Monday, June 15, 2009
Chapter 7 – New York City
Saying farewell to the great historical city of DC was tough but exciting as we were beginning our next greatest adventure soon to be arriving in New York City. For those who have never experienced this magnificent site of skyscrapers towering above your head casting their huge shadows miles in every direction making you feel like ants scurrying around the sidewalk, you need to go. Words are never going to be able to explain or even describe accurately just how magnificent this great big city truly is. Although there were still frustrating elements with it – as in all major cities – we thoroughly enjoyed the visit. Arriving via our illustrious transport of greyhound thankful to be in the big apple and looking forward to getting to our hostel and offloading so we could quickly head out and begin exploring this amazing place. 461 43rd Street between 9th and 10th avenue was our eventual destination and we made it only walking for 10 minutes with our huge bags.
Then we were off, heading into Times Square where we planned to have dinner and were speechless at the sight that came before us only 2 blocks from our hostel. Towering buildings surround this intricate and sensational sight, streets blocked off during the summer for tourists to sit in the street and absorb the sight, plenty of action and attractions, more impressive billboard displays with awesome neon signs than we witnessed in Vegas, and so much more. We spent this first evening learning the area but more we were simply feeling a little overwhelmed with the sights and the simple realization that we were in this great American city from some of our favorite movies and TV series. WOW!!!
Our first full day was Sunday the 31st May and we were told that Central Park was the place to go and explore on a Sunday because of all the action that takes place in the park. So we grabbed our 7-day subway tickets and hopped on our very first subway going away from Times Square towards the famous Central Park. Arriving we set out in the bottom right corner finding the Wolman ice Rink which wasn’t icy and full of amusement equipment. But we saw the amazing sight and managed to even see the Central Park zoo where the penguins escaped from. We moved on walking around the right hand side of the park finding the Alice in Wonderland statue and Balto’s statue. Eventually we managed to come across the huge ground fields of the park where everybody seemed to be sitting around and enjoying the diverse games being played on this Sunday. Games like softball, baseball, Frisbee and many other smaller family fun games. We spent some time chilling and enjoying our lunch while watching some action and sports before moving on to reach the Jacqui Kennedy Onasis reservoir dam at the more northern end of the park. At this side of the park there was a huge Japanese day celebration happening with tents set up and many diverse cultural attractions available for us to enjoy. To chaotic and over the top for us, we quickly moved further into the park and walked up and around and along and in and out and… Seeing this park was more about spending the day enjoying and walking around gathering in how amazing the park is. We finally began the return trip back down where we managed to find Strawberry fields and more playgrounds and fields and then finally ending at the bottom left corner. On the far left from us as we exited the park was an Israeli parade happening to celebrate their special day as well. Can you believe it?
This was the beginning of the long yet unbelievably awesome week that we had in New York City. Continuing with the adventure, we became typical tourists in the big city as a result of the pace and race of these bustling get out my way Yankees. We headed down south to the ferry point of Battery Park on yet another subway trip coming up from underground to be surrounded by and almost engulfed by these monstrous buildings. We decided that since the sun was shining and the water seemed calm we were excited to go across and visit the Statue of Liberty as well as Ellis Island with our newly purchased City pass tickets (6 attractions for one outrageous price). With these tickets we were granted a short queue pass which got us on a ferry in 25 minutes and to the Statue of Liberty Island within the next half hour from when we actually arrived at the ferry park ride. WOW WOW WOW!!! An unbelievable sight awaited us as we climbed on board our ferry and found some amazing seats with 100% visibility of the entire harbour and Island areas. The insanely historical and famous figure of lady liberty overlooks the city with an unimaginable view and this whole experience almost overpowered us both.
We eventually arrived on the island and began walking and discovering the beautiful view which liberty gets overlooking the New York skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. Seeing her from distance and then walking up towards her glistening green towering exterior was awesome. We just sat in awe of the significance of what the statue symbolized and for how amazing this experience was for us. Well unfortunately we couldn’t spend all day here and so we moved on catching our next ferry towards the famous and historical Ellis Island where all the immigrants used to have to enter into the States – now changed. The island is full of history and says as you arrive that there is more than 80% chance that one of your ancestors possibly traveled through this immigrant post to get to the states. We found some Turner’s but unfortunately no Beddy’s. They were the clever ones.
We came back on our ferry some time in the afternoon arriving to a warm welcome from the Positive dancing trio who wowed us with there display of street dancing and more with their epic sense of humour. Not feeling sure where to head next and still feeling a little overwhelmed by the sight of these towering skyscrapers, we decided that we needed to enter the dark underworld of Wall Street and began to search for ground zero – the twin towers. As we quickly found out, there was a huge amount of development happening in this southern section of Manhattan and we got lost very easily. Turning around and stumbling back towards ground zero we managed to peak at the devastation caused by the planes on September 11 so many years ago. We found out that we couldn’t actually see the spot for the buildings as construction had already began for the new memorial building in that spot and so our view was obstructed. But what a powerful and somber sight walking around the block where two towering monsters used to exist and exploring the surrounding area for stories and memories of the past. From here we moved onward to Wall Street and found the New York stock exchange as well as the federal buildings and the Federal Reserve Bank – no money or gold for us though. Bronze bull up next as we captured a very good photo for some other family to use as bribery on someone’s next birthday – head meets bulls bum.
Tuesday came and we went to our next city pass event to explore the Museum of Natural history from the movie a Night at the Museum. It wasn’t as amazing as the movie because they had given the plaque away and so nothing came to life while we were present – except the history of course. We enjoyed the museum which was very different to some of the others we have explored in DC and other areas of America. One of the highlights had to be our free planetarium show which explored the results of collisions in space – the good and bad results of these necessary collisions. An enjoyable time before we found a spot in central park to sit and relax watching people steer boats on a small pond as we ate our lunch. From here we spotted our second museum for the day which is known as the Guggenheim museum and was displaying a Frank Lloyd Wright architectural highlights package from level 1-7. Basically there was nothing else on display but this mans amazing architectural highlights, designs and drawings. We found out that nearly 85% of what was on display had never actually been built due to the timing and economic instability of certain jobs he had worked on. WOW! We both thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit and I got busted for taking photos which I wasn’t allowed too. Oh well!! My bad!
During our walk we managed to discover the Lincoln performing arts centre and Julliard studio’s where some of the greatest dancers, entertainers and musicians are currently studying. We also decided to go and visit the United Nations buildings which were a 6 block walk from Times Square and took us past or into the unbelievable Grand Central Station – just like the movies. Disappointingly we were unable to see the flags displayed outside the UN buildings as they had just been taken down and for some reason ever time we managed to come across the UN we never got the sight of the world’s flags blazing outside these buildings. After our dinner we wanted to go across and get a glimpse of the Hudson River where the pilot had landed that one flight amazingly. We both tried to imagine standing there and seeing a plane come lower and lower till it hits the water. Scary!
Ang and I didn’t want our only experience of New York to be centralized to Manhattan and so we got on a subway and headed into the Bronx to go and visit the famous Bronx zoo. Possibly the best zoo we have seen on our travels but still not really managing to outdo the Joburg zoo yet we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Bronx. On return we managed to find the big Bloomingdales store in Manhattan where Ang and I hiked up the 7 floors to see that everything was nicely priced at $25 and up. We decided that since we saw Bloomingdales we then had to visit the biggest Macys known as the biggest store world wide. One super result from this idea was that we got our first glimpse of the next towering structure which we would visit properly the next day – the Empire State building. Having been shopped out and starting to get rained on we rushed back home before deciding to try one last trip after dinner and after the rain to see Rockefeller centre and the illustrious St. John church which stands across the way. Impressive!!
Having seen the Empire state up close and personal we decided that if the weather permitted, we would have to go up and see just how great the view truly was from up there. So luckily and thankfully, the next morning we awoke to a beautiful sky and began our adventure of seeing the New York skyline from above. Unimaginable!! Thankfully we didn’t have to climb the 86 floors to the top and got to ride the elevator really quickly as a result of the time of day we arrived at the Empire state. The view from up top is amazing and you can see the entire city of New York with Manhattan, Brooklyn, queens and even as far up as the Bronx. Spending a good while listening to some historical facts and interesting information from our free audio tour, we gradually progressed to observe every inch of the view seen from the empire before leaving feeling like giants towering over this spectacular city. Coming down from the top we decided that we would head down towards some of the more interesting sights we had seen from above like the Flatiron building, the Union and Washington squares, the cage basketball court and even Bob Dylan’s house. These are all movie sites which were loads of fun to visit and explore.
Our last full day in New York was to be the dreariest day as the weather changed and God decided the earth needed saturation for the whole day. It wasn’t to be a sad day for us as we were able to go and explore our last two museums namely the Metropolitan museum of art (MET) and the Museum of modern art (MOMA). Both of these museums were exceptional with amazing exhibits and brand new contemporary art displays, Ang was in her element. We spent a good part of our day indoors enjoying the artistic expressions of Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Pollock, Dali and many others. I eventually tired of the art and got restless pleading with Ang to give me a break so we headed back to our room to chill and while we were relaxing decided that we really needed to go to the Brooklyn Bridge and get some pictures of the skyline from the park on the other side. So we changed to stay warm, if you have forgotten it was still raining outside, and we headed for the subway to Brooklyn. So worth the trip as we got some really cool pics and had fun being in Brooklyn, we arrived back in our room close to 2 hours later drenched, soaked and dripping with water but happy for being successful. And with that we were getting ready to pack and leave this spectacular city and start our trip towards Philly and finally Glenolden.
Saying farewell to the great historical city of DC was tough but exciting as we were beginning our next greatest adventure soon to be arriving in New York City. For those who have never experienced this magnificent site of skyscrapers towering above your head casting their huge shadows miles in every direction making you feel like ants scurrying around the sidewalk, you need to go. Words are never going to be able to explain or even describe accurately just how magnificent this great big city truly is. Although there were still frustrating elements with it – as in all major cities – we thoroughly enjoyed the visit. Arriving via our illustrious transport of greyhound thankful to be in the big apple and looking forward to getting to our hostel and offloading so we could quickly head out and begin exploring this amazing place. 461 43rd Street between 9th and 10th avenue was our eventual destination and we made it only walking for 10 minutes with our huge bags.
Then we were off, heading into Times Square where we planned to have dinner and were speechless at the sight that came before us only 2 blocks from our hostel. Towering buildings surround this intricate and sensational sight, streets blocked off during the summer for tourists to sit in the street and absorb the sight, plenty of action and attractions, more impressive billboard displays with awesome neon signs than we witnessed in Vegas, and so much more. We spent this first evening learning the area but more we were simply feeling a little overwhelmed with the sights and the simple realization that we were in this great American city from some of our favorite movies and TV series. WOW!!!
Our first full day was Sunday the 31st May and we were told that Central Park was the place to go and explore on a Sunday because of all the action that takes place in the park. So we grabbed our 7-day subway tickets and hopped on our very first subway going away from Times Square towards the famous Central Park. Arriving we set out in the bottom right corner finding the Wolman ice Rink which wasn’t icy and full of amusement equipment. But we saw the amazing sight and managed to even see the Central Park zoo where the penguins escaped from. We moved on walking around the right hand side of the park finding the Alice in Wonderland statue and Balto’s statue. Eventually we managed to come across the huge ground fields of the park where everybody seemed to be sitting around and enjoying the diverse games being played on this Sunday. Games like softball, baseball, Frisbee and many other smaller family fun games. We spent some time chilling and enjoying our lunch while watching some action and sports before moving on to reach the Jacqui Kennedy Onasis reservoir dam at the more northern end of the park. At this side of the park there was a huge Japanese day celebration happening with tents set up and many diverse cultural attractions available for us to enjoy. To chaotic and over the top for us, we quickly moved further into the park and walked up and around and along and in and out and… Seeing this park was more about spending the day enjoying and walking around gathering in how amazing the park is. We finally began the return trip back down where we managed to find Strawberry fields and more playgrounds and fields and then finally ending at the bottom left corner. On the far left from us as we exited the park was an Israeli parade happening to celebrate their special day as well. Can you believe it?
This was the beginning of the long yet unbelievably awesome week that we had in New York City. Continuing with the adventure, we became typical tourists in the big city as a result of the pace and race of these bustling get out my way Yankees. We headed down south to the ferry point of Battery Park on yet another subway trip coming up from underground to be surrounded by and almost engulfed by these monstrous buildings. We decided that since the sun was shining and the water seemed calm we were excited to go across and visit the Statue of Liberty as well as Ellis Island with our newly purchased City pass tickets (6 attractions for one outrageous price). With these tickets we were granted a short queue pass which got us on a ferry in 25 minutes and to the Statue of Liberty Island within the next half hour from when we actually arrived at the ferry park ride. WOW WOW WOW!!! An unbelievable sight awaited us as we climbed on board our ferry and found some amazing seats with 100% visibility of the entire harbour and Island areas. The insanely historical and famous figure of lady liberty overlooks the city with an unimaginable view and this whole experience almost overpowered us both.
We eventually arrived on the island and began walking and discovering the beautiful view which liberty gets overlooking the New York skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. Seeing her from distance and then walking up towards her glistening green towering exterior was awesome. We just sat in awe of the significance of what the statue symbolized and for how amazing this experience was for us. Well unfortunately we couldn’t spend all day here and so we moved on catching our next ferry towards the famous and historical Ellis Island where all the immigrants used to have to enter into the States – now changed. The island is full of history and says as you arrive that there is more than 80% chance that one of your ancestors possibly traveled through this immigrant post to get to the states. We found some Turner’s but unfortunately no Beddy’s. They were the clever ones.
We came back on our ferry some time in the afternoon arriving to a warm welcome from the Positive dancing trio who wowed us with there display of street dancing and more with their epic sense of humour. Not feeling sure where to head next and still feeling a little overwhelmed by the sight of these towering skyscrapers, we decided that we needed to enter the dark underworld of Wall Street and began to search for ground zero – the twin towers. As we quickly found out, there was a huge amount of development happening in this southern section of Manhattan and we got lost very easily. Turning around and stumbling back towards ground zero we managed to peak at the devastation caused by the planes on September 11 so many years ago. We found out that we couldn’t actually see the spot for the buildings as construction had already began for the new memorial building in that spot and so our view was obstructed. But what a powerful and somber sight walking around the block where two towering monsters used to exist and exploring the surrounding area for stories and memories of the past. From here we moved onward to Wall Street and found the New York stock exchange as well as the federal buildings and the Federal Reserve Bank – no money or gold for us though. Bronze bull up next as we captured a very good photo for some other family to use as bribery on someone’s next birthday – head meets bulls bum.
Tuesday came and we went to our next city pass event to explore the Museum of Natural history from the movie a Night at the Museum. It wasn’t as amazing as the movie because they had given the plaque away and so nothing came to life while we were present – except the history of course. We enjoyed the museum which was very different to some of the others we have explored in DC and other areas of America. One of the highlights had to be our free planetarium show which explored the results of collisions in space – the good and bad results of these necessary collisions. An enjoyable time before we found a spot in central park to sit and relax watching people steer boats on a small pond as we ate our lunch. From here we spotted our second museum for the day which is known as the Guggenheim museum and was displaying a Frank Lloyd Wright architectural highlights package from level 1-7. Basically there was nothing else on display but this mans amazing architectural highlights, designs and drawings. We found out that nearly 85% of what was on display had never actually been built due to the timing and economic instability of certain jobs he had worked on. WOW! We both thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit and I got busted for taking photos which I wasn’t allowed too. Oh well!! My bad!
During our walk we managed to discover the Lincoln performing arts centre and Julliard studio’s where some of the greatest dancers, entertainers and musicians are currently studying. We also decided to go and visit the United Nations buildings which were a 6 block walk from Times Square and took us past or into the unbelievable Grand Central Station – just like the movies. Disappointingly we were unable to see the flags displayed outside the UN buildings as they had just been taken down and for some reason ever time we managed to come across the UN we never got the sight of the world’s flags blazing outside these buildings. After our dinner we wanted to go across and get a glimpse of the Hudson River where the pilot had landed that one flight amazingly. We both tried to imagine standing there and seeing a plane come lower and lower till it hits the water. Scary!
Ang and I didn’t want our only experience of New York to be centralized to Manhattan and so we got on a subway and headed into the Bronx to go and visit the famous Bronx zoo. Possibly the best zoo we have seen on our travels but still not really managing to outdo the Joburg zoo yet we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Bronx. On return we managed to find the big Bloomingdales store in Manhattan where Ang and I hiked up the 7 floors to see that everything was nicely priced at $25 and up. We decided that since we saw Bloomingdales we then had to visit the biggest Macys known as the biggest store world wide. One super result from this idea was that we got our first glimpse of the next towering structure which we would visit properly the next day – the Empire State building. Having been shopped out and starting to get rained on we rushed back home before deciding to try one last trip after dinner and after the rain to see Rockefeller centre and the illustrious St. John church which stands across the way. Impressive!!
Having seen the Empire state up close and personal we decided that if the weather permitted, we would have to go up and see just how great the view truly was from up there. So luckily and thankfully, the next morning we awoke to a beautiful sky and began our adventure of seeing the New York skyline from above. Unimaginable!! Thankfully we didn’t have to climb the 86 floors to the top and got to ride the elevator really quickly as a result of the time of day we arrived at the Empire state. The view from up top is amazing and you can see the entire city of New York with Manhattan, Brooklyn, queens and even as far up as the Bronx. Spending a good while listening to some historical facts and interesting information from our free audio tour, we gradually progressed to observe every inch of the view seen from the empire before leaving feeling like giants towering over this spectacular city. Coming down from the top we decided that we would head down towards some of the more interesting sights we had seen from above like the Flatiron building, the Union and Washington squares, the cage basketball court and even Bob Dylan’s house. These are all movie sites which were loads of fun to visit and explore.
Our last full day in New York was to be the dreariest day as the weather changed and God decided the earth needed saturation for the whole day. It wasn’t to be a sad day for us as we were able to go and explore our last two museums namely the Metropolitan museum of art (MET) and the Museum of modern art (MOMA). Both of these museums were exceptional with amazing exhibits and brand new contemporary art displays, Ang was in her element. We spent a good part of our day indoors enjoying the artistic expressions of Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Pollock, Dali and many others. I eventually tired of the art and got restless pleading with Ang to give me a break so we headed back to our room to chill and while we were relaxing decided that we really needed to go to the Brooklyn Bridge and get some pictures of the skyline from the park on the other side. So we changed to stay warm, if you have forgotten it was still raining outside, and we headed for the subway to Brooklyn. So worth the trip as we got some really cool pics and had fun being in Brooklyn, we arrived back in our room close to 2 hours later drenched, soaked and dripping with water but happy for being successful. And with that we were getting ready to pack and leave this spectacular city and start our trip towards Philly and finally Glenolden.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Chapter 6 – Annapolis and the Capital city DC
After yet another torturous drive on greyhound we managed to find our way to the small town of Annapolis, state capital city of Maryland. Another name for which it could be known as is the sail boat capital of America as we have seen more boats here and around the Chesapeake Bay area than anywhere else in my entire life. A very quaint town, which gave me an ideal picture of a small English village by the sea with old buildings and historic sites and surreal settings on the water, as we began to explore our new home. I don’t think Ang and I could’ve ever imagined we would come to such a beautiful and amazing place with such awesome people like Lynn and Martin. God has truly blessed us on this journey as Martin and Lynn accepted us straight into their home and began to offer facts and information about Annapolis and Washington that we were so stoked for our visit. Since we had come from a week of intensely early mornings and insanely epic stretches of just undeniable fun, we took a few days to settle down and relax around their home on the water front and explore the small town of Annapolis. One thing you need to know about Annapolis is that it has a naval academy base which the town is literally built around.
Our travels into Annapolis itself were interesting and very refreshing from some of the other cities we have explored. Probably the smallest next to Modesto but completely different to any other city we have visited yet in the states. With the naval academy being the sole focus of the town and with the amount of historical sites we unearthed on our trips, there was a lot more to this small town. Choosing to spend a few short days exploring was the most rewarding thing for us as the town isn’t that big but it gave us more time to really dig inside the history and learn some of the interesting facts about this town. Like the fact that of the four Maryland declaration of independence signers, all four were from Annapolis. We found some beautiful old churches with amazing stained glass windows, uncovered some historical legends and wandered through some mysterious areas taking in everything our eyes saw. But I don’t think anything could compare with the experience of the naval academy and the day we spent wandering around their campus.
Martin and Lynn had conveyed to us that the week we had arrived was probably the most ideal week for us to see all that Annapolis and DC had to offer as it was memorial week and graduation week. For those like us simple SA people who know little about the American traditions, Memorial Day is a celebration (somber) of their troops and soldiers in every field fighting the good fight for their country. God bless America!!! On the other hand, graduation week was a celebration for all naval officers to enjoy and look back on their year spent at the academy. We got to see the Plebe’s climbing a slicked up pole for initiation to retrieve a captains hat on the top – took them 1hr 15minutes to do. We also would’ve seen president Obama give his congratulatory speech to the graduating fourth years but we weren’t on the guest list – we did however see his helicopter fly him back home to DC after his speech. The highlight of these celebratory practices had to be the Blue Angels flying directly over our heads as we sat floating on the Severn River watching their mesmerizing displays of speed and precision. The Blue Angels are the navy’s personal flying team who are trained in combative practices but can perform these “stunt shows” as I would refer to them. WOW!! The only place to really see and be part of the action was on the river with possibly the entire town of Annapolis joining us.
We have ridden two different boats in our time in Annapolis, one being Martins that was returned after a long absence and one being his colleague and friend Rob. I say they were different because Rob’s boat was all about speed as we cruised (75mph) to view the Blue Angels whereas Martin’s boat was more about luxury and comfort (35mph) as we sailed around the Chesapeake Bay area and got some impressive views of the bay bridge and Annapolis from the water. We were also lucky enough to spend a beautiful evening out on the open yet closed waters of the Annapolis harbour where we docked to a buoy for the evening and had a delicious breakfast at a small restaurant called Chick and Ruth where every morning they say the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. Interesting!!
DC is one of the greatest cities I have ever had the privilege of exploring. We have been blessed and lucky enough to travel into this spectacular city 4 times. Blessed because Martin and Lynn were able to lift us in on two occasions and lucky because the other 2 we could utilize other forms of transportation to marvel over the city. I am not quite sure what I was expecting upon arrival at union station for our first visit but the sight set before us was spectacular and not exactly what I had pictured. For architectural buffs unlike me, I think the cities design is a mix of ancient Greco-Roman style with columns and arches molded in a type of marble looking material, interiors filled with sculptures and mezzanines, sky lights and stained glass windows, pillars reaching to the heavens and creatures overlooking the whole buildings. I hope that paints a fair enough picture for you as it is very difficult to describe in-depth how beautiful this city truly is.
Our first visit was an attempt for us to see what the city has to offer and explore as much as we could before being picked up at around 9pm. So in our usual fashion, Ang and I quickly began cruising through the city taking in as much of the architectural beauty as is possible for people to do in one day. Union station is breath-taking with high arch-ways and huge ceilings holding decadent murals and unforgettable meaning. From the interior to the exterior the beauty just leaves a person speechless as we began our descent into the heart of this magical city known as the National Mall. When people mention the Mall in DC they are not talking about the shopping centre but rather the area which is covered by all the museums, the capital buildings and the memorial structures. So we started walking towards the Capital building – one of the oldest and most known structures in DC apart from the White house. Very impressive with a huge dome climbing to the skies and possibly the best view of the mall from the interior (which of course we could not enter). Some other impressive structures, more so for their interior contents, were the Supreme Court building and the Library of Congress directly in front of the capital. Inside the Supreme Court we were able to view past judges and interesting legal facts but more importantly the official Supreme Court room where big trials and oath reading ceremonies occur for new Supreme Court justices and other hierarchical figures. The Library of congress was just as magnificent with another Domed head this one holding a more spectacular interior verse exterior. Inside we could explore the great hall which held two old bibles, marble floors and statues with great significance to America’s historical past. We also managed a peek at the Thomas Jefferson Library – big dome – which is your typical book storage facility only this one had huge pillars and statues wherever you looked standing surrounding the circular floor from their balcony view watching all the goings on inside. What was super cool about the statues was that they were of great philosophers of all time like Plato and Aristotle and others. One of the other super sights in this massive library was the Inca, Mayan and Aztec art/archeological findings which we could look at and awe over.
So much already and around every bend and in every corner we could find a statue or memorial of some great hero from the past. The Mall is a daunting walk with mammoth sized structures containing history, art and artifacts which are all free donated by Mr. Smith which explains why they are known as the Smithsonian’s. Unfortunately we were not going to have any time to explore these great halls today but knew we were coming back soon so we could continue our leisurely stroll on the grassy Knowles of the Mall heading towards the next monstrous structure known from its peak as the Washington Monument. We attempted to hug this structure but I think even with 400 Ross and Angie’s we still wouldn’t have surrounded this intense monument. Beautiful!! From here we casually strolled along the waterside of the Reflecting Pool which the Washington Monument and Lincoln’s memorial both overlook. If you remember the scene from Forest Gump where she runs through the reflecting pool, well we couldn’t and probably wouldn’t have but the awesome structure of Lincoln overlooking his Capital city was impressive. Big highlight for me so far!! Surrounding this prestigious area were 3 other awesome memorials from the epic World War 2 to the Korean and lastly the Vietnamese war. Breath-taking and somber! Continuing our walk we began to cruise around the Tidal Basin just off the Potomac River where two more amazing structures lay in wait. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a great president and therefore he was given an incredible memorial built over 4 stages with different sections to represent each of his 4 terms in office. Spectacular and we still had one more memorial where Thomas Jefferson is housed holding a bronzed statue of the great man and some words of wisdom he left behind as in many of the other great memorials.
Our last stop for this day was to be the greatest and most memorable for us – The White House. We had been told some tales about the White house Christmas tree which stands proudly just outside the old mansion and on the outer ring of the garden known as the Eclipse. Since it wasn’t Christmas we didn’t see the brilliant display of lights and action but it was still a great visit before we moved around to the front of the White house to view the garden and fountain display with the Obama’s waving to us – NOT!! Seeing the front of the white house was different and I kept saying to Ang that I didn’t recognize it from news and TV which we learnt was because they normally show the back of the white house on TV. We had to go visit the back and so our next journey into DC began with us viewing the rear of this great building.
Leaving this beautiful mansion we walked down and around the two infamous theatres in DC, one where Lincoln was shot called Ford’s theatre and the other called Warner theatre. I also persuaded Ang to walk around the FBI building as we passed through the Federal Triangle and saw some huge buildings downtown. This was also to be the day we would begin our intrepid route through many of the free Smithsonian museums starting at the museum of American History. I guess it would be difficult for me to explain piece by piece each artifact and interesting discovery and equally it would be pointless for you to read up on everything as I would probably waste a good 5hours of your life. Although I suppose I could enjoy that! Inside the American History museum we discovered numerous pieces of ancient history from Asia, Africa and the America’s. Thoroughly enjoying ourselves we moved onto our next exhibit in the Museum of Natural History where we found our good friend the T-rex from Night at the museum. After exploring the different spheres of this museum and seeing their special displays of wildlife from various regions of the world, we moved on to our first art museum of the day – gallery of portrait and art photography. Ang being the artist took the lead guiding us through a maze of art and design mostly contemporary art until we reached the portrait designs of yester year which I must admit I raced through being unimpressed and rather bored. This changed quickly when we emerged from our first and traveled into our second art museum called the National art gallery. I would have to say that this was a far more impressive art museum with many more famous artists’ paintings and sculptures like Van Gogh, Picasso, Rembrandt, Monet, Leonardo and Raphael. I think of all the art museums we have entered so far on our trip this had to be the greatest gallery we had seen with the most diverse art and artists we could only dream of. It even included a more modern and contemporary art section in the east wing with some Pollock and . Unbelievable!
We could only complete the museum rush on our following trip as there are way to many and they are so big and interesting we really wanted to take our time and explore as much as we could. We arrived to begin our next adventure exploring the alternate side of the museums starting at the Air and Space museum. A very impressive museum respecting and praising the advancement and ingenuity with air and space travel exulting the great vessels many of us have seen fly overhead and possibly wished to even travel in. they had a great exhibit/s which showed the progression from initial flight – the Wright Brothers – all the way to technology controlling the cock pit and more. Fascinating! Yet the space exhibits were not as impressive as NASA unfortunately. Onwards to our next museum called the Hirshorn art gallery where we could learn and observe a broad selection of contemporary art from paintings, to sculptures, to displays and more. We then confronted the monster of a building called the Smithsonian castle, a beautifully designed building in red brick; this castle is the epiphany of the Mall and the Smithsonian institutions. Inside is just as impressive with a new display from the brand new movie – Night at the museum, Smithsonian strikes back.
Attached to the rear of the castle were three separate yet joined galleries – the African art museum, the Arthur M. Sackler art gallery and the Frick gallery. All completely different with art pieces from multiple regions of the globe (yet none from SA), but none as impressive as what we had seen already on our adventures. The last museum we had on our plate for the day was to explore the Holocaust museum, an American tribute in memory to the lives lost during World War 2. A cleverly designed interior demonstrating the ruins of Germany as well as the contrast between concentration camps and housing and the progression many areas experienced during the war. A captivating yet solemn building of remembrance! Our last great monument for the day was the National Archives which holds either an original or copied version of the declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, America’s constitution and numerous other national treasures one would’ve seen in the movie National Treasure. I guess I could keep on going on about these amazing buildings but eventually you will get bored and so our time here in DC was coming to an end.
We did manage to utilize Lyn and Martin’s offer to drive their one car around when they left for a wedding in New Jersey. We gladly hopped in and drove off heading further east crossing the great Bay Bridge and going closer towards the ocean as we ventured towards St. Michaels, a small town right on the opposite side of the Chesapeake Bay. With one driving adventure successful, we were volunteered to try and make a DC trip which would be our last. Feeling confident – maybe a little too much – we drove back into DC aiming for a few treasured sites further away from the Capital. We managed to find and explore the National cathedral, an unmistakable building with sky reaching towers and a real roman gothic style. Simply marvelous church with an interior almost as magnificent as its exterior. From there we successfully drove down through George town and across the Potomac river too Arlington Cemetery, the national cemetery. Here lay the late great president JFK and his family, the tomb of the unknown, two memorials to the flights of September 11 (Pan Am and Pentagon), numerous burial sites of past hero’s, the sensational Columbian where 3 funerals were happening for soldiers at war and great views of the Potomac, the Mall and best of all the Pentagon. With that we were driving and unfortunately our directions couldn’t keep us from getting lost where we eventually crept back towards the Capital to escape this great city and travel back with some amazing memories.
After yet another torturous drive on greyhound we managed to find our way to the small town of Annapolis, state capital city of Maryland. Another name for which it could be known as is the sail boat capital of America as we have seen more boats here and around the Chesapeake Bay area than anywhere else in my entire life. A very quaint town, which gave me an ideal picture of a small English village by the sea with old buildings and historic sites and surreal settings on the water, as we began to explore our new home. I don’t think Ang and I could’ve ever imagined we would come to such a beautiful and amazing place with such awesome people like Lynn and Martin. God has truly blessed us on this journey as Martin and Lynn accepted us straight into their home and began to offer facts and information about Annapolis and Washington that we were so stoked for our visit. Since we had come from a week of intensely early mornings and insanely epic stretches of just undeniable fun, we took a few days to settle down and relax around their home on the water front and explore the small town of Annapolis. One thing you need to know about Annapolis is that it has a naval academy base which the town is literally built around.
Our travels into Annapolis itself were interesting and very refreshing from some of the other cities we have explored. Probably the smallest next to Modesto but completely different to any other city we have visited yet in the states. With the naval academy being the sole focus of the town and with the amount of historical sites we unearthed on our trips, there was a lot more to this small town. Choosing to spend a few short days exploring was the most rewarding thing for us as the town isn’t that big but it gave us more time to really dig inside the history and learn some of the interesting facts about this town. Like the fact that of the four Maryland declaration of independence signers, all four were from Annapolis. We found some beautiful old churches with amazing stained glass windows, uncovered some historical legends and wandered through some mysterious areas taking in everything our eyes saw. But I don’t think anything could compare with the experience of the naval academy and the day we spent wandering around their campus.
Martin and Lynn had conveyed to us that the week we had arrived was probably the most ideal week for us to see all that Annapolis and DC had to offer as it was memorial week and graduation week. For those like us simple SA people who know little about the American traditions, Memorial Day is a celebration (somber) of their troops and soldiers in every field fighting the good fight for their country. God bless America!!! On the other hand, graduation week was a celebration for all naval officers to enjoy and look back on their year spent at the academy. We got to see the Plebe’s climbing a slicked up pole for initiation to retrieve a captains hat on the top – took them 1hr 15minutes to do. We also would’ve seen president Obama give his congratulatory speech to the graduating fourth years but we weren’t on the guest list – we did however see his helicopter fly him back home to DC after his speech. The highlight of these celebratory practices had to be the Blue Angels flying directly over our heads as we sat floating on the Severn River watching their mesmerizing displays of speed and precision. The Blue Angels are the navy’s personal flying team who are trained in combative practices but can perform these “stunt shows” as I would refer to them. WOW!! The only place to really see and be part of the action was on the river with possibly the entire town of Annapolis joining us.
We have ridden two different boats in our time in Annapolis, one being Martins that was returned after a long absence and one being his colleague and friend Rob. I say they were different because Rob’s boat was all about speed as we cruised (75mph) to view the Blue Angels whereas Martin’s boat was more about luxury and comfort (35mph) as we sailed around the Chesapeake Bay area and got some impressive views of the bay bridge and Annapolis from the water. We were also lucky enough to spend a beautiful evening out on the open yet closed waters of the Annapolis harbour where we docked to a buoy for the evening and had a delicious breakfast at a small restaurant called Chick and Ruth where every morning they say the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. Interesting!!
DC is one of the greatest cities I have ever had the privilege of exploring. We have been blessed and lucky enough to travel into this spectacular city 4 times. Blessed because Martin and Lynn were able to lift us in on two occasions and lucky because the other 2 we could utilize other forms of transportation to marvel over the city. I am not quite sure what I was expecting upon arrival at union station for our first visit but the sight set before us was spectacular and not exactly what I had pictured. For architectural buffs unlike me, I think the cities design is a mix of ancient Greco-Roman style with columns and arches molded in a type of marble looking material, interiors filled with sculptures and mezzanines, sky lights and stained glass windows, pillars reaching to the heavens and creatures overlooking the whole buildings. I hope that paints a fair enough picture for you as it is very difficult to describe in-depth how beautiful this city truly is.
Our first visit was an attempt for us to see what the city has to offer and explore as much as we could before being picked up at around 9pm. So in our usual fashion, Ang and I quickly began cruising through the city taking in as much of the architectural beauty as is possible for people to do in one day. Union station is breath-taking with high arch-ways and huge ceilings holding decadent murals and unforgettable meaning. From the interior to the exterior the beauty just leaves a person speechless as we began our descent into the heart of this magical city known as the National Mall. When people mention the Mall in DC they are not talking about the shopping centre but rather the area which is covered by all the museums, the capital buildings and the memorial structures. So we started walking towards the Capital building – one of the oldest and most known structures in DC apart from the White house. Very impressive with a huge dome climbing to the skies and possibly the best view of the mall from the interior (which of course we could not enter). Some other impressive structures, more so for their interior contents, were the Supreme Court building and the Library of Congress directly in front of the capital. Inside the Supreme Court we were able to view past judges and interesting legal facts but more importantly the official Supreme Court room where big trials and oath reading ceremonies occur for new Supreme Court justices and other hierarchical figures. The Library of congress was just as magnificent with another Domed head this one holding a more spectacular interior verse exterior. Inside we could explore the great hall which held two old bibles, marble floors and statues with great significance to America’s historical past. We also managed a peek at the Thomas Jefferson Library – big dome – which is your typical book storage facility only this one had huge pillars and statues wherever you looked standing surrounding the circular floor from their balcony view watching all the goings on inside. What was super cool about the statues was that they were of great philosophers of all time like Plato and Aristotle and others. One of the other super sights in this massive library was the Inca, Mayan and Aztec art/archeological findings which we could look at and awe over.
So much already and around every bend and in every corner we could find a statue or memorial of some great hero from the past. The Mall is a daunting walk with mammoth sized structures containing history, art and artifacts which are all free donated by Mr. Smith which explains why they are known as the Smithsonian’s. Unfortunately we were not going to have any time to explore these great halls today but knew we were coming back soon so we could continue our leisurely stroll on the grassy Knowles of the Mall heading towards the next monstrous structure known from its peak as the Washington Monument. We attempted to hug this structure but I think even with 400 Ross and Angie’s we still wouldn’t have surrounded this intense monument. Beautiful!! From here we casually strolled along the waterside of the Reflecting Pool which the Washington Monument and Lincoln’s memorial both overlook. If you remember the scene from Forest Gump where she runs through the reflecting pool, well we couldn’t and probably wouldn’t have but the awesome structure of Lincoln overlooking his Capital city was impressive. Big highlight for me so far!! Surrounding this prestigious area were 3 other awesome memorials from the epic World War 2 to the Korean and lastly the Vietnamese war. Breath-taking and somber! Continuing our walk we began to cruise around the Tidal Basin just off the Potomac River where two more amazing structures lay in wait. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a great president and therefore he was given an incredible memorial built over 4 stages with different sections to represent each of his 4 terms in office. Spectacular and we still had one more memorial where Thomas Jefferson is housed holding a bronzed statue of the great man and some words of wisdom he left behind as in many of the other great memorials.
Our last stop for this day was to be the greatest and most memorable for us – The White House. We had been told some tales about the White house Christmas tree which stands proudly just outside the old mansion and on the outer ring of the garden known as the Eclipse. Since it wasn’t Christmas we didn’t see the brilliant display of lights and action but it was still a great visit before we moved around to the front of the White house to view the garden and fountain display with the Obama’s waving to us – NOT!! Seeing the front of the white house was different and I kept saying to Ang that I didn’t recognize it from news and TV which we learnt was because they normally show the back of the white house on TV. We had to go visit the back and so our next journey into DC began with us viewing the rear of this great building.
Leaving this beautiful mansion we walked down and around the two infamous theatres in DC, one where Lincoln was shot called Ford’s theatre and the other called Warner theatre. I also persuaded Ang to walk around the FBI building as we passed through the Federal Triangle and saw some huge buildings downtown. This was also to be the day we would begin our intrepid route through many of the free Smithsonian museums starting at the museum of American History. I guess it would be difficult for me to explain piece by piece each artifact and interesting discovery and equally it would be pointless for you to read up on everything as I would probably waste a good 5hours of your life. Although I suppose I could enjoy that! Inside the American History museum we discovered numerous pieces of ancient history from Asia, Africa and the America’s. Thoroughly enjoying ourselves we moved onto our next exhibit in the Museum of Natural History where we found our good friend the T-rex from Night at the museum. After exploring the different spheres of this museum and seeing their special displays of wildlife from various regions of the world, we moved on to our first art museum of the day – gallery of portrait and art photography. Ang being the artist took the lead guiding us through a maze of art and design mostly contemporary art until we reached the portrait designs of yester year which I must admit I raced through being unimpressed and rather bored. This changed quickly when we emerged from our first and traveled into our second art museum called the National art gallery. I would have to say that this was a far more impressive art museum with many more famous artists’ paintings and sculptures like Van Gogh, Picasso, Rembrandt, Monet, Leonardo and Raphael. I think of all the art museums we have entered so far on our trip this had to be the greatest gallery we had seen with the most diverse art and artists we could only dream of. It even included a more modern and contemporary art section in the east wing with some Pollock and . Unbelievable!
We could only complete the museum rush on our following trip as there are way to many and they are so big and interesting we really wanted to take our time and explore as much as we could. We arrived to begin our next adventure exploring the alternate side of the museums starting at the Air and Space museum. A very impressive museum respecting and praising the advancement and ingenuity with air and space travel exulting the great vessels many of us have seen fly overhead and possibly wished to even travel in. they had a great exhibit/s which showed the progression from initial flight – the Wright Brothers – all the way to technology controlling the cock pit and more. Fascinating! Yet the space exhibits were not as impressive as NASA unfortunately. Onwards to our next museum called the Hirshorn art gallery where we could learn and observe a broad selection of contemporary art from paintings, to sculptures, to displays and more. We then confronted the monster of a building called the Smithsonian castle, a beautifully designed building in red brick; this castle is the epiphany of the Mall and the Smithsonian institutions. Inside is just as impressive with a new display from the brand new movie – Night at the museum, Smithsonian strikes back.
Attached to the rear of the castle were three separate yet joined galleries – the African art museum, the Arthur M. Sackler art gallery and the Frick gallery. All completely different with art pieces from multiple regions of the globe (yet none from SA), but none as impressive as what we had seen already on our adventures. The last museum we had on our plate for the day was to explore the Holocaust museum, an American tribute in memory to the lives lost during World War 2. A cleverly designed interior demonstrating the ruins of Germany as well as the contrast between concentration camps and housing and the progression many areas experienced during the war. A captivating yet solemn building of remembrance! Our last great monument for the day was the National Archives which holds either an original or copied version of the declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, America’s constitution and numerous other national treasures one would’ve seen in the movie National Treasure. I guess I could keep on going on about these amazing buildings but eventually you will get bored and so our time here in DC was coming to an end.
We did manage to utilize Lyn and Martin’s offer to drive their one car around when they left for a wedding in New Jersey. We gladly hopped in and drove off heading further east crossing the great Bay Bridge and going closer towards the ocean as we ventured towards St. Michaels, a small town right on the opposite side of the Chesapeake Bay. With one driving adventure successful, we were volunteered to try and make a DC trip which would be our last. Feeling confident – maybe a little too much – we drove back into DC aiming for a few treasured sites further away from the Capital. We managed to find and explore the National cathedral, an unmistakable building with sky reaching towers and a real roman gothic style. Simply marvelous church with an interior almost as magnificent as its exterior. From there we successfully drove down through George town and across the Potomac river too Arlington Cemetery, the national cemetery. Here lay the late great president JFK and his family, the tomb of the unknown, two memorials to the flights of September 11 (Pan Am and Pentagon), numerous burial sites of past hero’s, the sensational Columbian where 3 funerals were happening for soldiers at war and great views of the Potomac, the Mall and best of all the Pentagon. With that we were driving and unfortunately our directions couldn’t keep us from getting lost where we eventually crept back towards the Capital to escape this great city and travel back with some amazing memories.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Chapter 5 – Sunshine state
Another long exhausting trip completed and probably the last really long tiring trip we would have to bus on before our flight home, we were happy to finally be in Florida. Known as the sunshine state for good reason, the sun always shone while we visited and the heat pounded us with a day hitting 100F before humidity was added. Arriving at the greyhound station we had no idea how far everything was from where we were situated which resulted in us making a very useful phone call to the Orlando transit authority who sorted us out. He said; take the 25 from just outside the greyhound all the way through to the central lynx bus stop. From there we must board the 50 which would go through to Disney’s transit bus station where we would then need to pick up bus 56. Traveling along bus 56 for nearly 30minutes we made into Orlando old town where we would then need to catch bus 55 that would travel back over the freeway towards the western part before stopping just outside our inn called Master’s Inn. Having left 3 and half hours ago from greyhound we were relieved and happy to finally reach home and set our bags down immediately before going for a swim in our backyard pool. And then we set off to begin this amazing adventure of theme park paradise.
Since we had a bus pass and some hours to kill before sleep ensued we decided to go and explore the Disney City walk – possibly Disney’s response to the universal city walk. As it was my first experience of Disney and things this side of the world are so overdone, we were in awe of all the shops and décor and buildings and themes and so on… I suppose my favorite sighting was the Lochness built entirely of Lego in the lake which surrounded the city walk. We rushed this visit a little as the bus schedule we had found and the amount of travel it required for us to return to our home was slowly melting away until we found at 10:00pm that we were on the wrong side of the highway with no transport home. Stressed out and frustrated with the buses we walked over to the nearest hotel to try and phone for a taxi and just around the corner our saving grace drew near in his yellow chariot offering us a lift for $10. We accepted relived and made it home to our snug beds where sleep took over as my birthday was just around the corner. Not knowing what stood ahead of me with the parks and being thrilled and entertained by just about everything we saw and did, I will try to summarize each park experience as aptly as possible. Forgive me if you tire from being over indulged.
Finally, my 27th birthday arrived and we were in Disney heading for my first park known as Magic Kingdom where Walt Disney brought to life all his characters and where I would spend the day for free. Waking up as the sun rose was hard work but essential for us to eat our free buffet breakfast and for us to catch our free shuttle bus to the park entrance to arrive before the opening happened. Arriving a little sleepy but pumped up with birthday adrenaline, we bought our tickets for the next 2 days and joined the thousands of other excited travelers as we awaited the park opening and the morning show with Mickey mouse. One aside, there is no credit crisis visible from Disney as we saw thousands of Americans rushing around these parks spending tons of dollars on souvenirs and meals and kids and so on. Anyway, the train arrived the show began and we were off entering the park and headed straight up towards the palace for a sensational view of Tinkerbelle’s castle. Knowing in advance that the Magic Kingdom was more of a children’s haven, my expectations were still very high and we headed towards Space Mountain where our entertainment and thrills began.
Highlights from our first Disney park visit came from most of the more thrill seeking rides although the smaller ones were enjoyable and filled the time for us. Big thunder railroad is an example of a runaway train with many twists and turns and speed and screams. Splash Mountain on the other hand was an eventful if not unfortunate ride. I say this as a result of the outcome of the ride because we expected water but not the amount with which we received. You see, we had chosen the wrong log and as a result landed with a good 4 litres of water covering our bodies from head to foot. But totally worth it! Monsters Inc laugh factory and Buzz Lightyear were two of the smaller rides which we found fun. Buzz you whiz around in a small car and get to shoot aliens with a laser gun scoring points where I beat Ang twice. Monsters Inc was an interactive presentation using the audience members to help make us laugh hysterically at one particular individual. The last two highlights were much later on in the day since it took us so long to reach that side and we had to wait for the final show. The haunted mansion was the last sort of ride we went on which was thrilling and scary and really creepy so obviously I loved it. Which leaves us with the last event for the day and probably the most memorable, the fire works display beside Tinkerbelle’s castle. An unforgettable show and a simply magical day suddenly came crashing to an end and we were heading home to relax after a successful and tiring day exploring our first park.
Sun is up, and so are we getting ready for our second trip to Disney’s theme parks. Today was all about the movies as we were going to Disney’s Hollywood Studios where they produce and create movies we have all seen and where we would ride and observe shows all about some of my favorite movies. Favorites are so hard to pick when everything is new and exciting but 3 shows which were phenomenal had to have been the Backlot tour we went on first, the Lights! Motor! Action! show with stunts and explosions and Indiana Jones real movie making show with all the movies props. WOW!! The Backlot tour was very memorable as I was the star of the first show being a mechanic on a sinking ship. So enjoyable and I was glad to be part of the experience of showbiz. The rest of the tour resulted in us exploring the props and awards museum, a short ride around part of the lot seeing Disney’s airplane and watching a fireball mudslide right in front of our eyes before returning and walking through the clothing hall. The next huge show was Lights motor action which revolves around the stunts performed in all movies by courageous and brave stuntmen who launch themselves off buildings and through fire and driving cars in circles or flying on bikes and so much more. This was an epic show and I absolutely loved every second of it. Indiana Jones show was unbelievable with 3 separate scenes and changeable sets there was so much action with sword fighting and whips and explosions and rolling boulders… an unforgettable experience but it wasn’t over yet.
We still had to explore the many rides available at this great amusement park. The first of these we were able to experience is known as the Tower of terror where you enter this abandoned and spooky mansion to uncover that a family haunts the mansion from when they died many years early while in the elevator. So we buckle up in our rusty elevator seats and begin the climb higher heading up 3 or more stories before being released and plummeting to our doom. Over and over again until it felt as though we were flying before we safely hit ground zero and were released to go and have some dinner. Ang was feeling a little body sore after being thrown around but she put a smile on and joined me to experience the Rock n Roller Coaster with Aerosmith. Possibly the most thrilling ride I have ever experienced because your entire journey on the roller coaster is indoors and in the dark so you never see exactly what is coming up next. Goosebumps!!!
Three days in a row is just too much but is it really when you are going to experience some magical and unforgettable memories for the rest of your life. No, and this was to be our most amazing day yet as we were heading for Sea World! Absolutely nothing could compare with this spectacular park and I am so glad that we went to see these magnificent creatures and their amazing performances. The start of our day was decided by a nice man called Bob who lead us towards the sea lions enclosure which is designed as a pirate ship in which the lead actors are 2 beautiful and smart sea lions. With some great comedic slip ups and some supporting actor mishaps, the show was hilarious and the sea lions were spectacular as they flopped and flew along the slick surface of the stage/ship. Our next stop was a hurried visit – not the actual show but the time required for us to get to the show as it started 5 minutes after we left the sea lions. Each of the parks has a show to illustrate how they train animals for the big screen and then each of the animals were given opportunities to perform and wow the audience. It was brilliant because the animals did everything in the show and only needed the trainers on stage to be their puppets and hold certain props for them to show off their talent and skills.
The only reason the next show comes in second place on my highlights list for this awesome day will be shared shortly but on any other occasion it would probably top any list. Shamu – the killer whale show – is an epic splendid performance by a family of Killer whales and one special whale known as Shamu. With trainers diving into the depths of the tank being raised to heights unimaginable standing on a killer whales nose they plummet to the water shelter before riding them at high speeds and carefully dismounting to retrieve fishy treats for more spectacular tricks. Bombs and splashes and heart pounding sights control the suspense and magnitude of this show and keep your eyes glued to the tank and the trainers. More goosebumps!!! If this came second I am sure many of you are wondering what could top the list. Well it can only be something so special, so significant and so awesome, something like me touching a bottlenose dolphin as it swam past in its tank on its way to receive some fishy treats. Nothing could beat this, aside from swimming with these magnificent animals. (My heart is skipping some beats)
Two other impressive and simply entertaining shows were the Nautilus presentation of Aqua – an underwater sea adventure – with magical sets and characters who could twist and dance and jump and climb almost anything. The other was the dolphin show which wasn’t as amazing as Shamu having something to compare it with but still absolutely spectacular as these majestic animals flew around their tank at heart pounding speeds releasing enormous splashes with every sky scraping jump and sending trainers flying all over the tank. AWESOME!!! You would think that after a day with all these extraordinary shows and animals that the park couldn’t have much more but you would be wrong. One of the newest additions is known as the Manta – apparently one of the only rides in America which takes you almost horizontal with the earth as you fly up and down and around the coaster. I promise that it is a scary and nerve racking ride putting adrenaline to the extreme but you will never forget the feeling of being like superman and flying with only 2 seat belts holding you in. so naturally I had to go on it. Similarly, I couldn’t resist the ride called the Kraken which is a coaster that exerts enough g force to make your face feel as though it is flopping around and may fall off.
The last amazing ride they had on offer was Atlantis. Since we were at Sea World there had to be a water ride with twists and bends and extreme up hills flying back down into a cool refreshing pool of water. There was so much more we could share and tell you of and we will but for now I have juiced up your appetite from this adventure.
Our next trip was to a water amusement park as the heat was getting to us and Ang said we needed a day just to swim and go on rides without having to take in so much as well. I was so grateful because it gave us enough energy to keep on going but was as much fun as we had already been having. We chose to go to Sea World’s new Aquatica Park which had recently opened and had some spectacular rides none of the others could compare with. I will only share a few of these as I could be here all night writing and you reading of the amazing rides. Firstly there was the dolphin plunge which was a short super tube that traveled through a dolphin tank with transparent tubing allowing the rider to pass by and see dolphins swim past on their descent to the pool. Secondly there was the Tassie Twisters which were two tube rides that sent you hurtling down on a tube into what can only be described as a big loo where we traveled around until we flushed out onto the lazy river. Next came the Taumata Racer’s which was a slide ride with a blue mat that you lay on and shot down the slide in a race against 8 other hopefuls. Lastly there was a brilliant ride which required you to wear a life jacket for luxury and comfort more than safety. Similar to the lazy river concept but with rapids and shoots you float around this designated route in your jacket relaxing with or racing those around you.
Our time was quickly coming to an end in Orlando and Disney but it would not end until Ang and I traveled to Universal studios. so on our last park day we chose to head further away from home towards the great expanse of the big Universal theme parks where incredible rides and coasters create blood curdling screams of joy and excitement. Unfortunately our financial situation meant we couldn’t explore both magnificent parks but that wouldn’t hamper our experience. There was so much to do and we had less time to do it in as with the other parks because of our transport and the park times for that week. Rushing a theme park sounds outrageous and so we decided that we would explore as much as we could in the day, turns out we walk quite fast and were able to see and do everything. Like the new Simpson’s ride which was exactly like being on a roller coaster but you were actually just sitting still in a simulator- this left Ang feeling very sea sick! However the Mummy coaster was extraordinary and I had to go on it twice to really capture the experience. Flying around bends and curves and corners and indoors the entire ride following the crusade of the movie whilst speeding about on the coaster. Splendid!
For us the amazing experiences of this park were the shows we got to watch and the rides that were more theatrical than physical. Shows such as Beetlejuice - who managed to bring back his dead cronies for a rocking show, or the real life Twister ride that captures the story of the movie whilst given you first hand experience of what a twister could feel like and did feel like when they made the movie. One of my favorites had to be the Disaster movie show which brings movie life and audience participation while you move about sets and interact with camera men and filming crews making your very own disaster movie for director Christopher Walken. Next fav has to be the jaws experience which looked exactly like the set from the movie and the ride was able to put a kid into extreme fits of tears and nightmares for the rest of his life. Shrek 4D and Terminator 3D were brilliant with new story lines and exceptional graphics these adapted short movies stole the show for my experience of Universal studios. The last show we managed to witness was a make up artistry show with an exceptional yet crazy looking man who had something like 25 years experience in the field working with many actors and directors he didn’t spend too much time elaborating on. The show was interesting and funny with a young girl who couldn’t speak English being the audience participator and resulting in the loony artist making more jokes than make up. It was still a treat having had first hand experience with Lol’s own work. And with that our park experience was over and we headed back to greyhound for our long wait before leaving to Annapolis. One thing I must add is that we were in Orlando about 80 miles from the Kennedy space centre the day the Atlantis shuttle left to go and repair the Hubble and we watched it live trying to see the shuttles big smoke pile as it shot up to space.
Another long exhausting trip completed and probably the last really long tiring trip we would have to bus on before our flight home, we were happy to finally be in Florida. Known as the sunshine state for good reason, the sun always shone while we visited and the heat pounded us with a day hitting 100F before humidity was added. Arriving at the greyhound station we had no idea how far everything was from where we were situated which resulted in us making a very useful phone call to the Orlando transit authority who sorted us out. He said; take the 25 from just outside the greyhound all the way through to the central lynx bus stop. From there we must board the 50 which would go through to Disney’s transit bus station where we would then need to pick up bus 56. Traveling along bus 56 for nearly 30minutes we made into Orlando old town where we would then need to catch bus 55 that would travel back over the freeway towards the western part before stopping just outside our inn called Master’s Inn. Having left 3 and half hours ago from greyhound we were relieved and happy to finally reach home and set our bags down immediately before going for a swim in our backyard pool. And then we set off to begin this amazing adventure of theme park paradise.
Since we had a bus pass and some hours to kill before sleep ensued we decided to go and explore the Disney City walk – possibly Disney’s response to the universal city walk. As it was my first experience of Disney and things this side of the world are so overdone, we were in awe of all the shops and décor and buildings and themes and so on… I suppose my favorite sighting was the Lochness built entirely of Lego in the lake which surrounded the city walk. We rushed this visit a little as the bus schedule we had found and the amount of travel it required for us to return to our home was slowly melting away until we found at 10:00pm that we were on the wrong side of the highway with no transport home. Stressed out and frustrated with the buses we walked over to the nearest hotel to try and phone for a taxi and just around the corner our saving grace drew near in his yellow chariot offering us a lift for $10. We accepted relived and made it home to our snug beds where sleep took over as my birthday was just around the corner. Not knowing what stood ahead of me with the parks and being thrilled and entertained by just about everything we saw and did, I will try to summarize each park experience as aptly as possible. Forgive me if you tire from being over indulged.
Finally, my 27th birthday arrived and we were in Disney heading for my first park known as Magic Kingdom where Walt Disney brought to life all his characters and where I would spend the day for free. Waking up as the sun rose was hard work but essential for us to eat our free buffet breakfast and for us to catch our free shuttle bus to the park entrance to arrive before the opening happened. Arriving a little sleepy but pumped up with birthday adrenaline, we bought our tickets for the next 2 days and joined the thousands of other excited travelers as we awaited the park opening and the morning show with Mickey mouse. One aside, there is no credit crisis visible from Disney as we saw thousands of Americans rushing around these parks spending tons of dollars on souvenirs and meals and kids and so on. Anyway, the train arrived the show began and we were off entering the park and headed straight up towards the palace for a sensational view of Tinkerbelle’s castle. Knowing in advance that the Magic Kingdom was more of a children’s haven, my expectations were still very high and we headed towards Space Mountain where our entertainment and thrills began.
Highlights from our first Disney park visit came from most of the more thrill seeking rides although the smaller ones were enjoyable and filled the time for us. Big thunder railroad is an example of a runaway train with many twists and turns and speed and screams. Splash Mountain on the other hand was an eventful if not unfortunate ride. I say this as a result of the outcome of the ride because we expected water but not the amount with which we received. You see, we had chosen the wrong log and as a result landed with a good 4 litres of water covering our bodies from head to foot. But totally worth it! Monsters Inc laugh factory and Buzz Lightyear were two of the smaller rides which we found fun. Buzz you whiz around in a small car and get to shoot aliens with a laser gun scoring points where I beat Ang twice. Monsters Inc was an interactive presentation using the audience members to help make us laugh hysterically at one particular individual. The last two highlights were much later on in the day since it took us so long to reach that side and we had to wait for the final show. The haunted mansion was the last sort of ride we went on which was thrilling and scary and really creepy so obviously I loved it. Which leaves us with the last event for the day and probably the most memorable, the fire works display beside Tinkerbelle’s castle. An unforgettable show and a simply magical day suddenly came crashing to an end and we were heading home to relax after a successful and tiring day exploring our first park.
Sun is up, and so are we getting ready for our second trip to Disney’s theme parks. Today was all about the movies as we were going to Disney’s Hollywood Studios where they produce and create movies we have all seen and where we would ride and observe shows all about some of my favorite movies. Favorites are so hard to pick when everything is new and exciting but 3 shows which were phenomenal had to have been the Backlot tour we went on first, the Lights! Motor! Action! show with stunts and explosions and Indiana Jones real movie making show with all the movies props. WOW!! The Backlot tour was very memorable as I was the star of the first show being a mechanic on a sinking ship. So enjoyable and I was glad to be part of the experience of showbiz. The rest of the tour resulted in us exploring the props and awards museum, a short ride around part of the lot seeing Disney’s airplane and watching a fireball mudslide right in front of our eyes before returning and walking through the clothing hall. The next huge show was Lights motor action which revolves around the stunts performed in all movies by courageous and brave stuntmen who launch themselves off buildings and through fire and driving cars in circles or flying on bikes and so much more. This was an epic show and I absolutely loved every second of it. Indiana Jones show was unbelievable with 3 separate scenes and changeable sets there was so much action with sword fighting and whips and explosions and rolling boulders… an unforgettable experience but it wasn’t over yet.
We still had to explore the many rides available at this great amusement park. The first of these we were able to experience is known as the Tower of terror where you enter this abandoned and spooky mansion to uncover that a family haunts the mansion from when they died many years early while in the elevator. So we buckle up in our rusty elevator seats and begin the climb higher heading up 3 or more stories before being released and plummeting to our doom. Over and over again until it felt as though we were flying before we safely hit ground zero and were released to go and have some dinner. Ang was feeling a little body sore after being thrown around but she put a smile on and joined me to experience the Rock n Roller Coaster with Aerosmith. Possibly the most thrilling ride I have ever experienced because your entire journey on the roller coaster is indoors and in the dark so you never see exactly what is coming up next. Goosebumps!!!
Three days in a row is just too much but is it really when you are going to experience some magical and unforgettable memories for the rest of your life. No, and this was to be our most amazing day yet as we were heading for Sea World! Absolutely nothing could compare with this spectacular park and I am so glad that we went to see these magnificent creatures and their amazing performances. The start of our day was decided by a nice man called Bob who lead us towards the sea lions enclosure which is designed as a pirate ship in which the lead actors are 2 beautiful and smart sea lions. With some great comedic slip ups and some supporting actor mishaps, the show was hilarious and the sea lions were spectacular as they flopped and flew along the slick surface of the stage/ship. Our next stop was a hurried visit – not the actual show but the time required for us to get to the show as it started 5 minutes after we left the sea lions. Each of the parks has a show to illustrate how they train animals for the big screen and then each of the animals were given opportunities to perform and wow the audience. It was brilliant because the animals did everything in the show and only needed the trainers on stage to be their puppets and hold certain props for them to show off their talent and skills.
The only reason the next show comes in second place on my highlights list for this awesome day will be shared shortly but on any other occasion it would probably top any list. Shamu – the killer whale show – is an epic splendid performance by a family of Killer whales and one special whale known as Shamu. With trainers diving into the depths of the tank being raised to heights unimaginable standing on a killer whales nose they plummet to the water shelter before riding them at high speeds and carefully dismounting to retrieve fishy treats for more spectacular tricks. Bombs and splashes and heart pounding sights control the suspense and magnitude of this show and keep your eyes glued to the tank and the trainers. More goosebumps!!! If this came second I am sure many of you are wondering what could top the list. Well it can only be something so special, so significant and so awesome, something like me touching a bottlenose dolphin as it swam past in its tank on its way to receive some fishy treats. Nothing could beat this, aside from swimming with these magnificent animals. (My heart is skipping some beats)
Two other impressive and simply entertaining shows were the Nautilus presentation of Aqua – an underwater sea adventure – with magical sets and characters who could twist and dance and jump and climb almost anything. The other was the dolphin show which wasn’t as amazing as Shamu having something to compare it with but still absolutely spectacular as these majestic animals flew around their tank at heart pounding speeds releasing enormous splashes with every sky scraping jump and sending trainers flying all over the tank. AWESOME!!! You would think that after a day with all these extraordinary shows and animals that the park couldn’t have much more but you would be wrong. One of the newest additions is known as the Manta – apparently one of the only rides in America which takes you almost horizontal with the earth as you fly up and down and around the coaster. I promise that it is a scary and nerve racking ride putting adrenaline to the extreme but you will never forget the feeling of being like superman and flying with only 2 seat belts holding you in. so naturally I had to go on it. Similarly, I couldn’t resist the ride called the Kraken which is a coaster that exerts enough g force to make your face feel as though it is flopping around and may fall off.
The last amazing ride they had on offer was Atlantis. Since we were at Sea World there had to be a water ride with twists and bends and extreme up hills flying back down into a cool refreshing pool of water. There was so much more we could share and tell you of and we will but for now I have juiced up your appetite from this adventure.
Our next trip was to a water amusement park as the heat was getting to us and Ang said we needed a day just to swim and go on rides without having to take in so much as well. I was so grateful because it gave us enough energy to keep on going but was as much fun as we had already been having. We chose to go to Sea World’s new Aquatica Park which had recently opened and had some spectacular rides none of the others could compare with. I will only share a few of these as I could be here all night writing and you reading of the amazing rides. Firstly there was the dolphin plunge which was a short super tube that traveled through a dolphin tank with transparent tubing allowing the rider to pass by and see dolphins swim past on their descent to the pool. Secondly there was the Tassie Twisters which were two tube rides that sent you hurtling down on a tube into what can only be described as a big loo where we traveled around until we flushed out onto the lazy river. Next came the Taumata Racer’s which was a slide ride with a blue mat that you lay on and shot down the slide in a race against 8 other hopefuls. Lastly there was a brilliant ride which required you to wear a life jacket for luxury and comfort more than safety. Similar to the lazy river concept but with rapids and shoots you float around this designated route in your jacket relaxing with or racing those around you.
Our time was quickly coming to an end in Orlando and Disney but it would not end until Ang and I traveled to Universal studios. so on our last park day we chose to head further away from home towards the great expanse of the big Universal theme parks where incredible rides and coasters create blood curdling screams of joy and excitement. Unfortunately our financial situation meant we couldn’t explore both magnificent parks but that wouldn’t hamper our experience. There was so much to do and we had less time to do it in as with the other parks because of our transport and the park times for that week. Rushing a theme park sounds outrageous and so we decided that we would explore as much as we could in the day, turns out we walk quite fast and were able to see and do everything. Like the new Simpson’s ride which was exactly like being on a roller coaster but you were actually just sitting still in a simulator- this left Ang feeling very sea sick! However the Mummy coaster was extraordinary and I had to go on it twice to really capture the experience. Flying around bends and curves and corners and indoors the entire ride following the crusade of the movie whilst speeding about on the coaster. Splendid!
For us the amazing experiences of this park were the shows we got to watch and the rides that were more theatrical than physical. Shows such as Beetlejuice - who managed to bring back his dead cronies for a rocking show, or the real life Twister ride that captures the story of the movie whilst given you first hand experience of what a twister could feel like and did feel like when they made the movie. One of my favorites had to be the Disaster movie show which brings movie life and audience participation while you move about sets and interact with camera men and filming crews making your very own disaster movie for director Christopher Walken. Next fav has to be the jaws experience which looked exactly like the set from the movie and the ride was able to put a kid into extreme fits of tears and nightmares for the rest of his life. Shrek 4D and Terminator 3D were brilliant with new story lines and exceptional graphics these adapted short movies stole the show for my experience of Universal studios. The last show we managed to witness was a make up artistry show with an exceptional yet crazy looking man who had something like 25 years experience in the field working with many actors and directors he didn’t spend too much time elaborating on. The show was interesting and funny with a young girl who couldn’t speak English being the audience participator and resulting in the loony artist making more jokes than make up. It was still a treat having had first hand experience with Lol’s own work. And with that our park experience was over and we headed back to greyhound for our long wait before leaving to Annapolis. One thing I must add is that we were in Orlando about 80 miles from the Kennedy space centre the day the Atlantis shuttle left to go and repair the Hubble and we watched it live trying to see the shuttles big smoke pile as it shot up to space.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Chapter 4 – the Lone Star state
Arriving in Houston 2 nights after we boarded our bus in Vegas was such a relief and we just blobbed around Frank and Di’s home in Pecan Grove willing ourselves to stay awake as long as possible to ensure a full and amazing nights sleep. Ang and I had not realized how big and spread out Houston is and we didn’t realize how far away from downtown Frank and Di were which left us struggling to go into the city regularly as they were working long days. I suppose it worked out that they were preparing to move and we were free and staying at home which meant we could help sort out stuff for this move. Thankfully they were also able to take us on a few adventures around Houston giving us some idea of the beauty of this Texas metropolis. One of these adventures was our first ever live baseball game between the Astros and the Brewers. Unfortunately we did not catch a victory for the Astros but I did see my first ever home run. The game was rather short but I loved every minute of it and am so grateful for this experience.
Directly after this game we climbed in the truck and charged north from the stadium towards the lake house Frank and Di own where we went to spend the weekend. We were still struggling to get accustomed to the weather as it was hotter, stuffier and more humid than we had experienced yet in the states. We managed to take a few strolls around the lake area and explored some of the forest area surrounding this lake spot. Then as quickly as we had arrived we were heading back home to Pecan Grove looking forward to an exciting week heading into down town Houston and our Jars of Clay concert. And then crisis hit Houston on Monday evening when Tornado and violent thunder storm warnings were given to the city. It was a very scary and exciting time seeing the weather change and control people’s lives when we woke up on Tuesday to discover that most of Houston was flooded and not many people could go to work. But it couldn’t last and eventually on Thursday we made it down town where we went to visit the science museum and the fine arts museum of Houston. Grateful to visit and see some of Houston Ang and I quickly set out for the science museum where we could view different genres of science like the energy section, the dinosaur exhibit, precious gems show, the historical section and even a king Tutton exhibit from Egypt. Looking forward to some art we moved on to viewing the fine arts museum where we caught sights of some very old European and American art paintings, sculptures from Italy and Greece, ruins from ancient cities and even some African art. Though this was a short visit to Houston we loved every minute of the museums and managed to wander up and around the park area and the sky scrapers of down town.
A definite highlight came as we began to prepare for our next exciting stop going to watch Jars of Clay as they began their new tour promoting their new album Long fall down to earth. A surprise for us came during the opening act when we were blessed by a new band never before heard or seen by South Africans called Sea Bird who opened the show for Jars. A four piece band with the sound of a Coldplay Keane style mixing in two of our favorite bands and expressing their faith, we really enjoyed their performance. We even managed to meet the band and spent some time chatting with them. Jars performance was flawless and spectacular with a brand new show full of new songs and redefining the old ones we so adore. Thankfully our camera has a video function although we are running out of space for all our photos and videos. Anyway, the concert was a superb hit for us and we enjoyed every second of our time watching one of our favorite Christian bands. Thanks boys!!!
I guess the last highlight or place we really wanted to and begged Frank and Di to show us was NASA – the Johnson Space centre. Our wish was granted on our last day in Houston where we got dropped off for the day to spend our time exploring the space time continuum. Not really but we were exploring the space journeys, rocket ships, progress and new programs soon to be employed by NASA. Our first stop had to be the tour bus leaving for the Johnson space centre where we would get up close and personal with scenes from movies such as Armageddon and Apollo 13. We were able to view the private shuttle communication booth where only family and employees are allowed which was a real privilege. Another stop on this tour was the warehouse where they do astronaut training for in space getting accustomed to the equipment and environment of space life. Other training happens in the water tank 20 miles away or on an aircraft flying like a rollercoaster to change the g-force and create an antigravity environment for weightlessness. These were two of the highlights of the tour and probably of the whole day but there was still more to discover.
Once we arrived back in the space centre from the tour bus we began to explore and uncover the different areas and aspects of the space centre. As there is just so much to see and do, we needed to break the smaller sights up and follow the movie times or tour times to make sure we didn’t leave anything out. We got a little guidance on how to control the shuttle during take off and what many of the different gadgets are used for. During this presentation in the blast off theatre we also learnt that a new shuttle called the Atlantis Orion was taking off on Monday 11th May from Kennedy space centre exactly when we would be in Orlando Florida. Amazing!!! From there we went on to learn how space travel began and saw some really old treasures including moon rock samples. We also observed a live presentation of the realities and difficulties of living in space before seeing a movie of space life and astronaut training. And just like that it was time to go having explored the space centre thoroughly we left exhausted but satisfied seeing a great historical past of the US space initiative.
So too ended our tour and travels in Houston Texas and with a wave and farewell we boarded our greyhound for the new adventures of Orlando Florida.
Arriving in Houston 2 nights after we boarded our bus in Vegas was such a relief and we just blobbed around Frank and Di’s home in Pecan Grove willing ourselves to stay awake as long as possible to ensure a full and amazing nights sleep. Ang and I had not realized how big and spread out Houston is and we didn’t realize how far away from downtown Frank and Di were which left us struggling to go into the city regularly as they were working long days. I suppose it worked out that they were preparing to move and we were free and staying at home which meant we could help sort out stuff for this move. Thankfully they were also able to take us on a few adventures around Houston giving us some idea of the beauty of this Texas metropolis. One of these adventures was our first ever live baseball game between the Astros and the Brewers. Unfortunately we did not catch a victory for the Astros but I did see my first ever home run. The game was rather short but I loved every minute of it and am so grateful for this experience.
Directly after this game we climbed in the truck and charged north from the stadium towards the lake house Frank and Di own where we went to spend the weekend. We were still struggling to get accustomed to the weather as it was hotter, stuffier and more humid than we had experienced yet in the states. We managed to take a few strolls around the lake area and explored some of the forest area surrounding this lake spot. Then as quickly as we had arrived we were heading back home to Pecan Grove looking forward to an exciting week heading into down town Houston and our Jars of Clay concert. And then crisis hit Houston on Monday evening when Tornado and violent thunder storm warnings were given to the city. It was a very scary and exciting time seeing the weather change and control people’s lives when we woke up on Tuesday to discover that most of Houston was flooded and not many people could go to work. But it couldn’t last and eventually on Thursday we made it down town where we went to visit the science museum and the fine arts museum of Houston. Grateful to visit and see some of Houston Ang and I quickly set out for the science museum where we could view different genres of science like the energy section, the dinosaur exhibit, precious gems show, the historical section and even a king Tutton exhibit from Egypt. Looking forward to some art we moved on to viewing the fine arts museum where we caught sights of some very old European and American art paintings, sculptures from Italy and Greece, ruins from ancient cities and even some African art. Though this was a short visit to Houston we loved every minute of the museums and managed to wander up and around the park area and the sky scrapers of down town.
A definite highlight came as we began to prepare for our next exciting stop going to watch Jars of Clay as they began their new tour promoting their new album Long fall down to earth. A surprise for us came during the opening act when we were blessed by a new band never before heard or seen by South Africans called Sea Bird who opened the show for Jars. A four piece band with the sound of a Coldplay Keane style mixing in two of our favorite bands and expressing their faith, we really enjoyed their performance. We even managed to meet the band and spent some time chatting with them. Jars performance was flawless and spectacular with a brand new show full of new songs and redefining the old ones we so adore. Thankfully our camera has a video function although we are running out of space for all our photos and videos. Anyway, the concert was a superb hit for us and we enjoyed every second of our time watching one of our favorite Christian bands. Thanks boys!!!
I guess the last highlight or place we really wanted to and begged Frank and Di to show us was NASA – the Johnson Space centre. Our wish was granted on our last day in Houston where we got dropped off for the day to spend our time exploring the space time continuum. Not really but we were exploring the space journeys, rocket ships, progress and new programs soon to be employed by NASA. Our first stop had to be the tour bus leaving for the Johnson space centre where we would get up close and personal with scenes from movies such as Armageddon and Apollo 13. We were able to view the private shuttle communication booth where only family and employees are allowed which was a real privilege. Another stop on this tour was the warehouse where they do astronaut training for in space getting accustomed to the equipment and environment of space life. Other training happens in the water tank 20 miles away or on an aircraft flying like a rollercoaster to change the g-force and create an antigravity environment for weightlessness. These were two of the highlights of the tour and probably of the whole day but there was still more to discover.
Once we arrived back in the space centre from the tour bus we began to explore and uncover the different areas and aspects of the space centre. As there is just so much to see and do, we needed to break the smaller sights up and follow the movie times or tour times to make sure we didn’t leave anything out. We got a little guidance on how to control the shuttle during take off and what many of the different gadgets are used for. During this presentation in the blast off theatre we also learnt that a new shuttle called the Atlantis Orion was taking off on Monday 11th May from Kennedy space centre exactly when we would be in Orlando Florida. Amazing!!! From there we went on to learn how space travel began and saw some really old treasures including moon rock samples. We also observed a live presentation of the realities and difficulties of living in space before seeing a movie of space life and astronaut training. And just like that it was time to go having explored the space centre thoroughly we left exhausted but satisfied seeing a great historical past of the US space initiative.
So too ended our tour and travels in Houston Texas and with a wave and farewell we boarded our greyhound for the new adventures of Orlando Florida.
Chapter 3 – Las Vegas NEON city
With both LA and Vegas, we have left our accommodation in the hands of God, completely hopeful that the hostels we had researched and found were able to and had accommodation for us. Upon arrival to Las Vegas, we discovered that the bus terminal was only about 2 miles from our accommodation and there was a bus system near by that we could catch taking us down. 2 problems with this information, firstly the bus was $3 each one way or $7 for a day pass or $15 for a 3 day pass and secondly we could only buy the smaller passes on the bus and we couldn’t find a machine that discharged the 3 day passes so guess what happened, we hiked the 2 miles with our back packs in blistering heat with minimal water and a vague sense of direction. YAY!! So if that was the start to this journey, we were concerned already but we found the hostel after only 40min walking making pretty good time but near exhaustion. Being so close it meant that the hostel was actually in the slightly dodgier side of Vegas – not like it made much difference when you got down to all the impressive hotels anyway (I will explain soon).
Sin City hostel, doesn’t that just sound like the ideal place to come and stay in Vegas, well it was for us. Strangely enough though, the real Sin city was happening about 2-5 miles further down the road where the big casinos were. Anyway, we had found our home for the time being and were happy to have our back packs off and start our adventure of this uniquely bright and loud place. Sitting and relaxing was not on our agenda for the day so spending a short visit in our room, we quickly set off down the road on our first adventure towards this Neon palace. Heading south down the Strip, we made our way through part of the old down town which has been let to run down while all the new creations are continuing further south where all the awesome hotels are. The casino’s and hotels which we walked into and explored during our visit to the Strip were – all of them. Just joking, we walked into the Stratosphere where the most spectacular rides are found about 20 meters above the ground. Unfortunately we didn’t go on any of these rides as a result of the $34 each they would’ve cost us.
Next on our list was Circus Circus where they have an indoor circus show which we were able to catch two of the extraordinary acts. Before I continue I think it is important to share that apart from the marvels I am mentioning about each of these hotels/casino’s, they had nothing else but big people, loud clanking noises, smells like you have never smelt and put our stomachs in knots knowing that people were wasting their lives for a little chance at glory. From the Circus we arrived at the Mirage where the spectacular evening volcano show happens and we were lucky enough to catch the show. This was one of the highlights for us as the shows were free and made the light shows of all the casinos magnificent. Another 2 highlights for us were the other free shows we could marvel over outside the other 2 extraordinary hotels known as the Bellagio and Treasure Island. The world famous fountains of the Bellagio are well known and definitely worth the long trip we had taken to see them. Absolutely amazing, the fountain show is a spectacular sight and we got to witness the spectacle about 5 times which could’ve been so much more had we just sat around and waited for it. Having to pull ourselves away from the show was tough but it allowed us to go on and witness the pirate show held at Treasure Island. Not as awe inspiring as the fountains but another type of show which was impressive and had a ship sink in only 3m depth of water. The only other major attraction or highlight from Vegas came closer to our hostel on Freemont street where they have an evening light show on the ceiling of the outdoor area. We overheard that it is one of the worlds only ceiling neon show displays and we thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment. Apart from these amazing shows, most of the casinos were all identical and fairly disappointing apart from their designs and lights at night.
Anyway, enough of the cry me a river speech, whining about being in Vegas shouldn’t happen so I will continue to elaborate on the joyous moments from this adventure. Probably the main reason for Ang and I wanting to visit Vegas was purely to witness and wander down the strip during the evening taking in the awe inspiring sight of the city lit up. I have to admit that at night Vegas turns into this splendid place where dreams could come true and I can see why so many people will come to try their luck in the casinos. We made our way up and down the strip during the day and night only once in our 2 night 3 day stay. The reason for this can be summed up simply, traffic on the strip is like Rosebank during peek traffic with 5 accidents and a truck over turned and emergency vehicles racing around and like being in a sauna and and and… one trip from top to bottom took us 2 hours by bus yet it was easy to sit in air conditioning than sweating and hiking the 2 hours it would’ve taken anyway. Other magical sights on the southern strip were the hotels/casinos of New York, Pink Flamingo, Pyramid, MGM and the Venetian. New York was fascinating with the skyline and wild rollercoaster rides, the Venetian was beautiful with a luve (hope I spelt it right) ride which took you inside the casino and shopping area on the typical Venetian boats and Pink Flamingo was a highlight as we swam in their pool one afternoon when it was near 87F.
To finish off this adventure I will explain why we didn’t really enjoy Vegas and why we believe that it could be known as Sin City. I suppose the first clue is the fact that at every corner is a casino full of people gambling their life savings or worse their credit away on the possibility of winning. Inside the casinos, smoking was legal and so a cloud of smoke over powered your nostrils and prevented us from exploring most of the casino floors. Around every corner seemed to lurk time share agents who targeted Ang and I as suckers and kept pestering us with free tickets and tours and trips and shows if we viewed their new hotels and sat for presentations and basically wasted our day with their nonsense. The worst part was that they didn’t even know where SA is? Stupid!! Lastly, and probably the main reason we found Vegas dodgy was that near every hotel/casino were these Mexican guys who were distributing calling cards of naked women who you could phone up and they would arrive at your door for some action – if you know what I mean. Sorry to those sensitive viewers. Forgive me please!! Vegas was a magical time but we were glad to leave on possibly the longest stint of our trip, the drive via greyhound to Houston Texas.
With both LA and Vegas, we have left our accommodation in the hands of God, completely hopeful that the hostels we had researched and found were able to and had accommodation for us. Upon arrival to Las Vegas, we discovered that the bus terminal was only about 2 miles from our accommodation and there was a bus system near by that we could catch taking us down. 2 problems with this information, firstly the bus was $3 each one way or $7 for a day pass or $15 for a 3 day pass and secondly we could only buy the smaller passes on the bus and we couldn’t find a machine that discharged the 3 day passes so guess what happened, we hiked the 2 miles with our back packs in blistering heat with minimal water and a vague sense of direction. YAY!! So if that was the start to this journey, we were concerned already but we found the hostel after only 40min walking making pretty good time but near exhaustion. Being so close it meant that the hostel was actually in the slightly dodgier side of Vegas – not like it made much difference when you got down to all the impressive hotels anyway (I will explain soon).
Sin City hostel, doesn’t that just sound like the ideal place to come and stay in Vegas, well it was for us. Strangely enough though, the real Sin city was happening about 2-5 miles further down the road where the big casinos were. Anyway, we had found our home for the time being and were happy to have our back packs off and start our adventure of this uniquely bright and loud place. Sitting and relaxing was not on our agenda for the day so spending a short visit in our room, we quickly set off down the road on our first adventure towards this Neon palace. Heading south down the Strip, we made our way through part of the old down town which has been let to run down while all the new creations are continuing further south where all the awesome hotels are. The casino’s and hotels which we walked into and explored during our visit to the Strip were – all of them. Just joking, we walked into the Stratosphere where the most spectacular rides are found about 20 meters above the ground. Unfortunately we didn’t go on any of these rides as a result of the $34 each they would’ve cost us.
Next on our list was Circus Circus where they have an indoor circus show which we were able to catch two of the extraordinary acts. Before I continue I think it is important to share that apart from the marvels I am mentioning about each of these hotels/casino’s, they had nothing else but big people, loud clanking noises, smells like you have never smelt and put our stomachs in knots knowing that people were wasting their lives for a little chance at glory. From the Circus we arrived at the Mirage where the spectacular evening volcano show happens and we were lucky enough to catch the show. This was one of the highlights for us as the shows were free and made the light shows of all the casinos magnificent. Another 2 highlights for us were the other free shows we could marvel over outside the other 2 extraordinary hotels known as the Bellagio and Treasure Island. The world famous fountains of the Bellagio are well known and definitely worth the long trip we had taken to see them. Absolutely amazing, the fountain show is a spectacular sight and we got to witness the spectacle about 5 times which could’ve been so much more had we just sat around and waited for it. Having to pull ourselves away from the show was tough but it allowed us to go on and witness the pirate show held at Treasure Island. Not as awe inspiring as the fountains but another type of show which was impressive and had a ship sink in only 3m depth of water. The only other major attraction or highlight from Vegas came closer to our hostel on Freemont street where they have an evening light show on the ceiling of the outdoor area. We overheard that it is one of the worlds only ceiling neon show displays and we thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment. Apart from these amazing shows, most of the casinos were all identical and fairly disappointing apart from their designs and lights at night.
Anyway, enough of the cry me a river speech, whining about being in Vegas shouldn’t happen so I will continue to elaborate on the joyous moments from this adventure. Probably the main reason for Ang and I wanting to visit Vegas was purely to witness and wander down the strip during the evening taking in the awe inspiring sight of the city lit up. I have to admit that at night Vegas turns into this splendid place where dreams could come true and I can see why so many people will come to try their luck in the casinos. We made our way up and down the strip during the day and night only once in our 2 night 3 day stay. The reason for this can be summed up simply, traffic on the strip is like Rosebank during peek traffic with 5 accidents and a truck over turned and emergency vehicles racing around and like being in a sauna and and and… one trip from top to bottom took us 2 hours by bus yet it was easy to sit in air conditioning than sweating and hiking the 2 hours it would’ve taken anyway. Other magical sights on the southern strip were the hotels/casinos of New York, Pink Flamingo, Pyramid, MGM and the Venetian. New York was fascinating with the skyline and wild rollercoaster rides, the Venetian was beautiful with a luve (hope I spelt it right) ride which took you inside the casino and shopping area on the typical Venetian boats and Pink Flamingo was a highlight as we swam in their pool one afternoon when it was near 87F.
To finish off this adventure I will explain why we didn’t really enjoy Vegas and why we believe that it could be known as Sin City. I suppose the first clue is the fact that at every corner is a casino full of people gambling their life savings or worse their credit away on the possibility of winning. Inside the casinos, smoking was legal and so a cloud of smoke over powered your nostrils and prevented us from exploring most of the casino floors. Around every corner seemed to lurk time share agents who targeted Ang and I as suckers and kept pestering us with free tickets and tours and trips and shows if we viewed their new hotels and sat for presentations and basically wasted our day with their nonsense. The worst part was that they didn’t even know where SA is? Stupid!! Lastly, and probably the main reason we found Vegas dodgy was that near every hotel/casino were these Mexican guys who were distributing calling cards of naked women who you could phone up and they would arrive at your door for some action – if you know what I mean. Sorry to those sensitive viewers. Forgive me please!! Vegas was a magical time but we were glad to leave on possibly the longest stint of our trip, the drive via greyhound to Houston Texas.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
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