After what seemed like a pretty quick flight I landed in Tucson, Arizona. As usual my trouble to sleep on flights didn't let me down. But when I steeped out of the airport a wave of warm air hit me. However after walking into sun it felt like I was walking into an oven! I have decided that Arizona must be the venting area for the fires of hell. It was phenomenally hot.
After the usual procedures for exiting an airport, my friend decided that a quick immersion and introduction to the Arizona desert was essential. So it was a quick dash to the desert museum where due to the pending closure we had to run around checking all the animals and fauna as we possibly could. It a pretty cool landscape of desert filled with Cactus, and mountains. Very much like what you see in the old westerns most of which were filmed in the Tucson area apparently.
After almost 3 months in Michigan I have to admit it was great to see mountains again!.
I once heard that NZ 'ers find it hard to be in parts of America due to the lack of mountains, and I was certainly anxious that the lack of would enhance any 'home sickness'. At times it was frustrating because there was no points of orientation. However I didn't miss the mountains so much as tree tops were a substitute to block the vastness. But it was great to see Arizona mountains that kind of reminded me of the type in the Queenstown/ Otago area.
After the almost frantic run through the desert museum, I was shown the local university that my friend attends. It was quite nice. Very big, but reminded me more of a high school rather than a university. It became an interesting sight to see green grass in the desert area. As though it didn't really belong considering that every thing else was dry and mostly baron of greenery. A quick tour of the area brought us to the house. Which provided a great opportunity for a shower etc, before our dinner at a 'very nice restaurant' where one is expected to dress nicely. So after being loaned a pair of black shoes and a tie. I felt like I was heading to a business meeting but was pleased that I could finally use my shirt and formal pants that I have carried around the world!!!
The restaurant was a very well themed steak house, and some what of a local attraction. But it was only when a I noticed (mid conversation) the cowboy standing behind me that I also noticed the myriad of ties decorating the rafters. The look on his face and scissors in hand brought me to the realization that I was the only one in the place wearing a tie!! even my friends father had slyly removed his at some point before entering. The cow boy was dead set on cutting my tie. No matter what excuse I gave, I tried the “it was given to me by my dyeing grandmother, and is an air loom” and “I have just come form New York business meetings and this is how one dress's for dinner”. But no matter my argument I was set up to fail no matter what battle I brought. This cowboy had won many tie fights before judging by the decorated rafters.
The next day we went out to 'Tombstone' an authentic gun slinging wild west town. Home of some of the cowboys and gunslingers that have been immortalized in movies, like Doc Holiday and …...ahh others. We even visited a burlesque house (now a museum) that had seen many gun fights the evidence was still lodged in the bar posts or walls. It was good to see people (locals I presume) dressing up in the period theme to enhance the atmosphere.
On the way back we passed the plane grave yard, and the stock pile of U.S military planes which was huge. The vast fleet of planes ready to go was huge. Put out 10 (or whatever) stock piled planes to shame. It was impresssive to see the stock pile of big military cargo planes.
The rest of the weekend was spent socializing and church which was again pretty big. But as usuall before to long I was back at the airport ready to go.
The flight to London was uneventfull, as seems to be the case in Chicago (for a connecting flight). I almost missed my flight again. But by the time I landed in London I had been through so many different time zones I had no idea what the actuall time was (body wise) I wasn't sure if I should be eating breakfast lunch or dinner! But once I got to my friends house (in London) all the stress melted away...........
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Fo' ged abou'd it...
On arrival any previous confidence I had gained with the subway and New York was shattered with a couple of wrong subway stops and walking the wrong way once out of the subway. But after an 11 hour train ride, we eventually found our (My montreal friend Sebastian and I) way to where we were staying.
On saturday my friend form New Jersey (Ciana) came to pick us up, and we made our way down to Philadelphia, where after a spot of window shopping and a 'Phily cheese steak'. Which was a little disappointing as I had had a better one in L.A. But I didn't say that too loudly since the line went out the shop door!! After which we found the Museum that was featured in the 'Rocky' series. And of course after running up the steps just as Rocky had done in '76 I too did it. Which full filled a long time dream of mine. Along with getting photos by the statue of the man him self. It was a walk back to the car and back on the road.
By the time we got back to Jersey it was well past dinner time, so a stop for pizza was the answer. And what a pizza! before eating we were all adamant that we could easily eat alot. However due to the size of the pizza after 3 of us had had enough there was still half left over! Although I have to admit that we did have an entree of Calamari.
The next day we went out to one of the beach's in New Jersey, it was a very nice beach but I couldn't believe it when I had to pay $6.50 to get onto the beach!!. It was a 2 hour drive, but the sunny day definatley made it worth it. Due to the severe surf that suggested a very step drop at the shore line. We were unable to swim, and at the life guards authority could only go knee deep. But there were certainly enough people enjoying them selves.
The ride home proved that every man, dog and dogs family took advantage of the sunny day and went to the beach. As the drive had growen an hour, due to a small accident.
The rest of the week Sebastian and I checked out some of the sights in NY, the Museum of Natural History and The Met. Along with 'winning' (so they call it) tickets to the filming of "The Late Show" with David Letterman. Which was a faily well polished show, it felt like they were putting a show on for us that was being filmed rather than we were watching a show being filmed. Interestinly enough they filmed it in one take. After I left I thought I should have also tryed to get to see a 'Saturday night live' filming.
On my last day I went on to the 'Intrepid' a WWII air craft carrier. Which was really interesting. I also went into the submarine that they had there. Along with one of the Concords. Being on the aircraft carrier was another thing that I've always wanted to do.
NY is a great town, reminds me of Wellington but in a much much much bigger way. In regads to the corperate areas, arty areas, park and water front areas. Some of the buildings were impresive, but many of them were lost amongst the rest. Had they been trasported to say Masterton they would certainly be outstanding structures on every level.
Its an awsome place to visit however due to the massive size of the city, I was ready to leave once my time was up. It just takes so long to get anywhere. And theres sooo much of nothing usefull. Just office buildings.
I was initially quite intimidated by the fact that there NY is so big and was expecting to get mugged at every corner, but where we were was not the case at all. It actually felt quite safe, while staying vigilant of course. Also, while I know that there are so many more people here, I didn't feel like the millions of people in the city. It almost feels like the buildings are abandoned. As I haven't seen a mass exodus at 5pm that you do in Welly. Possibly partly because NY is always busy. And quite possibly because I'm not standing in the street at 5pm. I would love to have a teleporter to go back to U/H or even Wellington for just 1 hour and then go back. Just to see if my opinion of either has changed after spending time in NY. But thats not possible.... well yet anyway!
On saturday my friend form New Jersey (Ciana) came to pick us up, and we made our way down to Philadelphia, where after a spot of window shopping and a 'Phily cheese steak'. Which was a little disappointing as I had had a better one in L.A. But I didn't say that too loudly since the line went out the shop door!! After which we found the Museum that was featured in the 'Rocky' series. And of course after running up the steps just as Rocky had done in '76 I too did it. Which full filled a long time dream of mine. Along with getting photos by the statue of the man him self. It was a walk back to the car and back on the road.
By the time we got back to Jersey it was well past dinner time, so a stop for pizza was the answer. And what a pizza! before eating we were all adamant that we could easily eat alot. However due to the size of the pizza after 3 of us had had enough there was still half left over! Although I have to admit that we did have an entree of Calamari.
The next day we went out to one of the beach's in New Jersey, it was a very nice beach but I couldn't believe it when I had to pay $6.50 to get onto the beach!!. It was a 2 hour drive, but the sunny day definatley made it worth it. Due to the severe surf that suggested a very step drop at the shore line. We were unable to swim, and at the life guards authority could only go knee deep. But there were certainly enough people enjoying them selves.
The ride home proved that every man, dog and dogs family took advantage of the sunny day and went to the beach. As the drive had growen an hour, due to a small accident.
The rest of the week Sebastian and I checked out some of the sights in NY, the Museum of Natural History and The Met. Along with 'winning' (so they call it) tickets to the filming of "The Late Show" with David Letterman. Which was a faily well polished show, it felt like they were putting a show on for us that was being filmed rather than we were watching a show being filmed. Interestinly enough they filmed it in one take. After I left I thought I should have also tryed to get to see a 'Saturday night live' filming.
On my last day I went on to the 'Intrepid' a WWII air craft carrier. Which was really interesting. I also went into the submarine that they had there. Along with one of the Concords. Being on the aircraft carrier was another thing that I've always wanted to do.
NY is a great town, reminds me of Wellington but in a much much much bigger way. In regads to the corperate areas, arty areas, park and water front areas. Some of the buildings were impresive, but many of them were lost amongst the rest. Had they been trasported to say Masterton they would certainly be outstanding structures on every level.
Its an awsome place to visit however due to the massive size of the city, I was ready to leave once my time was up. It just takes so long to get anywhere. And theres sooo much of nothing usefull. Just office buildings.
I was initially quite intimidated by the fact that there NY is so big and was expecting to get mugged at every corner, but where we were was not the case at all. It actually felt quite safe, while staying vigilant of course. Also, while I know that there are so many more people here, I didn't feel like the millions of people in the city. It almost feels like the buildings are abandoned. As I haven't seen a mass exodus at 5pm that you do in Welly. Possibly partly because NY is always busy. And quite possibly because I'm not standing in the street at 5pm. I would love to have a teleporter to go back to U/H or even Wellington for just 1 hour and then go back. Just to see if my opinion of either has changed after spending time in NY. But thats not possible.... well yet anyway!
The French connection
I am now out of the U.S after my 3 month stint. And I am also past the 6 month mark since leaving home. When I landed in the U.K it was pretty much 6 months to the hour since I left Mums house!
The last 2 weeks in the U.S went by fast. And I feel I made the best of my time. After camp it was a rushed trip to the airport, for a destination of New York for the weekend. It was great to catch up with some good friends again. And especially good to meet up in the other side of the world!! We managed to make the most of our time by visiting the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Times Square and of course Central Park to name a few.
But before too long as is always the way, it was time to move on again. This time to Niagara Falls which takes my “wonders of the world' visits to 6 now, only 64 more to go. (from my book of wonders of the world). Due to the train station being much further from the falls than I had anticipated (like an hour walk more) and the train being 1.5 hours late. I didn't get a chance to go on the 'Maid in the mist' or the viewing deck. Where you can pretty much stand under the falls. And because I got there so late I was so frantic trying to take photos before the sun went down, that I didn't get to eat until midnight that night. That day I had only had Mc Donald's so I was pretty hungry! But I got my photos all the same. Crossed in to Canada, (which is much much nicer). To get wider shots. But by 10.30 I had had enough and was ready for dinner! So thankfully there was a Dennys which was actually pretty good. Especially at midnight! Because I was by myself the staff thought I was waiting for someone else so it took over half an hour before I had to ask them to take my order. Which I didn't mind because the train station that I had to go back to seemed pretty scary during the day. So I wasn't too keen to stay there after midnight. To prove it wasn't just me, when I asked a cop how safe the train station was at 3am he responded with “How many guns do you have?”. So I was able to stay at Dennys for a few hours until it was time to take a taxi to the station. And on my way to Montreal.
When the train crossed the border it took a long time before the customs cleared us. And I wasn't sure if I would get through as I didn't know if I needed a visa. But no problems and we rolled into Montreal at about 8.30. Its a really nice city, I was quite surprised at how strong the French influence is. I found it odd that when I started learning Spanish, all my college French started coming back to me. But when I tried to speak French my Spanish came back to me. But more often than not, when ever I tried to speak French they would answer me in English!! So sometimes you just cant win. My favorite part of Montreal would be the massive church that we visited, although I'm not sure of the name. The french influence is much stronger than I thought. And I did like the French pastries and tasty tretas! But after 2 busy days of seeing Montreal is was back onto the train and heading to New York again.............
The last 2 weeks in the U.S went by fast. And I feel I made the best of my time. After camp it was a rushed trip to the airport, for a destination of New York for the weekend. It was great to catch up with some good friends again. And especially good to meet up in the other side of the world!! We managed to make the most of our time by visiting the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Times Square and of course Central Park to name a few.
But before too long as is always the way, it was time to move on again. This time to Niagara Falls which takes my “wonders of the world' visits to 6 now, only 64 more to go. (from my book of wonders of the world). Due to the train station being much further from the falls than I had anticipated (like an hour walk more) and the train being 1.5 hours late. I didn't get a chance to go on the 'Maid in the mist' or the viewing deck. Where you can pretty much stand under the falls. And because I got there so late I was so frantic trying to take photos before the sun went down, that I didn't get to eat until midnight that night. That day I had only had Mc Donald's so I was pretty hungry! But I got my photos all the same. Crossed in to Canada, (which is much much nicer). To get wider shots. But by 10.30 I had had enough and was ready for dinner! So thankfully there was a Dennys which was actually pretty good. Especially at midnight! Because I was by myself the staff thought I was waiting for someone else so it took over half an hour before I had to ask them to take my order. Which I didn't mind because the train station that I had to go back to seemed pretty scary during the day. So I wasn't too keen to stay there after midnight. To prove it wasn't just me, when I asked a cop how safe the train station was at 3am he responded with “How many guns do you have?”. So I was able to stay at Dennys for a few hours until it was time to take a taxi to the station. And on my way to Montreal.
When the train crossed the border it took a long time before the customs cleared us. And I wasn't sure if I would get through as I didn't know if I needed a visa. But no problems and we rolled into Montreal at about 8.30. Its a really nice city, I was quite surprised at how strong the French influence is. I found it odd that when I started learning Spanish, all my college French started coming back to me. But when I tried to speak French my Spanish came back to me. But more often than not, when ever I tried to speak French they would answer me in English!! So sometimes you just cant win. My favorite part of Montreal would be the massive church that we visited, although I'm not sure of the name. The french influence is much stronger than I thought. And I did like the French pastries and tasty tretas! But after 2 busy days of seeing Montreal is was back onto the train and heading to New York again.............
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