My So Called Website

So it’s time tomorrow for a flight down the west coast back to Vegas which means the USA 2010 adventures are almost at an end.

The time here in Seattle has been rather nice. Good food and coffee and time to relax and recover from hectic adventures. Made the trip up the Space Needle and out to the Boeing factory and also did a ferry trip out to Bainbridge Island for breakfast and a walkabout.

As there’s not really any free wifi in Vegas, you’ll probably hear from me when I’m back home…

First things first though… Have made it to Seattle with yet more fun of sorts. After an early start, made it to Orlando airport and got on our flight all okay. Flight took off on time and landed in Chicago a bit before schedule. Which seemed great seeing we only had a 40 min connection window. Until the plane had to be gated… Storm had just been through and all the ramps/gates had been closed so we had to sit and wait for ages in the queue as time ticked away. Checked madly on mobiles to see what the status of the next flight was (hoping it was delayed) and it said it had moved 15 mins. But getting of the plane took time. Fly domestically in the US and you’ll soon find out why – carry ons are huge!

Finally got off at 9:51am which was the time of the next flight. Airport was still showing a 9:51am departure so a mad dash was made for the next gate in diminishing hope. Bear in mind Chicago is the 3rd busiest airport in the world based on passenger traffic, and to add to that our gate wasn’t even in the same concourse! So ensured crazy 2 mins of running with a backpack, muppet and drink bottle in tow with me coughing and wheezing along the way. And made it just in time! Funnily enough after checking email in Seattle, United themselves had already assumed a missed connection at 9:45am and autobooked for the next flight.

Now for the Disney rundown – apologies for the super long blog but I know some people might be interested in the adventures (hi mum!). So did the Disney World thing as a vacation package – staying at a Disney resort, 5 day park hopper and the Disney dining plan for the duration of the stay. A great experience and would recommend it anyone. It’s not really what I’d call cheap but if you can make use of one of their special offers it does help (e.g. we had an offer than gave the dining plan for free). What was awesome, was we didn’t have to worry about anything apart from what theme park to go to. It felt like a vacation!

Had to do some planning about which theme parks to hit on which days though, as Columbus weekend was happening when we were there which means massive crowds. Seemed to work out all good though as don’t think I queued any longer than 30min for a ride over the 5 days. In fact most times I only queued 5 – 15 mins!

I’ll leave the rest of the rundown to the pics…Have organised by park, resort etc for ease

Magic Kingdom

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom

Always a fave, Splash Mountain

End of Splash Mountain ride

Cinderella Castle

Goofy

If you keep you’re eyes peeled you can spot ‘hidden mickeys’ like these

Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade

Electrical Parade – this wasn’t that great…

Wishes Nighttime Spectacular

Wishes Nighttime Spectacular

Wishes Nighttime Spectacular

Animal Kingdom

Slightly lopsided photo of the entry

On the ride Kilimanjaro Safaris passengers ride in an open air vehicle through the Africa part of Animal Kingdom hopefully spotting animals such as this giraffe

Or an 8 week baby elephant! Heaps of other animals too, but bit hard to photo take from a moving vehicle…

Bad photo of me, but hey I was trying to co-pose with the dude from A Bug’s Life

Expedition Everest, a really good coaster even if bits of it did make me feel a bit sick

The ‘Tree of Life’, yes placed in the middle of the park

Epcot

Wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy Epcot, but I’m suprised to admit it probably was my 2nd fave park.

Food and Wine festival was on… maybe why I liked the park more than I expected?

And Tigger was bouncing the whole time…

The next 4 photos documents what begins the excessive amount of food… this constitutes a table service dinner for two… not to mention the soft drink and coffee!

Character photos at 11:30 at night are fun…

Epcot IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth show

Epcot IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth show

Epcot IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth show

Following lot of pics are from Food and Wine Festival and again highlight the absurdity of the dining plan as all of these bar the drink count as a ‘snack credit’

Tasty frozen Bacardi Limon Mojito

Didn’t try this – but this is a snack?!? That’s a lot of food…

These scoops were huge… (and yes the ice cream was a snack credit). It’s impossible to get through one scoop alone!

Hollywood Studios

Tower of Terror

Toy Story Mania, if you want to ride this make sure you go here first… at 9:30am FastPast return times were after 4pm already!

Piglet

This is 2 quick service meals… That thing on the right is a turkey leg… best described as tasting like a giant salty christmas ham leg…

Yes it really is that big. I reckon it’s enough to make turkey sandwiches for a week!

Port Orleans, Riverside resort
The resort stayed in…

Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Luxury resort that dinner was eaten at one night

So in the end it was no internet for the 5 days at Disney World. The days were just too long and epic to comprehend using a computer at night.

All I can say to sum up the 5 days is the word AWESOME! And after 5 days of awesome I’m a little worse for wear – somewhat sick with a really sore throat. I’ll have to do a post Disney rundown at a later stage, but all 4 parks (not counting the water parks) were visited, many rides ridden and an awful lot of food eaten. Don’t underestimate the Disney Dining Plan… trust me you won’t go hungry. If anything thinking about the immense amount of food on offer is enough to make you cringe at times. Times such as when lunch includes a dessert!

Gonna have to leave it here, as need to rest and rid myself of this dreaded cold/sore throat thing.

So made it to sunny Orlando yesterday evening with only minor delays out of New York City’s LaGuardia airport (yes it rained again!). The agenda of the next week is pretty much theme parks, theme parks, theme parks, shopping, more shopping and Kennedy Space Center (NASA).

Today the theme park extravaganza started with Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park. There’s two Universal parks in Orlando, but we chose the Islands one as it has more thrill rides, plus it has the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. First stop was Hogwarts and Hogsmeade as the queues get fairly long later in the day. First ride of the day was the flagship ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey a indoor robocoaster/dark ride. Now the ride did warn those with motion sickness (but most rides do this anyway), so when it came to loading and it was an over-the-shoulder harness I then realised that maybe this was a thrill ride of sorts. And it was, as it killed of the idea of riding any other ‘thrill’ rides, making me feel really sick within the first 30 seconds. Had to keep my eyes closed for more than half of it, and actually started thinking of how I could elegantly be sick if I had too! That said what I saw of it was excellently done, and the waiting line areas were brillant. Talking portraits, hallways, the classroom.

After a pause to recover – and realising age must be catching up with me as I never use to feel sick on rides – headed on to ride other somewhat more passive rides in the park. Some awesome water rides were ridden and at one point I was soaked all over.

Finished up mid afternoon and headed to the outlet mall nearby. And left a little bit poorer. Tomorrow morning up early to cart selves and stuff over to Walt Disney World for the next 5 days.

Blogs may be light on pictures the next week… days are pretty long/tiring…. but expect a typed post

So if you follow my Twitter updates, you probably saw that the flight to NYC from Buffalo didn’t exactly go as planned. The leftovers of Hurricane Nicole hit the east coast and pretty much caused chaos in the north east region on the USA with heavy winds and stacks of rain. Didn’t know how bad it was as after clearing security grabbed something to eat before heading in the general direction of the gates. Where it soon became apparent that air travel hell was about to begin. Flight before us to JFK was cancelled, and pretty much every other airline had cancelled there flights to NYC and upper NY state with only a lucky few delayed. At first all was okay and the flight just kept getting delayed, but when the ATC system then went down it was pretty much over. With all the bad weather there were less slots into JFK and eventually the flight got cancelled.

Then it was trying to get to NYC the next day as had tickets to Rock of Ages in the evening. The system had rebooked us for like 6:45pm which would not have worked at all. But luckily there are 3 airports in the NYC region so after letting the guy know we didn’t care which airport we flew in, he managed to get us on a flight. Except it went via Atlanta which actually required flying south to about halfway to Orlando, then back north to NYC. Got the flight to Atlanta all okay in the morning and everything seemed good. Then the next flight got delayed… and got more delayed. Storm had intensified and La Guardia had high winds and 3+ hour delays! Started seeming like NYC was never going to happen as by this stage had lost a night, plus half a day (and growing). Eventually we got confirmation we could depart and let’s say I was quite glad when the plane was finally in the air.

After a very grey and rainy arrival into NYC it was off to the hotel to dump bags before picking up the Rock of Ages tickets for that night. Some food and a stroll through Times Square and it was back at the theatre. All I can say is that Rock of Ages definitley rocked! Highly recommend it. Don’t know if the Australian version (starting in November I think?) is going to be as good though.

As for today, looks like the remanants of the hurricane have gone. Blue sky all around. As this is the second time to NYC and compounded with the loss of days due to the delay getting in, kind of taking it as it is. Not really doing the touristy things as have done them before. But did make it to Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn and yes the pizza is really good. Joined the queue and got in when they opened which was good timing. In the afternoon trawled some shops and made a muppet at the Muppet Whatnot workshop at FAQ Schwarz. That was good fun… don’t know how I’ll get my muppet home yet though but I’m sure I’ll work out a way.

As for tomorrow, think it’s the American Museum of Natural History (the Night at the Museum museum) and a visit to the High Line park. Then shopping.

No pics from NYC as the hotel does’t have free wireless… so I’ve typed this blog up before hand and am now posting it from a museum (except a day later from when I typed it)…

So crossed the border to Canada for a couple of days to see Niagara Falls. Crossing was easy enough, town car pick up at Buffalo Airport for the 45 min drive to the border. A few questions from border control and the passport was stamped. As the title goes though, the weather was a bit dismal for the 2 days, the first day more or less drizzling with a couple of rain periods. So the falls on that day looked quite different with dark clouds and stacks of mist. The next day started somewhat similar but the sun gods did come good in the middle of the day with blue sky appearing. And in this window you could see the falls looked like they look in pictures. Pretty cool all that water making its way over the edge! Did the falls touristy things like Maid of the Mist, Behind the Falls and the Whirlpool Aero Car. Got some videos but can’t upload them as they’re recorded in HD and are huge in size!

Today crossed back into the American side of the falls (Niagara Falls consists of 3 waterfalls, 2 of which are on the US side, and one on the Canadian). Walked around through Niagara State Park looking at the falls from the other side then went on the Cave of the Winds trip. And I have to say this was the best touristy thing of them all! You walked these boardwalk things infront of the falls, then if you decided to go up to the ‘Hurricane Deck’ you’re about 6 metres away from the Bridal Veil Falls. Except it feels and looks like you’re standing underneath it with the wind and stacks of water landing on top of you. They give you this yellow poncho thing to wear, but I stuck my rain jacket on too and still got wet. As I had the PlaySport with me, managed to capture this fun in video and still.

Tomorrow afternoon it’s back to Buffalo Airport for the flight to NYC…

American Falls

Horseshoe Falls, look at those rain clouds… at least it did clear up slightly on day 2…

Horseshoe Falls

American Falls at night

Shot from when I was on the Maid of the Mist

Horseshoe Falls at night

Cave of the Winds. That’s Bridal Veil Falls on the right side, which you can literally stand underneath on the ‘Hurricane Deck’

Yep that’s me standing underneath the falls. It’s windy and there’s a lot of water!

In Niagara Falls, Canada now with working and reliable wifi access, so here’s a few more shots from Chicago. Niagara post will have to come tomorrow, as haven’t really had a proper look round yet…

It’s Woody

Lego is cool!

Willis (Sears) Tower

View from the tower

Hey look I’m an astronaut…, Museum of Science and Industry

Apollo 8 module Mercury Capsule (I’ve been corrected), Museum of Science and Industry

Science discerns the laws of nature; Industry applies them to the needs of man.

Water vapour tornado, Museum of Science and Industry

Possibly the largest model toy train set/track?, Museum of Science and Industry

Well it’s almost time to move on from Chicago and I’m glad to say that the city was more than what I had expected. Having spent most of my travel adventures not in big modern cities I’m somewhat hesitant when heading to one as I’m never sure what to do. Partly ‘cos I don’t really enjoy museums which is what all cities seem to have lots of. But I can say I did visit one museum here and it was probably the most awesome museum in existence

So what’s been happening the last few days…

Yesterday a trip out to the Rock N Roll McDonalds for breakfast. It’s one of the most famous McDonalds in the world, is about 3 times larger than the average Macca’s and consists of 2 floors linked by both elevators and escalators! Plus the theming and decor looks rather upmarket with orchids, pleather (or was it real leather?) chairs/sofa things, plasma screens etc.

After that it was time for the Magnificent Mile for some shopping. Or rather what should have been window shopping. Bought some stuff, as who knows if I’ll find the same size later on down the track at the outlets. Plus as my mum says, it’s not like I’m going to be coming back to Chicago, so if I like it, I should buy it. Also the Lego store is awesome and packed. You can get all kinds of awesome Lego, like you can get a space shuttle one to build! Stacks of kids and parents buying for said kids. Not to mention some big kids too.

Today it was back to the Willis (Sears) Tower first thing in the morning. Tried to go yesterday but it was like a one hour wait, so banked on less people being there first thing today. Seemed like a good move as even though there was quite a few people we all got up without waiting. A little bit overated. Hancock Observatory was better. It’s kind of like the same reason why Top of the Rock is better than Empire State.

Then it was time for the Museum of Science and Industry. Probably the best museum I have been to in life (considering I don’t usually like museums!). It’s about 100 times better than the Powerhouse Museum and is huge featuring pretty much anything science and technology related such as climate change, space, science storms, computers, submarines etc. Was really in awe/impressed of the science storms section it had a Tesla coil, water vapour tornado creator, tsunami tank and heaps more.

Headed back towards the hotel after that and somehow landed up at the Puma store where money was splashed. Oops.

Tomorrow it’s a super early wakeup as it’s time to go to Canada (if only for a few days). Flights 7 something am, but it’s like 45 min on the train to get there, which means having to lug bags to the train station. Fun times.

Sorry no pics today, exhausted.

More on the post title laters, but first a better run down of yesterday and today. So after arriving yesterday afternoon, did the usual checkout what’s nearby. For where we’re staying that was Millennium Park as it’s literally round the corner. Checked out the Crown Fountain which was rather cool, the spray from the fountain cooling as it was rather hot and humid yesterday. Then checked out the sculpture dubbed “The Bean”. After some walking round the downtown area it was time for dinner and Chicago style stuffed pizza was on the cards. Then it was back to the hotel for an early night due to tiredness from the early wake up (plus it is the U.S. TV season premiere week so there was stuff on the box to watch).

Today on the other hand was a rather long yet excellent day. Started the day at the Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo is free which is rather surprising as it is actually quite good. It’s nowhere near as big as Taronga (maybe a bit less than half the size?) but in many ways it was better than it. E.g. the animals have indoor exhibits they can roam to if the weather is too cold/bad. And the indoor exhibits are done rather nicely, like they have real soil/bark on the floors instead of plain old concrete! And this is where the camel looked like it had a broken hump. I’m sure it was normal, but I still found it quite funny nonetheless. Make sure to look at the pic!

Then after that it was up to the Threadless store where I picked up 2 shirts. Since Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs) was nearby walked on up to that as well. I’d known there were Cubs games on whilst we were in town and was planning to get tickets to a game but had kind of passed on that idea a while back. Strolling up towards the field with everyone seemingly going to the ball game, it was hard not to go watch, so with $22 tickets in hand in we went to watch the Chicago Cubs play the St Louis Cardinals.

After the game it was down to the Magnificant Mile to head up the Hancock Observatory for some 360 skyline views. Then it was dinner time followed by a trip over to Navy Pier which provided for some nice evening views back towards the towers of the Chicago skyline. And yes, the popcorn was awesome! Buttery, sugary and salty at the same time…

Tomorrow think the day is going to start at the Rock N Roll McDonalds – how can you not visit it with the name it has?

Crown Fountain at Millennium Park

“The Bean” at Millennium Park

The river, downtown

Chicago style stuffed pizza

This squirrel shot was taken at the zoo except it was a wild squirrel and had nothing to do with the zoo. He just struck a funny pose…

Oops one of my humps is broken!

$22 gets you tickets high up in the stands. This was just before the game started.

View from the observatory. Can’t avoid the reflection… glass windows

Ferris wheel, Navy Pier

Night skyline, there’s more towers to the right, but couldn’t get them in due to dinner cruise ships docked.

Navy Pier Park sign