "Cracker Barrel" which is a reasonable sized franchise chain in the US. The food is home-cooked style so everything there is pretty decent, I'd suggest anyone going to the US could do worse than having Cracker Barrel for breakfast at least once while they're over here.
Next was a big shop for the pre-game tailgate party, which is where everyone rocks up in their pickup or SUV and eats and drinks before they head down, as well as some stuff for dinner. The trolley was full to overflowing. The tailgate party itself was pretty cool, I turned into the usual barbeque nazi that I am and did the grilling on the webber, was a nice and relaxing lunch.
The game was a massive surprise for me. This is what the FSU stadium looks like from the outside:
Not your average looking football stadium, I took these photos the day after so I wasn't able to get any inside the ground but it has a capacity of about 40,000. Nine out of ten people were wearing FSU or, for the few fans that were there, NC State merchandise, usually a shirt and a cap. Everyone was getting into the cheers, the chants and the chop and at almost every play either the crowd was screaming or the band was playing along with them.
This all went well until near the end of the third quarter when there was a lightning delay. The seating of the stadium isn't as fancy as the outside, two skyboxes for the exclusive areas and long metal benches for everyone else and this is where the majority of people sit. It also turns the stadium into a giant lightning rod (whoopee). So most of the group of us who had gone to the match packed up and went back to the girls place for post game drinks and dinner. FSU eventually won 27-10, Go Noles!
The heat at the game was terrible. I've sat through cricket day / nighters and test matches in the middle of the summer in Sydney and nothing, nothing, compares to the heat we endured in the stands sitting and watching this game. I'm lucky I didn't get heatstroke.
That was pretty much it for Tallahasse and we left about midday on Sunday. We went to St Augustine, which was a Spanish Colony since a little while after Columbus arrived then almost all the way through to the early 1800s, and had some tasty cuban food for dinner. I started to feel a bit sick when we got into town.
Then to Jacksonville, where we stayed the night and was seriously sick, fever, bad stomach, sore throat. Reading some more grisly bits towards then end of a Game of Thrones probably didn't helpI found out on Monday morning that I had a throat infection but managed to see a doctor and pick up some antibiotics fairly easily. I chilled out for the rest of the day then parted ways with my Mum and Suzanne and struck out by myself on the train up to Savannah.
So there ends lost in the green.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Lost in the Green (Part 1)
Sorry for the gap between postings, I haven't been able to get to a bloody computer with Internet access for almost a week! Talk about withdrawal symptoms...
Anyway, quick run down on where I've been.
Tuesday 2nd Oct
When shopping at various places in Vero Beach. First stop was the "mall" area where we went to:
Circuit City
Some of you guys will have heard of this but just think of it as a Dick Smith powerhouse but much, much bigger. Managed to pick up a prepaid phone that I can just toss away when I'm finished in America for $30. Mum picked up one of the new 8GB Ipod Nanos as well as a cell phone charger that will actually work while we were there.
The "Mall"
Big sprawling area with a big sprawling single level mall. Stopped by a surf shop and picked myself up some new boardshorts and a new rash vest. One thing I worked out is that over here it's probably much cheaper to buy a single massive tract of land and build a single level mall than to buy a smaller area and build multi-storey behemoths.
The "Outlet Mall"
Kinda like DFO in Sydney except with parking... And things that will actually fit me. Picked up two new pairs of Rockport shoes, some socks and a couple of other miscellaneous things for about $140 which is less than you'd be able to find one pair of Rockports for over in Aus. And everything I tried on that actually had in my size! Nice change from how it usually is in Sydney.
Did some grocery shopping and had some dinner and generally chilled out for the rest of the day.
Wednesday - Thursday
We went down to Key West in the Florida keys on these two days. It's quite a drive from Vero, about six hours or more each way in good weather and traffic. On the way down we actually went via Miami's South Beach which was absolutely stunning.
What really surprised me about South Beach though were my own memories about GTA Vice City and how the guys at Rock Star had so closely mapped Vice City's map to Miami's down to the road closest to South Beach itself and the dingy little alley that runs parallel to it along with all the Art Deco buildings.
Let me just say that South Beach truly puts Bondi to shame, miles and miles of clean sand and clean water...
After that we went non-stop to Key West which is the last island in the Florida Keys and the most Southern point in continental USA. Now if anyone gets the chance to go to Florida I would really, really recommend going down here, especially during the late summer / early autumn. The weather is marvellous and the atmosphere is very laid back and friendly, the architecture is very interesting as well in the historic area. The drive down is also really nice with all the bridges that you have to cross as you hop from Island to Island, one of the bridges is seven miles long.
We arrived there and checked-in in the late-ish afternoon and we hadn't had lunch so we were all hungry by then. We had appetizers and a cocktail at the Hogs Breath Saloon (not in anyway associated with Australia's Hog's Breath Cafe chain) then went to dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville ( http://margaritaville.com/ ) which reminded me that I don't like Margaritas but was nice all the same. After that we just poked our heads into Sloppy Joe's which was Hemingway's favourite watering hole in Key West.
The next day we went on a little tram tour of Key West which was well worth it as it covered most of the historic area and more than we would have possibly been able to do otherwise. Once that was completed we picked up some souvenirs then headed back on the long drive to Vero.
To be continued (when I've got a bit more time before I have to check out of a hotel -_-'')...
P.S. If you're wondering about the title of this post it's to do with the landscape of Florida. One of the big surprises for me was how unbelievably green Florida was, trees everywhere with thick lush growth, creepers etc, long grass and not a blade of dried grass or leaf anywhere. Probably has something to do with the fact that the humidity level never seems to drop below 70%.
Anyway, quick run down on where I've been.
Tuesday 2nd Oct
When shopping at various places in Vero Beach. First stop was the "mall" area where we went to:
Circuit City
Some of you guys will have heard of this but just think of it as a Dick Smith powerhouse but much, much bigger. Managed to pick up a prepaid phone that I can just toss away when I'm finished in America for $30. Mum picked up one of the new 8GB Ipod Nanos as well as a cell phone charger that will actually work while we were there.
The "Mall"
Big sprawling area with a big sprawling single level mall. Stopped by a surf shop and picked myself up some new boardshorts and a new rash vest. One thing I worked out is that over here it's probably much cheaper to buy a single massive tract of land and build a single level mall than to buy a smaller area and build multi-storey behemoths.
The "Outlet Mall"
Kinda like DFO in Sydney except with parking... And things that will actually fit me. Picked up two new pairs of Rockport shoes, some socks and a couple of other miscellaneous things for about $140 which is less than you'd be able to find one pair of Rockports for over in Aus. And everything I tried on that actually had in my size! Nice change from how it usually is in Sydney.
Did some grocery shopping and had some dinner and generally chilled out for the rest of the day.
Wednesday - Thursday
We went down to Key West in the Florida keys on these two days. It's quite a drive from Vero, about six hours or more each way in good weather and traffic. On the way down we actually went via Miami's South Beach which was absolutely stunning.
What really surprised me about South Beach though were my own memories about GTA Vice City and how the guys at Rock Star had so closely mapped Vice City's map to Miami's down to the road closest to South Beach itself and the dingy little alley that runs parallel to it along with all the Art Deco buildings.
Let me just say that South Beach truly puts Bondi to shame, miles and miles of clean sand and clean water...
After that we went non-stop to Key West which is the last island in the Florida Keys and the most Southern point in continental USA. Now if anyone gets the chance to go to Florida I would really, really recommend going down here, especially during the late summer / early autumn. The weather is marvellous and the atmosphere is very laid back and friendly, the architecture is very interesting as well in the historic area. The drive down is also really nice with all the bridges that you have to cross as you hop from Island to Island, one of the bridges is seven miles long.
We arrived there and checked-in in the late-ish afternoon and we hadn't had lunch so we were all hungry by then. We had appetizers and a cocktail at the Hogs Breath Saloon (not in anyway associated with Australia's Hog's Breath Cafe chain) then went to dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville ( http://margaritaville.com/ ) which reminded me that I don't like Margaritas but was nice all the same. After that we just poked our heads into Sloppy Joe's which was Hemingway's favourite watering hole in Key West.
The next day we went on a little tram tour of Key West which was well worth it as it covered most of the historic area and more than we would have possibly been able to do otherwise. Once that was completed we picked up some souvenirs then headed back on the long drive to Vero.
To be continued (when I've got a bit more time before I have to check out of a hotel -_-'')...
P.S. If you're wondering about the title of this post it's to do with the landscape of Florida. One of the big surprises for me was how unbelievably green Florida was, trees everywhere with thick lush growth, creepers etc, long grass and not a blade of dried grass or leaf anywhere. Probably has something to do with the fact that the humidity level never seems to drop below 70%.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Jet Lag
Well after stops in five different time-zones and six different airports in 48 hours I'm finally in Vero Beach, Florida. I discovered I'm no good at sleeping on planes, I was by the wings so the noise of massive jumbo jet engines didn't really allow me to rest.
We got to LA fine but getting through immigration there was a right royal pain in the arse. It took two hours from the time the plane pulled up to its snorkel to the time we managed to get into a cab outside LAX. By the time we got to the hotel it was about 1.30pm local time.
It was quite warm but not very humid. Once we got to our hotel we decided we'd stay up as long as possible to try and get our bodies in synch with the time-zone so we went out for a walk. We walked up to Venice Beach pier to start with, then we started walking up the beach towards Santa Monica pier. In between the two piers on the Venice Beach side is what I could only really decribe as a cross between Bondi Beach and Paddy's markets. Loads of clothes shops, dodgy sunglass sellers, CD bootleggers, lots of food stores and a few bong sellers. Wasn't particularly appealing but was interesting to walk through.
The walk between the two piers looked shorter than it actually was (it turned out to be a few miles) but it was good exercise after being pretty sedintary on the way over. Santa Monica pier is massive and you've probably seen it in at least one TV show / movie that's set in LA before. This thing is so big that there's parking space on it as well as a big ferris wheel and a rollercoaster. There was even a person selling Churros which got me thinking of Aivy and made me a bit sad.
Once we'd had a look around there we headed up to the Santa Monica shops to get something to eat and to have a quick look around. When we sat down we realised our bodies still associated sitting down with being on a plane, when we sat down our bodies still felt like they were being very lightly jerked around like you'd feel when cruising on a plane.
After the shops we headed back to the hotel at got back there at about 5.30/6.00pm local and had a drink at the bar before heading back to the room and crashing at about 8.00pm.
We had to get up at 5 a.m. the next morning to make sure we were ready to go and at the gate at the airport at 8 a.m. For domestic flights you're supposed to get out to the airport two hours before your departure time, three hours for international. We got through there fine and managed to fly to Dallas and then through to Orlando without any hassles.
Florida, when we got there, was warm and humid and absolutely pissing down with rain. The two hour drive from there to Vero Beach turned out to be longer simply because, on occasion, it was pouring down so heavily we needed to slow down.
So here we are. Some quick obeservations on the US:
* The currency: the notes are a pain in the ass, all the same size, all the same colour and there are no $1 or $2 coins, only notes. The coins aren't too clearly differentiated either for a new person. I can this is one area where Aus comes out on top.
* The airports: these things are gargantuan, Dallas and Orlando are so big and the terminal buildings so far apart that they have little train / monorail things to shuttle you between some of the buildings.
* The punditry: pretty much my entire experience with current affairs shows over here so far involve some vitriolic host having a screaming match with an interviewee. Exactly how does this make for informative programming?
* The mental arithmetic: Hope you're good at math because if you eat anywhere other than McDonalds you'll be having to be able to add 12.5% onto every bill that you get. Also, unlike Aus, you don't have to take sales tax into amount when you're pricing your goods, just whack a price on there then add the extra X% on when people actually buy the damn thing -_-''
Well, that's all for now.
We got to LA fine but getting through immigration there was a right royal pain in the arse. It took two hours from the time the plane pulled up to its snorkel to the time we managed to get into a cab outside LAX. By the time we got to the hotel it was about 1.30pm local time.
It was quite warm but not very humid. Once we got to our hotel we decided we'd stay up as long as possible to try and get our bodies in synch with the time-zone so we went out for a walk. We walked up to Venice Beach pier to start with, then we started walking up the beach towards Santa Monica pier. In between the two piers on the Venice Beach side is what I could only really decribe as a cross between Bondi Beach and Paddy's markets. Loads of clothes shops, dodgy sunglass sellers, CD bootleggers, lots of food stores and a few bong sellers. Wasn't particularly appealing but was interesting to walk through.
The walk between the two piers looked shorter than it actually was (it turned out to be a few miles) but it was good exercise after being pretty sedintary on the way over. Santa Monica pier is massive and you've probably seen it in at least one TV show / movie that's set in LA before. This thing is so big that there's parking space on it as well as a big ferris wheel and a rollercoaster. There was even a person selling Churros which got me thinking of Aivy and made me a bit sad.
Once we'd had a look around there we headed up to the Santa Monica shops to get something to eat and to have a quick look around. When we sat down we realised our bodies still associated sitting down with being on a plane, when we sat down our bodies still felt like they were being very lightly jerked around like you'd feel when cruising on a plane.
After the shops we headed back to the hotel at got back there at about 5.30/6.00pm local and had a drink at the bar before heading back to the room and crashing at about 8.00pm.
We had to get up at 5 a.m. the next morning to make sure we were ready to go and at the gate at the airport at 8 a.m. For domestic flights you're supposed to get out to the airport two hours before your departure time, three hours for international. We got through there fine and managed to fly to Dallas and then through to Orlando without any hassles.
Florida, when we got there, was warm and humid and absolutely pissing down with rain. The two hour drive from there to Vero Beach turned out to be longer simply because, on occasion, it was pouring down so heavily we needed to slow down.
So here we are. Some quick obeservations on the US:
* The currency: the notes are a pain in the ass, all the same size, all the same colour and there are no $1 or $2 coins, only notes. The coins aren't too clearly differentiated either for a new person. I can this is one area where Aus comes out on top.
* The airports: these things are gargantuan, Dallas and Orlando are so big and the terminal buildings so far apart that they have little train / monorail things to shuttle you between some of the buildings.
* The punditry: pretty much my entire experience with current affairs shows over here so far involve some vitriolic host having a screaming match with an interviewee. Exactly how does this make for informative programming?
* The mental arithmetic: Hope you're good at math because if you eat anywhere other than McDonalds you'll be having to be able to add 12.5% onto every bill that you get. Also, unlike Aus, you don't have to take sales tax into amount when you're pricing your goods, just whack a price on there then add the extra X% on when people actually buy the damn thing -_-''
Well, that's all for now.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Packed
Well I'm packed and ready to go...I hope.
I always forget something so I'm a little nervy.
See you all soon.
I always forget something so I'm a little nervy.
See you all soon.
Friday, September 28, 2007
See ya
Well I'm on my way this Sunday morning with mum for a long ass flight:
Sydney -> Melbourne -> Auckland -> LA (stopover overnight) (California) -> Dallas (Texas) -> Orland (Florida).
Suzanne, a family friend of ours, is picking us up and driving us down to Vero Beach where she and Bob live and where we'll be based until next Friday.
After five years of thinking about it this trip is finally happening. Farewell to all my friends and family, I'll be back before you know it.
Sydney -> Melbourne -> Auckland -> LA (stopover overnight) (California) -> Dallas (Texas) -> Orland (Florida).
Suzanne, a family friend of ours, is picking us up and driving us down to Vero Beach where she and Bob live and where we'll be based until next Friday.
After five years of thinking about it this trip is finally happening. Farewell to all my friends and family, I'll be back before you know it.
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