This part of America is seriously awesome.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
HERTZ = FAIL
So we go to San Francisco Airposrt with my printed out confirmation, which states we are to have a Ford Mustang Convertible Elite Series for March 6th and 7th, ready for the road trip of our lives......
The lady at the counter sees the confirmation.
"Oh, you're in the convertible. I hope all that luggage fits!".
She calls the garage.
"Oh.... OK"
She turns to us.
"We don't have a Mustang available".
Me.
"But we specifically reserved a Mustang.....".
Her.
"But we don't have one".
Thanks Hertz.
Also, F@#$ you!
So we didn't get to drive a Mustang down Highway 1 California through Santa Cruz and past Big Sur etc etc etc.
We did however get to drive a Pontiac somethingorother down Highway 1 California through Santa Cruz and past Big Sur etc etc etc.... and it was AWESOME. It was like the Great Ocean Road except more impressive because we hadn't already done it 30 times. Some of the landscape was amazingly similar to Australia with big rolling grassy hills and Eucalyptus trees everywhere. San Luis obispo (where we spent the first night) could have been any medium sized Australian country town. But in addition to the spectacular ocean side windy road, there was the continent's biggest Sand Dune reserve, where a whole movie set still sits lost under the sand, and a wacky sea side boardwalk carnival which was used in the filming of The Lost Boys. Also, we went through Malibu and were probably in a 500m radius of 1,000 mega celebrities and we saw an Elephant Seal colony which also featured sand dune Squirrels who liked to climb on people. People like Maddie.
So overall, aside from the Mustang thing, it was definitely a highlight of the trip so far. Do it if you get the chance.
The lady at the counter sees the confirmation.
"Oh, you're in the convertible. I hope all that luggage fits!".
She calls the garage.
"Oh.... OK"
She turns to us.
"We don't have a Mustang available".
Me.
"But we specifically reserved a Mustang.....".
Her.
"But we don't have one".
Thanks Hertz.
Also, F@#$ you!
So we didn't get to drive a Mustang down Highway 1 California through Santa Cruz and past Big Sur etc etc etc.
We did however get to drive a Pontiac somethingorother down Highway 1 California through Santa Cruz and past Big Sur etc etc etc.... and it was AWESOME. It was like the Great Ocean Road except more impressive because we hadn't already done it 30 times. Some of the landscape was amazingly similar to Australia with big rolling grassy hills and Eucalyptus trees everywhere. San Luis obispo (where we spent the first night) could have been any medium sized Australian country town. But in addition to the spectacular ocean side windy road, there was the continent's biggest Sand Dune reserve, where a whole movie set still sits lost under the sand, and a wacky sea side boardwalk carnival which was used in the filming of The Lost Boys. Also, we went through Malibu and were probably in a 500m radius of 1,000 mega celebrities and we saw an Elephant Seal colony which also featured sand dune Squirrels who liked to climb on people. People like Maddie.
So overall, aside from the Mustang thing, it was definitely a highlight of the trip so far. Do it if you get the chance.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I'm looking at a map of Phoenix, Arizona...
And there's a town called "Surprise".
Imagine having to tell people you live in Surprise? I suspect you would get a lot of the same comments one gets when they live in Beverage or Research. ("Do you do a lot of research in Research? GUFFAW!!!")
Anyway, I'm in San Francisco right now, it's our last night here and I'm writing down some directions to our next destination for Blake to follow in our Mustang. The car we're hiring. Did I mention it's a Mustang? It's a Mustang. The rental car, that is. It's a MUSTANG.
I'm a little bit excited about it.
Speaking of excited, you should have seen me in Astoria. I went to Mikey and Brand's house, the museum their dad works at, the County Jail the Fratellis escape from and Cannon Beach which is the beach they're looking down at from the restaurant (unfortunately, there was no restaurant). It was a pilgrimage, that's for sure. I didn't want to leave.
I think San Francisco has been my favourite destination, second only to New York so far. Portland and Seattle were both quite cool, too but San Francisco is such a lively city and so completely its own. You just cannot mistake it for anywhere else. Even the architecture screams San Francisco (Full House, anyone?) and Alcatraz is so brilliantly mythical. It sits a mile or so out to sea, and even after having visited it, you catch yourself looking for it whenever you get a glimpse of the ocean, like a tiny cement Neverland.
Whistler was also an experience. The snow cover was so complete and virtually untouched that, were it not for the loud Australian in the lounge room ("Aye, whadya reckon we git a FOIR goin', aye guuuys? Bit chilly, ehhhh?") you'd think you were in a fairytail. And when it snowed! My god, I thought I'd seen snow in New York and Montreal and Quebec but that was like a fine mist compared to the huge fluffy masses of white we saw in Whistler, building up on your shoulders and hair and scarf, slowly turning you white.
For a snowboarder, I make a great swimmer. I lasted about 2 and a half hours before I threw in the towel. I probably should have stuck it out a bit longer but unfortunately, the small amount of confidence I started with lasted only the first 3 or 4 falls. After that, it was sheer stupidity that kept me going. But, alas, after a few more (bigger and hurtier) falls, I'd sort of scared myself out of continuing, fearing I would break something eventually. If I thought I was slowly getting the hang of it, I may have pressed on but, if anything, I felt like I was losing skill and co-ordination as I went.
I probably should have tried skiing first as the only sports I'm really good at involve being about to move my feet independently. Having my feet enclosed in huge chunky boots which, in turn, are stuck to a big slippery board was daunting. There's something incredibly uncomfortable and almost clostrophic about being so firmly and tightly enclosed to a single stance from the knees down and where simply standing up is a huge task. That's a lot of control forfeited.
I'm glad I gave it a go but give me soccer or tennis or guitar hero any day.
As the end of the trip draws near, I find myself quite anxious to get home. I'm missing everyone a lot and, really, just missing Melbourne in general. There were some gum trees on Alcatraz which I found myself standing beneath, feeling very whistful. I looked at the blossoms and sniffed the air keenly for that eucalyptus smell and wished I was home again. But I'm also extremely excited about this last leg of the race which is destined to be epic. And when I say epic, I mean like Alien VS Predator if SPOD did the soundtrack.
Anyway, I have my 32nd book to read and some playlists to compile for the drive tomorrow. I'm thinking Cheap Trick, Television, The Sonics and probably a lot of the Labyrinth Soundtrack, to Blake's perpetual dismay.
Dance Magic, DANCE!
Imagine having to tell people you live in Surprise? I suspect you would get a lot of the same comments one gets when they live in Beverage or Research. ("Do you do a lot of research in Research? GUFFAW!!!")
Anyway, I'm in San Francisco right now, it's our last night here and I'm writing down some directions to our next destination for Blake to follow in our Mustang. The car we're hiring. Did I mention it's a Mustang? It's a Mustang. The rental car, that is. It's a MUSTANG.
I'm a little bit excited about it.
Speaking of excited, you should have seen me in Astoria. I went to Mikey and Brand's house, the museum their dad works at, the County Jail the Fratellis escape from and Cannon Beach which is the beach they're looking down at from the restaurant (unfortunately, there was no restaurant). It was a pilgrimage, that's for sure. I didn't want to leave.
I think San Francisco has been my favourite destination, second only to New York so far. Portland and Seattle were both quite cool, too but San Francisco is such a lively city and so completely its own. You just cannot mistake it for anywhere else. Even the architecture screams San Francisco (Full House, anyone?) and Alcatraz is so brilliantly mythical. It sits a mile or so out to sea, and even after having visited it, you catch yourself looking for it whenever you get a glimpse of the ocean, like a tiny cement Neverland.
Whistler was also an experience. The snow cover was so complete and virtually untouched that, were it not for the loud Australian in the lounge room ("Aye, whadya reckon we git a FOIR goin', aye guuuys? Bit chilly, ehhhh?") you'd think you were in a fairytail. And when it snowed! My god, I thought I'd seen snow in New York and Montreal and Quebec but that was like a fine mist compared to the huge fluffy masses of white we saw in Whistler, building up on your shoulders and hair and scarf, slowly turning you white.
For a snowboarder, I make a great swimmer. I lasted about 2 and a half hours before I threw in the towel. I probably should have stuck it out a bit longer but unfortunately, the small amount of confidence I started with lasted only the first 3 or 4 falls. After that, it was sheer stupidity that kept me going. But, alas, after a few more (bigger and hurtier) falls, I'd sort of scared myself out of continuing, fearing I would break something eventually. If I thought I was slowly getting the hang of it, I may have pressed on but, if anything, I felt like I was losing skill and co-ordination as I went.
I probably should have tried skiing first as the only sports I'm really good at involve being about to move my feet independently. Having my feet enclosed in huge chunky boots which, in turn, are stuck to a big slippery board was daunting. There's something incredibly uncomfortable and almost clostrophic about being so firmly and tightly enclosed to a single stance from the knees down and where simply standing up is a huge task. That's a lot of control forfeited.
I'm glad I gave it a go but give me soccer or tennis or guitar hero any day.
As the end of the trip draws near, I find myself quite anxious to get home. I'm missing everyone a lot and, really, just missing Melbourne in general. There were some gum trees on Alcatraz which I found myself standing beneath, feeling very whistful. I looked at the blossoms and sniffed the air keenly for that eucalyptus smell and wished I was home again. But I'm also extremely excited about this last leg of the race which is destined to be epic. And when I say epic, I mean like Alien VS Predator if SPOD did the soundtrack.
Anyway, I have my 32nd book to read and some playlists to compile for the drive tomorrow. I'm thinking Cheap Trick, Television, The Sonics and probably a lot of the Labyrinth Soundtrack, to Blake's perpetual dismay.
Dance Magic, DANCE!
BLOG UPDATE
Hello from San Francisco!!
Finally in some warmer weather. It's a lovely 13 degrees here and it feels like summer. Tomorrow we drive down Big Sur and the Cali coast in a Mustang.
I'm gonna start from a few weeks back, when we hit the West Coast for the first time.....
Driving into Seattle from the airport, I think we immediately felt more comfortable in our surroundings. There's something about hills and thick forest that makes me feel a lot more at home than I do in flat or open areas. I guess that comes from growing up in Warrandyte.
The whole of the North-West (Vancouver to Portland) is a very scenic part of the world. Thick pine forests, snow covered peaks and large bodies of inland ocean water make for a very pleasant setting. The cities are also a lot smaller than those on the East Coast. That sitcom Frasier might have given you the idea that Seattle was some kind of big metropolis, but it's really rather small. Step just outside the CBD and you're in suburbs that feel like Ivanhoe.
While the cities are nice places to be, there is a problem here on the west coast which is noticeable in every CBD and that's the amount of homeless people. Vancouver especially seemed to have a real problem. There was an area called Gastown which should be renamed Bumtown. I really hope they get on top of that.
Ever since I read a Hardy Boys novel based in Canada when I was small, I had a desire to see the Grizzlies and Salmon and remote lakes and log cabins of western Canada. Unfortunately, we saw none of that. It was just the wrong time of year. So, at some point in our lives, we will most definitely be making the trip back to this part of the world. With a rental car.
While we didn't get to see that side of Canada, we did get to head up into the mountains for some EXTREME SNOWBOARDING! (We were far from extreme)
Snowboarding is expensive! Not only do you have to fork out for transport to the mountain, gear rental, lift tickets and accomodation.... but you have to pay for the good times in PAIN.
The first day was a success (for me. Maddie will tell you about her sporting successes and failures later). I got the hang of making both sorts of turns within the first few hours and was making it down the beginner runs with few falls by days end. The second day however, I managed two short runs before giving up due to the aches and pains caused by the previous days efforts. My legs were too weak to put the necessary force into making turns, so I was on my arse the whole way down. Every muscle in my body continued to hurt with every movement for the next 6 days.
The time I did spend riding was a blast though. The snow was fresh and the sensation of sliding and turning down those hills was awesome. The only slightly disappointing thing was exploring the rest of the mountain and seeing all of the fun looking runs that were beyond my capabilities (98% of it). The resort is incredible. Anyone who likes snowsports would be in heaven there.
When it comes down to it though, give me waves any day. Nothing compares.
Aftert Whistler, we made our way down to Portland. This is where I had my first experience driving in the USA. After almost 4 months of not driving, my first time back behind the wheel was to be in a foreign place driving on the wrong side of the road. I was a bit nervous to tell the truth.
Turned out to be not so hard. The only thing I really had to concentrate on was reminding myself I was on the left side of the car and not the right and aligning myself to the road lines appropriately.
We drove out to the Oregon coastline to a place called Astoria and Cannon Beach. Mainly to see the filming locations of 80's kids movie, The Goonies, but also because it's a very nice part of the country. It was well worth it.
Now we're in San Fran, as mentioned earlier. Probably one of my favourite cities so far and completely different from anything else in the US we've encountered. Lots of walking up hills.
Only 16 days left! Can't wait to get home and see everyone. But first we have to drive around the South-West desert and see awesome stuff.
Bye!
Blake
Finally in some warmer weather. It's a lovely 13 degrees here and it feels like summer. Tomorrow we drive down Big Sur and the Cali coast in a Mustang.
I'm gonna start from a few weeks back, when we hit the West Coast for the first time.....
Driving into Seattle from the airport, I think we immediately felt more comfortable in our surroundings. There's something about hills and thick forest that makes me feel a lot more at home than I do in flat or open areas. I guess that comes from growing up in Warrandyte.
The whole of the North-West (Vancouver to Portland) is a very scenic part of the world. Thick pine forests, snow covered peaks and large bodies of inland ocean water make for a very pleasant setting. The cities are also a lot smaller than those on the East Coast. That sitcom Frasier might have given you the idea that Seattle was some kind of big metropolis, but it's really rather small. Step just outside the CBD and you're in suburbs that feel like Ivanhoe.
While the cities are nice places to be, there is a problem here on the west coast which is noticeable in every CBD and that's the amount of homeless people. Vancouver especially seemed to have a real problem. There was an area called Gastown which should be renamed Bumtown. I really hope they get on top of that.
Ever since I read a Hardy Boys novel based in Canada when I was small, I had a desire to see the Grizzlies and Salmon and remote lakes and log cabins of western Canada. Unfortunately, we saw none of that. It was just the wrong time of year. So, at some point in our lives, we will most definitely be making the trip back to this part of the world. With a rental car.
While we didn't get to see that side of Canada, we did get to head up into the mountains for some EXTREME SNOWBOARDING! (We were far from extreme)
Snowboarding is expensive! Not only do you have to fork out for transport to the mountain, gear rental, lift tickets and accomodation.... but you have to pay for the good times in PAIN.
The first day was a success (for me. Maddie will tell you about her sporting successes and failures later). I got the hang of making both sorts of turns within the first few hours and was making it down the beginner runs with few falls by days end. The second day however, I managed two short runs before giving up due to the aches and pains caused by the previous days efforts. My legs were too weak to put the necessary force into making turns, so I was on my arse the whole way down. Every muscle in my body continued to hurt with every movement for the next 6 days.
The time I did spend riding was a blast though. The snow was fresh and the sensation of sliding and turning down those hills was awesome. The only slightly disappointing thing was exploring the rest of the mountain and seeing all of the fun looking runs that were beyond my capabilities (98% of it). The resort is incredible. Anyone who likes snowsports would be in heaven there.
When it comes down to it though, give me waves any day. Nothing compares.
Aftert Whistler, we made our way down to Portland. This is where I had my first experience driving in the USA. After almost 4 months of not driving, my first time back behind the wheel was to be in a foreign place driving on the wrong side of the road. I was a bit nervous to tell the truth.
Turned out to be not so hard. The only thing I really had to concentrate on was reminding myself I was on the left side of the car and not the right and aligning myself to the road lines appropriately.
We drove out to the Oregon coastline to a place called Astoria and Cannon Beach. Mainly to see the filming locations of 80's kids movie, The Goonies, but also because it's a very nice part of the country. It was well worth it.
Now we're in San Fran, as mentioned earlier. Probably one of my favourite cities so far and completely different from anything else in the US we've encountered. Lots of walking up hills.
Only 16 days left! Can't wait to get home and see everyone. But first we have to drive around the South-West desert and see awesome stuff.
Bye!
Blake
Friday, February 20, 2009
Congratulations!
Ryan Adams and Mandy Moore on your engagement!
Ryan, I'm sorry things didn't work out between us but I'm glad you and Mandy found each other. She's a great girl.
Ryan, I'm sorry things didn't work out between us but I'm glad you and Mandy found each other. She's a great girl.
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