My USA Adventure - Part I

When I set off from the UK I had not planned to spend much time in the USA, apart from a visit to Alaska. However, my plans changed dramatically in Australia.

You see, I built in an emergency safety stop at New Zealand, only booking my journey up to Auckland and no further. I reckoned that by the time I reached Australia (in the previous month) I would need to evaluate how things were going and decide whether to continue on around the world or not. I had several factors to consider:

     1. - If I was poorly, broke or homesick - I could call it a day after New Zealand and get a flight home.

     2. - If I had seen or experienced something or somewhere amazing, I could go back to that location to live there for a while.

     3. - If I had been offered a job or charity position that I liked the look of, I could go back and take it. (Note - I did have 6 job offers in China, Vietnam and Cambodia, but they shall make for a future blog.)

     4. - I could choose to continue with my around the world journey.

I chose to continue.

As a consequence of my safety stop however, I had not booked any subsequent travel options post New Zealand and the one that was most pressing was my Incan trek to Machu Picchu. My plan was to continue travelling in the Southern Hemisphere and go to Santiago, Chile from New Zealand. Then I could make my way north through South America to arrive in Peru for a May expedition. Unfortunately, when I tried to book my permit for Machu Picchu, it turned out that the month of May was no longer available. For those of you who do not know, the Peruvian government is now limiting daily numbers to just 500, of which 300 go to guides and porters and the remaining 200 permits go to international tourists. The earliest date that I could visit Machu Pichhu was late August 2015.

                                 

                                                  My Peruvian goal for later in the year

This was a disaster. What was I going to do? I couldn't go to Chile in April and then spend five months in South America making my way to Peru when I had ony budgeted being there for two. Besides, I had planned to be in Canada and Alaska by August.

In the past, I would have been very distressed at this barrier to my plans and my inflexible, autistic temperament would have struggled to cope with unexpected change. Instead, after just one evening of anxiety, I awoke knowing I was more than capable of dealing with the situation. I could come up with an alternative plan, jettison the old one and look for the positives in the change. What a breakthrough - the man who would get distressed at a change in meal plans, the man who needed to know what he was going to do the following morning before falling asleep on a night - accepting that I would and could change a plan I had devised months before - and be OK with it.

I decided to change hemispheres. I would travel from New Zealand to Alaska and then make my way south to my Machu Picchu engagement rather than flying into Chile and making my way north. One casualty was my planned train trek across Canada. It no longer made sense to travel thusands of miles east to Toronto from Alaska, to then head south. I reasoned that it would be better to save this trip for another time in my life. Financial constraints also started to impact my choices. Cuba, notoriously expensive for international travellers, no longer seemed viable. I therefore decided to take my time in the US and then fly straight into South America.

I could see a great many positives from the changes too.

First, I would now have company in Peru. A friend and former school colleague had told me she had always wanted to tackle the Inca trail, but was nervous about doing it alone. I told her she should join me when I did it, but May was not a date she could make. As soon as I knew I would be doing the trail in August instead, I contacted her and asked if she wanted me to book two places? She jumped at the chance.

Second, I was now able to include places in the US which I had always wanted to visit, but had never thought I would get around to. Places like New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis. 

Third, I would now be able to catch up with some people I had met travelling. Sherry and John in Vancouver and Tom and Joann in Nashville. 

And finally, I would not have to rush my way through Alaska (and you all know how much I enjoyed my month there.)

My American Adventure - Post Alaska   (8th May to 28th June) 

                                             

        You can see final my route across the US here on this amateur home movie I made last night!

Well I can honestly say that my US trip was truly remarkable. The people were incredibly polite and friendly, the sights and sounds were unique and I got to visit all the places I had always fancied (outside of New York, California and Las Vegas where I have been before) and see other places that were a little off the beaten track.

My first port of call was Seattle - such a vibrant and youthful city. I made full use of my CityPass and spent day after day touring the main attractions around the Space Needle, the harbour, the museums, Boeing and the downtown city centre. My Airbnb hostess Nora, made my time more special with advice, trips out and discussions about where to go to next in the USA.

          

               Glass artwork at the Chihuly Gallery                           Home of the Seahawks

       

                                Inside the Seattle Market and an encounter with a sea otter

Then I took a train up to Vancouver and Vancouver Island to stay with John and Sherry at their home in Nanaimo and at their cabin by Lake Horne (details are in a previous blog.) Vancouver itself was culturally very rich and the surrounding environment is simply stunning. Museums, galleries, a bike ride around Granville island and a tour of Gastown and the harbour. I even managed to catch a Greyhound bus for a day trip to Whistler, which really polished things off and gave me a final taste of snow after my time in Alaska. (It also allowed me to take the 'Peak2Peak' cable car, a marvel of alpine engineering and the longest in the world.)

                              

          

                Steam powered clock in Gastown

                                

                            

                                       Vancouver sure is one big eye-sore after another!

From Vancouver, I took the Amtrak Cascades train down to Portland, Oregon. Tamra, my host in Juneau, had recommended it and I thought it would be an interesting alternative to head down through the state of Washington. I was not disappointed. Portland is a cool city and a vibrant place to live. It is youthful, enjoys good weather, is culturally rich and easily navigable on foot and public transport. It is also the most amazing place for books (new and old.) I took time to tour the International Rose Gardens, the Japanese Garden, Portland Art Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry whilst I was there.

        

                                       

From Portland, I went to Reno, Nevada. Now this was not a first choice, nor even a second or third one. You see, whilst I was in Seattle, I had attended a timeshare presentation from the Wyndham company. Despite their best efforts to get me to sign up, I resisted as it did not make financial sense for me to buy in without a home in the UK (I didn't tell them that fact when I arrived - but they didn't ask!) However, for attending the presentation they gave me a week's accommodation anywhere in their Wyndham catalogue. Unfortunately, as I wanted to use it now in the USA and not in the distant future, that turned out to be a choice of just 5 places. 4 required that I have my own transport to reach and to get around, Reno did not. Hello Reno!

                                           

                                 

                                 

I took an 18 and a half hour Greyhound bus overnight through Oregon, California and into Nevada. And actually, despite my many doubts, found that Reno was great. Nevada itself is stunning. It is high, dry, has no insects, a great climate and is filled with snow covered mountains. I resisted gambling in the casinos, bar one Elvis related penny push arcade in the children's area, into which I put 2 quarters. Ironically, I won and dozens of quarters dropped, but instead of giving me the coins, the machine kept them all and gave me 50 prize tickets. Wondering what to do with them all, I saw a nearby child who didn't have enough tickets for the prize she wanted, so I gave them to her. 

                                  

I avoided the seedier things Reno had to offer and spent my days walking, paddling in the river, swimming in the pool at the hotel and finding different places for a quiet drink at the end of each day. Hurrah's car museum was a real highlight and I got to see my first ever professional baseball game.

  

From Reno, I wanted to go to Nashville, but every flight I investigated was just too much money, and none of the ones I could afford were direct. The best one went to Chicago first and then turned south (via Charotte NC). When I checked out the flights separately - it turned out to be cheaper still to fly Reno to Chicago and then Chicago to Nashville. I had always wanted to visit Chicago so I decided to stop over and booked myself 4 nights in the Windy City. It was amazing. Such a fabulous place. Another CityPass saw me visit every major attraction I could. I loved Chicago and cannot recommend it enough. I only wish I had stayed longer. Art galleries, museums, parks, the river, the lake (it's a bloody ocean) the towers, the tours, the atmosphere. Chicago is vibrant and easy to get around using public transport.

                                 

                             

                                 

        

                                  

                           Me and Sue - the most complete T-Rex skeleton ever discovered

My four nights were soon over and it was time to fly to Nashville for the next leg of my US journey.

To be continued...

Lights! Camera! Action! (and not forgetting) Location!

I love movies. I always have. From Musicals to Science Fiction, Thrillers to Westerns, I have devoted a great deal of my life to cinema. Some films I have seen so often I can quote their lines from memory, others have left a lasting impression based on their subject matter, their music or their setting. As a result, I have a large collection of film soundtracks on my iPod and I have travelled with 50 of the best films ever made on three tiny SDHC cards (in case of sheer boredom on a long journey or reaching a destination with absolutely bugger all to do!)

As an aside, I used to own a most remarkable collection of the best films ever made. A 20 year effort to amass my personal top 100, (which I could never get below 200!) but which I sold last year to help fund this expedition. Feel free to pick my brains in the future as to which films I believe should appear in the top 10 of each movie genre, but be warned, if you get me started, I will be hard to stop.

Anyway, as the prospect of travelling loomed ever closer, movies were in my mind. Indeed just a couple of days before moving out of my rented flat in Chester, I sat down and watched David Niven's version of 'Around the World in 80 Days' (beautiful soundtrack by the way.) It served as a taster for what was to come and I realised that I would be setting foot in some rather famous film locations. I decided to keep my eyes open and in the last 9 months and I have not been disappointed.

"Around the World in 80 Days" - Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Reno, Chicago, New York.

                                    

                                 

                                 

Made in 1956 and the winner of 5 Academy Awards, including best picture - I have always enjoyed the romance of the adventure that is 'Around the World in 80 Days'. Niven's portrayal of Phileas Fogg, complete with 'stiff upper lip' is perfect and Shirley MacLaine is wonderful in the role of rescued Indian Princess Aouda. It is fun to play 'name the celebrity' whilst watching, as a host of Hollywood stars make cameo appearances throughout, from Gielgud to Mills, Sinatra to Dietrich. I sailed the Bund in Shanghai, the bay in Singapore and crossed the harbour in Hong Kong, I rode trains in the United States, met plenty of Native Americans and spent a fortune on my travels. A 21st Century Phileas I do believe!

"Sleepless in Seattle" - Chicago, Seattle

                              

                                  

  

        Finding the location in 2015

                                  

Filmed in 1993, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were the stars in this romance which begins in Chicago, moves to Seattle and culminates at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. It has another beautiful soundtrack (though Jimmy Durante's 'Make Someone Happy' is the pinnacle.) So successful was the on screen chemistry between Tom and Meg, they worked together again, five years later in the much better film 'You've Got Mail'.

"It Happened At The World's Fair" - Seattle 

           

                                        I can't resist a bit of Elvis! Seattle Space Needle 1963.

                            

                                       May 2015

Despite being a massive Elvis fan, his movies were not quite my cup of tea (sorry Mum!) His best performance was in 'King Creole', but I am afraid that all the others blur into one another. That said, they do usually feature very attractive leading ladies and some enormously successful songs. Did you know that Elvis' draft to the army was delayed for 60 days in 1958, so he could film 'King Creole' before being posted to Germany?

 "King Creole" - New Orleans

       

                             New Orleans 1958, Bourbon Street Club and French Quarter living

"Sister Act" - Reno

                                  

                                  

                                                      Above June 2015, below 1992

                                  

I did fleetingly contemplate hiring a nuns outfit from a fancy dress shop I found in Reno and then posing for a photograph under the Reno arch - but I knew you would have accused me of enjoying it too much! Whoopi Goldberg absolutely nailed the role of Deloris Van Cartier in 1992, and this Disney hit was so successful in spawned a sequel and eventually became a success in the West End and on Broadway. (Interesting fact - the girl who plays the young Deloris in the opening sequence, also played the young Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation five years earlier - she is clearly a ringer for Whoopi - or a close friend of the family.)

                                  

                              The Reno Post Office was used as the Police Station in the film

                                  

"The Hobbit" / "LOTR" - New Zealand

What can I say about Jackson's masterpieces which has not already been said in my New Zealand blog from Hobbiton? My whole trip around New Zealand was like striding across a giant film set. Mountains, lakes, volcanoes, glaciers, forests and rivers all played starring roles in the epic trilogies. I toured Middle Earth and set foot in Gondor, Mordor, Rohan and the Shire during my 6 weeks and my visit to the WETA Studios in Wellington was the icing on the cake. 

                                 

          

                   Gollum greets you at Wellington Airport

2001-2014 - What a legacy for Peter Jackson. Two blockbuster trilogies (even if I am not so keen on the Hobbit series). J.R.R. Tolkien would surely have been impressed with the visualisation of his work and could not have chosen a better place than New Zealand as the location to bring it all to life. 

"The Killing Fields" - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

         

Can you believe that I have still not seen this film? Now that I have visited the former school turned torture prison, Tuol Sleng, and walked the killing fields memorial site itself, I am not sure if I can. Such a harrowing place. Filmed in 1984, this British film won eight BAFTAs and three Academy Awards. I will watch it once I return to the UK, as a good friend has a copy he lent me before I went, but this true tale of genocide and survival against the odds, rather like 'Schindler's List', may not be something I could  watch more than once.

"The Firm" - Memphis, Tennessee (the Cotton Museum, Beale Street and Peabody Hotel)

      

                                 

      Being somewhat taller than the diminutive Tom Cruise, I took this picture from a different angle!

                                 

I must admit to being a fan of Tom Cruise (I know, I know - hurl that abuse now!) But I have enjoyed many of his films over the last 32 years (he landed his first leading role in 1982's 'Risky Business'.) I stepped in Tom's footsteps at the Peabody Hotel, I also drank too much on Beale Street and I cruised (apologies for the pun) the mighty Mississippi on a river boat. This was the fourth highest grossing film of the year (behind 'Jurassic Park', 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and 'The Fugitive') and was the most successful of the screen adaptations of a Grisham novel.

"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" - Chicago (Sear's Tower and the Art Institute of Chicago)

        

       "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

                                 

                                 

                                 

                        My view of these great works of art taken surreptitiously without flash

                                 

                                 

                                 

                                          The Ferris Bueller cast at Sear's Tower in 1986

       

                  Sear's Tower 2015

What a fabulous film. This 1986 classic is Matthew Broderick's defining role. Chicago is the backdrop to a stupendous day off, as Ferris skips school and creatively avoids the school dean out to catch him truanting. I went to the top of the Sear's Tower (now known as 'Willis Tower') and I had a wonderful morning in the Art Institute of Chicago. When I stood in front of George Seurat's 'Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte', Hopper's 'Nighthawks' and Mark Chagall's 'American Windows' I was moved, fixated and tempted to touch the artwork too. Alas, unlike Ferris, I didn't get to drive a Ferrari and had to make do with the L train (elevated rail network) and a river cruise.

"Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" - Siem Reap, Cambodia (Ankgor Thom, Ta Prohm and the Bayon Temple)

        

                                

       

     My pics at the various temples near Angkor Wat show I don't have the acting assets of Angelina

This 2001 movie has been responsible for making Cambodia an increasingly popular destination for 20 to 30 year olds. Siem Reap is a gorgeous part of the country and has the immense historical legacy of a multitude of tombs and temples to draw in the visitors. It is also far away from the challenging 'Killing Field' legacy you cannot escape in the capital Phnom Penh.

"Good Morning Vietnam" - Nha Trang, Vietnam

                                 

                                 

This remarkable film was set in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) during 1965. Robin Williams' performance as the wisecracking radio DJ Adrian Cronauer, saw him nominated for an Oscar in 1987 (losing out to Michael Douglas for his depiction of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.) I spent time travelling the entire length of Vietnam (see my Motorcycle Diary blogs for more details) but the impact of the Vietnam conflict could be seen and felt both North and South. It took me a week to cross the DMZ (de-militarised zone) and I stayed in Nha Trang en route, the area the US troops are heading in the scene pictured above.               RIP Robin Williams, 1951 - 2014.

"Into the Wild" - Alaska (via Colorado, Nevada and Washington)

          

                                 

                                          My pictures from March 2015 of Denali Park

                                

I watched this movie on my home cinema a few years ago when a good friend bought me it for Christmas. Who would have thought that I would have spent a month in Alaska, travelling through Denali Park twice (the location of the bus above) as I went to Fairbanks and touching locations in Colorado, Nevada and Washington too? Fortunately, I ate well throughout the US (and kept well away from wild potato seeds) and I got to experience and enjoy the majestic scenery and unforgettable wildlife the film captured in my own Alaskan adventure. The 2007 film, based on the 1996 book by John Krakauer, actually premiered in Fairbanks, before going on to achieve cult success after a modest film run domestically and abroad.

"The Motorcycle Diaries" South America

I have yet to see this 2004 film, but it is on my 'must watch' list here in South America. I know it tells the tale of Che Guavaro and his friend Alberto Granado's trek across the continent from Argentina to Peru. I'll be watching out for locations in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru as I travel, but alas, I won't be travelling by motorcycle.